Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokémon franchise. I do, however, own Sherry. Speaking of Pokémon, I am happy to inform you that like what Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield has introduced as well as the twists revealed in the Galar region especially with the return of Pokémon Gyms and the introduction of the first real Dark-type Gym in the core series. Then again, I'm shocked at the fact Ash won the Alola Pokémon League, which makes it the second-ever Pokémon League where he emerged victoriously. The first being the Orange League from way back in season 2. While the Battle Frontier wasn't a Pokémon League, Ash did win that, and it was back when the anime tried to buy time for the Gen IV games Diamond and Pearl to get made next.
As for the Sword and Shield anime series, the characters, Go and Koharu seem to be interesting characters so far (it will be a while before the English dub airs but hey, better than nothing.
Chapter 11: Fighting chances
Misty and Anabel were shocked at the sight of the male Vaporeon Hybrids, even more so the Tomboyish Mermaid, given how he just called her his mate for some reason. "What are you talking about?" she asked as she wasn't too pleased with what he said earlier. "Now that I think about it, how exactly did you get in any way?!"
"I have my ways… unfortunately, none of you won't be able to find out, at least not at this moment…"
"Be careful, Misty," informed Anabel with a frown on her face as it's clear that the male Vaporeon Hybrid might've brought others with him since it could be a trap. "There's probably a chance he brought other hybrids with him…"
Misty nodded her head and had a Poké Ball with her, knowing her Gyarados was their best bet along with Anabel's Metagross to make it out of this as she remembered the promise that she made to her sisters before leaving the Cerulean City Gym. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to miss Team Rocket right now…" she thought to herself, secretly praying that Jessie, James, and Meowth showed up like they usually did, but so far there's no such luck.
Espeon got in front of Misty and Anabel, knowing she was going to need to be ready to keep both female humans safe, which made the lavender-haired female worried. "Espeon, what are you…" she asked but was soon interrupted by her Psychic-Type.
'I'm doing my job right now…' answered Espeon with a look of determination on her face, to Misty it was the same look that Sakura's Espeon had way back in the latter portion of Johto when Ash and his friends briefly returned to Ecruteak City. 'I'll be just fine…'
"Are you sure?" Anabel asked of Espeon, still worried that there was a possibility of being jumped at when they least expected it since she's been planning to send out her Metagross and her Alakazam in case things got rough.
The female Psychic-Type Eeveelution nodded her head to confirm her decision. 'Yes, I'm sure,' she replied while at the same time, she knew that it probably couldn't hurt to have assistance in case she was unable to handle this herself.
Anabel looked at her Pokémon with a smile. But she was worried she knew that if the Vaporeon Hybrid got close to them, all it needed to do was either bite or scratch.
"Still, what does this thing want?" Anabel asked, as she looked to Misty, who didn't know the answer either.
The Vaporeon Hybrid laughed, hearing this and looked at the two. "Oh, I'm here to get my mate," he told the two as he looked at Misty, still with a smile, and this was something that Misty didn't like.
"No way, I'm not going to let you near me!" Misty said with a scowl on her face and looked at the Vaporeon Hybrid.
However, all he did was look at Misty and laughed. "Oh, don't worry. Once you become like me, I think you'll change your mind, and I know you'll look sexy as a Vaporeon."
Meanwhile, before the attack happened, Brock and Clemont glanced at Lillie and Bonnie as both girls were getting along. While it did help keep their minds off the infection and the possibility of encounter any hybrids along the way to safety, they knew sooner or later, they're going to get attacked again but this time, with possibly no means of getting out. "Seems the two are hitting it off," informed the former Pewter City Gym Leader as he smiled upon seeing they were becoming good friends.
"I'll say," added Clemont, glad to see his sister taking a real shining to Lillie. "Hard to believe this girl we found is from another region. Okay, granted you and Ash also came from a different region but still…"
Brock remained silent, though knew what Clemont meant and then looked out into the distance, in the direction where the camp was, located. "I'm worried for Misty right now," he started to speak, concern forming on his face as he thought about the orange-haired girl. "She shouldn't have left the Cerulean City Gym, and now she risks becoming infected just like everyone else. It was already bad enough that Ash and Serena are missing."
"Don't remind me…"
The two gym leaders remained silent, knowing Misty was in danger, and Brock couldn't blame her. After all, they had all known each other for a long time, and he knew Misty wasn't going to sit back while her friends are in danger.
"I only wished Misty stayed there. I mean, we are friends, but I think she hates that she can't help us," Brock said, frowning, and Clemont nodded he would hate if he couldn't help his friends.
Clemont looked at his sister with a smile he was happy that she was safe from this infection, but he didn't know how long that would last. "Yeah, from what you've told me, she sounds like a great friend."
Brock laughed at this remembering the fights Ash and Misty used to get into, as Clemont looked at Brock. "Yeah, but they used to fight a lot when they first met each other," Brock said with a smile.
Clemont was shocked hearing this, but he could see the look that Brock had on his face. "They must have got better, right?"
Brock only nodded once more, knowing how Misty hated wanting to go back home. "You know if either of them were around right now, they would yell at me for even saying this, but they cared about each other deeply more than they let on to others around them."
"So, they were in love but never wanted to admit it to each other?" Clemont asked knowing full well Serena had a crush on Ash, or maybe it was more.
Brock was silent for a while before he looked at Clemont. "I think so, but things change, I only hope Ash is okay."
Speaking of Ash, he and the four girls with him were still at their current location with the young man from Pallet Town thinking about how he'd be able to get in contact with the others. On the other hand, he knew sooner or later he would succumb to the infection as would Sherry and Dawn, which worried him even more than ever. "Just hope the others are okay," he said to himself with a frown.
Thinking about it was keeping him awake, something that made him worry even more than ever, and then there's the missing Pokémon, which included his Pikachu to take into consideration. "Huh?" he heard something and realized what it was as he carefully made his way towards Sherry's room to see the girl whom he and Serena had met previously stirring in her sleep.
Seeing the look on her face, Ash wondered what was going on, and he knew that he needed to watch out as he looked at Sherry hating seeing her like this, so Ash moved towards the sleeping girl.
"Sherry…" began Ash, approaching Sherry, who was dripping with sweat after bolting up from her slumber though part of him prayed it's not a side effect to being stuck as a hybrid or even the chance it could bring about their Pokémon instincts. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…" answered Sherry, assuring the young man from Pallet Town that everything's okay even though he didn't seem entirely convinced. "Just had a nightmare, that's all,"
"Oh?" wondered Ash, both confused and worried at the same time since it seemed fortunate that the noise didn't wake May, Dawn, and Serena up as they needed some rest before the group headed out tomorrow morning to look for their friends. "What was it about, Sherry?"
Sherry looked at Ash, knowing the dream she had was something that frightened her and looked at Ash and sighed. "I had a nightmare of me killing humans, and I loved it."
Ash looked at Sherry, hearing what she said he wasn't sure what to make of what she told him, fear now filled Ash's mind. "Sherry..." Ash said, looking at her.
Sherry, on the other hand, looked over to Ash. She knew what's happening to her mind, and she hated it, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to stop fighting.
Ash placed a hand on Sherry's should as the blonde hair Pachirisu hybrid looked at Ash with a smile on her face. "Look, I'm not sure how much time I have left but, I'll still help you and Dawn."
"I see…"
Ash hated what happened, but he knew that they needed to find a cure well maybe not him as he wasn't sure he would last too long with both May and Serena already lost their minds.
Both girls now only had their instincts, and they wanted Ash and the other to feel the same freedom, with May wanting to find Misty, and Ash, Dawn, and Sherry knew this.
"Sherry we need to keep fighting no matter what, I know it would seem it would be easy if we give in, but we can't," Ash said as he now faced her, and Sherry looked at Ash.
Hearing this from his only caused her to smile as she nodded her head. "You're right, Ash, Sherry said, smiling, knowing she needed to fight what the virus was doing to her mind. "I need, no I will fight this."
Pikachu and his group were currently still trying to make themselves at home in their current location, at least until they're able to find Ash and the others. And a part of him was more worried than ever as if Ash and Serena being missing weren't already enough. But now Dawn and May had suffered the same fate, which made him even more concerned. Not to mention, Fennekin also might be out there all. 'This is becoming an even bigger mess than ever,' he said to himself with a sigh as he decided he wanted to get some fresh air.
Once outside, he looked out at the full moon in the night sky, reminding him of when Butterfree a long time ago in the Viridian Forest when he was a Caterpie while Ash and Misty slept that night. Now that he thought about it, he hoped Butterfree was doing well ever since parting ways with Ash to be with the pink Butterfree before his arrival to Saffron City with Brock and Misty on the other hand. Another friend he was thinking about was Pidgeot, who was left at Route 1 with the Pidgeys and Pidgeottos after she managed to help drive off that Fearow.
'Pikachu?'
'Huh?' he was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts as he heard a female voice calling his name, and he turned to see both Glaceon and Bunneary looking at him with a look of confusion on their faces. 'Glaceon, Bunneary, what are you two doing here?'
'We were just about to ask you the same thing,' answered Glaceon with a stern look on her face, especially as Pikachu should be resting up so he would be ready alongside the others to find Ash and his friends, which includes her human mother May. 'Why aren't you in bed right now?'
'Glaceon's right' added Bunneary with a frown, she was glad to have been able to catch up with the female Ice-Type. And it included revealing how Ambipom wasn't part of Dawn's team anymore, which saddened her friend somewhat at hearing the news. She didn't need to hear someone having left when they were in a bad situation that separated them from their friends. 'For all we know, you could've been attacked either by a wild Pokémon or by Team Rocket!'
The other two Pokémon nodded; all they could do was keep looking for their trainers, hoping nothing happened to them, or if they were infected, they kept their human minds.
'Do you think we'll find them, Pikachu?' Bunneary asked, looking over to Pikachu.
Pikachu sighed at this he wasn't sure, but he hoped Ash was okay seeing what happened to any human affected by the virus. 'I don't know. I hope we can find them as humans.'
Back at Team Rocket Headquarters, Delibird had returned and was utterly unaware of the trap that Jessie and James' own Pokémon were setting up for him. 'Oh man, what a day,' he said to himself as he stretched his wings though at the same time was looking forward to getting some rest after a significant assignment assigned to him. 'Sometimes I kinda miss being the direct deposit Delibird for those three… Oh well…'
As he was on his way to a place where he could relax, the Pokémon belonging to Jessie and James were getting the first part of the plan to help their humans underway. 'Isssss everything ready?' Seviper asked with a hiss since it's only a matter of time before Delibird showed up, so their trap needed finishing quickly.
'Almost,' answered Frillish as the finishing touches were getting finished. However, she didn't feel too happy about how Jessie gave her and Woobat to Giovanni and was certain Yamask and Amoongus felt the same way. When James put them into the possession of Team Rocket's leader because it wasn't fair, they had to be given away just because of failing a mission. 'All I can say is this better work!'
'Yeah, I mean this is a first we had to come up with making a trap after all' added Mime Jr with a frown, glancing towards Carnivine, Yanmega, Woobat, Yamask and Amoongus who were all busy with their respective parts of the plan at hand. 'I just wanna see James again and make sure he didn't get infected by now.'
The other Pokémon nodded, but there was nothing any of them could do right now, then hope that their trainers would find them if they hadn't become infected. 'Look, we need to wait and hope they are still human,' Carnivine told his friends. 'They could even be trapped.'
'Let's hope they're not trapped, otherwise… I'm not sure what to say,' remarked Yamask with a frown on his face. 'Sometimes, I wish you hadn't said that, to be honest.'
'Sorry.'
After making a few finishing touches, the trap was now finally set, and the Pokémon that Jessie and James had caught felt that it's time to see if Delibird would fall for it. 'Alright, le,t's get into position' suggested Yanmega as she and her friends decided to go into hiding… waiting for their target to arrive. 'And now we wait…'
Meanwhile, Misty and Anabel continued to look at the male Vaporeon hybrid as he took another step looking at Misty. "But I think it would be best that I get two mates," he said, looking at Anabel.
Seeing the look that the hybrid was giving her Anabel, knowing he would infect her or maybe he would let Misty infect her once he changed her, something Anabel wasn't going to allow this to happen.
The male Vaporeon hybrid laughed, seeing how both were now backing away, making sure that neither couldn't become infected. "You think that I came here all alone?" He asked, looking at both females.
Both Anabel and Misty knew he was right; they could already see the other hybrids starting to attack. "Misty, we need to run," Anabel told the orange-hair girl with a whisper.
The male Vaporeon looked at the two human females as they heard the screams. "You can't run from me. Even if you did, I know there is nowhere you can run," he told the two still smiling.
Anabel and Misty, however, backed away with their Pokémon ready to battle the hybrids if needed, and both hoped that it wouldn't come to that, as Misty and Anabel looked at each other once again.
The male Vaporeon only looked at the mats he would soon get and smiled he didn't see that they were trying to run or even fight back as he looked at the Pokémon that Anabel had with her. "Good, you're not trying to run away."
The two girls continued to look at each other, and they knew they needed to wait for the right moment, to either get away or attack the hybrid standing before them.
Anabel looked back to Misty, and then she looked down at her Espeon. "Okay, once I give the word we run," Anabel said while Misty nodded.
"Still thinking you can run from me?" He asked, moving towards slowly the two looking at them both. "So don't think about it. Just let me infect you both."
"Yeah no thanks, I like to stay human," Misty said with a scoff looking at the male before her. "Besides, there is someone that I already like."
The hybrid scowled when Misty said this, and Anabel smiled, knowing if she were to get infected, she would want to be with Ash. "Yeah, same with me," Anabel said, which only made the male hybrid angry.
"Damn it!" Brock cursed as he looked around, what the former gym leader saw was countless hybrids attacking people, with the soldiers shooting at the infected.
Bonnie was with Clemont, and she was crying, seeing dead hybrids and people around her. "Big brother..." She said with tears while Clemont looked at her with fear.
Clemont looked at his sister, and he knew he was going to keep her safe, but he could still hear the screams and smell of death around him. "Bonnie, stay with me okay," he said, watching a soldier killed by a Sandslash hybrid.
The soldier screamed in pain as the Sandslash hybrid used her claws to stab the soldier in the stomach; all he could do was scream out in pain blood coming out from his mouth.
However, the female hybrid smiled as she looked at her kill, knowing that he and the other soldiers were getting in her way, and this was something she didn't like. "Sorry but, we can't have you kill us. A new race is born."
Once she said this, she removed her claw from the soldier's stomach and dropped his lifeless body to the ground. Bonnie seeing this happen, soon started to cry as the young girl held onto her brother.
Don't look, Bonnie," Clemont said as he covered her eyes while both he and Brock looked at the female Sandslash Hybrid seeing the blood from her claws dripping to the ground.
The two could see the smile on her face as she looked at the little girl seeing and sensing the fear the poor girl had. "Don't worry, little one," she said and began approaching the humans.
However, she failed to notice an impending strike to the stomach from Dedenne, who used his Tackle attack at just the right moment — not wanting to take the chance of attempting to use Thundershock. Given that the female Sandslash Hybrid might be immune to electricity like regular Sandshrew and Sandslash were. 'Stay away from them!' yelled Dedenne with a look of determination on his face.
"Bad decision, you little rat!"
She didn't have time to retaliate as Clemont's Chespin proceed to use his Vine Whip to grab her and immediately tossed her away from Clemont and Bonnie; he turned towards the two siblings from Lumiose City. 'They just keep coming!' cursed the male Grass-Type starter with a scowl on his face as it's clear the Hybrids were starting to increase their numbers significantly.
Bonnie looked at the female hybrid with fear on her face. The young girl wished she knew why this happened and also hoped that it was a dream a bad one at that. "Please stop this!" Bonnie screamed with tears running down her face.
The hybrid looked at the young child seeing the fear on Bonnie's face, and it was the same she saw on many others before the change. Something she didn't understand why the foolish humans couldn't realize this was for the best, and would no longer worry about their everyday lives. "You don't have to worry. You will love becoming like me. Yes, it hurts when changing," she began looking at the humans seeing the fear they all had.
Bonnie looked at the women shaking in fear, as her brother Clemont was doing everything he could to keep his sister safe from this female hybrid. "We still don't care. We like staying human, so leave us alone!" he cried out as Bonnie cried.
Lillie only looked at Bonnie and agreed with her like the others she didn't want to become a hybrid, Lillie liked being human. "Yeah, I want to stay human, too, please."
Brock turned his attention towards Croagunk, and he knew that they needed to make sure the new girl Lillie was safe in case any of the hybrids came after her next, not to mention that Clemont's Chespin and Dedenne were already doing what they can to keep the group safe. "Now I'm starting to wish I had Steelix and my other Pokémon with me right now," he said to himself with a frown, doing all he can to keep Lillie close to him, Clemont and Bonnie.
However, the blonde-haired girl was just as scared as Bonnie was; this was indeed something she didn't want to ever see in her entire life and wished she was home in Alola right now. Speaking of which, she prayed to Arceus that Lillie had come from hadn't been infected. Otherwise, she wouldn't know what to do.
"I think we're going to need to make a stand right here," suggested Brock while nodding to Clemont as it's clear there could be some hybrids that may end up getting past the defense while the utter carnage was taking place. "In the worst-case scenario, I think we should make our way through the blockade and hopefully find somewhere to recuperate until we find Misty."
"Wait, are you thinking we actually, go through the blockade?!" exclaimed Lillie, wondering if Brock was out of his mind when he came up with that idea and especially at a time like this. "What if someone or something tries to stop us from getting through?"
"What other choice do we have?" Clemont asked the girl from Alola, worried that what happened to Iris and Cilan may eventually happen to them, too, unless they did something about it, or they might end up getting killed since these hybrids. Making it clear that they won't let the four or any of the other humans with them go. "It's our only chance to survive this whole ordeal."
"But…"
"Look, I know you're worried, but right now this is a matter of life and death" Brock responded as there was no time to argue since they have to do something before they too ended up becoming hybrids which would make their efforts in trying to survive all for nothing. "I've been through similar situations like this with Ash and Misty, but we've managed to make it through them in the very end."
The news caught Lillie off-guard, she never would've expected that Brock had experienced life or death situations before. "Wait, is this true?" she asked at a loss of words to which the former Pewter City Gym Leader nodded his head to confirm this. "I see…"
The others nodded, but each of them was still worried for their friends knowing that they could all become infected with this virus, and Lillie was worried even more.
"Huh?" wondered Lillie as she noticed Chespin was starting to glow green in color, something that got the attention of Clemont and Bonnie when that happened. "What's wrong with Chespin?"
"That must be his Overgrow ability activating."
"Overgrow ability?" asked Lillie, turning her attention towards Brock as he was quick to realize what's going on with Chespin immediately. Yet, she was still somewhat confused, not that the two trainers or Bonnie blamed her for feeling that way. "What is that?"
"It's a special ability that Grass-type starter Pokémon has regardless of which region they originated from." explained the former Pewter City Gym Leader with a nod. Since it might help them in helping fend off the Hybrids but then again, he reflected on other instances where the Overgrow ability was, used during a battle. "It increases the power of their Grass-type moves when they are close to defeat… Ash's Sceptile has that ability as well since he's a starter from the Hoenn region."
"Well, that's good news," said Clemont before turning his attention towards Chespin, thinking they should at least put that ability to good use while they still can. "You ready to make use of your ability, Chespin?"
Chespin nodded his head. 'You bet I am, Clemont,' he replied as he was glad to have been able to tap into it during a situation such as this and turned his attention towards two approaching Hybrids that came their way.
The others looked at Lillie before everyone heard more giggles as they all looked over to see two hybrids, and at first, they didn't know who they were until the two talked.
Professor Oak and Tracey did not like what's happening, and it seemed more of Kalos was being infected with each passing moment, yet they're nowhere near close to finding the source or maybe a cure for everyone who became transformed into hybrids. "This is a real mess…" he muttered to himself as he glanced at the young man from the Orange Islands, knowing that while Pokémon, were safe from the virus… they could end up being targeted by hybrids no matter what, which could be a problem if that were the case as they were already attacking humans who had not become infected. "From the way things are going, the entire Kalos region would become a land ruled by hybrids... more so than the rest of the world."
"I just hope Brock, Misty, Clemont, and Bonnie can find Ash and Serena soon," answered Tracey with a frown on his face, wishing he could've gone to Kalos himself. Still, Oak knew it was for the best that the Orange Islands born Trainer remained in Pallet Town for the time being so they don't risk any more of Ash's companions get infected. Knowing that should Brock, Misty, Clemont, and Bonnie eventually fall to the virus itself. "So far, Ash's Pokémon at the Lab are all starting to get a bit restless ever since they heard about what happened to him."
"Yes, I already noticed…" said Oak with a frown on his face. "Something tells me that Bayleef would be the most uneasy out of Ash's Pokémon."
"Oh?"
"You remember when Ash sent her to me, the last time right?" reminded Oak as he reflected on how Ash asked to have Kingler sent to him for the competition at the Whirl Islands. That he also recommended the young man from Pallet Town send Bayleef in exchange for the evolved Water-Type, but in the end, it didn't last long due to Ash's defeat at the hands of Misty in the second round.
Mainly thanks to Misty's Psyduck, just like how he saved Misty from defeat at the hands of Jessie and her Lickitung at the final round of the Princess Festival long ago. "I haven't told Ash this, but she's starting to act this way again ever since he left for Hoenn with just Pikachu."
The news made Tracey frown; he never really noticed this so much given how most of the time he was helping at the Cerulean City Gym. "I had no idea…" he said to the professor with concern forming on his face. "Let's just hope she doesn't do anything drastic, just like Iris and Misty did."
"Well so far, it isn't the case," explained Oak with some relief, knowing it might change sooner or later and couldn't bear the thought of having to tell Ash what happened to one of his Pokémon. "Especially as Rotom told me that Bulbasaur and the other Pokémon that Ash caught are doing all they can to assure her everything's going to be fine."
"That's good news then," Tracey replied as he remembered how he had Scyther, Venonat, and Marill spending time with Ash's Pokémon especially, with Charizard.
Oak nodded his head, although he started showing even more concern. "Yeah, though, with the way things are going now, we might not be able to come up with a cure in time," he said as the virus was starting to spread even quicker with each passing second.
"Still, we can't just give up," reminded Tracey as he knew that some of Ash's friends were still out there and for all the two know, they could've fallen victim to the virus… if that ended up being the case, then he wasn't sure what to do. "For all we know, Brock and his group might be the next ones to become victims."
"I know, right now, the professors from the other regions and I are doing all we can, so we need more time."
Tracey wasn't sure what to say at this point, though understood that Oak and the other professors were under pressure given how they're all on what seemed to be on a tight deadline, not that he blamed them for feeling that way as he's worried for Ash and the others after all. "Just do your best, okay, Professor?" he told Gary's grandfather before looking out the window. I wish I could be out there helping you guys right now.
The others all looked at the two new hybrids before them. Both Zoroark hybrids moved closer towards the humans. "Hey, guys," the female said, looking at Brock and Clemont.
Looking closer at the two Zoroark's and their hair Brock knew who they are and backed away. "No, Iris and Cilan, you're both."
Both Iris and Cilan nodded as they looked at each other with loving eyes and holding each other close to each other. "Yeah, it's us, Brock," Iris said as she giggled.
"I was afraid of this…" began Clemont with a frown on his face, knowing that if they were to be infected next, then there would be no way of ever helping anyone return to normal. "The infection is starting to affect their minds, much like everyone else."
"Does that mean…"
"We need to be careful now," Clemont informed his little sister before she could even finish her sentence. The poor girl was holding onto Dedenne out of fear over the thought of becoming a potential next victim as it's already bad enough that everyone in their home town had become infected, especially their father, Meyer."One wrong move, and it'll be over for us."
"Oh, come on, don't be like that," Cilan told Clemont, feeling that the young man from Lumiose City would think differently if he was more like them. "You have no idea what fun it is to be a hybrid."
Iris nodded with a smile and hugged her mate, before looking to her friends. "So come on. Let us change you into hybrids."
"I think we're going to have to pass on this…" Clemont replied before turning his attention towards both Chespin and Dedenne. "OKAY, NOW YOU TWO!"
Giving the word, both Chespin and Dedenne created a combination that led to an explosion taking place between the humans and the hybrids which, proved to be more than enough to allow the group of humans to escape before the hybrids, including Iris and Cilan, realized what was going on. It didn't take long before Bonnie decided to speak with Dedenne in her arms. "When did you come up with that idea?" she asked him.
"It just came to mind, especially from the times Team Rocket attacked us before this whole mess," he replied to his little sister, Chespin being on his shoulder, keeping an eye out for any hybrids that weren't momentarily blinded by the little trick they had used. "If I'm honest, I rather deal with them than be infected."
"Yeah, me too big brother, I want to stay human," Bonnie said with a frown on her face.
Clemont looked at Bonnie and smiled at her, but he was worried that he couldn't keep her safe forever; sooner or later, their luck could run out. "I will always keep you safe, Bonnie, you're my sister after all."
Bonnie smiled as she looked as she could hear the cries of people all around her turning while Brock and Lillie could see this and wanted to make sure she was alright. "I know, but what about the other people?" Bonnie asked with fear.
Brock looked at Bonnie with sadness spread across his face. "Bonnie, I don't think there is anything that we can do," Brock began while looking up towards Lillie and Clemont. "We need to keep running, Bonnie."
Bonnie looked at Brock and her older brother, knowing both older teens are correct they needed to run before they also became infected with the virus. "Then let's go please," Lille cried fear running through her body. "I don't like this at all."
Brock and Clemont nodded as they all looked towards each other and back to Cilan and Iris, knowing that nothing could be done to save their two friends. "I hope we can stay human," Brock thought silently. "For, however, long we can."
The male Vaporeon Hybrid looked at the two females with a frown when they mentioned another male. It was something he intensely disliked something Anabel and Misty could tell while looking at the Vaporeon's face.
Anabel could feel the anger in the male hybrid's mind and knew that saying this was a mistake. "Misty, we need to run," Anabel told her with a whisper.
However, the male Vaporeon heard the two and smirked at them both while stepping forward. "Come now, don't you realize it?" the male asked the two females. "Resistance is futile, and it's only a matter of time before you become exactly like the rest of us."
'Do you honestly think that becoming a hybrid is a good thing?' Anabel's Espeon asked of the Vaporeon Hybrid with a scowl on her face as she defiantly glared at him. 'You used to be a human back before that damned virus started spreading!'
"A Pokémon like you would never understand the joy of being free of any humanity," the Vaporeon hybrid replied, not bothered by the remark that Espeon made to him. "If you were human, then it would've been an entirely different story, but alas, you are not so attempting to infect you would be a waste of time."
Misty and Anabel remained silent, while Pokémon, regardless of which region are immune to the virus and any hybrids that attempt to infect them, the trainers of Pokémon owned by said trainers are not so lucky. "Wait a minute…" she said to herself, having almost forgotten that her Espeon has an attack that could at least disable the male Vaporeon if not take him down.
"What is it, Anabel?"
"Listen, Misty, my Espeon has an attack that can take down that hybrid down," she whispered to Misty, wanting to make sure the Vaporeon hybrid doesn't listen in to what she has to say. "It should allow us to get out of here once I give the order."
Misty was surprised, although she never really seen Anabel battle as she wasn't with Ash and the others when the raven-haired young man was taking on the Battle Frontier. "What attack is that?" she asked out of curiosity to which Anabel smiled.
"You're going to have to wait and see," answered the purple-haired female, knowing that it would hinder their plans significantly if she revealed the news and turns her attention towards Espeon, nodding her head to the female Psychic-Type Eeveelution. "I'm only hoping that it works."
"Me too," Misty replied to her, frowning as at least Azuril is safe with her sisters and has her best Water-Type Pokémon with her, which includes Gyarados and Starmie in case things get a little rocky.
The male Vaporeon hybrid soon takes notice to Espeon smiling, which makes him somewhat confused the moment he saw her change of expression. "What are you up to?" he asked of her, making him even more suspicious than ever as he remained completely unaware of what Anabel has in store for the hybrid in question.
Anabel, however, only smiled at the hybrid while looking towards Espeon and then back to Misty. "Okay, it's now or never," Anabel thought, but she was still worried. "Okay, NOW. Espeon!"
Espeon nodded using her Zap Cannon on the male Vaporeon Hybrid, making him scream in pain. "Argh!" he cried before he fell onto the ground.
Anabel knew that this was their chance to run for it. Anabel grabbed Misty's hand, and both began to run away. "Hurry up, Misty. I have no idea how long that will last!"
Misty only nodded, knowing it was time to leave while Anabel looked towards her Espeon, smiling with satisfaction. "Okay, good job, Espeon."
Without saying another word Anabel, Misty and Espeon ran away from the hybrid hoping to put enough distance from him. The male Vaporeon looked up with anger and rage over what happened, seeing his future mates running away. "No!"
The male Vaporeon looked towards Misty and Anabel, seeing them escaping, which angered the hybrid seeing the two females running off. "I won't let them escape!"
Continuing to run, Misty and Anabel looked back, but they could see people around them turning into hybrids. One woman that was changing into a Muk hybrid grabbed Misty's leg, pleading for the young girl for help. "Please help me!"
Misty could only look down at the poor women with horror spread across Misty's face while the women cried out for help even more. "Help me..." She cried and moaned in pain.
Looking down at the poor woman in fear, Misty pulled her leg away from the changing women knowing she didn't want to become infected. All she could do was pull away from the poor woman knowing there is nothing she can do to help her.
The Muk hybrid woman looked at Misty and Anabel with fear seeing them running away. "No, please help ME!" she screamed.
All Misty could do was look back at the poor woman with a sorrowful expression on her face. "I'm sorry," She whispered as both she and Anabel headed into the woods, with hopes of getting away from the hybrids.
The male Vaporeon hybrid opened his eyes, seeing his future mate running off into the woods. "No!" He screamed in rage, running after the two. "I won't let you get away!"
Anabel and Misty continued to run neither had any idea where they were going, but they both knew they had to get away from the other hybrids. "I think that thing is following us," Anabel said, looking over her shoulder.
Misty was worried when hearing this and looked to Anabel before stopping. "You keep going, Anabel," Misty began as Anabel looked at her.
"What!" Anabel yelled, looking at Misty in both shock and horror at what she was thinking. "No, Misty, that's crazy. You know what that thing will do to you."
"That thing is after me, I can't let you get infected as well," Misty said, making sure she didn't yell, so the male Vaporeon didn't hear them.
Anabel couldn't help but look into Misty's eyes when she said this as she tried to think of any way they could both escape. "No, Misty, you're not going to give up. And I'm sure as hell not going to leave you to become infected."
"Then what should we do?" Misty asked with a smile, knowing that Anabel was right they needed to stick together and find their friends. "I just hope Ash isn't infected."
However, Anabel looked at Misty with a sly smirk forming on her face. "Oh, I have an idea, Misty, you watch," She told the girl while Misty looked confused by what Anabel was planning.
Misty looked at Anabel and nodded at the teen before her knowing it was best to trust Anabel. "Okay, Anabel, tell me your plan."
"That was a close one…" muttered Jessie, having never been so exhausted before in her entire life but she prayed that things would turn out fine for her and her partners in crime by the end though the fact Growlie was now part of Team Rocket in a way did help make things somewhat easier for them. "I swear, we were lucky that you decided to have Growlie be with us. Otherwise, we could've gotten killed or even turned into hybrids like the ones that chased after us."
"Well, it wasn't like I had a choice in this, Jess…" James replied as he thought back to when he reluctantly made Growlie part of his team though at least James had another Pokémon to rely on aside from his Inkay, and yet, he still felt terrible over his parents having getting infected.
"What's done is done, at least when it comes to your Growlie," said Meowth, feeling as if he was going to lose all nine of his lives and thought back to the times he showed his caring side, whether it be towards Togepi, Meowzie, Cassandra or even towards Skitty.
"I know that, but still…"
Jessie knew that she shouldn't be saying something like this, but there's no escaping that now. "You know, what happened to your parents…" she said, usually not wanting to say something. However, she was sympathetic towards him ever since hearing about his parents becoming victims of the infection and how he still loved them even when he became part of Team Rocket. "In a way, I know how you feel."
"Huh?" wondered James blinking when he heard that coming from Jessie. "You're not just saying that, are you?"
"I wish I were making it up, but sadly, I'm not…" Jessie responded to her purple-haired partner. Now looking away from him for all but a few seconds while thinking about what to say next. "I haven't told you this, but I haven't seen my mother since I was a little girl."
Meowth and James never expected this kind of reaction, not to mention they remember her having mentioned her mother at one point during that bad snowstorm in Kanto before their Meowth-Head Balloon. "You know, you did mention your mother once, but…" James never really got to finish his sentence as he was secretly afraid of ruining the moment, and it's rare for the three to have these touching moments at all.
Still not looking at either of the two, Jessie just looked up at the night sky, and tears started to form in her eyes. "I remember the day she put me up for adoption, I didn't know why at the time as all she said to me was 'I'm so sorry...' and then she left…" she spoke all while thinking about the day her mother left and how she would never see her again since then. "Since then, I believed that one day she might come back for me, but it never happened, and I can never understand why..."
Neither James nor Meowth said a word, they never thought that her mother put her up for adoption during her childhood, and it brought back painful memories of having to part ways with some of the Pokémon in which the two human members of Team Rocket owned. Among them being Victreebel, Arbok, Weezing, Chimeco, Cacnea, and Dustox. It's something Jessie and James could never forget as they cared for their respective Pokémon with all their heart. "I had no idea…" began the purple-haired human, starting to lower his head as did Meowth.
"Me neither for what it's worth, we're sorry to hear about this."
Jessie didn't say a word, although she appreciated hearing this from James and Meowth. Even Wobbuffet wanted to show his sympathy towards Jessie upon popping out of his Poké Ball like he usually does. "Wobbuffet!" he said sadly, this was reminding him as well as Meowth and James about how depressed she was when the trio was nearing Littleroot Town when they were following Ash and Pikachu to the Hoenn region.
Unlike then, Jessie didn't even bother to recall Wobbuffet back into his Poké Ball as she appreciated his sympathy as well. "Listen, what I just said is just going to be between the four of us…" she eventually spoke with a stern expression forming on her face, feeling that it would ruin her image if word got out about what her mother had done. "So, I swear that if you tell even one soul about this…"
"Hey, our lips are sealed," James replied before Jessie could even finish her sentence, and he turned his attention towards Meowth and Wobbuffet. "Isn't that right?"
"Of course, I'm going to take this to my grave, who do you think I am anyway?" Meowth asked sarcastically he was dead serious on keeping his word to Jessie, all while Wobbuffet slowly nodded his head silently.
Hearing this made Jessie smile the moment she heard that and looked out into the distance. "Alright then, we should probably get going," she told her partners in crime as she knew there was a chance the hybrids could come after them again, so they best continue with their trek. "Don't want us to end up becoming infected now, do we?"
Before heading off, she took a glance at James. "If there is a way to undo this, we'll find it and hopefully get everyone, especially your parents back to normal," she spoke to the purple-haired man. "Try not to let what happened to them get the better of you."
Upon heading off in hopes that James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet would follow, the three are left speechless at this turn of events, although the male Scratch Cat started suspecting something for quite some time but never really brought it up because it wasn't that important. "If you ask me, I'd say that Jessie may have a liking towards you," he said to James. "And I don't mean as just a friend either."
"Wait. What?!" James asked of Meowth in disbelief, wondering if the Normal-Type Scratch Cat was out of his mind by saying something like this sure Jessie didn't hear this, but still, Meowth must be crazy for even thinking such a thing. "How can you say that during this kind of situation?"
"Just saying that's all, besides there's no sense in denying it…" Meowth gave a small shrug before he and Wobbuffet went to catch up with Jessie, leaving James in absolute disbelief. While wondering if their female partner did indeed have a thing for him, and he wasn't aware of it. Mentally, he hoped it wouldn't be accurate, but one the other hand, he'll have to speak to her about that in secret once the mess they were in was resolved, and he quickly ran up towards the others.
"Okay, done," Anabel said, smiling as she looked at the traps then looked over to Misty. "You ready, Misty?" Anabel asked, seeing Misty finishing her trap.
Misty looked over to Anabel, giving her a thumbs up to Anabel. "Yeah, I hope this works Anabel, and then we need to get away."
As Anabel finished her log trap, she nodded in agreement with Misty. "I know, but let's deal with that hybrid first, then we can escape," She told Misty as she finished.
Once Misty finished her trap, she jumped down and looked at the traps she, Anabel, and their Pokémon helped set up. Espeon looked to Anabel, knowing everything was set up, and all that's left is to wait for the hybrid to show up and deal with him.
Before they could say anything, they heard the scream of the hybrid chasing them. "Where are you!" the male Vaporeon cried out in the distance.
Anabel and Misty looked to each other and frowned. "Damn, I was hoping that we would have more time," she said, looking to Misty, knowing they had to hide.
"Me too, Anabel, but we have put our plan into motion," Misty told her new friend hiding from the male hybrid as Anabel joined her.
Hiding and waiting, both Misty and Anabel watched in utter silence, seeing the male Vaporeon. They could see the male sniffing the ground, and Misty knew it was looking for her. "I can't let that thing find me," Misty thought looking and waiting for the right moment.
"I can smell them," he told himself while sniffing the ground. "I won't let them escape. I will make them both my mates."
Misty hearing this snorted, not wanting to mate with the crazed hybrid. Misty continued watching, seeing that the male wasn't in the right spot for the trap she and Anabel setup. "Not yet," Anabel thought.
"I know you're here!" He yelled out, sniffing the ground once more. "I have your scent now. And I'll always be able to follow you no matter where you'll go."
Misty and Anabel didn't like this and knew it all the more reason why they needed to stop the hybrid here and now. "Don't worry, we just need to wait a little longer," Anabel told Misty, who nodded.
Soon enough, the male Vaporeon stepped on the mark where both girls wanted him to be and smiled at each other. "Now," Misty thought, setting off the trap.
The male Vaporeon hybrid looked around only see a swinging log heading right towards him, and realized he walked into a trap set up by his future mates. "Ha, you think that's going to work on me!" he yelled, jumping out the way from the swinging log.
Anabel cursed under her breath, seeing this but knew that's why they made more than one trap. "Okay, time for the next one, we have to take this thing out."
To Misty, she's starting to know how Jessie, James, and Meowth felt whenever they prepared traps for her, Ash and Brock, even Tracy, in the course of their travels together. She could still remember the pitfalls all too well, although she highly doubts that one would work on the male Vaporeon hybrid at all hence why neither she nor Anabel attempted to try it themselves. Because if it's successful, the hybrid would've been able to get out of the hole with no trouble at all.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I honestly miss Team Rocket right now…" Misty thought and knew the trio didn't cause this virus, but she wondered who made it in the first place.
Anabel cut another rope, which set another log towards the male Vaporeon. However, unlike the last one, this had spikes around it, something Anabel hopes will work. "Please work," she whispered. "This has to work."
Ash was outside the cabin on patrol, looking out in case there might be any possible hostile hybrids that could be in the area. Yet, he still couldn't get over the possibility of eventually giving in to the Pokémon side much like May, Serena, and Dawn. Something that scared him even more than the times Jessie, James, and Meowth separated him from Pikachu in certain instances. Somewhat ironic because he was once again separated from his starter and his other Pokémon, not to mention there are the others to consider because should they become victims of the spreading infection.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?"
"Huh?" asked Ash, wondering who said that and saw there was nobody there… however, it made him cringe since the voice sounded just like him. It started making him even more concerned than before as he decided to look around some more kind of sick prank being played on him. On the other hand, it couldn't be a prank because the virus has infected most of the Pokémon World, and whoever was left is doing all they can to survive long enough for a potential cure to be made. "Who said that?"
"I did!" answered the voice, once again, it sounded like Ash's only; it was eviler, reminding him of when the King of Pokélantis possessed him during the Battle Frontier events. "What's wrong? Meowth got your tongue?"
Ash didn't know what to say. He was having bad memories of when the King of Pokélantis, considering Ash didn't want to go through that again. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not the King of Pokélantis, but you know as well as I do that sooner or later, you're going to suffer the same fate that May and Serena did" the voice continued, hoping to mate with the girls in the cabin fairly soon once he fully succumbs to the infection.
"You're wrong!" Ash yelled, becoming angrier at this even if the voice was going to have none of it.
"Am I?" the voice asked somewhat sarcastically as he knew there was something else on Ash's mind aside from hoping to continue his journey in Kalos and to win its Pokémon League… which he found somewhat since this snag in the road was hindering that significantly. "I know you want to mate with them, and even with Sherry, you just don't want to want to admit it."
"Shut up! It's not like that!"
The young man from Pallet Town soon found himself holding his head, hoping that he wouldn't hear the voice anymore. "Says the one who has no idea on how to understand girls," repeated the voice, knowing he once again denied his feelings, which could potentially end badly for him. "Least of all your very first female companion, someone who wanted to continue traveling with you after the Johto League if it wasn't for her sisters..."
Soon memories of the moment where Ash, Brock, and Misty were at the long since rebuilt Viridian City Pokémon Center albeit with a different Nurse Joy running it than the one whom Ash and Misty met all those years ago. And then Misty got a call from her sisters to run the Cerulean City Gym while they traveled around the world. Oddly, he would've thought that Misty having been given back her newly restored bike would've made things better though certainly it hadn't, and that was before dealing with both the Invincible Pokémon Brothers and the Team Rocket trio. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if there was another reason why she wanted to travel with you and used her bike as an excuse to hide her real feelings towards you." The voice went on as there might've been more to the whole bike thing than Ash realized yet was too dense even to notice. "Maybe if you weren't so single-minded, then you probably would've realized it yourself… that perhaps Misty may have actually…"
"Ash!"
Soon enough, Sherry made her way towards the young man, and he looked up to see that she had left their cabin. "Are you okay?" she asked as she rushed to where Ash was the moment he heard some noises in the nearby forest and feared that he had come across hybrids that tried to gang up on him when he least expected it.
"Yeah, I'm okay…" Ash replied, grateful that he wasn't hearing that damned voice anymore, although he started frowning as he reflected on what it just said to him and how it could be planning to take control of him at just the right moment. "Though I was a little worried that I would've lost all control out there, you saw how Serena and May are acting the moment they gave into the infection, and you mentioned what you did prior. I fear that it's starting for me now."
Sherry didn't like this. She already knew Dawn was fighting a losing battle. "Then again, I'm losing my mind too," she thought before looking over to Ash.
"Go and mate with him," the female voice in her told her with glee while Sherry was shaking her head, fighting off the virus, so it didn't take hold.
"No, I won't give in!" Sherry thought, holding her head something Ash noticed and was worried about knowing what was going on with her.
"Sherry!" Ash cried out, placing a hand on her shoulder as the Pachirisu girl looked at Ash with lust pushing him to the ground. "Sherry, stop, you have to fight it!"
"Why fight it make her your mate like you've done with May and Serena," the voice inside Ash's head told him with a laugh. "We both know you want her. And from what we can both see, she wants you too."
Ash only ignored the voice wanting to help Sherry, but Ash was finding it harder. "I have to keep fighting and not give in to what I've become."
Sherry giggled before sitting on Ash looking at him. "Hmm, you look good, Ash. I wouldn't mind you being my mate," She said, rubbing his chest with her hands.
Ash could feel his mind slipping away as his instincts told him to take Sherry and make the girl his mate. "Sherry is sexy," Ash thought, looking at Sherry's body with growing lust.
The two hybrids looked at each other with their lust growing for each other as they kissed each other, neither caring about what going around them. They only cared about one thing, being with each other at this moment.
Both their minds felt fuzzy as the virus was taking over their minds. "I'll be your mate Sherry," Ash said with primal lust, not wanting any other male to take Sherry or his other mates from him. "No one will take you from me."
Sherry, hearing this, eyes shot open as she began shaking her head, knowing what was going on as she pushed Ash off her. "No!" Sherry screamed, knowing the virus was working its way faster than she would have liked.
Ash, however, looked over to Sherry, wondering what was wrong with her, wasn't he worthy of being her mate. "Sherry, what's wrong?" Ash asked, moving towards her.
Sherry could tell Ash still wasn't thinking right, and it worried her. "Please don't tell me Ash is already lost to the virus," She thought with fear looking at him.
Ash moved closer to Sherry while continuing to smile at her. "Sherry, don't worry, I'll, keep you and the rest of my mates safe," Ash told her while moving closer to hold Sherry.
Sherry backed away from Ash, knowing she needed to get him back fast. "I hope there is still a part of his mind left," Sherry thought while looking to Ash hating what's happened.
"Why are you still fighting it?" the voice asked, which Sherry knew was her hybrid self. "Don't you want to be with him?"
Hearing it once again and knowing what it's trying to do, it made Sherry scoff at the voice. "Because it's something I don't want!" she yelled at it, there was no way she's going to give in to the virus.
Sherry only heard the voice giggle wondering what it was before it continued. "But Ash wants you, give in already. I mean, we both know that neither of you is going to last that much longer. So give in."
No matter what she heard, Sherry knows she couldn't give, humanity was on the line after all, and Ash needed saving as well. "No, I won't give in, so shut up and leave me alone, you stupid voice!"
"Sherry?" Ash asked, looking at his mate, wondering why she was fighting this still. "I want you. You look so sexy."
"Go ahead, mate with him… there's no sense in delaying the inevitable."
Sherry began shaking her head, but she knew that the voice was right. No matter what she Ash or even Dawn tried, they would end up like so many others infected by the virus. "No, I won't give in not yet no matter what I'll keep fighting this infection."
"Ash? Sherry?" Sherry soon heard Dawn's voice and turned to see the blue-haired Pokémon Coordinator from Sinnoh deciding to leave the cabin due to concern for the Pachirisu girl and Ash. Forming throughout her entire body, not to mention there was also her slowly finding herself struggling more to keep her human mind intact as well. "What was going on here?"
"Stay back!" Sherry yelled, causing Dawn to stop what she was doing, and it caused her eyes to widen in absolute disbelief as to why the Pachirisu girl just said that, unaware of what happened to Ash at this very moment.
"Huh? What do you mean by stay back? What happened?"
"It's Ash. He might've started giving in to the infection all because he mentioned hearing some voice in his head," informed Sherry, revealing the news to Dawn, which caused the bluenette to be shocked at what she was hearing. "I'm worried that it's only a matter of time before I suffer the same fate as well. It almost did."
The news started making Dawn frown. It was something she didn't want to hear at all and remembered how Serena and May eventually gave in to their current conditions. "Where's Ash?" she asked, fearing that the raven-haired young man might've left to infect every remaining human out there and hoped it wouldn't be the case.
"I ended up unleashing a Discharge attack without realizing it, and it caused him to pass out," Sherry responded to Dawn. Hoping that Ash wasn't hurt by her attack more so as Sherry's never really used an attack that a real Electric-Type Pokémon was capable of using. "We don't know if he wakes up, his regular mind would back or not, so it's best not to take any chances just in case."
"I see, I mean normally he would be fine after all the times he was electrocuted by Pikachu," Dawn told Sherry. Still frowning as Dawn hoped Ash really would be okay for now and glanced at Sherry when Dawn remembered how the Pachirisu girl mentioned how she came close to completely losing her mind to the virus just now. "Wait, you said you almost gave in yourself… is this true?"
"I'm afraid so, I mean there's no telling how much time I have left before I eventually succumb completely," said Sherry as she reflected on the moment she and Ash kissed, mentally she liked it. Still, on the other hand, neither of them were themselves when it happened, so it made her even more worried than ever before. "Then there's you to also take into account."
"Don't remind me, I was slowly starting to lose control of myself and mate with both May and Serena while the two of you were gone" Dawn spoke again, having meant to tell Ash and Sherry about this once they returned. Still, after hearing what transpired, she knew that the Pachirisu girl needed to be aware of it now and maybe Ash later if his human mind wasn't lost completely.
The fact that Sherry used Discharge in a way reminded the Pokémon Coordinator from Sinnoh about how her own Pachirisu knew that technique, and it made her sad because the female EleSquirrel Pokémon was alone out there. Possibly as a target for either wild Pokémon, hybrids, or even potentially the trio from Team Rocket."I hope she's okay. I'm not going to forgive myself if anything happened to her or the rest of my Pokémon," she thought to herself as she noticed before the virus how sad her Bunneary had been lately. Ever since, the bluenette parted ways with Ash, Iris, and Cilan following the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup in Unova, and she often wondered if the female Rabbit Pokémon was alright from time to time.
Soon a female voice spoke to Dawn, and much like the previous voices did to Ash and Sherry before. "Sherry looks pretty sexy, doesn't she?" it said to Dawn mentally, causing her to hold her head in pain the moment that happened, and Sherry began to worry for her. "Just like May and Serena, don't worry… you'll be mating with them and Ash soon enough."
"Dawn!" Sherry immediately ran over to the bluenette, starting to fear for her now, and she knew that it was beginning to happen to her now, praying to Arceus that a miracle could happen as her friend wanted the voice in her head to go away. "Please don't do this to me too! Not now!"
It took a few seconds before Dawn looked up towards Sherry with some relief in her eyes. "It's gone now, who knows how long before it comes back," she said to the Pachirisu girl though at the same time did her share of praying to Arceus that they would get some help soon.
Hearing this, Sherry felt a weight being lifted from her chest for the time being. "Thank god for that, right now we need to find Ash before he does something he would live to regret" she informed Dawn as they looked in the direction where the Discharge attack knocked Ash out and doesn't know how long it would be before he regained consciousness. Hence, they needed to act quickly in case he wasn't himself anymore. "It's unlikely he's paralyzed since Electric-Type Pokémon cannot be paralyzed no matter what."
Dawn nodded and accompanied Sherry in heading back to where Ash was located, and just in time, too, because he was starting to groan in pain as he held his head. "Ow, what happened?" he asked, which made the two girls in question glance at him in hopes that it was the raven-haired young man from Pallet Town and not the virus still in control of him.
Both Sherry and Dawn weren't sure what to say, not wanting to take any chances just in case. "Ash is that you?" the blunette was the one to speak due to having known Ash longer than Sherry did, especially remembering what they've been through during their travels together. He looked at his friend from Sinnoh after a moment of silence before slowly nodding his head.
"Yeah, it's me…"
Those words soon caused Dawn to hug Ash tightly. However, it didn't take long for her to realize what she was doing and immediately let go. "Oh, sorry…" she said with her cheeks flushing bright pink the moment she released the raven-haired male trainer. "I was worried that we lost you when I heard about what happened earlier."
"It's okay, Dawn," he said before changing his attention towards Sherry with an apologetic expression as he never expected to have fallen victim to the growing virus so quickly and felt like this was the King of Pokélantis all over again. Not to mention that even he knew it's going to happen at any time, and there was a chance it would take complete control when that came to be. "Listen, Sherry. I'm sorry for what happened. I don't know what came over me."
Sherry smiled, seeing Ash must have felt guilty with what he could have done. "Hey look, its okay, Ash," Sherry told him while continuing to smile. "I mean, you've seen what happened to me. I could feel the virus trying to take over my mind."
Ash nodded and looked to Dawn, seeing she was worried for them as well. "Dawn, are you okay?" Ash asked with fear, now worried the virus was working its way through her.
"I'm okay, but I was worried I would be on my own," Dawn began as she looked at both Sherry and Ash, not wanting to lose them to this virus. "I have no idea what I would do if that happened. Hell, I think I would just let the virus win if I was left alone."
Neither Ash nor sherry liked hearing this from Dawn, but they could understand why she told them this as well. Sherry wasn't sure what she or even Ash could tell Dawn, but the girl needed to know it would be alright. "Dawn, listen to me. We'll keep fighting for however long we can."
Hearing Sherry say this caused Ash to node his head moving over to Dawn. "Sherry's right, Dawn," Ash began walking over to Dawn before hugging the blue-haired girl. "We'll find a way to beat this thing."
Dawn was shocked by the hug but returned it knowing that both Ash and Sherry are right, they would keep fighting the virus and with the hope that a cure would soon get made. "I mean, maybe professor Oak and the others are making a cure right now."
"I hope so, Ash," Dawn said, still hugging Ash while looking over to Sherry.
"The problem is how we're going to make contact with him?" asked Sherry, wanting to remind Ash and Dawn about the other situation of not being able to call anyone without any means to do so. Which made both trainers reflect on this knowing Sherry was right. "We don't exactly have a PokéGear. Hell, we don't have a PokéNav Plus to call him in an instance or anything like that."
"Um, what's a PokéNav?"
"It's something May's younger brother Max received from their father in Petalburg City. It's short for Pokémon Navigator and was invented by Mr. Stone of the Devon Corporation in Rustboro City," Ash explained to Dawn as it's understandable she didn't know what the PokéNav even is. However, he had been curious about the name PokéNav plus from Sherry. "On the other hand, the name PokéNav Plus is new to me… is it a newer version of the PokéNav?"
"Yes, it was in the works for quite some time, although I feel its release might be delayed now due to the virus spreading across the world," answered Sherry with a frown, although she never expected to learn that Ash knew about the PokéNav in general. However, it would make sense given how he traveled with May in the Hoenn region to take part in the Hoenn League and through Kanto to face the Battle Frontier. "From what I heard, it actually would've had new features that the regular PokéNav didn't have as well as improved versions of the already existing features."
"Oh, I see…" began Ash, having never realized there would have been brand new features and upgraded existing ones had the virus not come into existence, which would've meant that Max would most likely have a PokéNav Plus by now. After all, May's younger brother was by this point old enough to become an actual Pokémon Trainer though he was starting to get worried since there was also a chance that the boy would also have become a victim of the infection by now. With no way to contact him or May's parents regarding the matter. "In any case, we better get back to the cabin… I'm sure we'll find a way to contact Professor Oak somehow."
Sherry and Dawn nodded their heads before following Ash back to the cabin. He still had the feeling of concern on his face not only for his friends and for their separated Pokémon but also the possibility of once again falling victim to their hybrid sides with no chance of regaining control next time they took over. "I just hope Brock and the others would be able to find us soon…" he thought to himself with a frown as the three returned to their cabin.
Brock's group was currently resting up after having to escape the group of Hybrids that attacked them. However, Brock, Clemont, Bonnie, and Lillie were worried ever since Iris and Cilan were both revealed to be among the Hybrids who tried to infect them and the other humans they've managed able to rescue. Not to mention that while Lillie has never met Iris and Cilan, she wondered how her interactions with them would've gone had it been on been on better terms, and the virus never came to be.
"Are any Hybrids nearby?" Bonnie asked her older brother, hoping that nothing is following them as she wasn't sure how long they would continue to outrun them before eventually becoming victims. Sure Clemont's Chespin and Brock's Croagunk were scouting the area to be on the safe side, but she still had fear on her face and held onto Dedenne for comfort as she feared the prospect of becoming a Hybrid herself.
Clemont saw that thought on his sister's face, before pulling her into a hug. "Bonnie, I won't let anything happen to you," he told his sister before looking at Bonnie with a smile.
Bonnie smiled and nodded, and she had faith and trust in her brother. "We should keep moving, Iris and the others might still be following us," Brock told the siblings with fear in his voice.
The group continued to move until they reached an area that looked filled with traps, and none of them liked the looks of this as Brock moved to inspect them. "It seems that they were used not that long ago," he told the others.
Clemont nodded, looking at another trap a log trap. "Yeah, it looks like whoever made this was running from something, maybe hybrids."
Looking on the ground, Lillie spotted something on the ground. It looked like a hairband with orange hair. "Um, Brock, I found something!" Lillie cried out, worried over what she found.
Brock quickly came running over and looked to see what Lillie had found, and it was in that moment his blood went cold. The old teen could only say one word at that moment, hoping this was some fucked up dream. "Misty..."
A/N well here is the end of another chapter and with a cliff hanger on what happened to Misty and Anabel, which I wanted to leave open until the next one. However, you will see what happened to the two I can promise you that.
Also, as many of you noticed, Ash and Sherry almost gave into the virus. Yes, it's slowly taking them over, how long will they last you need to stay and find out since I won't tell you.
I hope you like a few traps that Misty and Anabel used not many, but you will see more next chapter, as you've seen the log trap, I mean what can I say I was watching Predator and wanted to add some traps to help the two girls.
I will add that next chapter, I will dive more into the virus, as many are working on a cure, but I want to thank you all for waiting. It means a lot to me.
I mean, I know it takes a while, but with so many stories, it gets hard to work on so many, it takes a lot out of me, and the last thing I want is to hit burnout and then give up on them. So, I would like to again thank everyone for waiting for the new chapter.