The Great White Lebure

Ash didn�t know what happened when he went through those bushes. . .all he knew was that suddenly he was falling. . .falling. . . falling. . .THUD! He landed in a soft but firm patch of. . .
"Moss?" He asked himself. He looked around, and then did a double-take in shock. "Where AM I anyway?" He exclaimed. Not only had he landed on moss, but all around him was covered in it too. Except that it was blue! The trees had white leaves, and the flowers on the ground were purple with yellow dots on them. Suddenly Ash remembered Pikachu and Misty.
"Misty! Pikachu! Where are you?" He looked around but didn�t see anyone. The only thing except for moss miles around was a forest of the strange trees. Ash decided to search in the forest rather than get lost in a desert of moss! He entered the woods and looked around for some sign of people. Instead, after a few seconds of walking, he heard the sound the three of them had heard while still in front of the bushes. "Hey!" Ash said, and quickly ran in the direction of the sound. "Wait up, whoever you are!" The noise stopped suddenly, and so did Ash.
"Please, don�t stop!" He yelled. "I need help. . .I don�t know where my friends are. I don�t even know where I am!"
There was a pause, and then the sound continued. This time louder than before. Ash looked to his right, and saw a glint of something sparkly and white through the trees. He began to run towards it again. "Please don�t go away! I just want to talk to you!" Ash ran faster, but he never seemed to get closer to the creature. He saw it bolt off in another direction. Ash climbed over a fallen tree, went through a small rock tunnel, and went over a hand-made wooden bridge. This made him think. "Well at least there�s someone here to have made that bridge!" By this time he was exhausted. He had no choice but to stop and rest. The strange thing was, when he stopped, he could still see that glittering white far away in the trees. It must be waiting for me! He thought hopefully. As soon as he was able to run again, he continued after it. It seemed to be leading him somewhere.

What happened next was what Ash expected the least. The white disappeared. . .and he found himself entering a clearing. A wooden house with one side being a stone formation stood there. The roof seemed to be made of that blue moss he had landed on. Light smoke came from a small chimney on one side of the house. There was a little stream on the other side, and the yellow dotted purple flowers were in a box on the windowsill.
"Wow, someone must live here. That thing was leading me somewhere after all!" Ash said to himself. "Great!" He went up to the door and knocked. It opened, and there stood a man. . .he had a startling resemblance of Brock! The man just stood there, looking at Ash curiously.
"Uh. . .hi," Ash began. "My name is Ash Ketchum. . .from Pallet Town. I. .I�m lost and I thought you could help me, sir. I followed this white thing and it led me here. . ." The man nodded his head and motioned for Ash to come inside. Once inside, he sat down in a wooden chair. Ash sat in one opposite the table from the man.
"So, you say the Great White Lebure brought you here?" He asked in a rough but friendly voice. "I suppose it�s no surprise. The Lebure is known for helping those in need."
"What�s a Lebure?" Ash asked.
"No one knows for sure. . .since no one has ever seen it fully. The Great White Lebure is extremely cautious around other beings. It never reveals itself."
"Wow," Ash said again.
"So how did you come to be here?" The man asked. "Me and my friends. . .Misty and my Pikachu. . .were in the forest near Viridian City. We heard a noise in the bushes and went into them. We fell and landed here. Or at least I did. I don�t know where Misty and Pikachu are. Can you help me find them? Please?" Ash begged.
The man paused, and rubbed his chin.
"I think I can help you. My name is Alistar, and this�" He pulled out a pokeball and threw it. Out came a Rhydon! ". . .is my Rhydon, Blevair." "A Rhydon!" Ash exclaimed. "I�ve always wanted a Rhyhorn. . .did you evolve him or did you catch him as a Rhydon?"
"I evolved him. I caught him ten years ago in this very forest."
"Where IS here, anyway?" Ash asked Alistar.
"This is the land of Narcisally. And as for Veridian forest, or Pallet Town. . .I�ve never heard of those places before."
"What?" Ash said worriedly. "You�ve never heard of Pallet Town or Veridian City? What about The Pokemon League? Professor Oak? The Orange Islands?" At each of the names, Alistar shook his head.
"Oh no. Well, I guess after we find my friends we�ll have to look for a way back. Let�s hurry and find them!" Ash said quickly. "I hope they�re ok."

Little did Ash know that Misty was not ok. She had fallen in that land, too. . .but she never woke up. As for Pikachu. . .he was lucky enough to wake up and go search for his master. He found Misty instead, but was unable to wake her. Even through electric shock! He didn�t want to leave her, so he decided to wait for someone to come along and help. He waited. . .and waited. . .

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Ash asked Alistar as they walked through the forest.
"Yes. I�ve lived here for twenty years, Ash. Don�t worry, I know my way around these woods like you know the back of your hand."
"But I never look at the back of my hand," Ash mumbled to himself.
Soon they came to a stream, and they stopped to drink. As Alistar bent over, Ash noticed something hanging from a string on his neck.
"What�s that, Alistar?" He asked. Alistar reached for the object.
"This. . .this is a very special gift."
"From who?" Ash persisted.
"From�well, from the Lebure itself." Ash gasped. "But you said no one has ever seen the Lebure!" He exclaimed. Alistar nodded. "That�s right. I haven�t seen him either. But one day, I was lost in the woods when I was young. I heard a noise and saw a white flash. I followed it, and it brought me home. I tried to find it to thank it, but all I found was this whistle. It has and inscription on it: �Those in need are helped by me, one day I shall return and help you once more.�"
"Wow, I wonder what it means?" Ash said.
"I think it means that the Lebure is willing to come and help me when I play this whistle, but it will only come when I seriously need it. Many times I have tried to call the Lebure, but it has never worked. . .I still wait for it to come."
"That�s great! Maybe the Great White Lebure can help me and my friends get home when we find them!"
"Perhaps. As for now, let�s continue our search." Alistar replied.
They traveled over bridges and through rock formations for a long time.
As Ash looked around, he couldn�t see anything that looked like a landmark, or a pointer of any kind. I wonder how Alistar can recognize any of this? Nothing looks different from anything else!
Soon they came to a small clearing. Ash saw the blue moss, and he saw something yellow. At first he thought it was the flowers, but then he recognized it as. . .
"Pikachu!" He called out. "Pikachu!" He ran toward the clearing and Pikachu turned and saw him. As Ash got closer, he realized there was someone else next to his friend.
"Misty! Oh, no!" Ash cried out as he saw her. She was lying on the ground with her hands folded on her stomach.
"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, happy to see his master again! "Pika. . .chu Pikachu a pika pika chu!" He explained to Ash how he found Misty and tried to wake her. He still had not succeeded.
Alistar went over to Misty and examined her. He tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids wouldn�t move.
"Oh, I see. . ." He said, looking from Misty to Ash.
"What is it? Is she okay?" Ash asked impatiently.
"Well," Alistar started, "it�s hard to say. . .she seems to be under a magic spell of some sort. Her eyelids won�t open unless. . ." He looked from Ash to Misty again.
"Unless what?" Ash asked nervously. Alistar grinned.
"Have you ever heard of the story of the Sleeping Beauty or Snow White?"
He asked Ash. Ash�s jaw dropped.
"You mean I have to. . ."
"Kiss her." Alistar said simply, his eyebrows raised with amusement. Ash backed away.
"I can�t do that! She�s. . .she�s my friend. That�s all. It would be too weird."
"Well it�s your choice. But if you don�t wake her up, she might become completely taken over by the spell and never wake up." Alistar said. "Wait a minute. I thought in those stories she had to be woken up by �love�s first kiss�. If we don�t love each other, it won�t work right?" He asked hopefully.
"Do you see anyone else who would be a better match?" Alistar asked.
"You�re the only one, kid. Do it for Misty."
Ash sighed and looked from Alistar to Misty and back again.
"Well, if I do, you have to turn around, okay?" He said. "Otherwise forget it."
Alistar laughed. "Of course, of course." He turned and faced the other way, chuckling to himself. Ash quietly went over to Misty and knelt down. He seemed to stare at her forever before finally getting the courage to bend down. . .
He felt his mouth against hers, and then sat back on his heels to wait for her to wake up.
"I really hope this works," he said to himself. "Otherwise that was all for nothing!" They didn�t have to wait long until Misty�s eyelids fluttered and then opened. She sat up quickly. "Where am I? What happened? Ash! You�re okay!"
Ash laughed. "We were the ones worrying if you were okay! You were under a spell and you couldn�t wake up, and I. . ." his voice trailed off.
"You. . .what?" Misty said insistently.
"Oh, nothing much," Ash mumbled. Alistar came over and put his hand on Ash�s shoulder.
"Don�t be so modest Ash. You were the one who saved her!"
"You saved me, Ash?" Misty asked. "Well I guess I should thank you. . .
but how did you do it?"
"Oh, well. . .I didn�t do much at all. . ." Ash mumbled again.
"Oh come on, now Ash," Alistar persisted. "You kissed her and woke her up from the sleeping spell!" Now it was Misty�s turn to have her jaw drop.
"You what?" She asked. "Seriously?" All three nodded. Misty smiled.
"Well, I guess I don�t mind. You did save me after all. Thanks Ash," she said almost shyly.
"Uh, yeah," Ash said. "Let�s find a way to get out of here now, okay?" He turned to Alistar.
"Misty, this is Alistar, and this is his Rhydon Blevair." Misty gasped.
"A Rhydon!" She stepped behind Ash.
"It�s okay, Misty. He�s tame," Ash laughed.
Misty still looked unsure. "Well let�s go now. . .thank you, Alistar, for putting up with him," she pointed to Ash and laughed, too. "I think you helped save me too."
"No problem, Misty. Now, I�m still not sure how you can leave here. . . but I do know of someone who might be able to help you. The Great White Lebure."
"Huh?" Misty asked Ash.
"I�ll explain later," Ash replied.
Alistar pulled out his whistle, and played a short tune on it. Ash crossed his fingers, hoping that this was the time the Lebure would come and help Alistar.
Suddenly, there was a sound like rolling thunder. It grew louder until there was a flash of white, so bright they couldn�t see. As quickly as it had started, the light stopped, and there stood. . .
"The Great White Lebure," Alistar whispered. It was beatiful, and gigantic. The Lebure was probably as tall as Alistar�s house! It was pure white, but at the same time, flickers of all the colors of the rainbow seemed to spray out from it, all over. It was sparkly and shiny. . .it resembled a flying Rapidash, but instead of fire coming from its mane and tail, there was a flowing white coolness that was hard to explain. It was majestic, and it had its head up, eyes looking down at the group. A whisper seemed to come from it, almost like it was talking. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu didn�t know what it meant, but Alistar closed his eyes and listened. Finally, he spoke:
"The Lebure will help you. It knows everything about how you came here, and who you are, so no questions or answers are needed. You can climb on its back and it will take you home."
The three were almost afraid to touch it. Finally, Ash went up to the Lebure�s front leg and tried to climb it. He fell down. Misty laughed at him, and turned to Alistar.
"How are we supposed to get up there?" she asked. Alistar smiled and closed his eyes again. He reached his hand toward the Great White Lebure, and a white staircase suddenly appeared leading to its back. Ash laughed, "Of course!" He stepped on the stairs, and Misty followed. Pikachu jumped on Ash�s head for a ride up. Once they were seated, they looked down at the beautiful land of Narcisally.
"Goodbye, Alistar!" Ash called. "And thanks for your help!"
"Bye!" Misty shouted.
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu added. Alistar waved as they flew away. The ride was wonderful. They seemed to pass through galaxies, and stars themselves. . .and there were always bursts of color around them. On the way, Ash got an unexpected gift. Misty leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?" He asked, blushing.
"For saving me. I could have died or something. . .it must have been a hard thing for you to do, so I wanted to thank you." Misty anwered. "Oh. . .ok. Well, your welcome then," Ash replied.
For the rest of the way, everyone was quiet, except for Pikachu! He was scared to death of this white thing and all these strange colors around him! Next time, he thought to himself, we�re going to the islands for a trip! "Ash? Ash!" Ash turned to Misty, but she wasn�t there! He turned back to find that he wasn�t on the Lebure, anymore. "Pika! Chu, Pika-pika!" Ash now heard Pikachu! "Pikachu? Misty?" He asked. He heard a faint voice in the background. "I think he�s waking up!" Someone said. Ash opened his eyes to find Misty and Pikachu leaning over him, worried expressions on their faces. "Oh, Ash! You�re okay!" Misty exclaimed. Ash felt dizzy. "We were the ones hoping you were okay!" He said for the second time that day. "Huh? Who�s we?" Misty asked him. Ash realized he wasn�t in Narcisally anymore. . .he was in the Veridian forest! He stood up, but started to fall. Misty caught him.
"What happened?" Ash asked her.
"We went into the bushes, remember? Pikachu fell into this valley, and then you went after him. I went too, and we all fell down this hill.
Pikachu and I were fine, but we found you unconscious. Are you sure you�re okay now?" She asked.
"Yeah. . .but. . .don�t you remember? Alistar and Blevair in Narcisally? And the Great White Lebure who brought us home? And. . ." he paused. "I kissed you to wake you up from the spell!"
Misty looked at him like he had gone crazy. "Listen Ash, I don�t know what you dreamed, but you certainly didn�t kiss me! I don�t know what you�re talking about. Let�s get out of this forest. I�ve had enough for one day!"
The trio climbed up the hill again, and as they found the trail again, Ash looked back down where they fell. A glint of white caught his eye, and he waved good-bye to the Great White Lebure.