Sorry guys, but I said it might take a while for me to do this. On top of it all, I may have to do this in three parts, not two. This chapter only covers one-third of the entire movie, which means it covers half an hour's worth. Let me know what you think, and if you think I incorporated Misty and Charizard effectively. I own nothing except the story.
_
Chapter 29
Misty's POV
A few hours after we parted with Brad and D. Shad, I asked Brock where the closest Pokémon Center was. After all, all the excitement was tiring for the Pokémon and for us. I couldn't believe it when he said that he had forgotten to check his map for such a location. I was even more surprised when Brock said that the closest Pokémon Center was in Sonzonia City of all places. I remember saying that we should've stuck with Brad and D. Shad.
So after I slammed Brock into the ground for making us walk for so long only to have to turn around, we found the fork in the road and began the walk to Sonzonia City, where, if we were lucky, we would run into our friends.
By the time we reached the Sonzonia City Pokémon Center, it was already dark outside. Unfortunately, we didn't make it in time before the doors closed and we would have to sleep outside again. I was just about ready to kill Brock, when Ash pointed out something in the Center.
"Look, it's Brad!" he exclaimed. I just couldn't believe it. Everywhere we went Brad was somewhere nearby, it was getting to the point of being spooky. We all started banging on the door to get Brad's attention. Not only did we get Brad's attention, but we got the attention of everyone else in the building.
So Brad finally came and unlocked the door. "You guys following me?" he asked. "No, Brock forgot to read the map and see where the nearest Center was. So we had to turn around and catch up with you and D. Shad." I replied, rather annoyed.
Brad laughed at that. "Hey Brock, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." he joked. "Yeah, we thought so too." I added. Brock sweat-dropped and walked away nervously, only to go check-in with an irritated Nurse Joy. She didn't appreciate having to work past the Center's curfew.
Normal POV
"Well, since you guys are stuck in Sonzonia City for a while, whaddya say you meet me and D. Shad for a barbeque tomorrow at noon?" Brad suggested. "Barbeque? We're there!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. "But what about getting to Celestic Town?" Misty asked. "That can wait! I haven't had good barbeque food in forever!" Ash exclaimed.
Misty rolled her eyes and walked away to where Dawn was standing. "And once again, Ash's stomach takes over his brain." she said. "Doesn't exactly come as a surprise you know." Dawn replied. "Yeah yeah. Come on; let's see if Brock got Nurse Joy to give us a room yet." Misty finally said.
The two girls headed over to the counter, where Brock was laying on the floor in pain. "You just had to make Croagunk mad, didn't you?" Misty sighed. "It…wasn't…Croagunk." Brock strained. The two girls looked up to the counter and saw a furious Nurse Joy with her arms crossed, and her eyes focused towards the ceiling.
"What did you say to her?" Dawn asked. "Nothing except that I'd like two rooms." Brock replied, his voice becoming natural again. "Why two rooms?" Misty asked suspiciously. "One for you guys and one that I could share with her!" Brock exclaimed passionately.
Misty and Dawn's eyes both grew wide, and they took turns beating the Breeder back to the ground. "I should've…come up…with something else…" Brock strained. "Serves you right!" Misty hissed.
After seeing that the girls were getting nowhere with the love-struck and mallet-struck Breeder, Ash and Brad walked over. "He did it again, didn't he?" Ash sighed. "What do you think?" Misty replied. "Sorry about my buddies Nurse Joy, could we get ONE room?" Brad asked.
Nurse Joy threw a room key at the comedian, and then walked away, grumbling to herself, "Curfew is curfew; I shouldn't have to work at this hour unless there are Pokémon emergencies."
Now Misty's rage had been redirected at the irate Nurse Joy. "She didn't have to do that. It's not like it was Brad who harassed her." Misty said. "Meh, not every Nurse Joy is cheerful at all times. She wanted to go to sleep." Brad shrugged.
"So…what do we do with Brock?" Ash asked. "Why not just leave him here? That way he can see his precious Nurse Joy in the morning?" Misty suggested devilishly. "Oh come on Misty, don't forget he's our friend." Dawn said.
"Yeah I know, but one of these days he has to learn." Misty sighed. "Let's get this joker into the room." Brad said. Ash and Brad each took one half of Brock, Ash took his arms and Brad took his legs, and they carried the Breeder into the room and plopped him onto the couch.
"Hmm, for a grumpy Nurse Joy, she sure chose a nice room to throw at us." Dawn joked. "Hey, think I could use that joke one day?" Brad asked. "Be my guest!" Dawn replied.
"Alright guys, I'm heading to my room. I dunno know about you, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's barbeque!" Brad exclaimed. "Me too!" Ash added excitedly. The girls rolled their eyes and said goodnight to their comedian friend.
"C'mon! The sooner we get to sleep, the sooner tomorrow comes!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. Ash charged for the bathroom to slip into his pajamas, leaving the two girls alone.
"He's YOUR boyfriend." Dawn snickered. "Don't worry; I'll work that food obsession out of him." Misty replied. Dawn put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow. "Ok fine, so that'll never get out of him. But is it really so bad?" Misty asked.
"You tell me, you were the one worrying about it down there." Dawn replied. "I don't really mind his excitement; it's his eating habits that bother me." Misty said. "You mean when he scarfs down his food without breathing?" Dawn figured. "Bingo." Misty replied.
"No need to worry, he can only go up from there." Dawn said. "I sure hope so." Misty chuckled. Ash walked out of the bathroom with Pikachu on his shoulder as usual. "What's going on?" he asked. Misty and Dawn sweat-dropped. "Nothing." they in unison. Too excited about tomorrow, Ash shrugged it off and crawled into the bed, and pulled the covers over his head.
"G'night guys!" and with that, Ash started snoring almost instantaneously. "Ash, you've changed so much but you just can't get those last bits of immaturity out of you." Misty sighed. "You know you've mentioned how he has to stay Ash somehow right?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, I guess if he matures too much he may not be Ash anymore." Misty shrugged. With that, Misty walked into the bathroom to change into her pajamas as well, leaving Dawn alone with the sleeping Ash.
"It's incredible…" Dawn said to herself, "Ash and Misty are the most dysfunctional couple I've ever seen. They argue, they bicker, they compete with each other, and they occasionally get on each other's last nerve. But in the end, they really care about each other, and they wouldn't hesitate to act if one needed the other's help. Misty's really a lucky girl to have Ash as a boyfriend…I hope one day I can find someone as caring and pure-hearted as him…"
Dawn stood in a haze for a few moments, not even realizing that Misty had come back out of the bathroom. "Dawn, you alright?" Misty asked, waving her hand in front of the petrified Coordinator's face.
Dawn blinked a few times before snapping out of her self-inflicted trance. She then looked at the puzzled red-head and smiled sadly. "I'm ok…" she said. Dawn grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom. Misty looked at the Coordinator suspiciously, pondering what she was doing staring at HER boyfriend. Before entering, Dawn turned and faced the Gym Leader. "You know, you're lucky to have someone like Ash…I don't have ANYONE."
Misty's expression changed from suspicious to sorrowful. Dawn walked into the bathroom with her head hung down, leaving Misty to think. She turned towards the sleeping figure in her and Ash's bed, just thinking out loud.
"She's right…I am lucky to have him. Poor Dawn doesn't have anyone to really care for her, I should be thankful with what I have." Misty quietly slipped under the covers next to the sleeping Pokémon Trainer and tenderly stroked his messy, black-hair. "Good night Ash, thanks for being you."
Misty dropped into a peaceful slumber next to her boyfriend, not even noticing Dawn's return. "(Sigh) There's just gotta be someone out there for me…somewhere." Dawn thought. She slipped into her bed and drifted off to sleep as well, dreaming about finding a boy who genuinely cared, unlike Conway and Kendall.
The next morning, the group met up with Brad in the Pokémon Center Lobby. "Hey guys, D. Shad's waiting for us at his place." Brad said. "You told him we were coming?" Brock asked. "Nope, I told him YOU were cooking, Brock." Brad replied with a snicker. The group laughed at their misfortunate friend, who groaned in response. "Why me?"
Brad led the group through Sonzonia City. It had just about everything in it: On one side there would be skyscraper office buildings, and homes on another. "This is one impressive city." Brock said. "You haven't seen anything yet; wait until we get to D's house." Brad replied.
Brad led the group to a small neighborhood, where D. Shad kept his humble home. "Well, here we are." Brad said. "Looks kinda…ordinary to me." Ash said. "Yeah, the spot where he lives isn't that impressive, but what he lives next to is what'll really catch your eye." Brad replied.
Brad banged on the door of D. Shad's home, and a few minutes later, a blonde man in black shorts and a T-shirt emerged. "Well, the tag-alongs are back." D. Shad joked. "Yeah, go figure, right?" Brad added.
"Nice to see you guys again, and Brock, thanks for volunteering to cook." D. Shad said. "Uh…yeah…volunteered." Brock sweat-dropped. "Now if you guys would be so kind as to come and help me deposit the grill into my truck, we'll be on our way." D. Shad led the group into his home, when Brad suddenly froze in his tracks, stopping them.
"Um, I think this is as far as Misty should go." Brad said. "Why's that exactly?" Misty asked suspiciously. "Trust me, you won't like it." Brad warned. "Oh come on, I'm sure I can handle it whatever it is." Misty said, walking past the comedian, "After all, I'm not exactly a…wimp." Misty's voice trailed off at the end.
Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Brad walked into the living room where Misty was frozen solid. Ash gingerly placed his hands onto Misty's shoulders, trying to calm her. "You're ok Mist, they're D. Shad's Pokémon, they won't hurt you." he said comfortingly.
The room was filled with bug-types, Pokémon he had collected throughout his travels throughout different regions. A Yanma, Nincada, Burmy, Scyther, Silcoon, Dustox, Ledian, Volbeat, Illumise, Pinsir, Combee, and Kricketune all walked/crawled around the room.
"My bug collection. You like?" D. Shad asked proudly. Misty whimpered and escaped Ash's grasp, running out the front door as fast as she could. "Misty wait!" Ash yelled. Too late. Misty definitely wasn't coming back.
"Something wrong?" D. Shad asked. "Misty's terrified of bug-types, D. I think your collection here just scared the living daylights out of her." Brad replied. "Oops." D. Shad said regretfully.
"I'll go talk to her." Ash said. "You do that Ash, I'll help Brad and D. Shad with the grill. C'mon Dawn." Brock replied. Ash took off towards the front door while Dawn and Brock followed the two blondes out the back door to where the grill was.
When Ash exited D. Shad's abode, he looked around for the insectophobic Gym Leader. He found her curled up into a ball on a nearby bench, shivering and whimpering with fear. He sat himself down next to her, staring at her fearful form, just waiting for her to say something. Then, she finally spoke.
"Bug-types…are evil." she whispered. Ash chuckled lightly at that. "It's not funny Ash Ketchum!" Misty screamed angrily. "I didn't say it was." Ash replied. "Then why are you laughing?" Misty asked, a little more quietly this time.
"It's just that you think that bug-types are EVIL, being scared of them doesn't make them evil." Ash said. "They are evil! What kind of Pokémon have so many eyes?" Misty exclaimed. Ash gave her a skeptical, yet sympathetic look.
Misty gave a small giggle at his expression. "Ok fine, they're not EVIL, but I still don't like them." she said, her lips upturning into a small smile. "That's fine; I'll stay here with you if you want." Ash offered. "What? And let you miss out on the honor of helping Brock lift the grill into D. Shad's truck?" Misty joked.
"I can't afford to throw my back out! I can't train if I can't move!" Ash quipped back. "Oh yeah? The only time you stop moving is when you sleep! If you broke both your legs, you'd just walk with your behind!" Misty joked.
Ash just laughed at that. He had nothing to top that with. "Hah! I knew if I tried hard enough I'd get the upper-hand back!" Misty cheered triumphantly. "It's only because I'm thinking on an empty stomach." Ash said. "Then it's amazing you ever beat me…you're ALWAYS running on an empty stomach." Misty joked.
"Touché." Ash chuckled. Misty giggled, and then took in a deep breath of fresh air. "You feeling better?" Ash asked. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for coming after me." Misty replied.
"Aww, come on Mist. You should've known I would've gotten here sooner or later, I couldn't just let you be all jittery." Ash said. Feeling a tender moment coming on, Misty gently grabbed Ash's hand and gave it a squeeze. Ash squeezed back of course.
Holding each other's hands in silence, the couple looked around the skies and the city, just sitting on the bench. "It really is a nice city. Fresh air, an in-city stream, cozy homes." Misty said. "Yeah, and when we get to where D. Shad's taking us, it'll be even better!" Ash exclaimed.
"Good thing, because after all of yesterday's excitement, I could use a good vacation." Misty said. "Don't we all? But my idea of a vacation is a Pokémon Battle!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.
"You know what? You're onto something. I'm gonna challenge D. Shad to a rematch!" Misty exclaimed. "Hey, why not a double-battle? You and me versus D. Shad and whoever he decides. We'll wipe the floor with him!" Ash exclaimed.
"You've got yourself a partnership!" Misty replied. "I thought I already did." Ash joked. Misty giggled and blushed slightly at Ash's joke. "Yeah, I guess you do." she replied coyly.
Misty advanced towards Ash and wrapped her arms around him. Ash followed suit and did likewise. However their tender moment wasn't going to last long, as Brad had shown up to check on the two. "Ahem!" he coughed.
Ash and Misty quickly broke apart, blushing. "Not that this biology lesson isn't fascinating, but D. Shad's grill is in the truck and we're ready to go." Brad said. Ash and Misty smiled sheepishly and walked by the comedian without a word.
They slipped into the back of the truck with Dawn and Brock, and then D. Shad closed the back of the pick-up. "Hey, sorry about the bug thing, I didn't know." D. Shad said apologetically. Misty made a peace sign with her fingers and smiled.
D. Shad wiped his brow of fake sweat and smiled back. "You ok Misty?" Dawn asked. "Yeah, it was just a panic attack, that's all. I'm ok now." Misty replied reassuringly. When D. Shad started the truck, the group held on to whatever they could find to keep their balance, and the short drive to the park began.
On the way there, they saw a flock of Wingull flying through the air above them. And as they drove beside the stream, they spotted a few Magikarp. "Those things are just about everywhere." Dawn said. "Actually, they ARE everywhere. Magikarp are the most common Pokémon caught when you go fishing. Take it from someone who knows." Misty replied.
The truck finally stopped at a large clearing, where the stream fell into a bunch of miniature waterfalls, and flowed from the city itself. There were stone stairs that led to an area big enough for a battle. And at the top of the stairs was a stone sink with a faucet on each of its four sides, and a designated grilling area for D. Shad's grill.
"That's weird, there's no one else here." Dawn said. The group heard two doors slam, and Brad and D. Shad freed them from the back of the truck. "Dawn, you won't find another person here unless I say so. This…is my secret get-away." D. Shad explained.
"Awesome! There's even a place to battle!" Ash exclaimed. "Of course, what kind of paradise would it be without my favorite pastime?" D. Shad asked. "Exactly. Now if you don't mind, I'd like a rematch!" Misty declared suddenly.
D. Shad's eyes widened, and then a smirk spread across his face. "So the Gym Leader wants her can kicked again eh?" D. Shad chuckled. "Not exactly. This time, you choose a partner and Ash and I will kick YOUR can all over the place." Misty quipped back.
"Fair enough. This time I know your tactics and your strategies. Beating you two will be a piece of cake." D. Shad said confidently. "You want me on your team D?" Brad asked. "Affirmative, we'll wipe the floor with these kids." D. Shad said.
"Hey Dawn, can you give us a coin-toss?" Ash asked. "Oh sure Ash, and then I'll be your ref." Dawn replied sarcastically. "What's your problem?" Ash asked.
"I never actually get to battle! I always have to give the coin-toss and then be the ref. Well you know what? Toss your own coin!" Dawn huffed. Dawn turned to stomp away, but she didn't notice D. Shad scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"Brad, you need to work on your referee skills, so Dawn, you be my partner." D. Shad said. Dawn turned and was greeted by a confident smile and a thumbs-up from D. Shad. "You serious?" Dawn asked. "C'mon, let's show them what we've got." D. Shad replied.
Dawn clasped her hands with excitement and cheered. "Thanks so much D. Shad!" she squealed. D. Shad flashed her a quick smile and then went to help Brock with the grill. "D's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, don't let him down, m'kay?" Brad said. "No need to worry! I'll do my absolute best!" Dawn replied determinedly.
A little while later, after D. Shad gave Brock the lowdown on how to work his grill, Ash, Misty, Dawn, and D. Shad walked down the stone staircase down to the battle area. "You sure you don't wanna come too?" D. Shad asked.
"Nah, someone has to keep Brock company." Brad replied from the top of the stairs. D. Shad shrugged and joined Dawn on the side of the field. "Since lunch won't take too long to make, let's keep this battle short and sweet. Two Pokémon each!" D. Shad yelled.
"You got it! And how about this? Simultaneous choosing!" Misty exclaimed. "Alright then, let's do this!" D. Shad yelled, clutching his first Pokéball.
"Garchomp, let's get the fun started!"
"Buneary, spoootlight!"
"Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Misty calls Corsola!"
Three Pokémon emerged from Pokéballs, while Pikachu merely hopped off of Ash's shoulder. "Whoa, it's his Garchomp." Ash said, pulling out his Pokédex. "Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon. When it folds up its body and spreads its wings, it can fly like a jet plane at the speed of sound." his Pokédex explained.
"Alright Corsola, this is our first battle in a long time, let's show them what you've got!" Misty exclaimed. Corsola nodded and glared at its opponents. "Let's get this party started!" D. Shad yelled.
"Garchomp, use 'Dig'!" D. Shad ordered. Before anyone could blink, Garchomp dug a hole and disappeared from sight.
"Pikachu, make sure you keep moving to avoid Garchomp! Use 'Thunderbolt' on Buneary!" Ash ordered. Pikachu took off running, but didn't attack. "Pikachu, I said 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash yelled.
By now Garchomp had tried to nail Pikachu with the ground-type attack, but missed because of Pikachu's running around.
"I'll take a turn! Buneary, use 'Ice Beam' on Pikachu!" Dawn ordered. Buneary fired the freezing beam at Pikachu. "Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash ordered. Pikachu stood like a statue. "Pikachu, what's wrong with you?" Ash yelled.
At this point, Misty leaped into action. "Corsola, jump in front of Pikachu and use 'Mirror Coat'!" Misty ordered. Corsola jumped in front of Pikachu and deflected the 'Ice Beam' away from the electric-type. "Ash, tell Pikachu to try something on Garchomp!" Misty exclaimed.
Ash nodded. "Pikachu, use 'Iron Tail' on Garchomp!" he ordered. This time Pikachu charged ahead to slam into Garchomp with a tail of steel. "Buneary, counter with 'Dizzy Punch'!" Dawn ordered. Buneary charged ahead to meet Pikachu with its own attack.
Pikachu gasped and leaped over Buneary's head, while still trying to stay on course for Garchomp. Leaving the ground however led to Pikachu being vulnerable. "Garchomp, use 'Dragon Rush'!" D. Shad ordered.
Garchomp charged ahead in a blue aura, and slammed Pikachu backwards. Meanwhile, Buneary didn't stop running, and she wound up hitting Corsola instead. The two Pokémon fell backwards, and slowly got back up.
"Pikachu, what's wrong with you?" Ash asked. Pikachu shook its head and said nothing. "Ash, I don't think Pikachu wants to hurt Buneary." Misty said. "Is that it Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Both embarrassed and shy, Pikachu nodded, but didn't reply verbally. "Pikachu…Buneary isn't a baby-Pokémon; she can take care of herself." Ash said. Pikachu shook his head again.
"So…I guess the battle's on hold for now?" D. Shad figured. "Well, we could call a forfeit, but then Ash would be really steamed at Pikachu." Dawn replied. "I see…you mind filling me in on what's happening here?" D. Shad asked.
"Well…as it turns out, when Ash matured, Pikachu began to follow suit. He knew Buneary had a crush on him, and when things changed for Ash, things changed for Pikachu too. He's starting to like Buneary back." Dawn explained.
While Ash tried to convince Pikachu to battle, Buneary watched on in awe, slightly blushing at the thought of Pikachu refusing to hurt her. But at the same time, she was slightly insulted because it looked like Pikachu thought she couldn't handle an attack from him. So Buneary spoke up.
"Bun buneary, bun bun!" (Come on, let's battle!) Buneary exclaimed. Pikachu looked away from his master and averted his gaze to the rabbit-Pokémon, waving his arms frantically. "Pika pika pikachu pika!" (But I don't wanna hurt you!) Pikachu replied.
"Bun buneary, bun bun buneary!" (Don't hold anything back, because I'm not!) Buneary exclaimed. "Pi…ka…" (Well…I…) Pikachu mumbled.
"Buneary really wants to battle Pikachu, whaddya say we do just that?" Ash asked. Pikachu thought about it for a moment, then glanced back to Buneary, who gave a determined nod. Suddenly energized, Pikachu turned back to Ash and nodded.
"Good for you Pika-pal! Just remember that this is all in fun!" Misty exclaimed. "Pika. Pika Pikachupi." (Right. Thanks Misty.) Pikachu replied. "Alright, the battle's back on!" D. Shad yelled.
"Pikachu, use 'Iron Tail'!"
"Corsola, use 'Bubblebeam'!"
"Buneary, use 'Bounce'!"
Garchomp, use 'Rock Tomb'!"
Pikachu and Buneary charged at each other, while the two projectiles from Corsola and Garchomp headed towards each other.
Garchomp's 'Rock Tomb' fell in front of the stream of bubbles and blocked them. Meanwhile, Pikachu's 'Iron Tail' met up with Buneary's foot from her downward assault. The two attacks battled for superiority, and eventually Pikachu won out of sheer strength.
Pikachu gracefully fell back to earth, while Buneary fell on her back. Pikachu gasped when he saw what he did, but Buneary quickly got back to her feet and smiled determinedly at the electric-mouse. "Good going Pikachu, now let's kick it up a notch!" Ash exclaimed.
"Misty, watch Pikachu's back, I'm gonna try something." Ash said. Misty nodded without looking Ash's way, fully focused on the battle.
"Pikachu, use 'Quick Attack'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu charged ahead at lightning-speed to give a swift tackle to the two Pokémon. "Garchomp, use 'Dig'!" D. Shad countered. Garchomp dug another hole and had Buneary follow it to avoid the attack.
"That's it! Misty, your turn!" Ash yelled. Misty immediately caught on to Ash's plan. "Corsola, use 'Bubblebeam' in the hole!" Misty ordered. Corsola hopped over to the hole dug out by Garchomp and fired a stream of bubbles into it.
"Get ready Pikachu." Ash said. Pikachu's cheeks sparked viciously, as it readied itself for its next attack. Suddenly, Garchomp, with Buneary holding on to its head, rushed out of the ground via another hole and flew into the air. As it turned out, it had dug quickly enough to avoid the 'Bubblebeam'.
"Now Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!"
"Corsola, help out with 'Power Gem'!"
The two attacks fired towards the flying Garchomp, who nervously awaited orders. "Do something D. Shad!" Dawn screamed. "I am…" D. Shad replied.
Just before the attacks connected, D. Shad made his move. "Quick Garchomp! Swoop down and use 'Dragon Claw' on Pikachu!"
Garchomp did just that. It dive-bombed the electric-mouse, narrowly escaping the two attacks and slashing at Pikachu.
"Pikachu, block it with 'Iron Tail'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu slammed its tail into Garchomp's claws, holding back the dragon-type move. "Quick Corsola, use 'Spike Cannon'!" Misty ordered.
Corsola fired a barrage of spines at the two Pokémon. "Buneary, stop those spikes with 'Ice Beam'!" Dawn countered. Buneary fired at the spikes, but instead of stopping them, they merely turned into sharp icicles.
With the attack turning into ice, Garchomp roared in pain and bucked Buneary off of it. "Yeah, that's the way to do it!" Misty cheered.
"Sorry D. Shad." Dawn moaned. "Never mind that, let's get back in this!" D. Shad yelled.
"Use 'Cut'!" D. Shad ordered.
"Buneary, use 'Dizzy Punch'!" Dawn ordered.
The two Pokémon charged ahead once more. This time the attacks connected dead-on, and both Pikachu and Corsola fell back.
"Pikachu, let's finish this! Use 'Volt Tackle'!"
"Corsola, use 'Power Gem'!"
Ash and Misty's Pokémon launched their most powerful attacks; they were determined to finish the battle before it got too out of hand.
"Buneary, counter 'Volt Tackle' with 'Bounce'!" Dawn countered.
"Garchomp, use 'Rock Tomb'!" D. Shad countered.
Dawn's plan was clever. She would force Pikachu to hit Buneary, hoping that Pikachu didn't have the nerve to follow through with its most powerful attack. Unfortunately, Buneary's pep-talk to Pikachu had worked a little too well.
Pikachu completely negated Buneary's 'Bounce', and fainted it easily. Meanwhile, Garchomp's 'Rock Tomb' had just barely beaten Corsola's 'Power Gem' in the power department, so Corsola fainted for their side.
Ironically enough, when Corsola fell back, she wound up sending mud in Ash's direction. Ash did a face-plant to avoid mud in his face, but instead he got mud on his hands. "Next time, watch where you're falling." Misty snickered.
"Well, this match isn't over yet!" Ash yelled. "Oh yes it is." Brad said, coming out of nowhere, "Brock sent me to get you guys."
The group was confused whether to be happy that lunch was ready, or to be sad because the battle had just been cut short. But Ash had no trouble deciding which. "Come on guys, it's barbeque time!" Ash wasted no time heading for the stairs, which led to the others following close by.
When Ash stopped to admire a flock of Wingull which had just taken off, the others passed him up. "Hey, I call first serve!" Ash yelled. Ash charged up the stairwell and quickly rinsed his hands of the mud, and despite Ash getting there last, he was the first to get to the table.
"Here ya go big guy, hot off the grill." Brock said, placing a hotdog onto Ash's plate. As Ash reached for the hotdog, Brock suddenly slapped his hand away with his spatula. "Hold on a minute, did you wash your hands?" he asked suspiciously.
"Uhh…look! They're clean as a whistle!" Ash chuckled. "Take another look." Misty said with disgust, as she sat herself down at the picnic table. Ash turned his hands and saw the dirt all over his hands, due to lack of quality washing.
"That's disgusting Ash, I can't believe I hold those hands!" Misty spat. "Hey, wait a sec…" Ash was cut-off by Dawn. "Ash Ketchum, you should always remember to wash your hands before you eat!" Dawn exclaimed angrily.
"But I…" Ash was cut-off again by Misty. "Now go and wash your hands before I throw you into the fountain!" she exclaimed angrily. "Alright, whatever." Ash grumbled.
Ash got up and jogged to the stone sink. "Man, those two can be a pain." he grumbled to himself. As Dawn passed the Pokémon Trainer, she sat herself down next to Misty and high-fived her. "Now WE get first serving." Dawn snickered.
While the girls helped themselves to the hotdogs and salad, the Pokémon whined to Brock hungrily. "Looks like we've got some hungry customers here." Brad chuckled. "Not to worry, I made more than enough for everyone." Brock said.
Brock jogged over to a white tarp and uncovered what was beneath it. "Ta da! My extra special Pokémon food!" Brock exclaimed proudly. Pikachu and Piplup cheered. "Hey yeah, my guys have to eat too." Misty said, getting up from her seat.
"Let them out over by that tarp Misty, that food has special water-type ingredients mixed into it." Brock said. Misty did just that. She grabbed her Pokéballs and tossed them all (with the exception of Gyarados) out. "Come on out everyone!" she exclaimed. Her Pokémon: Staryu, Politoed, Azurill, Corsola, Vaporeon, Surskit, and Psyduck all popped out of their balls with excitement evident in their eyes. Although on Psyduck it was hard to tell.
"You too everyone, it's time to eat!" Dawn sent out her Pokémon as well. Buneary, Pachirisu, Ambipom, and Swinub all popped out as well, Swinub the most excited about lunch of course.
"Hey, I'm not gonna leave you guys out!" Ash exclaimed. After making sure that his hands were actually clean, Ash came and unleashed all of his Pokémon (with the exception of Charizard). And so Chimchar, Gliscor, Staravia, Turtwig, and Buizel all popped out as well, which only left Brock's Pokémon.
"Wait until you feast your eyes on this feast!" Brock sent out his three Pokémon, pride in his voice over his job well done. Happiny, Sudowoodo, and Croagunk all popped out of their Pokéballs. Sudowoodo and Happiny immediately ran for the food, but Croagunk in his usual non-chalant stance just stood in place.
"Ok, that takes care of your Pokémon, now how about the host's Pokémon?" D. Shad asked. D. Shad tossed his Pokéballs and all eight of his Pokémon: Luxray, Lucario, Staraptor, Garchomp, Golem, Floatzel, Electrike, and Eevee popped out of their balls looking around for their meals.
"Well, if Ash and Misty would be so kind as to send out Charizard and Gyarados, I'll show you." Brock said. Ash and Misty nodded and sent out their two giants, both roared upon release.
"Don't forget my Pokémon." Brad said. As soon as he said that, Slowpoke and Torkoal emerged as well, completing the large group of Pokémon.
"I have special Pokémon food for the bigger members of the group, the smaller ones get what the others get, the exact nutritional needs for a Pokémon of their type, size, and so on." Brock explained proudly.
As Brock handed the Pokémon their food, D. Shad and Brad gave a chuckle. "You're gonna make some Breeder someday, you know that?" D. Shad said. "That's what I'm hoping for." Brock replied.
As the gang watched their Pokémon eat, they failed to notice a dusty little puffball moving in on Brock's signature dessert pancakes.
"I'm getting hungry watching them chow down." Ash groaned, clutching his growling stomach. "The food's back there." Misty said. Without further ado, Ash turned around and headed to the table. But he gasped at what he saw.
"Hey, stop! Those are OUR pancakes!" Ash panicked. Hearing Ash's panic-attack, Misty, Dawn, Brock, and the two blondes ran to the table as well. And they saw something eating Brock's pancakes. "What is that thing? A tribble?" Brad joked.
"It's a Pokémon of some sort." Brock said. Enraged, Piplup tried to pull away the pancake the Pokémon was eating. Instead, the Pokémon quickly chomped down the rest of the pancake and wound up biting down on Piplup's wing.
Piplup squealed in pain and growled at the Pokémon. Unfazed, the Pokémon shook some of the dust off of its body, causing the group to cough. When the dust and dirt settled, it hopped onto Ash's hat and hung off of it, this got Ash off-balance.
Ash knocked it off with a swift snap of his neck, and the Pokémon grabbed onto the grill in panic. Now even the grill itself fell over along with the Pokémon, and it fizzled out and began smoking. "That grill cost me a boatload!" D. Shad roared.
D. Shad's tantrum was interrupted when the smoke that came from the busted grill started getting absorbed by the Pokémon. "What kind of Pokémon can do that?" Dawn asked. "Maybe a grass-type, like a tree." Brock said.
When the Pokémon began glowing brightly, D. Shad took charge. "Get down!" he yelled. Not risking the time to question the guardian, the group and all their Pokémon did face-plants. And it was a good thing they did too, because a large green energy blast covered everything around the area, including their lunch.
When the dust finally settled, the group looked around warily. "You ok Mist?" Ash asked. Misty nodded and got back to her feet. "I wish I could say the same for my grill." D. Shad grumbled. "Relax D; I'll buy you a new one the next time I get a gig." Brad replied.
"What is it anyway?" Misty wondered out loud. She wouldn't get the chance to answer; Piplup was throwing a fit and yelling at the Pokémon furiously. The Pokémon crawled away from Piplup fearfully, only to run into everyone else's Pokémon, with the exception of Slowpoke and Torkoal who weren't really all that upset.
The other Pokémon however were furious at the mysterious Pokémon for ruining their food. "I sense a fight coming on." Misty said. Dawn wasn't going to allow it, so now she took charge. "Stop it, all of you!" Dawn screamed.
The Pokémon backed off a bit, but they were still pretty steamed. Dawn kneeled down in front of the frightened Pokémon and held her hands out to it, palms up. "No need to worry. Don't be afraid." Dawn said soothingly.
Misty kneeled down next to the Coordinator to help tend to the Pokémon. "Let's get that dust off of you." she said.
"Staryu, Politoed, help us out with a soft 'Water Gun'." Misty said. Misty's two Pokémon reluctantly obeyed and fired two 'Water Guns' to act as a shower. "Alright, we'll get you nice and clean." Dawn said softly.
Dawn rubbed down the strange Pokémon and washed the dust and dirt off of it, revealing it to be a light green Pokémon with pink flowers on its head. "Ok, that's enough." Misty said.
"We need to dry it off with something." Dawn said. "Here, use this." Misty said. Misty handed Dawn her pink handkerchief, which gave Dawn a slight start. "Misty, are you sure?" Dawn asked. "I have Ash as my boyfriend; I don't need that thing now." Misty said with a smile.
Dawn smiled and wrapped the soft fabric around the Pokémon's wet body. "There, nice and clean." Dawn said sweetly.
"Mmm, that did feel nice." a voice said. "I'll bet it did." Dawn replied.
The group suddenly gasped. "Did it just…talk?" Misty asked.
"Although it was a little chilly…and perhaps if you'd been the tiniest bit gentler with the water…" it said again.
"Hey! My Pokémon did the best…wait a second, did anyone else…?" Misty paused. "Yeah, I heard it." Ash said. "Me too." Dawn added. "Brad, D. Shad?" Misty asked. "We're with you, but this is totally new for us." Brad replied.
"It must be telepathy." Brock said. "You mean like Lugia?" Misty asked. "Has to be." Ash replied. "So it can talk, don't stand there gaping, find out what's up." Brad said.
"Ok…where'd you come from?" Ash asked it. "From over there." it replied. "From over where?" Ash asked, confused.
"I said from over there!" the Pokémon said, growing irritated. "And I said whaddya mean by over there?" Ash asked again, his tone also growing irritated.
The Pokémon looked away and answered, "Well, if you had a little further from over here, and then you head over there…" the Pokémon paused and stopped talking. "Go ahead and finish." Misty said. "Hold on, something's not right." Brock said.
Upon hearing there was a problem, D. Shad moved in closer while Brock felt the Pokémon's forehead. "It's got a fever!" Brock exclaimed. "We've gotta get to the Pokémon Center! Everyone in the truck!" D. Shad exclaimed.
The group returned their Pokémon and piled into D. Shad's truck. D. Shad had left his Staraptor out for some reason. "Brad, take my truck and meet me at the Pokémon Center, I'll take whatever it is there myself to speed up the trip." D. Shad said.
"Got it, make it fast D." Brad replied. "Gimme the Pokémon, Dawn." D. Shad said. When Dawn moved to hand the Pokémon to D. Shad, it whimpered. "No!" it cried. D. Shad pulled back a bit.
"We don't have time to argue about this. Dawn, get on Staraptor, you're coming with me." D. Shad said. Dawn nodded and got out of the truck, she then hopped onto Staraptor's back, followed closely by D. Shad.
"Good luck guys, and be careful!" Misty shouted. D. Shad gave a two finger salute, and then took off on Staraptor. "Keep the little guy warm Dawn!" D. Shad yelled. Dawn held the ill Pokémon close to her heart to calm it, and to try and maximize shared warmth.
"Alright then, let's scram!" Brad exclaimed. Brad jammed down the gas-pedal to D. Shad's truck, and the engine roared as it sped down the open road.
At the Pokémon Center, D. Shad thanked Staraptor for getting them there, and the two rushed into the center, where Nurse Joy was working on some paperwork. "Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy! I've got a sick Pokémon here!" Dawn cried.
Nurse Joy immediately dropped what she was doing and called in a Chansey to help escort the Pokémon to the treatment room. They followed the Nurse to the room where some machines were ready to heal the Pokémon back to health.
"Will it be ok Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked worriedly. Just then, Ash and the others ran into the room where Nurse Joy was booting her laptop. "How's it doing?" Ash asked. "And another question, what is 'it'?" Misty added.
Nurse Joy put on a pair of red glasses and answered, "I'll have the answer to all of your questions in just a minute."
As Nurse Joy began clicking and typing on her laptop, windows of all sorts popped onto the screen, all of them containing information of the Pokémon inside the treatment room. "Luckily the fever wasn't severe, so the healing process is almost completed." Nurse Joy said.
This brought sighs of relief from everyone, but their curiosity was still eating at them. "Do you know what it is yet?" Misty asked. "That data is being fed into the computer now." Nurse Joy replied. After a bit more beeping from the computer, their answer was finally found.
"It's Shaymin, the Gratitude Pokémon…it does look awfully tired…but everything's just fine. And this little Shaymin's back to full health." Nurse Joy declared proudly.
"So we finally have something to call it." Misty said. "A Shaymin, so that's what it is." Ash said. "The Gratitude Pokémon." Dawn added.
"And I'm Brock, the Gratitude Person!" Brock exclaimed just as suddenly as passionately. Now D. Shad had not yet seen Brock's way of flirting, so he was startled by Brock's sudden loss of maturity and common sense.
"You think I'm funny D? Watch this." Brad snickered.
Brock continued his speech. "I'm grateful to have met you Nurse Joy, grateful! Now, will you go out with me? So grateful! Of course, we could always just be friends! Still more grateful!"
"Now watch this, and get ready to laugh." Brad snickered.
"Of course, we could always…" Brock groaned and fell to the floor after Croagunk stabbed his side with 'Poison Jab'. "Let's stick with the friend line." Brock groaned. And with that, the poison/fighting-type dragged the pained Breeder away.
"Ha ha ha ha! Does that happen often?" D. Shad asked. "At least once a day. When we go to the beach it's murder." Misty replied. "I don't think I could handle travelling with you guys, I'd die of laughter." D. Shad chuckled.
Just then, Chansey pushed Shaymin out of the treatment room. The group's attention was immediately averted to the small grass-type on the cart. "Where…where – where am I?" Shaymin wondered nervously.
Dawn placed Piplup onto the cart and ran into Shaymin's line of view with a huge smile on her face. "You're at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy treated you and now you're all better!" Dawn said cheerfully.
"Oh please, I NEVER need healing. But I do get hungry." Shaymin replied. "That sure doesn't sound like gratitude to me." Ash mumbled. "Maybe WE'RE supposed to be grateful for Shaymin?" Misty shrugged.
"Let me handle this." Brad said. Brad walked up to the grass-type and looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't there something you'd like to say to Nurse Joy?" Brad asked. "Like what? I don't know who she is." Shaymin replied.
Brad sweat-dropped. "I mean you should thank her for getting you better." Brad said. "Weren't you listening? I don't need healing." Shaymin replied. Brad made a bigger sweat-drop and walked away. "I remember when saying please and thank you was common knowledge." he grumbled.
"Relax Brad; I think we should humor it for a while. After all, it was exhausted." Dawn said. Brad shrugged and watched Dawn do her thing.
"I'm glad you're feeling all better now. My name is Dawn, and my partner Piplup is behind you." Dawn said. Shaymin turned to face Piplup, only to get a good laugh when Piplup lost its balance and fell on its back.
"I've got just the thing for you. Try this, it's called a poffin. I made it myself!" Dawn held out a small, beige-colored treat for Shaymin to take. "Oh, thank you!" Shaymin took the poffin in its mouth and began to chew it.
"It said thank you." Ash mumbled. "I don't think Brad can believe it." Misty added. Misty pointed in the direction of the comedian who was doing his 'Put a Helmet On' routine in disbelief. Very faintly, the couple could hear him whisper to D. Shad, "What makes Dawn any different from Nurse Joy? It needs to thank her too."
"So?" Dawn asked, waiting for Shaymin's opinion on her homemade poffin. "It's ok I guess." Shaymin replied. "Now that you've had something to eat, don't you think you should thank Nurse Joy now?" Brad asked.
"For what?" Shaymin asked. Brad face-faulted at that comment. He quickly got back up and began to grumble again. "Totally oblivious, that has to be it."
Since introductions were being made, Misty decided that it was time to get her helping of credit for helping out.
"Well my name's Misty, my water-type Pokémon are the ones that got you all cleaned up." Misty said with a smile. "Oh, I don't like your Pokémon." Shaymin replied. Right then and there, Misty's smile became forced. "And…what's wrong with my Pokémon?" she asked.
"They gave me a cold shower; don't they know how to use hot water?" Shaymin asked. Misty straightened up, turned her back on the grass-type, and the forced smile quickly turned into a natural scowl. "Arrogant grass-type." she mumbled.
"Let me give it a try." Ash said, patting Misty on the shoulder. Misty turned to watch Ash give it a go, but her scowl remained.
"Hey, I'm Ash, and this is MY partner Pikachu." Ash said. Pikachu also greeted the grass-type, who at this time had finally swallowed Dawn's poffin. Instead of replying, Shaymin opened its mouth and let out a belch that caused smoke to come out of its mouth and spray Ash in the face.
Ash coughed and immediately backed away. He stumbled backwards and was caught by Misty who was standing behind him, both to help him and to use him as a shield. She remembered what happened the last time Shaymin came into contact with smoke. "Whoa, you're not gonna blow up, are you?" Ash asked nervously.
All of a sudden, the recovered Brock ran up to the cart to give his opinion. "Well, it did breathe in smoke from D. Shad's grill."
"Ah ha! That would be called 'Seed Flare'!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "What's 'Seed Flare'?" Ash asked.
"When Shaymin breathes in polluted air, it purifies it in its body. Separating it into light and water and then expelling it. This process is called 'Seed Flare'." Nurse Joy explained.
"Wow, Shaymin you sure are something, aren't you?" Dawn said with amazement. "I am, aren't I?" Shaymin replied. "Cocky little sucker, ain't it?" D. Shad mumbled.
"There is one thing…" Nurse Joy said. "Uh oh, that's never good." Misty said.
"There was a Shaymin that used 'Seed Flare', and when it inhaled toxic air it destroyed a whole forest." Nurse Joy said. Upon hearing that, D. Shad stiffened. "Let me see that report." he said.
D. Shad read the reports that popped onto the screen, and his eyebrows slowly furrowed as he read. "If that little guy absorbed more toxicity than my little grill could make, Sonzonia City would be in ruins." D. Shad said seriously.
"I would say you owe me a big 'thank you'." Shaymin said. "We're supposed to tell YOU that! Don't forget we're the ones who took you to the Pokémon Center!" Ash said angrily.
"That was your idea." Shaymin replied. Ash growled furiously, and if Misty hadn't held him back, Nurse Joy might've had a serious job ahead of her.
"It's strange for a Shaymin to be all the way out here however." Nurse Joy said. "I shouldn't be here, should I?" Shaymin said. "So what happened?" Dawn asked.
"I was tossed all over the place, it was horrible." Shaymin said. "So that's how you got covered in all that dirt." Brock figured. "I know. So you're going to take me to the flower garden, right?" Shaymin asked.
"Uh, you should probably stay here and rest." Misty said. The apparently reenergized Shaymin got up and glared at Misty. "See here! I have to get to the Flower Garden and that's that!" Shaymin exclaimed.
"Ugh, Nurse Joy?" Misty asked, hoping for an answer. "Yes, for the Flower Bearing." Nurse Joy replied. "The what?" Brad asked.
"Shaymin have a custom. Once every season, a group of them gather together in a garden and migrate. And a new garden grows wherever they decide to stop. And that's where the name 'Flower Bearing' comes from." Nurse Joy explained.
"I'm going to fly off from the Flower Garden!" Shaymin exclaimed. "Whoa, Shaymin, you can fly?" Ash asked. "Don't tell me you can't?" Shaymin said.
"Of course I can't!" Ash said. "Aww, what a shame." Shaymin replied. "Nurse Joy, are you sure it's the Gratitude Pokémon?" Misty asked. Nurse Joy sweat-dropped. "Perhaps this is a special case." she said.
Shaymin hopped onto Ash's hat again, and tried to knock him off balance again. "Come on already! Let's go to the Flower Garden!" Shaymin exclaimed.
"Well, where is it?" Ash asked. "It's right over there!" Shaymin flicked Ash's neck into the direction it was pointing in, causing Ash to groan with both exasperation and pain. "I thought you said you could fly." Ash groaned.
"I can, but not now." Shaymin replied. "What's that supposed to mean anyway?" Ash asked. Misty grabbed Shaymin off of Ash's head, only to have Shaymin hop out of her hands and onto her head. "Come on; take me to the Flower Garden!" Shaymin squealed.
"I would, if you'd stop sending me in three directions at once!" Misty replied. Dawn grabbed Shaymin off of Misty's now aching head, and Shaymin surprisingly calmed down in Dawn's arms.
"No need to worry, you'll get to the Flower Garden because we'll ALL take you." Dawn said. "Hate to disappoint you, but Brad and I have to take off. I have to do my rounds and then I have to take Brad to the Sonzonia Train Station so he can head home." D. Shad said.
"That's ok, we've walked before, we can walk again." Ash said. "Thanks for everything guys, we hope we'll see you again soon!" Dawn exclaimed. "Knowing you guys, we'll see each other sooner than you think." Brad joked.
The group laughed and waved goodbye to the two blondes, who walked out of the Center and to D. Shad's truck. "I don't have to head home until next week, what's really on your mind?" Brad asked.
"There's no reason that Shaymin should've gotten beat up like that, plus the whole 'Seed Flare' thing made me nervous for the city. You and I have some research to do. How much damage can a Shaymin do, and how did Shaymin wind up the way it did?" D. Shad jammed down the gas-pedal, and they sped off.
Ash and Co. walked out of the Center with Shaymin on top of Ash's head again. "Ok, which way should we go?" Ash asked.
"This way!" Shaymin jerked Ash's head to the left. "No this way!" Shaymin jerked Ash's head in the opposite direction. "No THIS way!" Shaymin jerked it forward again, and Ash had had enough. "Make up your mind! he growled.
"Ok, that's it; you're done riding the Ash Express." Misty said. Misty grabbed Shaymin off of Ash's head once again, and Shaymin struggled to get free. "Let me go, I don't wanna go with you!" Shaymin strained.
"Fine. Here Dawn, Shaymin seems to like you." Misty huffed. Dawn took the small grass-type and pressed it against her heart. "So, which way Shaymin?" Dawn asked calmly. Shaymin didn't reply. In Dawn's embrace, Shaymin relaxed, and pink flowers bloomed on its back.
"Wow, it's like a bouquet!" Dawn exclaimed. "It's that way!" Shaymin exclaimed surely, pointing to the eastern side of the city. Dawn took off immediately, leaving the others behind.
"Ugh, could someone please explain which way 'that way' is?" Ash groaned. "Oh that's easy, 'that way' is that way." Misty joked, pointing her fingers in opposite directions. Ash and Brock got a chuckle out of that, and they took off after the Coordinator.
Meanwhile, D. Shad and Brad reached D. Shad's home, and D. Shad immediately went to work on his laptop. "You know D, if the Mayor knew you had the password to the city's security system, you'd be a criminal, not a hero." Brad joked.
D. Shad gave a small chuckle, but didn't look away from his laptop. "There, I'm in." D. Shad said. What D. Shad had hacked into was the city-wide security camera system. "I found the gang." D. Shad said.
D. Shad watched the group run using the series of different cameras. "Now I'll punch in the microphone code…" D. Shad punched in a few more figures, and sound began coming from the laptop. "You could have a living as a computer programmer." Brad joked.
D. Shad and Brad watched the group run without incident, but suddenly, Shaymin hopped out of Dawn's arms in a panic. "What's going on? Turn up the sound, D!" Brad exclaimed. D. Shad quickly raised the volume and watched the scene unfold.
"They're here!" Shaymin cried. "Who's here?" Dawn asked. "Them! They are!" Shaymin cried. Without warning, Team Rocket appeared and grabbed Shaymin off the ground.
"We put the 'they' in 'them'!" James snickered. "And of course, you put the 'T' in 'twerps'." Jessie cackled. Team Rocket took off with Shaymin in hand, and the teens pursuing.
D. Shad slammed his fist against the table and growled. "That's it, I'm taking care of those guys once and for all!" he roared. D. Shad grabbed Luxray and Staraptor's Pokéballs, when Brad stopped him. "Hold on, let's see how this plays out." Brad said calmly.
D. Shad averted his attention back to the screen to watch the scene continue. Team Rocket continued to run, until they were suddenly sucked up by one of the park's prism-like objects.
Dawn wasted no time grabbing Shaymin away from Team Rocket, who soon disappeared from sight from the strange portal. Soon after, the portal grabbed a hold of Dawn, who while holding Shaymin had nothing to grab onto.
Being the usual hero he was, Ash dove into the portal after her. "No! Ash! Dawn!" Misty tried to jump in after them, but the portal had vanished before Misty could try. "But how?" Brock panicked. "Give them back whatever you are!" Misty pounded her fists against the prism, trying to somehow reactivate the portal, but it didn't work.
"Are they gone?" Misty asked worriedly. "All we can do is wait." Brock replied. And so they sat themselves down in front of the prism, just hoping for anything to happen.
"D. Shad…did you just see what I think I saw?" Brad asked in awe. "I think we might be in trouble. Here, take this computer and give me a scan on whatever that was! We're getting to the bottom of this!" D. Shad handed Brad his own computer, and the two began working feverishly to find out what was going on.
Meanwhile, Ash and Dawn continued to fall, and they eventually landed on a platform in the strange world they had wound up in. "What's going on?" Dawn asked fearfully. "This is weird, I feel like I don't weigh anything." Ash added.
"I don't like this place. Please, get me out of here now!" Shaymin cried. Suddenly and without warning, a huge figure sped by them, and knocked them off the platform just with the sheer power of its momentum while flying past them.
They landed on a lower platform, and quickly turned around to see what had just knocked them over. "Was that a…Pokémon?" Dawn gasped. Whatever the thing was, it was dark, it was big, and it was coming closer. And to top it off, it didn't look happy to see them.
"It's going to eat me!" Shaymin squealed. After hearing that, Ash's blood raced. It was battle time! "Pikachu, quick, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu leaped off of Ash's shoulder and fired a furious electric-attack at the huge Pokemon.
Unfortunately, the Pokémon vanished out of thin air, and the attack made no contact. "Is it gone?" Dawn wondered out loud.
They turned around again and saw that the Pokémon had not left. "There it is!" Ash yelled.
"Piplup, use 'Bubblebeam'!" Dawn ordered. Piplup fired, and had to be stopped by Pikachu before it wound up flying away thanks to the strange gravity.
The 'Bubblebeam' hit, but merely bounced off of the Pokémon's body. "It didn't do a thing!" Dawn cried. "Time for the heavy artillery…Charizard, I choose you!" Ash called out his dragon-like Pokémon, who roared almost as loudly as its new opponent did.
The Pokémon came around again and fired a huge blue fireball at the two teens. "Charizard, 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Charizard roared and fired a blazing flame to try and counter the fireball. A huge explosion took place and the Pokémon retreated only to come around again. "Get ready Charizard!" Ash said. Charizard tensed its muscles for attack, when suddenly a man climbed onto the platform they were on.
"Stop it, all of you! You can't upset Giratina!" the man yelled. "That's a Giratina?" Ash asked. There was no time to answer; Giratina was coming around to attack again. "Quickly, this way!" the man exclaimed.
Ash hopped onto Charizard's back. And thanks to the strange lack of gravity, Charizard was able to carry everyone on its back. "Just follow his directions Charizard!" Ash ordered. Disappointed that he didn't get to keep fighting, Charizard complied and followed the man's directions.
"Alright, everyone off." the man said, hopping off Charizard's back. "But why? Charizard can carry us." Ash replied. That would prove to be wrong. The gravity suddenly changed back to normal, and Charizard dropped like a brick out of surprise.
"Whoa, my body feels normal again." Dawn said. "Sorry about that Charizard." Ash said with a sweat-drop. Charizard blew a small flame in Ash's direction, but smirked as he did it. Ash didn't want to risk another attack, so he allowed Charizard to remain outside of its Pokéball just in case his power was needed.
"Now that we've made it through the low-gravity zone, things'll be a little easier." the man explained. "Man, this is one weird place for sure." Ash said. "You get used to it." the man replied.
They ran into a shelter area, panting and gasping for breath. "Anybody hurt?" the man asked. "Well I managed not to get eaten." Shaymin replied.
"Are you the Shaymin from before?" the man asked. "Are you – who are you?" Shaymin replied. "Newton Graceland is the name. I'm in the process of researching the Reverse World. And just so you know, those among me in my field, I'm considered a genius if I do say so myself." Newton said proudly.
"Why doesn't he tell us what he REALLY thinks of himself?" Ash mumbled. "Humble guy." Dawn added. "What a weirdo." Shaymin added.
Newton sweat-dropped. "Come on, that's no way to treat someone who just saved your lives." he whined.
"I'm sorry. Thank you for saving us." Dawn said.
"My name's Ash."
"And I'm Dawn."
"Um, what exactly is the Reverse World?" Dawn asked. "And what's a Giratina?" Ash added. "Ahh, excellent questions those. Allow me to explain." Newton said.
"We're now in the middle of an alternate world. The location of which is exactly the opposite of reality! The force of gravity gets weaker and stronger here depending on where you happen to be. Which means here, we have a distorted world!" Newton explained.
While Ash and Dawn were listening to the story of the Reverse World, Misty and Brock were doing some investigating of their own. "Brock, look at this!" Misty exclaimed. The structure seemed to be wavering somehow. Brock attempted to touch it, but his finger went right through the structure. "What the…?"
"You see, two worlds coexist side by side with each other; they do not intersect at all! However Giratina, and ONLY Giratina, has the power to travel between these two worlds. And what's more, Giratina is the only Pokémon that even exists in this world! Which is to say that Giratina is the master of the Reverse World as it were." Newton explained.
"Well I don't like Giratina, that monster tried to eat me!" Shaymin squeaked. "Huh, why would that be?" Newton asked himself. Newton suddenly gasped. "Would you all perhaps like to go back to the real world?" he asked.
"You bet!" Ash replied. "I have to get to the Flower Garden right away!" Shaymin added. "Then in that case, there's not a moment to lose." Newton pressed a button on his backpack, and a miniature GPS system activated.
"Alright, there's still time. Come on, and be lively!" Newton said. The two teens glanced at each other, and then chased after the self-proclaimed genius.
"As time went by, I became obsessed with the Reverse World, and started researching it inexhaustibly! The next thing I knew, five years had gone by!" Newton laughed.
"Funny guy." Ash mumbled. "Well he SEEMS impressive." Dawn replied. "He's a weirdo." Shaymin added. Newton stumbled a bit after hearing that, but he pressed on without retaliating.
After a bit, he stopped in his tracks. "What's that?" Dawn asked. A strange, dark cloud was obstructing their path.
"When there are imbalances in the real world, this world corrects it and dictates the balance between time and space. Whenever this occurs, a black cloud appears." Newton explained, carefully walking around it.
The teens followed suit, but the curious Piplup decided to get a closer look. "Don't breathe it in! It's poisonous, one quick breath and you're done for!" Newton yelled. Charizard flapped its mighty wings and blew the cloud away from the panicked Piplup.
Piplup's face was bluer than usual due to lack of breath. Piplup fell down with exhaustion, and Charizard picked it up and carried it. "Thanks Charizard." Ash said. Charizard nodded and pressed on.
As they continued, more and more of the poisonous clouds appeared all around. "You see, once time and space – two dimensions that never should've met – collided with each other, and unraveled each other." Newton continued,
"Dialga and Palkia both thought that their territories had been violated, so they began fighting fiercely. As a result, both time and space were bent violently, and the sum total of the Reverse World started overflowing with this toxicity." Newton continued,
"Giratina was absolutely furious with Dialga and Palkia for defiling its home, so it made its way to the real world and proceeded to capture Dialga. However…thanks to Shaymin's 'Seed Flare', Dialga managed to escape." Newton concluded his explanation.
"Wow, so that's why Giratina's angry." Dawn figured. "Right. Angry with Shaymin." Newton replied. "Really REALLY angry." Shaymin added nervously. Dawn gave Shaymin a squeeze, and it relaxed in her arms and its back bloomed with flowers again.
"But that's not all! Giratina can no longer go into the real world because of Dialga!" Newton exclaimed. "Serves Giratina right. Let the punishment fit the crime." Shaymin said.
Ash would've been angry at Shaymin, but a floating sphere caught his attention. "Look, it's Misty and Brock!" Ash exclaimed. "You're right! They're still back there waiting for us!" Dawn added.
Brock was done exploring, so he dropped to his knees along with Misty, who had given up on searching a while ago. "Come on guys, where are you?" he groaned.
"Misty! Brock! Guys, can you hear us?" Ash yelled. Ash tried to touch the sphere, when Newton tried to stop him. "No, don't rip the…!" It was too late. The sphere popped in Ash's hand and supposedly nothing happened. But in the real world, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Misty and Brock were knocked back by an unseen force, and were now more confused than ever. "Anybody get the license plate of the truck?" Misty asked, looking around nervously. "I don't think anything hit us." Brock replied.
"Then why does my arm feel numb?" Misty asked. "Where'd you land on it?" Brock replied. Misty pointed to her elbow. "You probably hit your funny bone, give it some time, you'll get feeling back." Brock said.
"Newton, what happened?" Ash panicked. "If something gets destroyed here, it has a big influence on the real world. Any changes on those bubbles, gets reflected in the real world." Newton explained.
"Wait, are our friends ok?" Dawn asked nervously. "Guess you'll have to find out when you get out of here." Newton replied. "Oh no…" Ash mumbled.
Dawn caught Ash's comment. "I'm sure Misty's fine, no need to worry." she said comfortingly. Ash forced a smile at her, but his worry didn't decrease any.
Ash would've lost all focus if it weren't for Newton speaking up. "Now gravity gets strange again starting right here. But it can be kinda fun, our destination is straight ahead!"
"Race ya!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash shrugged and decided to play along. Maybe it'd get his mind off of Misty. The race didn't last long however, due to Giratina's return. Charizard's muscles tensed as Giratina loomed over them.
"Let's run!" Shaymin cried. Shaymin hopped out of Dawn's arms and onto Ash's head, forcing Ash to lose control of his body again. Ash managed to leap to another platform without falling deep into the unknown, but now Giratina was making its move.
Ash leaped to try and stay out of Giratina's grasp, and just barely missed getting his head taken off by the gaping jaws of the enormous Pokémon. Ash fell to the ground with a soft thud, and the first thing he saw in front of him was his hat, but no Shaymin.
Shaymin had been taken away by Giratina in its mouth. "Oh no! Charizard, get Shaymin back!" Ash yelled. Charizard roared and opened its wings for takeoff, when Ash's hat suddenly started vibrating. "Hold it Charizard!" Ash yelled.
Charizard relaxed slightly, but no more. It still wanted to take on Giratina. They surrounded the hat and were incredibly relieved when Shaymin had somehow managed to get under Ash's hat. "You people need to get on the ball." Shaymin said.
Despite the attitude Shaymin just gave them, the group sighed with relief. "Wait a sec, if you're here, then what does Giratina have?" Dawn asked.
Her question was answered when the thing Giratina was holding suddenly disintegrated inside of its mouth. "Substitute'. I must say, I'm impressed." Newton said. "Sorry, but flattery will get you nowhere." Shaymin replied.
Unfortunately for the group, Giratina was enraged by Shaymin's deception, so it came around again for round two. "I don't think Giratina's too happy about it though." Dawn said.
"Alright Charizard, this is what you've been waiting for! Hold off Giratina any way you can!" Ash yelled. Charizard took off to meet with Giratina in the sky, and started firing 'Flamethrowers' and 'Dragon Breaths' at the huge Pokémon.
With the barrage of attacks being sent at it, Giratina was forced to divert its attention from Shaymin to Charizard, and Giratina wasted no time doing so.
"We've got to go! Hurry!" Newton shouted. The group ran as well as they could with messed up gravity, while Charizard did his very best to hold off Giratina.
Now that Charizard had attracted Giratina's attention, it was forced to go on the defensive. Giratina disappeared from sight and confused the Flame Pokémon, and then reappeared to knock Charizard off balance.
"Charizard can't hold on much longer!" Ash yelled. "It won't have to! The portal's over there! You can't get in from there, but you should be able to get out! Hurry and jump!" Newton exclaimed.
Piplup was the first to jump through the hole, and almost immediately Piplup's head came out of the structure that Misty and Brock were waiting in front of.
"Look, it's Piplup!" Misty exclaimed. "And Pikachu too!" Brock added. Pikachu had popped out next. And Dawn was following closely.
Since Dawn was obviously bigger than the two Pokémon that went before her, she got stuck before the lower half of her body could get out. Brock grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out, knocking himself down in the process. "But where's Ash?" Misty asked worriedly.
Ash was still in the Reverse World, watching Charizard dodge numerous attacks by Giratina. "Charizard!" Ash yelled.
Charizard turned for a split-second and saw Ash waving him down. Charizard wasted no time in retreating. It wanted to fight Giratina, but it hadn't counted on Giratina's immense strength. Ash reached for Charizard's Pokéball and returned the dragon-like Pokémon to where it belonged.
"Thanks for your help Charizard; you may have just saved our lives again." Ash said to the Pokémon now encased in its ball.
"Are you coming too Newton?" Ash asked. "I've still got some things to tend to here. Now hurry or you won't be able to get out!" Newton exclaimed.
Ash tried to get through, but he felt a force trying to push him back, so he nervously backed off. Newton pushed him forward again. "Giratina can see into the real world, so watch your step, and also beware of mirrors!" Newton yelled.
Ash fought against the push of the portal and was shocked when his hand suddenly felt normal. He felt a soft and familiar hand reach out and grab it, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized that Misty was alive and well.
Misty yanked Ash out of the structure with all her might, and wound up on her back with Ash lying on top of her when he was finally released.
Before she got the chance to say anything, Ash had embraced her in an almost desperate hug. "Misty I'm so glad to see you! I thought I had killed you!" he said quickly.
Ash said it so fast that Misty couldn't comprehend what he had just said. "Ok Ash, first, get off of me. And second, what did you say?" Misty said.
Ash released his red-headed girlfriend and got up and dusted himself off. "I thought...I had killed you, AND Brock." Ash said. "Well we're obviously alive, so relax." Misty replied.
"Where did you guys go?" Brock asked. "To the Reverse World!" Ash replied. "Huh? What's that?" Brock asked. "And where's Newton?" Dawn added.
"He stayed back there…and he said 'beware of mirrors'." Ash replied. "What's wrong with mirrors?" Misty asked. She got her answer when the reflective structure wavered like water and Giratina flew by it. "It's coming this way!" Shaymin squealed.
"What was that?" Misty asked nervously. "This place is dangerous! Come on, let's go!" Ash exclaimed. Ash took off in the direction furthest away from anything reflective and was soon followed by his friends. "Guys, tell us what's going on!" Brock yelled.
"I'll tell you everything as soon as we're out of danger!" Ash replied. "Out of danger from what?" Misty asked. "Giratina." Ash replied simply.
"Brad look! They're back!" D. Shad exclaimed suddenly. Brad put down his computer and watched the group that was on the run again. "D, we're not gonna get anywhere with this, I say we go and ask some witnesses." Brad suggested.
D. Shad nodded and grabbed his Pokéball belt and laptop. "Get ready Brad, this could be a long day for all of us."
_
A/N: Well guys, that was part one of the three part movie. I hope you thought the cliff-hanger was well placed and effective. Also, PikachuXBuneary...whaddya think? I'm currently working on part two right now. You see, I'm homeschooled, and so school doesn't get in the way for me as much as other authors. Which only further proves that I need to speed up my writing. I have no excuse to take as long as I did. Bear with me folks. Oh yeah, please review!