Pokémon Retold: Part 1 - The Indigo Adventures

Chapter 14 - Psychic Showdown

   Night surrounded Ash and his friends. The moon was nowhere to be seen, not even the stars were shining. Misty was unable to sleep as she was halfway in her sleeping bag, Brock was seemingly out like a light, and Ash was unable to sleep while lying on his back.
   "Ash, you awake," Misty called out.
   "Yeah..." Ash responded tiredly. "What's up?"
   "I don't like it out here," Misty said. "I-I can barely see anything out here."
   "I'm trying not to think about that," Ash said.
   "Are you still thinking about Butterfree," asked Misty.
    "Yep..." he responded.
   Ash looked into the sky and slowly began closing his eyes. Misty had finally begun feeling tired and went to sleep herself.

   It was about forty-five minutes later when things began taking a strange turn. A dense fog rolled around the trio, but were woken by the sound of a little girl laughing. Ash jolted at the sound, Misty rose slowly due to exhaustion, and Brock lifted himself off the ground and looked around. All three were confused about the fog, but the echoing laughter was what sent chills down their necks.
   "Is someone there," Misty called out.
   "It's alright, we're not gonna hurt you," Brock added.
   A second later, the trio turned to see a little girl with dark blue hair in a white doll dress with pink puffs in her sleeves, a pink belt, and a white sun hat with a red bow. However, her eyes were covered in shadows. The girl was bouncing a ball as she giggled for a couple more seconds.
   "Hi there," Ash said. "Do you live around here?"
   The girl did not say a word. She picked up her ball and ran into the woods laughing.
   "H-Hey, wait," Ash said as he started chasing after her.
   Not knowing what to do, Brock and Misty grabbed Ash's belongings and chased after Ash. Ash ran after the little girl, desperate for a way out of the forest.
   "Wait, please come back," he cried out. "My friends and I need help getting to Saffron City."
   As Ash ran, his vision was blurry, but after a few seconds, he was able to see clearly again. Unfortunately, Ash was running towards a cliff; he tried to stop, but it was too late. Ash wobbled before falling off the edge. With the adrenaline kicking in, Ash pulled out a Pokéball and threw it toward the top of the cliff.
   "BULBASAUR," Ash called out as the Pokémon emerged from its ball.
   Bulbasaur sprouted vines from under its flower bud and shot them toward Ash. In less than a minute, Ash was caught by his Pokémon and let out a sigh of relief.
   "Thank little buddy," Ash called out as he started climbing with Bulbasaur's vines as support.

   A moment later, Ash was a few inches away from the edge as Misty and Brock caught up to him.
   "You okay Ash," Brock asked ashe helped his friend onto solid ground.
   "Aside from the adrenaline from nearly dying, I'm pretty good," Ash answered somewhat jokingly.
   "What about that girl," Misty asked. "Any idea where she ran off to?"
   "No idea," responded Ash as he held his head. "I need a minute to calm down."
   Brock nodded and gave Ash his belongings. Almost instantly, Ash pulled out the stress toy Misty got for him before boarding the S.S. Anne. While Ash relieved some stress, Brock looked out into the distance. Misty did as well and gasped.
   "What's up," asked Ash.
   "It's Saffron City," Brock answered. "We're almost there."
   "Uh...Could we head over tomorrow," asked Ash as Bulbasaur and Pikachu nuzzled into him. "I can barely stay awake right now."
   "Yeah, we didn't get much rest," Misty pointed out.
   "Then it's settled," Brock said as he pulled out his sleeping bag.

*

   The following day, Ash and the gang took most of the day to arrive in Saffron City. As the sun set, Ash's immediate thought was to head for the Pokémon Center. It took them an hour and a half, but they managed to find a Pokémon Center that resembled a hotel of sorts. A male Nurse Joy met them with a warm personality and took their Pokémon to heal. While waiting, Ash was feeling incredibly tired with Brock talking about what Ash should do. He seemed like he was in a daze.
   "Ash, are paying attention," Misty asked.
   "W-What, what," Ash said snapped out of his daze.
   "Were you paying attention to what I said," Brock asked.
   "I...I..." Ash said as he held his head. "S-Sorry. I'm not feeling too good."
   "In that case, why not turn in early tonight," suggested Brock. "Your health matters just as much as your Pokémon."