POKEMON: DARK KALEIDOSCOPE


Chapter One


Ash pulled his cap off and kneaded it fitfully as he arrived at
the door. About him was the quiet rustle of doctors and nurses,
sounds reflecting in discordant fragments from the blank, white walls.

Ash said to himself, "I can't stand out here all day. I've got to go
in." With his now-crumpled cap in one hand and his heart pounding against
his throat, Ash involuntarily trembled as he pushed the door open.

It was darker in the room than he expected. Was it the shadows
of rest, the sleep of recuperation? Or was it the final hours of a
life drawing too rapidly to a close?

And there, sunken in among blankets and pillows, lay Misty, her
skin a sad pallor, her eyes closed but not in repose. A monitor by
the bed beeped as her only sentry.

Ash's approach slowed. He did not want to believe that the scene was
real. He had never seen anyone so sick, so close to death. Misty's arms
were on top of the covers, fingers gently interlaced. Ash was struck by the
grace of her form even in the throughs of death.

Finally Ash arrived at her bedside. He felt a bit more assured
when he could hear Misty breathing softly and evenly. Ash remained
silent. While he now saw a macabre copy of Misty, he easily
remembered the spunky girl of a decade ago.

Their parting had been so sudden. Everything had been an
explosive jumble. Ash had awoken to a clamor of activity late at
night. Misty was hastily packing her things, tears running unheeded
down her face. She alternately sobbed openly and then clamped her
mouth tightly, holding in squealing animal sounds. Ash had tried to
talk to her, but she couldn't be understood for the few words that she
managed to squeeze out. Before Ash could think, Misty was running
raggedly down the path they had climbed earlier that evening.

"Misty! Don't go! What's wrong?" Ash had called after her. He was
about to chase after her when a hand fell heavily on his shoulder. Ash was
struck by a smell like a doctor's office, only rancid. Then Brock's voice
came groggily, adding to the stench.

"Don't, don't go after her. I'm such a...," Brock mumbled. "She's
gone. She's gone and she's not coming back. It's my fault." Ash yanked
Brock's hand off his shoulder to turn and face him. Instead, Brock toppled
onto Ash as he had been using Ash to steady himself. "I'm sorry," Brock
moaned, "I'm really sorry. I'm such a jerk. I'm ..." And that's when he
went limp in Ash's arms. Ash was barely able to keep Brock from falling
straight to the ground. As it was, Brock ended up in a heap in the dirt
with Ash falling to his knees, only catching Brock by the shoulder.

Ash couldn't bring himself to move. He wanted this to just be a
nightmare. If only he could wake up. But nothing changed. Pikachu
had appeared without a sound at Ash's side, keeping Ash between
himself and Brock. Pikachu's nose wrinkled and his face turned down.
"Pika," he whispered.

Ash gathered Pikachu into his arms while Brock's head laid almost
lifeless on his lap. Ash's arms tightened around his Pokemon until
Pikachu began to squeal. "Pikachu," he gasped, "What's going on?! I
don't understand any of this." And he spoke no more but cried until
morning. All he knew was that his two best friends in all the world
had undergone some terrible transformation and there was nothing that
he could do about it.

-----

Misty sighed. Ash snapped out of his trance but only into
another nightmare. Again, he was powerless to help a friend and
this transformation he was forced to witness was the worst he could
imagine.

Ash took comfort in looking at Misty's hands. He thought back to the
many times that these hands had struck him and only now did he realize that
it had only been frustration that drove her to attack him; It was never
hatred or even anger.

But that night in the past, then there had been anger, hurt, and
even hatred seething from Misty. That had pierced his heart with more pain
than any punch that she had ever thrown. And then, Ash never saw or heard
from Misty again. That is, until he found out that she was in the hospital.

-----

"Misty?" repeated the Pokemon Gym Leader of Carttemtown. "Oh, I
remember her now. She specialized in Water Pokemon. She was here
about a month ago."

Ash tried to remain calm. This was the closest he had gotten to
finding Misty in a long time. "Did she say where she was going?" he
asked hopefully.

The leader shook his head, "No. She kept to herself pretty much.
She sure did talk to her Psyduck a lot though. I think she liked him
best of all her Pokemon. Well, he was the only one I saw."

-----

Ash once again came to his senses in Misty's room. He suddenly
thought of something else troubling: While Misty was so sick, who was
caring for all her Pokemon? They couldn't just be left untended in
their Pokeballs indefinitely.

Ash choked and coughed when he spotted Psyduck sitting quietly in
a chair on the other side of Misty's bed. Ash didn't expect Psyduck
to be there, waiting quietly and patiently. As if on cue, Psyduck
confidently slipped down off the chair, waddled over to the sink, and
climbed onto a short stool. Easily he picked up a glass, filled it,
and brought it to Ash. "Psy," the duck-like Pokemon said with a
slight smile as he returned to his chair. Ash's jaw hung wide open.
He never imagined that Psyduck would ever be anything but clumsy and
stupid. Obviously, Ash had something to learn.

Misty sighed again and her eyes opened slowly. When she saw Ash,
she showed no surprise. It was as if she expected him to be there.
"Hi, Ash," she voiced with a trace of a smile. "I probably won't be
awake for very long; I'm so tired." As Misty spoke, she seemed to
age visibly far beyond her years.

"Ash, you probably won't understand what I'm about to tell you.
And frankly, I don't care if anyone understands or accepts this. All
I know is that I have been blessed beyond all my dreams. No one
could be happier or more at peace than..." She turned her whole
attention to Psyduck, "we are."

Dreamily, she quietly announced, "Psyduck and I are married."

Ash collapsed to a nearby chair, swallowing his astonishment as
his world turned upside-down. He had earlier noticed the ring on
Misty's finger but had had no idea who her betrothed could be. Ash
looked more closely at Psyduck and saw a thin gold chain around his
neck. On the chain hung a small medallion that was a letter M, a plus
sign, and a letter D, all within a heart. Ash turned to stare at
Misty.

"The D is for Psyduck's new name that I gave him when we got
married. Only he and I will ever know it because no one can ever know
him as I do," she explained. Ash was still speechless.

"I know you've got a lot of questions. The answers are in my
journal. It's okay for you to read it. Psyduck will get it for you,"
Misty was tiring quickly.

"You're a good man, Ash. Remember that." Her eyes closed
without warning. "I've got to rest some more now." In a moment, she
was sleeping. Her face softened as Ash watched. Somehow, she
looked a little happier. Psyduck pulled a thick white book from a
back pack on the dresser and carried it over to Ash. Ash carefully
took it, sat back in his chair, and quickly began to skim through the
pages. Misty was right; Ash had a lot of questions.



End of Chapter One