Chapter 15 "Azu azurill!" chirruped the baby as Misty tickled her tummy, thrilled to be back were she belonged. "Thank you so much Nurse Joy!" said Misty, facing the young nurse. The group had stayed at the pokemon centre for three days while Azurill returned to full health. After spending so many days in the warmth and comfort for so long, both were loath to leave and return to the road, even if their next destination was just a few hours away. Azurill had made good progess and was now fully over it's ordeal and able to leave the centre. The sun was shining brightly, giving the promise of a beautiful day as Ash and Misty bid goodbye to Nurse Joy and her Chansey who had done so much for them and all their pokemon. With their backs now to the little town they made their way down the road as it wound round the landscape. Tramping down the road they soon became thirsty as the tireless sun beat down on their backs. "Ugh, I can't stand this heat any longer! Are we nearly there yet?" asked Misty, moving from the shade of one tree to another. "We should be there very soon..." replied Ash, finding his voice disappearing from a lack of water. "Hang on, Cawphish, come on out." He released his lobster pokemon with enthusiasm that had wilted in the harsh sun. "Find us the nearest stream" "Cawphish Caw!" he exclaimed, waving his giant claws in the air before getting his bearings and sensing for the nearest supply of water. "Great idea Ash, should I get mine to help out too?" said Misty, perking up at the thought of a nice calming and cool stream to run over her hot and sore feet. She began reaching round for her bag before Ash said, "No, hang on, I think Cawphish has an idea..." he stated, watching his pokemon as it turned a full circle of where they were standing, his eagerness to find some water coming out in his voice and actions as he prepared to follow his pokemon where ever it had to go to find water. He immediately face fell as Cawphish slumped on the ground with a "Caw!" indicating it couldn't help his trainer. "Oh well, thanks anyway Cawphish..." Ash replied gloomily as he returned his pokemon to it's ball before struggling to his feet. "Maybe Staryu or Politoed will be better at sensing water than Cawphish.” "Let's find out. Staryu! Politoed!" she released her pokemon in a dazzling white flash as Staryu appeared with a "Hiya!" and Politoed did a little dance. Bending on her knees to speak better to her pokemon, Misty requested, "Hey guys, we're a little short on water at the moment, do you think you could help us out and look for a stream or something?" Smiling as her pokemon affirmed that they would try she got back to her feet and waited for their decision. After a few moments of looking around and sensing the air, the two pokemon pointed directly to their left, towards where they believed a source of water could exist. "Well done guys, come on!" Misty, now full of hope and enthusiasm began marching off briskly into the woods as her pokemon, Ash and Pikachu followed behind. After walking past some leppa, pecha and iappa berry trees, the group came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a calm pond. A small river to their right fed the pond and meandered up into the distance of the foot of the mountains, far away. Removing her shoes and socks, Misty gratefully sank her feet into the cold water, shivering slightly with delight as the water currents danced over her feet in a tickling sensation. Lying on her back, she shaded her face with her arm from the harsh glare of the sun and let out a deep sigh. "Ash, let's stay here for lunch, ok?" "Do we have to? I'm sure we're not that far from Vermillion." he protested as he plopped himself down on the ground beside her, impatient for his next gym battle. Silently however, he was pleased for a small detour and the water was cool and crisp to drink. Casting his eyes around the perimeter of the pond, his eyes came to rest on a small opening that came out to the surface, and then appeared to lead straight into the ground. "Hey Misty, you can stay here a bit if you want. I'm just going over there to look in that cave." He motioned across the water and deposited his bag next to Misty who hadn't moved but had just given a noise of understanding. Shaking his head he motioned for Pikachu to hop on to his sholder. "Azu? zuzurill!" chirruped the little pokemon from behind. "No Azurill." said Ash firmly. "You have to stay here with Misty, ok?" "Azu zu azurill!" she replied, looking up at Ash reproachfully. She so wanted to come and enjoy the excitement with her uncle Pikachu than stay with her mother and just rest. Life was too interesting! "Alright then." he relented. "Misty, Azurill is coming with us. Is that ok?" "Huh? Yeah, as long as you take care of her." she replied after giving the issue a little thought. If it had been anyone else, she would surely have said no, but as it was Ash...he would surely take care of her pokemon as well as she did, if not better as it wasn't his pokemon. Bending and lifting Azurill into the air with a small toss, Ash, Pikachu and Azurill headed for the dark mouth that led into the underground. Cautiously approaching the opening, Ash took one glance at Pikachu and Azurill's excited faces before heading into the unknown. The cave was dark and slightly damp underfoot and the ominous drip, drip of water as it fell from the stalactites echoed around their ears. Pausing to allow his eyes to adjust, Ash walked carefully forwards, running his hand down the wall on his left while keeping a tight hold on the excited Azurill. Coming to a split in the path where each choice meandered off in a different direction, twisting back and forth, up and down he looked towards his faithful pokemon to make the choice on which path to take. Hopping off from his trainer's sholder, Pikachu sniffed the ground a little, then the air before bounding off down the right with a "Pika!" of excitement. Following behind the yellow blur, Ash found himself at the opening to a large underground cavern that glowed an eerie fluorescent green over a flat pool of water. Gazing around the walls, he was surprised to see sparkles and glitter all around and found them to be many gems of precious and non precious stones. Gently placing Azurill onto the ground, Ash approached the nearest wall and proceeded to run his hands down the wall, attempting to find a lose rock. Every single one was firmly stuck in place. "Hey Pikachu." he called over his first pokemon. "Pi?" "Do you think you could do an Iron Tail here on the wall?" he asked, pointing to a spot directly above a brilliantly blue gem. "Pika!" he affirmed and gave his trainer a moment to move out of the way and hold Azuril before leaping into the air, his tail glowing a shining white. "Pika!" he released his war cry as his tail struck the wall. Perfect. The chunk of rock holding the gem in place fell neatly out of the hole and onto the floor. "Alright, thanx bud-...What was that?" Ash was crouching down to pet Pikachu and retrieve the gem just as the walls and floor started to vibrate. Chunks of rock began crumbling from the roof but as suddenly as the motion had begun, it was soon over. Cautiously standing to his feet, he looked around for a moment and shuffled backwards a few steps. However, the tremors through the earth had loosened the rock directly beneath that spot, into the cavern below and Ash gave out a panicked yell as he, Pikachu and Azurill were sucked down into the abyss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sitting up gently, Misty turned to Staryu and Politoed who were still out of their balls and asked, "Did you feel that? The tremors in the ground?" "Hiya, ya" "Poli poli" they replied. Frowning that the others had felt nothing, she glanced over the water to the mouth of the cave her traveling companion had decided to investigate. Reluctantly getting to her feet and putting on her socks and shoes she returned her pokemon and carried her's and Ash's bags over to the cave. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Pikachu...Azurill...are you guys ok?" coughed Ash, grimacing as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Pikachu..." came from the darkness as the pokemon shoved a small pile of rubble off his body and attempted to brush his coat down. "Azurill!" bounced the little pokemon, none the worse for ware as she had had a nice soft landing on Ash's stomach to slow her fall. Noticing her uncle Pikachu was injured, she bounced over before placing her tail around the pokemon. A white glow surrounded both her and Pikachu and once it faded, Pikachu found himself to be in better health that he had started in. "Good to see you two are alright then...How are we going to get out of here?" said Ash, staring up at the hole their fall had created. Getting to his feet he brushed himself down a little and began looking around the ground, under the rocks and rubble for the gem Pikachu had knocked out of the wall and seemed to be the cause of their current situation. "Pi...pikapi..." Pikahchu said uneasily, inching closer to his trainer and pulling gently on his trousers. "What is it Pikachu? I really want to find this gem..." replied Ash as he heaved another rock out of the way. "Pi...pika pikapi!" he said more insistently as Azurill ended closer towards him, scared of the darkness and what may be lurkig there. "Pikachu! Are you going to help me or just stand there?!" said Ash, losing his temper and looking straight at his pokemon. He froze as fear and dread seeped throughout his body while hundreds of eyes stared at him and the pokemon through the dark. "Ek-ansssssssssssssssssss" reverberated throughout the enclosed space accompanied by the various other hisses and threats in other tones. "He he...looks like we came at a bad time..." joked Ash, struggling to find a way out of the cavern. His eyes spied a small opening, directly on the other side of the advancing poisonous pokemon that although wouldn't be big enough for him to escape by, at least Pikachu and Azurill would be able to get to safety. That was what mattered he decided. "Pikachu" he quietly murmered, gaining his attention. "I want you and Azurill to get out of here as fast as you can through that hole over there. I know you don't want to, but I promised Misty I'd take care of Azurill and it's going to be your duty to make sure nothing does happen to her once you get out. I will distract this lot and you are going. I know ok!" he spoke over Pikachu's protests "This is the only way Azurill can be kept safe and after what happened the other day, I don't care what happens to me as long as Misty, her pokemon and mine are all safe. That includes you. Now GO!" On these last words, Ash shot off to the left, the creatures in the dark following his every move and ignored the two pokemon for a moment to take care of this much larger, tastier snack that had landed in their midst. With tears forming in the corners of Pikachu's eye, he grabbed Azurill as best he could and made his way towards the cavern. 'Pikapi will be ok...' he thought to himself. 'He always is and I have to do this for him!' "Pika?" he was suddenly forced to stop as Azurill wriggled out of his grasp and took a moment to glare at Pikachu in disgust and hit him of the head with her tail before turning around to the menacing pokemon as they closed in on Ash and let loose a strong stream of bubbles. Jumping to the baby pokemon's side, Pikachu added his own contribution in the form of a strong thunderbolt while Ash hid his eyes from the strong surge of light. Looking back over towards the brave pokemon, Ash lept forward with fear for their lives as a huge Arbok that had been hiding in the corner rapidly approached them, anger blazing in it's eyes as it beheld the fainted slaughter of his entire group. Opening his jaws wide he released a powerful poison sting attack with a loud "Chaaaaarbok!" "Argh" cried Ash in pain as he protected Pikachu and Azurill from the deadly attack. "Just get going, NOW! Go, now!" he struggled to remain up against the tide of stings that was slowly weakening him. "Staryu! Rapid Spin!" cried a panicked voice from above. A starfish came spinning out of nowhere and smashed into the Arbok, sending it crashing into the wall. "Follow up with swift then water gun!" cried Misty as she observed the battle from above. The arbok was mercilessly slammed again into the ground and then thrown into the air and sent out for the count by the water gun attack. Feeling the stings disappear, Ash fell forward as he collapsed from the strain of protecting. The last thing he remembered was seeing Misty's petrified face when she leapt through the hole and began to help him out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Slowly, Ash opened his eyes. Night had fallen and he was wrapped tightly in his sleeping bag. Trying to move, he felt pain shoot through his body and let out a cry of pain. Immediately Misty was at his side, a cup in her hand. "Ash, are you ok?" she inquired. "Yeah, just fine Mist." He croaked, licking his dry lips and grimacing at the fould taste of vomit. "How else would you feel after getting hit by and Arbok's poison sting?" "Oh shut up. It's not something to joke about. You are just lucky that there are pecha berries growing around here. Drink this. It's pecha berry juice with a little oran berry juice and will held get rid of the infection as well as make you feel better." Gently she lifted his head up and held the cup to his lips, allowing a little bit at a time to flow into his mouth and waiting for him to swallow before offering the next mouthful. Once the cup was empty she placed it on the ground but left his head resting on her lap. "You should go back to sleep..." she murmured, absentmindedly stroking his hair. "Yeah...thanks Misty..." he mumbled back, feeling warmth and sleep fall around him he snuggled further into his sleeping bag. His face froze however when he realised one, small thing. "Err Misty...where are my clothes?" Immediately, Misty's face glowed a brighter red than her hair and she replied with a voice much higher than normal. "Oh...um...well the poison stings kinda went through your jumper, shirt and jeans. There was poison all over them so I had to take them off to stop any more poison leaking into your cuts. I'm washing them and seeing what can be done about the holes..." There was a moment of very uncomfortable silence. Gently, Misty lowered Ash's head to the ground, telling him he really should go back to sleep and then taking her place on the other side of the fire from him. Frozen where he was, Ash decided he would follow Misty's advice and go to sleep. The only thought that floated through his mind as he drifted off into a slumber was 'How much did she [i]really[/i] see?' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was morning when Ash re-opened his eyes the next day. Gingerly moving his body, he was thrilled to discover that any traces of stiffness and pain were completely gone. Sitting up fully, he was pleased to see his clothes in a neat pile next to him. Staring intently at the stitching on the back he was interested to find no trace of any damage to the back from any other arbok stings. Deciding not to take the matter any further, he slowly got his clothes on, after scanning around for Misty to see if she was around. "Glad you're feeling better." said Misty from behind as she, Azurill and Pikachu came out of the woods with their arms full of berries. "I thought you'd like a fresh berry salad for breakfast." she flashed him a quick smile before busying herself with the food. "Hey there Pikachu. Are you ok after yesterday?" he asked as he welcomed the little hug from the yellow rodent. "Pi pikachu" he replied with a huge smile, thrilled that his trainer had made such a full recovery on just a few berries. Marvellous things those Pecha berries! Once their breakfast was over, the group packed up camp and left for the route again, checking that their fire was well and truly out. It took them a while before they found the trail again, only getting back on track once Ash had had a little, malletted sense knocked into his navigational skills they were soon back on the very hot and dusty trail. The heat soon became too intense for Pikachu and Azurill who decided to rest in their trainer's backback and pokeball respectively. "This is just so hot...how long til we get there?" panted Misty as she stopped for a moment in the shade of a tree. "It can't be that far surely...look, is that the town there?" pointed Ash to a collection of buildings that was now just visable over the top of the hill, shimmering in the heat. "Oh thank god!" exclaimed Misty as she struggled forwards. They were able to reach Vermillion not long after lunch and were grateful to stop in the cool pokemon centre where free ice drinks were being handed out. Taking some seats in the cafeteria, Ash drank his strawberry flavour drink while Pikachu tucked into his ketchup drink and Misty helped Azurill with her small raspberry while she dealt with her own chocolate. "Look at those twerps, sitting there without a care in the world while we're stuck out here." Said James peering in through the window. "I know James, it's just not fair! We toil and slave day after day and get nothing in return. Well I say we do something about it!" cried Jessie, jumping to her feet, her fists clenched. "Come on!" she marched into the centre and demanded some drinks. As it happened, Nurse Joy had just been talking to Officer Jenny over the sudden heat wave and the latest news on three criminals who she was on the look out for after a recent meeting with her relatives. Looking up she was amazed to see the very three she was looking for walk into the centre. Announcing they were under arrest Team Rocket decided that maybe they didn't need a cold drink and sped off into the distance with Jenny close behind. "Well Pikachu, how are ya feeling?" asked Ash once their thirst was quenched. Taking to his feet, Pikachu exclaimed "Pikachu!" flexing his little muscles in readiness. "I thought so! What do you say about going to give Surge a little visit?" This suggestion sent sparks crackling over Pikachu's cheeks in readiness and scampered out of the centre ahead of Ash, Misty and Azurill. "HAHAHAHAHA!! Prepare for trouble!" "And make it double!" Team Rocket had managed to give Officer Jenny the slip by disguising themselves as three old washer women once they had come across a river and quickly doubled back to have another crack at their most converted prize. "Great here we go again." muttered Misty. "PIKACHU!" came from above, the pokemon now it a glass jar with a light bulb on the end. "To protect the worls from devastation!" "To unite all people within out nations!" "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" "Jessie!" "James!" "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now or prepare to fight fight fight!" "Wobba-" "Meowth that's right!" "What are you doing out of your pokeball you useless blue blob!" screamed Jessie before she returned her pokemon and withdrew into the latest Team Rocket Mecha, the shape of a giant magnet on wheels. "Thanks for your Pikachu! See you around twerps!" laughed James as the mecha began to reverse away. "Phanpy! Rollout attack!" cried Ash, sending out the little pokemon. Rolling into a ball and gathering speed she headed straight for the mecha. "I don't think so twerp!" said Meowth, pushing a big red button on the control board in front of him. From the back of the mecha spewed a black sludge that caught and help Phanpy fast the moment she hit the substance. "And thanks for your Phanpy too!" A giant claw came down and clamped around Phanpy, effortlessly taking her into the air and depositing her in a giant net. Cackling the trio began to make their get away as their mecha trundled down the road. Suddenly the mecha dissappeared into a giant hole. Looking down into the pit, Ash and Misty looked down to see Jessie screaming at James and Meowth. Apparently that hole was meant to be the other side of where the mecha was going to make it's getaway. Silently, Ash crept down and released Phanpy and Pikachu without Team Rocket noticing. The next thing they knew they were being blasted into the skies once again as Pikachu let loose a thunderbolt. Shrugging off the incident Ash, Misty and Pikachu made their way through the town towards the Gym. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~