Double Trouble by Lord Kadabra Part 1 Note: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters, etc. However, I do own the characters from Europa, so DO NOT USE THEM WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. *** *** The chatter of Voltorbs filled the room. The machine was slowly being charged by their electrical discharge. Technicians were scurrying around like ants, trying to make last-minute changes to the machine. Above it all, Giovanni sat, watching the scene with detatched smugness. A technician approached him, and bowed. "Sir, the machine is ready for use." Giovanni smiled. "Then get on with it!" he snapped, stroking his always present Persian. The man nodded, and signaled to the other technicians. Buttons were pushed, levers rearranged, values entered. The machine hummed loudly, and one part began to crackle with lightning. It resembled a giant shower head, aimed at the ground, and thousands of volts of electricity were constantly jumping betweeen it and the ground. The machine whirred, hummed and clanked loudly, and it began to work. *** He saw what they were doing. They were casting a large spell, and were only halfway through. There were smaller spells he could use to interrupt their concentration. He tried to begin a chant, but their voices overwhelmed him. The last word of the spell was spoken, and the woman, Morgana, spoke to him, or rather, about him. "Mirror Image...Eternal!" He felt the air around him crackle with illusion. His form was being changed. Then, he felt the familiar pull of a vortex teleportation. He was sucked inside, and thrown randomly through the nexus of the universe. *** A form appeared, bent over in pain. It slowly clarified itself until a young man was visible, perhaps 18 and well-built. He was thin and strong, and his hair a deep black. He turned his head up at the Rocket scientists, and they saw his eyes. They were brown-but preternaturally so. They did not exactly radiate evil, but they came very close. Almost as an afterthought, one would then look at his clothing-a long robe of indeterminate color, except that it was very dark. The man stood and spoke loudly. "Who is your leader? I wish to speak to him." Giovanni stood up, and approached this man from another world. "I am the leader of this organization, and I am glad to meet you..." He paused expectantly. The man by now had stood up, and was glaring at Giovanni. "I would not tell you my real name. But you may call me..." He looked around, and his eyes fell on a staff he held, formed from ash wood and crowned with a spherical crystal. "Ash. Ash Duplicate. That is my alias and my nature." He suddenly saw the machines within the room. "What manner of sorcery do you use here?" he demanded. "You are mages of Machines, are you not? Begone with you!" He waved his staff, and an explosion rocked the room. When the light died down, he was gone. Giovanni turned to the nearest scientist. "Fool! Why didn't you anticipate this?" The man trembled. "It did not occur to me that one so powerful would fear an electronic device," he stammered, backing away. Giovanni growled. "Next time," he began, "If there is a next time, you will be much more careful." He glared at the machine. He couldn't even use the machine for another four months, so his first chance had been wasted. Or had it? That man could sow quite a lot of damage if he wished to. And Giovanni felt that the man truly wanted to simply destroy. *** Jesse and James were hidden in the upper reaches of the lab. James frowned. "What is it?" Jesse hissed. James turned to her. "I could've sworn I recognized that man," he returned. "There was something...very familiar about him." "Yeah, I saw it too," she agreed. Suddenly a high voice snapped from their backs. "Shut your Meowths. We've gotta job to do, and you two are wasting time spying on da boss!" Jesse reached back and hit Meowth with a paper fan. "What we're doing is just as important as getting that brat's Pikachu!" she argued, and turned back to the activity in the lab. *** He landed heavily, not quite orienting his teleport correctly. A boy, about twelve, was standing on a path, frowning at the side of the path. The boy turned to him. "Hello!" he exclaimed. "Are you a Pokemon trainer?" He looked at the boy blankly. The boy involuntarily backed away a step. "No. I do not know anything about these...Pokemon. Are they demons of some type?" The boy laughed. "How can you not know anything about Pokemon? Everyone knows about Pokemon!" The man glared at him. His cloak abruptly became saffron yellow, and he made a small gesture. The boy was lifted into the air by his chin. "I am from another world, boy. Do you believe that?" The boy nodded quickly. "Good. I want you to tell me all you know about Pokemon. Then, if I am feeling merciful, I will let you live. Now speak!" *** Ash, Misty and Brock were traveling along the Viridian River, a rushing torrent of water. At springtime, it was dangerous to try to even fish by its bank. But they didn't even look at it, for Ash and Misty were arguing once again. "I don't want to go back to Cerulean City!" Ash argued. "I want to go back to Pallet! I haven't seen my mom in ages." Misty glared back at him. "Yeah, well it's been a lot longer since I've seen my sisters, and I say we go to Cerulean!" "You don't even like your sisters!" came the retort. "Yeah, but they're my family and I'm expected to visit!" she retaliated. Brock and Pikachu silently looked on. Ash opened his mouth to answer, but his reply never came. A laugh rang through the forest, the double laugh that had become so familiar to him. "Prepare for trouble." "And make it double." "To protect the world from devastation." "To unite all peoples within our nation." "To denouce the evils of truth and love." To extend our reach to the stars above." "Jesse." The red-haired woman leapt from a tree, landing neatly and pulling herself to her full height. "James." The man also leapt to the ground, tossing a rose into the air at the same time. "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light," she hissed. "Surrender now or prepare to fight," James continued. "Meowth, that's right!" The cat-like Pokemon appeared before its teammates, ready to battle. But the three travelers had continued walking, and were almost out of sight. "Hey!" Jesse snapped indignantly, "You can't ignore Team Rocket! Especially with our new weapon!" She pulled out a remote control and a small box. The box she threw at Ash and co. She then activated the weapon with a push of a button. The patented Vibraterre landed right between Ash Ketchum and the Viridian River. *** Ash whirled around. A box landed next to him, on his right, but nothing happened. But it was a deceptive failure, for after a moment, the earth began to shake. Not shaking actually, more like tearing itself apart. It was as if Gaea herself was angry. But it did not last long; the machine caused a single fissure in the earth, which stopped right in front of Ash Ketchum. The shaking stopped, and the three breathed a collective sigh of relief. But the terror was not over. The ground beneath Ash collapsed, and sent him flying into the river. In a moment he was swept away, before anyone could react. "Ash!" Misty cried. "Starmie, go!" The starfish Pokemon appeared. "Starmie, find Ash!" she ordered. The Pokemon snapped away into the rushing water. Misty sat down, staring into the open water. "Ash..." she said faintly. *** "Is that all you know?" Ash Duplicate, as he called his current alias, asked, smiling menacingly. The boy nodded nervously. "Good." He shoved the boy away, but then paused. "What is your name, boy?" The boy stepped back. "I only wish to repay my debts." The boy smiled, and then looked up. "My name's Timothy. I'm 14." "Well, Timothy, hope that I never come to repay my debt; I have been known to kill those I owe." Duplicate snapped his fingers, and vanished. Timothy looked thoughtfully to where the man had been standing. "Funny. He looked familiar." *** He had several names, all valid, but the name Godfrey was the name he prefered. It was the relic of his heritage, the lords of English castles. He sat across from his wive and lover, Morgan Corista. She looked up to him and the two men sitting in the room. "I've been thinking," she started, and Robert Schile looked angrily at her. "That's all we need. For you to THINK!" She glared at him and his younger brother, Thomas, a magical adept. "I just was thinking that we may have made a terrible mistake. You see, we sent...Him to another dimension, but what if the people from the other dimension don't know about magic? They'll be sitting ducks!" Godfrey looked admiringly at her, then his countenance abruptly changed to shock. "But how can we find him?" Robert looked up happily. "I tracked a path for us to send him through, to the place where he could do the least damage, so we can track him to the correct world. But attempts to track him will have one complication," he said, writing numbers on a notepad. "Which is what?" Morgan snapped. "He will have assumed the form of a resident of that world, and his magical signature will be masked by that person's spiritual one. Fortunately, I caught a glimpse of his new form before he was sent, so our search is limited to only two or perhaps three or four people." Thomas groaned. "So we have to find only three or four people among FIVE BILLION! That makes me feel a lot better. I don't want to go." A tall woman with black hair standing behind the couch Thomas sat on sighed slightly. "Teleportation makes me queasy. I'll stay." Morgan looked to the others. "So it's just the three of us," she said happily, standing up to her full height (Five foot six). Godfrey stood up. "I guess so, but I'd appreciate it if you could lend us some potions, stones, and quick-release spell." Thomas nodded, and as he removed spells from his coat, Robert typed on his laptop computer. He then turned the screen to Godfrey and Morgan. "This is the man we're looking for," he stated, and they took care to memorize the face, the eyes, and the long black hair. *** Duplicate sat, thinking. These Pokemon sounded suspiciously like trained demons, and it sounded inappropriate if he didn't carry them with him. He conjured a Pokebelt, fitting the appearance of Timmy's. As an afterthought, he decided to change his clothing. A robe was too conspicous for this world. He conjured a pair of jeans, which he remembered from his world, and then a T-shirt. It, like his cloak, was incredibly dark, but also indistinguishable in color. At the moment, it appeared brown or black. Then, noticing a slight breeze, he conjured a short-sleeved jacket, and then a red-brimmed hat to protect him from the sun. Then, he concentrated. He would summon demons, asking them to assume the shapes of these Pokemon. There were several types of Pokemon, he had heard. There was Grass. A grass demon, what was a-ah yes, the dread Balbusuar. "Balbusuar, I summon you in the name of the most powerful demonologist in the world!" His T- shirt had become a dark purple. A strange vinelike shape appeared before him, coelescing into the shape of a lizard-like being with a large tulip bulb on its back. With a gesture, Duplicate trapped the being within a Pokeball. He smiled. Then, he thought more, and another type came to his mind...Fire. That would be Charazird. Another order, and a dragon-shaped demon with a flaming tail appeared, and it too was captured. And another...Ice. Lapidis. A large-backed aquatic animal with a long neck appeared, whining slightly. Another...Water. The powerful Squertil. A turtle-like demon popped into view, and it became his. Flying, there was the swift Podgeit. A large bird was taken. Bug, the frightening Betterfru. A butterfly appeared, fluttering frantically before it was taken. Normal...the massive Snarlox. The huge bulk was captured without effort. Rock...the strange and mysterious Golem, formed from mud. The ball of rock was sucked into the Pokeball. He thought about it. These were enough. But he conjured another Pokeball, in case he thought of something. He smiled, not even noticing the faint tremors, not noticing the sinkholes forming, not until it was too late, and he was pulled into the nearby tributary of the Viridian River. *** "Hiya!" the Pokemon cried, flying from the river. Misty looked up. "You found him? Lead the way!" She picked up Togepi and follwed the starfish along the shore. The Pokemon stopped about a hundred yards downstream, where a body lay face down on the sand. "Ash!" she hissed, falling to her knees next to him. She shook him violently, and he looked up. "Where am I?" She looked down at him. "About a hundred yards downstream where you fell in, Ash. You should be lucky that you didn't get carried further." She leaned over to kiss him, but he pulled away. "I-I don't feel so well. Maybe I hit my head on some rocks." Misty opened her mouth to reply, but Brock entered the clearing. "Misty! Did you-Oh, hi Ash. I'm glad you're safe." Ash held his head. "Brock, Ash thinks he may have hurt himself. Maybe we should het him to a hospital." Brock nodded, and they picked him up. *** "Coei Wmijidufe!" Godfrey cried, and they were pulled through the dimensional gates to the world of Pokemon. It was a harried landing, and Robert appeared several feet above the others, hurting himself slightly more. Morgan recovered faster than the others, and suddenly started. "There's someone in the river!" she shouted. With a gesture, she psychically pulled a body from the river. It was a young man, about 18, whose black hair was splayed about his closed eyes. Six red-and- white balls hung at his waist. Morgan drew back. "It's him!" she hissed to Robert and Godfrey, who looked astonished. "So quickly," Robert murmured, "How lucky." Ash's eyes flickered opened, and he looked up at them. The first thing he saw was Morgan's bright red hair and Robert's hair which he had lately dyed blue. "Not again..." he moaned. Godfrey laughed. His red robe had somehow morphed into a tuxedo during the teleportation, and his appearance shocked Ash. "We've finally got you," Morgan hissed. "And we're going to get rid of you for good," Robert added. Ash sat up and backed away. Morgan glared and Ash felt himself frozen in place. *** I saw Jesse, or rather I thought it was her. She glared when I tried to back away, and I couldn't move. I didn't remember Jesse having psychic abilities. But it was no matter. The man in the red tuxedo strode over, smiling sardonically. He pulled out a wicked-looking katana. "I'm going to do my best to kill you, Duplicate, or Imitate, or Mimic, or whatever alias you're using this time, and then we're going to send you into the void!" The man raised the sword over his head, and prepared to swing down. I cringed, waiting for the final blow. CONTINUED...in Part 2, Mix 'n Match!