Double Trouble
by Lord Kadabra
Part 4:True Love
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.
***
***
	He was sitting quietly on a throne, when he saw two mortals float by.  With an annoyed snort, he 
closed his eyes and gestured.  Gaea appeared next to him, floating above the non-existant ground.
	"What is it?" she asked, staring him down.  He motioned behind her, and she saw the two men.
	"Who are they?" he asked.  She frowned.
	"One is...not what he seems, and the other is more than he seems.  One is immortal, the other 
is...DYING?"  She turned to him angrily.  "Why did you not send them home?  You know mortals cannot 
handle the Void!"  With a gesture, she opened a hole in the Void, sending them through into their home 
world.
***
	Godfrey looked sadly at his three comapnions.  They were in the waiting room of the hospital, 
where the were waiting for the doctors to finish with Misty.
	"We all know his chances of surviving, much less ending up here are nearly nothing.  What are 
we going to tell her?"  Misty took this moment to enter, with several bandages over her arm and face.
	"The doctors say I'm going to be fine.  And-"  She stopped, staring at the air behind the four 
magicians.  They turned to see another rift, and saw the two Ash's fall limply into the room.  The nurses 
ran back and forth to transfer these new arrivals into a room.  Misty tried to see a way to tell them apart, 
but there was no disernable difference.  'Ash' had somehow dressed in the same thing as Ash, and their 
eyes were closed.  She sighed.  This was going to be a long night.
***
	He suddenly saw two Pokebelts float by.
	"Litterers," he scoffed, and made a throwing motion.  The two small belts vanished from the 
Void.
***
	Two Pokebelts fell into the room.  Misty saw them, and reached to pick them up.
	"One of these is Ash's, this one!' she declared.
	"How can you tell?" Maria asked.
	"Our friend didn't know enough about our world to carry only six Pokemon."  She pointed to the 
Pokebelt with eight Pokemon.  Maria shrugged, and turned to the nearest doctor.  "We really need to see 
the patients," she said sweetly.  The doctor frowned.
	"You can't-"  He was choked off when she glared angrily at him.
	"We have to see them; it is the utmost importance.  And if you don't let us see them, I'm going to 
get upset."  Her eyes were flaming, and the doctor backed off.
	"You can see them right now," he stammered, and led the five people into the doubles' room.  
The two were laying on two beds next to each other.  They were completely identical, except for the 
various injuries and bandages.  Godfrey frowned.
	"I can't tell them apart, and I can guess that only you, Misty, can do so.  Please, Misty, before 
they wake up, when He's vulnerable."  She appeared shocked.
	"I can't-" she began, but Maria cut her off.
	"Misty, of all the people in this room, you alone can tell the difference between them.  Please."  
Misty nodded.
	"I'll try."
***
	She was pacing, a complete wreck.  She suddenly turned.
	"Pikachu, Thundershock the two of them, now!" she ordered.  The little mouse tilted his head 
questioningly, but powered up.
	"Pi-ka-chu!"  The two patients were covered with electricity.  The one on the left arched his back, 
obviously in great pain.
	"Godfrey, that one's the imposter!" she snapped.  "Send him!"  Godfrey appeared dubious.  "Only 
Ash wouldn't react to that amount of electricity.  The one on the left is the imposter."  Godfrey smiled, and 
made a gesture.  The body on the left opened its eyes, and 'Ash' glared at them.  His eyes were cold and 
gray, and they became terrified just before he vanished.  But the doctor walked in.  He was visibly upset.
	"Miss Waterflower?" he asked.  She nodded.  "I'm very sorry, but...We've been monitoring, and 
now we're sure.  Your friend is...dead."  Misty stared at him for a moment, and then burst into tears.  Her 
companions bowed their heads in silent prayer.
***
	"We are gathered here today to say good-bye to Ash Ketchum.  To some he was a friend, a rival, 
a son, or simply a trainer.  But somehow, he touched all our lives, and we are here to remember that."  
Godfrey silently was glad the funeral was held outdoors, for the church would not have held this many 
people.  He saw the two men whom Misty had recognized when Sadisto had assumed their forms, what 
was it...Richie and Gary.  There were three tall women, sisters, by the look of it, who were comforting 
Misty.  And there were countless others.  He saw a tall, burly man, accompanied by a Raichu, and a thin, 
pale one, who glared malevolently at a Haunter that was trying to make the mourners laugh.  
	"Quite a gathering," he said half-jovially to Morgana.  She frowned.
	"A man whose life touches this many must have been important.  He was innocent and 
intelligent, but his luck ran out," she murmured.  "If only...there had been something we could have 
done."  She glanced sadly at Misty, whose head was hanging down, arguably the most upset of the 
gathered.
***
	Misty sat at the foot of the grave.  It had been three months since Ash's death, and Misty was 
updating him on recent events.  But she turned her head when a flash of color caught her eye.  A 
Venusaur was waddling through the graveyard, each step causing a flower to bloom.  It stopped before 
her, and bowed.
	"Venus-" it intoned in a rich bass.  "Saur!"  Misty continued staring as it walked off.  With a 
happy trill, Togepi leapt from her lap and follwed the large Pokemon.  With a frantic scrambling, Misty 
followed the little egg.  Not watching where she was headed, Misty didn't notice the scenery.  A huge 
forest soon surrounded them, and the strangest flora and fauna frew there.  Venus flytraps the size of 
small dogs rested quietly on the side of the path, and huge mosquitoes hovered near them.  A Venonat 
hopped over the Venusaur, followed by a tiny Marril.  The path wound its way through the strange forest, 
and stopped in a large clearing, reminiscent of the Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden.  A huge tree sat at the 
center, but it had grown into the shape of a large throne.  A woman sat there, dressed in a long green 
dress, and shrouded in mist.  She was middle-aged, and not exactly beautiful, but her figure suggested a 
more pretty youth.  Misty picked up Togepi, and turned to leave, not noticing the clearing, but found the 
way blocked.
	"Please, do not leave, my dear, my child," the woman pleaded, her voice conveying love, sadness, 
and hope in the same breath.  Misty turned to see her.  The woman waved her right hand, and a rose 
appeared in it.  "I must have words with you," she said, answering Misty's silent question.
	"What about?" Misty inquired.
	"Oh, this and that," the woman chuckled.  She gestured to the Venusaur, and it lifted her from 
her perch with her vines, placing her gingerly on the ground.  "But first, I must introduce myslef.  I am 
Gaea, commonly known as Mother Earth."  Misty glared at her, and turned around.
	"I didn't come here to be mocked!" she shouted, trying to find a way through the vises that had 
grown across her exit.
	"Of course, you didn't, my child," Gaea said gently.  "That's why I will give you proof.  You carry 
a Lapras, do you not?"  Misty nodded, grasping the Pokeball which held Ash's Lapras.  "Let it out," she 
murmured, and Misty found she must obey.  The elegant Pokemon was released, and it turned anxiously 
towards Misty.  "My dear creature, please, do not fear your mother," 'Gaea' said, rubbing her hand over 
Lapras' muzzle.  "Please, Lapras, do me a favor.  Evolve."  With a little cry, Lapras' body began to glow, 
and she became larger.  Misty looked with shock.
	"Lapras can't evolve!" she protested.
	"She can if I want her to do so," Gaea replied, staring with happiness at the Lapras.  Lapras 
stopped glowing, and it became visible.  Resembling a Lapras, she had a large horn protruding from her 
head, and her body was streaked with blue-white.  
	"Kra-ken!" she shouted, rubbing her head on Misty' shoulder.
	"Meet Kraken, the evolved form of Lapras," Gaea said.  "Lapras evolves into Kraken at Level, 
oh, let's see, 57, it that right?"  Misty nodded dumbly, and bowed slightly to Gaea.
	"I am sorry I doubted you, Mother of Earth," she said respectfully.  Gaea smiled.
	"Belief in my identity is hard for the mundane-minded.  But that is not why I brought you here.  
Kraken, Misty will find you when you are needed.  Go rest."  The sea mammal slid away.  "Misty, you are 
a good, kind person.  A little fiery, but still a beautiful person.  But you are mourning, and I felt it would 
be mutually beneficial if I were to grant you a favor to make your life better, so you could be happy again.  
My children do not benefit from being so unhappy."  Misty nodded, and looked up to Gaea.
	"I know that Mother Earth knows the hearts of her children, so you know what it is I want.  So 
please grant my wish."  Gaea shook her head.
	"I cannot.  Too much time has passed, Misty, for me to do that.  Think some more, and tell me 
when you have decided what you want."  The forest faded away, and Misty found herself kneeling against 
Ash's tombstone.
	"It was a dream," she said to Togepi, who was trilling happily next to her.  "Just a dream."  But 
her eye caught the Pokeball that contained Lapras.  If it was not a dream..."Lapras, go!" she said, opening 
the red-and-white ball.  The beautiful figure of Kraken materialized before her, and whined softly.  "If it 
wasn't a dream, it means I can have one thing that I want.  But the one thing I want, I cannot have.  Oh, I 
wish someone were here to help me."  She sobbed silently into her arms.
***
	"I can't believe it," Jesse snapped.  "The brat's dead!"  
	"Yeah," Meowth said quietly, "Even 'do he was our enemy-"
	"And even though he always blasted us with that Pikachu-" James added.
	"He was sort of our friend," Jesse moaned.  "And we never had the chance to make amends."  
Jesse suddenly noticed that Misty had released a strange Pokemon.  "Look!" she hissed.  "It's a rare 
Pokemon!"  James smiled and reached for the Pokeball containing Wheezing.  But he didn't notice the 
huge Venusaur approaching him from behind.
	"Venus!" it cried, and let loose a Vine Whip that felt like a bullwhip.
	"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they cried, vanishing into the air.
***
	Misty looked up, trying to see where the noise had come from.  She shook it off, not believing she 
had really heard anything.  But now she had to think about her gift.  What should she choose?
***
	"So, we should be very careful," Richie repeated.  The doctor looked briefly towards him.
	"Yes.  Miss Waterflower is rather unstable.  Among other things, you should try to avoid 
mentioning Mr. Ketchum.  It tends to upset her." Brock and Gary silently nodded.  "And remember that 
you should signal the nurses if she starts talking about some woman named Gaea.  She seems to be some 
sort of delusion Miss Waterflower had in the graveyard.  And that about covers it all.  Good-bye, for now."  
The doctor opened the door to Misty's room, and the seven people entered, four men and three women.  
She looked up at them.
	"Hello," she said pleasantly.  "Have any of you told Ash that I'm in the hospital?"  The seven 
glanced between each other, and turned back.
	"Misty, don't you remember anything?"  Misty smiled.
	"The doctors have been telling me about the delusions I've been having recently.  In fact, they say 
that a lot of my memories of the last six months were caused by the double shock of being hit by 
lightening in that freak thunderstorm and of Ash dying in the collapse of the Pokemon Tower."  She 
turned away.  "And they've been giving me some medicine.  But I can't help thinking about some of these 
delusions.  I mean, if I imagined meeting Mother Earth, how can you explain Lapras evolving?"  Violet 
nonchalantly gestured through the door, and the doctor entered.
	"I think that's enough visiting for today, Misty.  I've got your medecine for today."  Misty 
groaned slightly.
	"No, Dr. Oak, I don't need my medication."  Gary's father guided the seven guests out of the 
room.
	"Misty, you always need your medication until you're better."  Misty frowned, but reached for the 
pills that Dr. Oak held.  She swallowed them, and Dr. Oak left the room as well.
***
	"Misty..." Gaea said quietly.  Misty sat up.
	"Go away, you're a figment of my imagination!" she ordered.  Gaea smiled.
	"I'm not a part of your imagination, Misty.  I'm Mother Earth, and I want to know what you 
want."  Misty glared at her.
	"When you came last time, it got me committed.  I have to pretend I believe these doctors to 
avoid taking those pills that make me so dopey."
	"Dopey?  They're giving you placebos, Misty.  All it takes is a little moment of distraction for a 
doctor to mix up your depressants with the hypochondriac's placebos."  She smiled smugly.  "It proves that 
your attitude is 50% of the effect of drugs.  Now, what is it you want, Misty?"  Misty frowned.
	"Since I can't have what I want, I would be content if they would just believe me!" she snapped.  
"I want everyone who doubts me to see undeniable proof that everything that happened to me is real."  
Gaea smiled.
	"I can do that much, Misty.  I swear on my daughters, the three Fates, that you will be believed."  
Misty hugged her.
	"Thank you, Gaea," she said, tears running down her cheek.
***
	Gaea stared down at Richard Brick, who was absently petting the Pikachu that had belonged to 
Ash.  
	"Pikachu, why did he have to die?" he asked rhetorically.  The little mouse looked up at his 
guardian.	
	"Pika-pi, kachu, chu-pika, pikachu."  Richie sighed, and crawled into bed.
	"Yeah, I guess you're right.  We all have to die sometime.  But...it was Ash."  Pikachu shrugged.  
Richie turned off the light and went to sleep.  Gaea floated into the room, knowing that walls wouldn't 
affect her if she didn't want them to.  She searched for the item, pulling open drawers, rummaging 
through piles, and even throwing back the covers.  'Aha!" she thought, catching sight of the small ring.  It 
was simple, made of bronze, and had an engraving of two Pikachu shaking hands.  She removed it from 
Richie's right hand finger, and vanished.
***
	"Yeah, Daisy, could you, like, close up for the night?"  Violet asked, turning to her sister.  Daisy 
nodded an affermative, and headed for the lights.  She didn't notice the tall woman shrouded in mist 
slipping into the gym.  With a quiet grunt, she bent down and gathered a flowerfull of water from the 
pool.  With a soft rustling, she vanished.
***
	"Haunter, do you sense something...unusual?" Sabrina asked.  "Haunter?  Haunter?  Where are 
you?"  She stared blankly into the depths of her gym.  "I must be getting jumpy.  Maybe I should talk to 
Dr. Oak."  She didn't notice the chortling ghost floating silently through the roof.
***
	If one were to read the July 10 edition of the POKEMON TIMES, one would have seen the 
following ad:
	The world is invited to a celebration of the life of 
	ASH KETCHUM
	on the first anniversary of his death.  This man's 		accomplishments, life, and exploits 
will be remembered, and a 	special guest will appear.  Open bar and free 	refreshments.
The advertisement was meant to attract attention, and it did.  Crowds began gathering to meet at Viridian 
City on the appointed date.  Hotels were filled up within a week, but certain people found that reservations 
had been made for them, and a special invitation was written to them asking for their specific attendance.  
And Gaea prepared for the greatest miracle the world had ever seen.
***
	"I have been working for weeks on this, and it is nearly ready," Gaea said to Venusaur.  "All it 
needs are two final ingredients."  She smiled.  "Nobody will doubt her after this."
***
	It was silent, but it was deceptive.  The earth was preparing for the ultimate revenge.  A huge 
crack rent through the ground, driving through the wall of the Saffron City Psychiatric Institution.  A 
woman waiting silently in one room leapt lightly from her room to the first story.  She walked quickly to 
the bus station, holding just enough money to get her to Viridian City by the next morning.  The 
earthquake was no random incident, and neither was Misty Waterflower's escape.  It was all planned, 
perfectly planned to the second.  And Gaea sat silently, waiting for her moment.
***
	The thousands had arrived, and, having no obvious people who knew about the celebration, 
groups of people began going onto the stage to tell how Ash had changed their lives for the better.  Gaea 
smiled.
	"Humans are so predictable," she said smugly, watching as Sabrina of Saffron City walked up on 
the stage.  She told them of Ash's determination, his strength, and how he had saved her from her cold 
ambition.  Gaea turned to Haunter.
	"That was you, wasn't it?"  The ghost nodded its head enthusiastically.  It then tried to float 
towards Sabrina.  "Not yet, you prankster.  We've still got another hour."  
	"Haunter," it said sadly.  She rubbed her hand on its head.
	"Be patient.  You'll get to scare the hell out of these people in just a little while."  Haunter pulled 
its face out happily, 'Haunt'ing jovially.
***
	Misty got off the bus, and felt drawn to the Viridian City Auditorium.  But the front doors were 
locked.  A large hand pulled her into the alleyway.  Before she could scream, a familiar voice spoke to 
her.
	"Listen, brat, some green-haired woman wants you to go in the back way!" Jesse ordered.  "And 
don't bother thanking me; I only did this because she paid me well."  Misty sighe in relief and turned 
down the alley into the back door.  She entered onto the backstage, where Gaea was sitting patiently next 
to a Haunter, or rather, Sabrina's Haunter.  She turned to the 20-year-old woman.
	"Greetings, Misty," she said.
	"What is all this?" Misty demanded.  "Some tribute, earthquakes, and Jesse of all people hired to 
direct me here?"  Gaea smiled.
	"There is only one way for them to believe you, and that is if a miracle occurs before their eyes.  
And there's only one miracle that can't be attribiuted to accidents, delusions or some yet unknown 
scientific phenomenom.  And that is to raise someone from the dead."  Misty gasped.
	"But you said-"
	"Yes I did.  And I still cannot.  Alone.  That is why I have elicited the help of Haunter here, and 
why I need yours.  In several minutes, everyone on the stage will leave, and you will go out.  I cannot raise 
him from the dead unless you can prove to them that you loved him, and that he returned that love.  Then, 
and only then, will they believe you."  Misty bit her lip and nodded.  Gaea smiled.  It was an hour and a 
half since she had last spoken to Haunter, since she had given him the limit of one hour.  Yes, things were 
falling into place.
***
	The last person stepped from the stage, and the curtains opened.  A tall, red-haired woman 
stepped to the front of the stage.
	"For any of you who don't know me, my name is Misty Waterflower.  Until his death, I was Ash's 
best friend.  Some say that I became unstable after this, but I am completely sane.  But I move to make you 
believe me.  When I first met Ash, I pulled him from Viridian River, just three miles away.  He borrowed 
my bike to escape from an angry flock of Spearow.  I tried to follow him, but he was too fast.  But I saw 
two things that made me realize there was more to him than meets the eye.  I heard him order his Pikachu 
to get in its Pokeball, and that he would protect it.  He then shouted a challenge to the hundreds of vicious 
birds, and then, I saw what happened because no one within five miles could miss it.  That Pikachu saved 
his master's life by using the most powerful electric attack: Thunder.  I realized later that that Pikachu had 
hated Ash at the beginning of that day, and after that event, they were inseperable.  From Viridian City, I 
began to follow him, because that event made me realize that I could grow to like him.  But I couldn't tell 
him that, so I made up some stupid excuse, namely my bike which had been destroyed during the action."  
She sighed.  "But over the weeks, months, years, I came to realize that I loved him.  You want proof?  I 
was nearly killed dozens of times when I traveled with him.  Yet I stayed with him.  No one would put up 
with that just to get a bike.  You want more proof?  Five years ago, we were traveling through the Orange 
Islands, and a hurricane hit the area.  He fell off the boat we were on, and landed in the water.  As many 
of you know, I am a water trainer, but I didn't think about throwing in Staryu or Starmie, no, I jumped in 
after him to save him.  I could've been killed.  But I ramble.  Because that and other events point to the 
fact that no matter how much I argued with him or denied it, I did, do, and always will love Ash 
Ketchum."  A tear ran down her cheek, and most of the audience was sobbing.  But it was not over.  
Sabrina looked up, and saw something amazing.  She opened her mouth, but the apparition beat her to it.
	"I love you too, Misty," Ash said, walking from the back of the stage.  "Always have and always 
will."  There was shock, disbelief, and a general pandemonium among the audience members.  But Ash 
and Misty didn't care.  She pulled him to her and kissed him passionately.  And then Gaea walked onto 
the stage, stepping to the front.
	"Hello," she said, "My name is Gaea, and what you have seen is not a hallucination.  Ash 
Ketchum has been brought back from the dead.  And it was my work.  Please, do not bother thinking 
about this, but please know that Misty is not crazy, and that a miracle has occurred, and be happy."  She 
slowly faded out, and the 'celebration' turned into a party to welcome Ash back into the world of the 
living.
***
	"I know you're there, Gaea," Sabrina said, "And I want to know what this was all about."  The 
green-clad woman appeared in the psychic's gym.
	"What was what about?"
	"The speech, the party, all of it," Sabrina said.
	"I had been waiting until he had been dead a year, for only then could I ressurect him.  So I told 
Misty that I could not do it, and waited for her to ask for something else.  The wish she made was a means 
through which I accomplished the end.  And, I told her that I couldn't ressurrect him until she proved that 
she loved him, but she had done that countless times, and it needed no extra speeches.  I only wished for 
her to admit to Ash her true feelings."
	"You are indeed devious, Mother," Sabrina said admiringly.
	"Yes, I am.  All I needed to bring him to life was something he gave in friendship to another, and 
the proof that he loved another and that she returned his love."
	"And how did you prove he loved her?"
	"How?  By his very death, he proved that he loves her more than his own life.  As it is said, the 
greatest love is to sacrifice one's own life for a friend.  Now I imagine you should go, lest you be late for 
the wedding."  Sabrina smiled.
	"You know perfectly well it won't start without me," she said.  "After all, I've got the rings."  She 
vanished in a flash of light.
***
Continued...in the very short part 5-Promises!