Yes, the next episode! *Gasps for air* 187! *Faints*

Disclaimer: You still believe I own pokemon? And I quote, ‘Poor fool, he makes me laugh, hahahahaha.’ Taken from Phantom of the Opera. Anyways, find Nintendo or Shogakukan Comics if you want the rights to pokemon. Destiny, Hope, Charlotte, etcetera, are mine though.

Episode 187: Past the point of no return

Ash acknowledged that, compared to the others, Sharpedo’s test was surprisingly very simple. Swimming across the ocean to avoid the shark pokemon wasn’t too hard, as his electric pulses kept the pokemon at bay until he reached the shore on the other end. Afterwards, a quick Restoration Rain attack healed him back to full health, as he changed out of his wetsuit.

< One hour. > Sharpedo said. < That was quite well done, potential candidate. >

< Thank you, master of the deep. >

< I hope the future mysteries will come as easily to you as my challenge. >

< As do I. >

Ash, now dressed in a light blue robe trimmed with silver dragons and golden phoenixes, set his teeth as he waited for the next tester to appear.

< Do not be so hasty, > A laughing voice whispered in his mind.

< Who?! > Ash demanded, casting quick glances around him.

There was a tinkle of telepathic laughter, and a mist-shrouded form appeared before the trainer.

< Do you not recognize me? >

A girl with long, waist-length black hair and sightless eyes stepped out of the mist, still chuckling quietly to herself. It took Ash a few minutes to place the face.

“Ashline?!”

“Yes, I’m ‘you’ from another dimension.” She said. “The fourth test requires you, essentially to defeat ‘yourself’. Only then can you deal with the demons in others.” Her own light blue skirt and jacket sparkled in the dim light with unnatural radiance. “Shall we begin?”

Ash summoned forth his staff. “Yes.”

“Very well.” Ashline seemed to have gone through some changes as well. For one, Ash noticed to his shock that her magic type, once the same as his, a neutral type, now sparkled and crackled with rays of sunshine.

“I am the sun guardian.” Ashline said, in a strong voice.

Ash did not reply, except to being attacking. “Pidgeot!”

The wings sprouted out of his back, as he charged her, shifting his staff so the sharp end was pointed at her. But instead of dodging, Ashline simply brought up her hands and formed a glowing shield of pulsating pink light that protected her from his charge.

“My turn.” She said, somewhat cheerily, and threw out a card of her own. “Jigglypuff! Song of Creation!”

Her inflated pink balloon pokemon immediately began to sing, and Ash watched in shock as the sand around them formed into hundreds of miniature soldiers, which all seemed to attack as one.

“Dark Shock!” Ash proclaimed, sending black lightning bolts through the area, and destroying most of the soldiers. * So instead of star magic, she has sun magic, which means neither Lance nor Charlotte exists in her dimension. And instead of having darker shadow magic like me, she instead has light magic. But light is both strong and weak to shadow, because shadow is both light and dark. So it all depends on the attack. *

Slowly, Ash’s eyes began to change color, Destiny’s gold and Hope’s sea-green being replaced with a swirling black vortex, in which shone brightly dancing stars in prismatic rainbow colors.

< He is starting to reach the final stage. >

< Yes. When he does, he will have completed and passed this test. >

“Eternal Flame!” Ash said, commanding fourth the fire magic that sang through his body like a siren song. The flames consumed the remaining soldiers, and sent Ashline up in flames. She quickly doused the flames with her water pokemon, but stared at Ash in shock.

“What has happened to you?! You were supposed to be a light type like me! Now you’ve turned into a dark type!”

“No.’ Ash corrected. “Shadow.’

“Shadow, dark, what’s the difference?! It’s just evil!” She said. “Radiance of the skies… Heaven’s Blast!”
Ash quickly brought up a psychic shield as the light attack slammed into him, leaving him winded and gasping for breath. “You’re… wrong!”
“Oh yeah?” Ashline said, as her blind eyes kept staring in his direction. “No wonder you’re so weak!”

“ME?! Weak?!” Ash snarled as he felt an irrational rage filling his body. * I have to pass the test, it’s the only way I can save Lance-chan and this dimension! And now this annoying female version of me is trying to lecture me and keep me from my goal?! *

“DARK THUNDER APOCOLYPSE!” Ash shrieked, his anger getting the better of him, as his eyes took on a flaming golden light again. “Liar!”

Ashline fought back with another Heaven’s blast, managing to negate most of the attack, but some still hit.

Ash brought up his staff, and it shifted into a new weapon, adored with curling dragons on the staff portion, which led up to a crescent-shaped blade. His eyes changed again, into the swirling abyss of colors.

It was a lance.

Ashline didn’t even have to scream before Ash plunged it through her chest. “You lose.” He said simply, as she vanished.

“Illusion…”

“Correct.”

Ash spun around, keeping a hand on his newly acquired weapon.

“You know,” The voice continued. “It’s kind of amusing. Destiny has his sword, and of course, his magic staff, Hope doesn’t seem to have any weapons, but you…. It appears that Thunder’s Guardian is different from both those forms.”

“What are you talking about? Who are you, anyways?” Ash was more than a little frustrated now.

“You won’t like it.” The voice warned.

Ash’s mind immediately raced to Giselle. * Oh no… *

“Not quite right, but a good enough guess.” A golden glow surrounded the figure, and when it cleared, Ash stared at Charlotte.

“Charlotte?! What are you doing here?”

“I’m the fifth tester.” She said. “Or at least, my final ‘form’ is.”

“What?!”

“You know how you have two pokemon forms, Destiny and Hope. But you also have a third form, and only when you acquire it will you become the Master of Shadows, as well as the Thunder Guardian.”

“And only then, can you save this realm.”

“But…”

“To become a true master of the shadow, you must be able to wield not only darkness, but also light. It is a hard balance to maintain, as I’m sure Pika-chan has told you in the past.” Charlotte said. “Defeat me and then take the next test.” As Charlotte talked, Ash noticed changes happening.

“My first form is simply the Messenger,” Charlotte said. “It is as you see me in rare moments. My second form is the Fire Guardian,” And here, her eyes turned solid gold, blue streaks appeared in her hair, and her clothes shifted into golden armor over dark red robes, as a pair of flaming Moltres’ wings appeared on her back.

“But my last form, I have no control over, and it is she you must defeat. Enough talking, let us begin.”

Ash gripped his new weapon tightly, his knuckles turning white. He watched as her eyes bleached themselves of all color, and her hair changed into pure white as well. A pair of golden wings surrounded her, almost identical to Sabrina’s transformation, and when they parted again, she was dressed in white, amethyst and silver sparkling on her outer robe.

A thin whip of pure white energy appeared in her hands, and she opened her eyes, cracking the weapon and lashing out at him.

Ash stumbled, still in shock, as the lash tripped him. He rose shakily to his feet, and thought of what Pika-chan had once told him, when Lance had changed into her Dragon Master form. * It’s like when you change into Destiny, sometimes you have no control… *

“So since I’m not fighting Charlotte…” Ash reasoned. “I don’t need to hold back.”

“White lightning crash!”

“I am the Master of Revealing light. Light attacks will not hurt me.” The voice said, bleached of all emotion.

Ash glared. “Are you sure?”

The figure seemed to look confused for a second, and Ash quickly let loose a barrage of Eternal flood, hoping that the hydrophobia still held.

It did, but instead of panicking, this form simply floated out of the way, and then evaporated the water with Eternal Flame, somehow powered up even stronger than normal.

Ash leaned on his lance, calling up a shield of dark energy as blasts flew towards him from all directions. * I seriously need a better plan… *

The shield began to crack under the assault, and Ash flinched as several blasts struck him in the torso.

“I have to risk this. Mirror!” Ash intoned, hoping against hope that the spell would not backfire. As another blast streamed his way, a card suddenly flashed, and a spirit appeared before him, doubling the blast back with a stronger one of its own.

Ash quickly fought down the whirling tide of dizziness, at least he had a strong connection to create pokemon cards with, but spirits? And with all the energy he had drained away the past few days, it was a miracle he had managed to create the card at all.

Charlotte’s eyes flashed again. Ash quickly teleported out of the way, to avoid the hypnosis which would have resulted in the test’s failure.

“Suicune!” Ash said, summoning fourth the legendary dog. “Kyogre!” The water type immediately created a rain dance, powering up Suicune’s water moves as well as its own Spout move.

“Now!”

While the figure was preparing to attack with some type of light attack, the two water pokemon let loose a torrent of water, temporarily startling her enough for Ash to use his Eternal Thunder.

She crumpled, and the transformation reversed, until Charlotte lay in front of Ash, unconscious.

Vulpix-chan popped out of a poke ball. “Well, you’ve won. I’ll take care of her. Go face your next challenge.”

Ash nodded as he idly ran his fingers over the contours of his blade. * Why do I have a sudden feeling of foreboding, and why does my future sight kick in now. *

“I hope I can fight her…”

End Episode 187! *Gasping for air*

I’m done! *Faints*

Anyways, please review. *Sparkly puppy eyes*

Completed 10/5/2003

WARNING: The shadow guardian arc is optional, you are not obliged to read it. It’s kind of like an extra spin-off, it is not part of the actual CCA arc, because it’s very dark, deathficcy, and kind of insane, but! If you want to read it you may.