Cyndaquil sat on his trainers lap with the flames on his back burning brightly, trying to keep Ash warm in the cold morning air.

Pikachu sat on Charizard's head and Totodile sat on its back behind Rick.

They had been flying for nearly two hours and were coming close to Pallet Town. In the distance the first rays of sunlight began to appear.

Pikachu peered around the dark, searching for signs of the Professor's lab. He looked ahead and noticed a building silhouetted against the rising sun. When he looked closer he realised it as Prof. Oak's Lab. "Pika!" He called pointing to it.

Rick jerked his head up and looked at the building. He looked down at Ash. "Nearly there, hang on" He knew Ash probably couldn't hear him, but he didn't care.

Charizard flapped its wings a little harder, now knowing exactly where it was going. It swooped down close to the ground and turned up when it reached the door, flapping its wing backwards to stop. It landed and lay down, folding its wings.

Rick picked Ash up and got off. He ran over to the door and began banging on it.

Pikachu, Totodile and Cyndaquil ran over beside him. They looked up at the door and began to bang on it as well.

Charizard walked up and looked at them banging the door. It shrugged and raised its claw in a fist. The others ran out of the way just as it slammed the door, knocking it down along with some of the door frame.

Rick and the others turned around and looked at Charizard who scratched the back of its head and smiled sheepishly.

"What's going on out here?"

Prof. Oak came into the hall. He looked at the door on the ground. "Who did that?" He asked pointing to the door.

Pikachu, Cyndaquil and Totodile came into view and instantly pointed to Charizard.

Charizard glared at them, which caused them all to lower their hands.

Prof. Oak was looking at Pikachu. "Isn't that Ash's Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded and looked at Rick.

Rick stepped into view.

"Who are you? And what happened to Ash?!" Prof. Oak said as he saw Ash unconscious in Rick's arms.

Rick stepped in. "There's a Pokémon you have to heal. If you don't, Ash is in danger"

Prof. Oak gave Rick a strange look then said, "All right. Just bring Ash and the Pokémon in there" He points to a room beside him.

Rick nodded and walked in. It was a room Prof. Oak used for studying Pokémon. It was very big, so Rick thought Ho-oh would fit no problem.

Prof. Oak walked in after him, followed by Pikachu, Totodile and Cyndaquil.

Rick heard a groaning noise and looked down to see Ash waking up. "Hey, how you feeling?" He walked over and laid Ash on a couch. He sat down beside him.

Ash looked up at him. His eyes were dull and he looked very pale. "Rotten"

Rick frowned and looked a Prof. Oak. "I guess I should explain all this too you"

Prof. Oak nodded and sat down on a chair.

As Rick began to explain, Pikachu jumped up beside Ash. He placed a paw on his forehead. He frowned and jumped back down. He walked over and took a face cloth from the side of a sink nearby. He folded it and walked over to Totodile. He held it out.

Totodile nodded and used a water gun on it.

Pikachu thanked Totodile and jumped back onto the chair. He put the cloth on Ash's forehead and sat down next to him. Cyndaquil and Totodile jumped up on the arms of the coach and sat down.

Ash looked over at Pikachu, "Thanks" he sighed.

Rick had finished explaining to Prof. Oak and looked back at Ash again.

Prof. Oak stood up, "May I see the Ho-oh?"

Rick stood up and took out Ho-oh's Pokéball. He opened it and Ho-oh appeared in the centre of the room.

Ho-oh opened it's eyes and looked around. When it saw it's surroundings it began to panic. It let out a cry and knocked over a table.

"Ho-oh calm down!" Rick tried to calm it down.

"You tricked me! I should have never trusted you! All you wanted was for me to believe you were my friend and as soon as I was at a disadvantage, you captured me!" Ho-oh weakly slammed its wing into one of the machines.

"No that's not true" Rick tried to explain, but the weakened Ho-oh was hysterical and wouldn't listen.

Ash sat up slowly and looked at Ho-oh. He raised one hand, holding himself up with the other and it glowed slightly red.

Ho-oh stopped attacking and closed its eyes. He heard Ash's voice in his mind. "Ho-oh, I was the one that told him to take you here, if you want to get help this was the best place. And we had to get you in a Pokéball, it was the only way, please understand" Ho-oh nodded and lay down again, closing it's eyes, feeling tired again.

Ash's hand stopped glowing and he fell back, holding his head. 'Great' he thought 'Now I've got a headache too' He looked over at Rick and Prof. Oak. "It's safe now, he won't attack"

Rick looked back at him, "What do you mean?"

"I explained to him, he understands now" Ash looked up at the ceiling.

Prof. Oak walked over to Ho-oh. "It's sleeping" He said as he got closer.

"Good idea Ho-oh" Ash said, sighing.

"No Ash, you have to stay awake" Prof. Oak said.

"Why?" Ash asked sleepily.

"Well my theory is that if you both fall asleep in this condition, you may not wake up, if you know what I mean" Prof. Oak said.

"All right, I'll try to stay awake" He sat up and yawned. Apart from being knocked out for two hours, Ash had only gotten three hours sleep in the past twenty-six hours. This wasn't going to be easy for him.

Rick walked in and sat down beside Ash. "Here, drink this" He handed Ash a cup of coffee.

Ash took it and moaned. "Do I have too?"

"Yes" Rick said. "It'll help keep you awake"

Ash groaned and began to drink it quickly. When he finished he made a face. "And you actually like this stuff?"

"No, it makes me want to barf" said Rick taking the cup from him.

Ash frowned looked over at Prof. Oak. "Any luck Professor?"

"I'm afraid not. There has never been a time when a Pokémon gave its powers to heal instead of using them" Professor Oak sighed as he looked through a book.

Ash yawned again and closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep, feeling tired and weak he yawned again. He was just about to fall asleep when he felt a sharp shot going through him. He jumped up and looked beside him and saw Pikachu. "Sorry, nearly fell asleep huh?"

Pikachu nodded and sat down beside him.

Ash smiled and looked over at the sleeping Ho-oh. "Why does Ho-oh get to sleep all the time?"

Suddenly he felt as though his mind was clouding over. He closed his eyes again and saw Ho-oh. Ho-oh flew up and Ash saw the Burned Tower. Ho-oh landed on it and spread its wings, glowing a goldish colour.

His eyes jerked open and he found himself lying on the ground. He sat bolt upright and looked around. Pikachu was beside him and so was Rick. "The Burned Tower"

"What?" Rick gave him a confused look.

"We've got to go to the Burned Tower" Ash said.

"Why?" Rick asked.

"We just do. Ho-oh needs to come too" He tried to get up but he fell forward.

Rick helped him up. "Ash, your just tired, you're not thinking straight."

"Yes I am. We have to go to the Burned Tower" Ash made an attempt to go to the door.

Rick shook his head. "What would be the point of going there?"

"Because that was the only place on earth Ho-oh used to come into contact with humans" Ash said.

"You know it makes sense" Prof. Oak said walking over to them. "And there's nothing I can really do for Ho-oh, so might as well try out Ash's theory"

After a while, Rick had agreed to take Ash and Ho-oh to the Burned Tower. They returned Ho-oh and set off on Charizard again, this time with the Pokémon in there Pokéballs, and Ash trying his best to stay awake.

Ash took out Ho-oh's Pokéball and looked at it. "I hope this works"

Not much to say guys, except thanks for the reviews! Workin' on the next chappy as soon as possible. See ya,
Bay Bay!
Bayleef
adorable_chickorita@hotmail.com