Whispering Darkness
Part 11
By Crysta

Disclaimer: What's not in the game or show I own, what is belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak.

Note: This is in fact an ongoing story, so yes, parts are added as I see fit.

**********

Crysta watched from the stands. Tracey's arm was around her. Ash and Misty were on her other side,
"Cloyster, Ice Beam!"
"Cloyster.."
The Cloyster fired an ice beam directly at the Scyther. It hit home.
"Scyther."
Silence. Then the referee raised a red flag. "Scyther has been eliminated. The victory goes to the red 
trainer!"
"Guess I'll have to be prepared for a Cloyster." Crysta frowned. "Maybe this is going to be hard."
"Where are you battling first?" Tracey asked. Crysta looked over.
"The rock field."
"Good luck."
"I'll be against ground and rock types, Ash reckons. I should be battling soon. You'll be on the sidelines, 
right?"
"Sure will!" Ash said, from the other side of Misty. "We're with you all the way."
Crysta looked at her watch. "I'm up next. Let's go."

**********

"And now, the green trainer, Crysta, enters the arena!"
Crysta stood ready, even as the podium rose below her. She was ready for this battle. Her opponent was a 
boy of about fourteen. He looked overconfident. Crysta wasn't about to judge him.
"Go! Nidorino!"
"A Nidorino? OK, Go Cubone!"
"Your Cubone's out of it! Nidorino, Horn Attack!"
"Cubone, deflect it with Bone Club!"
"Cubone!"
"Oh no!" The boy didn't look so cocky now. Crysta laughed. 
"Cubone, give it your Thrash attack!"
Cubone's thrash hit home, Nidorino was tossed across the arena. It jumped back up.
"Nidorino, Double Kick!"
"Cubone, Focus Energy!"
Cubone glowed with a faint blue light. Crysta watched. Nidorino grew closer.
"Cubone, Bonemerang!"
"Cubone!" Nidorino was thrown away. It didn't get back up.
"Nidorino is unable to battle!"
"Yeah! Good job Cubone!"
"Cubone!!"
Then, Cubone began to glow. Crysta gasped.
"Cubone's evolving!"
"Whoah!" Ash said. "Just like Krabby!"
Misty winked. "You go Crysta!"
"Marowak." Cubone had evolved. Crysta laughed.
"Great work Marowak!"
"Marowak!"

**********

".Graveler has the advantage over newcomer Crysta's Marowak."
"Not for long! Marowak, remember our plan! Now, Rage and Bone Club together!"
"Maro. wak!"
Marowak's attack was twice as strong as it was coupled with the Rage attack. Graveler fell away.
"Grave.ler." it groaned. The referee raised a green flag.
"Graveler has been defeated! The victory goes to the Green trainer Crysta!"
"Yeah! Good work Marowak!" Crysta yelled, waiting for the podium to lower. Marowak came over. 
Crysta hugged it.
"Keep it up, Marowak, we'll beat 'em!" she said.
"Marowak." It agreed.
"Hey, Crysta! Good work!" Ash yelled from the sidelines. Crysta grinned. Returning Marowak, she 
walked over.
"It's only one victory, but I have many more ahead of me."
"Good for you. You've got the spirit." Tracey nodded. Crysta frowned and took the programme. 
"Gary Oak's on the Grass field in a few minutes." She commented. Ash, Misty and Tracey went to watch. 
Crysta went to heal her Marowak.

**********

"Having fun?"
"It has advantages knowing the Master." Crysta smiled. "Some, at least."
"Weighing up the pros and cons?" Tracey asked. Crysta laughed.
"In your dreams, Tracey. But now, I feel I owe the pair of you a little explaining. Tracey, Ash, I need to 
show you something."
Ash sat up straighter. "What?"
Crysta took a deep breath. "Get ready to meet the true Crysta, before the accident."
She shifted shape, into the old form. Her eyes became hazel, her hair dark, like Ash's. She wore a pair of 
old jeans and a T-shirt.
"I've missed you Ash."
Ash watched, confused, as the transformation took place. Crysta's words confused him.
"Fear not, you're me, I am you. We are the same Ash. My affection holds a deeper bond than the others."
"Quit the riddles! What's going on?" Ash said. Crysta rolled her eyes.
"It has been so long since our first meeting. And it is understandable that you have forgotten me. You 
were only two when we were separated. But I never forgot that I had a sibling. I watched over you since 
the day you left Pallet."
Ash shook his head. "I don't understand. it doesn't make sense."
"It's crystal clear from my point of view." Tracey's brown eyes were hard. "You aren't the only child you 
always thought you were, Ash."
"Tracey is right. I'm your older sister by four years, separated from my family at age six. Kidnapped by 
Team Rocket. My resistance brought me through, but I could never return. Instead I worked on Cinnabar, 
until the fateful day, that I became what I am today."
Tracey nodded. "She's been hiding this from us for ages."
"Not so long, Tracey, but only since our first meeting. Now I can no longer hide the truth behind the mask 
I always did. Much training has enabled me to retain the form of the true Crysta. That is what I am now. 
Ash, I am of your family. We are linked through inseparable genetic bonds. I know it's confusing, but 
you're old enough to understand now, that you were no only child."
"It's not true. I was raised as an only child. My father left, and I was forced to cope."
"Yet before your loss of a father, you suffered the loss of a sister. Check with your mother, my mother, she 
will tell you what I have said is the truth."
"I can't accept it. Never did you return. If you escaped, why didn't you come back to us?"
Crysta's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Ash, don't you think I wanted to? But there was no way I could return. 
To do so would have endangered you and your mother. I couldn't risk that."
"You tore our family apart?"
"Ash, you have to understand, I knew they would attack and that possibly all Pallet would suffer their 
wrath. To return would have endangered you. I knew I couldn't do that. Even if I died, the family must 
live on. You were that family. I refused to let you suffer as I once did."
Ash's hazel eyes were soaked with tears which he refused to allow to escape. 
"How do you expect me to believe you?"
Crysta's tears soaked her face. She sighed. "I don't know. I hoped you'd understand."
She turned her back on Ash.
"I expected so much more of you Ash. But now I see I was in the wrong to expect such of you. You've got 
your father's stubborn streak. I can do nothing against it. I'm sorry Ash, I tried to make it up to you. If 
that's not good enough, I don't know what is."
"What?" Ash gave her a funny look. Crysta glared at him.
"Don't even consider that. You know I was the one who cured Misty. Without me, she'd still be stumbling 
around here right now! I-" Crysta saw Misty from the corner of her eye and fell silent. Ash didn't notice 
her.
"I don't owe you for that! Misty was coping fine! I could have chosen not to come to you, she could still be 
blind, but she'd cope. She's twice as good as you!"
Crysta began to sob softly. She placed her hand on the door handle. Over her shoulder, she spoke.
"You know, I'm disappointed with you. I expected more of you. Well, I will fight my way to the top. And 
there will be no mercy if we come against each other. I wanted so much for us to just put everything 
behind us. But I know now that will never happen. Why? Because you're too pig-headed to realise how we 
are linked. Well, goodbye Ash, if we meet again, it will be for the title of Master."
And with that, she was gone.

Tracey stood in stunned silence. Then, he turned on Ash.
"She's right. You're the most stubborn person I've ever met."
"Don't start on me Tracey. We all know it's not just pok‚mon you watch and sketch."
Tracey's eyes flashed with rage. "And you'd know? Were you there, watching with me? No! Were you ever 
there encouraging me to do better? No! Well, no-one treats Crysta like that. Especially not her own 
brother, whom she obviously loved so much."

He too moved to the door. "She loved you, she wanted to come back together with you, and make up for 
the past separated. But you've destroyed that hope. You've hurt her so badly I doubt she'll ever want to 
speak to you again. And she's right. You are stubborn. You are pig-headed. But she didn't say the thing 
that she knew would hurt you most, and that is your attitude will guarantee you will be a loser, not only at 
pok‚mon training, but at life."
Ash glared at Tracey. "If you think I'm so bad, leave! There's the door you have your hand on, you know 
how to open it, now go!"

Tracey lingered for a moment. Ash waited for another outburst. Then, Tracey just sighed, turned his back 
on Ash and left. The door slammed as he went out.

"I can't believe you Ash."
Ash turned to look at Misty.
"You've pushed away one of your closest friends and your own sister. Sure, I don't like my sisters, but I 
still love them. Crysta feels the same for you. Tracey was right, you've hurt her in the worst possible way."
"Where's the proof we are related?" Ash turned away. "She had none."
"You're stupid Ash. She said if you doubted her to ring your mother and ask her, yet I don't see you doing 
it. Why is that?"
Ash opened his mouth to reply, but Misty cut him off. 
"I'll tell you why. Because you're afraid she's right. You can't accept the truth, and that's your worst 
problem. When you lost in the League for the first time, you spent ages moping around. Even then you 
wouldn't believe you'd lost."
Misty began to walk towards the door. Pikachu stood on her shoulder, looking sad but knowing Misty was 
right.
"Crysta didn't say what she knew would hurt you the most. Even though you'd hurt her so badly, she 
couldn't bring herself to tell you. Surely that shows how much she cares about you. But what she wouldn't 
tell you, I will, because you need to learn your lesson. You think you're so good, but in all truth, you're not 
anything special. You're nothing. Your pok‚mon don't battle because they respect you, it's because they're 
afraid of you. You've gone downhill as a trainer. It's only a matter of time before they all turn against you 
and leave. Like me."

Ash expected her to remain. She always had done. But, to his shock, she swept out of the door, Pikachu 
with her.

Only now did he cry. Misty was right. Tracey was right. Crysta was right. He was a jerk. He was a loser. 
He was everything they'd said he was. And because he was such a bad friend, he'd lost a sister, a 
girlfriend, a close friend and his very first pok‚mon. He wept as he realised what he'd done.

**********

Crysta sat on the empty benches. Her head hung low, and she softly cried into her hands. Tracey's hand 
touched her shoulder, and she started, before leaning against her and letting out all the hurt.

Misty spoke softly.
"Ash is alone now."
Crysta's voice was harsh even between her sobs. "If he keeps this up, he'll stay that way."
"He's getting what he deserves." Tracey pulled Crysta closer. She raised her head.
"He's made his choice."
She stood up, and walked away. "I'll be back. I need time alone."
Misty and Tracey sadly watched her go.
"Ash has hit her as hard as he possibly could. Even though he didn't do it physically."
"She'll get over it. I know she will." Tracey stood and began to walk away,
"Where are you going?" Misty called after him.
"Back to the hotel, to rest. I need to think things over too."
"I guess you're right. I'll do the same."
Slowly, Tracey and Misty left for the hotel, needing to be alone, and knowing Ash was suffering from his 
own mistake.

To Be Continued.