Chapter 17

After spending the rest of the morning asleep, the two teenagers decided to make a move towards 
Koga’s gym on the outskirts of Fuchsia City with the aim of catching the next ferry to Saffron when 
it arrived the next day. Leaving the luxurious ship not long after eleven, they proceeded into the 
town to fill up their supplies and headed off for the mountains, woods and the gym. 
	
Not too long after leaving the port, the group was half way up a mountain and paused to gaze at the 
landscape behind them as it dipped away to the waters, curving at the edged to stop the water 
escaping from the bay. Momentarily captured by the scene before her, Misty lost all sense of herself 
as her mind drifted away up into the clouds on the breath of fresh air that tickled past them, 
stirring her hair and awakening her soul. She was brought right back again with a sharp bump when a 
light tickling sensation began up the side of her leg, creeping closer and closer. Her whole body 
stiffened as she began to tremble, clutching tighter to Azurill who began to make noises of protest. 

Glancing over, Ash soon saw the reason for Azurill’s and Misty’s distress. A small little Caterpie 
was inching up her leg, making little noises of happiness as it felt it had just found a good 
friend. Keeping his chuckling to a minimum, Ash bent down and lifted the little creature from it’s 
climbing frame. Immediately Misty came back to life and leapt far away from the tiny bug. “Are you 
ever going to get rid of such a pathetic fear?” laughed Ash as he tickled the small pokemon under 
it’s chin as it sent out little squeaks of enjoyment. 

“How can you touch that…THING!” she wailed, clutching onto Azurill tighter and bringing the little 
pokemon up half in front of her face to hide from the bug on Ash’s shoulder. Jumping ahead of Ash, 
she walked sideways to see where she was going and where the bug was. Ignoring her actions, Ash 
gently set the Caterpie down on the ground next to a berry bush and pulled on off to give it as a 
little present. Satisfied that Caterpie was going to be happy for the rest of the day, Ash jogged 
back to Misty’s side. 

“Come on Misty, even you have to admit they’re cute. May doesn’t mind them!” debated Ash and Pikachu 
hopped back onto his perch.

“Well she’s just not normal then! Bugs are just so…so…creepy and, UGH!” just the thought of bugs and 
everything about them from the way they moved to the way they looked sent tremors of revulsion 
through her body. Too absorbed in how gross and disgusting bug pokemon could be, she never noticed 
that gradually Ash began to drop behind her, nor did she hear the quiet snickering that went on 
behind her.

Sharing his evil plan with Pikachu, the little rodent left his trainer in disgust and hopped to the 
ground to make his own way. An evil grin plastered on his face, Ash crept up behind her and shocked 
her with the points of his fingers straight into to her sides. 

Misty’s shrieks echoed around the mountains as pokemon of all shapes and sizes leapt up and fled in 
fear at the ghastly noise. Not one creature could relax as soon; yells of pain in a different tone 
could be heard, along with the sound of a mallet making contact with living tissue. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh come on Misty, you have to admit that was funny!” laughed Ash at least and hour later when they 
began to set out their lunch. 

“No it was not!” she yelled back, blood rushing to her face. “That was a mean, horrible thing to do 
and don’t you dare thing I’ve forgiven you for it!”

“Awww Misty!” he pleaded again, covering his head with his arms when her mallet began to appear 
again, sheathed before it could be put into action however. “Look, I’m sorry, ok?” he gave her a 
smile that could rival Azurill’s in cuteness and however hard and angry she still was at him, it 
became a huge effort to continue this attitude as his eyes gazed up at her like a wounded Growlithe.
Turning her back to him she marched off to fetch some water to have with their lunch.

Soon Ash and Misty sat alongside their pokemon, ready to dig into a mouth watering fast of biscuits, 
sandwiches, cakes and popcorn balls. Chowing down all at once, silence filled the air as everyone 
took their fill. 

Twitching his little ears, Pikachu suddenly sat back on his haunches, a chocolate digestive and 
ketchup clutched in his paws as he stared into the bushes to his right. Glancing around at the 
others who were still too occupied with their meal, he stuffed the treat into his mouth and bounded 
into the bushes. 

None of the others had noticed his unannounced exit until he bounded back into the clearing, jumping 
over the picnic to his trainer. Leaping onto his lap he began chattering desperately in his 
repetitive tongue. 

“Pikachu, slow down and I might be able to understand you!” spoke Ash over his panicked pokemon. Not 
wanting to waste another iota of time, Pikachu gave him a light static shock and leapt back the way 
he had come, pausing to check that Ash and Misty were on their feet and ready to follow. Instructing 
the older pokemon to be in charge and look after the others, the young trainers leapt after the 
vanishing yellow blur. 

Chasing through the undergrowth and attaining a few scratches on their arms and one across Ash’s 
cheek they followed Pikachu to a clearing where they abruptly stopped at the pokemon’s order. 
Carefully, they peered into the clearing where a small stream ran through, bordered on both sides by 
grass and a few wild flowers. There, lying on it’s side was a Ponyta. The wild beast was injured 
and unable to get to it’s feet. However hard it tried and struggled as they cautiously approached 
it could only lie there with wide eyes, terrified of every move they made. 

“Shhh, come on sweetie…shhhh, it’s alright, we’re not going to hurt you..steady, steady now…” Misty 
tried to calm the poor beast, however it only got more scared and anxious, the flames along it’s 
mane, tail and legs flared up and forced them back. “What are we going to do? We haven’t nearly 
enough potions to help it get better with us. Even if we could get close enough.”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to worry about what’s wrong and how to treat it once we’ve had a good 
look at it. Why don’t you go back to camp, grab the stuff and pokemon while I try to clam it down?” 
He suggested to her, wiping the perspiration that formed on his forehead in the intense heat waves 
from the pokemon’s flames. 

Frowning, she replied “Why should I go back and get the stuff. What makes you think you can get a 
terrified and injured pokemon to listen to [i]you[/i]?”

“Because you’ve tried and it got us no where. Plus I’ve had more experience with a Ponyta than you. 
Your speciality is water pokemon. Fire pokemon are completely different in more than just their 
types.” He explained and reasoned.

“I know that smarty pants. Well, if I get back and you’ve been burned to a crisp don’t say I 
didn’t warn you!” and with that she turned on her heal and marched back the way they had come. 

Muttering to himself over her behaviour, he crept into view to the little fire horse as it lay on 
it’s side. Curiously he noted that the grass and flowers beneath the pokemon were in a pristine 
state even though red hot flames had licked around their stems only moments before. Crouching onto 
his knees, he edged closer while continuously talking in a low, calming tone. The flames began to 
shrink in size as the little fire horse calmed down a little although it remained with its eyes wide 
open, stretched to their limit while the nose showed its pink interior. 

Gently placing his hand near to the quivering nostrils, he allowed the horse to get his scent and 
begin to accept him as a being that was there to help and not be a threat. Slowly, he edged his hand 
onto the beast’s nose, coming down firmly in a reassuring manner. Suddenly the Ponyta jumped as 
best it could as this sudden touch of an alien being on it’s nose, just were it’s eyes denied it a 
full view. It struggled again and again to get to its feet while Ash continued to try and calm the 
animal. It was clear the animal’s energy was fast running out as it’s panicked episode did not last 
long as it gave itself up again to whatever fate had in store for it. Making his presence known 
again, Ash allowed the Ponyta to inhale his scent again and this time the little fire horse did not 
panic as much when he laid his hand upon its nose, jerking away only slightly as hand came into 
contact with the warm coat. 

Softly, Ash stroked the nose and edged himself closer to the horse. The fire gained it’s size but 
the heat intensity remained constant. Taking this as a sign of warning, Ash continued to talk and 
stroke the horse until the fire began to decrease to its normal level. Running his hands over the 
creature’s body he was worried to notice a sweat had broken out all over the animal’s fine silver 
coat, caused by pain or fear he couldn’t tell. 

Quietly, Pikachu approached Ash and made care not to spook the animal again, hopping up to his 
trainer’s shoulder to whisper that Misty was back with the other pokemon and all their belongings. 
Not wanting to leave where he was sitting in case the Ponyta would not allow him to approach again, 
he spoke over his shoulder, “Misty, I don’t know what’s wrong with the Ponyta but it’s covered in 
sweat. Nothing appears to be broken and there’s no blood so I can’t see why it can’t get up.”

“Maybe it got into a battle with another pokemon and became badly beaten up. It could be internal 
injuries, or perhaps it’s been poisoned.” She ran through her mental list of pokemon problems and 
how they could usually be cured. 

“Perhaps, or it’s poisoned or paralysed…Misty, do you have any Pecha or Orran Berries left?” he 
continued stroking the Ponyta’s neck while ignoring the flames around him.

Rummaging through their bags, Misty was relieved to find a small collection of various berries, 
including Pecha and Orran. “We’ve got quite a few. What types do you want?”

“Anything, mix them all into a juice. A bit of everything can’t hurt can it?” he glanced around at 
her while she gave a small shrug before bringing out a bowl and spoon to grind up the mixture, along 
with a little water to help it into a drinkable paste. While she was busy with the concoction, Ash 
continued talking to the Ponyta, noticing that it seemed to get weaker and colder by the minute. 
Calling out to Misty to hurry, he found himself wishing that Torkoal or one of his other fire types
were present to help warm up the injured pokemon. 

“Here, it’s got all we have in it.” Said Misty as she offered the bowl of liquid to him. Giving her 
a quick smile of thanks he gently dropped a little at a time onto the Ponyta’s tongue, letting the 
creature swallow each portion before offering it any more. 

It took well over ten minutes for the creature to take all of the mixture and Ash handed to bowl 
back to Misty, their hands brushing momentarily sending a little jolt of electricity through their 
bodies at the sensation. By now however the Ponyta was too weak to protest to Misty’s presence right 
next to its head as it lay there, unable to move.  Glancing at each other, they began to feel 
increasingly worried for the young pokemon as its body continued to lose heat. 

“We need a fire, and a big one.” Spoke Ash as he shattered the silence. They had spent at least an 
hour with the Ponyta with no sign of change in its condition. Nodding in understanding, Misty 
quickly got to her feet and grabbed a pokeball before venturing into the woods, leaving Ash with the 
Ponyta as he continued to rub at its side to generate heat. 

“Politoed, come on out.” Said Misty in a hushed tone. Silencing the excited pokemon she quickly 
explained the situation and together they gathered as much fire wood as possible, coming back to the 
clearing every so often to fetch more and more. After at least five trips into the forest and back, 
she returned Politoed to its ball so as not to scare the Ponyta any further. Grasping a small branch 
of dried wood, she placed one end in the flames from the Ponyta’s tail. The branch instantly ignited 
and she hurriedly brought the flame back to the large pile of wood before it died. Making the fire 
as hot as possible before moving on and creating more piles of sticks and brush to create a circle 
of flames around the Ponyta.

Gradually, Ash could feel the heat returning to the little fire horse’s body. Motioning to Misty 
that she could stop her constant efforts to keep the fires burning brightly and warmly, the two sat 
down next to the pokemon and continued rubbing all over its flank and neck. 

The two jumped as they were quickly brought out of their own private thoughts when the Ponyta 
suddenly sat up. It blinked it’s large eyes a few times before looking around. Seeing the two humans 
beside it, its ears flickered a few times, trying to remember what had been going on. A small yellow 
rodent hopped up to its nose, petting it lightly and telling it in its own tongue not to be afraid. 
Giving a little noise of understanding it sent Ash and Misty scurrying backwards as it struggled to 
its feet. Shaking itself all over before taking a few tentative and wobbly steps forward, it gave 
Ash and Misty a nudge of thanks, enjoying the scratching and stroking in received in return. 

Suddenly, its head stiffened and shot upwards as the ears flicked back and forth. Turning to look 
over its right shoulder, it gave a welcoming neigh to a figure in the trees. Glancing into the 
bushes, Ash and Misty were amazed to see a herd of Ponyta and Rapidash. One large Ponyta with a 
strongly burning mane, tail and fetlocks trotted a few feet into the clearing, calling for the young 
fire horse. Turning once more, the Ponyta blew a warm breath firstly into Misty’s, and then into 
Ash’s face in gratitude before spinning around on its hocks to meet its mother. Carefully, the older 
Ponyta sniffed all over her baby before deciding it was indeed hers and no harm had fallen it before 
they had become separated. 

Unhappy with how long the reunion was taking, a large Rapidash flew into the clearing, its mane, 
tail and fetlocks blazing a steely grey as it emenated an aura of power and authority while it 
rounded up the two members of its herd and pushed them back to the others to gallop off into the 
gathering darkness. 

The sound of thundering hooves soon died down and allowed the two to collapse on the ground in 
exhaustion. Feebly releasing her nearest pokemon to reveal Azurill, Misty ordered a water gun on 
each fire except the one closest to them. Gazing up at the sky together, they watched as the evening 
sent streaks of red, orange and yellow through the sky to reflect of the clouds and give each one a 
comfortable, cushy look. 

Sitting up, Misty welcomed Azurill onto her lap, giving her a cuddle in the process. Getting to her 
feet, she began to rummage through her bag for her towel and followed the small steam up the incline 
to find a nice spot for a refreshing wash.

Letting out a deep sigh, Ash also got himself off the ground and proceeded to set up a few stones to 
place a bowl of water on for their supper of noodles. Taking out both their sleeping bags, he 
cleared an area within the circle of charred grass spots where the earth was still warm from the 
presence of their patient. 

“Thanks for helping me with the Ponyta.” Smiled Ash when Misty returned, clean and fully refreshed. 

Feeling her insides beginning to melt at his smile, she returned the gesture and replied “Of course 
I was going to help. Did you really think I’d let you take care of it the whole time?”

“No Mist, I really mean it. For letting me try and get close to it while you went back to camp and 
set up the fires. I know you wanted to be the one the Ponyta would trust the most and I just want to 
say thank you for letting me.” He explained. 

“Your welcome.” She sat down next to Pikachu who was rather comfortable in a muddled mess of his own 
little sleeping bag. Lightly scratching his tummy, he gave out a sweet “Chaaa!” of gratitude and 
wriggled further into the yellow mass.

"Hey Pikachu, how about we practise that Volt Tackle of yours?" asked Ash, jumping to his feet, 
suddenly filled with a burst of energy.

"Pi ka pika chu? Pi pikachu!" (Do we have to? I'm tired!) he replied from his rather comfortable 
position. 

"Fine then..." he said sitting back down while rolling his eyes. *cough* "Lazy!"

"PIKACHU!" 

"Ha ha! serves you right!" chuckled Misty as Ash lay smoking on the ground from one of Pikachu's 
strongest thunderbolts. "Ow!" she exclaimed as Ash discharged some spare electricity on her. "Right!
You are going down!" and with that she tackled him to the ground, tickling ferociously. 

Screaming, the two teens rolled down a small incline, away from their camp, both tangled up in each 
other, trying to tickle the other harder and gain the advantage. Landing at the bottom of the slope 
in a heap, it took a while for them to control their breathing and laughter. Misty had landed on her 
back with Ash half on top of her. Shoving him roughly she attempted to push him up and off but their 
eyes locked. Slowly, their breathing slowed and time stood still for each of them, lost in the 
other's gaze. Slowly, slowly Ash lowered his face closer to Misty, both beginning to close their 
eyes. Closer...closer until-

"PIKAPI!" jerking upwards, Ash spun around to see Team Rocket's balloon rising into the air with 
Pikachu caught in a spherical metallic cage. Using his thunderbolt attack, Pikachu let loose a 
strong surge of electricity that rebounded off the cage and dealt the damage to Pikachu, almost 
knocking him out.

Cackling, Team Rocket began to float away. "Bye bye twerp! We'll leave you two alone now for some 
special peace and quiet!" 

"Pikachu!" screamed Ash, stumpling up the slope back to camp. 

'Oh no you don't!' thought Misty to herself. 'First you ruin my moment with Ash, then you steal 
Pikachu, you've HAD IT!' "Staryu, go! Rapid spin and pop that balloon!" Spinning away, her pokemon 
was able to send Team Rocket back down to earth with a bump before Ash had a chance to reach his own 
pokemon. "Gyarados, Staryu, Azurill and Politoed!...ugh not you Psyduck!" she added when the cluless 
pokemon released himself. "Staryu, rapid spin again to release Pikachu. Politoed, Ice Beam once 
they're out the way. Gyarados, then you attack with a flamethrower....TEAM WATER GUN!"  she cried 
out her instructions that were all expertly carried out before Team Rocket were sent soaring into 
the skies by the largest amount of water ever seen, Gyarados deciding to use his Hydro Pump rather 
than Water Gun for extra power. "Hmph." she stated, turning back to Ash who just stood there, his 
mouth open, a pokeball held loosely in his hand.

"What...what was that?" he asked, a little afraid of the answer. 

"That was me losing my temper. Thank you everyone, return." casually she returned all bar Azurill 
who she picked up and took over to the water that had come to the boil over the fire and added the 
noodles for supper. 

"Pikapi!" called Pikachu, still stuck in the cage. 

"Ooops, sorry buddy!" apologised his trainer, releasing him from the cage.

"Pika pichu pika pi chu kachu pikachu." (You really need to get over yourself) he stated before 
bounding off back to his comfortable spot. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, when all were falling asleep, Ash found sleep did not come to him easily. Tossing 
and turning, he finally found comfort while resting on his left side, away from Pikachu and straight 
at Misty. Her face was completely relaxed as she dreamed sweet dreams, Azurill tucked tightly under 
her arm. He watched as the star and moonlight softened every feature of her face, making her more 
beautiful than he could believe. To him, she was already perfect. An inner peace descended within 
him and he was finally able to get some rest. Before he entered the land of slumber however, he 
realised the date, in just over one week, would be the 25th September. Misty's birthday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~