Uhhm yeah... |
It was the best of catches, it was the worst of catches. Ash's finger throbbed as he stood looking at the now still ball in front of him. His mind jittered in disbelief for a moment and then excitement flooded through him. It was over! After the longest, and most expensive battle of his life; he had won. He cursed himself for losing that blessed Master ball to those freaky Rocket jerks. Never again would he play poker he swore to himself, unsure if he could keep such an oath. He gave a sigh of relief as he picked up the ball containing his priceless prize. "Guess I should name you shouldn't I?" He said smugly. The ball glowed warm in response. "Curious", Ash thought slightly alarmed. Collapsing the ball he placed it gently but securely in the third socket of his belt. Odd Ash thought, for a moment he stood there, fondling the empty sockets. A flash of lightning struck the sky and Ash realized with a jolt of icy shock why it was odd. He had started the battle with a full six balls, six of his best pokemon. He twisted around and gasped in horror at the sight before him. Four huge broken bodies lay haphazardly thrown around the field. The small clearing he had entered was now significantly larger, and the hole the battle had torn in the bubbling creek was swelling into an small but angry lake. His blastoise, or what was left of him sat closest to him. A mixture of pink water trickled onto the grass from the poor beasts remaining cannons. Behind Blastoise Ash could see large shattered remnants of a thick shell, amongst which lay the charred headless remains of his beloved Lapris. Her pokeball lay close by, crushed by a massive foot during the ferocious melee. Further on he saw two figures curled next to each other. A roaring fire was burning, filling the surrounding air with a hazy white smoke. A dark familar voice crackled inside his head; "Venasaur makes for some decent firewood doesn't he? Got any marshmellows?" As Ash shook the thoughts clear he saw one of the figures move slightly. "Charizard!" Ash called out, rushing towards his injured friend. A bloodied head rose slowly and turned towards the noise. Ash froze. The sight was chilling, where the bright angry eyes of his friend had been only days earlier was now replaced by a mutilated abyss of flesh and bone. Dark splotches of blood dripped from the wound. Nostrils flaring, the beast opened his wide powerful jaw, sending a powerful jet of flame in the direction of Ash. Instinctivly Ash dodged the blast, unfortunately he landed on a fragile piece of shell and a second later another jet raced towards him. Rolling through the shards and pain Ash managed to get behind a fortunately close by tree. "Whoah there buddy, its me! Ash!" Charizard roared, shaking the very ground with its force. A blast, much more powerful and angry than the previous ripped through the air with a shreak, it smashed into the tree with a certainty and ferocity that shocked Ash more than the bloodied battlefield. The inferno raged for what seemed like an eternity, Ash curled away from the flames. The heat bit into his skin painfully. As the blaze subsided Ash heard a series of very loud cracking noises emanating from his shelter. Seemingly in protest the tree began to crack. The blast had smashed the trees support and in a weird cosmic twist of fate, sent the towering oak smashing down on the Charizards head. The beast died instantly and Ash was left cowering begind the remaining stump. He sat there for a moment, pondering his good fortune. For some reason he felt like he was forgetting something important. He looked up at the stars above him, the calmness of the bright orbs eased his mind and he could feel the trauma of the day itching into focus. Not yet Ash thought clenching his eyes shut, trying to concentrate on his threads of memory. Another lightning flash lit the sky and he remembered. "Pikachu!" Ash shouted. His eyes ripped open and he jumped to his feet. He looked around frantically searching for the yellow mouse amongst the carnage. "Pikachu!" He shouted again, fear and urgency drenched his clothes in a sweat. A minute passed and he heard a squeak and another blast of light lit up the sky. Ahead of Ash, by the small crater-lake lay a mass of yellow. "Pikachu!" Ash ran faster than he had thought possible, he grabbed the small bundle in his hands and examined him closely. Pikachu had a long nasty cut along his right arm, and his tail looked broken. Tears welled up in Ash's eyes as he looked on his best friend with regret. "Hold on buddy, its okay we'll get you the best help! Just hold on!" Ash cried. Pikachu moaned and Ash gripped him tighter. "It'll be okay buddy, don't worry you'll be alright! Please" Ash said his voice trembling. "Pika.." Ash jumped up and reached toward his belt, ready to pull out Charizard to fly them to the closest Pokemon Center. His fingers tugged at the empty socket and he swore. Looking around he bagan to panic, it had taken twelve days of hard hiking and battling to reach the site, he had counted on being able to fly to safety once the battle was done. He cursed himself for not bringing his HM-BITCH with him. A tear dropped from his cheek and he dropped to his knees. He was stuck there. His food supplies had been destroyed in the battle and his partner was injured. He felt a wave of nausea rock through him as the days events began to take hold. Unless.. Unless I use.. he thought suddenly, his hand reached towards his belt once again. At that moment he heard a shout from above him. A voice so grating it could only belong to one person in the entire world. Her. |