Episode 44! Shadow takes a deep breath and closes her eyes in satisfaction.

Note: I am posting another chapter because I am happy with my reviews. ^_^

Disclaimer: Shadow does not own pokemon. Shadow does not own pokemon. Clear? Good! Destiny, Charlotte, Pika-chan. Mine!

Note: The story takes on an unexpected turn in this chapter, and a few minor characters suddenly become major characters.

Note: If you’ve read this far, you ought to know this, but… <> indicates telepathy, ** indicates thoughts, and this is translated poke speech!

Note: The Ashura cards arc is divided into two halves. The beginning and the end are the normal Ashura cards arc, but in the middle, there is the ‘Dark Apprentice Arc’. During this time, Ash is transported into another universe and… when he returns to the normal pokéverse episodes later, it’s like no time has passed.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not want any flames on Charlotte being a Mary Sue/Self Insertion. I took the pokemon Mary-Sue test and got 15, which means it’s not even borderline Mary Sue yet. She has at least 3 major flaws. She does not fall in love with Ash or anyone else, and nobody falls in love with her. The reason why she is powerful will be introduced later and ASH is more powerful than she is! So, before you flame me, read this. And if you still flame, I will publicly denounce you! *GROWLS*

Episode 44: Gateway to another universe.

When Ash skidded to a halt inside the room, he was surprised at what he saw. In the middle of the dark, empty, cavern, there was a pedestal of finely wrought silver, inlaid with emeralds in mysterious circular patterns.

“Where did that Rattata go? I could have caught it!”

“Ash!” Pika-chan shouted as she charged in, guns blazing. (Literally) “Are you hurt? Are you all right? Did it bite you?”

“Pika-chan, I’m fine.” Ash said to his hyperactive guardian.

Pika-chan would have said more, but than Teresa came in, panting for breath, and knocked her over.

“You run really fast, Ash!” Teresa said, as she gasped for air.

“Oh. Sorry.” Ash said. He went over and checked her over. She seemed okay, except for the shortness of breath, which would only be temporary, so Ash turned his attention to something else.

“Where did Pika-chan go?”

“Right here!” A muffled growl came from beneath Teresa’s shoe. Teresa slowly lifted her right sneaker up, to reveal a slightly squashed and very irate guardian.

“Pika-chan!” Ash said, scooping her up. “You have tread marks on your back!” Indeed, there were gray marks on her once-brilliant fur. And on her cape as well.

“So I do.” Pika-chan said dryly. “Why am I not surprised?”

No one answered. Teresa looked very sheepish and eeped.

“Where’d it go, though?” Ash asked.

Pika-chan shrugged. “It probably has a nest somewhere, Ash. Don’t worry too much over one Rattata.”

“I know.” Ash sighed. Without knowing so consciously, he leaned against the pillar. Slowly, subtly, a pale light began to seep out, but no one noticed.

“Still, should I send out Skymew to try and find it?” Ash asked, tossing her poke ball up and down.

Pika-chan shrugged. “Whatever you want-!” Her words turned into a scream as the pillar began to vibrate and green light surrounded all three.

A portal opened, and another portal closed. They were hurled across space and time, dimensions flashing across their eyes as nanoseconds passed.

Dimension CP: Where Charlotte resides

Charlotte yawned as she finished typing up her essay. “There. All done. Now, I can go to bed.”

Vulpix-chan nodded sleepily from her little basket on the floor. “That’s great. Although life has been more boring ever since you went back to school.”

Charlotte shrugged, and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. “And your point is?”

“We haven’t had any adventures ever since you went cross dimensions to see the other card captor! Aren’t you bored? Those were the good old days…” Vulpix sighed, yawned, and began to daydream.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly at her guardian, but she didn’t say anything as she brushed her teeth, washed her face, and went to bed. Only when she was sure Vulpix-chan was asleep did she start to talk softly to herself.

“You’re wrong, Vulpix-chan. I miss them as much as you do. But we can’t bring those old days back. We can’t turn time around, as much as we would like to. We’re stuck with nothing but memories…”

Charlotte sighed as she changed out of her school uniform into a pair of comfy light blue pajamas. Then, she climbed into bed and promptly willed herself to fall asleep, since she had an early class the next morning.

“Ouch!” Pika-chan squeaked as she landed on her head. Looking around, she saw that she was in a bathtub. Confused, she climbed out and scampered off to explore, all the while searching for Ash.

Ash groaned as he landed in a tree. Somehow, he had gotten wedged between two thick branches and was now in an exceedingly uncomfortable position. Ash tried to move his legs, but they seemed to be stuck.

“Great.” Ash said, as he tried to free himself using his arms. “This is not working at all.”

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, Ash pulled out his star key. “Oh well. I’ll just cloak myself in invisibility so no one can see me.” So he did.

“Key that hides the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me. Your master under the seal of contract Ashura commands you, Release.” He managed to say this all in a whisper, since he didn’t know if there was anyone nearby.

“I wonder where Pika-chan and Teresa went.” Ash wondered as he pulled out a pokemon card. “Oh well. First, I have to get out of here. Card created by Clow, please accept this new star power and take your new form. Your new master Ashura commands you, Release!” The wings on Ash’s staff grew bigger and touched the card, and then it turned white.

“Marowak.” Ash said softly. The card glowed and the bone-wielding pokemon appeared in front of Ash in a glow of pale white light.

“Marowak, can you help me out of this tree?” Ash asked. Marowak shrugged and began using its bone to knock chunks of wood out of the branches. After a few minutes, Ash managed to free his left leg. Then, he used it to push himself up.

“Thanks, Marowak.” Ash said, giving the pokemon a hug before it changed back into its real form. Marowak saluted before it became a card once more.

Ash would have said more, but then he fell out of the tree.

“Iie! Pidgeot!” Ash said as he toppled over. Fortunately, Pidgeot heard his call and the wings appeared on his back again.

“Thanks, Pidgeot.” Ash said gratefully.

He could have sworn he heard Pidgeot’s laughter in the back of his head. < Try not to fall out of trees, Ash! >

Ash sighed as he landed safely on the ground. < Pika-chan, where are you? > He asked as he began searching for her.

Teresa found herself lying in a very comfortable room. The floor was plush red velvet, and there were several very comfortable looking sofas around. At one end of the room was a black grand piano, and a glass cabinet filled with tiny pokemon statues and other interesting bits and pieces. There were several lamps too, so Teresa climbed up and switched the nearest one on.

“I wonder where I am?”

There was no response. Teresa shrugged, pocketed her camera, and went to explore. “I wonder where Ash and Pika-chan went?”

Pikachu finally found a person sleeping. “Oh well, guess they’ll have to help me find him.” She immediately jumped on the bed and shocked them.

“Stop that Vulpix-chan!” Charlotte said as she bolted awake. When she saw Pika-chan instead of Vulpix-chan, she blinked.

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know! Ash touched this pillar in the Pokemon Tower, and the next thing I know, I’m stuck in a bathtub! And I suppose that I’ve somehow wound up in your dimension.”

“I see…” Charlotte rubbed her chin. “Okay, I’ll help you look for Ash!”

“Thanks!” Pika-chan said. “Do you have any idea where he might be?”

“Well, this is a pretty big house, but I can use my magic. Key that hides the power of sunlight, reveal your true form before me! Your master under the seal of contract Charlotte commandeth you, Release!” Charlotte’s own staff formed. She pulled out a pokemon card. “Arcanine, sniff him out!”

Arcanine appeared, looking majestic. It sniffed and then went in the direction of the yard. Charlotte and Pika-chan shrugged and followed it. Vulpix-chan was still fast asleep.

On the way out though, Arcanine abruptly stopped and dashed off in a completely different direction. Charlotte sweatdropped. “Arcanine…”

However, they did find Teresa, so it wasn’t a total loss.

“Arcanine, are you sure you know where he is?”

Arcanine looked offended. “Never mind.” Charlotte said quickly. After a while, they located Ash in the ballroom.

“Uh- hi! I’m sorry for barging into your house like this, your probably think I’m a burglar, but hear me out!” Ash said, as soon as he saw Charlotte enter the room.

Charlotte laughed. “Don’t worry, Ash.” She said. “Welcome to Cosmos Island.”

Ash blinked, before his mind registered who she was. “Oh, hi!”

“Here, let me show you to a room. We can discuss this in the morning.” Charlotte said, leading Ash off to a guest room. Pika-chan was very happy when she discovered that there was a tiny refrigerator filled with candy and cookies.

“Dig in!” Charlotte said cheerfully before she left.

Ash and Pika-chan shrugged, looked at each other, and both dove into the fridge. Soon, they got tired, so they climbed into the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning…

“So, where am I?” Ash asked as he dug into his stack of pancakes, dripping with syrup and butter.

Charlotte rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Assuming that I’m not hallucinating, you’re on Cosmos Island, this dimension’s version of Indigo Island. There are eight gyms here, and you need eight badges to compete in the Cosmos league. I don’t know how you got here, but Vulpix-chan, Angel, and I will try to return you to your original dimension.”

Ash thanked Charlotte as he looked at her pokemon guardians. Weird, they were both pokemon. Angel was a white cat with white angel wings and a gold halo over its head, plus a gold-tipped tail. Vulpix-chan was just a Vulpix with little angel wings.

“Do you know how?”

“No.” Charlotte said. “I can’t use my magic to send you back, because then you would be boomeranged back here once the card wore off. Do you have Serebii, by any chance?”

“The Serebii card is in the Johto set. Ash has the Kanto set. He doesn’t have Johto yet.” Pika-chan said. “So we cannot use that option.”

“Perhaps he could use Alakazam to teleport back?” Vulpix-chan suggested.

“I’m not sure that will work either. Plus, Alakazam is a really high-power card. I’m not sure Ash has enough energy to change another card yet.” Sabrina spoke up.

“What can we do?” Ash asked frantically. “I have to get home!”

“Sooner or later this has to wear off.” Charlotte said. “Hmm… why don’t we wait a week, before we attempt anything, because dimensions usually start to repair the tear after ten days, so if this is a normal occurrence, you ought to be flung back into your dimension without any problems.”

“Good idea. But what do I do until then?” Ash wanted to know.

“Well, we do have a league here. I believe you were trying to get badges?”

“Oh, okay! So where’s the nearest gym?”

Charlotte produced a map, which she uploaded to his pokédex. “The nearest city is Sapphire city, that’s where the Mercury gym is. The gym leader uses Ice-type pokemon.”

Ash’s eyes lit up. * Wow! I’ve never fought an ice-type gym leader before! *

“And I’m going with you.” Charlotte said.

“Why?”

“Because I know the area better, since I live here.” Charlotte stated. “Besides, just in case you get in trouble, I’ll help you.”

“Fine.” Ash sighed. “So, how are we getting to Mercury city?”

“That’s easy, we fly. Pidgeot, I choose you!” Charlotte said. The flying-type popped out of its poke ball and preened. Her eyes sparkled brightly.

“Okay, climb on Ash.” Charlotte. After they were both mounted, plus the two small guardians (the other two went in their poke balls), they took off for Sapphire city.

End Episode 44! Sorry, but I had to throw Ash into another universe for a couple of reasons. First, if I went by canon CCS, he would only have 52 cards to change, and there’s way more than 52 pokemon cards. Secondly, I can have more fun with non-canonical changes, and thirdly, I like Charlotte!

C&C appreciated, flames will be used to destroy a certain reviewer who’s been sending me flames… or they will be used to forge Shield, which will seal Nelvana up indefinitely, never letting them out…

Poll: If Ash got a Kanto Eevelution, which one should it be? Flareon, Vaporeon, or another Jolteon?

Poll: What color does everyone think Lance’s hair is? Or what color should it be?