"How is it that they keep setting new traps and we always fall for 'em?" Ash asked as he and Pikachu walked down a lonely path in a thick forest. Ash and Pikachu had fallen down a hole that Team Rocket had made not two hours ago. As always Team Rocket was after Pikachu and as always they failed miserably. Ash gripped his right arm tightly since after taking a nasty fall he had hurt his arm but it was nothing serious, his arm was only sore.

Pikachu walked beside Ash and also thought how it was possible for Team Rocket to always manage some way to fool them. Even after six years they figured they'd recognize Team Rocket in any disguise.

Setting their earlier misfortune aside Ash stopped in his tracks and reached for his backpack to take a closer look at the map. Ash looked at the map closely and then at the road ahead of them. Ash sighed heavily and said as he looked at the road ahead.

"Maybe Brock should have gone with us."

"Pikachu." Exclaimed Pikachu as it agreed with its trainer.

As the group of kids had been on the journey they had stopped at a Pokémon Center and as always Ash phoned Professor Oak but this time the conversation was not enlightening. Professor Oak informed Ash that his mother had gotten sick. Ash of course grew worried when hearing such news about his mother. He felt quite bad that he was so far away and his mother was home sick. She was not alone for Professor Oak and Tracy kept her company but Ash still could not bear the thought of him enjoying his journey while his mother lay in bed sick.

After several arguments with the professor Ash had decided to go back to Pallet Town and see that his mother would recover. Ash would gladly pause his traveling but he could not ask May to pause her own so the group could head back home with him. Ash had told the group to keep going without him and as soon as everything was fine again he would catch up with them. Brock, May and Max did not like the idea of Ash heading back by himself but he promised all would be fine and that they would meet up again.

Now two weeks later Ash was well on his way back to pick up right where he left. Everything was great, his mother had fully recovered and he was glad to have been there for her just as she had always been there for him when he would get sick. Ash smiled as he remembered when he was little and his mother would worry every time he coughed or sneezed.

His trip down memory lane had been disrupted by Pikachu as it tugged on his pants and pointed to a wooden sign. Ash looked at the sign and walked up to it. The sign was right between a fork on the road. The right side was clear and promised to be quite a walk while the left side was covered by tall trees and at a distance Ash could see what appeared to be a cabin.

He looked at the map and then at the roads. He admitted to himself that he was lost and had absolutely no clue as to which road to pick. Pikachu did not need to hear him say they were lost since it was notable from the expression on his face. The small Pokémon walked towards the left road and pointed out to it as it said, "Pika pi. Pi pi kachu. Pikachu pi."

Ash understood Pikachu and the small mouse made a point. It had stated that they should take the left road and see if there was anyone in the cabin that could help them. Ash nodded and started for the left road. Pikachu climbed on Ash's shoulder and both looked around as they walked down the road. It was certainly a very beautiful road, to the right were thousands of wild flowers in colors only thought up by wondrous artists, the trees somehow aligned perfectly next to each other and the light descending from the retiring sun poked through the branches of the leafless trees.

The entire sight was almost as if staring into the masterpiece of an artistic mastermind. After walking for several minutes Ash and Pikachu finally reached the cabin but their hopes had shattered when they laid their eyes on the cabin. The cabin was burned and by the looks of it a long time ago. Ash sighed as he looked into a broken window. Under that window was a boulder so Ash walked up to it and set his backpack down as he sat on the boulder.

"What else can go wrong?"

Just as he said that lightning split the sky and shook the Earth with its mighty roar and just after that rain began to fall rapidly. Ash who was dumbfounded by the reaction after his question just could not help but remain still and raise an eyebrow in utter awe. After seconds of an open jaw he said.

"There's no way my luck can be this bad."

Pikachu however was only enlightened by the events that followed after Ash asked such a taboo question. The small mouse fell off its trainer's shoulder and rolled around on the road as it laughed gleefully. Ash looked at Pikachu wondering what was funny about the present situation. "So why are you laughing?"

"Pi chu, pikachu, ka, pika, pika pi, Pikachu!"

After hearing his Pokémon Ash smiled and saw the small mouse laughing at their unfortunate events. Ash looked up at the darkening sky and saw the weather would not improve quickly. He also knew it was not wise to travel at night so he got up and wiped some of the fallen rain from his cheek with his sleeve. He signaled Pikachu to follow him and both circled around the cabin to the front door. Ash pulled the doorknob and to their surprise it opened easily. Both of them walked in quickly and shut the door.

The cabin was bigger inside than they had thought it would be. They stood in the middle of what was the living room and to the far back were other rooms. There was a beaten old couch and a nasty looking rug in the living room. The entire place gave Ash a feeling of insecurity but the rain was getting worse and it got darker with each minute so they had to settle with the burned down cabin.

Ash set his backpack down and sighed deeply as he stared into the rooms, as far as he could tell there was no door to close the living room from the other rooms. He decided to play it safe and check the rest of the cabin just in case there was anyone or anything else inside.

"All right, I'm gonna check the rest of the cabin but I want you to stay here, all right Pikachu?"

"Pika…" The small Pikachu did not want Ash to walk around by himself in case there was any danger but it obeyed him and sat next to the backpack. Ash slowly walked into the next room and saw that it was the kitchen. There was an old pantry, a filthy sink and several rusty utensils thrown about on the floor. The wallpaper had been peeled in several spots and Ash noticed that at the other wall there was a picture.

Ash walked up to the picture and wiped away the grime with his hand. The picture was a painting of a beautiful little girl; she had smooth brown hair that apparently reached below her shoulder, soft easy eyes and a strange dress. The dress was what caught his attention; it was of a Victorian style indicating that the girl would now be very old or perhaps even dead.

Ash walked away from the painting and looked around the kitchen. He noticed yet another door next to the pantry. He walked in and saw it was a bedroom, there was an old bed and stained sheets. There was also a night stand; this room was practically empty so Ash decided not to pay much attention to it. As he looked at the sheets he was startled by a sudden rattling sound.

He spun around quickly and saw a closet that was shut. He looked at the wooden closet doors and began to breathe rapidly as he slowly backed up against the wall. The doors rattled wildly for some seconds but then stopped completely. Ash felt his heart skip a few beats and his breathing got shallow and rapid. He felt the desire to run away but his legs were frozen. Once again the doors rattled wildly and he tried to back up but the wall prevented him from moving anymore.

As the doors rattled there was a sudden muffled sound coming from behind the closet doors and that was it for Ash. He ran towards the door but before getting half way across the room the closet doors burst open and out ran a small Meowth. The Meowth ran across the room and leapt out one of the windows.

Ash exhaled deeply and walked back to the living room. Once there he saw Pikachu was on the window looking out into the woods. Now the sun had completely set but there was still a bit of light left so Ash thought it better to light a fire now before it was too late for any of them to see.

All over the floor there were pieces of wood so Ash and Pikachu gathered them and put them on a stack. After doing so Ash released Torkoal and asked it to light the wood on fire, Torkoal did so and after that Ash thought it'd be best if everyone got something to eat. Ash released all of his Pokémon and all sat down to get a bite to eat. With Brock absent Ash knew he had to stock up on some extra supply and he was right.

After eating, Ash let all of his Pokémon out and they all picked different spots to sleep in for the night. Ash however got his sleeping bag out and set it in the middle of the living room. After staring into the roof for a few minutes his eyes slowly began to close and he drifted off to sleep peacefully. After five hours of sleep Ash was then woken up by a sound at the front of the door which startled not only him but his Pokémon as well.

Ash got up and opened the front door and was shocked at what he saw. A young girl was sitting on the floor helplessly trying to block a Houndoom with her arm. The Houndoom was about to use Crunch on the girl but before it could Ash had ordered Pikachu to hit it with its best Thunderbolt attack. Pikachu leapt into the air and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt as it shrieked out. "Pi…ka!"

The attack hit right on the target and with the falling rain it was more effective. The Houndoom hit the ground hard but it was not about to give up so easily. The dark Pokémon got back up and ran towards Pikachu at top speeds so Ash thought of a quick way to end the battle and called Corphish up.

"Corphish blast it with Water Gun and Pikachu as soon as the attack hits use Thunder!"

Both Pokémon complied and Corphish hit the Houndoom with a powerful Water Gun and as soon as the water came into contact with the Houndoom Pikachu let out a Thunder attack sure to put the Houndoom down. After the attacks subdued the Houndoom fell down and sat still for a few minutes.

Pikachu and Corphish kept their defenses high just in case the Houndoom would try anything funny but the Houndoom ran away. Ash ran over to the girl to see if she was all right.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ash said as he kneeled down next to the girl. He saw the girl had a few scrapes on her arm and it looked like she had been crying a lot. Finally the girl spoke up and said. "No…! I've been running around this forest for days and…and…I lost my little sister…" The girl began to cry hysterically and hugged Ash tightly looking for some sort of comfort.

Ash sympathized for the girl; he put himself in her place and thought about the horrors the girl had to endure. Not to mention loosing her little sister in a huge forest like the one they were in. Ash had no idea what to say since looking for a little girl in the woods at night would prove foolish so he tried his best and said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"How about I help you look for your sister in the morning?"

"You would help me?"

"Sure. We'll be glad to help."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as it jumped up on Ash's shoulder and Corphish also replied happily. The girl wiped her tears away and smiled sweetly as she looked right into Ash's eyes. Ash felt sorry for the girl so he told her to go into the cabin so she wouldn't have to get any wetter than she was.

Once inside the girl saw all of the Pokémon and felt a bit safer just in case any other Pokémon would attack her again. She stood in the corner and wiped away some of the dust and sat down holding her knees and lowered her head in between her knees as she looked at the Pokémon. Pikachu noticed she was afraid so it along with Torkoal and Swellow walked up to her to comfort her.

The girl extended her arm and petted Pikachu on the head and scratched it behind the ears. Pikachu of course was enlightened and the other Pokémon drew closer as their trust in her rose. Ash had only one sleeping bag but being how he was he thought it best to let the girl sleep in the sleeping bag and he would find somewhere else to sleep.

"So…I only have one sleeping bag but you can take it."

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly do that. Where would you sleep?"

"Don't worry about that. I'll manage just fine."

The girl looked at Pikachu and smiled as she said. "That battle Pikachu put up back there was amazing; seems he's pretty powerful."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu put one of its paws behind its back and blushed in embarrassment from the flattering comment the girl had made. The girl looked at Pikachu and said. "Wish I had one of my own."

The girl remembered what Ash had said about the sleeping bag and seemed uncomfortable about taking his sleeping bag. She was already a burden by having him help her look for her sister and now she was taking his sleeping bag. She agreed and went to sleep quickly. Ash looked around and saw that the corner the girl had sat down on was a bit clean so he returned all of his Pokémon and sat down on that corner and went to sleep.

The night would prove to be long since an hour after they had gone to sleep there was a knock on the front door. Ash slowly opened his eyes and looked around, his memory was a bit fuzzy but as soon as he saw his sleeping bag he sat up straight and saw that it was empty. In his confusion he stood up quickly and looked around the cabin for the girl but she was nowhere to be found. He then remembered hearing a knock at the front door and quickly dashed through the cabin towards the door. He opened it but there was no one out there. He looked outside and couldn't help but think that there was something strange going on. As he looked around he heard another sound but this time it came from within the cabin so he turned around but there was no one inside.

Pikachu had woken up from Ash's footsteps and it got up and walked over to Ash but as Ash's back was facing the door a tall figure came up from behind him and held him tightly with one arm and with another pressed a piece of clothe to his nose and mouth. Pikachu was going to use an attack on the figure but a voice behind it said.

"If I were you I wouldn't do that." The voice belonged to the very same girl they had saved earlier from the Houndoom. She leaned on the wall as she smiled wickedly and to Pikachu and Ash's surprise the same Houndoom that had attacked her earlier stood next to her as she petted it.

"If you fire an electrical attack you'll hit your trainer as well and if you look closely he's getting wet from the rain." Pikachu looked and saw that Ash was wet and the target which was the tall figure was holding him so if Pikachu hit the man it would also hit Ash. Pikachu looked at Ash in confusion and looked at the figure that was hiding his face so that they couldn't see him. As Pikachu looked away the girl took a strange looking bag and covered Pikachu in it.

A startled Pikachu began to blast thundershock attacks but the bag prevented any of the attacks to leak from the bag. The girl tied the bag tightly and the tall figure that was holding Ash pressed the piece of cloth tighter and a strange liquid leaked into the piece of cloth. The liquid was chloroform and seconds later Ash passed out.

Ash opened his eyes slowly and saw the burned roof of the cabin. At the time his mind was completely blank and as he was going to open his mouth he gagged as he quickly sat up. The horrible taste was unbearable, it tasted as if someone had rubbed a handful of pennies in his mouth. Ash leaned forward and began to spit trying to get the nasty after taste of the chloroform out. Suddenly he opened his eyes widely and remembered the last few minutes before he passed out.