Ash was enraged now. "You can take my body-you can even take my life! But nobody, I repeat, NOBODY takes Misty from me!" "Care to test that theory, soot?" Pokeshipping, rated T for language.
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Oh my GOSH!!!!! I can't BELIEVE I haven't thought of this yet! I mean, I don't mean to sound full of myself, but this is a AWESOME idea!

So yeah, actually, I got this idea when I was playing Paper Mario. Yes, I got my inspiration from a video game yet again. Just stay with me here, okay?

So I was playing this level where your body gets stolen, and you turn into a nameless shadow. Then, at the end, you have to fight not only yourself, but all of your partners as well. It was such a great level, I just had to make it into a fanfic.

I think your all really going to hate Arthur. He is the perfect villain.

Enjoy!
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Okay, so, just so you know, here's what happened: Ash won the Sinnoh league, but lost to Cynthia. He then came back home to Pallet town and met Brock and Misty again. Ash is 14 now, Misty's 15, and Brock is 20. They're all exploring the woods now. Just because they want to.

Chapter 1: Soot

"Eek!" Misty Waterflower cowered in fear.

"Lemme guess," Ash Ketchum said, rolling his eyes, "you just saw a bug." Misty had been afraid of bugs since Ash met her, and to this day he didn't know why.

"Yes! It's disgusting! Please! Get rid of it!"

Ash sighed and searched the bushes. Then, an ariados jumped out of nowhere and landed on Misty's head.

"AAAAAHHH!!!!!" Misty's scream echoed through the whole forest. She ran around in circles, screaming and trying to hit the ariados off.

Finally, the giant spider jumped off her head and scurried away. Misty turned to see that Ash was trying very hard not to laugh.

"You think that was funny, don't you?" Misty said angrily.

"Oh, no!" Ash said. He knew what Misty did was she was angry. "No, not at all! It was-pff!-it was horrible!"

Misty took out her mallet and hit Ash on the head. "Still think it's funny!?!"

"Nope…not anymore…" Ash said, lying on the ground.

"Alright, you guys, break it up," Brock said.

Misty put her mallet away and Ash got up. The group kept walking.

"Hey guys, what's that?"

"Huh?" Misty and Brock looked where Ash was pointing. They could just make out a tower in the distance.

"I dunno," Misty said.

"Let's go check it out," said Brock.

So the group walked over to the tower. It got bigger and bigger as they got closer. It was dark out by the time they got there.

The tower was huge. It had a very large bell at the top, and stained glass windows.

"It looks like a steeple," Misty said.

"You guys stay here." Ash said to Misty, Brock and pikachu. He walked over to the door.

"Wait!" Misty argued. "Why should we wait here while you go in?"

"Because! There might be something dangerous," Ash opened the door.

"Ash, what on earth could be in there? It looks like no-one's used it for years!"

"Just let me check, okay!"

"But-"

"Misty! Stay here." Ash walked into the steeple and door closed shut behind him.

Misty looked at the door. Ash had wanted her to be safe, so he went in first. Misty didn't really know it yet, but she had feelings for Ash. Real, deep feelings.

She hoped there was nothing dangerous in there.
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The door closed shut behind Ash. He looked around. Misty was right. It looked like a steeple. There was carpet that stretched from one end of the room to the other. There were stairs at the other end, too. And a statue.
Ash walked over to the statue. It was a star. There was also an engraving. Ash read aloud:

"If you are reading this, you are an idiot. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ash noticed a door. He walked through it into a large, empty room. The only thing in this room was a staircase. Ash walked up the stairs into another room with a spiral staircase.

Ash walked up those stairs. It took him a while. They were really long. Ash could only guess this went to the top of the steeple.

When Ash finally got to the top, he was pretty tired. It was dark, but Ash could still make out a trapdoor on the ceiling. He opened it, and a ladder fell down. Ash climbed up.

He was in a very big room. The bell was above him, and there was an armchair and table in the center. There was someone sitting in the armchair, too. A kid who looked like he was in his preteens, with messy brown hair so dark it was almost black, and round glasses. He was about 5 foot 2, and was wearing a black T-shirt with shorts.

So, yeah. He looked like me. Sorry, but this guy is just so great, I couldn't resist making him look like me. Of course, I don't really act like him. But, anyways, let's move on.

"I gotta give you some credit, kid," The boy said. "You've got some nerve comin' up here and disturbing my privacy."

"Who are you? What are you doing in this steeple?"

"I'm Arthur. My friends call me Artie. Of course, when I say friends, I'm speaking hypothetically."

"Why don't you have any friends?"

"Well, I think you'll figure that out soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I told you my name, now you tell me yours," Arthur said.

"Ketchum. Ash Ketchum."

"Ah, so you're the descendant of that stupid prick who turned me into a ghost in the first place. You know, I never really thanked him properly for that."

"My ancestor turned you into a ghost?"

"Yup. Of course, it's not all bad, and the guy deserves a reward. But now that he's dead, I guess I'm gonna have to give it to you."

"A reward? What kind of reward?"

"Hold on, I'm not done. Actually, I think I'm gonna call you Soot."

"Soot?"

"Yeah, Soot. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because soot…" Arthur punched Ash in the head. "…sounds so much more pathetic…" Arthur kicked Ash in the back, making him fall down. "…than Ash."

Ash lay on the floor, immediately noticing that this guy was not a friend. Arthur kneeled down towards Ash.

"Now, as for your reward…well, here it is." The steeple bell rang loud and clear.

"Huh?" Ash looked around. What had just happened? One minute he was on the floor, next minute he was kneeling, and nobody else was in the room. Where had Arthur gone?

Then Ash noticed a mirror on the other side of the room. He went over there, and couldn't believe what he saw. He wasn't Ash anymore.

Staring back at him was the very person who had got him into this. The very person that had made him look like this.

Ash was looking at Arthur.
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"Do you think anything happened?" Misty said worriedly to Brock. "I don't like the sound of that bell."

"Maybe we should go check on him…"

"Wait! There he is!"

The door to the steeple opened and Ash walked out.

"There you are, Ash!" Misty said. "Did you find anything?"

"Just some weird kid who thinks he's me. He keeps calling me "Arthur" or something, and thinks that I stole his body. I think he might be insane."

"That's weird," Misty said.

"Do you think we should help him?" Brock suggested.

"I already tried. There's no convincing him. Maybe we should send him to some kind of asylum."

"Maybe…" Then, Misty saw the door open, and out came a kid with dark brown hair and glasses. He looked like he was 11 years old.

"Arthur!" He yelled.

"Oh, here he is again," said Ash. "You two go back, I'll meet you guys there after I deal with this guy."
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"Are you sure, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Ash!?! What-" Ash's jaw dropped. He was staring himself right in the eye. The other Ash gave a wink. Not only that, but Ash's voice had changed with his body. He now sounded like Arthur too.

"What the hell!?!"

"Go ahead!" Said the other Ash. His voice was the same as Ash's. "I'll take care of him!"

"Well, okay…" Misty walked back with Brock. Once they were out of hearing range, the other Ash turned back to the real Ash.

"Alright, Soot, lemme cut it short for ya."

"Soot!?! So-wait-you're Arthur!?!"

"Damn right, I am."

"But what happened!?!"

"Well, to make a long story short, we switched bods."

"What!?!"

"Yeah, you heard me. Now I'm you and you're me. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Cool!?!" The real Ash yelled, now filing with rage. "I can think of tons of words to describe this, but cool isn't one of them!!! Why'd you do this anyways!?!"

"This is your reward, Soot."

"Reward!?! This isn't a reward!!! This is a curse!!!"

"Call it what you want, but I aint goin' back! I like this body! I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like to be you. Of course, we can't have you following me all the way home, now can we?" Arthur took a pokeball out of his belt and hit Ash on the head with it. Ash fell to the ground and started feeling drowsy.

"Surprisingly strong material, these pokeballs," said Arthur. He put the pokeball back in his belt. "See ya 'round, Soot."

Then, everything went black.
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You all probably hate Arthur, right? I thought so. If you're wondering why this guy is such a great villain, it's because he likes being evil. He doesn't just do it because it's part of his plan. He does it for fun.

So that was the first chapter of Artie Ketchum. See you guys in the next chapter!

-Fwingsnitch=D