A Journey's Link

Chapter 18 - The Lake

"Ash?! Ash, where are you?" Goh yelled incessantly. His voice echoed throughout the woods and clashed with various Pokemon sounds. No response from Ash, though, much to Goh's dismay. "Ash, where did you go?" Goh whispered, looking at the package he held in his hand. It had to be delivered to Professor Cerise as soon as they returned home, but right now, Ash was more important than whatever stone was inside.

Goh grunted as he stuffed the package into his bag, and continued his trek in search of Ash. As he continued yelling, a Kadabra was watching Goh desperately searching for his friend from afar. "Ash?!" Goh continued yelling. "Seriously, you need to come out now! If you don't come back then-" He was cut off as a yellow figure dropped down from the trees above; Goh recognized it to be a Kadabra as he pulled out his phone.

"Kadabra, the Psi Pokemon. It possesses strong spiritual power. The more danger it faces, the stronger its psychic power." With this, Goh reached for a Pokeball, palming it in his hand and staring down the Kadabra; he was always ready for a catch. The Pokeball was lifted out of Goh's hand and was thrown against a tree, smashing upon contact. Goh looked in horror at the now broken ball, then back at the Kadabra, whose eyes were red from the Psychic move it used on the Pokeball.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad! Please don't hurt me!" Goh pleaded to the Kadabra, which was now slowly making its way towards him. As it grew closer, he covered his face, preparing for any attacks it would use on him. Surprisingly, Goh didn't feel anything, only the slight breeze that was active this cold, starry night.

"Ka!" said the Kadabra, extending its arm towards a direction in the woods. "What are you pointing at?" Goh asked, looking where it was pointing; his eyes only met the darkness of the forest. "Ka-ka!" explained the Kadabra. "Ka-da-Ka!" It kept on insistently pointing in the direction, trying desperately to get Goh to understand, but to no avail. "What's over there?" he asked. "It's just the deep woods?"

The Kadabra dropped its hand and closed its eyes. Suddenly, a wave of psychic power was emitted throughout the area, and Goh heard Ash's voice in the forest, except it was Ash's voice from minutes ago when they were fighting. That's impossible! Goh thought. Ash isn't saying this now, so how can I hear it?

Goh looked around the forest, looking for the source of the voice, but only saw the deep and dense forest. He turned back to the Kadabra and saw that it was struggling to continue emitting Ash's voice. The waves ceased, and the Kadabra fell to the ground, exhausted from the use of such strong psychic energy.

"Kadabra!" Goh yelled, worried for the health of the Pokemon. He ran over but stopped when the Kadabra put his hand up, letting Goh know it was ok. Goh waited patiently for it to get back on its feet, as he had questions for the strange Pokemon.

"How did you do that?" Goh asked. "I heard Ash's voice, but he isn't here." The Kadabra pointed to Goh's phone, which still had Kadabra's Pokedex entry on it. "Ka-Ka," the Kadabra said. "You want me to read your entry?" Goh asked. The Kadabra nodded, so Goh read it again, making sure to not miss anything that might be important. "The more danger it faces, the stronger its psychic power," Goh whispered to himself, piecing together the information.

"Is there danger nearby?" Goh asked Kadabra. The Kadabra nodded and pointed again towards the woods. Goh continued thinking out loud. "You were putting Ash's voice in my head, which means-" His eyes became large and panicked. "That means Ash is in danger!" He yelled. The Kadabra nodded and pointed again towards the direction it was pointing at earlier.

Goh now understood, appreciatively nodding towards the Kadabra and running into the woods. There were many different Pokemon he encountered while he traversed through the forest, but didn't attempt to catch any of them. Ash is in danger, Goh thought. I can't be getting distracted right now.