o-----------------------o | | | Double Trouble | | for | | Ash and Pikachu | | | o-----------------------o by Chris ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter II: As morning came, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu woke up and continued the search. After walking for a while, they finally came upon Team Rocket's destroyed base. "What is this place?" Misty wondered aloud. "I don't know," Ash responded. "But Team Rocket's definitely here." "We should look around," Brock said. Soon after they started searching, Pikachu found the hole that Team Rocket fell through, with them still down there, unconscious. "Pika-pi!" Pikachu called to Ash. "What is it, Pikachu?" Ash said as he walked over to him. "Chu," he responded, pointing down into a hole. As Ash got there, he spotted Team Rocket. "Hey guys! Come look at this!" Ash called to Misty and Brock. "How are we gonna get down there?" Brock asked. "Like this," Ash said. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash called out his bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip and grab a hold of something down there," Ash commanded. After sliding down, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu went to check on Jessie, James, and Meowth. "Bulbasaur, return!" Ash said, calling back Bulbasaur. "How are they?" Ash asked walking over to them. "They're out cold," Brock said. "We can fix that, right Pikachu?" Ash said. "Pika," Pikachu said with a nod. "Chuuuu!!!" he yelled as he shocked Team Rocket, waking them up. "Remind me to hurt whoever ordered that wake-up call," Meowth complained as they slowly stood up. "What are you doing here?" Ash demanded to know. "That's for us to know and you to find out," Jessie said. "Uh, we want them to find out?" James asked. "Of course not!" Jessie yelled at James smacking him over the head. "Pi, pika-pi," Pikachu said to Ash, pointing to a book over on the ground. "What's that?" Ash said as he went over and picked up the book. "It looks like a journal, but it's in pretty rough shape." "What's it say?" Brock asked. "First readable entry: January 5th - Today I finally finished my machine. I must thank Giovanni because I couldn't have done it without his help. I'm not sure if letting him use the machine is a wise decision, but that was our agreement. Entry #2: Missing. Entry #3: January 12th - Giovanni got the pokemon he wanted. I once again warned him about using the machine with a human, but he insisted that he would take full responsibility. Entry #4: January 14th - We conducted the first full-scale use of the machine. Unfortunately the machine malfunctioned during the process. The 'volunteer', unfortunately, didn't survive. The pokemon did, however, but I doubt that it ...(portion unreadable)... might learn how to speak, but I doubt it will be able too. Entry #5: January 16th - We heard back from Giovanni after giving him the report. He wants us to get rid of the pokemon since the machine didn't seem to effect it. Luckily, he's giving me another chance, so when I fix the machine we'll be able to try again. As for the pokemon, I've thought about keeping it for myself, but I'm not in a position to take care of it. I'll probably drop it off ...(portion unreadable)... someone there will be kind enough to take care of it. All other entries are illegible or missing." "Amazing," Jessie stated. "I wonder if this machine is still here," James said. "Let's go find it," he said to Jessie and Meowth. "Hey Ash," Brock whispered. "I think you should give me that journal, incase they try to steal it." "Good idea," he responded as he handed the book to Brock. After a while of searching, they entered a room that was, more or less, saved from any major damage. "This must be it," Meowth said as they walked into the room. "Let's look around," Brock said. As they went about looking through the room, James spotted a pile of papers with a couple pictures on top. As he picked up the pictures, Brock spotted him from behind. "What's that?" "Oh, uh, nothing," James responded, hiding the pictures. As Brock noticed the papers, Pikachu curiously looked in, what looked like, one of a pair of capsules. "Pikachu, I don't think you should be around that," Ash warned. As if almost on cue, the ceiling started to collapse. "Oh no, everybody, get out!" Brock yelled. But, as he yelled that, a large piece of debris hit the ground, knocking everyone off they're feet. Ash and Pikachu fell into separate capsules making the doors closed on their own, trapping both of them inside. "Ash, no!" Misty yelled as she got up and started running over to him. However, she stumbled and bumped into the control panel, activating the machine. "Get me out!!" Ash yelled out as he and Pikachu were engulfed in a bright flash of light. Then it was total darkness. 'Ouch, that hurt,' Ash thought to himself when he finally regained consciousness. He noticed that the door was open, and Misty and Brock were laying on the floor. Jessie, James, and Meowth were nowhere to be seen. Still feeling dazed from what happened, he stood up and started to walk over to Brock and Misty. But, as he got out of the capsule, he realized that something was wrong... very wrong. Ash knew he was standing, yet he was barely able to look over Misty. He looked down at himself and realized what was wrong. He was Pikachu. "Pika!!" is all that came out of his mouth, in Pikachu's voice. "Pi, pika," he said realizing he could no longer speak english. For lack of a better solution, he ran over to try and wake Misty and Brock up. After a while of nudging and yelling, Misty finally came around. She opened her eyes to see Pikachu standing above her. "Pi, pika-pi, pika pika, pikachu!" was all that Ash could say. "Pikachu, are you all right? Where's Ash?" Misty asked. Looking around, she noticed Brock laying near her and woke him up. "Brock, wake up! Where's Ash?" "Last I remember, he was... oh no!" Brock gasped, remembering that Ash was in the capsule. He got up and ran over to the other capsule, and saw Ash's body laying there. "Ash, wake up!" Misty yelled as she knelt down to him, but he didn't move. "He's still breathing, but we've got to get him some help now!" Brock said urgently. "Pi! Pika, pi pikachu, pi pika-pi!" Ash yelled to Misty and Brock. "Misty, go use Bulbasaur to lift us out, I'll carry Ash," Brock commanded. "Right," Misty answered. "Come on, Pikachu. We've got to get out of here. Do you know which pokeball Bulbasaur is in?" "Chu," Ash said pointing to one of the pokeballs on his belt. After getting out of Team Rocket headquarters, they ran for Ash's house, hoping someone there could help. "You'd better not die on me Ash," Misty said aloud. "You still owe me that bike!" she said as a tear formed in her eye. She knew that the bike was just an excuse, something to complain about when she starts thinking this way about Ash. As they were heading back home, Ash felt a little lightheaded and stopped running. "Pikachu?" Misty called to him. "Are you alright?" After a moment, he responded. "Pika," he said with a slight nod. As they continued running home, Misty noticed something odd. 'That's weird,' she thought to herself, 'Pikachu's running on two feet. I've never seen him do that before.' After getting back to Pallet Town, Brock and Misty started yelling out to Ms. Ketchum. "What's wrong?" she asked as she came out of the house. She spotted Brock carrying Ash and was horrified. "Oh, my baby! What happened?" "It's a long story," Brock told her, as they got to the house. "But he needs help, now!" "I don't know what to do!" Ms. Ketchum responded almost hysterically as they walked back into the house. "Go call Prof. Oak, hopefully he'll know what to do," Brock suggested. "Okay," she said as she rushed over to the phone. Brock walked over and lied Ash's body down on the couch. "Pika, pi pikachu, pi pika-pi!" Ash yelled again. "I know you're scared Pikachu, we're doing everything we can," Misty said, trying to comfort him. "Pika!" he yelled back, shaking his head no. "Chu pika-pi, pika!" "What's wrong?" Brock asked, walking back over to Misty. "I don't know," Misty responded. "I think Pikachu's trying to tell me something, but I can't figure it out." "Well, Prof. Oak can probably figure it out after he takes care of Ash," Brock said. After Prof. Oak came and looked over Ash, he seemed just as puzzled as everyone else. "It's really puzzling," Prof. Oak commented. "Everything seems fine, except he just won't wake up. What exactly happened, anyway?" After Brock and Misty told him what happened, he responded. "Well, I'll have to go back to my lab, I might have some stuff there that'll be helpful. Is there anything else?" "Well, I have the journal right here," Brock answered. "And here's some papers I found before the ceiling collapsed, but I haven't read them yet." "Oh, and back when we were running home," Misty recalled, "I noticed that Pikachu ran on only two feet." "Oh? Interesting," Prof. Oak stated. "I guess I should take his pokemon and pokedex with me. They might give me some clues." He took Ash's things and started walking towards the door. "Please Professor, you've got to help my baby," Ms. Ketchum said tearfully as she ran up to him. "Don't worry, Ms. Ketchum. I won't rest until I figure out what's wrong with your son," Prof. Oak assured her. "Until then, just try to keep him as comfortable as possible." Prof. Oak then left, and the house went quiet. "Well, we might as well get him into his bed," Brock finally spoke up. "I'll go cook something while you do that, Ms. Ketchum." "Alright," she said with a very sad expression on her face. Later, over at Prof. Oak's lab, Ash is standing in the window looking towards his house as the sun starts to set. 'Mom, I'm sorry,' he thought with tears building up in his eyes. But, before he could do anything else, he again felt lightheaded, and almost fell over, but he caught himself on the window. When it subsided he felt something odd. He could tell that Pikachu was with him, as though they were one in the same. Though it was an odd feeling, it gave them both much more comfort and happiness knowing that they would be together the whole way through. "Hmmm, very interesting," Prof. Oak said, catching Ash's attention, as he finished looking through the things Brock gave him. "Pikachu, come over here for a minute." Ash complied and walked over to Prof. Oak, who picked him up and set him on the table in front of him. "Now, let's see..." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Interesting yet? If you want to know what the Professor found out, go ahead and read Chapter 3. Again, comments and (constructive)critiques welcome! crobin_99@yahoo.com