Cobwebs struck Ash’s face lightly as he managed to wedge himself into the crawl space. He entered it sideways, the only way that allowed him to. The squeeze was unbearably tight, but he knew he had to do it. He shook his head violently and blew out at the silky nets to get them out of his face.

"Asssshhhh!"

Ash could still hear his friends calling out to him from outside the closet. He tried to reply, but it only came out as loud, heaving coughs. He had inhaled some spiderwebs.

"Are you okay?" Misty said nervously. She approached the closet quickly and swished aside hordes of Delia’s clothing, only to reveal Ash’s two legs sticking out disproportionately from the small hole.

"I’m fine," he said, scowling as he pulled the wet webs from his mouth. "Probably just ate a couple spiders, but I’m fine." He uttered a small, uneven laugh.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked him incredulously. "Are you sure you can fit in there?"

"I can if I make myself," Ash replied, using his good free arm to pull himself a few more difficult inches into the crawl space.

Misty cringed as she heard the walls groan from Ash trying to get himself in. What is he getting himself into? she wondered frightfully to herself. Tears began to well up uncontrollably in her eyes. She wanted to pry him out of there, to get him away from the danger. Ghost or not, there was something in there, and she didn’t want him near it. "Ash, if there’s something in there, I don’t want you to go!"

Although she couldn’t see him, Ash looked oddly at her. "Misty, I’ll be okay. Whatever’s in here I’m not afraid of."

Then how come you won’t shine the light in there? he asked himself. He was just happy that his voice wasn’t shaking when he had answered her. He was petrified. But even he himself didn’t want to admit it. The only thing keeping him in that crawl space was the tight space he had somehow jammed himself into. The flashlight was directed towards his chest, leaving the somewhat endless dark an oblivion. Whatever was in that darkness Ash wasn’t sure he wanted to find out. If there was anything in there at all.

Silence succeeded his answer, until Misty’s garbled voice floated softly down to him. "Oh, please Ash. Please be careful!" Her voice shook and lowered. "I don’t want you to get hurt."

Ash took a deep breath and looked into the darkness. "I won’t get hurt." I hope not. To fight the pessimism, he thought of his mom, and what she had told him countless times before. Nothing’ll bother you, Ash. You’re safe here. Ash hoped to God that she was telling him the truth.

Ash propped himself up on his one hand, which was scraping painfully against the rough, wooden floor. Years of accumulating dust had made it that way, and Ash hoped that he wouldn’t have to spend numerous agonizing hours prying out splinters. He sighed as he wished he had his gloves on. But it was no use going back now. He wondered if he actually could get out.

Still keeping the flashlight directed anywhere but forward, Ash’s heart began to pump. Shaking, he slowly brought the flashlight around. Beads of sweat poured from his forehead as he suddenly felt the temperature rise. The humidity and damp scent of the crawl space disoriented him, but not half as much as what he was about to see next.

His heart seemed to pound right out of his chest as Ash came face to face with the bright, shining circles. They shone out considerably from the deep black, flashing flickers of light into his eyes. Ash gulped loudly, and his mouth quivered. The flashlight bounced up and down from his restive shaking, making the lights seem to dance around. But Ash knew they were moving no matter what he did with the light.

Despite the sudden heart-attack he was experiencing, Ash managed to bravely move the light over a bit. The matter of the situation had not fully caught up with him yet, and it took him quite a few seconds to realize the presence that was before him. His heart beating went down a notch when a familiar purple mass became visible. Ash was shining his light on a small Rattata.

"A . . . a Rattata?" Ash squeaked in disbelief, his eyebrows raised.

"What?!" Brock and Misty asked at the same time. They had heard Ash’s sudden utterance, but could not make it out one way or another. The two looked at each other fearfully, not happy with the way their friend sounded. As surprised as his exclamation was, he sounded terrified. Misty trembled and stumbled forward to the closet, her heart beating more and more furiously for Ash. God, she wanted him out of there. She wanted him to be safe.

Ash heard his friends calling out to him, but he didn’t even bother to answer. He was frozen in surprise as he kept the light on the Rattata. A small grin curved to his lips, partly out of humor. Was this it? Was this what they had been hearing the whole time?

"Ash, what’s going on?" Brock asked. "Are you okay in there?"

"I’m fine!" Ash called back, settling his friends’ raging hearts. "It . . . it’s okay. I think I got this under control."

"Under control?" Misty asked inaudibly and confusingly, turning her attention to Brock. He just shrugged, but his reassuring face calmed her. She didn’t feel that bad now, as Ash’s confirmation of the situation seeped into her. Still, she was curious. Just what was going on in there?

Ash watched as the tiny Pokémon squinted its eyes away from the bright flashlight’s glare. It shrank back against the wall of the crawl space, baring its sharp, large teeth at him in a snarl. It uttered a faint, frightened hiss as it glared at its intruder. The Rattata was awfully small, and in an instant Ash knew he was in the presence of a very young Pokémon. An extremely scared Pokémon.

A much larger, gentler smile spread across Ash’s face as he inched his way closer to the rat. He was smooth and silent in his transition, holding out a hand welcomingly to the creature. "Hey, buddy," he said soothingly, keeping his voice low in hopes of not scaring it any further. "Good Rattata."

Ash was barely a foot away from the Rattata, who had found a dead-end at the end of the crawl space. The atmosphere had grown much more humid as Ash knew they were the furthest into the tiny attic, and dust motes attacked his eyes. The Pokémon recoiled as much as it could as Ash crept dangerously closer and closer to it.

"Come on Rattata," Ash urged. He was crawling uncomfortably on his one knee, the other pushed sideways into the wall. He knew the faster he got this thing out of here, the more overjoyed he would be. He smiled warmly, reaching out at the Rattata.

"Rat!" it spat out, hissing again.

Ash yanked his hand back quickly and frowned. This was not going to be easy. And yet, he took a deep breath and held his hand out again.

"Come on, little guy. Don’t be afraid. I just want to get you out of here."

The Rattata glared at him, and its hair stood up rigidly on its back. It dug its claws into the soft wood as it glared cautiously at Ash. Butterflies fluttered excitedly in Ash’s stomach.

"Are you the one causing all this trouble around here?" Ash asked it softly, turning around to sit. His back rested against the side of the wall, and he found his knees suddenly touching his nose. He coughed a couple times hard. Tears were forming in his eyes from the dust, and he was glad to wipe them away with his new free hand. "Tapping on my wall, huh? You thought that was funny?"

"Raaaa . . . ," it uttered, voicing its warning resolutely. Its tail flicked, full of admonition.

Ash smiled nervously. He squirmed in hopes of relieve himself in his uncomfortable position. "You don’t belong in here, Rattata. You belong outside. In the sunlight and the fields." Or in my Pokéball, he thought with a small, determined chuckle. "Doesn’t that sound nice? This dirty crawl space isn’t for you. Whaddah ya say?"

At that moment, he reached out to grab the Rattata -- or at least shoo it away from the wall, but instead the Pokémon snapped ferociously at Ash, biting down as hard as it could on Ash’s index and middle finger.

"Yeeeoooowww!" Ash screeched loudly, jerking his stinging fingers out of the Pokémon’s mouth, and clenching them tightly in his other hand. "Oh, crap . . ." He continued to groan loudly, wincing horribly as pain shot through his hand and up his arm. He had never felt anything like it ever in his life. It was if his hand had been pinched between two massive anvils. Tears fell down his cheek and he coughed out a sob.

Misty uttered a sharp yelp when she heard Ash scream. She and Brock pushed their way into the closet at the same time.

"Ash!" Misty cried out, her eyes wide in terror. "Ash, what happened?! What happened?"

"Are you okay in there?" Brock asked, his voice sounding just as scared. "Did you get hurt?"

Misty was breathing heavily. The only response they heard from Ash was his loud groaning. In that moment, an intolerable image came to her mind -- Ash hurt and stuck in the crawl space. The thought of the ghost rapidly vanished from her mind as she thought of Ash in pain and full of panic. What if he hurt himself more in his anxiety and fear? What if he really could get stuck in there? These horrifying thoughts plagued her, and she couldn’t help the tears that roamed from her eyes. Brock saw this and shuddered. He rubbed Misty’s shoulders tenderly yet quickly.

"It’s okay, Misty, it’s okay," he said to her, stroking her face once softly. His head darted from her to the closet. "I -- uh, oh geez! Ash, damn you, answer us! Are you hurt in there?!"

Ash wanted badly to cry out to them, but he couldn’t manage anything but the soft sobs that escaped his throat. The pain was so unendurable that he proceeded to pound forcefully on the wall with his other hand.

The Rattata hissed again in closing to the nasty attack. Ash opened one eye and glared at the Pokémon, anger flickering. Cringing, he brought his aching hand underneath the flashlight. His eyes widened as he saw they were shining a bright red. Small streams of blood ran down his fingers as he turned his hand around in horrified awe. The sight of his precious liquid made him queasy.

"Ash!"

Ash snarled at the Pokémon through clenched teeth. The pain was hardly subsiding from his fingers. His eyes were dead-set directed into the Rattata’s, and in that next moment, without thinking, he pounced. He didn’t care if he tackled it, injured it, scared the hell out of it. The pain was controlling his mind now. It had made him bleed. That was it, that was the clincher.

"Asssshhh!"

"You little --" he growled coldly as he flung himself at the Rattata. The Pokémon was too quick, however, and it slipped out of Ash’s hands like a slippery bar of soap. Ash felt as the Pokémon scampered over his knees, and like a bat out of hell, it bolted toward the entrance.

Ash’s awkward position didn’t affect him one bit. He tried to hop up, but a hard wooden beam halted him harshly. He cried out as pain attacked his back. He was literally crying now, the tears falling uncontrollably from his eyes. "M-misty! Brock! Stop it, stop it!"

Brock and Misty jumped back a few inches when they heard Ash shout. They hopped around confusingly on their toes.

"Stop what?!" Brock cried, his eyes shooting in all directions.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted, answering the question quite swiftly. He jumped out of the way as the purple rat shot past him in a flash, skidding on the shiny, polished hard wood floor. It turned on a dime and rushed out of Delia’s room.

Misty and Brock followed the purple blur out of the room with their eyes, and they were frozen.

"Wha . . . what was that?" asked Misty, panicky.

"It was a Pokémon!" Brock replied quickly.

"It’s a Rattata!" Ash screamed from deep within the crawl space. "H-hurry, guys! Get it! Get it, f-find it!"

Misty didn’t care one bit. "Ash, we’re getting you outta there! Are you okay?"

A huge wave of relief spread vivaciously through her body as she saw Ash’s two legs pop out from the crawl space. She watched as Ash twisted and turned his body in this way and that, squirming out from the dusty prison. He clutched his bad hand tightly to his chest, and he dragged the flash light behind him.

"No!" he answered sharply, followed by another whimper.

Brock fell to his knees to assist Ash out.

As he was getting out, Misty was scanning the environment for the Rattata. Whether it was loose or not, Ash was her first concern. She looked back down nervously as Brock helped Ash out of the crawl space. Ash found his feet as soon as he was out, but he stumbled forward, pain radiating from his swollen back. Misty’s eyes shot open as they fixed firmly on his bleeding fingers and his tear-strewn face.

"Ash! You are hurt!" she screamed, her voice full of terror. She looked in horror at his fingers, and at the large red streaks they had left on his tan pajamas. "Oh my God, you -- you’re bleeding!"

"It’s okay! It’s okay! I’ll live!" Ash said quickly and a little angrily. He held his fingers closer to his chest. "Where is it? Where did it go?!"

Misty and Brock became freaked out again.

"I don’t know!" Misty shouted.

"Aw man, it could be anywhere!" Ash groaned worriedly. "We have to get it!"

Ash shot out of the room in a flash, leaving his confused friends in his wake. It took them a few seconds to come to their senses and follow. Ash ran into his room and looked around, his mouth agape. His face was scrunched up in pain from his aching back. He couldn’t image what he may have done to it, but it hurt like hell. Still, it didn’t stop him much as he immediately began his search.

"Wait a second! Was this it the whole time?" Misty asked as she and Brock entered the room. "This is the ghost?"

"I believe it is," Ash answered without looking up. He had fallen to the floor, holding himself upright on his good hand, to around his bed.

"Well isn’t that just great!" Misty exclaimed angrily.

"How did it get into the house?" Brock asked.

Ash hopped up from his bed, and tore apart the crumpled sleeping bags on the ground. "The crawl space is connected to the attic," he explained, his heart racing as he continued his search. He was barely thinking as he spoke. "It must’ve gotten in from there somehow. A hole or something." He looked up at Misty and Brock, who were just standing there. "Will you guys help me?!"

Misty and Brock jumped at this, and immediately sprang into action.

"I can’t believe this!" Misty growled as she looked under Ash’s desk. The whole situation was becoming too exasperating for her. "This is what was scaring us the whole time?!"

"Yeah, but how did it get into the house from the attic?" Brock asked.

In frustration, Ash kicked his dresser, knocking down some of the small knickknacks on it. "That’s the part I can’t figure out!"

At that moment, Misty decided to chime in. "Uh, Ash? I might know."

This caught Ash and Brock’s undivided attention, and they both found Misty standing in front of Ash’s open closet.

"Look," she said, pointing in.

Ash and Brock peered in, only to discover the similar looking door to the crawl space slightly ajar. Though a bunch of Ash’s stuff was pushed up against it and surrounding it, there was enough room for a bantam creature to fit through.

"It must’ve been coming out through there," Ash commented.

Brock shook his head as he gazed into the disaster. "Gee, Ash, guess you didn’t clean this along with your room, huh?"

"Oh, shut up!" Ash belted out. "Don’t start with me with that!"

Brock met his glare and shrugged. "You don’t have to get nasty, Ash! Maybe if you had your crap cleaned up, this door could’ve been closed sometime and that thing wouldn’t have been all over the place!"

"Scaring the hell out of us!" Misty added.

Ash held his head in his hand and he gripped at his hair agitatedly. His blood clotted hand hung limply at his side. He didn’t need any more verbal punishment right now. All he could think of was the purple rat that was somewhere in his house. The same blasted rodent that had scared him and his friends straight. And had gotten him into trouble for nothing. His mom was right, after all. There was nothing, there was never going to be anything. Ash shook his head shamefully. Although he was worried, at this point he was fed up. Who cared anymore? He didn’t.

"Pika pika!" Suddenly, he heard his Pokémon shout out desperately to him. Ash’s head rose as did Misty and Brock’s in an instant, and they turned in the direction of Pikachu’s outcry.

They found Pikachu just outside Ash’s room, maneuvering itself around to keep the tiny Rattata trapped in the corner. Sparks flew from Pikachu’s cheeks as it warned the Pokémon to keep still. The Rattata continued to hiss at Pikachu as it had at Ash, and the short hair on its back bristled angrily. It was not afraid to defend itself.

Ash, Misty, and Brock stopped as they saw the scene.

"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash congratulated his friend. "Now give it a shock! We have to get it!"

On command, Pikachu let off a small jolt, which would have been enough to certainly daze the rat, but instead the Rattata jumped out of the way. The minute bolt struck the wall with a crack as Pikachu gazed at it confusingly.

The Rattata scampered away swiftly, flying straight into Delia’s room.

"Hurry! There it goes!" Brock cried, and the three bolted off immediately after it.

While Misty and Brock took off effortlessly, Ash stopped short and groaned loudly. Clutching at his aching back, he took a deep breath and tried to follow after them as best as he could. Pain shot up and down his spinal cord, and the only thing keeping him from collapsing was his strong grip on the door-frame. His eyes shut tightly, he could hear his friends and Pikachu chasing boisterously after the rodent.

"Ash!"

"It’s coming your way!"

"Where are you?"

Ash didn’t have much time to react to Misty and Brock’s shouts, for as soon as he lifted his head, the Rattata was coming directly at him.

Without a second thought, Ash charged at the Rattata, the worst possible thing he could’ve done. The Pokémon halted and managed to steer itself out of Ash’s clutches.

"Shiii . . . ooot!" Ash shouted with venom in his voice as the Rattata scrambled underneath his legs. His arms flung down unsuccessfully at his knees. He twisted around to follow it with his eyes, only to be hit forcibly from behind by Brock and Misty.

"Ash!" Brock screamed, trying desperately to catch himself from falling. "What the hell’s the matter with you?! Why are you just standing here?!"

"My back . . . ," Ash moaned. "I hurt my back in the crawl space and it hurts to move."

"What?!"

"I knew you’d get hurt in there!" Misty suddenly belted out at him, causing him to shrink back. "I told you not to go in!"

"And now look what happened!" Brock added. He groaned and pulled agitatedly at his hair as his eyes scanned around the area. "Where did that Rattata go now?!"

Ash just wailed in reply, causing Misty to go right to his back. Ash closed his eyes and leaned forward, propping himself up once again using the wall. He breathed in deeply and tried not to concentrate on the pain. Misty delicately lifted his pajama top. Ash quivered a little, feeling a chill as he felt Misty’s hands brushing against his skin.

"Oh, man . . . ," Misty mumbled.

Ash’s eyebrows scrunched up. "Is it bad?"

Misty put his shirt back down carefully. "It’s starting to get all purple and stuff. You bruised it really bad. How’d you do that?!"

Moaning again, Ash didn’t answer. His attention switched over to Brock, who, although he was standing there with them, was looking quite agitatedly and stressful.

"I don’t know where it could be," Ash said pathetically. "But we have to get it out of here. Mom’s gonna have a fit if that thing’s loose in the house!"

Brock sighed worriedly, finally looking down at him. Though Ash didn’t see it, Brock had noticed Ash’s battered back. "The only thing your mom’s gonna have a fit about is you. She’s gonna freak over what you did to yourself."

Ash crooned as he stood up again. "Worry about me later. Let’s get the monster out of here before it does any more damage."

Misty’s eyes fell. Same old Ash. It didn’t matter to him whether he was missing a limb or not. She realized it was no use going against him. "But where is it?" she asked, her voice low and saddened.

Brock shook his head. "We can’t keep losing it like this."

The three stood dejectedly in the hallway, all silent. They didn’t know where to begin. Ash wished he hadn’t have gone in the crawl space at all, but it was already done and now a new problem was on their hands. He slumped and sighed.

"We’ll never find it now," he said softly.

Just as he had said that, the kids’ ears pricked to the small, gleeful "togi!" that came from Ash’s room. They each exchanged a glance before looking into the room. Gasping, they found Togepi sitting on Ash’s bed where Misty had left him moments before. Only now Togepi wasn’t alone. Smiling widely, Togepi squealed again as the Rattata came close to sniff his face. The whiskers on the rat were tickling Togepi’s face, which thrilled him immensely.

"There it is!" Brock cried in a whisper.

Misty’s stomach flopped as she saw the filthy Pokémon near her beloved Togepi. "Oh no!" she squeaked. "What are we gonna do? I don’t want that thing near my Togepi!"

She tried to go into the room, but Brock grabbed her shoulders. "No, Misty! Don’t scare it again! Let’s just think for a second."

Misty spun around and glared at him incredulously. "Think?! How can I think when that thing’s near Togepi?!"

"Shhh!" Brock shushed her sternly. "We can get this thing if we have a plan!"

They watched quietly as the Rattata was unintentionally entertaining Togepi. It was curious at the baby Pokémon’s quirkiness.

"What’s our plan, then?" Ash whispered, glancing determinedly at the two Pokémon on his bed. He was mentally shooting daggers at the Rattata, who had now sat down in front of Togepi on his clean sheets. Ash made a note to himself to change the sheets, granted he found the time.

Brock was quiet for a moment, and the reason why came rather quickly. "I have no idea."

"Togi! Togi!" Togepi cried, waving his arms around in utter happiness.

The Rattata edged closer to him, causing Misty to cringe. Her whole body trembled. She wished she could’ve stretched her arms out for her Togepi, grasping him away from harm. Who knew where that Rattata had been or what it had been doing? Misty shuddered more at the thought.

Oh Togepi, she whimpered silently. She wrung her hands nervously, her eyes darting from Togepi to the Rattata. Her heart began to pump ceaselessly, sending a rush of blood and adrenaline through her veins. It was no stopping her when her nerves took over, and in a split second, she charged into Ash’s room and dove for Togepi.

"Misty!" Ash and Brock cried together, as they watched the girl leap onto the ladder, her arms flailing toward both the Pokémon.

"Get away from Togepi!" Misty bawled at the purple rat, who immediately sprung out of her way. It made a loud thud as it fell to the ground, scattering all over the place in a series of zany, terrified circles.

"Now you’ve done it!" cried Brock, who went after the Pokémon without a second passed. Misty stood in a withdrawn manner on the ladder, clutching her now crying Togepi in her arms.

Ash hopped from his fetal position at the doorway towards the corner of the room the Rattata had dashed. He watched horribly as Brock rushed after it with a look of murderous glint in his eyes. The Rattata was no match for him; it quickly moved itself around him, finding an escape route over Ash’s desk. It slid hopelessly on the sheets of random papers Ash had on his desk, causing its footing to sway beneath it and slide directly into Ash’s lava lamp. Ash watched in what seemed like slow motion as the expensive lamp began its fatal descent to the floor.

Ash didn’t even have time to scream before he witnessed Brock dive for the lava lamp, catching it mere seconds before it shattered on the floor. Relief spread through Ash as he watched his surprised, grinning friend gently place it back on the desk. The wonderful moment didn’t last any longer as he hopped out of the way of the careening purple rocket that sped across his floor. The rocket that Pikachu was hot on the trail of.

His back no longer a concern, Ash took off after Pikachu, as he followed the Rattata out of the room and into the hallway.

"Wear it down, Pikachu!" Ash shouted pleadingly. "Corner it! Do anything!"

Ash could hear the loud thumping of running footsteps behind him. Misty and Brock were on their way, as well. In between his bouncy scurry, he could see the two Pokémon race down the stairs.

"They’re heading for the living room!" Misty shouted.

"I don’t care if it’s heading towards Guam!" Ash shot back. "We have to get it!"

The next four minutes turned out to be the most hectic in young Ash Ketchum’s life. His back a searing mass of pain, he, along with Misty, Brock, and Pikachu, chased the Rattata endlessly throughout the house. It proved to be just too fast, and the times when Ash thought he may have gotten it were just a disappointing fluke. Countless times it had escaped the clutches of any of them, barely by inches. And it didn’t take kindly to the easy routes, either. Ash watched in horror as the Rattata made desperate attempts to get out of its besiegers’ ways through means of going over the tables and furniture. They were all over the place, diving for tilting lamps, candles, and picture frames.

Bending over from miraculously catching the living room lamp that was one of his parents’ wedding presents, he gasped as he watched the Rattata clamp onto the curtains and scurry up them. His heart leaping out of his chest, Ash cried out loudly.

"Misty! Brock! Get it on the curtains! It’s gonna destroy them! Hurry!"

Brock and Misty dashed towards the window, uncertain however how they would get it off of there. Misty was mostly reluctant to reach out for the Rattata, especially after the bloody job it did on Ash’s fingers. Brock’s determination and anger made him practically fearless, and in no time, he was hopping up and down with clenched fists in hope of knocking it off.

Pikachu was the successful one of them all. Without a single command from Ash (who wished he had asked for one), he cried out and released a powerful thunderbolt which struck the Pokémon dead-on. Shocked, both literally and mentally, the Rattata dug its claws into the bright yellow curtains to keep from falling, but it was of no use. As he fell, Ash’s ears stung as he heard the curtains rip under the pressure of the rat’s razor sharp claws. This was aside from the crispy residue Pikachu’s little attack had left on them.

"Ugghhh! That thing’s gonna get me killed!" he raged, trying fiercely to block the dreaded image of his mother’s reaction from his mind. At that moment, in an act of pure unrestricted rage, he leapt at the Pokémon, who had just collapsed to the floor from the shock. Ash saw its eyes look up at him and glisten with fear before it took off just in time for Ash to land with a tremendous thud, flat on his face.

Misty and Brock winced from the fall, but it didn’t seem to bother Ash in the least. All the pain had started to even itself out, and it was completely oblivious to Ash now. He had to get this thing. It didn’t matter any more what the creature had done beforehand. The tapping, the knocking down of the picture (which Ash and friends figured out later to have been the result of the Rattata chewing on the wood from behind), the playful hopping up and down on the typewriter keys, or the scampering around in the middle of the night were obsolete. All that mattered now was the war. The war between Ashton Ketchum and the Rattata. A war that Ash had to win.

From his fallen position on the floor, Ash watched the Rattata make its final move, burrowing itself underneath the couch. His teeth clenched, Ash thrust his hand under the ruffle of the couch, grasping his fist immediately upon doing so. He muffled a small cry in surprise as he felt the soft clamp of fur between his fingers.

An evil, yet zealous smile took over Ash’s face. "Ha ha! I got ya now!"

"You do?" Misty asked with a hint of pure joy brewing in her voice.

Ash could feel the Rattata trying to escape from his clutches. The combination of his strong hold on it and the slippery floor were simply advantages for Ash.

Ash muttered a laugh. "Heh! I got it!" What he was going to do with it, though, he had no idea. For now, he was just overjoyed that he was winning. All he needed was one more yank, and the accursed Pokémon would be in his hands.

"Pull it out, Ash!" Brock said, coming up to him suddenly with a pillow case in his hands. He had passed a filled laundry basket during one of the runabouts, and had grabbed it without even thinking. "Just drop it in here!"

"Okay!" Ash replied, pulling his arm back to pry the Rattata from under the couch. His eyes fell as he realized it was a lot tougher now. "It won’t come!" he shouted, clenching its tail with all his might. "It must be holding onto something."

Brock just stood by him, hunched over slightly as he held the open pillow case in front of him. Misty hesitantly made her way over to Ash and crouched down. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the dust ruffle of the couch to reveal that the Rattata was in fact holding onto something. Its large teeth were clamped onto the opposite dust ruffle.

"Pikachu!" Misty called out. "Get it off the other dust ruffle!"

"Pika!" he replied, darting over to the other side of the couch.

The new encounter didn’t suit the Rattata. Ash could feel the Pokémon tense when it saw Pikachu, and what came next was something utterly unexpected. Overcome with fear, the Rattata did the next best thing to running -- it attacked. In a matter of seconds, the Rattata flung itself around, and unleashed a nasty, unforeseen tackle attack, aimed straight for Ash.

As if a ton of bricks had struck him with tremendous force, Ash flew back. He screamed in shock as the wind was completely knocked out of him. He crashed into Misty and Brock, sending them both down with a large clunk. They, in turn, hit the coffee table, causing it soar in the same direction. It stopped dangerously close to smashing into the television screen.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, hopping onto the couch, with his jaw dropped to the ground. He glanced over to see the three kids sprawled out on the floor, Ash on the top. But in the scheme of things, he’d never let go of the Rattata. Holding it now like as if it were a newly caught football, Ash held the struggling Pokémon close to his chest.

Ash screeched as he felt either Misty or Brock’s (he wasn’t sure) knee jam right into his bruised back. At the same time, he tightened his arms around the Rattata more severely, practically choking it to death. It was both out of the pain and the good, invigorating feeling that spread through him as he realized he had it.

Slowly but surely, a smile spread across Ash’s face. It was one of pure malice and determination, but a glint of delight was still there. Feeling the weight of his uncomfortably shocked friends underneath him, Ash stared straight into the eyes of the Rattata.

"I win," he growled into its face through gritted teeth. The Rattata simply quivered.

Ash began to laugh, but he stopped short as a new sound entered the picture. The sound of the front door opening took him by complete surprise.

"Hey, guys? You still here? I forgot my --"

The smile on Ash’s face quickly vanished as Delia came into the house. Ash tensed fearfully as he witnessed her freeze dead in her tracks. Her mouth immediately dropped open in stupefaction. Her eyebrows rose incredulously.

"Oh my God . . . !" she exclaimed inaudibly. She glared at the three kids, dispersed awkwardly on the floor. "Wh -- what happened here?!"

A tiny, sheepish grin curved on Ash’s lips. Shaking, he lifted the captured Rattata up by its tail.

"Hi Mama," he uttered nervously, sweatdropping. "Uh, got the ghost?"