Trapped in the Other Side By Ieyre Note: I do not own Pokemon, because if I did, I would be rich! And I'm not. Unfortunately. Nintendo, Gamefreak, and the rest of you own it. I'm sure you know who you are. Lucky dogs! Prologue When Pokemon was popular, I never really liked it. I thought it was kind of, Well...stupid. When the craze was sort of...mellowing out...I flipped through the channels and noticed some Japanese cartoon. It was Pokemon! My mom never supported "trash TV" as she called it, but I just got hooked. Kids W.B showed it every day after school. And once you got sucked in, well, you had to watch it regularly to "get" it. I thought the anime characters were sooooo funny! I related to them all! It wasn't so stupid after all! I followed Ash through the Pokemon League, and through the Orange League, and then I watched the Johto Journeys as well! I had to see what happened next. I soon found that I knew all of the attacks of the monsters I had thought of as stupid 3 years before! No one my age still watched the show. But that didn't stop me... It came as almost an obsession. I could recognize all of the original 151, as well as at least 50 of the "new" ones. I knew only one other advocate of Pokemon. My best friend, Laura. She had once watched the show, and still played the game boy game, and knew ALL of the Pokemons names. She had all of the pokemon cartridge games. That was cool. But I loved the anime. I went to her when asking about a name of attack of Chikorita was. But she came to ME when asking about a place on Pokemon Island or some characters name. She had watched the show when it was big. She could recite the T.R. motto. She knew the names of the kids. But I was different. I knew ALL the names of Brocks crushes...and more... I think the show took me over for a spell. I could sense all the emotions of the characters. I spoke at the TV. I started to cry during the sad episodes. I knew I'd cracked. I knew the characters personalities so well, I felt like I'd met them. Or maybe wished I had... ********************************************** PART ONE: "The Arrival" or "Some Unexpected Visitors..." It happened very suddenly. I think. Those 5 months stand out in my mind, but how it happened is somewhat a blur. My visit from 5 rather unforgettable characters and their creature friends came about in a strange and mysterious way. And it was not at all drawn out. I'm still not sure...how? I was watching Ash battle for his 4th Johto badge, and I really felt strong emotions about what was happening. I could sense his doubt. I could feel his friends' anxiety. I felt his pain... I moaned aloud, "Ash, don't give up. Noctowl can do it!" Amazingly enough, my cry worked. Noctowl suddenly beat that sorry Gengars--well, you know what I mean. I didn't understand how my talking to an inanimate object had caused him to win, but I was sure it did. It must have been an, odd coincidence. Or was it? I felt strange, like I could control someone's destiny with my thoughts. I had never felt this way before. What was happening? "Maybe I HAVE been watching too much TV." I muttered. I shook my head. But I couldn't shake off the fear that something was going to happen soon. *********************** That night I was lying in bed, wondering what was going to happen next in Pokemon, when the strange feeling came over me again. I felt that I could control someone's destiny. And that by just wishing, I could make something come true. A strange feeling. I some how knew that I could use this power. But I had to wish for something. When I had first felt the power, It had managed to turn The TV show I had been watching. At least, I thought it did. It seemed to. Maybe pokemon had something to do with it. *No, no, it's just a show. No ones REAL in it.* I thought. Then I drifted into an uneasy sleep. ************************************************ Later, I awoke. My window was open, and a draft was blowing through. I tried to go close it. But I couldn't sit up. I was frozen. "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town!" I heard a strange, yet familiar, voice. "Why, hello, I must say, you're the most beautiful Joy I've ever seen!" Wait a second, that, that was something I'd heard before- "When are you going to give me back my BIKE?!" These phrases were all in my mind, I knew what they were, but I couldn't put my foot on it... "Get over here you idiot!" "Ow! Jess, that hurt!" Despite my fear, I giggled at that. "Come on you losas', we gotta catch dat'-" What? Catch what? The voice had abruptly stopped. That cat? Rabbit? Mouse? "Pika! Pikaaaaaaaaa...CHUUUUUUUUU!" Oh. Catch THAT. *********************************************************** I responded to the attack with a blood-curdling scream. I was shocked. Literally. Despite my fried body, I was glad. My memory was returned. And I recognized the voices. They were all my favorite characters. I wasn't sure why I had not recognized the voices sooner. " But you aren't REAL!" I said to them. But how could I be speaking to them if they weren't real? "Oh, but aren't we?" they replied. "No, your just something made up!" I knew I was dreaming. "We can be real......If you want us to." What were they saying? That they could be real people? They were cartoons! And I was CERTAIN I was dreaming. " Do you want us to be your friends?" They bombarded me, asking the question over and over again. I knew I really did want to meet them. I could relate to them all. They would be the best friends I ever had... *No Isabelle! They're not real! This isn't real! Stay focused on reality, or you'll lose your mind!* But, reality, thoughts were slipping fast. I couldn't think of anything but the best friends...I could have. I said a single word. "Yes." And then I passed out. ************************************* I groggily woke up early the next morning. Approximately 5ish. I was still afraid from my dream. So I refused to open my eyes. The only reassuring thought I had was that it was only a dream, and I had woken up. I still couldn't understand where those strange ideas had come from. *Some where deep in the bowels of my imagination* I mused. I still hadn't opened my eyes. I was tired, and was preparing to slumber off again. But, as luck would have it I was extremely parched. I opened my eyes prepared to look at the top of my bunk bed. I would have succeeded, too. But there was one problem. Someone was staring back. I let out a scream, but only for a split second. A small yellow paw stifled the noise. After the initial disbelief, I recognized the face. Those two high ears, those shiny, beetle bright eyes, the little red cheeks. And the yellow fur. "Pika?" Well, that definitely verifies my claims. I stared in utter disbelief at the sight before me. Pikachu, the electric rodent, stood before me in all its glory. It was still a cartoon, so it looked like I was watching one of those corny, movies where there's humans talking to rather daft cartoon characters. Like "Space Jam", or something. Man I hate that movie. *Weird. This must be part of my dream. I've never had a double dream. And this seems so REAL.* I examined the Pikachu. It looked very healthy, shiny coat, energetic stance. I was certain it was THE Pikachu. "Pikachu? Pika, Pika! Chuuu! Pikachu." it said, flailing its little arms. "Your awfully cute. Too bad this is a dream." I said, reassuring it. To my surprise it looked indignantly at me, then sent out a very powerful, sharp, shock. And unlike the one from my dream, this did not cause me to wake up. This was very, very, real. I couldn't wake up. I was already awake ****************************************************** I knew that the Pikachu was real from that moment on. "I must be hallucinating! This is impossible!" It looked at me in odd puzzlement. "Pika?!" "How did you get here?" I changed the subject. I needed to get some information out of it, and telling it that it wasn't real was a stupid thing to do. "In my room?" The creature motioned for me to follow it onto the landing. "Pika Pi!" Sitting up and staring round in confusion were three figures. I recognized them all. "Pikachu! There you are! I was really worried, buddy." Pikachu climbed onto his master's shoulders. It pointed at me and said some "Pikas" and "Chuuus". Suddenly, everyone was staring at me. "I'm sorry. How did we get into your house? All I remember is some large psychic attack and now we're here." The red-haired girl, Misty, addressed me. But I couldn't find the words to say to her. How could they be here? I must have looked stupid, standing there, gaping at the three of them. But what would you have done? Finally, I spoke. "I don't know how you got here. In fact, its quite impossible for you to even exist." They must have been slightly confused at that. Ash was the next to speak. "Ummmmmmm, okay...hi. We're Pokemon trainers. I'm-" I interrupted him. " I know, I know. Your Ash, she's Misty, he's Brock. You come from Pallet Town, you want to be the Worlds Greatest Pokemon master. She comes from Cerulean City, she wants to be well rounded. He's from Pewter, he wants to be a Pokemon Breeder." They stared at me, stunned. "How do you know all that?" Piped Misty, the fiery red head. I gave her a pained look. After the initial surprise, I felt I could speak freely. "Its kind of hard to explain." Brock hadn't said a word yet. I turned my head towards him. "Hey, Brock! What's wrong?" Ash asked. Brock quickly walked up to me. "Hello Miss, but I couldn't help noticing that while you seem to know everything about us, we don't know anything about you. I bet your psychic; that's how you know everything. I'm psychic, too! Let's see, you're...you're looking...for...A BOYFRIEND! And he's, he's dark skinned, and-" "Misty, feel free to pull him away by his ear any time now." Misty did so, grinning from ear to ear. Brock howled in pain. "Listen, I'll explain everything, But I just have to check something." "What?" Asked Ash. "I have a strange feeling we'll find three old friends of yours in my kitchen..." ************************************************* I walked down the steps, the others following anxiously behind. I could sense that there might be three team rocket members downstairs. If these three were here, who's to say the other three won't be? I mean, they follow the "twerps" every where, maybe they followed them here, too. "Bingo." Sprawled on the floor, Jesse, James, and Meowth slept. "Amazing. How did you know?" Brock questioned, curiously. "Elementary, my dear Brock." I was starting to feel quite comfortable talking to them. The three on the floor stirred. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce the fabulous trio of failures we know and are annoyed by, Jessica, James, and Meowth!" Jesse, James, and Meowth, being slightly drowsy, and having been somehow zapped from their world, not realizing where they were, were a bit delusional. I think they thought they were being presented, "Best Team Rocket Members of the Year" award; they stood up quickly and started bowing. "Thank you, thank you. We just want to thank all the little people we stepped on to get up where we are-" Ash, Misty, Brock and I started laughing are heads off right about then. "Hey, we aren't in Team Rocket Headquarters! And look, it those brats again! What are they doing?! Lets have a battle, right here, right-" "Ummmm, Jess?" "What is it!?!" "Where is 'right here'?" "Good Question. Where da' heck ar' we?" I thought I should explain our-uhhhhhhh-interesting predicament right about then. "Excuse me, but I don't know you all got here. I just can't imagine..." Meowth looked viciously at me. "Whoa' you?" "Yeah, who exactly are you?" Suddenly eyes in the room turned towards me. Everyone whispered to each other. Ash suddenly spoke up, "Who are you and how do you know so much about us? I'm certain I'VE never met you. Where are you?" "My name is Isabelle. You're not real people. You're all cartoon characters and I know so much about you because I watch your show every day." The room went deathly quiet. ************************************* Then, everyone burst out laughing. "Oh, that's a goooooooooooood one! Man, you had me going for a second there!" Ash called out. "I've dreamed about having a TV show, man, I wish!" "That's pretty funny!" "So, seriously, how did we all get here?" They all settled down. Looking at me curiously, they seemed to expect a "serious" answer. "I'm completely serious. You 7 are the stars of your own TV show. It's watched by millions of children each day." They looked at me, like I was insane. But, I mean, if someone told you that you weren't real, how would you react? "In fact, pokemon isn't real. It's some concept someone made up 8 years ago to make money. I was originally a gameboy game. Then a card game. THEN, a TV cartoon series. Highly successful. "The original 151 pokemon made money, but as they wanted to make more, they added another 100. Though the craze has somewhat wound down, it is still highly popular. And THAT, is the history of pokemon." They all stared at me. Like, Magikarp stare. Scratch that, gape. However, Jesse and Misty still looked slightly skeptical. Okay, really skeptical. "How is THAT possible? If we're here right now, how can we not be real?" "Yeah, that doesn't make much sense! None of this does! How could we have gotten here anyway?" "This is sooooooooooo weird. I never imagined I'd be talking to you all. I mean, I always WISHED I could, but-" "What do you mean?" Brock interrupted me. "Well, pokemon is my favorite show, I really love watching all you guys, it's really entertaining. Millions of kids think so. "Well, I've always had a weird wish that I could meet you all. And now its come true. Miraculously." Jesse glared at me. She was the only one still completely convinced about her opinion. "What proof do you have? I don't see any." I was ready for her. Maybe telling her her whole history would change her mind. "Well Jesse, you're actually the one I know the least about. I know you grew up in a relatively poor family. That's why you're jealous of James here because he grew up rolling in the doe." James stared at me. The way only he can. "How do you that? Did THEY tell you?" He motioned towards Ash and his friends. "We SWEAR we didn't tell her anything!" "She knew all these things about us!" "It's unbelievable!" "If any of you don't believe that you are cartoons, then I know what will convince you." I informed them. I had a good idea. They followed cautiously. I had thought of a way to convince them. This was gonna' be FuuuuN! ******************************************* I entered the TV room. This was at 5:30 in the morning. I closed the door, praying I didn't wake any one up. "I think," They all craned their necks, "I might just have one..." I dug through the videos on the shelf. Then, I at last found what I was looking for. A black tape. James decided to put out an excellent point. "Okay, say we are a TV show. There's gotta' be a main character. I mean, we ALL can't be the star. Who's the MAIN Character?" "I bet it's me! I was born to be a star! I have that special star talent!" Jesse interjected. "At least I'm not a criminal! Who wouldn't want to watch 'Misty, the star'? They proceeded to start a stupid argument. Neither was the star,anyway. "Actually, the show revolves around Ash here." They stopped arguing, and looked up. Brock and James had started to defend Jesse and Misty. "What?!?" "Who the heck would want ta' watch a show about Ash?" "Yeah, wouldn't that be like watching a comedy show?!?" Ash was surprised by my comment, but indignant at Mistys. "Really? I'm the star? Wow." Misty glared at me, angry that I had not told her SHE was the star. "Then what are we? What about the rest of us?" "Well, you two play Ash's friends. Misty's the choice girl, who's always at odds with Ash. Brock is kind of the referee. You all have weaknesses. Ash is overconfident at hotheaded, Misty has a short temper and can be rude, and Brock loves every girl he sees." Brock blushed. Understandably. "You three," I said, pointing at Team Rocket, "Are the bad guys. You continually try and fail to steal Pikachu, the cute little animal in the show. You're antics are the uhh... comic relief of the show. And somehow you always get blasted away. That's the best part!" Everyone was staring at me. "Still don't believe me? Here's proof!" I popped the video into the VCR. Suddenly, some familiar music started. Mew and Mewtwo appeared sang along. "I wanta be, the very best, like know one ever was. To catch them is my real test, to train them is my caaaaaaaaaause!" Ash stared at himself on the screen. His life flashed before his eyes. LITERALLY. "Hey, look, there's me!" "I will travel, across the land, searching far and wide. Each pokemon, to understand, the power that's inside..." They must have thought that they were insane by this point in time. "Pokemon! Oh, it's you and me! I know it's my destiny! Oh, you're my best friend, in a world we must defeeeeeeeeeeend!" The others got excited. "Hey look, it us!" They all yelled. "We look great, don't we Jesse?" "We look puuuuuur evil!" The song finished up. "Pokemon! Ohhhhhhhh, a heart so true......Our courage will pull us through...you teach me and I'll teach you! Pokemon! Gotta catch um' all! Pokemon!" They watched the next part. Everyone was curious about this, because it was the first episode, and everyone wanted to watch Ash make a fool out of himself. Who wouldn't? "Okay, this is the best part! He wakes up at Four and Gary makes fun of him cause he's late and in his P.Js" Everyone wanted to see this. They sat up. And laughed their heads off. "Hey, it wasn't THAT funny." "Shh, sh! This is the part with GARY!" "Gary? Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" They were mesmerized by the TV. We heard, "Well if it isn't the LOSER Ash Ketchum! Go home to your Mommy!" Or something like that. Ash's friends and enemies alike burst into even more peels of laughter. Jesse and Misty were struggling to support each other. *At last they agree on something.* I thought. We watched till' the end of it. Misty got excited when she saw herself, but Team Rocket was mad THEY weren't mentioned. Brock also looked bored. At the ending credits I paused it. "Proof enough?" They all looked at me. And nodded simultaneously. "This is so WEIRD. What the heck am I gonna' do? I'm not real!" "I'm not either!" "Everyone, shut up! I need to think!" That quieted them down. "Okay, what was the last thing you remember? What happened?" Brock spoke up. He looked very nervous about the whole situation. I say this yet again. Understandably. "We were in the forest. Ash, Misty and I were on the way to Olivine City. Jesse, Meowth and James were trying to steal Pikachu." "Big surprise." "Anyway, suddenly this immensely powerful Alacazam came out of the forest and spotted us. It spoke its own language, and said something, it looked like a spell. Then it used an attack I'd never seen before and I blacked out." I thought for a second. When you're a quick wit like me, that's all the time you need to think. 20 minutes later: "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Isabelle?" "Don't rush me!" "Have you thought of anything?" "Wait! I've got it!" I turned to Pikachu. I was very glad he and Meowth were there. "Pikachu, do you remember what the Alakazam said? You can understand pokemon, right?" Ash gave me a puzzled look. Clueless, as usual. "What are you trying to do? Even if Pikachu does remember what it said he wouldn't be able to tell us. I can't understand ALL the specific details of the things he says." "Ah, but you're forgetting one thing. We have someone capable of speaking pokemon AND English." He was utterly amazed. I didn't understand why... "You can speak pokemon?!" If I could, I would have fallen over anime' style. " No you idiot! Meowth!" "Oh, right." "And maybe HEL'L remember something the Alakazam said. Do you, Meowth?" I gazed intently and eagerly at him, hopeful. He stepped back and sweatdropped heavily. "I was to busy insultin' Jimbo to listen to the Alakazam!" Yet again I would have fallen over. "Meowth!" "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! He was being a maroon!" "Was not!" "Was too!" "Was not!" "Was too!" "Man, this is worse than Ash and Misty!" Brock stated, sweatdrooping. Ash and Misty proceeded to lung on him. All were lost in a dust cloud. Jesse, Pikachu, and I were the only ones acting remotely sane. I thought up an idea that wouldn't involve shouting and waking up my mom. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt. On ALL of them." Pikachu offensively sparked his cheeks. He sent out about, oh, say 10000 bolts of electricity. Ouch. "Now will you all shut up so I can ask Pikachu a few questions?!" Thankfully, they shut up. "Alright Pikachu, now do you remember what that Alakazam said? Oh, and Meowth, translate for me please." Meowth was slightly indignant. He did not like that Pikachu. But, he played along and did as I asked him. "He says that the Alakazam said some stuf' abou' giving the chosen one their wish. What eva' dat means." Pikachu zapped him. He must not have explained everything in full detail. Pikachu wanted his story explained in full detail. "Okay, okay, dis' is what Pika-Rat said, wourd for wourd. 'Da' Alakazam said, 'Yous' 5 must leave, and only when da' prophecy is fofilled will yous return to dis world.' Den' we all blacked out and next ting ya' know, were're here'!" "This is so weird. It must have something to do with this strange dream I had last night." "What strange dream?" I explained, as much as I could remember, the weird dream with them all in it. They didn't know anything about it. James was the next to speak. "Perhaps... fate has brought us together. Maybe this is destiny." I remembered the day before. It was a flashback..... ****************************** "Come on Noctowl! You can do it!" Suddenly, Noctowl strikes back and wins the match. *How did THAT happen?* ****************************** I decided to keep that to myself. For now. "What do we do NOW? Didn't Pikachu say something about a prophecy? How do we fulfill it?" "Ash, the first thing we need to do is find my mom. She'll know what to do bout this." As if by my words, the door to her bedroom stirred. I was excited. I wanted her to meet my new friends. I also knew that she disliked pokemon. This would make things even better. *Maybe after meeting them she'll like pokemon,* I thought, * And I can watch it without changing the channel every time she walks in. I always miss the most exciting bits that way.* "Good morning Isabelle. What was all this racket?" She walked in the door and gasped. "Now mom, its not what you-" "Isabelle! Its 6:30 in the morning and you're already dressed and ready?" At that, I would have once again, fallen down anime' style. "No mom, don't you-" "What? You're watching TV! Isabelle! It's 6:30 for goodness sakes! I am seriously thinking about banning TV on school days! And this early in the morning! Use your common sense!" She was completely ignoring everyone behind me. I was amazed that she had failed to acknowledge them. She's a very perceptive woman. "And what's this?" She looked in the direction of the toons. I was glad she had finally acknowledged them. "Look at the couch! There's a HUGE chocolate stain on it! What have I told you about eating on the furniture?" To my great surprise and horror she walked right through James to get at the stain and start to rub it off! He looked positively terrified. "Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into you!" Mom finished her speech and started muttering something about "TV at 6 in the morning, when will they learn!" She scowled and went into the bathroom for a long shower. I turned to look at them. They just stared. But by now, I was kinda' used to their stares. They'd done a lot of that. "Okay, what just happened? My mom couldn't hear or see you guys. She walked right through you like you were ghosts or something." A gazed intently at them once more. "But...you can't be, you just can't. I see you, and..." I walked up to James and felt his hand. It was just as solid as any persons. They couldn't be ghosts. I heard my brother. It woke me up from my trance. He was stomping down the stairs, to get to the shower. He's about 5 years older than I am, and a whole lot bigger. "Okay you guys, walk into the room. Hopefully he'll see you!" I sauntered into the kitchen, causally. The 5 humans and 2 pokemon followed. Much more cautious. "Morning, Is. What's with waking up so early and bothering the rest of us, squirt?" "Morning, Ryan. Oh, I was, talking to a friend on the phone. They couldn't sleep, like me." He walked through all my new houseguests and was oblivious to their cries of surprise. * Weird. Why am I the only one who can see them? * "Okaaaay...Well, I'm gonna go see if I can get into the bathroom. Maybe if I turn on all the faucets Mom'll get out..." I ran into my room. They followed me. Hurriedly. "For some reason, they can't see you. I don't know why? But they can't. I'm the only one. I want to help you get back to your world, but I have a feeling this will take some thinking. I've also gotta put that prophecy thing under consideration. "Do you five people agree to work together and with me? If not, I don't think there is much hope of getting you back to your world." They looked at each other. It must have been hard for them. They were not all friends. Some had been bitter enemies. But they knew to get home that they had to be a team. "Hand in the middle?" We placed are hands together. "Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" And so began the most unique experience in my life. [Part 2 is coming soon!] So, what did you think? This is my first "Real" fic. Do you like it? I need feedback! Oh, and tell me WHY it sucked! I appreciate specifics!