How’d you like the last part? Like I said before, hope it didn’t confuse ya. Also, whole scenes in italics mean that it's a flashback sequence. This part involves one. Now, I do not own any of these characters or places you would read or see in Pokémon. Now here’s Part 13 of this fic.
Ash/Duplica: 13
Misty/Todd: 14
Mondo: 16
Kenji/Jen: 17
Joya: 18
Brock/Jessie: 19
James/Butch/Cassidy: 20
Part
13: Weird Stuff is Going On!
RP: Last time we left our heroes, Togepi was in the worst shape ever. Will Togepi get better and will the gang find out why he's acting that way? I sure hope so.
Ash Title: Weird Stuff is Going On!
"Joya-san, what's wrong with my Togepi!" Misty demanded. "You're studying to become a doctor, what should I do?"
Joya took the jarring Togepi from Misty gently, and looked him over. She frowned in perplexity, unable to come up with anything. "I'm sorry, but Togepi is fine."
"You call involuntary shaking, 'fine'!"
She handed Togepi back to Misty. "It's true. All of the normal vital signs are, well, normal. If I had my status machine, which is back at the center, I could examine Togepi more thoroughly. I just hope that the weird craze that's going on around here with psychic-type Pokémon isn't happening with your Togepi."
Togepi, once again, tried to speak, but to everyone in the room, it sounded like a bunch of gibberish. ":Uncle Mew…in trouble. You're in danger…run away…Aunty Duplica in danger…robbing, set up…:" This time, Pikachu thought he caught some of what Togepi had said. Pikachu was about to question the younger Pokémon, but he stopped glowing and shaking, falling asleep right in Misty's arms.
"I don't like this," Misty uttered softly, staring down at the gently snoring Poké.
"Well, Joya-neesan said that Togepi is okay, and seems to be fine. Maybe we all should just go to bed."
Misty looked down at Togepi sympathetically and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"
"After what you all have been through, it's probably for the best," Joya insisted, even more polite than usual. "Let's show you to some rooms…"
Jen led the others out of the room, but Brock stopped Misty.
"Hey, Misty, mind if Joya and I talk to you for a moment?"
"Oh yeah, sure."
After she spoke with the two, she got herself a glass of water, and went up to the room that Duplica was in, as she was sharing with her. There was only one bed, but the two could share easily.
Both Todd and Ash shared Laura's room, while Kenji and Brock shared Joya's older sister's room. The room had two beds in it, one was for company, so the two older teens had no problems on deciding on whom go the bed.
Todd and Ash, on the other hand, was a different story. They couldn't decide on who got the one bed in the room, and argued the majority of the time. This, of course, aggravated Pikachu a great deal, getting to the point where he shocked the both of them, and taking the bed, causing the two teens to take the floor, in sleeping bags…
"I'm so tired," Todd
stretched slightly, his back still sore.
Ash yawned deeply. "Me too."
Todd began changing into his bed
clothing. "I could sleep for a week
straight with everything that's happened since we've been here."
"I'm with you on that," Ash
laughed, pulling his pajama shirt over his head. "So, what do you think of
Duplica?" he asked innocently.
"What about her?" Todd put his camera back into its case,
making sure it was nice and secure.
"Well, you never said what you
thought about her." Ash decided to
become a bit more daring. "Do you
think she's, um, pretty?"
'Gorgeous.'
"Um, do you think she's cool or
anything?"
'Incredibly!'
Ash still waited for a reply from the
boy, but he just wouldn't say anything.
"Well?"
"Oh,
what?"
"What do you think of
Duplica?"
"Wh-why do you want to
know?"
"I was just curious what you
would say, that's all."
"But why?"
"Never mind. We
should really get some sleep."
The two boys headed over to the single
bed, leaping in - one not noticing the other - which caused the both of them to
collide, bumping their heads.
"What do you think you're doing!" Todd argued, rubbing his achy head. It was already a bit sore from earlier, but
the bump now didn't help it any.
Ash, who was also rubbing his aching
head, "You bumped me in my head!"
"I'm trying to go to sleep, and I
need a bed to sleep in!"
"I saw it first!"
"No you didn't, I did!"
"Well…er…I've been through a lot
tonight!"
"SO have I!"
"Well, I'VE been acting like a
miniature version of Brock all night, and I have no idea why!"
x x x x x x x x x x
Brock pops up into the room.
Ash: Where’d you come from?
Brock: Now that’s disturbing. There is only one Brock and that’s me! The great Brock who can spot any Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny that’s in trouble over 1.6 million meters (about 1000 miles) away! (Starts flexing muscles)
RP: How can you spot anything with those eyes of yours?
Brock: (Rolls eyes at narrator, which we can’t see) I can too spot any Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny over a million meters away!
Todd: How can you tell them all apart?
Brock: (Poses, gives off a twinkly smile) What your eyes don’t see is pretty clear to me.
RP: I know, I know...but I thought that line was pretty cool...Brock was so sure of himself when he said it for that episode.
Misty popped into the room while holding Togepi.
Misty, Todd, Pikachu, and Ash sweat dropped from Brock’s statement and had those little slits for eyes.
Misty: (Holding her head) Brock is a poet, I didn’t know it.
Misty pushed Brock out of the room so that Ash and Todd could go back to their "discussing"
Brock: This seems like Déjŕ vu.
Misty: Come on, Brock.
Brock: Pushing the Brock out, huh! Well the Brock…
Ash: YEAH, SHE’S PUSHING YOU OUT, NOW SHUT UP AND GO AWAY!
Misty pushes Brock out.
Todd: Thanks, Misty.
Misty: (Pops back into the room) No prob.
She then leaves.
x x x x x x x x x x
"So what if you've been acting a
little like Brock, I have a bad backache and a bandaged up head! I need the bed more than you do right
now!"
Ash disagreed, which kept the argument
going. Pikachu, at this point, had
finally lost his patience. ":Both of you shut up!:"
With that, he shocked them.
Pikachu then hopped onto the bed, the two fried boys lying on the
ground, twitching.
Ash coughed out a bit of smoke. "Pikachu, we wanted the bed."
Little sparks began to come out of the
small rodent's cheeks. He then
threatened, ":One more word out of either of you
and I use a Thunderbolt! Now, stop
arguing and sleep on the floor!:" Pikachu turned on his side, comfortable under
the covers. ":I'm
going to sleep.:"
Todd and Ash, while muttering about
Pikachu to themselves decided to sleep on the floor, and let the cranky Pikachu
have the bed, like they had much of a choice.
x x x x x x x x x x
Ash: Wait a minute, RP! I thought Pikachu and Togepi had their own little beds.
When we first got back, you said that they went off to their little beds that
they had made earlier.
Todd: Yeah!
RP: I did? Well, um, Pikachu got…um…scared when Togepi was acting strange
and…um...used one of his attacks since he was startled and…um…OH
YEAH, he destroyed the beds that they had made! So now, Togepi is sharing a bed
with Misty and Pikachu is with you guys!
Ash and Todd both face-fault in disbelief.
RP: Thank you for pointing that out for me Ash.
Todd: (Sarcastic tone) Yeah, Ash, thanks. Like THAT actually helped.
x x x x x x x x x x
Back to Misty…
Misty slept, twitching and sweating profusely, dreaming deeply…
x x x x x x x x x x
Dream Sequence….
There were a lot of dark, eerie clouds around and Misty saw Duplica, Kenji with
Jen, right next to her. There were also three weird looking creatures standing
in the front of them. Kenji, Duplica, and Jen were also dressed in some old,
strange looking clothes. Both Kenji and
Jen looked almost different; although, Duplica looked pretty much the same.
Even though the three of them didn't look like their normal selves, Misty still
sensed that it was them.
"We are now free!" the third creature snarled in a dark, frightening voice which caused Misty to shiver.
"We can now take over the island as we were instructed to do so by our new master!" the second creature stated.
"It is about time you two finally left the bodies of those pathetic humans to help me conquer this place," the first of the three creatures snapped.
"It would've been sooner, but no one made the humans' level high enough for us to be released," the third one explained shortly. "You were lucky that your spirit was resting in the body of the mayor. He reached his peak first, and you were freed first."
A short ways away, Misty took notice of three cages, with metal bars connected to strange machinery which was also connected to a bunch of Pokémon. The middle one consisted of Ash, Brock (who looked to be in great pain), and Joya. In the one to the left of it, much to her surprise, consisted of the ex Team Rocket members, which included Mondo, and in it, James looked to be knocked out cold, Jessie knelt beside him, her eyes red and puffy from obviously crying. In the one to the right of it, Mayor Imité was laid out, unconscious, Laura (who was as pale as a ghost) was staring at the strange looking creatures, and four other people Misty couldn't really make out.
"What is going on…"
The girl felt as if she were tired, like she'd been fighting for her life. She then noticed a bunch of dark Pokémon staring at her, ones she'd never encountered before, with cold, petulant looks about their faces. Misty also noticed that, like her, Kenji, Jen, and Duplica also looked to be depleted of energy.
"It's all up to you now, Mizuna-kun," Kenji told the redhead.
"Yes, Mizuna-chan, you must save us all," Jen told her.
"My Pokémon cannot save us," Duplica grunted. She, to Misty, seemed to be injured in some way; possibly, internally. "Metamon has fainted and I am out of energy. You must help protect the island, and the fate of this entire world."
"Me? How can I protect an entire island, let alone the world? And who is Mizuna?"
"We have done all that we could. You are our only hope, Mizuna-kun. Remember all that was taught to you through both me and Junsako!"
Misty was fully confused by Kenji's words. What in the world was he going on about? "'Taught'? 'Junsako'? 'Mizuna-kun'? What are you guys talking about?"
From the cage, Ash called to his very best friend. "You can do it, Misty! Just believe in yourself and remember, I'll love you no matter what happens! And as soon as this is all over, I'll treat you to a movie, ice cream, and maybe even a new bike!"
Misty dug her finger into her ear. Had Ash actually said he loved her, publicly? She then realized this had to have been a dream. Ash would never say that. After Ash, everyone else from the cages shouted out words of encouragement to her.
The master the three creatures mentioned earlier, held a remote in his hand, and pushed a button. All three of the cages were filled with electricity from Ash's Pikachu, who looked to be in some type of a trance, along with a bunch of other electric-type Pokémon, such as Mageneton, Magenemite, Raichu, a couple of wild Electabuzz, Jolteon, some type of a Pokémon that looked similar to that of an Electabuzz, only smaller, and shaped differently, along with many others.
Misty gasped as she saw her friends being hurt. She then looked over towards the master, who also had another human by him. The two human figures were standing beside the three evil looking creatures. The one who was referred to as "master" was laughing, while the one beside him looked to be a young man, maybe in his mid to late twenties. She really sensed she knew the both of them.
"This girl couldn't save anything," the first creature laughed, purely amused. The other two creatures laughed along.
Misty felt quite overwhelmed as tears began to fill her eyes. She fell to her knees, sobbing. "I need help! I don't know what else to do! Somebody, please help me!"
A bright glow began to form around her, and it began to take shape of a
human; two humans to be exact…
x x x x x x x x x x
Misty awoke with a start, holding her chest and gasping for air. She didn't know what to make of the dream, as she looked over to her side, to see
Togepi still sleeping peacefully.
Duplica began to stir, and woke fully.
She sensed something was a bit off, noticing Misty's sweating, shortness
of breath, and an apprehensive look etched to her now pale face.
"Misty, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
The girl couldn't find her voice at the moment, and nodded.
Duplica sat up fully and flipped the switch on the lamp located beside the bed on the stand. "What happened?"
Misty told her in detail what had happened in the dream, while Duplica listened attentively. When she was done, Misty asked her, "Well, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I think you've been reading too many fairy tales. I'm sure that dream doesn't mean anything. I doubt anyone can save the world, Misty."
"It just seemed so real, those creatures, and the two men…I knew them."
"Who were they?"
"I-I'm not certain," she confessed desolately.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't really remember now, but I know I know them. I can't remember what they looked like in my dream."
Duplica gave her an earnest smile, and patted the girl on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. It's probably nothing."
"I guess you're right," even though the girl wasn't fully convinced of that, "I probably read something dealing with monsters."
"Sounds like you read one of Ash's manga," Duplica laughed. "Now, you don't want to be upset for Kenji's birthday party, do you?" Misty shook her head. "Oh yeah, I was going to ask you this, but you went straight to sleep before I could. What did Brock want to talk to you about?"
"They were talking about how everything is going to be set up for the surprise party that they want to throw for Kenji. It was Brock's idea, and I guess while Kenji was knocked out before we got here, all three of them were talking about it. Jen-san was really insistent on it, according to Brock."
"It's so short-notice, though. I just hope we all manage to pull it off. Jen mentioned it to me and the guys last night when showing them to their rooms. So, tomorrow, we have to keep Kenji busy. He's sure going to be surprised." Duplica heaved out an uncomfortable sigh. "Too bad we can't have it at my uncle's place." She shook her head, putting those negative thoughts aside. "I'm sure he'll really like it!"
"Duplica…"
She yawned. "Well, I'm still a bit tired, and sleep sounds good right about now." She looked at Misty sympathetically. "Try not to worry, okay?" Misty gave her a half-smile and nodded. "Good night."
The girl shut off the light, and laid back down, and fell back to sleep almost instantly. Misty stood up and walked over to the window, staring out of it ponderingly. Outside, the ground was fully covered with snow, but the snowfall wasn't as hard as it was earlier. She rested her forehead on the cold window, the cool glass feeling good against her hot skin.
'What could my dream have meant? Who were those two guys, and why can I not remember them? I saw their faces in my dream, but ever since I woke up, it's a blur. What did those strange shadowy creatures signify? How come I feel as if I've encountered those shadowy demons before? What was that strange glow? Why was everyone locked up?' Another thought hit the young girl, like a flash of lightening. 'Wait, where was Todd? Why wasn't he there?'
She remained at the window for a bit longer, still in deep thought, until
she felt sleep setting in. She too,
then, went back to sleep, having the same exact dream, waking up at the same
part as well, and having no recollection of the two men with the creatures…
x x x x x x x x x x
In the Laboratory…
"Sir," called the professor, re-entering the lab, where his mentor was looking through some files, "I have the profiles of Imité-tachi."
"Ahh, good work." The professor went over to the biggest computer, inserting a disk. "You can skip any information you have on the Imité girl, as I'm certain she's one of them."
"Yes sir." The professor
looked through the files he had just uploaded from the disk, reading them out
aloud. Each profile consisted of two
photos of the person (one being casual, the other being a mug shot photo) along
with a written description.
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: For the record, the ages are going to be put up by a year. It's just showing that everyone's birthdays
for the year hasn't come yet, is all and is being calculated by the year only,
not by month/day/year. Hope that made
sense…
x x x x x x x x x x
The first profile to be uploaded was Joya's. The first photo was of the girl holding an Eevee,
smiling playfully, while wearing a high-school uniform. Beside Joya sat Jen, eating a bento lunch,
even though you couldn't see her too well since the photo was obviously focused
on Joya. Both were in
The photo under it was the girl's mug shot. For it, her hair was tied back into a single pony-tail, and she was smiling, giving off that same innocent deportment she was well-known for.
"The first person here is…"
Name: Mujitsu Joya
Age: 19
Blood Type: O
Height: 160cm (5'3)
Weight: 49kg (About 110lbs)
Hair Color: Light Red
Eye Color: Bright Blue
"She lives with her sister here, and---"
"Don't you think I know that already?" the older man bellowed impatiently. "I want real information!"
"Sorry, sir. According to my research here, she is training to become a doctor, and has extensive knowledge about the psychic attacks."
"That's not much to go on, seeing as how she's studying to become a Pokémon doctor, so of course she would know about the attacks. She helps to treat some of them. She does not show anything particularly of being one of the destined. Go to the next one."
The professor nodded, and brought up another photo. It was of Ash hugging Pikachu. Underneath this photo, it showed the boy wearing neither his cap nor his outer jacket.
"This is…"
Name: Satoshi
Age: 14
Blood Type: O
Height: 165cm (About 5'5)
Weight: 52kg (115 lbs)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
"He dreams of becoming the world's best Pokémon trainer, and to top the
Elite Four. He is also from the town of
"He could be one of them, as he's the type who would sacrifice his own life for the safety of his friends, especially that annoying, scrawny, redheaded girl!"
"I agree, as that sounds very much like him," he said with a small nod.
The next photo to come up was one of a younger Kenji, who was sitting by a riverbank, sketching while being monitored by what looked to be a teacher. The mug shot underneath it showed him - at his current age - only without his headband.
"I know this young man fairly well…"
Name: Kenkyuuin Kenji.
Age: 18
Blood type: A
Height: 170cm (5'7)
Weight: 64kg (About 140lbs)
Hair Color: Dark, olive-brownish-green
Eye Color: Black
"Kenji-kun is a Pokémon Artist/Watcher who grew up on the
"Hmm, I don't feel that he'd be the type to possess such a high and mighty power. That blasted Juudai was nothing like that, as he had leadership capabilities."
"Excuse me; did you say something, sir?"
"No no." He cleared his throat. "Carry on. This Kenji person was probably just driven to try and protect his friends, or either he was trying his best to show off in front of those two girls."
"I agree, sir. He truly doesn't seem the type to have a power as great as you described. I've also worked with him, so I would know."
The next photo uploaded was of Jen, which showed her training with her cousin at the academy, practicing her Kendo. She was all geared up, about to strike with her Shinnai (Bamboo Sword used in Kendo). The mug shot underneath, Jen's hair was tied into two long pig tails, and she was also wearing a school uniform similar to Joya's, which showed that this photo was a couple of years old.
"The next person, here, is…"
Name: Daté Jen
Age: 18
Blood Type: B
Height: 163cm (About 5'4)
Weight: 54kg (120lbs)
Hair Color: Aqua Green
Eye Color: Light Brown
"She is related to the Office Jen here, who is her cousin. She is very skilled in the ways of Martial Arts, and she truly hates to see anyone get pushed around. Her Martial Arts background is quite extensive. She has been training since the age of three. When a bit older, she studied Kendo and Bonsai with her cousin, Daté Seiji, who lives on the outskirts of Sendai and also trained with a young girl by the name of Kino Makoto, who also lives on the island of Japan, in the city of Tokyo, who of which, has won many Martial Arts tournaments."
"She is most definitely a prime candidate. Are there any others left?"
"Yes sir, three of them." He brought up the next photo, which showed Todd posing with his camera. Underneath, was the boy's mug shot, only he didn't have his camera dangling around his neck.
"This one is named…"
Name: Shashin Toru
Age: 15
Blood Type: AB
Height: 168cm (About 5'6)
Weight: 59kg (130lbs)
Hair Color: Tannish Brown
Eye Color: Black
"He is a well-renowned photographer, who has won many awards for his grand photos. This is the one who risked his own life to save the Imité girl, sir, when Mayor Imité was about to strike her."
He nodded. "This photographer is definitely a candidate to go out of his way to protect someone from a possessed person."
The next photo to come up was of Misty. It showed her, in her red bikini, in a pool with all of her water Pokémon. Underneath it, was her mug shot and for it, her hair was hanging down, not tied in its signature ponytail.
"This is…"
Name: Hanada Kasumi
Age: 15
Blood Type: AB
Height: 165cm (About 5'5)
Weight: 48kg (105lbs)
Hair Color: Orange-Red
Eye Color: Aqua Blue
"She is the youngest of the---"
"I know all about her, so you may skip. She's undecided, anyway."
"Okay sir."
The photo to be uploaded was one of Brock. He looked to be out camping, preparing onigiri, Vulpix sitting next to him, and Zubat flying around overhead. Underneath, was Brock's mug shot. He was wearing his usual clothing, minus his trademark dark green vest.
"This is the last of them, and he is…"
Name: Nibi Takeshi
Age: 20
Blood Type: A
Height: 170cm (About 5'7)
Weight: 66kg (145lbs)
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Black
"He used to run the
"Nice nice," the man answered hastily. "Who are our suspects, since this narrow-eyed guy is obviously out?"
The Professor uploaded four pics, which took up the four corners of the screen: in the upper left, was a photo of Duplica holding Ditto, and winking; in the upper right was Ash, messing with the flap of his cap, as if he had just put it on; in the lower left, was Jen, meditating underneath a waterfall; the lower right, was of Todd loading his camera.
"These are the ones whom of which you considered candidates, sir."
In the center, another photo was uploaded. It was one of Misty, who was hugging her Togepi, both smiling merrily.
"As for her, you said she was undecided."
"She's probably not. The other three and that Imité girl seem to fit more than that redhead. That redhead is the type would more than likely avenge someone, not the type to fight in this kind of a battle."
"Alright then, sir." He pushed a button and Misty's photo vanished from sight, leaving the others. "What do we do now?"
"We find a way to dispose of them, of course."
"But how…"
"…do we get rid of them?" the man finished up. "I know, I know…"
"What about Imité's other niece, sir? I just remembered her."
"Did you already get information on her?" He nodded. "Well then, go and get it. I requested that first!"
He nodded. "Yes, sir."
The professor rushed out, leaving the older man to his thoughts. 'Those four are the perfect suspects to be the resurrected ones. I will most definitely destroy them before they can destroy me. As soon as all of the demons are released and of full power, ancient Shadow Pokémon will rise and will be mine for the taking. They will have no choice but to obey since it was I who put the curse upon the land! It is quite strange…it was like this was all preordained, my actually doing this…but why?'
"Okay sir, I have the profile of Imité's second niece, but I do not feel she's a worthy candidate."
"I shall be the one to determine that. Upload it."
The photo uploaded was of both Laura and Duplica with their uncle in
"Okay, this is…"
Name: Laura Jenkins
Age: 20
Blood Type: B
Height: 165cm (About 5'5)
Weight: 58kg (127lbs)
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Dark Brown
"She grew up in a very bad environment, until Mayor Imité intervened and pretty much saved her from her harsh, abusive parents. From then on, he has raised Jenkins as one of his own. Now that she is an adult, she works as a Nurse Practitioner at the local hospital. She is studying to become a surgeon and as a part of her training, for the time being, she has to treat those of which that are attacked by Pokémon and Pokémon until she can move higher up in rank."
"I suppose you were right; she wouldn't qualify for such a thing, but you know," his eyes grew dubious, and his grin widened, "maybe we could use her." Before the professor could question him, his mentor put up his hand, stopping him. "I will explain this later, as for now, we should go rest. You have done well for the day, and you are a very reliable worker, unlike those traitors I had working for me in the past. You helped me then, and you have helped me out now, and I'm quite grateful. You even managed to get Mewtwo back."
"It was a pleasure, sir, to help out such an inquiring mind." He glanced over at Mewtwo, who looked to be absolutely miserable. "I really wanted to see how well he'd progressed since the last time I saw him all those months ago."
With that, the two gentlemen left the lab, shutting off the lights behind
them to get some well-deserved rest…
x x x x x x x x x x
The next morning…
Jessie yawned deeply, as the sound of birds chirping outside, and the sunlight penetrating the room had awakened her. She inwardly smiled; glad to see another, beautiful day. She stretched, and turned to her side, shaking the dark-haired man who was lying beside her. "Good morning, James."
He began to stir, his eyes finally opening to a beautiful sight. He couldn't help but smile, in spite of himself. He loved waking up to a less harsh, more fun-loving Jessie and since they had left Team Rocket, it allowed her to be a bit more open and a lot less violent. "Good morning," he replied back. He gave her a small hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "It looks like you slept well."
Before she could reply, a certain dog-like Pokémon hopped onto the bed, licking James in the face. This caused James to laugh. "Hey there, Growlie. Looks like you slept well too." Growlithe barked in response, and proceeded to lick Jessie's face.
Beside Jessie and James's bed sat a futon, which Meowth was restfully sleeping on. The feline-Pokémon really didn't want to stay in any of the rooms alone, as it brought back too many horrid memories, not only with Giovanni's shunning him, but of his actually being forced to help torture other Pokémon or performing experiments on them. Meowth was surprised that he wasn't shunned by all Pokémon kind since he was indirectly responsible for most, including their captures at one point for exploitation by Team Rocket.
Growlithe hopped off of the bed, and barked at Meowth. He groaned, opening his eyes to see Growlithe standing over him. "It's mornin' already?" Meowth asked with a yawn.
James got out of the bed, stretching his legs and doing toe-touches. "Yes, Meowth. We have a full day ahead of us." He stretched to his side. "We have to," he went back to touching his toes, "find this Lost Kage place."
Jessie was up and about now, going through her bags. Meowth was now putting his futon back into the closet, but needed a bit of help. Jessie pushed the sliding closet door open for Meowth, where he stuffed it back in. "I still say you're makin' a mistake goin', James."
James stopped his morning stretches, and glared at the cat. "Who asked you!"
Meowth and Growlithe left the room, to find Ratticate, while Jessie and James took turns, waiting on the shower that was in their room. Later, they joined up with Mondo, Cassidy, and Butch, who were in the dining area. Meowth, Growlithe, and Ratticate were there as well. Cassidy was sipping on a cup of tea, reading the paper, while Butch and Mondo were conversing amongst themselves, all three in their usual gym leader uniforms.
"Good morning you two," Butch greeted.
"You guys sure are up early," James said, seating himself down at the table. His hair this day was tied back in a ponytail, with some of his hair hanging loosely on the side. He was also wearing a tight, black t-shirt, and long beige shorts. He looked like quite the tourist; the only thing missing was a pair of sunglasses.
"We have to start early, you know." Cassidy folded up her paper and stood up. "These kids would come around at 5 in the morning if they could. It's a little after 9 now; would you guys like a bite to eat?"
Jessie, who was wearing her hair loose today, along with a white spaghetti strapped blouse, and a short white skirt nodded. "Sure, I could go for a bite. Should we go out?"
"No, we'll cook something," Mondo offered. Cassidy and Butch nodded.
"If you insist," James started slowly.
"Sure," Mondo smiled to them. "How about something really filling, like pancakes?"
"Meowth love pancakes!" The cat's mouth began to water. "I'd like tuna flavored please with liver-flavored syrup."
Everyone groaned from the terrible sounding combination. Mondo just sweat dropped. "I'll see what I can do, Meowth."
"I'll join ya then, kid," Meowth said to Mondo. "Come on, Ratticate." The rat-like Pokémon nodded, following both Meowth and Mondo into the kitchen. Ratticate was hungry as well.
This left the others at the table, and Cassidy took her seat once again. Growlie, not really wanting to join Meowth and Ratticate, slumped down beside James, who petted him affectionately.
"What are you guys going to do?" Butch asked after the others had gone. "Are you still going to try and get to this Lost Kage place?"
"Of course," James nodded, quite sure of himself. "We'll check that place out first, and if we feel we shouldn't build there, or if there really isn't any land for us to buy to build there, we'll go with our next choice."
"Which is?"
"Masara," both answered.
"That's not too far from here," Cassidy noted. "It only takes a few hours on foot if you're on the right route and path."
The four conversed a while longer, when Mondo, along with Meowth and
Ratticate, brought breakfast to the table for them. Meowth sat down, a plate in front of him and
a handkerchief tied around his furry neck.
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, ready to chow down into
his meal of pancakes, which were mixed with sardines and tuna fish. "Itadakimasu!"
he clapped, digging into his meal.
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: That doesn't sound too appetizing to me!
Yech!
Meowth: If Pikachu can hoit the narrator, (extracts his claws), so can I! Don't make me use these!
RP: Sorry, sorry. Sheesh, everyone
has a temper!
x x x x x x x x x x
The ex-Rocket members continued eating their meals in peace, thanking Mondo for
a job well done. After breakfast, Jessie
and James both offered to help clean up, but Mondo refused them, and left them
to further continue discussing their plans with Butch and Cassidy for the day,
the time seeming to fly by.
Jessie looked down at her watch. "It's 11:00; if we leave right now, we can probably make it to Cerulean by nightfall and stay in a hotel for the night, James."
"We are not going by bus!" James insisted, his nose turned up in such a fashion that he slightly resembled his father.
"Then how are we going?"
"We're going by jet. I booked us a flight before we got here last night. We just have to be to the Viridian City Airfield by mid-day."
"And why didn't you mention this to us earlier!"
"I didn't notice the time, actually," he admitted bashfully. He cleared his throat, and drank down some of his water. "Anyway, when we leave the Viridian City Airfield, we'll arrive in Cerulean no later than 13:30, saving us a lot of time."
"That's a great idea! We'll get to Lost Kage in no time!"
"Cassidy, Butch, Mondo, would you guys like to come with us?" He chuckled a bit. "I see you three have no intention of opening up the gym today."
Butch gave James a devious, yet amused, grin. "You're right; I wasn't planning on opening it up yet. The 'closed' sign should still be up."
"Cassidy, you guys have been working hard lately; how about we go along with them? You weren't planning on opening up the gym today anyway."
"Yasumi ka…" She thought for a moment. "I don't know…"
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: Yasumi simply means vacation. With
what I wrote up there, I was pretty much trying to say, "A vacation,
huh?"
x x x x x x x x x x
"An early one!" Mondo added pleadingly. "Natsu
yasumi!"
"Hmm, an early summer vacation." Her look grew pensive as she stared from Mondo to Butch. "It would be nice, but I still don't know…"
"Please?"
"You could really use a vacation, Cassidy with the way you've been feeling lately," Butch pointed out quite seriously. "It's probably from all of the stress you're getting from running the gym, and I did look up your symptoms. You have about 45 percent of the symptoms associated to stress, and the best cure is to relax."
It took a bit more persuasion, but the blonde finally agreed to go along
with them to
"We don't know, yet," James answered, "but maybe about a week, if it's worth it."
"Butch, Mondo, I'm really not sure now. A week is such a long time, and there are people that come around here who are really serious about becoming great Pokémon Trainers. Closing it down for just today is fine, but for an entire week, think of how disappointed these trainers will be so close to the league games."
"Don't worry about them," Butch told her, giving her a genuine sincere smile. "Come on," he grabbed her hand, "we'll have some fun! Go pack a bathing suit, some sunscreen, and lounge down on the beach."
"But---"
"I can stay behind," Mondo cut in gloomily, "if you want me to. I can run the gym for you and Butch."
Cassidy sighed, grateful for Mondo's generosity and loyalty. "I can't let you do that, since I can tell that you really want to go." She looked at everyone, who seemed to be hanging onto her every word. She closed her eyes, and nodded slowly. "Okay, we'll go…" Mondo and Butch both cheered "…but not until we can find someone who can run this gym. We have less than an hour to pack up and find someone, and it's about a ten-minute drive to the airport. Both you and Butch have to find someone capable and competent fast. If you find someone, we go; if not, we stay here."
Both nodded at the seemingly impossible task, but they were determined.
"We can help you pack," Jessie offered. "It's only fair since we asked at the last minute."
"Okay, Mondo, you go help Cassidy and Jessie pack, while the rest of us go find someone who can run the gym," Butch instructed.
"Right!" the boy nodded, hurrying himself.
"You don't sound too hassled over finding someone to run the gym," Meowth commented dryly.
"Don't worry; we'll get someone in no time flat! Let's just go."
Meowth and James left with Butch, who seemed to be quite self-assured over finding a replacement. Neither of the two knew where Butch was headed. The walk wasn't long. Only about five-minutes down the road from the gym. They stopped in front of a building, the sign reading, "Viridian City Temporary Pokémon Trainers Lounge".
"What's this place?" Meowth asked.
"It's pretty much an agency where one can find eligible Pokémon Trainers with decent credentials competent enough to run a gym if a gym leader has to leave for whatever reason, but don't want to close it down until he returns. It's also a good way to find gym assistants. Trainers from all over register here, mostly Viridian residents for this particular one, so that they may be called to either our gym, or one of the others. There's one of these in every city."
"It's so close to the old Team Rocket Headquarters!" James pointed out. "It's a couple of blocks down."
Butch somberly nodded. "Yeah, Giovanni may have battled and spent the majority of his time in the gym, a good cover up if you ask me, but he based his actual headquarters near here."
The three entered. The building was
about the size of your typical
"Konnichiwa," she greeted, her voice gentle and comforting, "watashi wa Natsumi desu."
"Hello there," Butch greeted back hurriedly.
"What may I do for you," she asked them with a courteous smile.
"I am Butch, gym leader of the Viridian City Gym, and something suddenly came up, requiring me as well as my co-worker and assistant to leave. I need someone to run the gym until we return since we would really hate to shut it down for the entire week."
"All right, I'll see what I can come up with." She began typing on the computer in front of her, going through the data base. "You're just in luck, sir. There is somebody here that's looking for work. He's not a native to Viridian, though, but he just registered yesterday as a substitute gym leader."
"What are his credentials," James asked.
"Yeah, you don't want some loser runnin' it and ruinin' it."
After hearing the squeaky voice, the woman turned her attention away from the computer screen, and stared down at the cat-like Poké. "Wow, a Meowth that can speak human tongue!"
Meowth gave the girl a smug smile, crossing his arms haughtily. "The one and only!"
"Wow, I've never met a talking Pokémon before!" the woman exclaimed excitedly. "Would you mind if I call my little sister, and my friend, and---"
"I'm sorry for rushing you," Butch interrupted, "but we're really in a bit of a hurry."
"Ahh, sumimasen," the woman apologized, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment for acting so unprofessional. "I just got carried away." She printed out a page on the trainer she had just mentioned. "Here you are."
"I know that kid!" James pointed.
"Yeah, we tried to st---"
James covered up Meowth's mouth, so that he wouldn't say more. He didn't want the lady to know that they
were all once thieves. As a matter of
fact, for their own safety, a lot of people didn't know that the new
"As for his credentials," she brought up a written description of
him, "he had his own unofficial gym, which had well over 100
victories. His name is AJ, and he is 18
years old. He has run this unofficial
gym of his for years. As for right now,
he decided to stay at the
"Sounds good to me," Butch stated quickly. "Get him to the gym as fast as you possibly can!"
The woman nodded. "Right away, sir." The three turned, about to leave, when the woman called to them once again. "Sir, I must have your reason for your sudden departure for the Pokémon Gym Leader Officials to review."
Butch stopped in his tracks, and inwardly groaned. He hadn't thought of that and couldn't think
of anything to say outside of he just wanted a vacation. James, on the other hand, only smiled and
spoke up for his friend. "We are on
our way to
She typed in the explanation, and then looked at them a bit curiously. "I hope that explanation goes through as
excused with the board. To my knowledge,
they should be at the Indigo Plateau. As
for
"We honestly don't know," Butch replied peevishly, finding the whole situation to be ironic and strange, "but we're going to see what's happening and why others are saying so. I guess you could say we're investigating."
Natsumi typed in all of that extra information, and then sent a quick
message over to the
"Is there any information you want me to pass on to AJ?"
"Just tell him to go straight to the gym."
"Yes, sir," she nodded. "There, you're now all set."
Butch, James, and Meowth all thanked her.
"One more thing, sir," the woman informed them, "I need a reference."
"A reference?"
"Yes. You have to give me the name of a person, or persons, who can back up your claim."
"References!" James roared in surprise. "Isn't his word enough!"
"I'm sorry sir, but it's the rule. It is all mentioned in the Official Pokémon League Gym Leaders guidebook. If you'd like, I could let you read---"
"The
She input the information. "Okay, you are now all set to go on whatever business that is needed of you. You just have to sign this form, here…" she printed out the paper with all of the information Butch had given her. He picked up a pen, and scribbled his name messily at the bottom. The woman then signed her name under it, as the witness. She then stood from her seat, and put the paper into a filing cabinet under "V" for "Viridian". She then sat back down. "Everything is done, sir," she bowed slightly, "and thank you for choosing to utilize our services."
"You're welcome."
Within a flash, the three left to make their way back to the gym. When arriving there, Mondo, Jessie, and Cassidy were nearly finished packing. They had gotten some help from James's Growlithe, Jessie's Arbok, and Cassidy's Ratticate. Afterwards, they all put their luggage onto a cart, and wheeled it out to the car James had rented, Mondo, Jessie, and Meowth loading it, later rejoining the others.
Everyone now packed and ready to go, was now awaiting the arrival of the temporary gym leader. Cassidy questioned Butch on his choice, who, in response, told her that this kid had a very good background, and James vouched for him. Speaking of James, he impatiently looked down at his watch, noticing that the time was now 11:40. They now only had ten more minutes to leave, or else they'll get left behind. About two more minutes passed when a somewhat stout boy with spiky, dark-green hair, wearing a long black shirt, a pair of log jean shorts, and white sneakers walked into the gym. Beside him, was a Sandshrew.
"Hello," he called, his drawling voice echoing throughout the hall. "It is I, AJ, and I'm supposed to watch the gym for the week."
Butch and Mondo ran up to the boy to greet him, shaking his hand and thanking him to watch over the gym on such short notice.
"Wow, a real gym!" he exclaimed, while staring around the gym in pure ecstasy. "I'll finally get the chance to help run an official one!" He looked back to Butch, smiling widely. "I want my gym to become an official one some day, and if that happens, Sandshrew and I won't travel as much in search of new challenges to get us even stronger and even more unbeatable!"
"That's very nice, AJ, but we really have to go," Butch apologized.
"Yeah," James nodded, "it's nice seeing you again, but we do have to go."
"You know, we'll probably see Ash, Misty, and Brock at some point after we get there," Jessie randomly mentioned to James.
"True, and if not Brock, we'll definitely see Misty. She never seems to leave his side."
'Ash, Misty, Brock? I haven't seen those three in a long time…but he said 'nice to meet you again'…I wonder…' He looked to both Jessie and James. "Do I know you guys?"
"What makes you think that you would know us?" Meowth answered smartly.
AJ's eyes went wide, as he pointed a finger at Meowth. "I know who you are! You're Team Rocket! Who can forget that talking Meowth!"
Meowth shined his claws, loving the teen's reaction. "Well, I am pretty popular and memorable, ya know."
James intervened, explaining how they were no longer a part of Team Rocket. "The whole Team Rocket organization is gone; where have you been?"
"I may have heard something about Team Rocket disbanding, but I travel a lot, so I don't get to watch the news or pick up a paper much."
"Well, it's true," Jessie told the boy. "Team Rocket is no more, and we're all glad of that!"
"Wait, you mean…" he pointed to Butch, Cassidy, and Mondo.
They nodded. "Yeah, we used to be a part of it too, just on a different status and level," Cassidy hastily answered. "Now," she handed the boy a sheet of paper, "here's all the rules needed for you to run the gym, as well as the vault where the money is kept to pay any trainers who do manage to defeat you, and the Pokémon have already been told of our leaving for the week, and are either out back, or downstairs." He accepted this responsibility with great honor.
"I don't think that'll be a problem," Jessie complimented. "This kid is an excellent trainer, and that Sandshrew of his is really strong and well-trained."
"Okay, okay," Meowth commented, heading towards the door, "let's get out of here! We have a plane to catch!"
The group made their way out of the door, AJ waving to them. "If you do meet up with Ash, Misty, and Brock, tell them I said hi, and to come by and visit me sometime! I'm sure that Ash wouldn't mind a rematch!"
The blonde stopped, the others continuing on. "Sure, and if you do a good job, we may even let you stay here and run the gym with Mondo whenever Butch and I have to take off. Having four is a lot more convenient, in my opinion. Also, we can take turns running it, like whenever you and Mondo need a break, Butch and I can battle."
AJ ran up to Cassidy, his eyes filled with admiration. "Do you really mean it?!" Cassidy nodded. "I'd love to! I promise not to let you down, and take very good care of this gym while you're gone. I promise to not let any trainer get the best of me!" His eyes now seemed to sparkle. "If the officials can see how well I can run this gym, maybe mine can become an official one!"
After the exchange of words, Cassidy ran out to catch up with the others,
hopping into the car; James pulling off, the tires screeching…
x x x x x x x x x x
Earlier that morning (
Misty stretched as the sunlight shined into the room. She looked over to her side to see that Togepi was still snoozing softly. Misty smiled down at the egg Pokémon as she picked him up, cradling him in her arms. After she was content with Togepi, she glanced over at Duplica, whom of which was still asleep. Beside the bed, was the table that held both a lamp, and a digital clock, which read "08:00."
She stood, leaving Togepi where he was, not wanting to awaken him, and decided to shower since it was still early. After quickly bathing, she put on her bathrobe and headed downstairs. She was rather thirsty, and really didn't want to wake anyone. Going past the living room, she noticed someone with messy black hair sitting on the couch.
"Hey, Ash."
He looked up, to see Misty smiling down at him. "Oh, hey, Mist."
She sat down next to her. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I couldn't really sleep that well, no thanks to Pikachu and RP!"
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: (Notices Ash's glare/nervous chuckle) Ehehehehe…
x x x x x x x x x x
"What?"
"Never mind. Anyway, I had a strange dream last night."
"What about?"
"Well, you were in the dream with me, no one else, outside of my Pokémon."
"What's so strange about that?"
"I was at the gym here, and I actually managed to battle against the gym leader and win! There were two girls, some guy that was their assistant, and I think I remember seeing another guy there, wearing a cloak. He kept bragging about how he was a great Pokémon Trainer, just like that other guy. I didn't recognize the assistant, even though he did seem a bit familiar, and the girls did too. I could tell in my dream that you felt the same way.
"The guy in the cloak I mentioned, who was bragging, was very familiar and looked about our age. The other three were older, and looked like they were about the same age. The weird thing is that the gym was dark, and the shadows kept all of them hidden well.
"With the first girl, I called out Bulbasaur against something she had called a 'Chitozen'. It looked a little like a Charmander mixed with a Squirtle, and was very dark looking, which made it hard to follow its moves. I told Bulbasaur to use Leech Seed on it, but that wouldn't work since he couldn't get an accurate hit on the Pokémon since it kept using the shadows to its advantage. I then told him to use Razor Leaf and then Vine Whip, but those didn't work either since it kept using a really nice Agility attack to avoid them. Since I couldn't come up with anything else better, I told Bulbasaur to use his Lunar Beam Reserve."
"Luna Beam Reserve? What's that? Is that another move you taught Bulbasaur?"
"Yeah, I've been training him a lot lately. It's a way for him to use Lunar Beam during the day, but only once. It's any leftover power he may still have from his most current Lunar Beam attack. He can now store the moon's light in the form of energy in the bulb on his back. After Bulbasaur used Lunar Beam Reserve, hitting that strange Pokémon head on, even that didn't seem to have an effect on it.
"After that, Bulbasaur looked really tired, but wanted to keep fighting, no matter how much I was against him going on. I was about to call him back, when I noticed a small beam of sunlight shining into the dark room. Even though it wasn't much, Bulbasaur gave me a look, and I knew what he wanted to do. I told him to try using Solar Beam, and it was a success! The Pokémon shielded its eyes, and screamed, since it couldn't dodge the attack, fainting.
"The second gym leader got mad, and so did the two guys. The older guy, the assistant, told the second gym leader to use his Pokémon to battle against me. She took the Pokéball from him, and sent out a Michu. I battled that, still using Bulbasaur, after using a potion on him that I got from Joya-neesan earlier. He was still willing to fight, so I let him.
"It was pretty much the same as before. He used Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, but that didn't work at all, but when he used Solar Beam, the Michu was defeated easily. After that, I asked them for my badge and winnings, which they gave me, but afterwards, they started to act a bit like Duplica's uncle, and then I woke up. Pretty weird, huh?"
"Yeah…weird…" Misty responded slowly, thinking back to the strange dream she had had.
"So, what are you doing up so early?"
"I just decided to take a quick shower, and to get a drink."
"That makes sense to do it before everyone else gets up."
Right at that moment, they thought they heard something. Getting up, they looked up the stairs, seeing two shadowy figures tiptoeing around, bumping into one another. They then heard the two - males obviously - arguing, only in soft, hushed voices. They went up the stairs partially, discovering that the two at the head of the steps indeed, were males: Brock and Kenji.
"How dare you, Kenji!" Brock hissed. "Why weren't you sleeping in your bed?!"
"Oh, like you did!" he scoffed. "You weren't in yours either!"
"Hey, I have my reasons!" He glared at the Pokémon Artist. "You stayed in Jen's room, didn't you?"
"S-so want if I did! You stayed in the room of Joya-san room all night!"
"What business is it of yours if I did!"
x x x x x x x x x x
Both Ash and Misty sweat dropped at the scene.
"I don't think that they would, um---"
"Shh," Ash gestured, "let's see what they're going to say next."
x x x x x x x x x x
"I grew bored in our room and wanted someone to talk with who wasn't
asleep, like you, so I went to see Jen-cha…erm, Jen-san!" Kenji argued
defensively, his face going a very faint shade of pink. "I just happened to fall asleep while I
was there! What's your excuse, 'Brock the Rock'!"
"Tell the truth before I lay the smack down on you! What'd you do while you were in her room? You're even no longer formal with her. I heard you; you said 'Jen-chan'! I bet you were getting another one of her kisses! You probably felt really connected, didn't you? I bet you got a nice early birthday present."
"Hey, that is none of your business!" Kenji raised his voice slightly, growing a bit agitated with Brock's accusations. "What did you do since you were with Joya-san? What excuse did you have for visiting her in the middle of the night?"
"The Brock doesn't have to answer such questions!"
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: Ash and Misty decided that they didn't want to hear where this conversation was going to lead, not
to mention me, and tried to sneak back down the steps, but Kenji heard the
stair creak.
x x x x x x x x x x
"Oh, Ash, Misty," Kenji replied nervously, the two joining them,
"how are you guys? How did you
sleep last night?"
Brock crossed his arms, and mumbled under his breath, "We all know how Kenji slept last night."
Kenji shot Brock an annoyed look. "Nothing happened, Brock!"
"Yeah right!" he continued to argue stubbornly. "You're telling me you stayed in a girl's room all night, and didn't do anything?" He took out a microphone from out of no place, and spoke in an announcer-like voice, "This just in, Kenji is the world's biggest liar! He stayed in a room with a beautiful girl and didn't do anything!" He went back to his normal voice, and put away the microphone. "What normal guy does that; especially, with the way she was all over you earlier!"
"Why do you care so much anyway!" Kenji snapped back. "Besides, 'Mr. Experience', what did you do?"
"That's none of your business, as The Brock doesn't have to answer that."
Kenji rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you charmed her with your 'The Brock' persona and she just couldn't resist. That shows what bad judgment she has if she actually let you take advantage of her!" After those words, Kenji regretted what he had said. He had pretty much insulted their hostess.
Brock was about to retaliate to that remark, but Misty didn't give him the chance to. "Both of you be quiet!" Misty stared over at Brock with a disgusted frown. "Shame on you, Brock; if Kenji says he didn't do anything, then believe him. Kenji is a very decent person, and you are too…at least I always thought you were. And as for a guy who doesn't do anything when in a room with a girl, alone, I can think of one."
"Who?" Brock asked, almost amused.
"Ash!" the girl told him proudly. "We share a room all the time, and we never do anything, so leave Kenji alone!"
Ash didn't know whether or not to consider this to be a good thing, or a bad thing since Misty had used him as an example, but kept quiet anyway. Right at that moment, they heard a door open and close, and someone yawning. They looked to see Joya walking out of her room, rubbing her eyes.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, minna-san," she greeted them instantly with a quick bow. "How are you all this beautiful morning?"
"Okay," everyone muttered.
"Oh, Takeshi-san," she stifled back a yawn, "thank you for helping me out last night. I'm really grateful for your helping me sort out my medical books and for keeping me company since I couldn't sleep anyway. Having someone outside of my classmates or my sister to discuss basic Pokémon illnesses and the best cures with, is very enlightening, especially since you're a breeder."
"So, you guys talked all night?" Kenji asked, smirking at Brock, who was blushing slightly. It was quite ironic, he had done the same thing with Jen, pretty much, talk for a long time, getting to know one another and because of this talk, the bond that both had spoken to others about, seemed to strengthen and intensify. The two also shared a mutual kiss this time, a very nice second kiss as far as Kenji was concerned.
"Yeah, we were talking quite a bit, even about our plans for today."
"Yeah, we were just talking for a while, and I fell asleep in there," Brock finally admitted. The reason Brock had started the argument with Kenji was due to jealousy of him. Kenji had already managed to get a kiss out of Jen, and here he was, still waiting for one from the Pokémon Doctor In-training. "So, would you all like some breakfast?"
"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, when I left the room, Duplica was still asleep."
"I guess you're right. It would be quite rude to start dining without everyone." She stretched again. "Today is so wonderful, and I can't wait to enjoy my day off."
"Day off?"
"Yes, Satoshi-kun. Neither Jen-chan nor I have any classes today, so we can help entertain you all."
"We really wouldn't want to impose," Brock insisted, sounding remarkably like Kenji.
"Like we told you yesterday," she smiled sweetly, which caused Kenji to cringe at what he had said earlier when arguing with Brock, "we don't mind. You all are friends of Duplica, and any friend of hers, is a friend of ours."
"It's still very nice of you to do this for us."
"It's no problem at all, Kenji-san. Now, I think I'll go take a bath, unless either of you needed to use the washroom. We have two, a bigger one here, and then a smaller one downstairs. It was the idea of Laura-san to have the house built that way."
"No, no, go ahead," they all insisted.
"Are you sure now? I can wait, and let you go…"
Brock grabbed the girl by her shoulders, and pushed her down the hall. "You've already shown your hospitality, go ahead and take your bath." Joya went back to her room to get her things, Brock returning to Ash and the others.
"So, what are you two doing up?" Ash asked absent-mindedly as they all headed down towards the living room.
"I was going to shower…until I bumped into Kenji, but since Joya is going to use the one up there, I'll use the one down here." Ash and Misty sat on the couch. "I'll catch you guys later," Brock told them, leaving the living room to go freshen himself up.
Kenji sat in one of the arm chairs adjacent to the couch that Ash and Misty were now sitting on. "I didn't sleep much last night," he told them, his voice tired. "I kept having this weird dream."
"Really?" He nodded to the two.
"I had a weird dream last night, but I never take dreams seriously, even if they are of me winning a battle against a gym leader."
"I had an unusual dream too. What was yours about, Kenji."
"That's the most unusual thing about it," he looked puzzled, "I can't really explain it. It was like some type of a fairy tale with a twist. You were in the dream, Misty, and so were Joya, Brock, Ash, and Duplica. The dream had something to do with fighting against very weird looking monsters. Also, for the dream, Jen and I shared one power, like we had some type of an inexplicable bond…"
"That sounds a bit like my dream, only for mine, I was actually fighting against some monsters," she scratched her head in uncertainty, "at least I think I am…er…was." Misty stood up. "Well, I'm going to get dressed now."
"Do you want my help?" Ash offered a bit too eagerly.
Both Misty and Kenji sweat dropped, their eyes slit.
"Um…whatever," Misty's face was a bit red. "Save the mushy talk for a rainy day."
"I'm your rainy day man, my sweet."
x x x x x x x x x x
:Fatality music starts to play, you know the music from Mortal Kombat:
Kenji: You did it again! She’s going to put in another song! That’s our fatality!
RP: You bet I am! Another one of my all-time favorite Sailor Moon songs starts to play. "Rainy Day Man"
Misty: ASH!
Ash laughed nervously as RP sang the song. Well, tried to sing the song.
RP: (Sighs) I have such an awful singing voice.
Misty and Kenji looked at Ash somewhat annoyed.
Ash: (Laughing sheepishly) Well, at least it was a short one.
The two sighed.
x x x x x x x x x x
"I'm sorry, Misty. I don't know why
I offered to help. It's like somebody is
controlling my mind or something."
"That's okay…I think." She coughed slightly. "I'm going now, and Ash, try to control that mind of yours. I really don't like you acting like that because it's not you."
"I'm trying!"
Misty walked off, leaving Kenji in the room with Ash. After she got back to the room, she decided on wearing a thick sweater, as it was still cold out, and a pair of blue jeans. She changed quickly.
Next, she stared in the mirror of the dresser across the room, looking her hair over. "Should I wear it down, or should I tie it up. Ash has always said it looked prettier whenever I wear it down." She decided to wear it down that day, brushing it gently.
After she was done with her hair, she dabbed a bit of perfume on her neck, and on her wrists. She smiled, as she was content with what she saw in the mirror. Putting her perfume and hair brush away, she noticed Duplica's twitching in her sleep, sweating profusely. Alarmed, Misty went to her side, trying her best to awaken her.
"NO!!" Duplica screamed as she shot up, breathing quite unsteadily.
The shout had caused Togepi to finally awake, and was now crying from the sudden scare. Misty, of course, picked up the small Pokémon and comforted him. "Don't worry, Togepi; mommy is right here." Togepi's tears and frown vanished, and was replaced by an energetic glee and a large smile. "Duplica, are you all right?"
"I-I think I am." She rubbed her brow with the back of her hand, wiping away beads of sweat. "I had a terrible nightmare! I dreamt that my uncle and all of us were killed." Duplica looked up at Misty, a bit hurt. "And it was all because of you!"
"Wh-what?!"
She looked back down, frowning slightly. "You didn't want to help us. Instead, you cried like a baby, and then these strange monsters zapped us."
"Duplica, I would never---"
"I know Misty, I know." She gave her friend a radiant smile. "It was just a strange dream, so I won't worry about it. I guess hearing about your dream triggered the weird one I just had." The girl got out of the bed, and instinctively began to make it up. "Since I'm actually awake now, I guess I can go bathe and get dressed. I doubt any of the washrooms are free since this house is full this time."
Misty nodded.
"Yeah, I thought so." She
went over to where her clothes were laid out, and took out a Pokéball. "Come on out, Ditto." The pink blob emerged from the red and white
sphere. "I hope you don't mind, but
I want to go back to my House of Imité so I can get changed and cleaned
up. Do you have the energy to do that
for me, please?" Ditto nodded and
transformed into Kababra, teleporting Duplica back to her home, leaving Misty
in the room alone with Togepi…
x x x x x x x x x x
Back to the Laboratory, early that morning…
'I have tried to warn them over and over again, but it is not working!' Mewtwo had grown quite aggravated being stuck to this machine, which interfered with his Telekinesis. 'Togepi is the only one receiving my messages, but instead of him being able to relay that information to the others, I sense that he is in great pain. Why can he not tell Pikachu or one of the other Pokémon around him of what is going on; about how they are all in danger?'
The Psychic-Pokémon's thoughts were interrupted by the echoing of footsteps coming down the hall. He, as well as the other Pokémon being forced to being attached to these machines (including a newly added Alakazaam), and growing malnourished in the process, recognized them instantly. It was the mentor of the professor, whose heart was as cold as ice.
"What a good night's rest," he smiled, making his way over to the computer. "Let's see if my altering that Alakazaam before turning in last night will allow me to know what's going on with those brats." He pushed a button on his keyboard, which caused the Alakazaam to scream in pain. It felt as if its energy was being extracted. "There, now tell me, you twit, what do those annoying young heroes have in store for today?"
The Alakazaam seemed to freeze up, and stare coldly at the man, whose grin was growing broader by the second. It was like the man enjoyed seeing it suffering. The Pokémon then spoke, as if in a trance, yet, the man could understand it quite well, even though it was speaking in its native tongue. ":The group plans to visit the Kage Gym, so that the one by the name of Satoshi can battle for the Shadow Badge. It will not be long before the other two are freed to help you conquer this island, to get your revenge, and to take all of the jewels and precious metals hidden beneath the Earth's surface. You will also be able to obtain all of the Shadow Pokémon that have emerged and populated the island since the summoning the three demon spirits.:"
"Very good, very good. Now, is there any other news I should know about?"
The Alakazaam refused to say another word. "Ugh, ugh, ugh," the man tsked mockingly, wagging his index finger. He pushed the button again, causing the poor Pokémon to scream once more from the intense pain it felt. All of the Pokémon hooked up to the machinery (who turned their heads, so not to see) had suffered like this current Alakazaam since they had been there at some point, and when that button was pushed, it was like a migraine headache, only ten times worse. "You are in no position to oppose me. For, I am---"
"I see you have awakened sir," a light, distinguished voice interrupted.
The man turned to see his assistant entering the lab. "Why yes, I have. This Alakazaam here is telling me about what will be happening today. Thanks to my altering it, it can now predict the future."
"It is truly amazing that you have managed such a task, but how can you understand what the Alakazaam is saying? For I can only understand Pokémon speech with this earpiece I have, which triggers what they are saying into my own native tongue. I have been researching and studying this, trying to find a way to understand a Pokémon's speech without it, but haven't been of any success as of yet."
He pointed to his right ear. "That is what I am using."
"Oh, you're using the Pokémon translator that Professor Oak gave to me. This is still pretty much a prototype, so the conversions may be a bit off."
He waved him off, and turned his attention back to the fatigued Alakazaam. "Now, what else should I know!" He glared at it dangerously. "Do not make me push this button again!"
The Alakazaam was reluctant, which caused him to just push the button again. It was now smoking, and it felt as if its head was about to explode. No matter how much it tried to resist, this man seemed to have the upper hand. ":There are some visitors coming to the island. These people are suspicious as to where the Indigo Pokémon League games are being held.:"
"What?! Who are these people!"
"What is wrong, sir?"
"This Alakazaam says that some people are coming to the island because they are suspicious."
"You don't suppose that the sisters of Hanada would come here, do you? To my knowledge, they are the only ones that believe the games are actually being held here because of their youngest sister."
"I doubt that. Alakazaam, how many are there?" It was hesitant to speak again, but the man just pushed the button. "You must learn to cooperate, my dear Alakazaam, so that you won't end up hurt," he cruelly laughed.
":It seems to be five humans; a small Pokémon that doesn't seem to be all that strong, due to the fact that it never battles; the other Pokémon along with them seems to be its own master, and does not seem to travel within the confinement of a Pokéball…:"
"Sir, I was just wondering, should we go back to the other means of letting people reach the island? All of the trainers who were going to participate in the league are already on the island. We have all of them except for the two under that trance at the gym."
"Yes, yes fine. You did a pretty good job of making it so that only those with psychic types could arrive here. I say go on and let the visitors come the normal way, unless…" he broke off, then turned his attention back to the suffering Pokémon. "Do these people have any Pyschic Pokémon or partial psychic types?"
":No sir. The only types these five have consist of normal types, fire types, grass types, rock types, and poison types.:"
He grumbled, wondering whom this group consisted of. "I don't know of anyone with those types of Pokémon, right off. What breed of Pokémon are they?"
":I am sorry sir, I can only sense what type of a Pokémon they have, not what breed they could possibly have.:" The Alakazaam really didn't like doing this, but managed to regain control of its mind for a brief second, to say, ":I can not see them.:"
"What types are they, sir?"
"That stupid Pokémon said that it can't tell me what the Pokémon are, only their types. Tell me once again what they were, and be as precise as you can!"
":The group, who seems to know you well, carries one fire type, two poison types, one grass type, four normal types, and one ground/rock type. One of the normal types seems to be its own master.:"
"What did it say, sir?" the professor asked most urgently. He repeated what the Alakazaam had told him. "Shall we narrow down a group of persons that you once knew to see whom it could be, sir?" He began to chuckle lightly, which grew to that of a boisterous, deranged laughter. "Sir?"
"Don't bother."
"But---"
"I know exactly who's coming. That Alakazaam mentioned that one of the Pokémon that they have accompanying them is like its own master. What Pokémon do we know of like that?"
The professor thought for a moment, and then smiled. "That old Meowth that you had, but refused to evolve." He nodded. "Speaking of Persian, it's pretty nice that you have her back, Giovanni. I know you missed her."
"But of course. She obeys me,
and is much more faithful than that worthless
Meowth will ever be to me." He smiled.
"I must thank you for taking care of her for me while I was
away. You did a great job of keeping her
out of sight from detectives and police officials. You even managed not to get caught."
Giovanni went to the door, and called down the hall. "Come my dear
Slinking down the hall, a cat that seemed to resemble an overgrown housecat entered the room. Giovanni sat down, the Persian hopping onto his lap, purring.
"There there, my nice faithful
"It seems that way sir, but I do not recall Jessie nor James having a grass type Pokémon, or fire or ground/rock. Could the other three humans with them have those types?"
"That would be my guess, unless the grass type mentioned was that Victreebell that incompetent James stole for me! That was not one of the choice Pokémon that I had in mind!" his voice roared. "Maybe the two have caught some more Pokémon for these past few weeks. We should let them get here the regular way, and we will have a special welcoming for the three traitors!" He pointed to the main computer. "We must also erase anyone's knowledge of getting here with the use of Psychic Pokémon, meaning all of the trainers we tricked into coming here."
"Yes, sir, but the majority of the them are all working anyway. We have imprisoned them all except for those in the group of Satoshi."
"I know, I know, but I want them to suffer first." He glowered over towards Mewtwo, a satisfying grimace about his stubbly face. He knew this was driving the Pokémon mad. "Besides, if he is planning on challenging the gym leaders, he will more than likely help release the last two demon spirits that are residing within the bodies of those two girls.
"Just to think, I found those two girls in Masara, doing absolutely nothing. I thank you for getting them for me. One of them was into Pokémon Breeding, I know that much. I don't remember what the other one liked, and as for the two boys at the gym, they are trainers themselves, only they're assistants."
"Why exactly did you do that? Why have the less experienced ones run the gym, when you already have two official trainers? Shouldn't they be the ones running the gym?"
"Those boys at the gym are very good trainers, like you said, but I actually want that Pikachu owning idiot to win. The two girls aren't all that talented in the battling field. This boy, from what those imbeciles Jessie and James have told me, is very good when it comes to battling. When we're through with them, just toss them all down with the others."
"Yes sir, and I suppose this means that I will have to cut off the ports connected to the other Psychic Pokémon in the other room forming the barrier to get here as well as the Pokémon causing this giant bout of Hypnosis?"
"Yes, I think we've blocked off everyone long enough."
The young man left the room to do as he was instructed…
x x x x x x x x x x
Back at Jen and Joya's, everyone was up and about, sitting down to breakfast…
"So, what's up for today?" Todd asked before gulping down his orange juice.
"Well, I was planning on going to the gym to battle for the Shadow Badge today, and then I'm going to go out and search for Mewtwo. He's been gone too long."
"But you didn't catch any new Pokémon."
"I'm not worried about that. I'm just going to stick with the ones I have. I have faith in them. If they can manage to defeat the gym leader, then they're a lot stronger than even I knew."
"But what if you don't?" Duplica asked.
"Then I'll go look for some rare Pokémon and catch them."
"Good luck with that," Misty muttered.
Brock and Kenji - whom of which apologized to one another for the tiff they had earlier that morning - entered the room with some food on trays and in various containers. "Breakfast!" both announced while serving everyone.
The meal was a simple one which consisted of toast (with the choice of marmalade or honey), special breakfast onigiri (which Brock prepared with his own special breakfast filling), scrambled eggs, and Kenji prepared some of his very tasty fruit sandwiches. He had learned from Jen, that she really loved fruit, which is what compelled the boy to prepare them. He was quite glad that they had such exotic fruits to use.
"This is very good," Joya complimented.
"I love these fruit sandwiches!" Jen exclaimed, as if eating the most delicious food ever known to man.
"Oishii!" both Duplica and Misty squealed after tasting the onigiri.
"You said it!" Ash nodded, taking a bite out of both the sandwich and the onigiri.
After breakfast, Ash told both Brock and Kenji what he had been planning for the day.
"I don't know, Ash; I still say that you should go and look for some more of those strange Pokémon," Kenji wisely input. "Since we've been here, I've only managed to sketch two of them. There don't seem to be any others just wandering around."
"I could use some more photos of them too to send back to the times."
"It doesn't matter to me," Ash said while standing up, Pikachu by his side. He put on his cap. "I'm going to the gym now."
"Ash, wait up!"
"What is it, Misty? Isha ni ikimasu ka?"
"Haa, ikimasu!" she replied back with an encouraging smile. "You actually thought I wouldn't?"
He shrugged. "Okay, come on then." He turned to the Pokémon Watcher. "Aren't you coming, Kenji?"
"No thanks, Ash. I'm hanging out with Jen-san today. She's invited me to sightsee with her."
'Good, at least he'll be busy.' He looked towards his narrow-eyed friend. "What about you, Brock?" He was staring at Joya at the moment, love-struck. "Brock?" He still ignored the boy. Ash took out a megaphone, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "BROCK!!!"
This got his attention quite well, causing him to jump at least 50ft into the air, landing back down in his chair with a loud thump. "Huh, huh, what?"
Ash put the megaphone away. "Are you coming with me to the gym."
"Oh, sorry Ash, no can do. I'm going to hang out with Joya-san today. We have some…stuff to do."
"What stuff?"
"Just…stuff, so go on ahead."
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: Boy, that sure seemed like Déjŕ
vu. (Sticks out tongue) lol
x x x x x x x x x x
"If you two don't mind, I'll come by the gym later. I'm going to head into town for a few
supplies."
"Okay, Todd. What about you, Duplica?"
"I'm not feeling all that good, Misty, so I'm going to lay down for a bit."
Hearing this, Joya raced to the younger girl's side, resting her hand on her forehead. "Are you alright?" She continued to feel and study her face. "Well, you don't seem to have a fever and your face isn't flushed---"
"I'm probably just a bit tired from that weird dream I had," the girl insisted, removing the older one's hand. "Don't worry about me." She gave them all a weak smile. "A short nap is about all I need."
Despite the protests, Duplica rose from her seat. "Good luck with your battle, Ashie Boy," she winked to him.
"Um, erm, yeah, thanks, Duplica."
She left and headed back to her room, to rest, while the others went on
their assigned tasks for the day…
x x x x x x x x x x
With a bit of luck, Todd had managed to get around the town quite easily,
thanks to his knowledge of different languages.
He had never been to a place where it was so multi-cultural and diverse
and open with practically all languages, but English still seemed to be the
most dominant.
Right now, he was just wandering around, thinking of where he should go. 'Let's see, if I were some type of a rare Pokémon, where would I go first…'
His thoughts were soon broken by that of his phone. He pulled the small, pocket-sized visa-phone from out of his pocket.
"Hola; habla Toru aquí," he
answered in slight annoyance, since he was quite anxious to go out on his quest
of finding some rare and unusual Pokémon.
"What can I do for you?" A vision of a heavy set man, with dark brown
hair appeared on the screen. Todd
couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the porky man.
The man scoffed his chunky face red in what seemed
to be anger. "What can you do for me?! You got a lot of nerve!"
"Kaneko-san?" This was the editor and photo-editor for the
magazine Todd worked for.
"Toru-kun, where are you!" the man demanded of him. He looked about ready to pop. "Are you still on vacation?!" He
didn't give the photographer the chance to answer. "Your vacation ended two days ago!"
"I'm on
"And why
are you there exactly?"
"Kaneko-san," Todd was trying his best to keep his cool, "you told me to come here to snap photos of the rare Shadow Pokémon that have been reported by those who live here. I just discussed this with you yester---"
"BAKA!!!" the man yelled, his harsh, gruff voice seeming to echo. "I said nothing of the sort! There are no such things as Shadow Pokémon!! Besides, they all died off centuries ago, and there's not even any proof of their actually existing!" the man seethed, his nostrils flaring. "Shadow Pokémon were special types that all seemed to be crossbred with another type, meaning that there were Pokémon that specialized in both fire and water attacks, or one that may specialize in both grass and fire attacks.
"They all started to die off one by one, but when they bred, the
Pokémon they had were now only of one specific type. Only their descendants roam the earth today,
you stupid moron! Only an idiot would go
in search of things that don't exist anymore!
Now I wanted you to go to
Todd had grown to know that his boss had an extremely bad temper, and he was trying as best he could to keep from losing his, which hadn't been easy in general lately when it came to Mr. Kaneko. Todd also knew of his boss's true disdain and dislike towards him. Lately, the assignments Todd had been forced to take, hadn't been ones of enjoyment.
The boy enjoyed going out into the wild and taking photos of the Pokémon in their natural habitats, doing whatever it is they do in nature, not at some Pokémon show or even during a Pokémon League competition. Those, to him, were extremely boring and lacked inspiration.
When he had found Articuno, when in the mountains, he was only on that assignment because of his cranky boss's daughter, Kaneko Sara (Assistant Editor), had taken over for a while since her father was out sick. The woman knew how skilled and talented he was when it came to wild-life, and sent him out on the assignment at once.
"Sir," he kept telling himself to keep his cool, "no you didn't."
"Are you insinuating that I am a liar?"
"No sir," Todd replied obediently, a gloomy look about his face.
"I want you back as soon as possible, and I want a photo of the Flame of Moltres and of the Pokémon being used by the different trainers, and also be sure to get a good shot of the top three winners," he ordered him. A cruel smile then showed on the fat man's face, which was a bit difficult to see since his double-chins made up his entire lower face. "You are only on that island to goof off to prolong your vacation! If you keep this up, I will dock your pay!" Todd knew that this man would find any excuse possible to cut his pay, and this definitely would've sufficed.
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
"bastard," Todd mumbled under his breath while rolling his eyes.
"Did you say something?" Todd shook his head vigorously. "You better not have! I can't believe someone as idiotic as you would try to pull such BS, trying to pass off your incompetence as a mistake of mine! Why would I tell you to go there?"
"I don’t know, sir. I'm sorry for making the mistake, and will never misunderstand you again." The man seemed to enjoy this a bit too much, as his grin widened. The groveling of Todd was quite entertaining, which of course, he sensed and annoyed him extremely.
"It better not!"
The screen went black, Todd now able to relax. He wasn't sure how much longer he could actually hold his temper when it came to his boss. 'That's strange. He sends me here, and now he's denying it. I wonder what it is he has against me…he disliked me before that argument we had. At least then, he gave me half-way decent assignments, but now since that dislike has turned to complete loathing, the ones he give me are pathetic and really bore me. I like to see Pokémon in their natural habitats and only take photos of Pokémon in an actual battle when it's of one I've never seen.
'Why couldn't he be more reasonable, like his daughter? At least she's kind, sweet, caring, and an actual friend. At least she knows what my true potential is.' His mood completely shot, he sighed. 'I guess I could head over to the gym, since the gym leaders will probably have some unusual Pokémon, but first, since I am here in town, I should shop for Kenji's present.' He looked at the many shops around. 'One that doesn't involve a lot of English reading…'
Todd found an art-supply store, which to his luck, wasn't one where the main language spoken by the workers was English. While there, he bought Kenji a new set of special pencils made specifically for scientific sketches and a brand new state-of-the-art sketching pad, where the sheets of paper was made to leave no smudges when erasing. Next on his agenda, was to get him a birthday card. Nearby, to his luck, was a Pokémark. He picked out a card, signed and sealed it. He then asked, while there, to have his gift for Kenji wrapped. It cost a bit more, but he didn't mind.
He put the nicely wrapped box into his backpack and exited the store. He looked down at the map he had printed out the previous night. "I guess it's off to the gym for me."
The boy started off towards the gym, according to his map, but he didn't get far. Something jumped him from behind, causing him to fall to the ground, like a powerful Headbutt. Todd stood up, and looked behind him to see a dark, shadowy purplish Pokémon. He looked quite puzzled, as he had never seen anything quite like it. This Pokémon was at least the size of a Growlithe, looked a bit like a Flareon, but its bright jewel located on its forehead and its color, reminded Todd of a dark-shade of a Starmie.
"Flamie!" it chanted, about ready to attack.
Todd didn't know what to do, and couldn't really do anything to begin with, as it shot a strange water beam from the jewel, which felt like it was a mix of water and fire. The feeling was awful as he fell back down to the ground, some people staring at the sight, but remaining quiet, and not even calling for help. Todd felt unusually drained of energy from the scorching water beam, and began to twitch in place on the ground uncontrollably.
Next thing he knew, Todd felt himself being dragged off by the large
Pokémon, and then all of a sudden, everything went black for the Pokémon
photographer…
x x x x x x x x x x
Meanwhile…
"That plane ride was fun," Cassidy said, stepping out of the jet.
"Yeah, who would've thought that we would get to Cerulean so quickly by jet," Mondo exclaimed. He had never flown in a jet before.
"It's even nicer because it's just after 13:00. We arrived at the airport just in time," Jessie said.
"We can't celebrate yet," James told them. "We have to switch over now, so that we can fly out to the island."
With this, they transferred their luggage and baggage to another plane, and
caught the next plane to
Nothing much else happened during the ride, although, Meowth (who had a bit
of a tough time on the jet) didn't care much for the ride, but thanks to
Jessie's special calming method, it caused Meowth to remain knocked out the
entire duration.
x x x x x x x x x x
Meowth: MALLETS DO NOT COUNT AS A METHOD OF RELAXATION!
RP: (Nervous sweat drop) It does as far as Jessie is concerned, Meowth.
x x x x x x x x x x
The group flew for about another hour and stepped off of the plane at the
"What kind of weather is this in the middle of April," Cassidy shivered, a snowflake falling atop her head. "It's freezing out here, and all of the clothes I packed for the week are spring clothes!"
"It's not supposed to snow in April!" Meowth complained in agreement with Cassidy. "What kind of place is dis, anyway?"
Everyone else also complained slightly about the snow and the lack of clothing they were currently wearing for a nice, warm spring day. Everyone except for Jessie, that was. She began to dance around.
"Snow snow, I love it so! Snow snow, I love it so!" She laughed playfully as she caught a snowflake on her tongue.
"Not again," Meowth muttered with a sweat drop.
Butch stared at Jessie like she was crazy. He had never seen her act so carefree for as long as he'd known her. "What's wrong with her?"
James gave off a sad sigh. "It's a long story."
"As far back as I can remember," Cassidy reminisced, "she always seemed to like snow, but I never knew why."
"This is a bit strange," James ignored Jessie's making snowballs currently, "but we should all go and shop for some warmer clothes."
"Hey, guys, we can all have ourselves a Snowgasborg!"
Everyone groaned at the very thought.
"Not snow with soy sauce!" James shuddered with a look of disgust.
"And what is wrong with that!"
"Nothing, nothing at all," James insisted, pretty much scared to
say otherwise.
x x x x x x x x x x
RP: Okay, to save time, let me sum it up here so we can hurry up and finish
this already long chapter. James and the gang booked themselves in the best
hotel on the island, bought some warmer clothes to wear, despite the slight
language barrier, and are now exploring the town and to see if they can get any
information about the Pokémon League Competitions and to see if building a new
restaurant there is a good idea. I’m just skipping ahead, if you all don’t
mind.
x x x x x x x x x x
"That was a good lunch," Mondo said while rubbing his tummy,
"but no one seemed to know what we were talking about when we asked about
the Pokémon League Competitions.
"Anything is better than Jessie's snow rolls…"
"Shut up!" Jessie growled, punching the cat in the head.
"Where should we go now?" Butch asked cautiously. "It's a bit weird around here, with all these different languages, and so many English signs."
"Didn't you guys mention something about a gym being here?"
Cassidy nodded to James. "Yeah, there is. Maybe if we go there, the gym leader can tell us what's going on."
"That's nice and all," the feline interrupted, "but how do we get there?"
"We could ask for directions," Jessie suggested.
"Or read a map," James added.
The group decided to just ask for directions from one of the townspeople, and sure enough, they got them. They walked a bit, until they could see the gym in the distance.
"That's one weird looking gym," James noted. The building looked like a haunted house.
"So," Butch started in a quivering voice, "want to come back later?" He wasn't going to stick around if he didn't have to. This place just screamed "creepy".
"Hey, look," James pointed out. He noticed a couple walking by, only they were a good distance away from them. "Isn't that Ash?"
"Yeah, it is, along with the redheaded twerp…erm…Misty."
"Why don't we go surprise them?" Mondo proposed. "I bet Ash is going to battle against the gym leader, so I'm sure we can watch without being seen or interfering."
They all agreed, and kept a distance behind the two, entering the big,
disturbing looking gym…
x x x x x x x x x x
Duplica awoke, well-rested and refreshed.
She had slept a bit longer than she had meant to, but it didn't
matter. She hopped up from the bed, as
she was planning on helping both Brock and Joya decorate the house to surprise
Kenji and Jen when they returned.
Everyone had the time they were to return that evening, and Jen was
taking care of the task of keeping him out for as long as she possibly could.
While she was asleep, she ended up having the same strange dream, but shrugged it off as she made her way downstairs; although, she still had this feeling that something was going to happen, and it seemed to lead to Todd.
The girl looked throughout the house, in search of Brock and Joya, but it seemed empty. Not knowing what else to do, she headed to the kitchen, to get herself a can of juice. When she arrived, she saw a familiar figure with long, dark brown hair hanging loosely down her back, preparing herself a cup of hot coffee and nibbling on a piece of toast with marmalade spread over it.
Startled, the person turned to Duplica, and smiled. "Hey there, cuz."
"Laura, you're back!" Duplica rushed to her, and hugged her tightly. The hug from Laura was a bit dull and lacking, but Duplica decided not to really address it. "Where are Brock and Joya? They're supposed to be here."
"Brock and Joya, along with the Kenji guy and Jen all decided to go to the gym."
"Together?" She nodded, a stoic expression replacing the smile she once had. "But Brock and Joya are supposed to decorate, and I was going to help." The girl lowered her head, growing fairly shy as her cheeks went partially red. "I-I also have this feeling that Todd is in trouble."
"He's probably fine, so don't worry about him," she said a bit too eagerly.
"If you say so," the younger girl shrugged. "So, what are you doing here? Didn't you have work?"
"No, I have the late shift tonight."
Duplica didn't know what to make of Laura's dull tone, and dead attitude. "That's cool."
Laura put down her mug of coffee, and tossed out her half-eaten slice of marmalade and toast. "Come; let us hang out for a while. Joya, Jen, and your other friends, have moved the party elsewhere. That's why Brock and Joya left. They're going to meet you there and I'm supposed to lead you there. They didn't want to wake you up."
"Okay," the girl replied slowly in slight bewilderment.
Duplica now sensed that something was very wrong with her older cousin. She didn't really seem like herself, and acted like she was programmed to say all that she had said, speaking with practically no emotion. Even her hug was cold and dreary. Duplica stepped into her shoes, and pulled on her coat. Laura was waiting by the front door, ready to go.
"Okay, let's go." Laura opened the door, leading Duplica out, closing it behind her. A strange, yet mysterious look appeared on her round face. "It is very nice out here, don't you think, cousin?"
Duplica held herself, as it was quite windy. "Yeah, it is, I guess."
"Good…" A small, devious smile appeared on her face, as she pulled out a white and red sphere. "Chitto, go!"
"What? Chitto?"
A strange looking Pokémon popped from out of the Pokéball, chanting the name "Chitto". "Wh-what is that!" Duplica backed away from her cousin, astonished that she had called a Pokémon out on her. Before Duplica could call out her Ditto to help her, the Pokémon used Headbutt, right in her stomach, causing her to fall to the ground, wheezing from the hard blow to her belly. The Pokémon then stood over her; Duplica looked up weakly at it. It looked a bit like a Charmeloen, only its skin was a dark-dark shade of pink, and the texture looked to be a bit gummy, like a Ditto.
The next thing Duplica knew, it had opened its mouth, and shout out a streak of black electricity. This caused the girl to scream in agonizing pain and growing weak. The Pokémon ceased the attack, and Duplica felt her eyes closing, due to the loss of energy. The last thing the girl heard before going unconscious was the uncharacteristic cruel laughter of her cousin, "I have done my bidding master! I have captured one of them for you!"
"L-L-Laura…" the girl uttered, finally falling unconscious…
RP: Poor Duplica and Todd! Will they be found and rescued? Tune in next time for part 14 of this fic to find out!
Wow, you guys had quite a few translations for this chapter. Hope you don't mind them being at the very end as opposed to right after the word or phrase. Now, for this chapter, I did try to drop some hints as to whom the professor could be, but I don't think they were very good. You'll figure it out eventually. Now, I really appreciate comments and feedback, so please let me know what you think. You can email me at pikato(at) aol .com or either SSJupiter (at) aol.com. Catch you later.
Japanese phrases/words/explanations
Imité-tachi - That just means, "Imité and the others" pretty
much. In this case, though, I'm
referring to Duplica and the others.
Last Name/First Name - Just so you all know, in
Mujitsu Joya - Mujitsu means "innocent" and that's how I'm truly trying to portray Joya's character, polite and innocent.
Masara - Masara is the original name for Pallet.
Kenkyuuin Kenji - Okay we all know what his American name is, Tracey Sketchit or Sketchum or whatever so I improvised and made up one for him. Kenkyuuin means "researcher" in Japanese. I really couldn't think of anything else. I know the name is a bit lame, but it’s something. Hmm, is that worse than Sketchit?
Shashin Toru - Just another attempt for some type of a name. I know how he is known as Todd in some places and Snap in others so I just used the name Shashin. I don’t know how to say Todd Snap so I used the Japanese word for photo. I know, just as lame as the last one. Don’t need to remind me. For the record, though, Shashinshi means "photographer".
Hanada Kasumi - I wasn't very original with this one. Hanada = the original name for Cerulean.
Nibi Takeshi - Same thing, pretty much. I wasn't very original, so I used Nibi for a family name for Takeshi. Nibi = the original name for Pewter.
Itadakimasu - It's a greeting (guess that's the word) you use before you start your meal.
Natsu yasumi - This pretty much means "summer vacation". I didn't leave a translation after it was used, since I wrote Cassidy's translating it in the very next sentence.
Sumimasen - It's a polite way of saying "I'm sorry" but I always see it used for more so "excuse me". I guess like, "excuse me for my rudeness" or "excuse me" in general.
Ohayou gozaimasu - I can't recall if I've mentioned this or not, but it simply means "good morning", but in a more polite fashion. Remember, for Joya's character, I'm portraying her as being very polite. Ohayou pretty much means, "morning", that type of thing.
Oishii - This simply translates to "Delicious".
Isha ni ikimasu ka - That phrase simply means, "Are you coming with me?" The only reason I didn't translate it above, was to see if you guys could figure it out on your own from the way the conversation was going. lol
Haa, ikimasu! - That simply translates to "Yes, I am!" The reason I didn't leave a translation right after it, was for the same reason I didn't for the other one. \
Hola; habla Toru aquí - That simply translates to,
"Hi/Hello; Todd speaking here."
With the context, I figured you all could get that one on your own.
Baka - That simply means "moron" or "fool" or "idiot", etc. It really depends on the context in which it's used. One can use it in a playful sense, or in a derogatory one, like Todd's boss used it in.