The E-Camp Pokemon Romance Novels:
E-Camp stands for
Eager: (Brock Romance)
Certain (Jessie and James Romance)
Annoying (Gary Romance)
Minor (A.J and Duplica Romance)
Popular (Ash and Misty Romance)
M: Minor: OEC Romance (One Episode Character)
AGGGH! A dreaded fanfic where two of the minors get the spotlight! So sue me,
I like a lot of the OEC's, especially these two.
A few fanfics such as Felixman's brilliant series and a current fic I think
is called Pokemon Siege have A.J and Duplica as the partners of Ash and
Misty, but surprisingly, so far, they haven't been registered as a couple,
usually Duplica gets involved in the A and M romances and A.J is just an
outsider. Here, I hope to change that by putting two of the few people (not
including gym leaders) that beat Ash easily.
Characters in this fanfic:
A.J.
Duplica
Melvin
Seymour
Gico (I called him that in the PL fic, the magician of the S.S Anne)
(NOTE: A.J is 13 and Duplica is 11 in this fic, and this is the earliest of
the E-Camp series)
_____________________________________________________________________
The young girl of the house of Imate was trying hard not to cry for the tenth
time today. She had lost her young love because of his commitment to becoming
a pokemon master. She wiped away her tears, and still at the tender young age
of 11, she wondered if she would ever love again.
Sure, she had the rest of her life to decide that. Duplica was a cute young
girl, and many young men were shy around her as she re-opened the imate
house, to a resounding success as her Ditto had finally perfected the
Transform attack.
She remembered that time. Ash Ketchum, along with his friends Misty and
Brock, had literaly bounced into her life as she was resting. Seeing the
young man looking dense (as usual: sorry Ash fans) made her get a good
idea.....
....and the next thing he saw was a female replica of him.
She chuckled at his expression, and also remembered how they helped in
Ditto's life.
The cute transform pokemon smiled as it hopped onto her lap, and turned into
a Pikachu.
She sighed. She remembered the Pikachu, and that she had a crush on the young
trainer, but it was nothing more than that, because he stayed there for only
a bit. She'd probably see him at the Televised Pokemon League.
Then, Ditto changed into a Sandslash.
Now she was upset. Ditto realised that wasn't the best move and so returned
back to its normal form, trying to comfort her.
"(Duplica, I'm sorry! Please....don't be like this.....)Ditto, dit, ditto!
Dit......to, dit, ditto!" it squeaked.
But Duplica just held onto it tight as she recalled for the 10th time, how
her young love had vanished......
_____________________________________________________________________
(this is a flashback for the remainder of the fic except for the end)
The cheers went up as Duplica went on stage to as per usual, a full house.
Ever since Ditto had been perfected by the 'expert care of Team Rocket', it
had had a new lease of life as the two of them enjoyed the applause of the
large crowd.
The Imate house had been opened for a while, and after Duplica had spread the
word about the Imate House being reopened, people became interested and at
first, it was just small crowds, but later, it soon became full houses as the
reports and news and rumours came in, and soon Duplica was cashing in on the
success.
She never charged much, but always gave her all. The crowd especially enjoyed
the mock battles between Ditto and Duplica, usually when Duplica imitated a
useless pokemon such as Magikarp, Metapod or Kakuna, which allowed Ditto to
push one squishy finger over to defeat the poor Duplica. Even the two of them
were helpless in laughter.
Duplica smiled as she began to entertain the audience.
She opened with a stirling scent across the room as she imitated a Gloom,
which almost got rid of everyone, but they soon returned as she imitated a
Pidgey, and using a fan behind her 'wing' blew it all away. She began to
scuttle around as a Paras as Ditto transformed into a Parasect and they began
'arguing'. This brought laughter and applause, especially as Duplica was
talking like the voices of the pokemon. She only had one vice, that was never
to change into a Venonat (sweatdrop).
Duplica was busy taking intermission when what happened, well, happened.
_____________________________________________________________________
Two young men were in the crowd, with different ideas.
The first one, saw the young girls talents as exceptional to save his
floundering business. She could work as a pokemon model, although she was a
bit young, he reckoned that she would be perfect with her look of innocence
and her costumes and impressions of pokemon.
The man knew that his corportate, 'Poke Inc' was once a high, but with Silph
Company taking the main shares now, they were seriously going down in
business rating. Young models with the latest poke-wear would certainly help.
And this girl would be their star....
And if she didn't want to....well, they're were ways of convincing.......
The second young man, not much older than 13, was looking at the girl with a
fix of admiration.
He had read about how the girl had seemingly been thrown out on the streets,
and took refuge in an old mansion, abandoned of course. Whilst there, she met
her one pokemon, Ditto. They hit it off immediately, and soon Duplica began
her studying.
An avid pokemon fan anyway, she knew that Ditto's could change into anything,
and a high level ditto could change pokemon quickly, making sure it would
never be defeated, as long as you knew all the attacks. So, the books came
out.
The young story of Duplica was the same as his own. However, his ambitions
were to be a pokemon master, whilst she wanted to be a star.
However, he had got 6 badges in a quick fit, and decided why not have a rest
and talk to someone for a change?
He got up to go backstage...
....as did the agent.
_____________________________________________________________________
Duplica's pretty but sweating face was filled with tired expression. She
enjoyed her work but it was tiring. She shared a drink with the transform
pokemon as they rested.
She looked at her watch. Back on in 10 minutes. She stretched out, making
sure to relax to the best of her little time.
That was ruined when a man slammed a briefcase at her feet.
Duplica looked up with a surprised look as the man smiled at her. He was a
tallish man, and looked to be in his early thirties, as he held a card out.
"Greeting, young lady. I am Hugh Quinn, an agent of Poke Inc, a pokemon
institute linking humans with pokemon within our work which is non-training."
Duplica knew this sort. She knew that Poke Inc had been rumoured for Pokemon
experimentation, but decided not to voice her opinion. This man was too big.
"We have looked upon you for quite a while Duplica Ottid (Ditto backwards,
hey it was the best I could do!), and that you have amazed audience with your
pokemon imitations. We feel they could be used to a more....financial look."
he said, his smile looking grotesque.
Duplica still didn't say anything, but if anything, she felt tense.
"We have looked upon young ladies who would fit in brilliantly with the
pokemon fashion, expect on humans of course. Your costumes of pokemon
imitation could be used on the catwalk, so to speak. You are perhaps our
youngest attempt, you are a pretty young lady, and you could make lots of
money at such a young age by just modelling your costumes, something you do
in an old boring building every day in your life....."
"...which I enjoyed doing." Duplica said, finally deciding to make her
opinions known.
"Yes, I know that, but still, you could make more money here than anywhere
else...."
"You think I'm in this for the money.... she said.
"No, but you see...."
"No you don't. I'm happy at my house of Imate, I like the simple life, making
customers happy, and I enjoy what I do. Modelling....thats when you get up at
6 in the morning, watch people wolf whistle you and you look embarrassed in
front of all those big-wigs. Let's see...."
The man growled and slammed his case.
"Listen, you little fink. If you're saying what I think you're saying, then
you are turning a great opportunity to make yourself a big name...you said
you want to be a star...."
"Yes a star. A star as an actress, a comedienne, a disguise merchant, not as
a topless model." she growled.
The man was enraged. "I never said that!"
"But that is where it would probably lead. Just control me for 5 years, and
then...." Duplica smirked. The man cursed. The girl was very smart.
"Smart girl. Well, everyone has their price." he said. He opened the
briefcase.
Inside was a glove, handcuffs and a nightstick. But this wasn't a cop.
Duplica realised what he was gonna do.
"Ditto, transform..."
The man threw a repel potion quick, making Ditto faint. Duplica screamed as
he went for her arm to attach the handcuff. He was much larger and easily
apprehended her and attached the handcuff to her arm and cupped her chin.
"Listen, little one. I have the key here, just give me what I want, and I'll
let you go..."
He got a spit and thumb to the eye. The man slapped her.
"Well..." he said and put the glove on and then the nightstick. Duplica
closed her eyes....
"Leave the lady alone." said a young, but menacing voice.
Both the man and Duplica, eyes open, saw a young man and Duplica gasped,
hoping that was her saviour.
It was a tall young lad, with a muscular body, his brown spikey hair and
southern voice was a good combination, and his face showed a grit
determination over his features.
The man left Duplica to turn to this boy.
"Listen, kid, I can hurt you...don't make me...." he growled.
He ran, fingering his nightstick to swing at him. The boy sidestepped it
easily and jumped in the air, with three pokeballs.
"Beedril, Butterfree, work together. Sandslash, go!!" he said, and released
the three pokeballs.
Three pokemon materialised as the man looked upon them.
Beedril flew in, spearing at him, making him drop the nightstick. Butterfree
released sleep powder as Sandslash flew in with Fury Swipes.
The man realised that maybe he should have brought some of his pokemon. He
didn't expect this and had used his repel potion to destabilise Ditto.
The guy then went into a 3 point stance, and despite the height and age
difference, he charged with a powerful spear attack, smashing into the
already weakened man.
Beedril shot into the man, attempting a poison attack, but the boy stopped
him.
"It's alright Beedril. We'll just haul him out with the rest of the trash."
Getting a pokedex, he pressed a few buttons and released a few pokeballs. Out
came Machamp, Snorlax and Arbok.
"Guys, take out the trash!" he said with a smirk.
Arbok wrapped around him, as Machamp and Snorlax picked him up and went to
throw him outside in the pouring rain. The boy had already began to call the
authorities, Arbok would keep him binded until they arrived anyway.
He looked across, to see the girl, although in handcuffs, looking at him in
admiration.
"Th...th...thank you sir...." she managed to stand out.
The boy shushed her and smiled. "It's O.K, its an honour to help you
Duplica." he said. A key came out. "I nicked it off 'im when I tackled him."
he said and began to unlock Duplica's handcuffs.
"Thank you." she said. "What's your name?"
"Adrian Johnson, but I hate it. Just call me A.J. Everyone has....unless they
wanted to die young." he smirked.
Duplica giggled, happy for respite. Her Ditto was groggily getting up, as
A.J's Sandslash was moving, trying to help it up.
"Is that your pokemon?" she said.
"Yep. Sandslash is my strongest pokemon, and best buddy." he said as
Sandslash said a greeting in its own language. Duplica shook its hand and
then A.J's.
"Thank you, for helping me there." she said. A.J bowed and kissed her hand.
"It's an honour to help someone as famous and as pretty as you." he smiled.
Duplica blushed.
"Er...well....heh..." was all she could stammer out.
"What about your performance?" he asked. Duplica had almost forgot about the
rest of the performance. Ditto wasn't in any condition, and neither was she.
"Looks like I'll have to cancel it and refund all the money." she said. She
started to move, but A.J grabbed her arm.
"Not necessarily....I've got an idea....." he smirked.
_____________________________________________________________________
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. DUE TO CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES, THE SECOND HALF OF THE
SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED."
A groan from the audience came out and were about to shift to the refund
counter, when the intercom shouted again.
"HOWEVER, AS AN ALTERNATIVE, A YOUNG FIGHTER, A.J. IS CHALLENGING ANYONE TO A
POKEMON BATTLE. IF YOU WIN, YOU GET DOUBLE YOUR REFUND. IF NOT, YOU GET YOUR
BFH (BUS FARE HOME)."
A murmur in the audience was suggesting interest. Not only would it be good
for trainers, but it would be interesting for the audience, and possibly
profitable.
However, some had heard of A.J and decided to stay put. Because one word was
heard via the name of A.J.
That word was 'undefeated'.
A.J came in front of the crowd with a Duplica cheering from backstage, a bit
groggy but cheering her new friend.
"O.K, whose first?" he smirked. He had 167 straight wins now, plowing through
all gym leaders and general trainers with ease. Most didn't know this, but a
few did. Duplica being one, and only did this because she was confident. If
he lost, money would be lost. But he wouldn't lose.....
A young boy, 10 years old, jumped off and challenged A.J.
A.J nodded and threw a coin. The boy, Gareth, called heads and it came tails.
He chose first.
"Go Cubone!" he said. The dinosaur pokemon emerged with a loud "Cubone!"
A.J threw a pokeball in the air, contemplating whether to finish him in one
hit or make the match go on a bit, luring the crowd into a false sense of
security.
"Butterfree, go!" he said.
"A Butterfree?" the crowd said, surprised, but were interested nonetheless.
"O.K, Cubone, bonemerang!" Gareth said.
"Butterfree, confuse!"
Butterfree flew around, avoiding the bone, and making Cubone's eyes spin
around, in spirals.
"Tackle!" A.J commanded, deciding he wanted to end it quick.
That it did. Cubone crashed, and started bawling.
"Cubone!" Gareth couldn't believe it.
A.J calmly escorted him off and asked for the next competetor.
The girl was a cocky thing, a bit like Gizelle, and called Likitung.
A.J countered with Beedril.
"Likitung, slam!"
"Beedril, pin missile!"
It was over in one move. Likitung fainted.
"Next." A.j said, getting bored.
The next battle was with a Chansey against A.J's Machamp. Again, easy victory
and the crowd were realising that this was no ordinary trainer.
Meanwhile.....
Duplica was admiring the young man with a now recovered Ditto. Duplica was
amazed how skilled he was, she was seen as one of the most skilled trainers
as well, but with just one pokemon. He had many.
Duplica and Ditto suddenly thought the same thing and smirked.
A.J had given another trainer a chance with Pidgeotto as he used
Sandslash...and he still won easily. Weepingbell against his Vaporeon, again
won.
After a dozen so more victories, Duplica made her move.
"A.J, I'll challenge you." she said, still a bit groggy, but people were
surprised to see her ready to battle. They didn't know her battle skills
though, and neither did A.J.
"Are you sure? Your Ditto?"
"I'm sure, aren't you Ditto?"
"Ditto!"
A.J sighed. "O.K, well, I'll choose against your Ditto....Sandslash!"
"Sandslash!" it growled.
"Go Ditto, transform 12!"
Ditto knew the new code system that Duplica had drilled in its head. This
made it more difficult for the opposition to prepare.
Ahead of sandslash was a Butterfree.
"Sandslash, curl attack!"
"Ditto, dodge!"
Sandslash curled into a ball and began to strike Ditto. But it moved and
countered.
"Ditto, psybeam!"
The blast managed to hit Sandslash, and it looked confused, but shook it off.
It was strong.
"Sandslash, curl into fury swipes!"
Sandslash once again flew into Ditto, and this time, uncurled and scratched
it. Ditto fell hard.
"Ditto, transform 121!"
From Butterfree, it became a Starmie now.
"Ditto, hydro pump!"
Ditto blasted a whole lot of water at Sandslash. Sandslash avoided it as A.J
gawked at Duplica. Not only was she a pretty actress, but she was a top
trainer as well. He had never met a trainer this good, not in a long time.
"Sandslash, fissure!"
"Ditto, light screen!"
Sandslash jumped and began to drill itself with its powerful ground attack.
Ditto in Starmie form tried to block it as best as she could with light
screen.
As the dust cleared, there wasn't a victory.
Both pokemon had fainted. Ditto/Starmie's core had smashed, whilst Sandslash
was just exhausted. The audience, A.J and Duplica were all shocked.
One word came to mind from everyone.
"Wow."
_____________________________________________________________________
"That was...amazing!" Duplica said as A.J and her shook hands as everyone now
left, content not to go to the refund counter after that battle.
"That is the closest I've ever got to a loss..." A.J smirked as they walked
into the now empty stage area to have a chat. The man from Poke Inc had been
arrested, as a wet Arbok (it had been raining) complained to A.J who gave it
a bit of his special food. He gave Ditto some as well, and Sandslash as they
were exhausted.
Duplica felt a bit hazy as she was still groggy, but she enjoyed talking to
the young man.
"How long have you been here?" he asked.
"Since I was about 7 I guess." she said sadly. "I was thrown onto the streets
by my drunken father after my mother died, saying that I was a worthless
nothing." she said, sadly. A.J heart opened to the young girl in front of him.
"I'm sorry." he said. "How have you survived then?"
"My mom had prepared a savings account for me when I was younger. It
contained $320 dollars and 65 cents. I had to survive on that as I couldn't
go to school. I managed it thanks to my little buddy I found."
Ditto smiled.
"He saved my life by finding fruits and meat from the nearby woods. We became
friends since then, and we found the abandoned mansion. We decided we needed
money so we went into a double act. However, it didn't go so hot. Ditto
couldn't transform perfectly, so I closed it down. I thought I was doomed. I
still got money via entertaining children at parties with my disguises..."
she saddened. "Sometimes I wish i was still part of a family like that."
"Eventually, a young boy came, named Ash Ketchum..."
"Ash?" A.J said.
"Yeah. You know him?"
"Kinda. Keep going." he said.
"Anyway, Ash and his friends, Misty and Brock came one day, and after a few
exchanges, we became friends. Then Team Rocket stole my Ditto, and when we
found it, they somehow managed to perfect Ditto's transformation. Long story
short, Ditto was perfect, and I reopened the Imate house, and as they say,
the rest is history." she said.
A.J nodded.
"What about you?" she asked. A.J sighed.
"My family were a poor one. I lived in a roughneck area outside of Cerulean
City. My parents didn't care much, just enjoyed their fruit of labour, i.e.
alcohol. Needless to say, I was usually the blunt of many rages they had."
"In a way, it toughened me up, making me never to quit, and to become better.
So at 10 years of age, when many of my friends left to become pokemon
trainers, I decided to prepare. I set up a homemade gym oustide my parents
home. They opposed to it, thinking I should continue their work, but I
refused. When my parents tried to drag me in, a sandshrew came by me and
saved me."
Sandslash giggled. "The sandshrew saved me, and we phoned the police. My
parents were arrested for child abuse, and taken into community centres. From
then, me and sandshrew made a commitment to become the best."
"From then, in two years, I challenged trainers with my few pokemon, a
ratatta, caterpie, weedle and sandshrew. However, I trained them against each
other to raise a few levels. My sandshrew always won. I gained money and
bought equipment which helped my pokemon. It was tough, but I insisted on it.
Eventually, it paid off. I had my own gym, my pokemon were then Butterfree,
Beedril, Rattata and Sandshrew. No-one beat me in 100 battles. Thats how I
met Ash. I beat him for my 99th win, my Sandshrew defeating his Pidgeotto and
Butterfree. After that, I thought that Sandshrew had run away, forgeting our
promise, but it turned out Team Rocket had stole it."
"I got it back, and challenged them. Sandshrew against Meowth, Ekans and
Koffing. Using Fissure, we won. We went for badges soon after and I caught
more pokemon, but my primary four are Raticate, Beedril, Butterfree and
Sandslash." he said.
"What else do you have?" Duplica asked.
"Loads. My strongest are Snorlax, Machamp, Arbok, Vaporeon, Raichu,
Victrebell, Golbat, Arcanine and Onix." he said.
"Wow!" Duplica said.
"I guess we've both had harsh lives." A.J said. Duplica nodded.
"What are you doing now?" Duplica asked.
"I'm on my way to Cinnabar Island for the 7th badge." he said.
Duplica looked sad. A.J noticed this.
"Why are you sad?" she said.
Duplica shifted her feet awkwardly. "Well....I wouldn't mind.....you staying
for a bit....it's been a while since I had a friend...well, not since Ash.."
A.J smiled. "I'd love to."
"Huh?"
"Well, same goes for me. I like you, and it would be hard to leave, as I'm
tired anyway. Besides, you owe me for saving you." he smirked.
"Hey!" she said, but smiled too. "I'll guess I'll sort a room for you."
As Duplica and Ditto scampered away, A.J's eyes lingered on her for a bit as
Sandslash looked at him, mocking him.
"Hey, shush you." he said covering the ground pokemon's mouth, which was now
exploding with laughter.
_____________________________________________________________________
The solitude of a person can change dramatically when a second person enters
the premises. This was definetly the case of Duplica as she began acting in a
panic as she set everything as perfect as she could for the young man staying
at the mansion.
A.J asked her what the fuss was, and she said that she had to be the perfect
hostess, to which A.J replied 'To who?' He got a whack in the arm for that.
A.J smiled as the dreary mansion certainly didn't look so dreary whilst she
was about. It seemed she had a touch which made even the darkest of areas
want to beam out. She always seemed to have a happy nature, and A.J admired
that in a person, especially as she didn't exactly have the happiest of
childhoods, as neither did he.
It seemed as well that despite her not wanting to be a trainer, she was very
serious about raising her Ditto. Perhaps because of her 'work', perhaps that
it was her only friend.....
No. A.J would be her friend now.
He walked into a room where Duplica was setting out some dining equipment. He
smiled.
"I see you weren't joking about being the perfect hostess." he said.
Duplica blushed. "Thanks. I hope you don't mind, I'm in a rush now so I
haven't cooked anything brilliant, just ready made stuff." she said.
"It's O.K, I mean I usually get ready made stuff as well. I cook food for my
pokemon though..." he said.
"Oh, are you a breeder as well?" Duplica asked.
"Not really, it's just something that helps my pokemon. Of course, it good
for them and I like raising them, but my aim is to be a pokemon master."
Duplica set a dish ready. "Well, with 6 badges already you are well on your
way, A.J. I wouldn't be surprised to see you and Ash in the tournament facing
each other."
A.J smirked. "Well, if that happens, I hope that he's improved. I only want
the best trainers...." then he smiled even more. "...like yourself."
Duplica looked up from her meal. "What?"
"Well, you've got one pokemon, and it is strong enough to shape into all 150
pokemon at will. You know all their attacks, strengths and weaknesses, and
can order Ditto to do any attack possible in whatever situation. If that
doesn't make you Pokemon Master material, I don't know what is." he said.
Duplica blushed again. "Th...th...thank you A.J..." she said, trying hard not
to look like an idiot.
A.J smiled. "It's all right. I'm only speaking the truth." he said.
They ate in silence, but not without one eye looking at the other every so
often.......
_____________________________________________________________________
(next day)
A.J awoke in his room which Duplica had prepared for him, much more relaxed.
More relaxed than he had in a long time.
He looked down at his Sandslash snoozing away, and he smiled. It signified a
resemblence and recognition between trainer and pokemon. His Sandshrew was
his best friend as well, like Duplica and her Ditto.
A.J discovered that he hadn't felt like this in a long time. The girl was a
couple of years younger than him, and at first, seemed too innocent to the
ways of the world. But after hearing her story, it seemed that her life
hadn't been much better than his, and his heart had been lost to the young
girl.
He hadn't known her long, but he was having feelings that had been lost in
his life, from his treatment, the feeling of love.
He had lost this feeling after his parents had berated him, feelings of love
in friendship, trust and romance. His cold daemenor had changed when he
became a pokemon trainer, finding pokemon to take care of was a challenge and
with Sandshrew/Sandslash, he had found a friend. But his harshness was still
there, which showed in his training, but he was truly upset when Sandshrew
was missing.
His trust of adults came during his journey. He had met some very caring
people on his journey, the gym leaders on his journey. Flint, Brock's dad,
had told him his story about having to leave his family for his dream, it was
the hardest decision he had made, and his wife had died during that time. To
make up, he told Brock to follow his dream, as taking care for a 10 kin
family since you were 10 wasn't easy. It was the least he could do. So Flint
could identify with A.J.
Another one who identified with her was the young girl Sabrina. In her early
teens, however, she spoke to A.J after their match, about how she lost most
of her life via her psychic energy. Now she had to make it up with her
family, although she still had the psychic power, as A.J unfortunately found
out much to his distress. At least the girl was laughing....at his expense of
cause.
Erika and Koga also had their tales to tell, Erika had been thrown to the
streets by an orphanage. It was where she found Gloom, and Gloom saved her
from a Grimer. From then, Erika had decided to work for her life. After being
adopted, she began studying the works of grass pokemon, and captured a few
Bellsprout and Oddish. Soon, she began expanding, and in 10 years, she
finally started to get her life back together as she was made the gym leader
of the Celadon Gym.
Koga also said that he had to leave his parents and friends, to join the
Fuschia Gym and continue his ninja trainers. Ninjas work in solitude,
although Aya accompanied him, and he accepted that, but at times of
lonileness, he missed his family. (Of course, that has changed, see Chapter 2
of the E-Camp)
A.J realised that he wasn't the only one and Duplica was among those elite.
He got up, decided to let Sandslash doze off a bit longer as he began to cook
breakfast. He needed something to do to get his mind of things.
_____________________________________________________________________
As A.J started to simmer the eggs and bacon, he heard a sleepy yawn moving
towards him. He turned.
It was Duplica, wearing a thin silk white nightdress, which seemed a bit big,
as it wrapped round her a couple of times, walking sleepily to the scent of
breakfast.
A.J had smartly already changed into a brown shirt with matching joggers, so
that he wouldn't be embarrassed. But he was glad that she hadn't the same
idea...
'Snap out of it!' (A.J's brain to A.J)
Duplica smiled as she walked up. "I woke up to the scent of food, it was like
a flare, I had to get up." she said.
A.J smiled. "It's my cooking though, so you'd better be ready to dial 911."
he said, smirking. Duplica laughed.
"Your joking, it smells too good!" she said as A.J started to fill a couple
of plates. Duplica quietened a bit. "You didn't have to do this you know."
"But I wanted too, you let me here and I wanted to repay you. Besides, if I
don't keep moving I get bored." His eyes matched Duplica's. She blushed.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" she said.
"I dont' know. I guess you look kinda....well....cute standing there." A.J
was blushing madly, rare for a guy with his image and reputation.
Duplica was now joining in blushing. "Th..thank you....."
A.J sensed the embarrassment so he got the two plates and put them on the
table as they walked over to the table.
As A.J and Duplica ate, trying hard to stare at each other, two certain
pokemon had came in to watch.
"(Sand, sandslash, sand sand sandslash sandslash sand sandslash
sandslash!)Well, it seemed that your trainer has feelings for yours...and
it's only a day old!"
"(Ditto!)Ditto!"
"(Sand?)Huh?"
"(Ditto, dit ditto dit dit dit ditto dit ditto ditto....dit-to....)No, I
mean't 'Ditto' as in that your trainer has feelings for mine as well......uh
oh...."
"(Sand)Darn."
They saw their two trainers turning, looking at them suspiciously.
(whispering)
"(Sand, sand, sandslash?)What do we do now?"
"(Ditto)Plan B."
Suddenly, Ditto morphed into a plate and Sandslash took it and rubbed its
stomach, looking at A.J with hungry eyes.
A.J breathed a sigh of relief. "You hungry?"
And Sandslash and Ditto also breathed out as well.
_____________________________________________________________________
(3 days later)
A.J had been enjoying the company of the young lady of the Imate house, after
saving her from that SOB from Poke Inc. Duplica herself was no slouch around
the house, she liked to keep herself busy.
She would open the Imate House again in a couple of days. But before that,
A.J decided to do something......different.
He had been invited to a pokemon tournament in the outskirts of Cinnabar, but
you needed a partner. It was a tag tournament match, and you could only use
one pokemon throughout the tournament, but it was an interesting match, and
the winners got 1500 dollars cash prize.
He had asked Duplica if she would like to be his partner for this tournament
yesterday with her Ditto teaming up with his Sandslash, (AUTHORS NOTE:
Although I'm only a beginner in the game, Sandslash is my favourite pokemon
so far.....I've just caught a Dratini in the Safari Zone though....) and
Duplica was surprised, but pleased. She accepted, it had been a while since
she'd been out anyway.
A.J was going to do more that just that though, after it was done, he had
bought two tickets to an EXCLUSIVE Pokemon festival in Cinnabar, one of the
best, and he hoped the young lady would enjoy it. It cost a bit, but winning
every battle made him a bit of money as probably expected.
Duplica was getting quite excited as the two of them had trained together
yesterday, using double techniques so that they could get used to each others
styles, and although the two pokemon found it exhausting, at least they
enjoyed their trainers having a good talk throughout it.
So, on their way to Cinnabar outskirts......
_____________________________________________________________________
The carnival was your typical affair, as Duplica literary dragged A.J to many
of the stands as they began playing the silly overpriced games, attempting to
win the prizes, and credit due, A.J did win a giant stuffed bear for the
Imate leader, which gave her a blush and gave him a peck on the cheek, which
A.J blushed to.
After a rout of fun, it was time to hit business. The winner's of the
tournament got $1500 dollars each, and A.J had never lost. He had drawn....to
Duplica, but that didn't count.
As they went to the sign up sheet, and filled their names, they looked at all
the people there. Nearly 100 teams had entered, which would turn into 64 via
their preliminary skills in a couple of simulation activities.
A.J and Duplica went into the VR simulator (think Pokemon Stadium if you want
to imagine it) and they put their pokeball in the spot which contained Ditto
and Sandslash, perhaps the best trained pokemon in the pokemon world, maybe
apart from Ash' Pikachu......
The opposition was a Starmie and Kangaskhan. Not easy, especially as
Sandslash was supposedly weak against water attacks.
But this Sandslash was at such a high level of training, that it could resist
water attacks.
Ditto hoped that it wouldn't turn into a chew toy via the huge Kangakskan.
However, as a Ditto who could change into anything at a voice command, she
could be unstoppable.
"Go Sandslash, Body Slam!"
"Ditto, transform into #125!"
Soon, a Sandslash and an Electrabuzz were attacking the simulations.
Starmie couldn't comprehend the attack of Sandslash as it smashed its core
with a powerful body slam as Ditto in Electrabuzz form slammed a Thundershock
into the weakened water pokemon. Kangashkan came into the fight and struck
witha comet punch which struck many times.
Ditto looked dazed so Ditto changed into a Kadabra via Duplica's order and
cured herself. Ditto then changed into a Marowak and threw its staff with a
K.O effect at the big pokemon. It fell hard as Starmie fell to a good dig
attack.
If they could see them, the two simulation operators looked stunned at the
skill of the two pokemon.
Duplica and A.J high fived each other as Sandslash and Ditto copied them.
It looked like to be a good day.
_____________________________________________________________________
As the 64 teams entered, A.J and Duplica were ranked number 3. They smirked,
whoever were ranked first would fall hard.
First opponents then. Two fighters named Yung and Miws (as in Youngster and
Swimmer from the came)
A.J and Duplica took their position.
"Go Raticate!" Yung said.
"Go Horsea!" Miws said.
"Go Sandslash!" A.J said.
"Go Ditto!" Duplica said.
"Raticate, super fang!" Yung said, intent of making the aemoba pokemon into
many particles.
"Ditto, transform into 25 and agility!"
Quick as a flash, the Ditto was a Pikachu, one of its favourite forms, and
evaded the attack.
"Ditto, thunder!"
The Pikachu's strongest attack, it slammed into the raticate, making it no
longer a threat.
One hit knockout.
"Horsea, weaken it with bubble!"
"Sandslash, slash!"
Normally, Horsea would have stopped a regular Sandslash, but this one ran at
it, not even flinching over the bubbles. One good slash and it was over.
The two kids were stunned as Duplica and A.J smiled and called their pokemon
and congratulated them.
"Oh well, one lot down....er, how many left?" A.J asked.
Duplica slapped her forehead. "You never were a scholar were you?" She began
working out the mathematics in her brain. "We've had one match, down to 32,
another down to 16, another to 8, another to 4, and then the final, which
could be a total of 6 matches."
"Oh yeah, I knew that!" A.J said.
Duplica, Ditto and Sandslash sweatdropped.
_____________________________________________________________________
A.J and Duplica got to the last 8 with relative ease, but found their next
opponents tougher. They were a young boy and girl, probably brother and
sisters, both called Junior (as in Jr. Trainer) but they fought with good
precision. Their pokemon were Pidgeotto and Butterfree, giving A.J, memories
of his battle with Ash Ketchum.
"Sandslash, dig and claw them!" A.J commaned.
"Ditto, use thundershock!" Duplica called to the transform pokemon, again in
Pikachu form as Pidgeotto and Butterfree felt a good shot, but surprisingly
didn't fall.
"Pidgeotto, Razor Wind!" the boy said.
"Butterfree, Whirlwind!" the girl said.
The double blast tried to send Sandslash and Pikachu out for the count, but
they held on. As Pidgeotto was hit on the recoil, Duplica and A.J decided
that a double move was in order.
"Ditto, Sandslash, Electric Slam!" they said.
Ditto nodded and powered up a Thunderbolt as Sandslash jumped into the air.
As Ditto blasted both flying pokemon with a powerful attack, AT THE SAME TIME
Sandslash leapt in the air with an aerial version of a Body Slam.
Pidgeotto and Butterfree were already out of it from the lightning, the
powerful slam and swipes from Sandslash just confirmed it.
The two youngsters were amazed that their powerful pokemon had fallen
heavily.
Duplica and A.J breathed a sigh of relief.
"Bring on the next ones." they said.
_____________________________________________________________________
The semi finals were decided as one finalist had already got threw. The
second semi-final had just been decided as A.J and Duplica's reputation had
now been recognised by many of the crowd and they were getting the majority
of the cheers. They beat a couple of bikers who's Machoke and Primeape,
although excellent at Double Team tactics, against Ditto's Vaporeon change
and Sandslash's Dig, they weren't much of a match.
So the final came about.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the 3rd Pokemon League Tag
Tourmanent, and a couple of terrific teams have come about, both new teams,
so we'll definetly have new champions this year!" a cheer went through the
crowd.
"Introducing first, a combination of science and mystery, as this combination
have struck a great team. Seymour and Melvin!"
Two geeky looking figures emerged. A scientist with a white lab coat,
spectacles and a goofy look, which looked quite serious. The second, a puggy
man with a top hat, a confused look but had a determined outlook around him.
"And their opponents, a couple of famous young trainers who have teamed up
very efficiently in this tournament, A.J and Duplica!"
The two young trainers got the main share of the applause as they stepped up
to the arena platform.
A watchful eye was looking at the two young trainers. He wanted to face the
winner of the competition, and he saw that Melvin and Seymour, although
friends of his, may be outshone by this young couple. He smiled.
Seymour and Melvin looked ahead of them. "They haven't seen many years yet,
eh Melvin? Lets show 'em what the experienced can do?" the scientist said.
"With pleasure!" he said.
"Go Clefable!"
"Go Exeguttor!"
The cute imp pokemon and the coconut headed pokemon emerged as Duplica and
A.J took their stands.
"Go Sandslash!"
"Go Ditto!"
Their pokemon emerged as Seymour and Melvin looked on.
"Exeguttor, hypnosis!"
"Clefable, double slap!"
"Sandslash, resist it and use fissure!"
"Ditto, transform into #149 and use hyper-beam!"
A Dragonite came into view as the Clefable was about to slap the Ditto's
face. Clefable suddenly got a sweatdrop as Ditto powered up. Clefable ran
back, hoping that its trainer would ask it to use Light Screen.
Fortunately, Seymour was way ahead of it. "Light Screen quickly."
Sandslash had resisted hypnosis thanks to its intensive training, and blasted
it with fissure. Exeggutor surprisingly didn't fall, but looked badly hurt.
Clefable had blinded Ditto with Flash and now tackled it. Ditto was now in
Raticate form and was trying to take a chunk of the imp. Soon, it changed its
mind and became Wartortle...
....and still bit it hard.
"Clefable!!" screamed Seymour.
"O.K, Bubblebeam now!" Duplica screamed.
Ditto was swarmed as it blasted bubbles at the weakened Clefable. Clefable
couldn't take it any more and promptly fainted. Seymour looked at his beaten
pokemon and hoped that his partner could help....
Nope.
Exeguttor had fallen to a powerful body slam from Sandslash, and the crowd
fell to a silence. That appeared to be too easy....it looks like these two
trainers were among the cutting edge of training.
And the owner looked along aprrovingly.
"Well, well, those two are powerful pokemon.." he said in a heavily accented
southern accent.
The man was in magician clothing, and may recognised him to be a joint-owner
of the Saint Anne, Gico Imag. A.J recognised him, although Duplica tried to
piece the picture with a face.
"Now, these two trainers seemingly decimated the whole competition. Maybe I
should give 'em a bit." he smirked. Melvin and Seymour were upset at being
beaten, but they felt that their friend and boss could teach 'em a lesson.
But Gico wasn't thinking of revenge on his friends. It had been a while since
he battled and had a challenge, a former Pokemon Master, it would be nice to
see his enhanced tag team tactics on his own against a team this formidable.
"How about it? You two against two of my super pokemon?" he said.
Duplica and A.J were a bit stunned at the request of the owner, but to fight
a Master of his reputation, this would be an opportunity of a life time.
First, they healed their pokemon with super potion. Then they nodded.
"Come on then!" A.J screamed as Sandslash went into a menacing pose.
"Go Ditto!" as Ditto's look, whilst less intimidating, was enough to signal
it was ready.
"Go Blastoise, Hitmonchan!" Gico said.
The two pokemon emerged, the large water turtle, and the lean mean fighting
machine as Sandslash and Ditto got sweatdrops. These were two intimidation
machines.
But they wouldn't give up. They didn't know the meaning of the damn words.
"Hitmonchan, mega punch!"
"Sandslash, fury swipes!"
The two pokemon emerged in a fury of blows, which resembled a scuffle dust
fight, but Blastoise blasted a gush of water in that area, weakening
Sandslash. Ditto transformed into a Pikachu and blasted Blastoise with bolts
of electricity.
"Blastooise, Hitmonchan, flood punch!"
"Ditto, Sandslash, elecric slam!"
Hitmonchan slammed its fist into the ground as Blastoise flooded the arena
with its water, sending powerful water waves across.
Then Ditto (in Pikachu form) flooded the other end with its electricity as
Sandslash jumped avoiding the water. Blastoise sweatdropped as the
electricity conducted the water and sent it back its way. Hitmonchan avoided
most of the impact but Blastoise fell hard.
Hitmonchan looked up to see an armadillo rodent slamming and slashing its
Rocky like face into submission. Gico couldn't believe the strength and
teamwork of this team.
Both pokemon fell hard, out. Gico was amazed, as he applauded the two, as did
the audience. Seymour and Melvin were in shock.
"Well, young uns, you are pretty powerful. You deserved your reputation and
your victory here." Gico said as he shook their hands. Duplica and A.J looked
pleased as punch.
"It is with great pleasure that I award you, Adrian Johnson and you Duplica
Ottid, 1500 dollars each, to spend at will." Gico said.
The audience clapped again as Duplica, Ditto, A.J and Sandslash walked up to
the podium. They enjoyed a free helping of food as they were going to get a
gold medal each. They enjoyed the attention as Gico helped them up.
Seymour and Melvin came first with the runners up medals. At least they
proved they could mix it with the best when it came down to pokemon training.
Then came the tag winners themselves.
Gico put the gold medals around the two prize pokemon, and Duplica and A.J
also got themselves their prizes, and were already contemplating what to
spend it on.
But at that moment, Duplica hugged A.J around the neck and kissed him on the
cheek.
A.J blushed. Maybe the best things in life are free........
_____________________________________________________________________
A.J and Duplica were celebrating with their pokemon back at the Imate house
as they were contemplating what to do with the money.
"I'm thinking about perhaps expanding the imate house!" Duplica asked.
"I might open my own gym!" A.J exclaimed.
"Tsk.Tsk. Is that all you boys think about? Fights?" Duplica smirked.
"Is that all you girls thin about? Stardom?" A.J replied.
"Take that back!" Duplica stomped.
A.J had a smirk on his face. "Not unless you take your (ahem) comment back."
he said.
"Make me!" the young girl said.
He raised a pokeball. "Maybe Arbok could change your mind..." he inquired.
Duplica sweatdropped. She was scared of snakes.
"Er...Ditto, transform 65!"
Ditto transformed into an Alakazam. Duplica smirked.
"If your ditto is so powerful, why don't you just change it into a Mewtwo?"
A.J inquired.
"That drains my Ditto's energy a bit too much!" Duplica moaned.
"Oh well, it doesn't matter as Sandslash and Butterfree can mangle it
anyway." A.J said. Duplica cursed inwardly.
"That's not fair!" she sulked and went into the corner, moaning. A.J smile
grew to the size of his face.
"Aw, poor Duplica. Does ya want a hug?" he said in a baby voice, like when an
adult reprimands a child.
Duplica got along with the act. "No, you're SOOOO MEEEANNNN!" she said and
'sobbed' in the corner.
"Aww, I'm sorry, you know." A.J said and came behind her with Sandslash and
Ditto couldn't break a larger smirk if they could try on their small faces.
He encircled his arms around her waist in a 'comforting' gesture as he was
trying to warm her up. Duplica enjoyed it and rocked back with the content of
a child. (Er...but isn't she a child? SHUT UP!: Normal brain of Chris H says
to Bloodbrother heart of Chris H. Heart wins.)
"Sorry, A.J, it isn't working. You were so horrid....." she said and srarted
bawling pretend into A.J's chest.
A.J didn't realise that he hadn't let go of her. He was too busy enjoying the
hold and warmth of her small and delicate figure.
"Shh...shh....it's O.K young one." he said.
Duplica perked up. "Excuse me, but are you a senior citizen?"
Both looked at each others expression, and burst out laughing.
"Oh man, I wish we had a camera!" A.J smirked, then turned and sweatdropped.
Sandslash had a camera (Ditto) and was enjoying the pictures that Ditto
(somehow) developed.
"Oh man. There's blackmail material for ya!" A.J moaned. He then realised
that he still hadn't let go of Duplica.
A.J blushed and tried to let go in a hurry. "Oh...I'm sorry...I...."
Duplica grabbed his hands and put them back around her waist. Tiptoeing, she
pecked him on the lips.
A.J couldn't believe it. She had kissed him on the mouth. His mind started to
blow steam and his body had turned into jelly, unable to comprehend simple
motions.
Without him realising it, he bent down to her level and kissed her warmly,
and softly on the lips, and held it there, Duplica making no motion to break
it up.
Now Ditto and Sandslash were gobsmacked. Again, Sandslash had to try and get
Ditto to be a camera, as the tired transform pokemon obeyed, very interested
in this situation.
A.J's strong arms began to encircled around her more tightly as he continued
the sweet kiss. Duplica lightly broke it.
"Take it easy. Are you trying to squeeze the clothes of me?" she said, a bit
out of breath.
"S...Sorry...." A.J stuttered, still in quivering wreck mode.
Duplica smiled. "It's O.K." And with that, this time she kissed him and held
it on and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a bit of a reach, but they
managed it.
Sandslash would comment that their masters will probably be complaining about
neck injuries after this, but hey, they had the cash to fix it.
Ditto, totally exhausted, using its power to develop a picture, retired to
its sleeping quarters, and watched the little scene unfold.
As long as it had an 1 hour and a half of free time left, they were lost in
their young love.
_____________________________________________________________________
(2 days later)
Duplica was well relaxed in the kitchen as A.J had come along to watch what
she was doing. Well, I say watch.
A.J's arms were around her waist as the red blush filled her features. It was
hard to see that she had fallen in love with this buff, yet handsome young
man who had saved her earlier in the week.
On the other hand, A.J was having a dilemma. First, she was younger than he
was, only 2 years, but for the young mind of A.J it felt a bit wrong.
Secondly, she was the only trainer who even came close to beating A.J earlier
this week, was this love out of respect? Finally, A.J still had his journey
to complete.
If this love was genuine, what could he tell Duplica that he'd have to leave
soon? He'd already lost a week in training, although Sandslash had a good
workout at the tag tournament, but he needed to train some of his others.
Nidorino had been a bit slacking recently and his Graveller needed to work on
his speed.
But could he leave her? This lovely, lonely girl, who's Ditto was her only
real family. He saw a lot of her in him, perhaps that is why he fell in love
with her.
Love out of pity? Respect?
A.J hit himself. Of course not. He had fallen genuinely in love with her, but
he was trying to find the best way to tell her that he'd have to leave. Maybe
if he hadn't kissed her, perhaps he could have just left when he had the
chance.
He shook his head to look over the small shoulder of Duplica.
"What ya cooking?" he said.
"Rice balls and salad. Brock taught me the recipe a while back." she said,
smiling. "I've made some donut balls for the pokemon as well."
"Good, my Primeape loves them." he smirked. Duplica smirked.
"Your Primeape will eat anything!" Duplica laughed as A.J kissed her cheek
and then their throat.
"Not now." she said and went back to cooking.
In the last two days, Duplica and A.J had enjoyed simple activities now they
had found each other. They enjoyed relaxing, Duplica sitting on A.J's lap,
with Sandslash and Ditto for company. They usually let A.J's other pokemon
enjoy a film as well, usually Titanic or something else which is soppy (much
to A.J's disgust) which was usually interrupted by Primeape blowing his nose
on one of Weepingbell's leaves, much to the plants dismay, or the two young
lovers playing a bit of hockey. You know what I mean.
They took walks, holding hands, and enjoyed the sunset and each others
company. But to be honest, that made A.J's decision even harder.
But he had decided. Even though it would be heartbreaking, he would have to
leave her.
It was the best for both of them. With the money he had, he could get to the
last two gyms easily, and begin to play for the most powerful pokemon and
rare, such as Porygon and Jynx.
Duplica could continue with her dream of super stardom, which A.J was sure
she would get, and without him. He would be a third wheel as he would say.
Tomorrow morning, first thing.
_____________________________________________________________________
(early hours of next day)
A.J felt the tears flowing as he saw Duplica sleeping peacefully. Her face
was so pure and peaceful, he could just kiss it forever.
He had to fight every urge in his body to caress her cheek and kiss her soft
lips. He wiped a few droplets of water that threatened to crack his tough
farcade. He had a note he had prepared when he was alone late at night, and
didn't want to do this.
But it was best for both them.
Sighing quietly, he placed the note by her nightlight, knowing that she would
read it.
Then, on impulse, he bent down and kissed her cheek. She murmured, but didn't
awake.
"I'm sorry Duplica." he whispered. "Take care my love."
A.J then quietly walked downstairs to the main hall of the imate house, and
turning one last look at the direction of Duplica's rooms, the tears finally
fell as he left.
_____________________________________________________________________
Duplica woke up rather early by her standards. She streched, but knew
immediately that there was something wrong. It was a sixth sense that she had
gained after many years of training Ditto.
She put her nightlight on, clearing her eyes and head as she headed for the
shower. She didn't hear A.J moving, and he was usually up early training his
pokemon.
She suddenly got a worrying feeling, a sick feeling she hadn't got since
Ditto had been captured by Team Rocket.
"A.J?" she screamed.
She looked in his room, closing her eyes just in case, but found that his bed
was made up.
She looked outside then, hoping that A.J was training outside, although it
was a chilly morning.
No sign.
She went back upstairs to change. She was a bit worried, but perhaps A.J had
gone for errands. He did that sometimes. She relaxed lightly. It would be
alright girl, stop getting in such a tiz....
That's when she saw it.
The note.
She was sure it wasn't there before. Again, that worrying feeling came before
her.
She didn't want to read it. She didn't want to know what it said. It was
probably what she didn't want.
But curiosity got the better of her, and it would end up killing her.
She unfolded the note, and began to read, slowly and scared of what she may
find.
Darling Duplica,
You will probably hate me after you've read this note, so I'll come straight
to the point.
I've left.
This is no way your fault, it has nothing to do with you. You are the
sweetest, funniest and prettiest young lady I've ever had the pleasure to
meet, and I would love to have been by your side. Hell, I really did want to
remain with you.
It's about myself, and my dreams.
You know I wanted to become a Pokemon Master, and despite every moral bone in
my body telling me to stay, I just had to continue. It is my lifelong dream,
as is yours with your house of Imate. With the money we won, you can achieve
your dream, as I can.
I am ever so sorry. I didn't want to do this. I left with a kiss on your
cheek and tears in my eyes, and chance by the time you've have read this, I
am still crying, and I haven't cried in sorrow for many years, even after all
my tragedies.
You keep on with your dream. Forget about me, you deserve much better than
the life I've left.
Attached is a little gift which I hope will make the parting easier....
Goodbye.....
A.J.
_____________________________________________________________________
Duplica looked at the paper. Attached was a heart shaped badge, like the soul
badge of Fuschia gym, but it was a beaming red.
Duplica gently picked it up and held it to her heart. She touched her cheek.
It had A.J's warmth around her.
She felt the tears forming and she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep
them from flowing.
She sobbed into the note as Ditto woke up, and wondered why its master was so
upset.
Then, it couldn't pick up the scent of A.J or Sandslash.
It figured what happened in a flash.
Ditto decided not to voice its opinion as Duplica would be too upset to
notice anyway.
Duplica was meanwhile going through a variety of emotions. Betrayal, that he
could leave after falling quickly in love and also leaving because of money.
Hell, perhaps he had just used her.
But she knew A.J wasn't like that. He had saved her from that pig from Poke
Inc, and had been a good friend before then. He had a horrid life and had got
his dreams from his own hard work, as she had.
The darkness of her heart was dropping in sorrow as she held the heart shaped
badge in her hands and sobbed onto the bed.
Sorrow, anguisity, betrayal, anger, loneliness, love, all these feelings went
through Duplica in a moment, as she continued to sob.
The poor girl would be a wreck if something wouldn't be done. Ditto didn't
know what to do.
_____________________________________________________________________
A.J was awaiting the ferry to go to Cinnabar Island, but all the way there he
had been thinking 'Why the hell was he doing this?'
He'd never meet anyone else like her again, that he knew. Anyone with such a
happy, sweet, enthuastic soul who was also a very good pokemon trainer needed
to be treated better like that, especially as she was in love with him as
well.
He kept telling that she deserved better, but all of the similarities in past
and present lives, pokemon training and personality, it was almost uncanny.
They were perfect for each other, and A.J didn't realise that.
Throughout his life as a pokemon trainer, he had believed in being the best,
being the strongest, the tough outside which was known as Adrian Johnson
which most people knew for being one of the best trainers ever to come out of
the woods, and of course, an undefeated record, had a soft inside.
It was rarely shown. It was shown when Sandshrew returned safely and got
their 100th win, it was shown when Sandshrew or any of his pokemon evolved
for him, when they won a difficult battle....
....and it was shown now.
A.J couldn't resist the flow of tears coming down his rough face. He tried to
wipe them away but more took their place. Sandslash tried to console its long
time friend, trainer and partner, but A.J just couldn't be consolled.
A voice came over the horizon.
"Cinnabar Island. S.S. Flareth from Fuschia to Cinnabar entering now."
A.J's tears flooded into his mind.
Pokemon Master or Young Love?
He had many years to become a Pokemon Master, but did he think he'd ever find
a young romance like this again?
He weighed the odds. Conclusion......
Fat chance.....
He began to walk....
_____________________________________________________________________
Duplica's sadness was shown through her Ditto, as she began trying to do
something to take her mind off her sadness.
Her mind wasn't up to anything though, she seemed to be in proverbial limbo.
She almost seemed ready to faint any second, and Ditto was aware that it may
have to change into a chair or mattress any second.
As if on cue, Duplica stumbled and almost fell flat on her face if Ditto, as
a mattress, managed to cushion her fall.
Duplica looked like she was alien to the world and Ditto knew that its
mistress wouldn't hold out much longer.
"(Ditto dit, dit dit ditto? Dittt....dit ditto dit ditto ditto? Dit-to ditto
dit dit ditto!)Please Duplica, you need to rest? Please, you don't want to be
like that? A.J wouldn't want it like that!"
Duplica wiped a few leftover tears and looked at her companion.
"I know, Ditto. But I can't help it? Am I being selfish, or is he, or.....oh,
I can't even f$£%$££ think!" she said.
Now Ditto was worried. Duplica never sweared like that unless she was really
upset.
Duplica noticed the look of her pokemon's face, and immediately regretted her
words.
"I'm sorry Ditto! I'm sorry.......it's just....I can't believe it.....a
chance at a friendship, a love, instead of a small reclusion..."
"DITTO!"
"Sorry, Ditto, I'd didn't mean you, it's just that when I'm performing, I see
all those smiling and happy faces, and I wish, can't I be one of them? Nobody
has treated me with the kindness that A.J did, either trying to force me for
bigger things, or complaining about one thing or another."
Ditto nodded.
"I guess....loneliness can be a bad thing, eh little buddy?" she said. Ditto
nodded.
She sighed. "I guess.....I'll get to doing a bit of work." she said, knowing
that she couldn't open the Imate House in her condition. She began to go into
the room which A.J had occupied.
She sighed. He had done his bed as she sat down, and touched the heart badge
she had received from A.J in that note. It was late-afternoon now, and she
wondered if he was in Cinnabar Island now.
She laid on the bed and felt the tears starting to form again. She wouldn't
cry again, she had used up her tears for one day.
As she tried in vain to hold the tears back.....
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Ditto didn't want to disturb its trainer. She was in too much of a state to
do anything at the moment. It would try and get its food itself as it waddled
into the kitchen area.
A huge banging came out of a stormy outside. It seemed the weather had gotten
worse to adjust to Duplica's mood.
At first, Ditto thought the banging was the thunderclaps shuddering through
the Imate house, and Ditto ignored them.
But then the bangs became louder, and Ditto realised they were a little bit
too close for comfort.
Then it realised.
It was someone banging on the door!
Ditto realised that it was either someone trying to shelter from the storm
(very probable, and with Duplica's recent luck) or......
Ditto transformed into a Snorlax and with some difficulty, waddling over and
turned the handle.
And outcame....
....a very bedraggled and wet A.J, with poor Sandslash, hating water,
clinging on for dear life for its trainer. Although it could resist water,
huge thunder blasts of it was where it drew the line.
Ditto changed back to its original form and squeaked and squeaked.
A.J told the little pokemon to shush as he wanted to surprise Duplica. Of
course, she may never want to speak to her again.
But A.J knew the sacrifice he had made to see her again. His change of
becoming Pokemon Master, but he knew he had made the right choice.
Ditto pointed to the room she was in. His room.
A.J sighed and crept, with Sandslash scurrying by him.
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Duplica didn't hear the slamming of the door. She was busy crying to herself,
her head muffled in between the mattress and a pillow.
As she started to feel faint again, she heard a scurrying noise near her and
lifted her head up.
"Sand?"
Duplica felt like screaming at Ditto for doing this.
"Ditto, did I tell you (sob) not to do that?" she said.
If there is a moment in time you could freeze, what would it be?
For A.J, it was the moment when Duplica heard the next voice.
"I didn't know that, but hey, I'm not a pokemon am I?"
Duplica's mouth and eyes had changed into exact copies of each others,
ovalised shapes in unison, as A.J, wet and bedraggled entered.
Duplica's mouth started to foam like a Krabby, before she recovered herself
long enough just to be a quivering mound of jelly.
"What......why......where....who...."
"That just leaves when then...." A.J smirked.
He didn't get chance to speak again as Duplica leapt into his wet arms and
sobbed into his shoulder.
"You idiot (sob)! Why did you do that, and (sob) why are you back?" she asked.
"I.....I couldn't leave you....." he said.
"What?" she said softly.
" I couldn't leave you. I had a good think and cry on my way to Cinnabar
Island, that what do I want more, becoming a Master or enjoying a life with a
young lady I don't think I'd ever find an equal to in my life?" A.J said.
Duplica smiled for the first time, hearing those words out of A.J's mouth.
"I guess I made my decision. I couldn't leave you Duplica. I love you too
much." he said.
Duplica spluttered, and smiled as tears of joy followed from tears of sorrow.
She leaned up to him and kissed him of the lips.
"That was(sob) so sweet, A.J(sob)!" she said and finally collapsed in his
arms.
A.J was smiling as well as even with his wet cat look, Duplica didn't mind
being encircled in his arms.
"You look beat. I guess I worried you too much, eh?" A.J said.
"Yes you did you idiot!" she mock cursed, Ditto happy that her trainer was
back to her old self.
"Well, I think you should to bed." he said caringly.
"Yes doctor?" she said, but did yawn.
"That's right ma'am." he said, trying to be serious but laughing as well.
"I am tired I guess. Allright, but....."
"Yeah?"
"Can you kiss me goodnight?" she said, with a puppy dog expression.
A.J laughed. He tipped her back as Duplica looked shocked.
"I'd thought you'd never ask."
A.J leant forward and kissed her deeply. Suddenly, both of them broke it.
"Damn, my neck hurts!" they both moaned. A.J nearly had a foot advantage over
Duplica.
"Well, I'll sort that out." A.J said. He lifted Duplica up so that her face
was level was is. Duplica wrapped her legs around A.J as A.J held a tight
grip around her as they kissed again.
A.J walked to her room, where they were still locked in the passionate kiss.
As A.J put her down on the bed, he realised she had fallen to sleep in her
arms.
Tucking her in, A.J kissed her forehead and held her hand.
"I guess I'd give up anything, Pokemon Master, living for a 1000 years, just
to spend 1 hour looking at your face." he said softly as he carrassed her
hair.
Duplica smiled in her sleep as A.J left, ready to change into some warm
clothes. It seemed that with the cash they had, they could make a joint
gym/expansion to the Imate house, allowing their seperate lives to be merged
together.
But together, at that moment, two souls had already merged as one.
And two humans, and two pokemon, all smiled simultaneously.
_____________________________________________________________________
This is the shortest of the E-Camp series (because I don't think as many
people would be as bothered with this one compared to the main characters)
but it was still difficult to do. Oh well, finished, and another very sappy
ending, perhaps the sappiest so far.
Thank you.
Last part of the E-Camp is the AAM bit, so enjoy you AAM shippers!
C.H.
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