Precious Doll in This Ugly World [Pokemon Fanfic, 2015 PKMNWatties]

An Unlikely Alliance

Delia was hysterical. Oak would be too, but he needed to be calm and focused, otherwise he'd be useless and unable to do anything or think clearly.

Ash was missing.

For whatever reason, the young girl was nowhere to be seen. She was neither in her home nor in Oak's, and Pallet wasn't that big of a town to be able to hide a young, recognizable girl like Ash. And everyone knew her and could recognize her on sight, so he wasn't worried about her running about in town and getting lost. That wasn't even possible –Ash knew Pallet like the back of her hand, all the ins and outs, the shortcuts, and even the surrounding forest.

So where could she have gone?

Uneasily, he remembered the call he'd made to Delia earlier that afternoon. Could Ash have overheard her mother talking on the phone?

"Delia, do you remember Ash being in the house when we had that…talk earlier, on the phone?" he asked her quietly, the worried mother calming slightly to think and then try to answer him.

"I-I'm not sure," Delia hesitated. "Gary was around then and they were watching TV…but I think he left soon after, and it was quiet. I didn't think she was in the house, that maybe she'd gone with him somewhere."

Oak frowned. "No, I asked Gary before I came here. He told me that he left Ash, and she was still in the house when he'd gone and she'd been working on a calendar or something. She…she might have overheard you and did something rash."

Delia buried her face into her hands. "If she overheard me, then she must've been upset that I've been lying and trying to keep her from going on a pokémon journey. She must've run off."

"I'm sure we can get the Viridian police to look into this," Oak reassured her. "Ash is a well-known kid and this place is small –if she's not seen around here for a long while, then she's not here. We won't have to worry about waiting for a full 24 hours before reporting her missing. Especially with those traffickers about…"

Delia sobbed. "That's exactly what I'm worried about! She's out there, all alone…You've heard the news! Kids, people, all sorts of them are being abducted right off the streets and who knows what's happening right now! I don't want Ash to be one of those girls that gets found in a body bag!"

Oak slammed his fist onto the table in frustration. "Don't you think I know that? That I don't feel the same way? Damn it, I practically treat and see Ash as one of my own! I've spent these past years helping her and trying to make sure she's not lonely and sad all the time! I'm just as worried and upset as you are!"

And bitterly, he wanted to scream blame at her for driving Ash away, for pushing Ash to this point. He knew how hard it was for Ash to connect to people, to find something she really wanted to do and felt she was good at. Pokémon and going on a pokémon journey were what she felt comfortable and at home with.

Yes, Oak knew the dangers waiting out there in the world, exacerbated by the appearance and terrorizing of this group of people (if they could be called that) who took others of all ages, and initiated such unspeakable things. Not even the criminal Teams were as heartless or disturbing. Maybe just as or even more dangerous, but at least the Teams were much more…ethically responsive, and had some sort of moral compass.

They could be ruthless and needlessly cruel, but at least they weren't there to torture for fun or sell off children to the highest bidder.

Yet, despite all that, he couldn't smother down Ash's hopes and dreams, or completely shut away her feelings and wants. He couldn't discourage her from the only things she'd ever connected to, even if his mind frequently came up with horrible scenarios that could happen if she were to go out in the world, more so now that she was gone from the town and most likely out on her own.