Here's chapter 2! Here's the heroes!

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A few days later...

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Both Trainers were down to their last Pokémon. The challenger stared down his opponent, the Pokémon League Champion. A Dragonite and a Jynx would decide the challenger's fate. Either history would be made, or it would be the failure story of the year.

Lance chuckled, "I always knew it would come down to this, Gold." his eyes hardened as he stared down his opponent. "Your strong bonds with your Pokémon have brought you this far, but can it help you finish the job?"

Gold stood proudly as he answered the Dragon Master's challenge. "It's time for a new Champion to rise, we have the power to do anything!"

Both Trainers began to call out commands as both Pokémon readied to attack-

"GOLD!" A sharp blow to the head followed the exclamation, breaking him out of his fantasy.

"Wha-?" The boy toppled off his chair and clutched his head. "JYNX USE ICEBEAM!" he shouted. He heard a voice burst into laughter as he realized what happened. It had all been just another daydream...

"Soul, you didn't have to hit me!"

His female sidekick helped him back up, a concerned look on her face."You were talking to yourself again..." her voice then became angry, "And you weren't listening to a THING Professor Elm was saying, were you?"

"Umm... Define 'listening' and 'thing' and while you're at it-"

This earned him another blow, this time from the professor himself. He sighed. "No Gold, for the last time, Soul will not make you a 'sammich.'"

"Too late," Soul reached into her bag and pulled out a ham sandwich. "I've learned it's best if you give in."

The dim-witted Trainer happily accepted it. "How oddly convenient!" he chimed before unceremoniously shoving the entire thing in his mouth.

"Okay..." Elm sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now that's done with... I need you two to deliver something to Professor Oak for me. And since you two are the only Trainers around with decent Pokémon, I have no choice but to entrust you with this package."

"So what in it for us?" Soul asked.

The professor pulled out two plastic cards, "Two free passes on the Magnet Train. You should fly to Goldenrod City, then take the Train to Saffron then fly to Pallet Town."

"Wait..." Gold started, "Wouldn't it make more sense to-"

"THE PLOT REQUIRES YOU TO BE IN SAFFRON CITY!" Elm shouted. He tossed a package at the boy. "Just take it and go!"

"It looks heavy..." Soul commented.

Gold put it in his bag. "Nope! It's light and fits perfectly! How oddly convenient!"

She sighed in response then asked, "What are we delivering, anyway?"

"Oh, you know... Files, reports... Generic Old people stuff."

"But why can't you-"

"BECAUSE THE PLOT DEMANDS IT!" He shooed them out of his Lab. "Now go before I'm forced to break the fourth wall any further!"

After the door slammed behind them Soul stated, "Wow, the professor seemed like he was in a bad mood today... I wonder what's going on..."

"Beats me," Gold stretched and cracked his knuckles, "Okay! Let's get this bad boy delivered!"

He called out his Pigeot, Talon, while Soul called out her Noctowl. They mounted their birds and were off!

"You know what I've been wondering?" Gold asked as they flew.

"What?"

"Why can our Pokémon instantly transport us to any city in this region when they are miles apart? Don't they get tired?"

"Don't question the game mechanics," Soul replied as they landed in Goldenrod City. "You'll only end up with a headache."

They recalled their Pokémon and headed to the Magnet Train Station. "The Train is leaving for Saffron in two minutes everyone!" the conductor called out. "ALLLLLLL ABOARD!"

"Hurry up!" Soul grabbed Gold and dashed to the gate. "We're going to miss it!" Dispite her impatience and the rush, they made it to the train right on time.

"Oh cool!" he shouted as they took their seats. "Window seats! How oddly convenient!" He flopped down and began to look around the train. Only a few others had borded with them, which was normal. Most people flew from Jhoto to Kanto and vice versa, but no they had to take the friggin train.

"Hey who's that?" Soul pointed to a boy about their age (perhaps a bit older) who was facing away from them. He seemed to be hiding in the shadows, as if he didn't want to be seen.

Gold recognized him within seconds, "No way... There's no way!" he jumped up and took a few steps towards the boy. "Red?"

"Wait as in the Red? Red of Kanto!" Soul hopped up next to her partner. "That's him!"

The champion of the Kanto League stiffed at the sound of his name and cautiously turned around. His hat was pulled down low, you couldn't see his eyes. "What do you want?" his voice was filled with malice. "I have no time to play with kids!"

The Magnet Train took off, causing our two young heroes to fall over as the train sped to Saffron. They quickly regained their footing as Red laughed scornfully at them.

"What a couple of clutz you are! I've seen Spinda with better coordination!"

The two returned to their original seats. "What a jerk!" Soul muttered while folding her arms. "We are not kids!" she glanced at Gold. "Well you may still be a kid but I certainly am NOT!" She looked one last time at whom she thought to be Red. "Something's not right about him..." Soul quickly unfolded her arms and slammed a fist into her open hand, "We're going to tail him!"

"For Mew's sake WHY?"

She looked dramatically out the window to see the train pulled unto Saffron Station, "Because it's an adventure, damnit! Something has gone wrong with the Champion- the friggin Champion!" She glared at her companion, "And if you're not going to move the plot further, I will."

Gold sighed, "Well, as long as it's oddly convenient for me, I'm satisfied." So they gathered their things and exited the train. "Why are you so eager to move the plot forward anyway?"

"It wanted us in Saffron, and I want to know why."

Do not question the plot. Do not run from the plot. You do not find the plot, it finds you.

Just then, an earsplitting crash of thunder racked the skies as a tremor ran through the ground. Gold let out a cry of fright, "Gah! Wh-what's going on?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good," Soul replied.

Our heroes exited the station to see, well nothing. The sky had filled with black, ominous storm clouds as the thunder crashed once more. Lighting then flashed in large, dangerous bolts of blue. Each flash illuminated their surroundings, terrified faces met their eyes as screams met their ears. A voice, high and cold, laced with the same malice they heard earlier sliced throught the air.

"Pikachu, let's bring this city to its knees!"

Another flash revealed Red. He held a strange object in his hands and his trademark Pikachu was next to him. It bore an equally strange silver collar and its eyes glowed a demonic red; lightning bolts rocketed off of it, causing the surrounding buildings to catch fire. A strange sense of omnipotence radiated from the trainer and his Pokémon. It was unlike anything our heroes had ever experianced before.

Gold faceplamed and stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "We're doomed." Regardless, he pulled out a Pokéball and sighed, "But we have to fight them because we're the main characters, right?"

Soul, a mirror at her partner's side, nodded then whispered, "Poor Pikachu... What on earth did Red do to you?" She readied herself for the fight, "I choose you, Ninetails!"

"Go King!" King was Gold's Nidoking. He wasn't the most creative when it came to nicknames. Anyway, the two Pokémon stood courageously by their respective Trainer's side while they formed a plan.

Red laughed at them like he did earlier, "You honestly thing you stand a chance! That's too funny!" He folded his arms, "I'm only gonna tell you once, give up; it'll save you and your Pokémon a world of pain."

"What do you mean by that?" Soul demanded. An uneasy feeling began to settle in the pit of her stomach as her gaze flicked to the Pikachu once more.

"I have found a way to achieve ultimate power," He waved the stange device that we saw in the previous chapter in the air. "This allows me to give my Pikachu infinite strength!" He pointed at Ninetails, "Pikachu, use Headbutt!"

'Headbutt? Why not use an Electric-Type attack?' Soul thought as she ordered her Pokémon to dodge. But her opponent was extremely fast, as if it had suddenly used Agility. Pikachu rammed into Ninetails with the force of a full-speed train and the impact send the fox flying. It landed in a crumpled heap, unconcious. It's Trainer cried out in shock, then shakily said, "N-Ninetails, return!"

Her partner only stared in awe at the destructive force that was just displayed. Soul's Ninetails was the strongest Pokémon on her team; he knew from experiance it could be a real pain in the ass when you're up against it, and to see it KO'd just like that... He briefly considered running, but he doubted that would help. Now that Red knew that they had the guts to stand up to him, Gold realized that the Champion wouldn't let them go until he had completely crushed their teams... Or worse.

"What have you done to yourself, Red?" The Jhoto native demanded as he clenched his fists in anger. "You're... You're supposed to be the hero, remember? Why are you destroying Saffron? Of all places, this should be one of the most important to you! This is where you defeated Team Rocket, right? This is where... You defeated Giovanni and became a hero- no a legend! Everyone looked up to you!" His voice then dropped to a whisper, "... I looked up to you..." He shook his head, "I may not be able to defeat you, but I will expose you as the sham you are!"

"You really think one of those lame guilt trip speeches will work on me?" Red scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... Not happening!" He input a few commands into the DS "Finish him, Pikachu." the Mouse Pokémon rocketed forward to fufill its master's wish.

"King, use Protect!" A green barrier appeared around the large creature. Pikachu collided headlong into the forcefield, then staggered backwards, dazed. "Now use Toxic!" The Nidoking charged forward, bringing his head down to ram the Electric-Type with it's horn. It flinched as the poison seeped into its system, but quickly retaliated with another Headbutt. The attack knocked out Gold's Pokémon just as easily as it did Soul's before it.

"Is that all you got?" Red taunted them. "Shame... I thought Jhoto would have produced some Trainers that were actually a challenge!"

Gold whispered aside to his friend, "We just need to drag this out for as long as possible, okay?"

Soul was surprised at the sudden change in him, normally Gold wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box. In layman's terms he was, well... An idiot. But he had a plan... And it was working? Things just kept getting stranger and stranger... But still she pulled out another Pokéball, "Let's go Bayleef!"

"Missy, you're up!" Missy was a Misdreavus. See what I mean about the uncreative nicknames? That's why Soul decided against naming her Pokémon.

Red sighed, "You two are too stubborn for your own good. Pikachu, take them down with Thunderbolt!"

"Bayleef, take the hit for Missy!" The Grass-Type looked at her Trainer like she was crazy. "Just do it!" Reluctantly, the Leaf Pokémon threw herself into Pikachu's line of fire, taking the fall for them both.

Gold stared at the Electric Mouse expectantly. 'Why isn't the Toxic hurting it? It clearly reacted when King poisoned it!' His gaze fell to Red's DS, panicking, 'Unless... That thing can clear status conditions? This can't be happening! This is so NOT oddly convenient!'

Soul caught onto her friend's distress, "I'm going to guess your plan just fell apart," He nodded weakly. "Figures..." she sighed. "Well does Missy know Destiny Bond?" He shook his head no. "Attract?" No. "Any move that could possibly help us?" He fell to his knees in despair. "I'll take that as a no."

"Aww... Did the wittle heroes all run out of ideas?" Their opponent mocked them once more. His face then became serious as he folded his arms and observed them, "But I have to admit, that was a good plan, even if it fell flat on its face," He tilted his head, "And we could use some more Trainers at the HQ... I wonder if Gio-" He suddenly stopped, then picked back up, "No, if they get positions that means I'll get payed less, and he still hasn't given me that raise, or payed me for telling him about the legend yet!"

"WHAT are you talking about?" Soul demanded.

Red shook his head, "It's not important, I'm here to battle, not to recruit. He won't pay me for that," His voice adopted a bored tone, "Pikachu use Thunderbolt." And with that Missy fainted.

Soul looked desperately to Gold, still kneeling in defeat. Should they surrender? Between the two of them, they still had eight Pokémon left, but they had zero chance against Red's monstrous Pikachu. Was this it? What happened to good triumphing over evil?It seemed like they had run out of options. They were backed into a corner and completely at Red's mercy. Her lips quivered, then began to form the dreaded phrase that would concede their defeat. Well, her defeat at least, and she knew Gold wouldn't dare fight without her. They had no choice, and she refused to send her remaining Pokémon into a battle they couldn't hope to win.

"I... forfe-" An earsplitting roar cut her off. Everyone looked skyward for the source.

Gold pushed himself into a standing position, "There!" he shouted while pointing. Barely discenable from the dark clouds was a large dragon-like figure. It roared once more and began to descend upon the battle. As it drew closer to them it revealed itself to be a Charizard. Five feet above the ground a person jumped off its back and landed perfectly in one clichéd moment of awesomeness.

All was silent as the newcomer approached. A Pikachu was perched upon his shoulder. Finally, Gold reached a conclusion.

"HOLY CELEBI! RED HAS A TWIN BROTHER!"

Soul sighed and quickly called out one of her Pokémon; it was a Ditto. She nodded to it and it transformed into a baseball bat. She grabbed it a unceremoniously whacked Gold over the head, "NO YOU IDIOT!" He fell to the ground, clutching his skull. Ditto phased back and she placed it on her shoulder. "... You don't have a brother, right?" The newcomer nodded. "So one of you has to be an imposter, right?" He nodded again, but more vigorously. "So which one of you is it?"

Both Reds pointed at the other, enticing annoyed sighs from our heroes and glares all around.

They were both identical, aside from their Pikachu. The Red our heroes were fighting stated, "Isn't it obviously that he's the imposter! He was probably sent by Team Rocket to confuse you!"

Newcomer Red looked pleadingly at Soul; he gestured to the destruction that plagued Saffron, then pointed to himself and shook his head as if to say the real Red would never do such a thing. He then pointed at the other with emphasis, then made a thumbs down and shook his head once more.

Gold cautiously stood up and stated, "There's only one way to settle this!" Everyone looked at him expectantly. "The two Reds will battle! Only the true Red could win against some lame imposter!"

"Annnnd..." Soul added, "The imposter-when revealed- has to explain their evil plan, effectively setting the stage for the plot's main conflict." The Reds nodded in agreement, the collared Pikachu moved to the sight of the new match while its opponent called back his Charizard and pulled out another Pokéball.

The true battle was about to begin.

Reviews=Love=Update

I've noticed that the stories don't allow an exclimation point to be next to a question mark... strange...