Finding Truth Amongst The Lies

Chapter 1: Ash's POV

"Faster, Pikachu," I whispered as loud as I dared.

Pikachu knew better than to respond to me, but he did put some extra power into his jumps as he dashed next to me through the trees. We were running as quickly and as silently as we could manage. I kept one eye on the ground to avoid any large sticks that could give us away and the other was trained in front of us as we ran so I could avoid low-hanging branches.

Soon we found ourselves at the edge of the forest. I crouched under the cover of a bush that would conceal my presence but allowed me to survey the area through the thin branches at the bottom. Pikachu crawled up next to me, flicking his tail against my arm in a show of silent support. I couldn't help but grin down at him momentarily before turning my attention back to our task.

It didn't take long for me to spot the small blue flag sticking up from the ground in the middle of the clearing we were at the edge of. Scanning quickly I could see several oddly-shaped mounds which I assumed were disguised trainees and their pokemon. I knew that there were probably even more than I could physically pick out, some of the trainees were highly skilled at camouflage after all. After debating the wisdom of waiting for my backup to get there, I eventually looked down at Pikachu who was watching me expectantly.

"Five on one aren't great odds, buddy," I whispered as quietly as I could. Pikachu wagged his tail briefly and gave me a confident look, his small black eyes seeming to shimmer. I couldn't keep myself from letting out a breathy chuckle and I nodded.

"On three then?" I mouthed. Pikachu turned to look at the small flag, crouching down in preparation as his cheek sacks began to crackle gently with built-up electricity.

After the countdown, Pikachu and I burst out of the cover of the bush and dashed forward. Just I had expected one of the misshapen mounds suddenly reared up. Before they could do anything though I whipped the small gun I had tucked away in my shoulder strap and shot the guy directly in the chest. He fell back with a grunt and his pokemon, a Crawdaunt, was instantly knocked out as Pikachu let loose a controlled Thunderbolt attack that slammed into the water type.

We continued to run, taking down each of the hidden trainees with practiced skill. Victory was within my grasp but before I could snatch up the inconspicuous flag from its spot on the ground a perfectly flat portion of the meadow suddenly burst up. I immediately threw myself back into a flip and sweat ran down my forehead as I felt the whizz of the non-lethal (but very painful) Beebee gun pellet fly past my temple.

Taking as deep of a breath as I could mid-flip, I fell to the ground in a kneeling position and snapped my hands up. Steadying my own gun I sighted on my attacker. It took all of my training and focus not to flinch as a gigantic rhydon suddenly appeared and roared menacingly, shielding his trainer from my shot.

"Iron Tail, Pikachu!" I called firmly. Staying in my position I kept my gun steadily trained on where I had last seen my attacker behind its monstrosity of a pokemon.

Pikachu was already leaping without fear up at the rhydon, which was easily six times bigger than himself. His jagged tail began to glow and become coated with a metallic sheen. As he reached the apex of his jump he slammed his tail directly onto the horn protruding from the rhydon's nose.

Rhydon howled in pain from the super effective move and stumbled backward a step, causing his trainer to have to scramble to the side if he didn't want to be trampled. I instantly trained my gun on him and took the shot. A satisfying thunk was followed by a slightly high-pitched grunt and my attacker dropped to the ground. Rhydon growled but sat down next to its trainer quietly, turning away from Pikachu with obvious frustration.

Before anyone else could pop out I leaped to my feet and dashed forward. I scooped up the flag in my hand and raised it up above my head. Pushing a small button at the base of the flag released a miniature flare signal, sending green sparks shooting into the air and signaling that the game was over. Pikachu called out excitedly and jumped up so he could perch on my shoulder, which was his favorite spot.