Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 2: The truth returns to Haunt

Anton’s eyes bugged out. “A-Ash?!”

“Hai, who did you think I was, baka?” Ash asked.

“B-but how? You didn’t even have any pokemon before you were kidnapped! How did you get away?”
Ash laughed. “I wasn’t kidnapped.”

“What?!”

His golden eyes flashed brightly. “I went home.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Anton said snappishly, annoyed at the fact that he had lost to, of all people, his insignificant younger brother.

“I went home.” Ash repeated.

“What?!”

“Aniki n’ aneki came for me and took me home.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Anton was starting to get frazzled.

Ash declined to reply as Lance walked over. “Aniki…”

Lance smiled and wrapped his arms around the younger trainer. “Hai?”

“Anton no baka…”

“I know, don’t worry. Let’s go.”

Ash nodded as they vanished.

Anton collected some more dust with his jaw.

“I don’t think he got it.”

Lance shrugged and brushed her bangs out of her face. “Well… makes sense.”

“Why?”

“If he thinks he’s the ‘chosen one’,” Lance said, making little quotation marks with her hands. “He would expect to win.”

“Right.”

“But…”

“It still irks you?”

“Hai.”

“Well, we’ll just deal with it. I think we shattered his pride wonderfully.” Lance said.

Ash grinned. “That was fun.”

“True, somewhat unfair advantage, but… you work with what you’ve got.”

Ash stroked his deck of cards. “Yes…”

There were shiny, dark, light, shadow, and normal versions, as well as elemental spirits.

There were almost a few thousand cards in all.

Ash smiled.

“Besides, we pay a high price. Not more than twenty-one years can pass before a Chosen is reborn again.”

“Yes…”

“And then I forget everything.”

Lance nodded.

“The other possibility is skipping rebirth, if there are no problems in the world, but I don’t think that has ever happened before.”

Lance nodded.

Anton stared at the screen. It was impossible, but he had lost.

“DAMN YOU!” He screamed. “You must have cheated! I’m the Chosen One! I can’t lose!”

Silence was his only answer.

In stony silence, he collected all his pokemon and headed warily towards the Center.

He had to get stronger.

He had to. He didn’t want to lose face.

“Guess I’ll have to cheat back…”

He grimly dialed the headquarters of Team Magma.

“How may I help you?” Archie asked, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, Chosen One. What can my humble organization accomplish?”

“I lost to a trainer today.”

Archie dropped the phone. “WHAT?!”

“That’s what I said. I can’t afford to lose again.”

Archie frowned. “So, what do you want me to do? Steal you some strong pokemon?”

“You can do that?”

“You know, for a champion, you’re quite naïve. I can do anything, for a price.”

“I need stronger pokemon.”

“Yours or someone else’s?”

“I don’t care!” Anton said. “But can you clone me something more powerful than Articuno2? It lost.”

“WHAT?!”

“I’m telling the truth.” Anton pleaded. “Please.”

Archie sighed. “You’re a tough customer, you know that? I’ll think of something…”

Anton hung up and sighed. “Guess I’d better go on a training trip.” He slipped on his pokédex override belt, which allowed him to carry a limitless supply of pokemon, and headed out to Mt. Moon.

A month later…

Ash had not gone home. He had only been to one pokemon center. And since he had no pokédex, there was no way to track him.

Anton wondered what his brother was up to.

“Boss! Just got a tip!” A girl said, running in. “A spy overheard him say he was headed out to the Orange Islands.”

“Come with me.” Anton said. “Lacey, is it? We’ll take my private jet.”

Lacey blushed. He was asking her to go along? She swooned.

Anton quickly led the way as they climbed in the sleek, purple-trimmed jet and took off for Pumello Island.

Lacey leaned against him and sighed inaudibly. * Wow… *

“Are we almost there?”

The pilot nodded. “’Bout ten more minutes.”

“Okay then.”

They landed quickly and Anton spotted Ash with the same guy. They were eating tacos at a roadside stand.

“I arrest you in the name of the pokemon league!” Anton proclaimed. “For illegal pokemon and-.”

He was cut off as Ash stood up. “Shut up.”

“How dare you speak that way to me?!”

“Because, you fool, you aren’t the Chosen One.” Ash spat. “Come on Lance, let’s go home.”

Lance’s eyes glowed once and then they vanished.

End Chapter

Completed 12/28/03