Scene 3- Veridian City

(We come up to a character that ends up being Ash from the series, Pokemon- he is holding up a poke`dex close to a moving bush)

Ash: Finally! (moves closer and more coy) Come on, just a little closer. (He leaps forward to grab his target and through the mess of leaves and branches, we see Ash land on Tamera, pinning her down against the ground) Gotcha! (looks down at her) Oh… (blushes and gets up from her) Sorry…

Tamera: (gasps and lifts herself up) I uh… (blushes) I’m okay.

Pikachu: (in Pokemon language) Who are you? (skitters over to Tamera)

Tamera: (looks at Pikachu) Huh? (rubs her head)

Pikachu: (suspiciously) Are you helping Team Rocket?

Tamera: (sits up straight) I think I’m hearing Pikachu. (she laughs)

Misty: (of handedly) Thunder bolt attack!

(Pikachu attempts this, when Ash gets in the way, pulling Tamera out of range of the attack)

Ash: (angrily) Pikachu NO! (holds his hand up to cease the attack) Misty, why did you do that? (releases Tamera)

Misty: (directs a finger at Tamera) Well how do we know she’s not part of Team Rocket’s plan? We shouldn’t take chances, Ash.

Tamera: (innocently) I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was intruding.

Dallas’s voice: (enters) Tamera! Tamera, where are you!

Ash: Whose that? (stares directly at Tamera who is trying to take this all in)

Tamera: (grins awkwardly) That’s my friend, Dallas. (speaks in defense of Dallas) Don’t worry about her, though; she’s only here to find me.

Misty: (suspiciously) Are you from Sunny Island?

Tamera: (confused) W… What?

Misty: Many of the UNEXPERIENCED pokemon trainers are from there.

Tamera: I… I don’t think so. (laughs uneasily and pulls on the ends of her hair) Actually, I’m not even a pokemon trainer.

Ash: (annoyed, to Misty) Are you being rude on purpose?

Tamera: (gasping in worry) Oh, no don’t fight.

(Dallas enters huffing and puffing hard)

Dallas: (sees Tamera and sighs in relief) Thank god, you’re here. Where… (stares at Ash than Misty and last to Pikachu with a look of shock and puzzlement on her face) Oh my god… (grasps her forehead and nearly passes out)

Tamera: (chews on her lower lip) This is strange…

Dallas: This isn’t real. (tries to avoid the eyes that are staring at her)

(Pikachu, ends up feeling sorry for the two girls and leaps up onto Tamera’s shoulder to curl up there.)

Tamera: (smiles) Awe, you’re even more adorable in person. (reaches up to scratch behind Pikachu’s ears)

Dallas: (trying to keep herself composed) This is amazing! I can’t believe this is REAL… not cartoon at all. (she examines Misty and Ash closely, but keeps her distance from Pikachu) Weird!

(Misty has suspicious eyes on Dallas and Tamera and Ash shoots her a warning glare)

Ash: (mouths) Stop it, Misty.

Misty: (mouths back with emphasis) Well?

(Ash shakes his head and turns to Tamera whose still paying attention to his Pikachu. Pikachu seems to be enjoying the attention)

Ash: Here in Veridian City?

Tamera: (caught off guard by Ash’s words) What?

Ash: Is that where you’re from?

Tamera: (blushing) No… uh… Dallas and I are from Canada.

Ash: (nods) Oh. I’ve heard that Canada is nothing, but a BIG ice cap.

Dallas: (with annoyance) Join the club of many.

Tamera: We had no idea, pokemon even existed. Is it difficult to become a pokemon trainer?

Ash: (smiles proudly and pats his chest) It takes a lot of skill…

Misty: Something, ASHton here, lacks. (laughs smugly)

Ash: (blows out a breath and turns to glare at Misty) I have skill! A lot more than you’ll ever have!

Tamera: (smiles) Ashton? That’s a cute name.

Ash: (blushes a bright red) Everyone calls me Ash.

Dallas: (nudges Tamera in the arm) Oh my god, you’re flirting with Ash- a freakin real pokemon trainer. (laughs wickedly) That’s just BAD.

Tamera: (sighs and lifts her hands under her chin) I like his hair.

Dallas: He’s TEN years old!

Ash: (in solid correction) Thirteen!

Dallas: What?

Ash: I’m thirteen, not ten.

Tamera: (in a dazed voice) So am I.

Pikachu: (playing along) Me too! (points to himself)

Ash: (laughs) You’re not thirteen, Pikachu.

Tamera: (glances to Pikachu) How old is he?

Ash: He’s three.

Dallas: (correcting) Fifteen.

Ash: (arguing) No-o-o, three. Pikachu is three years old.

Dallas: Maybe in human years, he’s three, but in animal years he’s fifteen. Multiply two and seven and then add on his first year and there you go… fifteen.

Tamera: (whispers to Dallas) Pikachu isn’t an animal, he’s a pokemon.

Dallas: I’m sure the same rule applies with them.

Misty: (intrigued by these new facts, holds up her Togape to Dallas) Togape is one.

Dallas: Yep and in one more year, she’ll be eight.

Misty: Eight? WOW!

(Close up on Tagape who turns to Pikachu with a look of confusion on her face)

Togape: What are they talking about?

Pikachu: Your age, how old you are.

Togape: I’m (holds up a small paw) one.

Pikachu: And in one more year, you won’t be two you’ll be eight, according to our new visitor. (points to Dallas)

Togape: I’ll be OLD.

Pikachu: (brings a paw to himself) I’m fifteen.

Togape: Fifteen? You’re OLD! (she giggles)

(Cut to Misty, who stares down at her giggling Togape)

Misty: What’s so funny? (looks to Pikachu who is also laughing) Awe, that’s so cute. They like each other.

Togape/ Pikachu: What?

Ash: No way, Misty, that will NEVER happen.

Misty: That would be so cute. (giggles)

Dallas: (glances at the two pokemon) You never know in this world, but I’d think that Pikachu is too old for Togape.

Ash: (looks to Dallas) Thank you. (smirks at Misty)

Tamera: (teasing Ash now) Maybe she’ll be with Squirtle or Psyduck.

Ash: Okay, I don’t think we should talk about this.

Misty: (frowns) Why not? One day they’ll all grow up and get married.

Ash: We’ve been in this forest too long.

(Cut to Pikachu who rubs his tummy)

Pikachu: And we still haven’t eaten.

Togape: Yeah. (grins at Pikachu)

(All of them settle down to eat in the clearing of the forest. Halfway through the meal of sandwiches and drinks a scream echoes through the forest bolting them all up. Cut to Chase racing through the clearing, waving her hands through the air frantically)

Chase: Get it off! Get it off!

(Cut to the Butterfree (a butterfly pokemon) stuck in Chase’s hair)

Ash: (points to Chase) Pikachu, thunder bolt attack now!

Tamera: (gasps at the sight of Chase) NO!

(The attack has happened and a bolt of electricity enters Chase’s body, causing her to shudder and fall back onto the ground. Togape jumps out of Misty’s arms to follw Tamera and Dallas to where Chase is lying)

Tamera: (in a small worried voice) Chase?

Ash: (gets up to approach the girls) Who?

Dallas: (spins her head to shoot a piercing glare at Ash) Don’t you ever think before you act?

Misty: (approaches next) No, we’re still trying to teach him that.

Ash: (ignores Misty and motions Pikachu over to him) Come here Pikachu.

(We see Pikachu scamper up onto Ash’s shoulder)

Tamera: (kneels next to Chase) Chase… Chase, can you hear me?

(Right than through the bushes we see Nick racing through)

Nick: (stares down to stare at Chase’s limp form on the ground) Chase? (Kneels down to unattach the butterfree from her hair) What happened? (looks up at the others)

Ash: An honest mistake.

Chase: (flutters her eyes open to stare up at Nick who we see through her eyes in a blur) Hello? Whose there? Dallas? Tamera?

Ash: (softly to Chase) You got a little shock.

Chase: (tries to lift up and is helped by Nick) I feel all tingly. (jolts a bit)

Nick: (leans closer to Chase) Are you okay?

Chase: (gazes at Nick) I got a shock. I mean… how did I get a shock?

Misty: (off handedly) Ash is still learning to think before he acts.

Tamera: (admitting) Ash thought you were a threat and sent Pikachu to shock you.

Chase: (smiles) Tamera?

Tamera: (leans closer to Chase) Does this place have anything to do with the letter?

Chase: Yes.

Nick: What letter?

Chase: Nothing… it’s a long story I don’t really want to get into right now. All I want to do is get you all out of here. (looks around) Where’s Jess?

Dallas: She’s missing?

Chase: (forcing her body to rise) I have to find her… I have to…

(Nick catches Chase around her waist, before she can fall to the ground again) Nick: You need to relax before you pass out again.

Chase: No, you don’t understand. I have to find Jess and get these two out of here before anything else happens.

Nick: You’re going to fall.

Chase: No I’m not… (she pulls from Nick only to end up back in his arms again) Okay, I am, but only for now. The affects shouldn’t last too long. (glances to Ash, than to her friends)

Tamera: How did you know we were here?

Chase: (shakes her head) Didn’t. I wasn’t even sure why we ended up here, Nick and I. First, we were on the set of Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely and now Nick and I ended up here in Veridian City…

Dallas: You lucky ass how did you swing that?

Chase: What?

Dallas: Getting onto the set of Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely?

Chase: I… I don’t know, there isn’t much I remember. I mean… most of the time it wasn’t even me.

Dallas: Getting weird.

Chase: Brian was dead and here… here he’s a doctor at the Pokemon center.

Tamera: (laughs) We’re dreaming aren’t we?

Chase: I wish.

Dallas: (eyes Nick) So… how’s AJ looking? Good?

Chase: I didn’t see AJ.

Nick: We were only in New York for a showing at the convention center. I bet the guys are havin fits over there. (gazes down into Chase’s face) How are you feeling now?

Dallas: (laughs) Dumb question there, Nick.

Chase: (shuts Dallas up with an evil glare) I’m feeling better. I can still feel the shocks in my system though. But… I have to ignore it and find Jess.

Nick: Maybe she didn’t leave New York.

Chase: (nods) Could be true.

Ash: (breaks into the conversation) Whatever’s going on sounds adventurous and I wanna join you!

Misty: (protesting) No! We can’t, we still have work to do here, Ash.

Pikachu: (determined) I’m coming too!

Ash: (pleading to Misty) We can help them. Come on it will be fun and I love risks.

Togape: (bouncing up and down excitedly) Me too! Me too!

Nick: (turns his eyes to Misty) Maybe, it would be best if you didn’t come. I mean… it might get dangerous and…

Misty: (captivated by Nick) I’ll come if you’re going.

Ash: (jumps up in victory) ALL RIGHT!

(The group now huddles together and Nick picks up the bell to ring it… the group vanishes in a bright light)