Yoda's Disclaimer Haiku: Disclaimer this is Own pokemon do I not Sue me not, I'm broke A.N. The story has been getting slightly more interesting(which is not hard, as cruel people will point out); as a short recap, here's what has happened: our heroes have reached Dewford City. After Gary left, Ash defeated the local gym leader, but had to leave before receiving his badge to stop team rocket from breaking into the world famous Dewford Island Research Centre. However, he and his friends were wrongly arrested. After Team Rocket were bailed out, Gary showed up, and sent the Jailer to sleep with his Hypno... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ash was left speechless by Gary's revelation. "What IS this artefact?" "Uh...I don't quite know exactly, but when I last talked to him, Gramps said that it was extremely powerful." Ash stared at him, not quite sure whether to believe his old rival. Brock, however, had turned his mind to more practical things. "Gary, you just broke the law to get us out of this cell; did you think about the consequences that such actions would have? And just how are we going to get out of this police station?" "That's easy!" said Gary. "We're currently in the basement. All we need is a powerful pokemon with the 'Dig' ability...um..." "You don't have one, do you!" yelled Misty. "You moron!" "Woah, calm down guys!" said Brock. "We can use Onix." Before Gary could protest, Brock release the giant rock snake. In the small cell. After the yells of shock and pain had stopped, Brock managed to wheeze, "Onix...dig...through that...wall..." As Onix started to dig a tunnel out, there was more space in the cell. Gary glared at Brock."We've made enough noise to alert the whole town! I'm amazed that a whole squadron of police haven't already made their way down here..." Brock grinned sheepishly, then returned to watch as Onix made its rapid way through the cell wall, and soft earth outside. "Onix" he commanded, "Make the tunnel quite long, so we don't come up right by the police station." Misty still wasn't sure that she approved of this crazy plan. In fact, she was sure that she disapproved. "So what next?" she asked Gary. "Well, once we get out, we wont have much time till the police realise that we've escaped. So my plan is to get to the Southern Jungles as quickly as possible, and get to the ruin. When we get there, we beat team rocket, and prove to everyone that they were guilty!" "Great plan!" muttered Misty sarcastically. "Even Ash could have come up with something better than that!" "Hey!" said Gary and Ash simultaneously. Meanwhile, Onix had finished the tunnel. "Come on, you guys!" yelled May, and she turned to follow Brock, who had already charged into the hole. The group appeared on the creast of a hill , near a pathway that was almost a mile away from the police station. "Made it!" yelled Ash. He turned to Gary, and somewhat embarrassed, said, "Thanks, Gary..." Brock, Misty and May nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess we owe you one" admitted Misty. "Thank me later" said Gary, for once not relishing Ash's uneasiness. "Let's get going...Let's see, if the sun is over there...then south must be that way." He pointed down the path, away from the police station. "That was lucky" said Brock. "We should really have checked which direction the tunnel was going in, but it turned out for the best anyway..." The group began to walk quickly down the path, taking one last glance behind them at the police station and Dewford City. The sun was shining over the beautiful harbour town, which Ash had spent so long trying to find. Ash gritted his teeth in anger. He should have been taking a break, enjoying the city, having just won a badge there. Instead, he was chasing Team Rocket across the Island. * * * * * The group were all tired by now. The sun was a large red circle to their right, sinking slowly in a gloriously coloured sky. In front of them, they could see the start of the forboding jungles in the distance, a single mountain jutting out from somewhere in the middle of the dense sprawl. Gary kept on glancing back, as if though he expected thousands of police officers to spring up from the ground right behind them. Dewford City was no longer in sight. May was really nervous. She'd never been on the wrong side of the law before. She trudged wearily on with the others, hoping that they would find Team Rocket, and sort out this whole mess soon. When they reached the edge of the dense jungle, they all started to run, as if by some signal. Once deeper inside, in the safety of it's cover, they relaxed a bit. Ash walked over to Gary. "Do you... know how to... get to.... these ruins?" he panted. Gary didn't reply at first, still trying to catch his breath. "No, but i do know that it's at the base of that mountain somewhere. At least, that's what Giovanni said." "Well, let's have a break before we go any further" said Misty. "I'm exhausted!" "Yeah, I agree with that!" said Brock. Ash and Gary, for once in agreement, were all for continuing, but then decided that a short rest would be sensible. It had been humid even in Dewford City, at the northenmost point of the tropical Island, but here in the jungle, the humidity was almost unbearable. Thankfully, as they walked on later into the night, it became slightly cooler, and more bearable. "We've been walking for ages!" complained Misty. "Let's stop for the night" "Good idea." agreed May, "I'm shattered" Ash and Brock mumbled agreement. Reluctantly, Gary agreed to stop for the night. They got a fire going in a small clearing, and Brock managed to cook a meal with the supplies from Gary's bag. "We've been lucky so far." said Gary. "We haven't run into any wild pokemon. We should all take turns at watch, in pairs, just in case, while the others sleep." "I'll go first" volunteered Brock. "I'll go on with pikachu." "Pika!" Pikachu nodded his agreement. "We'll wake up the next pair when we're done" And so, deep in the jungle, under the dense canopy, they slept to the sounds of the wild pokemon of the night, for the jungle is never at rest. Brock kept a very small fire going, and sat on the ground looking out into the thick darkness all around. Occasionally there was a hoot, or screeching. He looked at pikachu, who was walking up and down, in a pantomime of guard duty. "I think our turns over" he said, yawning. Pikachu saluted him sleepily. Brock wandered over to where the others were sleeping. "Who shall we wake up, Pikachu?" He asked. Pikachu was about to relpy, when suddenly his ears pricked up, and he abruptly turned around, staring into the darkness. "What is it, Pikachu?" asked Brock quietly. "Pika! Pika Pi!" he cried excitedly, pointing out into the darkness. "You think something's out there?" "Pika!" the little yellow mouse nodded. "I'll wake the others." Brock quietly nudged the others into wakefulness. Warning them to be quiet, he took them to Pikachu. "Pikachu's heard something out there!" he whispered; "Let's go check it out! Bring torches, but don't turn them on yet. Lead on, Pikachu" The group followed pikachu, trying to be as quiet as possible. May was terrified; she hated this place, with it's enclosing trees and strange noises and smells. There was a loud CRACK, as she stepped on a twig. Misty almost squealed out loud in shock. May apologised, in hushed tones, "S...sorry guys! D'you think..it..it heard us?" "It?" asked Ash. "Whatever's out there!" May swallowed nervously. "Don't worry about it! Lets just keep going" said Misty, finally having calmed her racing heart. They continued behind Pikachu, who cautiously led the way through the intimidating giant tree trunks. Suddenly they were in a clearing, and in front of them they saw the remains of a fire, the last embers glowing weakly in the darkness, showing up a Team Rocket ration pack lying on the floor. Gary spoke in a hushed whisper. "Team rockets camp! Let's make sure it's empty!" They walked around the small clearing as quietly as they could. In the still darkness, they tried to listen for any signs of life; the camp appeared to be empty. There were no sleeping bags or tents. In fact, all that remained were the dieing embers. "They must've already moved on!" said Gary, inwardly cursing. "Let's go get our stuff, and come back here! Then we can follow them!" suggested May. They ran after pikachu, back to their camp, and quickly grabbed all of their stuff. The going was much faster with torches. Once they had returned to Team Rocket's camp, Ash asked Pikachu, "Can you follow their scent?" Pikachu nodded confidently, and began to run off into the darkness. They ran after him, eager to catch up to team rocket. Then, as if by magic, the tree's disappeared, and they were at the foot of the huge peak. There, only a few hundred metres in front of them was a giant buildng, with the look of a temple. They walked slowly up to the great door, which was slightly ajar, listening out for any sign of Team Rocket. Ash realised that all was silent; there were no wild pokemon noises at all. "Hey guys, have you noticed how silent it is?" he whispered. "Yeah." Gary whispered back. "This place is creepy." Brock looked carefully at the door, and sighed. "Come on, lets go in!" One by one, they slipped silently into the huge building... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- hehehe, thought i'd leave you hanging...if there's actually anyone reading this, that is. Please review, so that i can improve, and also, so i know that there is actually someone out there reading this load of rubbish! reviews to timthesuprememaster@hotmail.com