~If I Could Change the World~

Chapter Six: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them--Part Two

[Note: Still no copyright infringement intended. ^^;]

[Note Two: In case you don't remember, last chapter ended with Ash innocently in his Pokéball while Misty was starting to battle Giovanni. And--If I'm as good as some SAY I am--you preparing to kill me for the cliffhanger. ^^; If it IS a cliffhanger. It's not really much of one... But I digress... By the way, if I TRIED to do a cliffhanger, I could. ^^; Trust me. Someday you'll find out first-hand, if this goes even close to the way I plan.]

[Note Three: This will not make sense until the end, but I'd like to say it now anyway: Hey, the plans have been available to look at for months! And no, not locked in a wet closet in my branch at the bottom of the Amazon river, unless of course you consider Angelfire.com the Amazon River. So feel free to be shocked, but don't complain or anything... 'Cos this plot twist has been on my web site, and maybe even in the summary, _forever_ . Er, just come back to this at the end of the chapter. ^^; Thank you.]

[Note Four: About the MIDIs mentioned later...If you want, I'll send them to you. Just don't put them on your site or anything. I don't own them. ^^;]

~*~

"Well..." Misty sighed. "I really hate to do this, but Togetic, go!"

The slightly ditzy egg Pokémon materialized.

Giovanni's Machoke had managed to dispatch Starmie in only a few hits. However, Starmie had gotten in enough damage that Misty knew Togetic could probably take it out with a hit or two.

Immature as it was, Togetic, with its powerful Psychic attacks, was probably Misty's strongest Pokémon. This annoyed Pikachu a lot, because Pikachu had probably lost half of its life trying to stop Togepi from killing itself. And now that he knew the thing would probably save itself once it realized it was falling, Pikachu slightly resented it for being so careless. And for not showing that it had ANY power at all. In fact, Misty had only realized that Togepi was not as defenseless as it seemed when it evolved. Then they realized it must have power to spare.

"Machoke, tackle!" Giovanni roared.

"Quick Togetic, dodge it!!" Misty yelled.

"Toki toki..." Togetic said in a sing-song voice, dodging Machoke and swaying through the air happily.

"Now Togetic, Metronome!" Misty called.

Togetic smiled serenely. "To-ki-to-ki-to-ki-to-ki-to-ki..." It waved its arms, imitating the timing mechanism for which the move was named.

Hypnotizing waves appeared from nowhere and started to affect Machoke. Suddenly, it started dancing like a ballerina, throwing itself into a wall whenever it came near one.

Giovanni growled. "Machoke, return!"

Still ballerinalike, the Pokémon vanished in a flash of red light.

Giovanni took his next Pokéball out. "Go, Dugtrio!"

Misty grinned. ~Another ground Pokémon! Togetic should have no problem!~

"Dugtrio, go underground!" Giovanni ordered.

Togetic hovered a few feet above the surface, puzzled. It flew down a little lower.

"NOW! TACKLE!" Giovanni yelled.

"Oh, no! Togetic, Psychic!!"

As the Dugtrio burst above the surface, Togetic hit it with a Psychic attack.

"Yesss!" Misty yelled.

The Dugtrio was knocked unconscious by the Psychic attack, just as Misty had hoped. But its momentum still sent it flying straight into Togetic...As Giovanni had hoped.

Dugtrio and Togetic lay motionless on the ground. "Togetic! Return!" ~And I'll just bet he's saving his best for last...~ Misty bit her lip. Togetic might be her only Pokémon that had a chance over Giovanni's strongest Pokémon, and she knew it.

~But Pikachu?...~

She dismissed that. Even Pikachu probably wouldn't have much of a chance against a high-level Ground type.

Giovanni was in a black mood. This twerp had just defeated two of his best Pokémon, and all he had left was his pet project. Certaintly he had managed to level it up a little, but if that child's Pikachu was even a year old, it wouldn't have a chance.

He gritted his teeth. "Dratini, go!"

Misty's eyes widened. ~This must be my lucky day!~ "Pikachu, get out there and show that jerk who's boss!"

Pikachu jumped down, happy to get in on the action.

<Wha?...> Ash blinked. ~Is that... MISTY? And PIKACHU?~

<Pikachu!> he yelled.

"Pikachu, let's not waste any time! Thunderbolt!" Misty yelled, definetly happy that she had the advantage.

"PI...Ka..."

<What? Pikachu-->

"CHUUUU!!!"

Ash yelled. <Pikachu! Are you out of your mind?!>

<No, but from the looks of things, I'd say you are,> Pikachu said quizzically.

"Dratini! Tackle!" Giovanni ordered.

<Dodge it! Fast!> Ash yelled, just as Misty said the same thing. Ash launched himself somewhat awkwardly from the ground.

<Wha?...> Pikachu dodged the Tackle easily, staring at Ash. <"Dodge it"? Are you INSANE?>

<I just don't want to see you hurt!> Ash said.

"Pikachu, agility, now!" Misty yelled.

Pikachu's image blurred as he circled around Ash at such high speeds that there appeared to be ten of him.

<And why, pray tell, do you not want to see me hurt?> Pikachu asked dryly.

Giovanni sighed. "Dratini, just wait until it makes a move!"

<Because, Pikachu! You're my best friend! You know that!>

<I just MET you, you moron!> Pikachu cried. This Dratini had to be insane. "Best friend"?

<No!> Ash yelled in frustration. <Pikachu, it's me, Ash!>

<Whaaa?> Pikachu yelled. <Oh, NOW I see what you're up to! Clever strategy! I suppose Giovanni taught it to you?!>

<What strategy?> Ash asked, perplexed.

<You saw my picture in the papers, didn't you?!> Pikachu screamed. <You saw that Ash was missing, and now you're using it against me! You dirty little-->

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Misty yelled.

"PI--KA--CHUUUU!!" Pikachu yelled almost happily.

<Yaaaaaa!> Ash screamed.

"Dratini, Wrap!" Giovanni ordered.

Ash grabbed Pikachu and squeezed him as gently as possible.

<That should've knocked you out!> Pikachu yelled.

<Hmmm, I guess my resistance to electricity stayed,> Ash mused aloud. <That's good. I had quite a lot of it stored up from all those times you accidentally shocked me...>

<Huh?!> Pikachu said, struggling to get free.

<And there was that time you shocked everyone in front of Professor Oak's lab...You really didn't like me, did you? Or was it Mom? Yeah, you didn't like being thought of as weak, so you shocked the whole crowd...>

Pikachu stopped struggling. <How did-->

<And then there was the time we blew up the Pokémon Center...The one here, wasn't it?...I used Misty's bike light--Auggh, I _still_ haven't paid her back for that bike, have I?> Ash moaned. <I keep forgetting!>

<No, you're just afraid she'll leave you,> Pikachu corrected automatically. He blinked. <Oh my god... _ASH_?>

"Okay, Pikachu, we've had enough of this! Thunder attack!"

Pikachu looked at Ash sadly. "Ka pika....Pikapi..."

<I'm sorry....Ash...>

Those words echoed through Ash's mind as Pikachu gathered up an insanely huge ball of lightning around itself.

<Gee, I almost feel sorry for those Spearow now...> Ash joked weakly.

<Pi...ka...CHUUU!>

There was the biggest jolt of electricity Ash had ever felt, and then blackness...

~*~

"Ya-HOO! We WON, Pikachu!" Misty yelled happily.

"Pika..." Pikachu looked mournfully at the ground, remembering the Dratini's--or Ash's, maybe?--scream.

~How else could he have known?...~

There were several possible explanations. Maybe he just read the newspapers... Maybe he had met one of Ash's former Pokémon...But for some reason, Pikachu believed the craziest explanation of all: that this Dratini was somehow Ash Ketchum.

Giovanni was visibly fuming. "Here is your Earth Badge! Now LEAVE!"

"But--I was hoping we could--"

"LEAVE!!"

Misty sighed. "Okay. Come on, Pikachu."

Misty let out a curse as they emerged into the sunlight. "He didn't even recognize me! All that was for nothing!!" Misty sighed. "Oh well... At least I got an Earth Badge..."

They headed back to the Pokémon Center.

~*~

"Kachupi!" Piakchu yelled as they entered the Pokémon Center.

"Hi, guys!" Brock called. "Did you get anything?"

"No." Misty pouted. "First he made us battle him, and then he wouldn't talk to me! He didn't even recognize me!"

"Well, half of the Gym Leaders don't even recognize Giovanni. He likes his privacy," Brock said.

"Well, at least I got an Earth Badge!" Misty brightened a little. She walked over to the counter.

"Nurse Joy, could you heal my Starmie and Togetic for me?"

Nurse Joy giggled a bit. "Certainly, that's what I'm here for!" She accepted the Pokéballs and put them into the rejuvinator at her side.

"Kachupi, ka pika pikachu..." <Brock, there's something I have to tell you...>

Brock frowned. "You sound worried. What is it?"

Pikachu opened his mouth. Suddenly, the door opened. They turned around to see a tall, blonde-haired man come through the door.

"Misty!" he cried. "I thought I might find you here!"

"Darien!" Misty ran towards him. "What took you so long?"

Brock and Pikachu watched, slightly stunned, as they embraced.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, pulling away. "Brock, Pikachu, this is Darien. I met him at the party the other night."

Darien held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Brock shook it. "Same here. You're the guy that Misty was dancing with?"

"Yeah." Darien grinned. "Anyway, Misty, I know you must be really worried right now, what with your friend missing and all. So, how about I treat you to dinner as a little stress reliever?"

"Oh, Darien, of course!!" Misty gushed.

"All right!! I'll pick you up at eight, then?"

"Yes, that'd be fine!" Misty said excitedly.

"It's a date, then!" Darien said, not noticing Pikachu's ears twitch. "Bye, Misty! See you at eight!"

"Goodbye, Darien!" Misty called after him as he left. "Whoo-hoo!" she squealed. She ran around the Pokémon Center giddily, dancing with everyone she ran into. "I have a DATE!! With a GUY!! With a CUTE guy!!!"

<He didn't seem so cute to me,> Pikachu said grumpily. He leapt out of Brock's arms as Misty spun towards them.

Misty spun Brock around like she was in a waltz where someone had speeded the music up. She swung a dizzy Brock into a chair and bent down to grab Pikachu's paws.

"PIKA!" Pikachu warned loudly, sparks flying from its cheeks.

Misty blinked. "Okay, you don't want to dance... Oh my GOD! I have to get ready!!" She sped off.

"But Misty, you have ten hours!" Brock called after her, futily.

"Kachu pi, ka pika pikachu..." Pikachu repeated.

"Oh yeah," Brock said. "What is it?"

"Kachu Pikapi..." <It's about Ash...>

Pikachu related the story of the half-crazed Dratini to Brock.

<And then, he fainted...> Pikachu finished.

"And you FELL for it?" Brock snorted.

<What?>

"Come on! All of those stories have been in the magazines a thousand times! This jerk was obviously trying to mess with your mind." Brock tilted his head. "It's the oldest trick in the book!"

<But...> Pikachu struggled. <It SOUNDED like Ash...>

"That's not hard, if you read a lot of interviews."

<But why would anyone come up with a story so STUPID?>

"Well, you believed it, didn't you?" Brock leaned back wisely.

<But...>

"Look, Pikachu, even if this IS Ash, we'd never be able to find out for sure," Brock pointed out. "No one on earth would give us a search warrant for THAT. Trust me, Pikachu, someday you'll look back on this and realize that Dratini was just a con artist."

"Pika..."

"And don't you DARE tell Togetic about this!" Brock yelled. "Togetic's too young to question it! It would just hurt Misty!"

"Pika Kachu?" <And this boyfriend won't?>

"Are you worried about Misty, or your fifty bucks?" Brock asked slyly.

"Pichupi!" <Misty!> Pikachu said indignantly. "Ka pikachu pika ka..." <And a lot more than that...>

"What else?" Brock asked.

Pikachu stared up at Brock. "Pikapi."

A few beats passed.

"I'm telling you, that was NOT HIM!" Brock yelled, storming outside and slamming the door.

"Pika!" Pikachu cursed.

"CHAN!" Chansey, horrified, grabbed Pikachu by the neck and dragged him off to the bathroom. <I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap!!>

Pikachu uttered several more Pokémon obscenities as Chansey dragged him away.

~*~

Ash groggily opened his eyes. He had a vague memory of..._something_ happening between the Thunder attack and now, but he could not remember details...And he had a feeling that was a mercy.

"Ah...You're awake!" A girl, about Brock's age, entered the room. Her wavy brown hair was pinned up in Nurse Joy's hairstyle, and her outfit resembled Joy's too.

As Ash woke up a little more, he noticed that he was in what looked for all the world like a Pokémon Center treatment room...Except for the black walls, and the red, R-shaped clock. He tried to move his head, but the wave of dull pain quickly convinced him to put it back down.

"I'll bet you're pretty sore," the nurse said, patting him sympathetically. "They always are..." She trailed off, and her blue eyes looked into the distance.

He noticed the faint melody coming from behind the door, fast-paced and cheerful. He listened to the catchy tune, or to what he could hear of it... And then the song ended.

The Rocket-Joy noticed the silence. "Oh, I'd better put on a new MIDI," she said. She opened the door and went outside.

"I like putting these songs on," she called to Ash from the lobby, where she was fiddling with her computer. "It gives this place a nicer atmosphere...Not that it'll ever have much of one, with THIS decorating scheme..." She clapped her hand to her mouth, half-sincerely. "You won't tell the boss I said that, will you?"

Ash shook his head.

"I really hope that means no," she said dryly. Suddenly, a beautiful, sad piano solo came on. Ash listened to it, entranced. The piano solo shifted to a song prelude.

"Oh, you like it?" the Joy said, coming back into the room. The music shifted again, into a beautiful song with a discernable melody. The song must have had lyrics, but the melody was instead represented by an instrument.

"It's called, "Fate is so Beautiful"," the Rocket-Joy said softly. "It's from an anime series named Sailor Moon...Though I'm not sure I agree with the title at all, it is a beautiful song, isn't it?..."

Ash nodded enthusiastically, wincing a little.

"You should be out of here soon...Not that that's good..." the woman said. "...Why do you seem so...so familiar? It's almost like I know you or something..."

A Chansey wearing a little "R" necklace walked in. Abruptly, the woman became brusque and businesslike.

"Oh good, Chansey, you're through. Now, I need some help with this one. The boss made it a special priority, and he'll have our heads if it isn't back soon."

Chansey nodded. A warm, golden glow surrounded her arms and egg, and she placed her hands on Ash. Slowly, he felt himself healing.

Chansey lifted her hands.

"Well, better get him back to the boss," the brown-haired nurse said, holding up a Pokéball. "Dratini, return!"

~*~

A few minutes later, Ash reappeared on the training ground.

<You lost, huh?>

<Oh, hi, Sandstone.> The Diglett popped up next to Ash.

<It's okay. It was your first Gym battle. Actually, I have no clue what Giovanni was on, sending you out there.> Sandstone snorted. <For crying out loud, you only know two attacks! What took you out?>

<Pikachu,> Ash said absently. <Sandstone...What do you know about that nurse?>

<Nurse? Oh, that's Nurse Serena.> Sandstone's tone was casual, as only a true expert's could be.

<Nurse...Serena?>

<Yeah. Boss's best friend brought her up here. According to rumor, it was the guy's daughter. He'd left his wife and took 'er with him. The guy was a bigamist, he apparently had two other families he liked more.>

<Left...his...wife...>

<Our old Nurse Joy took care of her,> Sandstone continued. <Joy had left the family, and Giovanni lured her in. Then, when Joy died, Serena took over. Better than joining Team Rocket, I guess...>

<Serena...>

Sandstone noticed Ash looking off into space. <Ash? What is it?>

Giovanni stalked up then, recalling the Pokémon for the night. "Dratini, Diglett, return!" he called.

Serena...

Ash stared up at his stars until he finally fell asleep...

~*~

Misty burst into the Pokémon Center, grinning, at ten o'clock. "Pikachu!" she exclaimed happily. She grabbed him and squeezed.

"Gosh Misty, what is it?" Brock asked.

Misty threw the sky-blue scarf--which, Pikachu abruptly noticed, she did NOT start the date with--over her shoulder. She grinned.

"Darien and I are going steady!!"

Pikachu froze. Joy and Brock ran up to congratulate Misty, but Pikachu couldn't move.

Pikapi...

He remembered one day, not long after Ash became Pokémon Master...

<Come on, Ash, you are so totally in love with her!> Pikachu yelled playfully.

"Come ON, Pikachu! I am not!!" Ash yelled back.

<Then how come you haven't given her her bike money?>

Ash froze. "I--I keep forgetting..."

<Yeah, sure! You just don't want her to leave!>

Ash opened his mouth angrily, then changed his mind. He tilted his head and grinned.

"Okay, maybe I _don't_ want her to leave. Now what do you think about that?"

Ash turned and quickly walked down the corridor.

<Ash!> Pikachu yelled, annoyed, and ran after him.

Now Pikachu stood there, watching Misty rave about Darien, and only one thought came to his mind...

Ash...

 

 

 

 

 

~*~