“Misty, come on!” Ash pulled on Misty’s arm, but she refused to budge. “We’ve got to go now!” Misty took a rice ball and smashed it into Ash’s face. “Hey!” he yelped, wiping rice off of his face. “No fair!” Pikachu laughed. Ash smiled and handed Pikachu a rice ball.
    It was a warm summer morning, and Ash, Misty and Brock were on the path leading to Chartreuse City. Of course, Ash was having a hard time prying Misty away from the rice balls he had bought in Vermilion City..... “No! I am not going until I finish eating!” Misty exclaimed with a mouthful of food. “If you try to make me, I’ll squish this into your face!” She held her rice ball up threateningly. Ash backed off.  Swallowing and stuffing the last of the rice ball in her mouth, Misty dug two rice balls out of her backpack and gave one to her newly captured Vulpix. “Here.” She handed the other one to Brock.  Suddenly... Ash heard a sound.
    “Hey! What’s that?” Ash said. Misty was about to ask the same thing, but then the sound came again. “Meeeeeeeeeeowth....” It trailed off. “Hey! It sounds like a Meowth!” Ash exclaimed. He plunged into the bushes and emerged with a sick Meowth in his arms. “Meeeeeeeeeeowth......” it moaned.
    “That Meowth looks familiar,” mused Misty. All of a sudden, Team Rocket emerged from the bushes. “Oh good, you found our Meowth,” cried Jesse. “We’ve been looking all over for it!”
    “Team Rocket!” Ash, Misty and Brock exclaimed at the same time. “What are you doing here?”
    “Well, we were just trying to capture....OW!” James broke off as Jesse slapped him. “We were just trying to find our Meowth. He ran off and we couldn’t find him, “ he replied.
    “Yeah, right! This Meowth is very sick! You probably just left him there to die!” screamed Misty. She lunged at them, but Brock held her back. “You jerks! You Meowth killers!” she yelled. “I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!” Jesse smiled and pulled out a Pokeball. “Gladly.” Misty also pulled out a Pokeball, drew her arm back, and threw it. “Starmie! Go!” she yelled. “Weezing! Go!” cried Jesse, throwing her Pokeball. Weezing materialized in front of her.
    “Starmie! Water gun! Now!” Starmie sprayed water at Weezing, knocking him out of the air. Jesse yelled, “Weezing! Smokescreen! Now!” Weezing trailed a smokescreen behind him as he zoomed through the air. Starmie dodged and shot more water at Weezing, who fell to the ground once again. “Weezing! Return!” Jesse held out the Pokeball and Weezing zapped back inside. “Starmie! Return!” Misty held out the Pokeball, and Starmie returned. She smiled self-satisfiedly at Jesse and James, who retreated into the bushes, forgetting their Meowth. “Hey! Look!” Ash pointed down the path. “Chartreuse City! There it is!” Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Brock raced toward Chartreuse City, Ash carefully cradling the sick Meowth in his arms. “Look! A Pokemon hospital!” Brock ran toward it. “Follow me!” Misty and Ash hurried after him. When they got inside, Ash yelled, “Someone help us! This Meowth is dying! It needs help now!” A girl ran up to them and took Meowth from Ash’s arms. “You did well in bringing the Meowth here. It needs immediate medical attention!” She took Meowth into a back room. Ash relaxed and picked up Pikachu. “Pika,” said Pikachu, jumping onto Ash’s head. “Pika pika.” Ash didn’t try to argue with Pikachu.
    A few minutes later, the girl brought Meowth back out. “Meowth! What are they doing here?” he cried, staring at Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu in alarm.
    “Now, Meowth, this is no way to treat someone who saved your life,” rebuked the girl gently. Meowth hung his head. “Sorry, Mara,” he said. Mara handed Meowth to Ash. “You be sure to take it back to his trainers,” she said. “It was very worried!” Meowth muttered something under his breath and allowed Ash to carry him back to Jesse and James, who were right outside. Jesse snatched Meowth up and she and James ran back down the path. “Pika pikachu. Pika pika pikachu. Pika. Pikachu pika.” Ash agreed with Pikachu. Misty dragged Ash, Brock and Pikachu down the path to the store. “Misty! Let go of my arm!” protested Ash, trying to wriggle free of Misty’s grasp. “Let GO!” Misty only tightened her hold on Ash’s arm. Ash sighed and let her drag him along. Suddenly.....
    “PIKACHU!” Pikachu let loose with an electric shock, which caused Misty to loosen her grip, but also slightly stunned everyone. Ash sat up and complained, “Pikachu, why don’t you wait until we’re out of the vicinity first?” Pikachu sighed. “Pika pikachu. Pika.” Ash got up with no comment and, picking up Pikachu, followed Misty and Brock toward the Chartreuse Store. Misty gaped with wonder as she looked at the inside of the store.
    “Wow! Look at all the potions and antidotes and food! I want this and this and this and this...” Before anyone could stop her, she was grabbing things off the shelves. Ash and Brock looked at Misty, then at each other, and shrugged. They started grabbing things too.
    By the time they all got out of the store, their backpacks were loaded down with supplies. Misty practically fell over trying to walk. When they finally got started, it was already nighttime. Pikachu had fallen asleep already, so the rest of them took their cue and slept too.
    Jesse and James snuck out of the bushes. “We’ll bushwhack that Pikachu and take it before anyone knows what’s happened!” whispered Jesse. James chortled and Jesse clamped a hand over his mouth. “You blithering idiot! Do you want those twerps to wake up?” James shook his head and Jesse took her hand away from his mouth. “Flareon! Go!” whispered James, throwing his Pokeball. Flareon appeared. “Catch the Pikachu!” he whispered. Flareon walked up to the sleeping foursome. “Flareon?” She blew fire on their pile of sticks, which blazed brightly. She studied them for a moment, then walked back to Team Rocket. “Well?” cried James impatiently. Flareon opened her mouth and scorched them. “Hmph,” said James. “Flareon, return.” Flareon refused to return. Instead, she snatched the Pokeball and went to lay with Ash and his friends. Confused, James released Vaporeon, Eevee and Jolteon, which did the same thing, except Vaporeon used her water gun, Jolteon electrified them, and Eevee tackled them. Meowth grinned and scribbled a note, which he placed on Vaporeon’s Pokeball.  He then ran off into the forest with Jesse and James chasing him.
    Ash opened his eyes and noticed the pile of Pokeballs-one with a note on it-and the pile of Pokemon sleeping nearby. He quickly woke Misty, Pikachu and Brock, then read the note. “’We ran away from Team Rocket because we hate them. Please take care of us. Thanks!’” He looked up. “Wow! I just got 4 Pokemon without even having to catch them! YES!” He danced around and returned them all to their Pokeballs. “Flareon! Vaporeon! Jolteon! Eevee! Return!” They all did so. Misty grabbed Ash’s ankle, making him fall over. “Yo Ash, listen!” she yelled. Ash lifted his head slightly. “I’m listening,” he mumbled. Misty pinned his shoulders to the ground and spoke in her 'listen to me or else’ voice. “Those Pokemon ran away for a REASON! You had just better not mistreat them or I’ll.......”  She felt herself being lifted.
    “Brock! Put me down now! PUT ME DOWN!” Pikachu jumped on her head and used his Thunder Shock. “PIKACHU!” Misty managed to shove Pikachu off her head and into Ash’s arms before she got too cooked. However, Pikachu fried her pretty good and set her clothes on fire....”Ow! That hurts!” Suddenly, she realized...”I’m on FIRE!” Ash knew he had to act fast. Pulling out a Pokeball, he threw it. “Vaporeon! Water gun! Now!” Vaporeon sprayed Misty and stopped the fire. “Vaporeon! Return!” Vaporeon returned. “Pikachu, what did you do that for?” Pikachu was crackling with electricity from head to toe. Suddenly, all the vitality seemed to drain out of him and he collapsed. “Pikachu!” Ash cried out and ran over to where Pikachu was laying. He picked him up-“Ow!” and nearly dropped him. Quickly placing Pikachu on the grass near the path, he ran to the nearby river and dived in. Clouds of steam rose from the water as Ash disappeared under the surface.
    Ash surfaced farther down the stream and climbed out. His hands had black scorch marks all over them from the heat that had emanated from Pikachu’s body. “That hurt!” he whined, squeezing water out of his hat. Misty gently placed her hand on Pikachu’s forehead and jerked it away immediately. “I hate to tell you this, Ash, but Pikachu’s sick,” she said. “He needs to get to a Pokemon center within a few hours!” Ash looked frantically up and down the path. They were miles away from PokeTown-and no one else was around. “Well-can’t we try a potion?” he cried, frightened. Misty shook her head and held up the potion bag. “We’ve been robbed.” A frightened look came over Ash’s face. He accidentally knocked a Pokeball off of his belt while trying to get his Pokedex out of his pocket. It opened and Eevee appeared. “Eevee?” she asked. “Eevee eevee?” Ash bent down and petted Eevee, who walked over to Pikachu. “Eevee eevee? Eevee? Eevee eevee. Eevee?” Pikachu replied weakly, “Pika pikachu pika.” Eevee sat down and tilted her head. “Eevee. Eevee! Eevee eevee. Eevee!” Pikachu managed to sit up and told Ash, “Pika pika. Pikachu. Pikachu pika?”
    “Got it!” Ash ran into the bushes and came out with a handful of leaves, which he fed to Pikachu. The second time he went to find leaves, he ran out of the bushes screaming. Chasing him was a....something. Ash tossed Misty his Pokedex as he ran by. She opened it. It said “Mewtwo. Created on Cinnabar Island, this cat Pokemon is very hostile. It can only be captured with a Master Ball. Other Pokeballs will not work.” Misty dug through her backpack, found a Master Ball, and tossed it to Ash. He caught it and heaved it at the Mewtwo. Mewtwo disappeared. Everyone waited breathlessly....the Pokeball shook....then stopped shaking! Ash had captured a Mewtwo! Sighing with relief, Ash gathered up the leaves he had dropped. Pikachu already seemed to be feeling better from just eating a few of those leaves! After he fed Pikachu the last of the leaves, he dug some rice balls out of his backpack and fed Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon.  Picking up Mewtwo’s Pokeball, he put it on his belt with a broad smile.
    Later in the day, Ash and his friends finally got started. Ash was all tired out and stopped to rest several times. Misty got fed up with it and dragged him along the path. He didn’t protest; he was too tired. By the time they stopped, Ash had almost fallen asleep. Misty thought his face looked really pale, but she kept her thoughts to herself. They all spread out their sleeping bags and pillows. Ash and Brock were out like lights when their heads touched their pillows, but Misty just couldn’t sleep. She felt that something was about to happen, although she had no idea what. Finally, she fell asleep.
    Misty woke up early the next morning and looked around. Ash was still sleeping and Brock was down at the stream filling their water bottles. Hm, Misty thought. Ash is usually the first one up. Something’s gotta be wrong. Oh well, guess I’d better wake him up. Misty tried to wake him, but he didn’t want to wake up. Misty knew something was definitely wrong now. She had always been able to wake him before....She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of bed. She happened to notice that his arms and face were covered in little red spots, dropped his arm, and screamed for Brock.
    “BROCK!” Her piercing scream brought him running. “What? What’s going on?” He spotted Ash and instantly grabbed his backpack. Rummaging through it, he took out a bottle of what looked like some sort of lotion. He uncapped the bottle and smeared the lotion on Ash’s arms and face.
    “Yeeegh!” Ash yelped and jumped out of his bed. “That’s cold!!!” Brock ignored the yelp and dragged Ash over to the stream. Getting a cup of water, he mixed some medicines into it and handed the glass to Ash. “Here,” he said. “Drink this.” Ash managed to drink the bitter liquid without spitting it out. When he had drunk the medicine, Brock dragged him back to their campsite and started making breakfast. Misty dug a package of rice out of her backpack, took one of Brock’s pots, got some water from the stream, then put the rice in the pot and started to cook it. Brock glared at her but she finished making the rice and formed it into rice balls.
    Misty remembered that Ash had caught Mewtwo, and that Mewtwo had psychic powers. Maybe Mewtwo can help us find a shortcut to PokeTown! Misty thought and grabbed Mewtwo’s Pokeball, throwing it.
    “Mewtwo! Mew mewtwo!” Mewtwo looked around and noticed that he wasn’t in the Pokeball anymore. Suddenly, Mewtwo heard a voice....
    “Mewtwo?” said Misty hesitantly. Mewtwo whirled around, ready to fight-only to be facing a human girl. Misty swallowed and said, “Do you think you could help us find the quickest way to PokeTown? We really need your help.” Mewtwo looked at Misty, then over at Ash, then back at Misty. He nodded and replied “Mew, mewtwo mew! Mewtwo!” He pointed to a path. Misty smiled. “Thanks, Mewtwo! Lead the way.” Mewtwo picked Ash up in his strong arms and led the way through the woods to PokeTown.
    When they reached the Pokemon Center, Mewtwo set Ash down and pointed to his Pokeball. Misty nodded and recalled Mewtwo. She then grabbed Ash’s arm and dragged him inside. A group of Chanseys was sitting near the door. One of the Chanseys exclaimed, “Chan! Sey! Chansey chansey!” Another Chansey ran off and quickly returned with a stretcher and Nurse Joy, who looked at Ash and shook her head. “What happened?” she asked. Misty and Brock both shrugged and replied “I don’t know” in perfect unison. Nurse Joy just shrugged and ordered one of the Chanseys to take Ash to the ER. Misty and Brock followed Nurse Joy but she made them sit on the bench outside the ER.
    It was an hour and a half later when the light above the door blinked off, startling Brock and Misty. Nurse Joy came out of the ER.....and frowned. The hopeful look faded from Misty’s eyes.
    “He’s not doing very well.” Nurse Joy’s eyes were full of tears, and her voice wobbled. “He might not make it.....do you want to see him now?” Misty grabbed Brock’s arm and pulled him into the ER. Ash was hooked up to an IV and a bunch of computers and monitors. He was lying perfectly still...there were no signs of life, except for his raspy breathing and the heartbeat showing on the heart monitor. Misty’s eyes filled with tears because she felt so sorry for Ash. “Oh, Ash...” she whispered. “Why did this have to happen to you? Why?” She covered her face with her hands and started crying. Brock put his arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the bench. Misty cried herself into a restless sleep.

To Be Continued…

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