Hiya! Thanks to all my faithful reviewers! Here’s episode 3 of the new and improved Card Captor Ashura series!

Disclaimer: I have to put this in every part. *Sigh*. Well, you know the drill. CCS isn’t mine, neither is pokemon, but I wish I had them. I am not making any profit from this fanfic anyways, so it doesn’t matter, right?

Episode 3: Attack of the malicious mushrooms

“All right, young man, you have a lot of explaining to do!” Delilah said as soon as Ash had dismounted and Pidgeot had disappeared.

Ash eeped. Pika-chan patted him on the head to give him some support. Ash looked like he needed all the help he could get.

“Well?” Delilah asked, when she and Ash were seated on the sofa ten minutes later. “I don’t think I’m hallucinating, so what were you doing out so late in the woods? And where did that Pidgeot come from?”

“It’s a long story.” Ash said. Then, he came up with a question. “Wait. Don’t you have a date today?”

“He’s not showing up until seven.” Delilah said. “Now tell me. What took you so long?”

Ash decided that the best way to get out would be to act pathetic, so he began playing it for all it was worth. His eyes filled up with tears and he began to sniffle softly. “Well, I was out in the woods looking for the mushrooms, but I couldn’t find any, so I decided to go deeper inside.”

Delilah gasped. “Deeper into the forest?! That’s dangerous! Go on, what happened next?” She remembered the legends about how ghosts of abandoned pokemon would haunt that particular part of the woods near her house.

“Well, then I got lost…” Ash trailed off. Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie, since he had gotten lost. “It was really cold and dark, and I was really scared.” He turned the big puppy eyes on, confident that his plan was working.

It was. All of Delilah’s motherly instincts had risen to the surface, beating down her anger. “Oh my poor little boy!” She said, hugging him tightly. “How did you get out?”

“Well, I wandered around, and then I ran into a trainer. He told his Pidgeot to take me home.” Ash finished. Then, he opened his backpack. “And I found all the mushrooms.”

“All right. Next time, go with a friend if you’re going to go in the dark part.” Delilah said. “Maybe I should get you a pokemon from the center, there are plenty of orphans there.” She stopped. “Well, I still have to finish dinner and redo my makeup before Giovanni comes, so please be quiet until then, and be nice to him when he comes!”

“Okay mom.” Ash said.

“Oh! And don’t forget to change into clean clothes, and please take a bath too!” His mom called as she headed to the kitchen.

As soon as his mom was gone, he sighed in relief. So did Pika-chan.

“I can’t believe she fell for it!” Pika-chan said.

“Shh! Talk softer, mom might be able to hear us.” Even above the sounds of sizzling coming from the kitchen, he could still hear his mom humming what sounded like an old love song.

“Oh.” Pika-chan lowered her voice. “I’m hungry. And you promised me a treat.”

“Okay. I did promise, so I’ll get you something.” Ash said. He took Pika-chan upstairs and gave her some of his salt-water taffy that his cousin Frank had sent from the Orange islands. Pika-chan liked it, until the taffy got stuck in her teeth. They stayed upstairs and watched challenges to the Elite Four until the doorbell rang.

Ash had taken a bath, so he looked neat when he opened the door. He found a tall, imposing man dressed in a red suit standing there, carrying a bouquet of ruby red roses.

“Hi! Are you Giovanni?” Ash asked. Pika-chan hung over his shoulder and tried to look like a stuffed poke doll.

“Indeed. You must be Delilah’s son Ashton.” Giovanni said. “I had thought you would have gone on your pokemon journey already.”

Ash pouted. “Mom won’t let me go until I’m twelve.”

“Oh! Well, if its any comfort to you, my mom didn’t let me begin training until I was fourteen.”

Ash stared in disbelief. “Fourteen?!”

“Yes, so you won’t have to wait as long. How old are you now? Ten?”

“I’m eleven!” Ash said proudly.

Anything else they were going to say was interrupted when Delilah bustled in. She had changed into a dark blue dress, trimmed with white. Ash clapped his hands when she came downstairs, while Giovanni kissed her hand and handed her the roses.

“Oh Giovanni! They’re gorgeous! How did you know I liked flowers?” Delilah asked as she placed them in a bowl of water.

“I thought you might enjoy them.” Giovanni said smoothly.

“Well, dinner is ready!” Delilah led the way to the dining room. Ash noticed that his mom had used the pretty blue-and-white plates she only used for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This man must be very special!

“Ash, put your toys away please.” Delilah called as she turned to chat with Giovanni. Ash obediently took Pika-chan upstairs.

“I’ll feed you later, Pika-chan. Wow, mom must really like this guy.” Ash said.

Pika-chan blinked. It had been obvious to her that Delilah was besotted with this man, even though she didn’t know why.

“Well, yes. I think she considers him a potential mate.” Pika-chan said.

Ash gave her a puzzled look. “Well, I’ll bring you some food later, but I’ll have to wait until they go to the movies, okay?”

“Okay!” Pika-chan cheered. Ash washed his face and hands and headed downstairs.

Dinner was a happy affair. Giovanni genuinely seemed to love Delilah’s cooking, and he kept teasing her, so she generally acted like a love struck schoolgirl. Ash just viewed these events with mounting confusion. He finally decided to ignore them, and focused his attention on the mushrooms instead. He was so busy eating that he didn’t notice Giovanni decline the mushrooms or his mom’s surprised look.

After dessert (Mocha iced cake), Delilah and Giovanni left.

“Now remember, you have to be in bed by nine-thirty!” His mom called. “Tomorrow’s a school day, you know!”

“I know. Have fun!” Ash called. When they left, he took a plate loaded with leftovers up to his room.

“Yum!” Pika-chan said gleefully. “Ah… I can’t believe that when I was created, I never once considered eating!”

Ash shrugged. “Food is good.” He decided to work on his science homework. He sat down at his desk and began answering questions pertaining to photosynthesis and respiration.

After a while, Ash’s stomach started hurting. He ignored it, deciding that he had overeaten. However, the pain didn’t ebb, so Ash consulted Pika-chan.

“The pain won’t go away?” Pika-chan asked.

“Uh-huh.” Ash said. He was lying down on the bed, hoping that the stomachache would just go away, but no such luck.

“Hmm…” Pika-chan prodded and poked him for a few minutes, before she realized what must have happened.

“Oh no! Those mushrooms you picked in the dark woods must have been from the Paras card! Its toxin is very deadly, and there is no cure for it yet.” Pika-chan said gravely.

Ash gulped. “Am I going to die?” He asked.

“Not yet. If we can find the Paras card, you’ll be okay.” Pika-chan reassured him.

“Okay.” Ash stood up shakily. He didn’t want to die, and if going out card capturing was the cure, then he would do it!

“Key that hides the power of the elements, reveal your true from before me! Your master Ashura under the seal of contract commands you, Release!” Ash grabbed the wand as soon as it appeared and began climbing out the window when Pika-chan stopped him.

“Ash, there’s nobody home. You can use the door.”

“Oh.” Ash sweatdropped. They went down the stairs slowly, he leaning on his wand, which had enlarged so it could serve as a cane.

They managed to make it out the front door. Ash moaned. His stomach really hurt! They had better find the Paras card quick, or else…

“Ash! Use Pidgeot, we’ll find it quicker!” Pika-chan called. Ash nodded as he raised his wand. “Pidgeot!”

The bird pokemon once again allowed Ash to mount it. Then, Ash and Pika-chan followed the beam of light shooting out of the wand into the woods.

They searched around in the treetops, but Paras was nowhere to be found. Ash was getting sicker and he didn’t know what to do. Pika-chan was frantic. Her Chosen couldn’t die on her!

Finally, Ash got an idea. “I know! Bulbasaur, go! Find Paras!” Bulbasaur materialized out of its card in a streak of blue and landed on the forest floor. Soon, they heard the sounds of a scuffle. Ash and Pika-chan looked down and saw Bulbasaur and the wild Paras fighting furiously.

“Great, now that I’ve found it… Pidgeot, attack!” Pidgeot needed no further encouragement as it dove down from the trees and attacked the Paras furiously. Pika-chan sighed in relief.

“Return to your true form, pokemon card!” Ash called weakly. Paras seemed to scowl, but it reverted to a blur of blue energy, before reappearing as a blue card. Ash immediately felt a lot better.

“See?” Pika-chan said. “Well, that’s that. Let’s get home.” Ash nodded. He and Pika-chan flew back home on Pidgeot’s back. Then, they climbed in Ash’s window. Fortunately, even though it was almost ten, Ash’s mom wasn’t back yet and neither was Giovanni.

“That was close. I’m never eating mushrooms again!” Ash declared as he sunk onto his bed, exhausted.

Pika-chan laughed. “We’ll see. Well, good night!”

The lights flickered out as the two fell asleep. Tomorrow would bring more challenges, and they needed all the rest they could get.

So, did you like Episode 3? Tell me!