Hi! I'm back, and after a little vacation, I have a new story for you.
This has taken me the absolute longest time to write, so I hope you like it.
(If you have any comments, be gentle, I'm a little fragile right now, and
you might break my itty bitty pure heart if you're too mean <pout>)
I've had a lot of encouragement from my friends, and I'd really like to
thank them. Oh, and Togepi and Team Rocket aren't in this (That egg gives me
the creeps, an I really don't like Team Rocket a whole lot)(don't get me 
wrong, nothing wrong with 'em really), so if you see the words 'Togepi' or 
'Team Rocket', it's a mistake, and you should ignore it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, I never have, never will no matter how
much I dream <sigh>
Okay, I've yakked long enough, so, on with the story!

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*They're beautiful...*
This person was refering to the six blue pearls in front of him.
*Tears of the deep. Perfect in detail. Too bad I must do this.*
He scooped them up, and left the room. But not before hiding one in that 
room.

The second, he hid in Pewter city.

The third, in Cerulian city.

The fourth, in Viridian city.

The fifth, Saffron city.

The sixth, and most important pearl, he hid on Cinnabar island.

He left clues to their whereabouts with each pearl, hoping that the right
person would find them, and do the right thing. To him, the pearls were,
indeed, very beautiful, but that was all. They represented evil, greed, and
murder in each perfect blue orb. But he was powerless to rid the world of
them. Only the right person, the special person, had that power. He would
wait.

A hundred years passed.

"Go Pikachu! Thunder shock!"
"Ivysaur! Razor leaf!"
Ka-rash! Pikachu's power was too much; it disintegrated the leaves, and
completely k.o'd Ivysaur.
[forget that grass is superior to electricity, we all know that Pikachu is
stronger than the average 'chu.]
Pikachu pranced around in victory, and jumped up on Ash's head, while 
Ivysaur and its trainer left in a huff.
"Pika-pi!" he said, with his tiny fingers in a 'v' of victory. Brock and
Misty snickered.
"He's acting just like Ash!" Misty howled, holding her sides.
"Naw, Ash is worse!" Brock disagreed.
"It's nice to know your real opinions of me!" Ash yelled, and ran off with
Pikachu. Brock and Misty just stood there open mouthed, staring at the
retreating backs, startled. Ash's hat fluttered to the ground.

Ash kept running, until he reached the ruins of an old house. He stopped,
breathing hard. looking around, Ash knew that the house had one time been
beautiful, most likely a mansion in its earlier days, but it was sunk into
the earth. He took a few steps forwards, realising that he was not standing
on the first floor, but the _attic_ floor. One more step...
"Pikachu, this is weird...maybe we should go-oooooo!!!"
That one step proved to be very dangerous. Ash's foot broke through a rotted
part of the attic floor, and both he and Pikachu plunged five stories,
breaking through each floor as they went, screaming at the tops of their
lungs in terror.
[Note: If you want a cool version of something like that, watch poor little
Remy during the cemetary scene in 'Goshogun: the time étranger'.
Purrrrfect! >^.,.^<]

Brock and Misty tried to follow Ash and Pikachu, but were soon lost.
"Ash! Come back!" Misty screamed.
"We're sorry!" Brock yelled.
Their only response was scilence. Then an ear shattering scream.

When Ash came to, he was laying face first in the cellar of the house.
"Oohhhaaah...Pikachu, what happened?" he groaned.
"Pikapika chu..." Pikachu shrugged."Pika pika, pikaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-CHU!"
He did a cyoete falling via cliff motion with his paws. He emphasized the
'splat'.
"All that way?"
"Pika."
"And we aren't dead?"
"Pika."
"That's weird."
"Pika."
"Stop saying that!"
"Chu."
"Better."
"Pi."
Pikachu began to route through the rubble around them.
"Hey, Pikachu? What're you doing?"
"Phikachouuuu!" Pikachu grunted, his mouth full of paper."Phika!"
He turned, and dropped a paper scroll at Ash's feet.

"Ash! Where are you?!"
"Answer us!"
"Hold it!"
Brock and Misty turned. It was Officer Jenny.
"Didn't you kids know this is a dangerous area?"
"No we didn't. But our friend came this way. We heard him scream, and-"
"Oh no! He must've found the old ruins! He could've fallen!" Jenny threw a
pokéball."Go Growlithe! We need you to track someone for us! Do you have any
of his belongings?"
Brock held out Ash's hat.
"Yeah, his hat-"
He was cut off as Jenny snatched it from him.
"Perfect!"

Growlithe's nose led them straight to the old house.
"Whoah! What is this place?" Brock breathed.
"This was the attic of a mansion called 'Mastersson'." Officer Jenny
answered.
"Was? Attic?"
"Yes. It was built close to 150 years ago. 100 years ago, the lord of the
mansion just... disapeared."
"What happened to it?"
"Around 70 years ago, there was a terrible earthquake, and Mastersson sunk,
just like that." Jenny snapped her fingers."The whole thing collapsed on
itself. If your friend is here, he's in a dangerous situation, because these
boards are rotted and could break under the slightest pressure. Look over 
there!"
She pointed to a broken area of flooring, where Ash had obviously fallen 
through.
"Oh-!" Misty gasped."How far down does this go?"
"Well, if the whole mansion is still intact, then...it's a five story drop,
with or without the cellars."

Ash pulled a small flashlight from backpack, and studied the scroll. It read

'Your first test begins here,
but not your quest,
This is to prove
That you are the best.
Six Tears of the Deep are hidden,
But, hidden where?
It's up to you,
But only if you truely care.
Look to the Pocket Monsters 
Of Ash, Oak, and Beech.
'Neath the works of board and nail,
In my library, you will find what you seek.
But only one here, do not dispair.
The others are around,
But, hidden where?'

"Arragh!" Ash screamed."A riddle! For crying out loud!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed, kicking the wall."Pik?"
"What's the matter?"
"Pikachu pikapi!"
"A Zubat? But, down here?"
"Pikachu pikapi pika!"
"So, you're saying that it's Brocks Zubat?"
"Pika!"
It wasn't long in finding them.
"Zubat! Zubat!" it screeched. Ash and Pikachu groaned, and covered their
ears.
"Zubat, will ya keep it down?!"
"Zu-zubat!"
"Better."
"Zu-bat zubat bat bat zu bat!"
"Tell them we're alright."
"Bat?"
"No, we aren't coming back up for awhile. We've got something to do first,
okay?"
"Zubat!"

"WHAT?! IS HE CRAZY?!" Misty shrieked.
"Zubat, are yousure that's what he said?" Brock asked. Zubat nodded an
afirmative, and entered his pokéball, away from the sunlight.
"So how are we supposed to get down there to beat some sense into Ash's
empty little head?" Misty growled.
"You aren't." Jenny snaped."As an officer of the law, I can't let you go
down there. It's too dangerous!"
"Growlithe!" her Pokémon agreed, growling menacingly at Misty and Brock.

Ash and Pikachu wandered around the cellar before they found the stairs
that led both up and down.
"I guess we have to find a library, huh Pikachu?"
"Pik."
"Then that has to be up, 'cause no person in their right mind would want it
in a cold, dark cellar, where the books would get musty, right?"
"Pika."
"Okay, up it is."

"Please Jenny! We have to get Ash!" Misty pleaded.
"No! You kids would just get stuck down there, and then where would you
be?" Jenny argued.
Brock was about to add his imput, when the floor boards underneath them
began to groan.
"Ahh, walk softly-" he gulped, but the boards snapped, and all three fell
all five stories.

Ash looked down the crowded hall. Debries and furnishings that had been
tossed around during the earthquake 70 years ago were strewn everywhere,
blocking this door and that window. Ash opened one door, and was hit with
an avalanche of old rotted clothes.
"Closet." he grumbled. The next door was that of a laundry room. The one
after that was a store room, then a servants quarters, where they stopped
for a break. Pikachu jumped onto an old dressing table that was somehow
still standing and still intact, and slid off the edge, bringing an old
perfume bottle with him. The contents, or what was left of them, splashed
out onto the floor and the electric rodent.
"PIKAAAAAA!" Pikachu screamed, clutching his insulted nose. Ash read the
lable on the bottle, and, in doing so, got a large wiff of the contents.
"EWWWWW!" he shrieked."EAU DE GLOOM!"
They ran from the room, and continued on their way, trying to ignore the
fact that Pikachu smelled like a Gloom. The last room was a bathroom, and
then there was another set of stairs, which he and Pikachu went up.

Misty felt herself hauled up by Brock, who began shaking her until he met
her mallet face to face.
"Misty! Misty! Misty-ow!"

The first door that Ash and Pikachu came across was a parlour. Crossing
through this debree crowded room, they found an elaborate set of beautifully
carved doors. Seeing that it was go through them, or go back the way they
came, Ash and Pikachu shrugged, and proceded. They found themselves in the
main foyer. Even if it WAS destroyed, it was very beautiful still. Light
from Ash's flashlight filtered through broken crystal, creating rainbows
that danced across the mildew stained gold, pearl and grey wallpaper.
Broken ornaments adorned the floor, glittering from the flashlight beam and
rainbow coloured lights. Ash shifted uncomfortably as he felt a breeze
blow by him.
"Let's keep going Pikachu."

"Where d'you suppose he went?" Brock asked, looking around.
"Don't worry, Growlithe will track him." Jenny replied.

Ash's mouth hung open in shock. He and Pikachu had left the foyer, entered
the conservatory, and found the back stairs. They led Ash and Pikachu to
the dining room, which was even more impressive than the foyer. Pikachu
stood taking it all in, while Ash tried to open the next set of doors. They
were locked.
"Hey, Pikachu, could you help me find something to pick this lock with?"
Their serches were successful. They had found a pure gold dinner knife, a
silver fork, and a steel bread knife. Ash bent the knife, and the fork
snapped in half. A vein on Ash's forehead started to throb. Pikachu dove
for cover as his trainer hacked at the lock with the bread knife like a
maniac.

Growlithes nose led them to the servants quarters.
"Ewww! It stinks in here!" Misty groaned, covering her nose. Brock picked
up the old perfume flask, and sniffed it.
"Ah, man! Gross!" he coughed."Eau de Gloom!"
Growlithe pawed at his nose and whined.
"Uh oh!" Jenny said, patting Growlithes nose."He lost his sense of smell!
We won't be able to find your friend without it!"
"Not true." Brock replied."Why didn't I think of it sooner? Vulpix will get
us out of this!"

After what seemed like an eternity, Ash finally unlocked the door, but
noticed, to his horror, that the key was hanging right next to the door!
Ash snapped.
"AAARRRAAAGGGHHH!!! *&^%$#@ door! Why the hell didn't I notice the *&^%$#@ 
key?! AAAHHH!"

"Hey! Did you hear that?" Misty asked."That sounded like Ash!"
"Wow! What a load of profanity!" Brock exclaimed.

When Ash had calmed down, he and Pikachu ventured into the room. Ash gasped
(mostly because a book hit him on the head, but also...) because he had
found the object of his searches!
"The library!" Ash crowed."We found it Pikachu!"
"Pika-pi!"
Book cases lined three of the walls, and were still intact. And most of the
books were still on the shelves, too.
"Now, what about that piece of paper?" Ash pulled out the scroll, and
studied it."This part here: 'Look to the Pocket Monsters/ Of Ash, Oak, and
Beech./ 'Neath the works of board and nail,/ In my library, you will find
what you seek./ But only one here, do not dispair.'"
"Pika..."
"Pocket Monsters...Pokémon, of course. Look to the Pokémon of Ash, Oak, and
Beech...That makes no sence. I'm Ash, and Gary is an Oak, but who is Beech?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu slapped his trainer over the head."Pikapikapika!"
"Would?"
"Pika!"
"Trees? You mean, wood?"
"Pika!"
"Oh! Ash, Oak, and Beech are trees!"
"Pika!"
"Okay, Pokémon made of wood...Oh! Look up there, Pikachu!" Ash pointed to
a book case. On top was a Moltres carved from ash. Pikachu spotted the
second, a Zapdos carved from oak. Ash found the last, an Articuno made of
beech wood.
"But how do they fit in?" Ash muttered, and shone his flashlight at the
ceiling. The shadows of the wooden birds all pointed on way: towards the
wall that had no shelves or cases. Specifically, at the woodwork near the
floor. Ash and Pikachu went closer. They saw smaller Pokémon carved into
the wood: Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. In between them,
was a pokéball. Ash reached out, and  touched the botton. It moved! The
Pokéball fell out of its settings in the wall, and fell into his hand,
along with three small objects: a blue pearl, a dark blue velvet case, like
the kind rings come in, and another scroll! Ash stared at the pearl,
mesmerised by its beauty. Suddenly, he heard voices screaming and shouting
at him, pleading, crying, yelling words that made no sense to him. Ash
covered his ears as the voices became a dull ringing. It was almost like
they wanted him to get rid of it. Ash ignored them.
"So this is a Tear of the Deep, Pikachu." he said, and placed it in its
case, and shoved it and the scroll into his backpack. He looked at the flat
pokéball in his hand."I think I'll keep this."
He heard more voices. They sounded familiar, but he was taking no chances.
Ash grabbed Pikachu, and hid in the shadows. A Vulpix wandered into the
room snuffling the ground, accompanied by...Brock, Misty, and Officer Jenny!
Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, you found me, huh?"
Misty, Brock, and Jenny jumped out of their shoes when they heard Ash speak.
"ASH KETCHUM! HOW DARE YOU FRIGHTEN ME LIKE THAT!!!" Misty shrieked at him.
Ash didn't even bat an eye.
"What were you doing down here?" Brock asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Ash shugged. Pikachu tugged on his
pant leg, and held up the old scroll in his teeth.
"Phika!"
"Here, Brock." Ash said, handing it to him. Brock read it, and looked from
Ash to the scroll and back to Ash.
"You got that right, Ash. I wouldn't have believed this. What the heck are
the 'Tears of the Deep' ?"
"Well, they're-"
"Did you say 'Tears of the Deep' ?" Misty and Jenny squeeled together.
"Yeah. So what?"
"Oh, my granny used to tell me legends about the Tears of the Deep!" Misty
said, in a dreamy voice.
"Mine too!" Jenny agreed."They're supposed to be six beautiful blue pearls!"
"Ash, are you seriously looking for them?" Misty cried.
"Yes."
"Didja find one?!"
"Yes."
"Can we see?!" Misty, Jenny, and Brock cried together.
"I dunno, can you?"
"MAY we?"
"Sure." Ash shrugged, taking the box from his back pack. He held it out to
them.
"Oh, wow!" Misty squeeked."It's really pretty!"
While they were busy admiring the pearl, Ash leaned against the wall. He
could hear the voices again. This time, they were more demanding and louder
than before. Ash covered his ears, and groaned. Something told him, they
weren't going to leave him alone. Again, they faded to a dull ringing.
Brock handed Ash the box back.
"What's the matter, Ash?" he asked, frowning."Why are you covering your
ears?"
"Can't you hear them?" Ash demanded.
"Hear who?"
"The voices. They're hurting my ears!"
"What voices? Ash, we don't hear them."
"Wait a minute." Jenny frowned."I remember my grandmother telling me that
the Tears of the Deep were very precious, and lots of people sought to own
them. They caused a lot of murder and destruction because of their beauty.
Every person and Pokémon killed became a gaurdian of the pearls. And
because their voices were caught in time when they were killed, they serve
as a warning to those who seek the pearls. Maybe that's what Ash is hearing!"
"Yeah, but why Ash, and not us?" Misty asked.
"Maybe it's because he's the one who touched them." Jenny suggested.
Ash wasn't listening. He was reading the next piece of scroll.
*Okay, what do we have here?
'Happy hunting, Mastersson!'*
Ash stared at the scroll.
*Pardon me?
'Your real quest begins here,
Do not retreat.
Only if you really believe,
You will not meet up with defeat.
Marble, Granite, Slate and Flint.
Think of this city, that is your hint.
From where these Pocket Monsters sit alone,
Remember what they're made of, think of these stones.
Fire, Water, Electricity, Grass.
Look to the center of all, if you wish to pass.
Remember, Mastersson, think of this clue,
The center of all, but only for you.'*
Ash thought for a moment.
*Mondo weirdo here!*
Ash peared more closely at the bottom of the scroll, and snickered.
'I am not a crack pot!'
Brock, Misty, and Jenny looked at Ash strangely when he dropped to the
floor, roaring with laughter.

After he had calmed down a bit, Ash requested that they get out of the
house. They all agreed. They left via stairs and attic.

"...So, I think it's Pewter city." Ash suggested."I mean if it were another
city, they'd be talking about water, or plants, or something else."
"Wow, Ash! I'm impressed!" Misty snickered."You sound like you actually
know what you're talking about!"
Ash glared at her.
"Of course I do, carrot top! I'm smart, and I show it when I want to!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed, sticking up for his trainer.
"Whoah! Touchy!"
"Cool it, you two. Now what's this 'Happy hunting, Mastersson!' bit?"
"I dunno."
"Mastersson is the name of the mansion." Jenny reminded them.
"Yeah, but it's like he's talking to a person, not a house. Maybe the
letters are mixed up."
Ash paid no further attension.
"Mast-er-sson...M-as-ter-s-son...M-a-s-ters son...! Master's son! That's
it!" Ash cried.
"What's it?"
"Master's son! That's it! The letters weren't all mixed up! They were
pushed together!"
"The who is 'Master's son'?" Misty asked.
"I am of course!" Ash replied proudly.
"YOU?!" Brock, Jenny, and Misty exploded.
"Yeah, me. My father was a Pokemon master, his father was, and his
father...back and back and back. Who ever wrote this is talking about me,
because I'm the one who found it. And I'm the only one who can touch the
pearls."
Jenny remembered when she had tried to touch the pearl, her hand had passed
right through it.
"Hey, he's right." she agreed, standing up."When you go to find the other
pearls, I'm coming with you."
"Why?"
"Because, if the pearl is in a restricted area, I can get you in. Besides,
being a police officer is boring work." Jenny sighed."Arrest him, question
her, go patrol the city."
"But who's gonna protect the city without you?"
"There are two of us Jenny's in theis city, so my mother's cousin's sister
will take over."
"Okay, you can come." Ash shrugged."Whatever floats your boat."

Surprisingly, Jenny looked better in her civilian clothes. She wore a
yellow a-line skirt that ended just above her knees, and a white tube top
with a blue jacket. She had also let her hair down as well. Brock blushed
and got a goofy look on his face. He was about to open his mouth when Jenny
beat him to it.
"Can it!" she grumbled, applying a line of pink lipstick to her mouth.

Two weeks later, they were in Pewter city.
"Okay, it says to look to the center of all." Ash said, studying the scroll
again."Brock, you're from Pewter, so what's in the center of Pewter city?"
"Ahh, let's seeeeee..." Brock scrunched up his face, thinking."A park. I
remember playing in it when I was a kid."
"Okay, so we find the park, and the Pokémon who gaurd the pearl." Ash 
suggested. Misty, Jenny, and Brock agreed.

They found the park, with the help of Brock. The very center of the park
is where they found four large boulders grouped together, creating a hollow
in the middle. Ash crawled through one of the gaps between the boulders,
and stood up. The sunlight came through the top and made the minerals in
the boulders sparkle. What Ash noticed was a Bulbasaur carved into the rock
he was facing. He turned to another, and saw a Pikachu. The next had a
Squirtle, and the last had a Charmander. Their paws were all pointing down
at Ash's feet. Stepping aside, Ash saw a Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite
carved into the ground, surrounding...another pokéball! Hesitently, Ash
poked it. The pokéball moved aside! Now there was a little hole. Inside
was the second pearl, box, and another scroll. Again, Ash heard the voices.
They were getting louder and more insistant. Again, he chose to ignore them.
"Ash? Did you find it?" Misty's voice came, with an impatient tone to it.
"Yeah, I found it!" Ash called back. He looked at the stone pokéball in
his hand, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he crawled back out to his
friends.
"Here it is."
"Did you hear 'them' again, Ash?"
"Ya." Ash replied, with a semi-deranged looked on his face, wriggling a
finger in his ear. Misty backed off, and hid behind Brock, which is exactly
what Ash wanted. Stiffling a giggle, he un-rolled the scroll.

'Dragons, stars, moon and sun,
Water, thunder, neither one.
Rainbows, ~cascades~, hope and light,
Mist and rain, which one's right?
City of ~blue~, I'm hidden in,
If you find me, you shall win.
Tears of the Deep, tears of dispair,
ever mine, but hidden, where?'

"That was just as helpful as a pile of rocks!" Brock grumbled."What city is
it?"
"Cerulian city!" Ash said excitedly.
"What?" Misty asked, puzzled.
"Misty! I can't believe you didn't get it!" Ash exclaimed."Cascades! Blue!"
"What's he going on about?" Jenny asked.
"I think he's had too much sun today." Brock replied.
A vein stuck out on Ash's forehead.
"ARE YOU GUYS STUPID OR WHAT?!" he screamed."Cerulian is a shade of BLUE!
The Cerulian gym gives trainers CASCADE badges!"
"Ohhhhh!" Brock, Misty, and Jenny said together."I get it now."
"See? Cascade is emphasized here," Ash pointed to the word."and so is blue."
"Hey, now I get it." Misty said.
" 'Bout time." Ash snorted."Gee, Misty, for having lived in Cerulian city
all your life, you sure are dense."
"DENSE?!" Misty shrieked. *THWACK!* Ash sat down on the ground, hard,
nursing a sizable bump on his insulted cranium.
"Owie..." he groaned.
"Pika pika." Pikachu sympathized, patting the lump on Ash's head.

"So, Misty, is there anything in Cerulian city that matches any of the
verses?" Brock asked.
"Well, I think that the 'Rainbows, cascades, hope and light, Mist and rain,
which one's right?' verse refers to the crystal fountain in Cerulian
city." Misty sighed, with stars in her eyes."Every time the sun shines,
rainbows dance around everywhere!"
"Hmm, 'cascades' is another word for splashes of water." Jenny reflected."It
also means 'to spill'."

"Is that the fountain?!" Ash gasped, rubbing his eyes where a stray rainbow
had blinded him.
"Uh huh..." Misty said in a dreamy voice."Isn't it beautiful?"
"No, it's annoying!" Ash said, still rubbing his eyes.
WHACK! Misty's mallet struck again. This time, Ash saw more than just
rainbows.
"Oh, look! I see Moltres!" he giggled.

When Ash regained his sense of balance, he walked around the fountain,
trying to see what he need to see. He saw a moon...a sun...some stars...
and...a Dratini, a Dragonair,
and a Dragonite!
*Now what?* Ash thought, eyeing the crystal Pokemon.*Water, thunder, only
one. It must be Dratini, because it hasn't learned thunder or anything yet.*
Ash climbed up the fountain, twice slipping down the wet crystal, ignoring
the fact that he was now soaking wet. Perching carefully on Dragonites
head, Ash looked around. Dratini's eyes were blue. Frowning, Ash pondered
for a moment, then pushed on one eye. It didn't budge. Ash poked at the
other. Both eyes popped out, along with a scroll, and a box. One of the
eyes was the pearl, the other was a blue crystal pokeball. Ash tossed his
findings to Brock, and started to climb down. Something caught his eye.
Carved into the crystal were an Eevee, a Flareon, a Jolteon, and a Vaporeon.
He was so engrossed in the pictures, he didn't realise that he was losing
his grip until he hit the shallow water below. Coughing and sputtering, Ash
sat up, rubbing yet _another_ bump on his head. Now he saw rainbows, 
Pidgey's and stars.

Ash winced as something cold made contact with his head. They were at the
Pokemon center, taking a break.
"Gee, Ash. You sure are getting beat up for these pearls." Brock commented,
tying an ice pack to Ash's head. Nurse Joy nearly jumped out of her skin
when she heard Ash yowl.
"No, he's just accident proned." Misty said, reading the next scroll.
"Yeah, well, you caused two of those accidents, Misty." Brock argued.
"At this rate, he'll be brain damaged before all the pearls are found."
Jenny grumbled, leaning against the wall.
"Or just comatose." Misty suggested.
"How about demented?"
"Catatonic!"
"Pikapikachu!"
"Aww, quit it!" Ash grumbled, standing up."This is nuts! Where's the scroll?"
"Here." Misty held it out to him.
*Trees and leaves,
Pokemon, too.
Caterpie and Bellsprout,
Oddish and Pikachu.
Green is my colour,
Green is my name,
Just think hard,
They're both the same.
Cold as stone, hard as rock,
Four guardian hounds.
We protect our tear,
One as it sounds.
Think of my ridge,
My long, graceful tail.
I am waiting for you,
Look under a scale.*

Ash pondered, and thought hard, until Misty interupted his train of thoughts.
"Well? Have you figures it out yet?"
"I'm not quite sure, but I think we have to go to Viridian city."
"Huh?"
*I think that means explain.* Ash said to himself, sighing wearily.
"The first verse is talking about a forest.The Viridian forest to be exact,
that being the best place to find a Caterpie, or a Bellsprout, or an Oddish
a Pikachu. Next, it mentions green. Viridian is a shade of green. Ergo,
we're supposed to go to Viridian city." Ash replied.
"How do you know all these colours?" Brock asked.
Ash grinned.
"Mom painted the house last year. I read the labels on the paint cans.
There were Pewter grey, Cerulian blue, Cinnabar green, Viridian green,
Saffron yellow...need I go on?"
"Nope."
"As you can see, I pick things up, and I remember them." Ash said, buffing
his nails on his shirt.
"Then how come, when you picked up that candy bar last week, put it in your
pocket, forgot to eat it, there was a heat wave, and now it's running down
your pants?" Misty asked with a coy grin. Ash looked down. Sure enough, the
remains of a Jersey Milk bar were leaking out of his jeans pocket and
dribbling down his still damp pants. Ash sweat dropped while his friends
nearly killed themselves laughing. Ash sighed, and ate what was left of the
melted chocolate off his pants.

"Okay, so we're in Viridian city." Brock said, looking around."So where,
and what, are these so-called guardian hounds?"
"Eevee and its evolved forms, what else?" Ash said in a matter of fact tone.
"Hey, how do you know that?"
"When I was climbing down the fountain, just before I fell, I saw an Eevee,
a Flareon, a Jolteon, and a Vaporeon carved into the crystal."
"So?"
"So, back at Mastersson, I saw a Pikachu, a Squirtle, a Bulbasaur, and a
Charmander on the wood work, and that's what I saw on the boulders in Pewter
city. There were a Dratini, a Dragonair, and a Dragonite there as well, and
that's what was on the fountain, along with those Eevees. An Eevee is a kind
of dog, so it can be considared a hound. Get the picture?"
"Oh."
"So we're looking for an Eevee, a Flareon, a Jolteon, and a Vaporeon?"
"Yep, made of stone."
"Let's split up." Jenny suggested."We'll cover more ground that way."
"Okay."

It was Ash and Pikachu who found the four Pokemon statues. They were
guarding the entrance to a small community garden.
"Pika...!" Pikachu breathed. They were impressive, and life-like, from
their eyes down to the tips of their tails. Every detail was perfect. Ash
remembered the clues.

Cold as stone, hard as rock,
Four guardian hounds.
We protect our tear,
One as it sounds.
Think of my ridge,
My long, graceful tail.
I am waiting for you,
Look under a scale.

"Vaporeon!" Ash said excitedly."It's Vaporeon!"
"Pik?"
"Yeah, it mentions a long graceful tail, and a ridge. Vaporeon has both.
And it has scales."
"Pika!"
"Yeah, we hve to look under one." Ash said, running his hands over the
Vaporeons stone scales. He started at the head and worked his way down to
the tail. Nothing. Ash scratched his head in frustration.
"Why isn't-oh!" Ash stopped and thought for a moment."I remember! 'Think of
my ridge," he ran his hand down the Vaporeons ridged back."my long, graceful
tail.' Here!"
Ash touched the stone scales where the Vaporeons tail started, and where
the ridge was the biggest. One of the scales was a small Pokeball. After
several minutes of tugging, pulling, and pounding, Ash had the fourth pearl
in his hands.

At the Pokemon center, Ash waited for his friends. They didn't show up for
hours. When they did, they were sun burned, hot, dusty, and tired. Their
tempers flared when they saw Ash sitting in a chair, tossing the fourth
pearl up in the air like a toy.
"ASH, WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO FIND US?!" they screamed."WE WERE OUT THERE,
LOOKING ALL AFTERNOON, AND YOU HAD THE PEARL THE WHOLE TIME!!!"
"Go Squirtle." Ash commanded, throwing the pokeball."Cool 'em off with
watergun."

After drying out their clothes, they read the next scroll.

'~Telekenesis~,
Diverse powers, too.
Marsh to be won here,
Pokemon true.
In our place of worship,
You will find,
Pokemon protecting a Tear,
With their MIND.
Temple, shrine,
Call it what you want.
This is where you look,
Where the psychics haunt.
Who knows when and where
Your journey will end?
Afterwards, only one last tear to find,
But, this time, with a friend.'

"Hey, two more, and we're done!" Ash said thoughtfully."And it sounds like
the next Tear is in Saffron city."
The others nodded in agreement. They were getting better at this guessing
thing, besides, all the clues were pretty easy and they practically spelt
out S-A-F-F-R-O-N  C-I-T-Y.

"Does any body have a clue what we're supposed to be looking for?" Misty
asked.
"Obviously some kind of a temple or something that worships psycic
Pokemon." Jenny replied.
"Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam."
Jenny glanced at Ash.
"What?"
"Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam. Those are the Pokemon that are worshiped at
this shrine thingy." Ash answered.
"Pika-pika." Pikachu confirmed with a nod.

They asked several people, but there were no answers. Ash wasn't about to
give up, though. He kept on, even when his friends gave up. He was bound
and determined to complete his quest. Discouraged by recieving no results,
even after a full days search, Ash sat down outside the Saffron gym. He
grinned, and  laughed softly. He had a last resort up his sleeve.

"Take me to Sabrina."

"Ash Ketchem, I'm not surprised." Sabrina said, standing up. She walked over
to him, and offered him her hand. Ash shook it lightly.
"Sabrina, I have a favor to ask of you."
"About the Tears of the Deep, correct?"
"Mm-hm."
"What you seek is right here in this gym, Ash. I'll show you."

Sabrina led him down several corridors, several sharp turns, down, down,
forever down, until they came to a set of ornate doors.
"In here is our shrine, built to honor Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam." Sabrina
explained, opening the door."I'll leave you to your searches."
Ash entered, and shivered in the coolness of the room. There were three
beautifully laquered statues standing on an altar. Ash walked around it, 
taking in the beauty of the arangement. The shadows of the Pokemon statues
crossed, touching each other. Where the shadows were the darkest was where
Ash knew the tear would be. There it was; a black laquered Pokeball. Ash 
pried it out and retrieved his prize. On the way out, Ash saw an offering
box, with a black laquered Magmar on the front. Shrugging, he put something 
in, and left the shrine.

After showing Ash the way out, Sabrina went back to the shrine. What she 
found in the offering box had her rolling with laughter: instead of the
traditional polished stone or money offering, Ash had left...a Jersey Milk
bar!

"Ash!" Misty shrieked."Where did you find it?!?!"
"Where else?" Ash shrugged."The Saffron gym."
"The Saffron gym?" Brock asked."you mean, Sabrina helped you?"
"She knew where it was, and I knew that it had to be at the gym. I mean,
it's where a lot of psycic's 'haunt', and it's where you earn a Marsh badge,
of course."
"Of cousre!" Brock exclaimed."Why didn't we think of it first?!"
"'cause I'm smart, and you aren't." Ash replied. That earned him another
whack on the head.
"Where do we go next?" Jenny asked.
"Welll..." Ash said, pulling the scroll out of his pocket."We only have one
left, so here goes..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think I'll cut it off there, I kinda have to anyway (Unfortunately, my
program is acting up, so I had to write this in two or more chapters, 
instead of one whole story.)
Now, a preiew of the next chapter: the last Tear is found, a showdown to the 
finish, Ash's sacrifice! Don't miss it!

Chiao!
-Princess Mystic