Part Three

      I wearily blinked open my tired eyes, and was met with the sight of the ugly, blank ceiling of the pokemon center hotel room. Blank, just like my mind. But as I slowly sat up and stretched my arms out, the foggy memories of yesterday began to seep back inside, and I then remembered why my heart had a sinking feeling. Of course. Today was the day I had to go back to Pallet Town, and talk to Ash face-to-face. I let out a groan. I had barely been able to do it on the phone yesterday. Even that hadn't gone well.

      But yet, as I placed my bare feet on the cold, hard floor, and walked over to the window to push away the shades, a sudden emotion struck my heart. Something that made a feeling of nervousness explode inside my stomach. Even when the sunlight of morning flooded the room, I couldn't feel any warmth. I wasn't sure what the emotion was. I knew I wasn't sick though. And I also knew this:

      Something was wrong.

      I couldn't ignore it. With each rapid thud of my heart, something seemed to whisper into my ear. A whisper of darkness, of something dreadful. "This is stupid." I said out loud to myself. "There's nothing wrong." And yet... there was. I quickly changed out of my pajamas, and into my regular clothes. Hurry, hurry, hurry...

      I shoved open the door, and then slammed it shut behind me as I ran out into the hallways. I seemed to fly down the stairs to the main floor of the pokemon center, skipping as many steps as I could. I came to a sudden halt, gasping for air and bent over, staring at the ground, from all the effort. Once I finally managed to stand back up, my eyes wandered over to the large crowd of pokemon trainers gathered at the large screen TV in the corner of the room. My heart leapt to my throat.

      "Excuse me, excuse me." I muttered, ignoring the angry cries of pushed trainers as I shoved my way through the crowd and to the front of the TV screen. Once I reached my destination, I took a deep shuddering breath, and allowed myself to finally look up at the flashing colors above me. I gasped.

      From the top of a helicopter, Pallet Town, a mass wreckage of fallen buildings and trees, was viewed from a camera. The words "Pallet Town Struck By Earthquake" shined brightly on the screen, and seemed to burn a hole in my heart.

      "Ash... Pikachu... Delia..." I whispered, horrified.

      Hurry, hurry, hurry...

      I quickly shoved my way back out of the crowd of pokemon trainers, and out of the pokemon center. As I hurried towards Pallet Town, all I could think of was the argument Ash and I had. It seemed like forever since it took place, but no. I knew it had only been yesterday. But that was far enough away that I could've apologized to him. I could've told him it was a silly argument to get mad about. I could've told him I love him.

      Could've, could've, could've... Hurry, hurry, hurry...

      As I continued towards Pallet Town, sweat dripping down my face, I was afraid to let any more thoughts drift into my mind at all.

*****************************************************

      Once I arrived at Pallet Town, I was blocked by the huge mass of people scurrying about. Police officers were busy keeping away visitors, while flashing ambulance trucks parked and large medical tents were set up. The ruins of Pallet Town were completely out of sight. But I only stood there staring for a moment. As I started shoving my way through the crowds, I felt a hand clasp around my left shoulder. I looked over my shoulder to see a tall female police officer glaring at me intently.

      "Sorry miss, but we can't allow you to go any farther. We need to-"

      I didn't let her finish. "My friends! I need to see them... I need to see if they're alright..." The words seemed to spill out of my mouth too quickly. It was only after I said it did I realize that I sounded panicked. "They... they have to be alright..." I whispered softly. My effort to sound confident had failed.

      The police officer just stared into my eyes for a moment. Then she let out a heavy sigh. "What are their names?" She asked me.

      "Ash and Delia Ketchum. And Ash's Pikachu." I answered weakly.

      "Follow me." The police officer ordered firmly. She started guiding me deeper into the crowd of flashing lights, towards some of the medical tents, her hand still clasped around my left shoulder. I tried to shrug it off, but she wouldn't let me. As we neared one particularly large tent, my heart started thudding, and memories starting seeping into my mind.

"Isn't Earthquake the coolest attack?"

"No. It isn't, okay?"

      Earthquake. Ash had been talking about the attack Earthquake. I let out a shuddering breath.

"Do you know how many people have been killed by earthquakes around the globe? Thousands, Ash! Thousands!"

      "Thousands.." I whispered quietly, staring at the ground beneath my feet.

      "We're here." The police officer told me, interrupting my thoughts. She finally took her hand off my shoulder as she slowly guided me into the tent.

      After I ducked into the entrance, I scanned the room. There, right across from me, was Delia sitting on a chair. I felt my pace quicken as I hurried towards her. From what I could see, she didn't have any broken bones, and seemed to overall be in a fine condition. I let out a sigh of relief.

      Delia looked up, surprised. "Oh, Misty!" She exclaimed. "Its you!"

      "Yeah. Its me." I replied simply, smiling softly. Delia stood up and gave me a tight hug, destroying some of the worry that was swarming around in my heart. Once she sat back down, both of us were just left staring at each other, our own personal thoughts filling our minds. The silence seemed to be choking me. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

      And that's when it happened. With a sudden shuddering sob, Delia broke down crying.

      I just stood there for a moment in stunned silence. I had never before seen Delia cry. Even Ash, her own son, said he had never seen her cry. She was always such a cheerful person. If there was only one single thing in the world that made you cry, what would it be? My heart took a sudden drop.

      I sat down next to her. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright." I told her softly. Those were the only words of comfort I could offer.

      But will it really be alright?

      Even without speaking to her, I could tell she knew what I wanted to ask. And with each thud of my frantic heart, I was afraid to find out the answer. Are Ash and Pikachu okay?

      Delia took a one long shuddering breath.

      "They haven't found them yet."

      My heart stopped. Ash and Pikachu... they might still be alive! And yet, I had to grit my teeth to keep the tears from escaping. I couldn't let Delia see the sadness filling me up. Not right now. Not when it was my job to comfort her. Of course. Knowing your own son has died will make you cry... but not knowing where your son is, or whether he's alive or not, could possibly be even worse. At least, it was even worse for me.

      Confident. I had to be confident. "They will. Sooner or later, they will." I told her firmly. We both sat in silence for a moment. I changed the topic. "Are... are you okay?"

      Delia sighed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Yes. Just a couple scratches and bruises here and there." She answered. I nodded.

      After I said goodbye and gave one final hug, I walked out of the ambulance tent and towards the nearest police officer.

      They had to find Ash and Pikachu. They just had to.

*****************************************************

      I leaned my head against the hard cold surface of the helicopter's front window, letting my breath create emerging fog. I had never been inside of a helicopter before. But I was focusing more on the horrid sight below me than on the helicopter itself, and its pilot. Below us were the ruins of what was once Pallet Town, an exact image of what I had once seen on the large screen TV in the Viridian City pokemon center just moments ago. As much as it pained my heart to look at all of the disaster, my eyes wildly scanned the area. The helicopter pilot had agreed to let me join the search party for Ash and Pikachu. But we had been hovering above Pallet Town for half an hour with no sign of them. And with each tick of the clock, my heart continued to sink lower and lower. My confidence was failing me... and it was failing Delia.

      But that's when my eyes caught a sudden flash of yellow. "I think I saw something!" I exclaimed. I leaned forward and squinted. Sure enough, I could see a Pikachu far below us. I pointed.

      Everything happened so quickly. All I could remember was watching Ash's Pikachu get quickly carried away towards the nearest ambulance truck. He hadn't even been conscious. The only images I could see etched in my mind were those of the scars and bruises covering the electric mouse's body. When they wouldn't let me enter the ambulance truck to check up on Pikachu, I turned around and started walking, only to find myself sinking to my knees. "Mrs. Ketchum, they found your son's Pikachu, but we're not sure if he's going to live or not..." I choked down a sob. Every time I thought of Ash and his wild smiling face, I always thought of the fun memories he had shared with his Pikachu.

      I scooted myself towards the nearest tree, and let my head rest against the thick brown bark. It would probably be awhile until they told me Pikachu's status. And until then, they weren't going to continue the search for Ash. I was left alone with my own thoughts and worries. If they did find Ash, and if he was alright... but if Pikachu didn't live... would he even care about me anymore?

      If? Why was I saying "if"? Oh. Of course. Because, so far, confidence had done nothing to help Delia and I so far.

      "Misty Waterflower?" A male voice came from above me. Startled, I looked up.

      "Yes?" I replied back. Glancing down at my watch, I only then noticed it had been and hour since Pikachu was first carried into the ambulance truck.

      "Your friend's Pikachu..." He was silent for a moment. That's when I noticed the frown etched on his stressed face.

      No, it can't be...

      "He's going to be alright."

      My heart was suddenly filled up with the sudden hidden emotion of joy, only to sink back down to my stomach.

      But...?

      "But I'm afraid he'll no longer be able to participate in any battles."

      Of course. I let out a long shuddering breath. "Well, at least he's still alive." I whispered softly. I stood up. "May I see him?"

      He nodded in reply and led me to one of the ambulance trucks. I followed at a slow pace, digging my feet into the ground. The flashing lights... all the voices around me... and then, there was Pikachu. The image of an unconscious Pikachu was still etched inside my mind. As I entered the ambulance truck, my heart leapt to my throat. There he was. One of his front legs was wrapped in a cast. Scratches and bruises were scattered all throughout his body. My eyes wandered over to a particularly large cut buried in the side of his body.

      The man seemed to notice my worried glances. "I'm afraid that one will probably turn into a permanent scar." He told me gently.

      I nodded absent-mindedly, letting my eyes continue to take in the sight before me. Pikachu was now conscious, but when I looked into his round black eyes, the wild sparkle I had always seen in them was now gone. Instead it was replaced with a sort of lifeless sadness. That's when the realization hit me that the poor thing probably realized he wouldn't be able to participate in any more battles, too.

      And then there was Ash.

      I cradled my head in my hands as I once again thought about the argument Ash and I had just a day ago. That argument was finally over. I had won. Ash had lost. And now he had to pay the price. But because he had to, so did I. So did Pikachu. So did Delia. Was this all completely my fault? How come I had to be the only one that wasn't physically damaged? 'Because you won.' A voice answered inside my head.

      I took away my hands from my face, and instead placed one on Pikachu. I slowly started stroking the electric mouse, as I stared at the wall in front of me. After what seemed like hours, I looked over my shoulder at the man. "Ash..." I choked down a sob. I couldn't continue the sentence.

      The man sighed. "I'm afraid it's to late. We'll have to take a break in our search for him. But if you'd like, Delia Ketchum offered to let you stay with her for the night. We have many tents set up, so you don't have to go all the way to Viridian City." He informed me.

      "Okay." I replied. My voice sounded distant. "I guess that's what I'll do."

      But as the hours passed, and I later found myself staring up at the ugly ceiling of a tent, I couldn't fall asleep. Instead, the same words kept echoing inside of my mind.

      What have I done?