I don't like my ending much . . . it's all I could come up with in such a short time (I'm going on vacation tomorrow, and I wanted to get this up first). :o
I am not absolutely sure that Neon Town came in between the Saffron and Fuschia Gyms. Similarly, I'm mostly sure that Ash had a Charmeleon at this time. These are educated guesses and I apologize if they're wrong.
Enjoy! :-)
Ash Ketchum was in a good mood. He had just left Neon Town, and now he and his friends were on their way to compete for a badge at the Fuschia City Gym.
Suddenly, the sky turned dark. A flash of light -
"Was that you, Pikachu?"
"Pika." It shook its head.
- and rain started to fall. The three friends ran along the path, looking for shelter. Soon, they came upon a small, old-looking house, sitting alone by the roadside. They ran up onto the porch and Ash knocked on the door. It flew open, revealing a homely living room.
"Is anybody here?" called Ash.
"We're just trying to get out of the rain!" added Misty.
Nothing. "I guess nobody's home," said Ash. "We'll just have to wait out the storm in here."
"Pika . . . pi?"
Pikachu sensed something. Someone else was in the house - they just didn't know they had company. As Pikachu was pondering this, it heard a small sound, the kind someone might make in their sleep.
"Pika pi!" it cried.
"What is it?" asked Ash.
"Pi pikachu!" It pointed and ran off down the hall. Ash, Misty, and Brock followed it into a gloomy room, empty except for -
"Whoa," said Ash. "That's a really big Pokéball."
Indeed - it was as tall as he was! He walked around it once.
"What kind of Pokémon would need such a big ball?" wondered Misty.
"Let's find out!" said Ash, moving as if to pick the Pokéball up. Then, of course, he realized he couldn't. Misty and Brock hurried over to help him push it. Together, they rolled it over onto its button.
Ash and his friends jumped back as the ball burst open and flew back to its original position. When they saw what had come out of the ball, they stared in shock.
Before them stood a pearly-white ghost. She had apparently been a girl, but not a normal one. Two long, pointy ears stuck out of her curly hair, there were circles on her cheeks, her fingers were short and pointy, and she even appeared to have a lightning-bolt-shaped tail sticking out of the back of her long robe.
"What?" she yawned. Then she saw Ash. "Oh, hello there. Who are you?"
"I - I'm Ash," he told her, after he realized she was speaking to him. "What are you?"
"My name is Christine," she said mournfully, "but everyone calls me Pikagirl. What am I? Aside from being a ghost, I'm a half human, half Pikachu."
"Pika pika?" questioned Ash's Pikachu.
"Well," began Christine, "it's a long story, and -"
"Wait," interrupted Ash. "Were you answering Pikachu's question?"
"Yes."
"So you understand what Pokémon are saying?"
"Yeah. It must have come with being part Pokémon myself."
"Wow, this is great! Come out, everybody!"
I knew this was going to happen, thought Christine as Ash's Pokémon began to emerge from their Pokéballs. Oh, well. If you've got a talent, use it.
"Everyone, this is Christine," Ash told his Pokémon. "She's going to help me talk to you."
"SQUIRTLE!!" It tried to hide behind Ash.
"It's all right," Ash reassured it. "Go on."
"Pi pika pi!" Pikachu scampered up to Christine and held out its tail. Christine turned around, crouched low and tried to shake tails with Pikachu. Its tail went right through her airy tail, of course, but the other Pokémon understood and seemed to relax.
Ash started by asking Charmeleon a question. "Is it true that sometimes Pokémon don't listen to their trainers because the Pokémon think the trainers are too inexperienced for them?"
"Char."
"It says 'yes,' " said Christine.
"So that's why you don't listen to me?"
"Char."
" 'Yes,' again."
Ash was starting to look unhappy. "Am I really that bad of a trainer?"
"Char char char! Meleon char char!" From the tone, Ash could tell that Charmeleon had said something very vitriolic.
"It says, 'Yes! Look at you, you've only got 7 or 8 Pokémon! Gary probably has about 80 by now!' " Christine wondered who Gary was, but knew better than to ask.
Ash looked very disappointed. Suddenly, Pikachu stepped between Ash and Charmeleon.
"Pika pikachu! Pi pika pi chu pika! Pika pi . . ." It went on this way for several minutes, and by the time it finished, Christine had a look of pure awe on her face.
"Well?" said Ash.
Christine remembered that she was supposed to be translating. "Oh. It said, 'Now wait just a minute, Charmeleon! Ash may not have many Pokémon, but he makes up for it by loving and caring for the ones he has! Remember how he got you, Charmeleon?' "
Ash remembered, all right. The little Charmander who was now his Charmeleon would certainly have died if he hadn't come along.
Christine continued her translation: " 'Squirtle, Bulbasaur, you followed him because you knew you'd like him, right? And myself, I learned to trust people because of him. Admit it, Charmeleon, you do care about Ash.' "
Ash was stunned. "Pikachu, that was amazing! I didn't know you felt that way."
"Pika pika!" It jumped into Ash's arms.
"It says, 'Of course I do!' " said Christine.
"Char charrrrrrr," grumbled Charmeleon.
"Charmeleon says, 'Okay, you win,' " said Christine, "but it doesn't sound too enthusiastic."
"Wow!" exclaimed Misty. "I've gotta try this . . ." She pulled a Pokéball out of her backpack. "Come on out, Psyduck!"
There was Psyduck, with its usual blank, stupid stare. "Psy yi yi!"
Christine snickered. "You don't like it?"
"It's useless!" Misty declared.
"Psy yi?" asked Psyduck.
"Psyduck said, 'You really think so?' " Christine translated.
"Well, yes . . ." Misty's vehement hatred of her Psyduck seemed to be fading. "It's stupid, and it has no good attacks, and it has the gall to always come out no matter which Pokémon I call!"
"Psyduck!" answered Psyduck. "Psy yi yi. Psyduck psy . . ." And so on.
When it finished, Christine translated, "It says it knows several good attacks, but it hasn't had the chance to use them."
"What do you mean?" Misty asked Psyduck.
"Psy yi yi, psyduck psy yi duck psyduck . . ."
*******
Some way up the road, several people were approaching Christine's house.
They were moving quickly, trying to stay under the trees, out of the rain. They were sure the twerps had come this way; that little band of goody-goodies would surely be headed toward the next Gym, in Fuschia City. Probably, they had found somewhere to hide from the rain. But where?
The two Pokémon trainers and their Meowth pressed on, evil deeds on their minds.
*******
"So, Christine," said Ash, "how did you get to be the way you are now?"
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Christine were all seated in armchairs in the living room. They had helped Christine make hot chocolate - "I don't need it myself," Christine had explained, "I just keep it on hand for visitors." They had been sitting and chatting like this for several minutes.
At this question, Christine looked nervous. What am I supposed to say? Will they believe me? Will they keep the secret?
"Well," Christine began, "it's a long, strange story, one that you might not believe, and one that I'm not even sure I should be telling anyone. Before I tell you, you'll have to solemnly promise that you will never, never repeat any of this."
"Why not?" asked Ash.
"My story has secrets in it that could ruin the lives of thousands of people if they got out. Do you promise?"
"We promise," said Ash, Misty, and Brock together.
"Thanks," said Christine, "I've been wanting to tell this story to someone else. It's a story . . . of magic, and of my life, and, of course, how it ended.
"I grew up in Neon Town, but not in the big-city part - I lived in a nice, small-townish neighborhood. People who knew me would say I was interested in everything. I loved Pokémon, and anything to do with fantasy. When I was little, I read every fantasy book I could get my hands on, and I even believed they could all be true.
"Of course, by the time I turned ten and got my Pokémon trainer's license, I knew they were just stories. I started collecting Pokémon, and I managed to get a few badges - I still have them." She waved at a framed set of three badges - Boulder, Cascade and Thunder - hanging on the wall. "I loved my Pokémon and they loved me. My very favorite was my Pikachu, Polly."
"Hey," said Ash, "my Pikachu is my favorite Pokémon, too!"
"Pikaaaaaah," cooed Pikachu, who was nestled in Ash's lap.
"It's no surprise," said Christine. "Pikachus are wonderful companions. Anyway, my Pokémon training career was cut short just after I turned eleven, when someone sent me a letter.
"The letter read, 'Dear Christine, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary supplies. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Sincerely yours, Professor M. McGonagall.'
"Witchcraft and wizardry? How could this be true? I asked my parents what the letter meant. They explained that ours was an old wizarding family - most of us had magic powers. My parents had gone to Hogwarts too. There were plenty of wizarding families who lived where there were Pokémon, but they never told anyone about their powers - if they did, and Muggles found out, they'd be pressured to solve everyone's problems."
"What are Muggles?" asked Ash.
"It means, people who don't have magic powers," explained Christine. "And now, they were asking me to go and learn magic! I couldn't believe it - my dream had come true! So, I went to Hogwarts. This robe, which is actually black, is school uniform there. I got there by taking an airplane to London, then taking a train, the Hogwarts Express, north to the school. You're allowed to bring one pet, so I took Polly with me.
"I studied for three years. It was great. I learned a lot of fun and practical spells, like this one . . ."
As everyone watched, Christine pointed a finger at the match lying on the coffee table. She said a few funny words, and suddenly, the match was a needle!
The change drew a chorus of oooh's and aaah's from Christine's guests. Christine giggled and said, "Cool, huh? I only wish it could be more. I don't have nearly as much power now as I did before . . . what happened.
"Getting back to that: When I was in my fourth year at Hogwarts, my friends Diane and Robby and I found out about something called Polyjuice Potion. That's a very complicated potion used to turn someone into someone else - in appearance, not in mind. So my friends and I found a good hiding place and started making some.
"It took over a month to make, and the final ingredient was a piece of the person you wanted to become, usually a hair. Diane turned herself into one of our teachers, Professor Sprout, though how she got that hair I'll never know. Robby used a hair from one of his dormmates, and I used a hair from my own Pikachu, Polly.
"Foolish, foolish me. Polyjuice Potion is not intended for changing into animals, and certainly not for changing into Pokémon. The potion just couldn't handle that kind of demand. I had started changing - I had ears, a tail, electric sacs, and pointy fingers and toes - when my body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away . . ."
She sniffed. "But I was still there. We couldn't believe it. When my friends changed back, we went to one of our professors to explain what we'd done. We got in trouble, but not too much, because it was my own fault I was dead.
"There were plenty of other ghosts at Hogwarts, but I decided I'd rather go home where there were Pokémon than stay at school. The school staff sent all my stuff, including Polly, to my parents, and I moved in here, across town from them. This was maybe six or seven years ago, and I'm still fourteen."
After a moment, Ash said, "That was a good story . . ."
"And a true one . . ." mused Misty. "Do you ever wish you were still at Hogwarts, Christine?"
"Well, yeah," Christine answered, "it does get kind of dull around here -"
But just then, the front door burst open. The sky was still cloudy, but only a few drops of rain blew inside as two trainers and a Meowth entered, reciting:
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
By the time they were finished, Ash, Misty and Brock were standing, ready for battle, with Christine off to one side, wondering what would happen.
"What do you want?" Ash said to them.
"Pikachu, what else?" said Jessie. Then she noticed Christine and almost screamed. "What is that horrible thing?"
"I'm Christine," she said, "and you have no right to take Ash's Pikachu!"
"So?" She reached for a Pokéball.
"Are we going to have to fight them?" Christine asked Ash.
"Yes."
"Good! There's something I've been wanting to try."
"You mean - you're going to fight?"
"Yes. I've been practicing this attack -"
"Go, Arbok!"
Apparently, Jessie had gotten tired of waiting.
Christine was caught off guard. "Help me out, guys! I'll be right with you!"
Darn, thought Ash, sending out Bulbasaur.
Christine was back in her chair, concentrating. Oh, psychic powers that be, I need you now . . . please . . .
In a moment, she was ready. She rushed into the thick of the battle
and uttered her battle cry: "PIKA-
CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"
She was giving Team Rocket a Thundershock, or rather, her version of one. The "lightning" she emitted was not yellow, nor was it pearly-white - it was a light purple, and it made Arbok, Jessie, James, and Meowth very confused.
"What . . . where? Why?" Jessie was trying to get her bearings. "Arbok . . . uh-oh . . ."
"They'll snap out of it soon," Christine told Ash. "Got any Flying Pokémon?"
"Yes, Pidgeotto."
"Does it know Whirlwind?"
"Yes, of course."
"Great. You do that, and I'll do a Flying Spell on them at the same time, and we'll be rid of them. Okay?"
"Okay. Bulbasaur, return! Go, Pidgeotto!"
Then Ash and Christine gave their respective commands at exactly the same time:
"Whirlwind attack!"
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The attack and the charm worked together perfectly. Team Rocket flew out of the door, up and out of sight.
When Jessie found herself in midair, she felt a strange sense of deja vu. She muttered some words that, for some reason, were associated with this experience: " . . . blasting off again . . . ?"
Back on the ground, the group was elated at its victory. Misty asked Christine, "So those were really Confuse Rays?"
"Yeah," said Christine. "It's another side effect of being a Pikachu-ghost-girl. Confuse Ray is a Ghost-type attack, and I can channel it through my electric sacs. Neat, huh?"
"Oh, yeah, that was awesome!" said Ash.
"Thanks," said Christine. Her eyelids started to droop. "Oh, dear . . . that was tiring . . ." She glanced out the open doorway. "Hey, look, it's stopped raining, so you can go if you want . . . I'm going back to sleep . . ."
She glided back to her room, and her guests heard her Pokéball open and close.
*******
"Wouldn't it be great if we could go to Hogwarts?" said Ash, when they were on the road again.
"Oh, yes," said Misty. "To be able to change something into something else, make things fly . . . and lots more, I'm sure . . ."
"You know," Brock observed, "you two aren't quite eleven yet, so it's possible you might get letters from Hogwarts soon . . ."
"Oh," said Ash. "I kinda hope not. I'm sure I'm supposed to be a Pokémon master, not a wizard . . ."
"You mean, like it's your destiny?" asked Misty.
"Yeah, that's it."
They all considered this. Eventually, they decided that they loved what they were doing now, but if they did get the letters, they wouldn't mind trying the wizarding lifestyle.
Ah, well . . . On to Fuschia City!
Disclaimer: All things Pokémon belong to Nintendo, Creatures, Gamefreak et al. All things Harry Potter belong to the great J. K. Rowling. Christine, Diane and Robby are mine. No copyright infringement is intended; I write because it's fun. :-)