The Path of the Guardian A “General” category By Mr. Highwind Good God! School would not give me a break. Test after test after test!!!! Not to mention the TAKS are still coming up! I miss private schools... Anyways I’m trying to squeeze this chapter in between whatever free time I can find (and believe me, I really have to find it, it’s that hard). Last time, we found Sparks and his new Pikachu, along with Ash, splitting up at a fork to a forest blocking the way to the next town... --------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Trails & Strangers Sparks and Pikachu said their goodbyes to Ash and his pikachu as they took the right fork into the forest. Both of them looked around to find it very dense with plant-life, and it only got worse as they went down the trail that was slowly wearing away. There were some bug pokemon like Weedles and Caterpies, Kakunas and Metapods. There were also a few Pidgeys and Pidgeottos, but none seem to satisfy Sparks’ style. Speaking of catching pokemon, Sparks didn’t bother to buy some pokeballs or potions for his journey. That would cost him some damage done to both him and Pikachu. While traveling through, the two had to make their way over many marshes, huge ditches, and a couple of hostile pokemon. “Good Lord!” said Sparks. “How big IS this forest!? Maybe we should’ve stuck with Ash, huh?” “Pikachu.” However, Ash was in a worse state then they were. He threw a rock at a Spearow and is now being chased by a whole flock. Sparks decided to take a break near a stream and set up some food. Pikachu took a quick swim in the stream to rid itself of some mud from the marshes they traveled through. After five minutes of sizzling, the fish Sparks caught with a makeshift fishing rod were ready. He and Pikachu quickly downed them and laid back. They stared up through the only patch of clearing that the sun came through. Sparks got to thinking about what Lorenzo said: “Getting a little famous on our own first...” “Actually, That’d be okay. And as much as I hate to admit it, the little jerk, Gary, is right. I think we DO want a little more action. How?... What about those island tournaments, like the Gengar and Onix? With competition like that, I’m sure that’s perfect training for future pokemon. I’ll need those badges from the gyms, of course, so I’ll train early anyways. Besides, you’re never sure when Shadow Lu-.” While he was thinking to himself, a flash moved in the trees. It was big, and faster than any of the pokemon in the forest. Pikachu saw it too and tensed up. Sparks, quickly thinking, looked at his dream catcher. The feather was dull. “Huh?” said Sparks. He looked up to find whatever caused the shadow only to have a feather land on his nose. A red feather. Sparks took it off of his nose and studied it. “Where have I seen this before?” thought Sparks. All of a sudden he felt dizzy. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened him again to find himself in his dream garden with the red & blue feathers falling. Then in a split second, he was back in the forest. “*Gasp* Oh my-. So that was the mystery creature!” exclaimed Sparks. “This is the feather from the dream from the cruise boat. No. Not a dream, but a vision!” pikachu was confused about where Sparks was getting to. Sparks noticed this and quickly said, “Okay, first test. Agility. We gotta catch that creature! Let’s go!” The two of them ran into the direction that the shadow ran towards. The tension was up for Sparks. “What importance is this pokemon, or whatever it is?” thought Sparks. “Strangely, there wasn’t a blue feather...maybe it makes two kinds of feathers and I got one.” The two ran and ran, but soon got tired and stopped. Panting, Sparks and Pikachu kicked the dirt for not finding out what it was. The silence was broken when a girl’s voice called, “Hey, gimme back my bike!” “Huh?” “Pika?” Gaining their senses, the two decided to help the girl from the thief. They ran again when they heard a familiar voice: “Sorry, but I got to escape from the Spearows!” the two of them stopped. “Ash?” called out Sparks. No answer. Sparks and Pikachu quickly broke through a clearing to see Ash and his pikachu on a bike. “C’mon, let’s-.” But Sparks was cut off after a swarm of Spearow flew past them, flying so fast, the two had to duck and cover. Ash couldn’t survive against the thousands. Sparks thought to even the odds and told Pikachu to thundershock as many as he could. Pikachu obeyed and shocked half of them. It was much better odds, but they needed more power, for there were still too many. However Pikachu was tired from such an energy surge, and the Spearow were too far to do anything about it. “Good job! You did a lot in five minutes, pikachu,” said Sparks. He picked his furry friend up and chased after Ash. Five minutes of more running and the forest was finally clearing up. “About time,” thought Sparks. But as they got closer, they ran into an unfamiliar face. Sparks slowed down as a girl past them. She was Sparks’ size, had long brown hair that covered her ears and stood up in the back in a way where they didn’t look like ponytails, as if they naturally stood up. She had a pale green-blue polo, a white short skirt, black socks, and pink shoes. She had very soft eyes as well, which looked curious. Sparks and the girl just stared. There was something familiar, but he couldn’t recognize her. Pikachu turned weakly to the girl, and then also stared, as if he had the same idea. The staring contest was broken by the sound of thunder. Everyone looked up for a little shower to come down, then back to staring. The girl then slowly turned away and walked off into the brush. Sparks then broke back into a run. After hitting a few branches, he made it in the clear to find a HUUGE lighting surge in the direction of Ash and the Spearow. “Ash!” yelled Sparks. He broke off toward where the surge came. And so the mystery was set. Why was the girl so familiar? And what was the shadow? Are the two connected? As they headed for the next town, from above, the invisible watched. ------------------------------------------------------------- End of Chapter 6 Ain’t that a shame that you won’t be able to see him training. O well. Plz! Send reviews (I’m really really, REALLY wanting to know what you guys think!)