We see our three heroes continuing on their journey through Johto. Over the past couple of months, Ash and Misty had developed a strong, solid friendship. They had become closer than they ever had now that they were older.
The trio stops to take a brief break. Misty takes a good, long look at the landscape.
"It's beautiful out here."
Ash stretches out.
"It sure is."
"Excuse me?"
They all turn to see a young teenage girl. Brock, as always, goes into his girl-mode frenzy.
" Yes? May I be of some assistance to you?"
The girl smiles at him kindly.
"Actually, I was addressing him."
She points over at Ash. Brock looks down, rejected.
"Oh."
Misty just rolls her eyes.
"I'm kind of lost. Do you think you could show me to the pokemon center?"
"Uh...sure. We're going there too. Why don't you join us?"
"Thanks. By the way, my name's Marissa."
"I'm Ash and these are my friends, Misty and Brock."
Marissa shakes their hands.
"It's nice to meet all of you."
Misty shakes her hand.
"You too."
Pikachu then starts to growl at her.
"Oh, and this is my Pikachu."
"Pika..."
"Uh...I don't think it likes me very much.
"Pikachu, don't growl at her. What's wrong with you?"
It continues to growl at her.
"Pika..."
"Pikachu, I said stop--"
He gets cut short when Pikachu thundershocks him.
"Ouch."
Marissa helps him up.
"Ash. Are you all right?"
Brock starts to laugh.
"Ash is used to it by now."
Misty starts to get suspicious. Pikachu motions her to a corner.
"What is it Pikachu?"
"Pikachu pika pika chu pi pika."
"You say that your sensing something bad from her?"
It nods.
"Well, we'll keep a close eye on her, okay."
"Pika."
Ash calls out to them.
"Hey Mist! Come on, let's get to the pokemon center."
"Coming!"
At the pokemon center...
Ash, Misty, and Brock are settling into their rooms while Marissa settles into the room next to them. Ash notices that Pikachu is staying particularly close to Misty.
"Okay Pikachu, what's wrong?"
"Pika?"
"Don't give me that. You know what I mean."
"Pika pikachu chu pi pika."
"What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about?!"
"Oh Ash, give it a rest. Pikachu was just being protective, right?"
"Pika."
"Well, I don't want you growling at her anymore, got it?"
It shrugs its shoulders and runs over to Misty's bunk. Ash shakes his head in frustration and sits on his bed. Just then, there's a knock at the door. Brock opens it. Its Marissa.
"Hey guys. I got all your pokemon for you."
"Oh thanks."
She hands them all their pokemon. She sits on one of the beds.
"I was thinking, maybe we could all go out to dinner."
"Sure."
Misty lays back in bed.
"No thanks. I think I'll just stay here."
Ash walks over to her bunk.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing I'm just tired. You guys go on ahead."
"Well, okay."
Ash, Brock, Marissa, Pikachu, and Togepi leave the room. Just as they reach the lobby, Marissa stops.
"Oh no! I forgot something back in my room. I'll be right back."
"Okay."
Ash and Brock sit in the lobby chairs. She runs back and looks for any sign of people coming. She closes her eyes as a black aura surrounds her. She starts to speak to some unknown voice.
"Master, things are going according to plan."
The voice speaks out of no where.
"Good work Marissa. They don't suspect a thing?"
"They are completely oblivious."
"Good. How is our chosen one fairing?"
"Fine. I'm closing in on him, but his Pikachu senses me."
"That won't pose a threat. We'll take care of it later. And what of the chosen one's treasure?"
Just then Misty opens the door to their room. The aura disappears.
"Marissa? I thought you went with Ash and Brock."
"Oh, I am. I just forgot something."
"Oh okay. Well, have fun."
"Thanks, I will."
She closes the door.
"Master, I will keep in touch with you."
"All right. Keep up the good work."
"I will."
She leaves and meets up with Ash and Brock. They leave for dinner.
At the restaurant...
They get seated and start small talk.
"By the way, I want to thank you guys for helping me out earlier. I could have been wandering in those woods forever."
"Oh, it was no problem."
"Yeah, glad to do it."
"So, where are you guys headed?"
"The next place I can win a badge."
Marissa nods.
"Oh, I see. So your a real hard-core pokemon trainer huh?"
"Yup."
"That's good. I like that in a guy."
Brock rolls his eyes.
"Uh...thanks."
Pikachu glares at Marissa.
"Well, you guys seem like really nice people. I'm just sorry Misty couldn't join us."
"Yeah, well, we've been traveling a lot this past week. It must have taken a lot out of her."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, it's just one place after the other."
"Well-"
Marissa is interrupted by a special report on the nearby t.v.
"There is a terrible snow storm kicking up in town. We are expected to have at least 5-6 inches of snow. It will be extremely dangerous and its advised that everyone stay indoors."
Brock looks out the window.
"That's funny. It was fine a second ago."
Marissa smirks then speaks up.
"Well, I think that's our cue to leave."
"I think your right."
Marissa stands up suddenly.
"Ya know, I have to go do something really quickly. You guys go ahead and finish up. I'll meet you back at the pokemon center."
"Okay."
She runs off in the direction of the pokemon center. She knocks on Misty's door.
"Oh hey Marissa. Where are Ash and Brock?"
"They're still at the restaurant. I thought I might have a girl to girl talk with you."
Misty gives her a confused look.
"It's about Ash. You guys have been friends a long time, right?"
"Yeah, 6 years."
"Well, I just don't know how to say this."
"Say what?"
"He was telling me and Brock that...he doesn't really need you anymore."
"What?"
"He said that he only used you in order to get some badge and that he's been trying to get rid of you ever since."
She looks at her in complete shock.
"I didn't want to tell you, but I thought you should know. Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'll be fine. Sorry, but I have to go think."
"Okay."
Just as Misty is about to leave, Marissa waves her hand, unbeknownst to Misty.
The storm abruptly stops. Misty runs out as Marissa's eyes follow her. She smirks one more time. When Misty is out of sight, Marissa waves her hand once more, causing the storm to start up again. Just then Brock returns. He waves to her and goes into his room. He pops his head back out.
"Hey, where's Misty?"
"She went to talk to Ash about something."
"Oh okay. Well, tell them to come in quietly because I'm gonna crash for the night."
"All right."
He goes back into the room. Just then, Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi are seen walking back to their room.
"Ash!"
She runs up to him.
"What? What is it?"
"Its Misty. She looked really upset and ran out into the storm."
"What?! Are you serious?"
She nods.
"I'm going after her."
"But Ash, it's too dangerous."
"I don't care, I'm going. Here, take Togepi. Go and tell Brock what happened. Pikachu, you stay with Marissa."
"Pika-"
"Just do it."
He runs off. Pikachu starts to glare at Marissa.
"I know you can sense me Pikachu."
It looks at her in shock. Before Pikachu has time to react Marissa waves her hand in front of it. Pikachu and Togepi slump over in a heap, asleep. Marissa knocks on Brock's door. He answers it.
"Brock, could you take Pikachu and Togepi? They fell asleep, so Ash dropped them off."
"Oh sure."
"Thanks."
He closes the door. She waves her hand again and the storm becomes more fierce.
"Well, my work here is done."
She walks off.
Ash starts to call out Misty's name above the howling of the fierce wind.
"Misty! Hey Misty! Where could she be?"
Just then he sees something curled up beside the mountain. He runs over to it. Its Misty. She's unconscious. He tries to wake her up, but to no avail.
"Misty? Misty, please wake up."
She makes no movements. Ash starts to get worried. He picks her up and looks for shelter. He remembers the time he and his pokemon were stuck in a terrible snow storm (Snow Way Out). He takes out Cyndaquil and commands it to burn a hole in the side of the mountain. He seals up the cave with the help of his pokemon, then he returns all of them except Cyndaquil. He has it start a fire using some old newspaper from his backpack. Then he returns Cyndaquil. He covers Misty up with a warm blanket from his backpack as well as his own jacket. About an hour later she begins to stir. She looks at her surroundings, trying to adjust her eyes.
"Good, your up. I was starting to get worried."
She turns her head to see Ash smiling at her. She looks down. Ash gives a confused look.
"What's wrong?"
She lays back on her side and stares into the fire.
"Misty?"
He peaks over and discovers that she's crying.
"Misty, what's wrong?"
She sits up and looks into his eyes.
"You should know the answer to that. I thought you were my friend. I never thought you would betray me, of all the people."
"What are you talking about?"
She turns her head back to continue to stare at the fire. Ash turns her body towards his.
"You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Now what's wrong?"
"She told me you didn't want me around anymore. That you only used me to get the badge at the Cerulean Gym."
"I would never say that about you. Who told you that?"
Misty looks into Ash's eyes for any sign of deceit. She finds none.
"Marissa...I should've known. I'm so sorry Ash. She lied to me."
"Hey, it's okay...are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry."
She starts to cry in her hands. Ash places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up.
"Misty, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Come here."
He pulls her into a tight hug.
"I should've known better. Pikachu even warned me."
"It warned both of us, so don't feel too badly."
They release the hug.
"How did you know I was out in the storm?"
"Marissa told me."
Misty gives a confused look.
"We were just about to pay the bill when she got up from the table and said that she had to take care of something. We heard about the snow storm from the news."
"It's funny. When I ran out of the pokemon center, there was no trace of a storm. Then all of a sudden, it struck."
"Hmm...well, I guess we'll figure that out later. What matters is that we're both okay."
"Thanks to you."
They smile at each other.
"I just hope Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi will be okay."
"Me too. In the meantime, we should try and get some rest and stay warm."
"Good idea. Here, you can have your jacket back."
She hands him his jacket. He takes it and wraps it around her shoulders.
"You can borrow it."
"But, what about you?"
"I'll be okay. Besides, I have the blanket. But, since I'm such a nice guy, I'll share it with you."
Misty rolls her eyes and crawls over to him. He wraps it around the both of them. Ash smiles at her.
"This is much better."
Misty nods and lets out a yawn.
"Well, I'm gonna take a nap."
"Okay, goodnight. I'll stay up and keep watch."
She smiles at him then rests her head on the side of the mountain. As she falls asleep, her head slowly makes its way onto Ash's shoulder. Ash smiles at her.
*Misty's Dream*
"W-where am I?"
An unknown voice speaks.
"You are in my dimension."
"Who's there?"
"All will be revealed in due time. Patience...patience..."
Misty jolts up from her dream.
"That was weird."
"What was that?"
She turns to see Ash next to her.
"Oh, nothing. It was nothing."
Ash stands up.
"Well, I'm glad your up. The storm should be over by now. Let's check it out."
"Okay."
Meanwhile...
Marissa is seen talking to that same unknown voice.
"Your plan worked perfectly. They are so vulnerable."
"Don't get cocky Marissa. They are extremely strong, don't underestimate their powers. My brother knows about them and will soon be helping them. His assistant will also be helping him. I want you to keep a close eye on our chosen one. Transform if you need to."
"Yes, master. When will we put your master plan into action?"
"The time will come. Watch for any overly friendly people who try to befriend our trio."
"Understood."
"I fear that my brother has some kind of secret weapon that I have yet to discover. In any case, keep an eye on them and stay hidden. It's obvious they don't trust you anymore."
She smirks.
"Yes, master."
Later...
Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi are in search of Ash and Misty.
"Don't worry Pikachu. We'll find them."
"Pikachu pika chu pi pika."
"Now calm down Pikachu. Getting all upset about that Marissa girl isn't gonna help us find Ash and--huh?"
He stops.
"Choki prii?"
They both look top where Brock is staring. They see steam coming out from the side of the mountain.
"Come on guys."
They walk over to it.
"A hotspring?"
Pikachu sniffs it and then smiles.
"Pikapi! Pikachupi!"
"Huh? What are you--"
Brock is interrupted by a clump of snow falling on top of him, Pikachu, and Togepi. Ash and Misty emerge from the hole. Ash scratches his head.
"Hmm...I could have sworn I heard Brock's voice."
"Maybe you were just hearing things."
Suddenly they see something emerge from the snow. Misty gasps.
"What is that?!"
The figure starts to take shape.
"Brock?!"
"H-hey guys."
"Pikapi!"
It jumps into Ash's arms.
"Pikachu! Hey there buddy."
"Choki prii!"
"Oh Togepi. I'm so glad your safe."
She scoops it up in her arms. Ash is the first to speak.
"What are you guys doing out here?"
"Looking for you two."
Misty stands up.
"How did you know we were out here?"
"I didn't. Pikachu told me after it woke up fro it's little nap."
"Pikachu pika! Pi pika pikachu!"
Ash translates.
"I know it wasn't your fault Pikachu. We know all about Marissa. You were right after all. She can't be trusted."
"Well, let's get back to the pokemon center. You can tell me the whole story there."
They all head back.
"And that's the whole story."
"Hmm...she lied to us. Who was she really?"
Misty shrugs.
"We don't know."
"I don't think she's in town anymore. After Pikachu woke up and told me what happened, I checked her room. It was empty. That's when I started looking for you two."
Ash stands.
"I have an idea."
He walks up to Nurse Joy's desk.
"Excuse me Nurse Joy, but do you happen to know where Marissa went?"
"Marissa who?"
"You know, the girl who came into the center with us earlier. She picked up our pokemon for us and she stayed in that room over there."
He points to the room.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what your talking about. That room has been vacant for about a week now."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. Now if you excuse me, I have some sick pokemon to tend to."
She leaves. Ash shakes his head.
"This her doing. I just know it."
Misty leans on the desk.
"Well, one thing's for sure, she's no ordinary person."
"Brock joins them.
"Then who is she?"
They looks at each other in complete frustration.
Who is this mysterious girl? What is her master plan for our trio and how will they overcome the challenges that await? All the answers will be revealed next time...
To Be Continued...
* Hope ya liked it. Please, all questions and comments are welcome. Hope your all having a good summer!!!"