(Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters.) Life Choices Author's note: this was my first fanfic, so don't be too hard on me... After his fourth loss at the Pokemon League, Ash headed home to Pallet Town with his friends Brock and Misty. Ash didn’t seem too sad about losing again. It was similar each year. He would get badges, train, and then head off to the league. Brock was still learning more about breeding each trip they made. Ash and Misty, however, had their own reason for continuing. It wasn’t about pokemon training anymore. The group went around Cerulean City when Misty told them how much she didn't want to see her sisters yet. As usual Ash and Misty were arguing just to be arguing. “I am not scrawny. I’m just thin,” Misty said annoyed. “Scrawny,” Ash responded calmly. “Thin!” “Scrawny!” “I’m thin! My sisters were thin at my age. They turned out beautiful, so will I!” “It’d be hard to be as beautiful as them,” Brock put in remembering the Sensational Sisters. “What!” “I mean, uh, um….” With Brock silenced, Misty turned back to Ash. “I am not scrawny and I’ll be as beautiful as them!” ‘Too late, you already are,’ Ash thought. ‘No I can’t say that. But I don’t want her to think I don’t like her. What should I say? I just want to stop this fight.’ “You’re right, Misty. I’m sorry,” Ash said as his gaze fell to the ground. “Wh….at?” Misty was shocked. ‘What was that?’ Misty thought. ‘Ash backed out of a fight. He even admitted I was right. Maybe he’s not feeling well. He can’t possibly believe I was right. That’s not him. He can barely look at me. I know he doesn’t think I’m pretty. Maybe he’s trying reverse psychology.’ Misty’s thoughts were interrupted as Brock ran over to Ash, shoved a thermometer in his mouth and sat him down. Brock felt his forehead, checked his pulse, checked the thermometer, and then looked at Ash. “Are you tired? Are you hot? What’s wrong?” “Huh? I’m fine. Let me go,” Ash was trying to get up but Brock kept him down. “Not until you tell us what’s wrong.” “Nothing is wrong. Why would it be?” “Ash, when have you ever agreed with me? Especially when it comes to how I look,” Misty was curious too. “I…just didn’t feel like arguing. That’s all. Can I get up now?” Brock let him up just in time so nobody saw him blushing. As they approached Mt. Moon another trainer approached and challenged Ash to a battle. Ash, as eager as always, accepted. Brock and Misty went to the sidelines to watch. "Pikachu, GO!" Ash started. "Onix, I choose you," called the other trainer as he threw a Pokeball. "Pikachu, thundershock attack!" "Onix, bind!" Onix wrapped itself around Pikachu as it let out a thundershock. Onix was a little fazed but not enough to let go. The bind tightened around Pikachu. Ash could see Pikachu losing and couldn't take it. "Pikachu return!" Brock "wow, deja vu." The other trainer ordered Onix to let go. Ash ran to Pikachu and picked it up to comfort it. Misty came and got Pikachu so Ash could continue his battle. Misty gave Pikachu a potion to make sure it was okay. Ash grabbed one of his Pokeballs, threw it and shouted "Squirtle, I choose you!" "Squirtle, squir," exclaimed the Pokemon. "Onix, rock throw!" "Squirtle, dodge and water gun attack." Squirtle easily dodged the rocks and soaked Onix with water. Onix fell. "Onix, return. Go Raichu! Raichu, thundershock attack!" "Squirtle, withdraw!" Squirtle withdrew into its shell but the thundershock was too much and it fainted. "Squirtle, return. Bulbasaur, I choose you! Bulbasaur, vine whip." "Raichu, agility." Raichu easily dodged the vine whip. But was unprepared for the next attack. "Bulbasaur, razor leaf attack." Leaves covered the scene as Bulbasaur let out its attack. Raichu couldn't dodge so many and fell. “Raichu, return. Go, Charmander. Charmander, ember." "Bulbasaur, dodge! Bulbasaur, razor leaf attack!" Bulbasaur's razor leaf didn't seem to affect Charmander as it prepared for another ember. Bulbasaur was unable to dodge this one and was singed. "I only have one chance left, but can Bulbasaur pull it off in time?" Ash wondered to himself. "Bulbasaur, solar beam!" "Charmander, fire spin!" Both Pokemon let loose their attacks at the same time and both hit. When the attacks ended, both Pokemon were barely standing as they looked at each other. "Charmander, scratch" "Bulbasaur, tackle attack" Charmander scratched Bulbasaur as it came in for the tackle. Bulbasaur ignored the attack and kept coming till it hit Charmander who was knocked out. "Great job, Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled as he ran over to see how his Pokemon was doing. "Charmander, return! Good match." The trainer walked off. "Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur managed to get out before fainting. "Bulbasaur, return." Ash held the Pokeball close to him. "Don't worry; I’ll get you to a pokecenter soon." Brock and Misty ran over to him. "Wow, Ash, that was close. You almost lost." Brock said. "Let's get through Mt Moon so we can get my Pokemon healed." Ash said as he reclaimed the unconscious Pikachu from Misty. "Thanks, Misty." "Would you look at that? Pikachu is injured! He can't fight. We can win!" Exclaimed a man. "What about his other Pokemon?" The man's partner asked. "Meowth, dey all was hurt in da battle!" a feline answered. "Let's go,” they all announced. "I can barely see, I hope we're going the right way," Ash was squinting but still could only make out basic shapes. "Since you're leading, I’m positive we're lost," Misty calmly stated. "I don't always get us lost!" "No, just most of the time." "Do not!" "Do too!" "Do not!" "Do too!" "Do not!" "Do too!" "Do not!" "Do too!" "Do not!" "Do too!" "Come on guys, we need to get through fast to help the Pokemon. Could you please flirt some other time?" Brock tried to be a peacemaker only to realize he gave them a common target. Brock could see their eyes glowing with anger and coming towards him. "We are NOT flirting!" They both yelled. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Brock said in fear. They both calmed down and continued into the darkness. It was quiet for a few minutes until they heard some all-too-familiar voices. "Prepare for Trouble." "Make it double." "To protect the world from devastation..." "To unite all people within our nation..." "To denounce the evils of truth and love..." "To extend our reach to the stars above..." "Jessie." "James." "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light..." "Surrender now or prepare to fight..." "Meowth, that's right." The trio could hear the voices to their right and decided to keep walking. "Hey, don't ignore us, get back here!" Jessie yelled and started running after them. She got only a few feet before she fell into a hole James had dug to trap Ash. "Jessie, where'd ya go?" Meowth called. "I'm down here." Meowth went to see only to fall in the hole also. "Don't worry, guys, I'll get them." James said as he ran after Ash, careful to avoid his hole. "Hey, wait, get us outta here!" Meowth demanded only to be ignored. Ash and friends had just ignored team rocket and were now getting near the entrance to Mt. Moon. "Ha! I knew I could find a way out," Ash started gloating. “Wow! I guess I could be wrong once in awhile,” Misty smiled at Ash. “Can not!” “Well….thank you, Ash,” Misty started blushing but nobody saw due to the darkness. Then Ash realized what he had started arguing about. “Well, uh, let’s get out of here,” Ash changed the subject and walked towards the exit. "Stop right there! You'll pay for ignoring Team Rocket!" James jumped down right in front of ash. Ash backed off. "You can't have Pikachu!" "This isn't about Pikachu right now. It’s about revenge," James stated as he pulled out a bomb threw it near Ash. "No! You'll cause a cave-in!" Brock yelled. James returned his remark with a dumb founded look, only to have the truth hit him. He ran for the entrance screaming like a girl. Ash ran away from the bomb as it exploded, sending him and Pikachu flying a dozen feet. The cavern began to shake and rocks started falling. Brock lost his footing but quickly got up and ran away from the falling rocks, deeper into the cave. Misty saw Ash getting up with Pikachu. Then she saw some rocks falling above him. She ran like a Rapidash toward him and tackled him away from the rocks, only to have some smaller rocks bounce off the big ones and hit them anyway. Soon, all went black for both of them. Back in the hole Jessie and Meowth felt the shaking and hid in the hole. Brock stood up after the shaking stopped. Brock had escaped the rockslide, but that way out was blocked. “Ash! Misty! Can you hear me? Ash! Misty! I have to get help. They could be hurt.” He'd have to go back the way he came. So he headed back only to fall in the same hole as Jessie and Meowth. When he did, they both screamed because they thought it was a rock. When they realized who it was, they scrambled to get out, but to no avail. James had dug a deep hole. Brock sat there and watched them make fools of themselves again. When they calmed down, he called Onix to use as a ladder. "Let us out too!" Jessie demanded. "What! You caused this mess!" Brock was getting mad. Then he looked at them and felt pity. "Okay, get out. Just stay away from me." "Where's James?" Jessie inquired once they were out. "He's on the other side of the rockslide, same with Ash and Misty." "Can't you use Onix to bust through?" "I won't chance another rock slide. I'm going the long way," Brock stated and walked off. "Well, we got no choice, les follow im," Meowth suggested. Jessie agreed. James went back into the cave to see what the final result of his blunder was. He saw the rockslide blocking the way. Then he saw Pikachu near a pile of rocks. The rat was okay, but James couldn't see Ash anywhere. He went over to Pikachu, getting ready to grab it and run. Then he saw a pair of sneakers under one of the rock piles. "Oh no, what have I done!" He started moving rocks, fearing that his mistake may have killed someone. As he dug down closer to the bottom, he could make out a body. When he got to the bottom, he saw Misty face up with her head on Ash's back. Ash was face down. Then he saw blood on Ash's back. "Oh, my god. He's dead." James thought, unable to move. "I really killed him." James then ran outside in sheer terror.