Disclaimer: This fanfic contains some scenes of violence and strong 
language. Recommended for ages 13 and up.



* * * * *
Destructive Virtue
Chapter 3
by Jam
SBKidJamX@aol.com
hometown.aol.com/sbkidjamx/Jeffpage.html
* * * * *



"Does this damn forest ever end?" Ash said aloud, annoyed with how long he 
and Misty had been walking through it. It had seemed like ages. He was 
dirty. He was tired. He was hungry. He wanted to get to Pewter City now! 
The fight earlier with Hanzo and his ninjas was quite tiring, and they'd 
had to rest several times along the trip. Misty was getting discouraged.
"Ash, I don't think this is the way to Pewter." she said.
"No, I know it's coming up soon." Ash said, trying to reassure her.
"Dammit, Ash, why do you have to be so hard-headed? We've been walking in 
this freakin' forest for days now! We're lost! Why don't you admit it?!" 
she burst out, her screaming sending a flock of Pidgey to the air. Ash 
turned to her.
"Look here! You chose to come with me! Therefore, you also chose to follow 
me whichever way I choose to go! Got that? I KNOW this is the route to 
Pewter City, so quit your whining!" Ash shot back.
"I'm not going with you anywhere! For all I care, the damn guild can kill 
me!" she yelled, dropping to her knees, tears coming to her eyes. "I just 
want to get out of this forest..."
Ash looked back at her. "Misty, I'm sorry...look, we'll make it to Pewter 
soon. I promise." Ash held out his hand at Misty, and she looked up at him. 
She smiled at him, and took his hand. He helped her up, and they continued 
onward, silently.



* * * * *



An hour later, the forest was still everywhere they looked. Ash sighed. 
I've really gotten myself lost this time, he thought. He was just about to 
give up, when he heard the sound of voices.
"Misty, you hear that?" he whispered. Misty nodded. They listened for a 
little while longer, to make sure they weren't delirious. Ash then broke 
into a run, Misty trailing after him. He ran forward, and almost cried when
the forest suddenly stopped and a city could be seen. "We made it!" he 
yelled. Misty cheered triumphantly. They started to walk into the city, but
stopped and looked around.
"Misty, where were those voices coming from?" he asked. "We're too far away 
from the city for them to be coming from there." They looked around for a 
while, until they came upon a small group of people, in a circle. Curious, 
they walked over to the circle.
In the center of the circle was a girl, about 16 years old. She was a 
little bit taller than Misty, at about 5' 6", with purple hair tied back in
a ponytail. She was trying to impress the people with various magic tricks.
Most were unsuccessful. The crowd muttered and wandered off. Only Ash and 
Misty remained. The girl started to walk off, disappointed.
"Another bad day..." she muttered. Ash and Misty exchanged looks and walked 
over to the girl.
"Excuse me, but are you a magician?" Misty inquired.
"Well, I try to be, but it never works." the girl said.
"Why not? Not enough practice?" Ash asked.
"No, I'm just not very good at it. My father was a great magician, as was 
my mother, but I'm just no good at it." she said.
"Well...we can help you practice, if you'd like." Misty suggested.
"Really?" the girl said, perking up. She gave a big smile. "Oh, by the way,
my name is Akari."
"I'm Ash, and this is Misty." Ash said, introducing themselves.
"It's nice ta meet ya!" Akari said. "Can we get started?"



* * * * *



The practice was long and challenging. Ash showed her how to do a trick, 
but she never got it right. She was too clumsy. Frustrated, Akari sat on 
the ground, slumping.
"I'll never get it right." she said.
"Aw, c'mon, don't feel so bad." Misty said, trying to cheer her up.
"No, I'll never get it right!" Akari said again, this time turning her back
to Ash and Misty, not wanting her embarrassment to be shown.
"We need to get going into Pewter, Misty. Look, Akari, I'm sorry we couldn't
help you, but I'm sure you'll get better." Ash said, smiling at her.
"Do you think I could go with you guys until I get better?" Akari asked. 
Ash looked at Misty, and she nodded, giving her approval. She then turned 
to Akari.
"Welcome aboard." Misty said. Akari smiled. Maybe I'll get some great 
training from these two along the way, she thought.



* * * * *



Pewter City certainly was a big place, Ash thought. It was a lot bigger 
than his hometown of Pallet. He looked around for the Pokémon Center. His 
Pokémon were probably hungry from that huge forest journey.
"Ash, Akari and I are going to look around Pewter by ourselves, will that 
be okay?" Misty asked. Ash nodded and the two went on their way.
Ash spotted the Pokémon Center and walked in. Walking into this place made 
him smile. Even in this, the most technologically advanced place in town,
people were still battling with weapons and Pokémon alike. He walked up to 
the counter.
The Nurse Joy at the counter smiled at him. "Hello there! Do you have any
Pokémon that need to be attended to?" she asked with a warm and inviting 
look on her face. Ash nodded and handed her each of his PokéBalls, 
containing Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, and Squirtle. She took the 
PokéBalls and placed them upon the rejuvenation machine. It hummed and a 
white glow encased each of his PokéBalls, revitalizing each of the Pokémon
inside. When it was done, it let out a series of chimes to indicate that it
had finished. Nurse Joy removed the PokéBalls and handed them to Ash, 
smiling.
"Your Pokémon are fighting fit!" she said. "We hope to see you again!" Ash
simply nodded at her and walked out, heading toward the Pewter Gym.



* * * * *



The Gym was dark inside; Ash could barely see a thing. As his eyes adjusted 
to the darkness, he could see a lone figure standing upon an upraised 
pedestal.
"I have come to challenge the Leader of this Gym!" Ash yelled out. 
Suddenly, the lights flickered on. The Gym Leader was tall; taller than Ash 
was. His skin was a tan color and his hair a dark brown. His eyes seemed to 
be narrowed into slits, maybe they were adjusting to the darkness. But they
never opened. Ash wondered why he never opened them, but he quickly 
dismissed the thought. The Gym Leader stepped from his pedestal.
"A Pokémon Duel." he said. Ash's eyes gleamed with excitement. Pokémon 
Duels were his favorite kind of battling. There were 3 kinds: Pokémon 
Battling, with just Pokémon, Weapon Battling, with only weapons, and 
Pokémon Duels, using both Pokémon and weapons, in that order.
"We use two Pokémon each. Agreed?" the Leader said. Ash nodded. His whole 
body tingled with anticipation as the Leader selected his first Pokémon.....



To Be Continued...