New Year’s Resolutions.

We join our heroes at mid afternoon on December the thirtieth. Ash, Brock and Dawn are on their way back to Pallet Town to celebrate the New Year, however despite the fact that they are expected the next day, nothing is going to stop Ash from battling every passing trainer from Vermillion port to Pallet Town. As we join the three travellers somewhere inside Viridian Forest, this is exactly what is happening...
Chapter 1
*With Ash, Brock and Dawn*

“Pikachu, thunderbolt now!”

“Sceptile dodge and use leaf blade!”

The two Pokémon moved into action and it was Pikachu who came off worst in the opening bout. The thunderbolt attack missed, and Sceptile’s leaf blade attack sent the electric mouse flying backwards to land on the floor. Ever the hardy battler though, Pikachu jumped up as though nothing had happened and was ready to continue the fight.

“Impressive, i didn’t expect your Pikachu to recover so quickly” the opposing trainer said.
He was skilled, there was no doubt about it and part of that came with the mannerism. This trainer was cool and controlled, had been all match but for the first time a flicker of uncertainty crossed his features. Ash was the complete opposite; he had always let his feelings show and now was no exception. His own experience as a trainer had had some effect on his ego, he was in more control than he used to be, but Ash would always show his enthusiasm and pleasure at seeing his Pokémon do well.

“Yea well, when you battle me you have to expect the unexpected” Ash replied

“I’ll keep that in mind” the other grinned, and the two Pokémon moved into battle again.
Pikachu darted in, feinting one way and then the other, before moving to strike the Sceptile as its defences were down. The opposition had improved however, and the trainer was able to order his Sceptile to defend itself just in time, and Pikachu was knocked away.

“How was that for expectation then?” the trainer called, unable to resist the chance to gloat at Pikachu’s inability to land a successful attack.

“Better, but what about this” Ash growled, “Pikachu thunderbolt!”

“Sceptile dodge it...” the other trainer began, but Ash hadn’t finished yet, and continued giving his orders.

“Right Pikachu now use agility...” Pikachu began dashing towards Sceptile, dodging the occasional attack that was launched at it and getting faster and faster with each millisecond. “And now volt tackle!”

“Sceptile dodge...” the opposing trainer tried, but it was too late. Pikachu powered straight into Sceptile, smashing the grass Pokémon hard and it flew through the air to land at its trainers feet, defeated.

“Expect the unexpected” Ash goaded, before grabbing Pikachu as his small Pokémon jumped at him to celebrate the first victory.

“Impressive, but this isn’t over yet” the trainer growled, before reaching for a Pokeball at his belt “go Golem! Magnitude nine!”

“What the! Pikachu watch out!” Ash called, but it was too late. Caught by surprise, Pikachu took the full force of the powerful attack and was fainted outright, the type differences having a big impact.

“What was that about expecting the unexpected?” The trainer laughed

“Yea but I didn’t cheat when I said it...” Ash mumbled

“It wasn’t cheating, plenty of people use that tactic” the trainer replied, “anyway are we going to continue or was Pikachu your only chance of winning?”

“No, of course not. On your guard then, prepare for trouble...” there was a quick intake of breath from behind him as Ash uttered the tabooed words. No one really wanted Team Rocket to show up right now, though it might provide Ash with a bit of time in which he could make up his mind about which Pokémon to call next.

“You know Ash, this would have been much easier if you’d just waited until after the party” Brock called from where he was stirring something on the stove

“Oh thanks Brock that’s really helpful” Ash replied sarcastically, “how?”

“Well you could have picked up a decent water Pokémon from professor Oak’s lab for a start” Dawn called to him

“Or hey, you could have borrowed one of Misty’s Pokémon” Brock winked, making Ash go bright red

“I told you Brock I’m not gonna do... that so stop talking about it. Hey you got an idea though, Dawn could i borrow Piplup?”

“No way, I’m not gonna let my Piplup get hurt on your account” Dawn replied, holding the Pokeball close to her, protecting it.

“She’s right Ash, Piplup’s not strong enough. Now Staryu on the other hand...”

“Shut up”

“Corsola...”

“Shut up!”

“Or hey, what about Gyarados?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Ash yelled, jumping up and down in exasperation. He already had to worry about winning this battle with a Team of Pokémon not suited to the task, but now to have Brock taunting him about the whole Misty thing...well he didn’t need it, not now.

“Mr. Ketchum are you going to call another Pokémon? Stalling for time will get you nowhere” the opposing trainer called, making Ash jump around to attention again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming” he called back. “right well you’re down two, just Golem to go and i have two more to go so... ok I’ll risk it. Go Aipom!”

“Hmm, odd choice, i wasn’t expecting you to choose that” the trainer said, raising an eyebrow.

“Ok enough with the whole ‘expecting’ thing please? I’ve got a headache” Ash moaned. Behind him, Ash heard Brock begin talking to himself, or to Dawn, he wasn’t sure. He wouldn’t have cared either, but he couldn’t trust Brock nowadays to not mention what Ash had foolishly said about the New year’s party, or more specifically who would be there...

“I expect Ash will be hungry soon” Brock said, happily dishing up the food onto three plates.

“oh Brock, i wasn’t ‘expecting’ such a lovely dish” Dawn exclaimed with a sideways glance at Ash to check that they were getting on his nerves, and they were, at least until the smell of the food made an impact and then Ash’s headache mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

“Right c’mon Aipom we can do this, the faster we win the sooner we can get food!” Ash said enthusiastically.

“Aipom, Aipom!” Aipom replied with an equalling degree of excitement and enthusiasm, before leaping in to battle with Golem...


“Well...it was a good battle”

“Yea, you ‘almost’ managed to beat me” Ash said cheerily, Aipom perched wearily on his shoulder.

“Perhaps we’ll meet again Ash, for a rematch” the trainer said hopefully

“Maybe, but i should warn you, most people who say that we never see again” Brock smiled

“That’s not true” Ash replied, before thinking which had always been a habit of his. “We’ve seen Misty again”

“Ah yes but then that’s different isn’t it” Brock teased, just for the sake of seeing Ash blush again. He really wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions.

“a-and...Err... Tracy” Ash continued, trying to think up another example.

“Well anyway” the trainer interrupted, “it’s been a pleasure meeting you Ash, and if we do meet again then watch out, because i promise you i will train my utmost to beat you”

“good luck with that then, and i might see ya again someday” Ash replied, before joining in with the others in waving the challenger goodbye, as was the custom, and then turning to the food that had been waiting.


Chapter two
*with Misty, Daisy and Tracy*

“Oh i still don’t see why we couldn’t like, take a car” Daisy moaned

“Because a car costs money” Misty replied irritably, “and besides, the fresh air will do you good. You’ll thank me one day”

“Oh listen to you all like, little miss high-and-mighty. Don’t forget ‘little’ sister, we’re both older than you here so you can’t like, push us around”

“Don’t say that” Tracy whispered to Daisy, but not quiet enough that Misty didn’t hear, “you’ve never really travelled with Misty, you don’t know just how forceful she can be.”

“Yea, Brock still has a stretchy ear, from what i hear” Misty said evilly. This was something of a front though, she really was looking forward to seeing her old friends again, in fact, she had been looking forward to little else since she had received the invite. Of course, pulling Brock away from Officer Jenny would be fun, but she still hadn’t decided how she should feel about seeing Ash again yet. She had pretty much told him her secret when she had first left, and thought that Ash had replied as such, but then...

“And Ash still has the lumps on his head” Tracy sniggered, “who said it that time, on the Orange Islands...you hurt the ones you love, that was it”

Misty uttered a noise of discontent before storming off ahead of the other two down the road before anyone else could get in on the teasing. She was lucky Violet and Lily hadn’t come along she supposed, they had been too ‘busy’ doing something else, but she was glad of that. She had never really liked being around her sisters, partly because their antics irritated her but also because she associated them with being locked in a prison, or the gym as it really was, when where she really wanted to be was out on the road...she wanted to be out on the road with Ash, Pikachu and Brock, she had never wanted to leave.
A movement against her back made her pause for a second, as she took off her small red bag and took out her baby Azurill. Nice of Tracy to let her care for the baby Pokémon...odd too, why should he give it to her? She was sure he had a reason for it but had never sought to ask, and for fear of being teased about Ash again, she was not about to do so now. She continued along the road at a pace, being a more accomplished traveller than the other two, she had more energy and was used to moving at a faster pace. It helped then, that she didn’t really want to be caught up by them any time soon. She did stop however, and quite suddenly as she snapped out of her thoughts, looked ahead and found she was standing right on the edge of Viridian Forest.

“Oh great, I’d hoped it’s be longer before i had to go back through here again” she muttered to herself. Gritting her teeth she took a step forward, but no sooner had she done so than a Weedle crawled along the path right in front of her, making her jump backwards in fright. She landed on the floor and scrambled backwards a few feet, not wanting to come into contact with the small creature. She only picked herself up when she was sure that the Weedle had moved on, and dusted herself off again, before deciding it would probably be better to wait for the others rather than tackle the Forest alone.
Sitting down on the side of the road, Misty thought back again to the first time she had travelled through the forest. She had never done it alone, for before she had had to consider travelling through this way, she had managed to fish a ten year old boy and a Pikachu out of a stream...

“That’s the stream...” Misty said, spotting the small stream of glittering water across the other side of the road. She rose from where she was seated and crossed to the water’s edge, before sitting down again and staring into the shallow blue trail. That stream had done a lot for her, she had almost been about to give up and go back to the gym after all when she had first sat by it and tried to fish, but meeting Ash like that...she smiled, she would never forget that, for after all...

“Never a coincidence...” Misty whispered those words to herself, as she had done so often since she had last left Ash and co.
Then of course they had gone through the forest together, which was lucky, because she would never have managed it alone. She frowned to herself briefly at this thought; was she really so weak as she could not do that herself? But then, in a way, hadn’t it been a good thing? She had never really had many friends as a child, preferring to keep herself to herself. Meeting Ash had done her good there; she had learned how to be a friend, and what it was to have people around you, being friends back. She frowned again as she brushed some lingering dust from her leg. That was another thing though, not being with Ash, there was no one she could jump on in those situations, to protect her.
Misty reached out a hand and dipped a finger into the cold water, watching as it ran around the obstruction and away, the ripples fanning out.

“I...I miss you” she whispered to herself, before sinking further into her thoughts and memories.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“So Tracy...who are you gonna like, kiss at midnight?” Daisy asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen once Misty had left.

“Eh? Well...i hadn’t thought about that to be honest, i never have before” Tracy replied, blushing a little.

“What?! You’ve never kissed anyone at midnight?! Like, anyone?!” Daisy asked, clearly shocked

“Err...well no, i haven’t. Haven’t really had the chance to before now either to be honest” Tracy replied.

“Oh...well you like, have to do it this year then. You can’t not kiss someone at midnight, it’s like, blasphemy” Daisy grinned

“Well I’ll do my best then...not sure who though” Tracy smiled back, uncertainly. He wasn’t too sure exactly who was coming, and whilst he did have a rough idea, he wasn’t sure who he should ask. There was Daisy of course but there was no way she would agree, she must have thousands of guys waiting to kiss her at midnight. May might be there, but then he had never really got to know her, and she must surely have someone else by now anyway, perhaps she was even with Ash, who knew. Then there was Misty of course...well of the lot that seemed more likely. Tracy hadn’t known Misty to have been big on the whole romance thing, assuming she was over Ash, but then there was no way to be sure of that. Still though, there was no harm in trying, no harm at all. He didn’t notice Daisy as she watched him think, a troubled expression on her face, possibly worry? Or longing...
“What about you anyway” Tracy asked eventually, turning back to Daisy, at which she blinked, blushed, and immediately began looking the other way.

“Oh me? Well I...i dunno i guess I’ll have to like, wait and see” Daisy replied quietly
“What you mean you haven’t got anyone?” Tracy asked, before realising that his tone of surprise may not have been the most gentle and polite thing in such circumstances. “Sorry I...I guess I’m just surprised, I’d have expected you of all people to have found someone already”

“yea well... i guess I’m like, not as easy to impress any more...gotta choose more carefully, I’m tired of meaningless dates” Daisy replied, before blushing a bright shade of pink and shutting her mouth tight.

“Well...I’m sure you’ll find someone” Tracy said kindly, and the two of them continued on in silence.

Before long they caught sight of Misty, sitting with Azurill by the side of a small stream. Tracy wondered why she hadn’t just continued on towards Viridian, and then he remembered.

“The forest” he laughed to himself

“What about it?” Daisy asked, not aware of the history between Misty and such places

“Oh nothing, just Misty is scared of bugs, and that’s probably why she’s waiting there. She won’t go through Viridian Forest by herself” Tracy explained

“But didn’t she like, go through it years ago?” Daisy asked

“No, she was travelling with Ash and Pikachu by then” Tracy replied. “Still not over your fear of bugs then Misty?” he called out as they approached.
Misty heard the voice but she was so lost in her thoughts that she imagined it to be nothing more than a voice in her head.

“I never needed to before, i had Ash” she said quietly to herself.

“Misty? Misty c’mon let’s go” Tracy tried again, reaching the girl as she sat staring into the stream, and placing a hand on her shoulder. It took Misty a few seconds to react to the warm hand on her skin, and for a moment she almost believed that it was...someone, someone else comforting her, but then she realised as she was brought out of her dreams, that this was not the case.

“Huh??? Err what?” she asked, blinking and looking around to find Tracy standing next to her.

“You ok?” he asked, “you look a bit pale”

“Eh? Oh... oh please I’ve been working on the tan, give it some time” Misty replied sarcastically.

“No, you look fine” Tracy chuckled. In the split second’s silence that followed, he seriously considered asking her there and then, but then Misty got up and moved to join Daisy and he realised that it was not the time for it, not now, and whether it would be...well it was a wait and see thing.

“Right c’mon then sis, better like, get moving. We’ll protect you from the bugs, don’t worry”

“Oh shut up, you’ll see, you’ve never travelled through Viridian before have you?” Misty asked, staring accusatorily at Daisy

“No...”

“Yea, you won’t want to after this believe me. Not alone anyway, i wouldn’t mind if I...”

“Yea? What?” Daisy pried, her chance to turn on the pressure.

“Oh...never mind, let’s go shall we? Otherwise we’ll end up spending the night in Viridian forest and I’d rather not do that”

The three of them continued their journey, stepping over the border between road and forest, and into the dark interior. The road became nothing more than a dirt track, and was soon lost in the twists and turns as it meandered around trees, at times becoming non-existent. Misty remembered the forest well, for all she tried not to, but when she did she often found that aside from the bugs and the strange ninja boy and the Beedrill, there had been some good times within the borders of the forest as well, and they were down to the company, one boy in particular, one Ash Ketchum.
It was only after ten minutes or so had passed that one of them spoke, and it was not a welcome statement when it came

“You know” Tracy began with a small smile already curling his lips, “we’ll probably have to spend the night in here anyway”


Chapter 3
*with May, Max and Drew*

May and Max had set out from Johto upon receiving the invitation from Delia Ketchum to go to the New Year’s party, at great haste. The timing could not have been better, as the regional finals for the Pokémon contests had finished not a week before, and upon placing second, May still got quite a substantial lump sum as a prize for coming second. There were a couple of interesting coincidences of note however, the first being at the contest where May had met up with, and come runner up to, none other than Drew. They hadn’t spoken much, nothing unusual there then but whereas May was burning with questions about their first parting, the meaning of the rose and more, Drew seemed just as subdued and quiet as always. May restrained her questions out of respect for Drew, and also because there was simply not enough time for them to speak in detail about anything, just a smile and a handshake. Before they had left the hotel though May had been given, by the porter it should be noted, not one but two roses. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, and May was fairly sure she knew by now who they were from. She never saw Drew again though, not for the first few days after the contest, and so May had embarked the ferry to Viridian city with no one but Max and her Pokémon for company.

The second coincidence happened late in the voyage however, no more than a few hours before they were due to dock, when May and Max were taking a final walk around the deck.

“Why do you insist on these walks May?” Max asked for what must have been the seventh time on the week long voyage, so once a day on average.

“Well what else is there to do? I couldn’t afford the luxury tickets” May replied miserably, still walking around the large deck, her hair being blown around in the wind and the sea spray flying all around.

“Stay inside where it’s warm and dry” Max stated flatly, “it’s hardly the best weather for a walk”
Max was right; the weather was pretty horrible truth be told. It wasn’t raining, but the skies were overcast, the wind was up and the waves were large. Even the flock of Wingull, which had accompanied them on their voyage over the last few days, seemed to have decided that it was better to stay in shelter rather than go out.

“Yea but...well what is there to do inside?” May asked, not really bothered about the answer, just asking for the purposes of keeping her younger brother occupied.

“Watch TV” Max suggested

“Nothing on, and the wind’s screwing around with the signal”

“Polish your contest ribbons” Max tried, “again” he added in an undertone

“Done that three times already today” May answered.

“well fine then but you didn’t have to drag me out here, it’s cold and wet, and i could be updating my Pokenav in the warm but no, you said a walk would be fun, so here we are getting wet” Max moaned.

“oh stop complaining, we’re docking soon, we might as well have one last look around” May said, seemingly the voice of reason, though of course it was a pretty stupid idea in the first place, and she was beginning to realise this, not really being a fan of the water.

“Hmm...the grey sky and wet deck look so beautiful today, completely different from the last time i saw them” Max muttered sarcastically. May was about to answer, however just as they were approaching the stern of the ship she caught sight of someone else, standing right astern and looking out over the dark sea and waves below, the white foam being thrown up in the boat’s wake.

“Max...”

“And don’t you just love the way the sea spray just sinks ever so slowly over you, getting you completely soaked...”

“Max shut up!” May snapped, and her younger brother obliged, “look, that’s Drew isn’t it?” May asked, not sure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her. Max peered into the distance however it was impossible for him to see very clearly because the spray was all over his glasses. He took them off, gave them a quick wipe and then put them back on again. In the second or two before the glasses became covered in little droplets of water again, Max looked to where May was pointing, and studied the lone figure.

“Yep, looks like it. I wonder what he’s doing here, shouldn’t he be...” Max began, but stopped as he realised May was no longer standing next to him. She was now walking determinedly towards an unsuspecting Drew, still not quite able to believe that it was him, and intent on asking the questions that she had had since...well since the first Grand Contest.
“Eh? Oh...uh oh, what’s she going to do now?” Max asked himself, worriedly, before taking a seat at a safe distance, wrapping his coat around him for warmth, and settling down to see what would happen next.

“Drew? Hey, Drew!” May called, adding a little skip to her step as she ran up. Drew for his part looked somewhat shocked, perhaps the first time he had been seen looking anything other than calm and composed, and he appeared to be unsure of how to react, at least for a moment. He took a step backwards, as though to make a run for it but then decided against, and turned to face May”

“oh... hi” was all he said at first, determined not to mutter, mumble or blush, however he failed pretty much absolutely in all three.

“What are you doing here?!” May asked, returning Drew’s offer of a handshake enthusiastically.

“Me? I’m travelling back to Kanto for a while. I like the place and the people” Drew answered.

“oh...” silence followed, and May decided that perhaps launching a barrage of questions straight away may not be the best idea, and so walked over to stand next to Drew as he resumed his post, looking down into the waters below.

“err ah hem it’s...it’s good to see you again” Drew said quietly, something of a shock to May who hadn’t been sure whether or not Drew had forgotten she was there at all.

“Oh, thanks, likewise” she replied “I’m just travelling back to Kanto for a party...hey, why don’t you come too!”

“What? Me? Oh...thanks, but i don’t think...” Drew began, but May was set on her new idea, and was not about to let it drop so easily

“Oh c’mon it’ll be fun! Unless, of course, you have anything else you have to do...”

“Well...no...I don’t, but...”

“That’s settled then!” May said enthusiastically, “you’ll come with us!”

“It’s just... it’s just i don’t really do parties, and i need to improve for the next contest. No, sorry, i shouldn’t” Drew was no longer looking out over the water, and instead had turned to face May directly. For her part, May was unsure of how to continue. She had thought the idea of bringing Drew along to the party was great, had been sure he would agree. Now here he was, standing before her and looking...looking...well quite regretful truth be told, and he had turned down the invite...who turned down party invitations these days.

“Oh... well... if you’re sure. It’ll be really good though, it’s at Ash’s house. You remember Ash right?” Drew just had time to nod confirmation before May continued, “his mom invited me round for a New year’s party. Ash will be there, and Brock, and loads more. It’s gonna be fun”

“Well, as i said, i don’t think i can come” Drew replied, and there seemed to be a slight edge to his tone now, though May hadn’t noticed.

“So what’s with the roses?” May asked, not letting up for an instant. She wasn’t really aware that she was being pushy either, only that she wanted to know and there was not long left before they docked, a few minutes at most.

“Roses? What roses?” Drew asked, blushing and looking back out over the sea, whilst at the same time completely failing to sound in the least bit surprised.

“You know; the one you gave me just before you left for Johto. I got two after the last contest...i just assumed that...”

“That i gave you them” Drew finished

“Yea”

“Hmm understandable. I did, as it happens, leave you the roses”

“Oh...ok, why?” May asked, aware that Drew had suddenly become even more reclusive than usual, and wondering if perhaps she had asked something she shouldn’t have.

“well the first was a congratulations, the second two...consolation” Drew replied, “if you’d rather i didn’t then you only have to ask...”

“no, no it’s ok, i like them” May assured him, “i just wondered why, that’s all...”
Silence followed again, during which May and Drew simply stood and looked out to sea, the Kanto shoreline moving alongside them as the boat manoeuvred ever closer to Viridian City. Bored of the small-talk, Max, who had been watching the other two the whole time, had taken to observing the shoreline some time ago, and noted what he thought must be Indigo Plateau, off in the distance, and so realised that they must be about to dock. The bell that tolled shortly afterwards, the sudden increase in crew activity, and the intercom broadcast soon confirmed his theory.

“Drew...” May said suddenly, remembering something that had been said to her just after Drew had departed for Johto, the last time she had been at Indigo Plateau

“yea?”

“I...I just remembered something...something Soledat told me, when we were at Indigo Plateau that time...” before May could finish her question however the boat moved in to dock and people began moving all around them. Drew, not sorry for an excuse to end the questioning, allowed himself to be swept along with the crowd, however he couldn’t quite resist having one last word

“she was right, see you soon...” he said quietly. Whether May had heard him he did not know, but it felt good to have said it finally, and as he left the boat there was a spring in his step, if only a small one, but it was there nonetheless.


May and Max disembarked not long after Drew, and though Max was constantly asking her questions, May couldn’t help but look around for Drew once they were safely off of the ship, but wherever she looked, he was not there. What had he said to her as he had been swept away in the crowd? She had heard him say something, but the exact words had been drowned out.

“May? May? May? May? May?”

“what?!”

“where are we going to camp tonight?” Max asked. It was a reasonable question, why was May so uppety all of a sudden?

“i don’t know, we’ll see where we end up i guess. Actually, it is getting a little late isn’t it” May replied as the two set off towards Viridian city.

“could we stay somewhere in town?” Max asked hopefully, not wishing to spend the night out doors, which was understandable, given the weather of late.

“well maybe, but i can’t afford a hotel, that boat trip left us skint” May replied

“which is why we should have walked...”

“Max if you think you can walk all the way from Goldenrod to Pallet Town in under a week then be my guest.”

“well we might have managed it” Max objected, “you do realise we’re probably at least a day ahead of the others don’t you? Assuming they all walk, i know for a fact that Ash and Brock will have been held up in Viridian Forest, if that place’s reputation is anything to go by, and then anyone else walking from that side of the region will probably have the same problem.”

“good point, but better being a day or two early than a year or so late” May replied, “doesn’t solve the problem of where we’re going to stay though, cos i don’t really want to sleep on the road either”
The two of them walked on in silence for a while, thinking. There seemed to be no alternative to sleeping on the road, unless of course the Pokémon Centre had any space left, but that was little better than sleeping outside truth be told, but then at least it would be warm, and a little softer, with the possibility of a proper meal...

“I might be able to help out with that problem” came a voice from behind them. May and Max both wheeled around in surprise, but no sooner had they done so then they had to jump out of the way as a car tore past them on the road, occupied by a tall boy with spiky hair, and at least fifteen girls dressed as cheerleaders. When the dust cleared however May and Max were able to put a face to the voice.

“Drew?! What are you doing here, i thought you weren’t gonna come!” May exclaimed, though in all honesty she was a little relieved too. She had wanted Drew to say yes, more than she saw reason to but she wasn’t particularly worried about that.

“well i thought it over and realised that i really didn’t have much better to do, so i decided to follow you” Drew replied simply, “and i overheard your conversation by the way, and i think i can help out with where to stay”

“you can?” May asked in surprise, “how?”

“i won the contest, my prize was larger” Drew replied. Well he never had had a reputation for dodging around the point, and now was no exception. He did however pick up on a glance from Max that told him he might have been somewhat callous there, and whilst he was under no obligation to go back on his words, he did have a reason to and so added “though if things had been just a little different then we might be in reversed roles”

“oh...well thanks then, thanks a lot” May smiled, “and you’ll come to the party?”

“well...” Drew paused briefly to considier, before giving a sigh and a shrug “yea i guess”

“great!” May and Max said together

“trust me you wont regret it” May added.

The three of them continued on their way, reaching Viridian city not long after and, true to his word, Drew paid for a hotel in which they would stay until the next day, when they would begin the final phase of the trip. They like the others had aimed to be in Pallet Town by the thirtyfirst, which would allow for some time should something go wrong along the way. No rush then, or at least not for May Max and Drew, or indeed any other invited guests, however for another...unexpected group, things were not so easy...


Chapter 4
*with Jessie, James and Meowth*

“how are we supposed to track the twerps from the air, if they’re down there, inside that creepy forest” James moaned. He had a point, the standard tactic of tracking the twerps by balloon was all very well, except when they happened to stumble across a large patch of trees. In such situations it was quite difficult for the Team Rocket trio to keep tabs on their targets, and for all they disliked it, it looked as though this was one occasion when they would have to leave their Meowth shaped balloon behind.

“it’s dis or goin down dere, gettin caught n blastin off again” Meowth replied

“but if we don’t go down there then we’ll lose them, we won’t have any Pokémon to take back to the boss, and...and...” James began

“we’ll get a pay cut!” he and Jessie cried together

“Meowth does have a point though, that forest would not help my image” Jessie said, instantly calm again and preening her hair as she spoke

“what image?” Meowth asked in an undertone

“what did you say?!” Jessie roared, bearing down on Meowth with fangs bared and fan poised to strike

“nuttin, i dint say nuttin” Meowth replied quickly, dodging the fan that was aimed at him.

“well it’s getting dark now, it’s a while since the twerps walked into the forest, they must be making camp soon. Why don’t we go down there, and ambush them when they’re asleep?” James suggested

“James? What’s the matter?” Jessie asked suddenly, peering closely at him with a concerned expression on her face

James blinked in surprise, was this actual concern from Jessie? “err...what?”

“yea, she’s got a point, somethin must be wrong wit ya” Meowth put in, sticking his head into the conversation and peering at James closely too

“what?” James asked again, beginning to panic, “what’s wrong with me?”

“well James” Jessie began, putting on a soothing voice with just the kind of tone used in hospitals when the nurse is about to deliver some bad news, “I’m afraid there must be something wrong with you, because you just had a good idea...”

“and dat never happens” Meowth finished, before howling with laughter at the defeated look now on James’ face.

“right well, let’s go down then shall we?” Jessie said, standing up and pulling on the chord that would take them down. The balloon suddenly shot into descent and then, with an ear splitting crack, followed by a crunching and the rending of branches and twigs, the balloon sank straight into the forest canopy and got stuck, teetering on the edge of oblivion.

“oh brilliant, now it looks like we’re stuck here. This is all your fault James” Jessie said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well, the first point may have been, but the second was a harder conclusion to come to.

“how was this my fault?” James asked, offended.

“you suggested going down, and now look where we’ve ended up” Jessie replied

“i just suggested it” James countered, “you were the one who pulled the chord without looking where we would land”

“shut uuuuuuuup!” Meowth wailed, slashing the two humans across the face to enforce his point. He landed in front of them with a forlorn expression on his face, shut his eyes and sighed. A split second later though and all three of them had eyes widened in shock and alarm, as the basket began to tilt and shake violently, and a few seconds later saw Jessie, James and Meowth topple out of the basket, bouncing off of the occasional tree branch, and landing some time later on the ground, with the balloon soon to follow.

“well... at least we’re on the ground again” James mumbled into the dirt.


A few hours later saw Jessie, James and Meowth creeping quietly through the undergrowth, barely any light to see by and plenty of twigs and roots for them to slip and trip on. They didn’t have a very clear idea of where they were going, just that they were looking for the twerps group somewhere in the forest. It had been suggested, though by who was now something of a debate, that they should wait until it was darker and they would be able to see the light of a campfire through the darkness and trees. However, due to a...misfortune...Jessie, James and Meowth had all fallen into a premature slumber, and had only awoken in the absolute dead of night. Accomplished at sleeping on the road, the travellers in Viridian forest had remembered to douse their camp fires before going to sleep, and so there was absolutely nothing for Jessie, James and Meowth to use as a marker. To make matters worse the wind had got up, blowing around dead leaves, twigs, and God knows what else, all around them.

“oh a fine idea this was” Jessie muttered for perhaps the third time in as many minutes “it would have been much more comfortable in the balloon”

“yea but we wouldn’t have been able to see anythin” Meowth objected

“ouch” James moaned, but his voice seemed to be muffled by something

“what?” Jessie asked irritably.

“something hit me” James replied

“damn, they beat me to it” Jessie muttered, “what hit you?”

“err...looks like a hat” James replied, taking the offending object from his face and holding it at a distance, as though it were going to bite him.

“ooh is it the twerps hat?” Jessie asked, an air of excitement about her tone. If this was the twerps, or Ash’s, hat then it could be a clue as to how to find them, and if not, then the twerp was far too protective of his league cap to let it float around in the breeze unattended for long, and would surely soon come looking for it.

“err...no, doesn’t look like it, this one’s different” James replied, at which the little balloon of hope that Jessie had blown up for herself was popped.

“oh well...better keep looking then i guess”

Jessie, James and Meowth continued prowling around the undergrowth achieving very little, and it wasn’t long before all three of them began to tire. Meowth solved this problem by retiring to man a position on top of James’ head, pretending to be keeping look out, but in actual fact planning on settling down for a nap. His ears were still alive and awake though, an advantage, depending on how it was viewed, of being a cat Pokémon was that he had sharpened senses, and so whilst his night-seeing eyes were not being put to any use, his ears and nose were, and it was the former of the two that led to the first development in the search for the twerps, albeit it was not a welcome one.

“eh? What’s dat?” Meowth asked suddenly, the first time he had spoken in some time and he sat upright on James’ head, ears and nose twitching.

“what?” James asked despondently.

“i thought i heard somethin” Meowth replied

“probably dreaming, that’s what you do after all, when you’re ASLEEP!” Jessie roared

“no, shut up, i think someone’s comin” they all stopped moving, straining their ears for the slightest sound of movement. Before long Jessie and James could hear it too, whoever it was giving away their presence due to the crunching twigs and branches as they moved.

“that way” James whispered, pointing towards a patch of...well it was hard to tell what, it was a forest and it was dark, so let’s say he pointed towards a patch of forest to their right.

“let’s try and ambush them” Jessie suggested. They had just started moving in the opposite direction when Meowth held up a paw, signalling that they should stop. They were in the middle of a small clearing by this point, a little light shining down on them from the moon above, and the wind still as strong as ever.

“what have we stopped for?” James asked in a whisper

“dere’s someone comin over there too” Meowth whispered back, pointing in the way they had been coming.

“oh no, we’re trapped, what are we going to do?!” James wailed quietly. In his panic, he dropped the hat that he had found, or rather that had found him, and the wind soon took it and blew it off again, continuing its course.

“stop whining James and let me think of what to do!” Jessie snapped, or snapped as much as she could whilst trying to keep to a whisper.

“dey’re gettin closer...” Meowth whispered, a slight tremor in his voice too.

“do you think that stream’s deep enough to hide in?” James suggested

“no, not here anyways” Meowth replied

“rubbish, it’s deeper than it looks, you could fish a person out of that stream” Jessie replied, and set off towards the little stream with James and Meowth in tow. They had hardly moved at all though when on either side of them the bushes rustled and two figures stepped out.

“what can we do?” James asked in a nervous whisper.

“what we always do” Jessie replied, standing to her full height, “prepare for trouble!”


Chapter 5
*with Ash and Misty*

Ash couldn’t sleep. There was something about being back in this forest that made him feel odd, and no matter how hard he tried to sleep, his brain was always alive and active (a rarity some might say) speeding through memories. He was still ticked off in any case about nearly being run over just before they had stopped to camp. The car full of cheerleaders he guessed had been Gary’s, and that in itself enough to get him worked up, because it meant that Gary must have been heading back to Pallet Town, and had apparently taken a liking to the irritating cheerleaders...again. Ash’s one consolation though was that, not more than an hour ago, he had heard the car again, and seen the lights heading off in a different direction, which meant that Gary must have gotten lost. Still though this didn’t help his insomnia, which was why not long after seeing the car, Ash had decided to go for a little walk. Pikachu, Brock and Dawn had all been fast asleep when Ash had left, and he didn’t want to wake them, in fact he didn’t really feel that having the company would do him any good at the moment, so he had left alone.

Ash had been walking for an hour or so now, and still had no idea what he was looking for, nor why he had decided to get up in the first place. He had a feeling that it was more than simple irritation and a desire to tire himself out, because the longer he walked the more awake he seemed to become, it was obvious really, but Ash carried on anyway. It wasn’t long though before Ash realised, much to his surprise that he had been following the course of the stream for the entire time, the stream that had really set him up for the journey to follow all those years ago. It was lucky too, he realised, for if he hadn’t been following the stream then the likelihood of him finding his way back any time soon was quite slim. He didn’t head back though, not straight away because at that moment he heard something, a voice he recognised and one that got him on his guard at once. He only caught one word, because the owner of the voice had just shouted that one word, but it was enough and Ash set off towards the source, forgetting though that he had no Pokeballs with him. No matter, it might be better this way anyway. Ash walked determinedly towards the source of the voice, the single word ‘asleep’ ironically what he should be rather than doing what he was now.
Taking a deep breath, Ash stepped out of the bushes to confront the Team Rocket trio...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Misty had been tossing and turning for a while in a desperate attempt to shut her eyes and fall to sleep, but it was impossible. She didn’t know why she laid awake, didn’t know why every time she started dreaming she woke up, only to continue the dream in waking thought rather than what she would have preferred. With her sleeping bag she was too warm, without it she was too cold, and the wind wasn’t helping either as it gusted around her, whistling through the trees. In the end she gave up her futile attempts to relax and sleep and got to her feet, stretching out and yawning for what seemed like an age before stepping lightly out of her sleeping bag. She took a deep breath of the cold night air before sitting down again by the stream which ran alongside their camp site.
It really was quite deep, even here but then this couldn’t have been far from where she had been fishing when she had first met Ash, and fished him out of the same waters.

“not you, your Pikachu” Misty whispered. Funny, those were the first words she had spoken to the boy who had gone on to become her best friend in such a short time, and who had remained as such until...well he still was really. She couldn’t help reminiscing that moment though, and now she knew that if that had ever happened again, then her first words to him would have been rather different. Actually, her first words to him may have been her first words to Pikachu...it made sense in her head, just not if she voiced it.
Misty stared into the stream for a while, only looking up when she heard, somewhere near, a car’s engine. It didn’t take her long to see it, because they had camped quite close to the road and the headlights passed quite close by. Aside from Officer Jenny, the only person Misty could think of with a car was Gary, Ash’s rival. She wondered if perhaps Gary was coming to the party, but then the car was going the wrong way for Pallet Town so it couldn’t be, unless he had got lost... well, Ash was the one with the poor map skills...and since there was no one around to overhear her, Misty didn’t mind admitting that perhaps her own were not the best in the world either.

“fancy a swim Azurill?” Misty asked as her baby Pokémon waddled over to her, though what had woken him no one knew. Azurill yawned and placed a foot tentatively in the water, before withdrawing quickly and shaking the droplets off.

“Azuriiill” he moaned quietly, before yawning again.

“nope, thought not, too cold” Misty replied, but she couldn’t help smiling. Azurill was clearly not very impressed and so, with a final yawn and a dark look at the cold water, waddled off to go back to sleep in Misty’s vacated blankets. “goodnight” Misty whispered after him, quietly so as not to wake Daisy and Tracy who were still sleeping. For some reason, despite the fact that Misty knew the water was freezing, so much so that even a water Pokémon (albeit a baby) refused to go for a swim, Misty couldn’t resist poking a toe in the water anyway, just to see...no, it was definitely too cold, the numbness quickly spreading as she placed both feet in the water. She grimaced as the bitter cold struck in yet she stayed where she was, for what reason she didn’t know. Eventually though it became just too cold, and Misty quickly pulled away and crossed her legs, before trying to rub some feeling back into her freezing feet, cursing herself for her own stupidity for having to do so in the first place. She ran back to her spot and rummaged around in her pack for something warm to wear, pulling out the thickest pair of socks she had, some gloves, jeans...and then realised that perhaps her choice of clothes to pack had been more veered towards looks than warmth and practicality. This had become more of a problem of late, though Misty was never conscious of it until the effects came back to haunt her. She had one jumper, no scarf, and the warmest top she had was the yellow sleeveless hoody that was her usual attire anyway. Still with a bit of a tweak she might be able to keep herself a little warmer, tying the jumper around her neck as a scarf was one thing... didn’t really help much though, in fact it would probably have been put to better use as a jumper anyway, but Misty left it nevertheless.
Eventually Misty decided that perhaps the best thing to do, given that she was already cold and had no chance of sleeping, was to go for a walk. She wasn’t sure why, it would hardly make her feel any better but something was appealing to her about the idea, and so she set off, following the stream as she went.

The wind was buffeting right into her , whipping her hair up and making her feel less than comfortable, and as if to add insult to injury she was hit in the face by...something, she wasn’t sure what. Reaching up, she tugged the clinging object away from her face irritably, and was about to throw it away before she realised that caps did not grow on trees, and so should not be blowing around in the middle of a forest. She looked closely at it half expecting, half hoping, that it would turn out to be Ash’s, yet of course it wasn’t, it was nothing like it. She did recognise it though, it was Richie’s, though it was a stretch to remember the last time she had seen him, she knew it was his, and so kept hold of it, given that the only reason Richie might be all the way back in Viridian would be that he was coming to the party, and so Misty could give it back to him. The next surprise came shortly afterwards when Misty heard a voice out of the darkness, one she recognised too though one she had not heard in some time. She caught the bellowed word ‘asleep’ and frowned, that was what she should be doing right now, not out here in the dark and cold hearing someone shouting about it. Still though she recognised the voice and instinctively reached for the Pokeballs that she had luckily remembered to keep with her (it came with being a gym leader, and having quite a good memory, and being sensible) both to make sure they were all still there, and to prepare herself what for she was sure would come if she stepped through the bushes. Of course, she could just turn around and leave now, but then the only reason Jessie and James would be here is if they were after Ash, which meant that Ash must both be close and in danger, and...well...she couldn’t justify leaving, and besides she hadn’t seen them in a long time, and missed the good feeling it brought when she sent them blasting off.
Misty unclipped two Pokeballs from her belt, and stepped through into the clearing...


Chapter 6
*with Ash and Misty, and Jessie, James and Meowth*

“Prepare for trouble!”

“unfortunately for us, it really is double”

“To protect the world from devastation...”

“to unite all peoples within our nation”

“to denounce the evils of truth and love...”

“to extend our reach to the stars above”

“Jessie!”

“James!”

“Team Rocket blast off...”

“again, and quickly unless you shut up” Ash called out, interrupting the motto which was never a good idea.

“don’t interrupt the motto!” Jessie roared as she, James and Meowth rounded on Ash as he stood, ready but with no Pokémon to call to protect himself, a fact that was quickly picked up on by all those present.

“ooh has the twerp not got any Pokémon with him?” James asked sneeringly.

“err...” Ash faltered

“well we’ll just have to tie him up and then steal his Pikachu” Jessie said, a wicked smile curling her lips as she and James bore down on the lone boy, Jessie releasing Seviper as she walked.

“touch him and you’ll regret it” came a fierce voice from behind them.

“James deal with the twerp’s girlfriend will you?” Jessie asked, not wanting to pass up the opportunity for some badly wanted retribution.

“ok, go Cacnea... oh” James’ voice petered out into a nervous mumbling; his initial confidence severely deflated as he laid his eyes on what was to be is opposition.

“stop it James, what’s the matter” Jessie asked irritably as James began tugging at her arm.

“dat’s da problem!” Meowth yelled, leaping to hide inside Jessie’s hair. Jessie and Seviper turned around...

“oh...” Jessie gulped, finally seeing what had so worried James and Meowth. Standing facing them, a determined and a rather frightening expression on her face, was a girl who Jessie, James and Meowth were not sure they recognised. There was something vaguely familiar...well it didn’t matter, there was a far more threatening and frightening Gyarados to deal with, whilst from the stream emerged a Corsola and a Staryu. The shock and fright of the appearance was so great that James’ Cacnea had stopped trying to hug him, for a change.

“are you going to leave quietly, or let me send you on your way?” the girl asked, and it was clear from her expression that she would much prefer the latter.

“no, we don’t mean any trouble” Jessie replied nervously

“please don’t hurt us, we don’t want to blast off on page eighteen, give us a bit more time” James pleaded

“then walk away...” the girl said simply, and then there was silence. Jessie and James looked at each other, before beginning to walk away nervously, passing Ash without a backwards glance, and expecting some sort of taunt from him, but Ash seemed to be staring intently at the girl with a puzzled expression, and didn’t even notice them leaving.

“don’t worry, we can nab the twerp’s Pikachu when he’s talkin to da girl” Meowth whispered, but too loud.

“you just hit page nineteen” the girl called after them, “Gyarados, you know what to do” there was a roar of confirmation from the huge Pokémon, and it unleashed a huge hyper beam attack at the not so unsuspecting Team Rocket. There was nothing they could do, except brace themselves for the blow, and get ready to fly.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“why is it every time we do something good, somebody comes along and does something gooder” James asked miserably as they flew towards a rather large and ominous grey cloud in the sky

“it’s our job in life i guess” Jessie replied in the same state

“well then i suggest we find another occupation” Meowth finished

“looks like Team Rocket’s blastin off agaaaiiiiin...”