The Forgotten
Chapter 7: Discoveries

Ash and Jeff had been living with Gary, Misty, and her sisters for three months, and people were constantly coming for battles and TMs, all of which from Ash. Ash had been making serious money and friends. Even Team Rocket left them alone now. Ash was making a living from buying groceries for everybody from his money. Luckily, Jeff had made a living out of eating human foods, besides just ketchup. But, Ash still gave him pokemon food every once in a while. Sometimes Rocket members would come by, saying they were stronger then Ash, and his pokemon were weak. Those were the ones that never said that to Pikachu's face, or had ever battled him, or ever got in the way in Pikachu's training lessons. Pikachu hated interruptions in his training lessons. They were his time, and his alone. He himself would punish any interruptions in his own ways. Of course, whenever that battle cry of Pikachu's was heard, everybody turned in the opposite direction, and ran. Power outages were never a problem. When they happened, Pikachu and Ash would head to the local power plant and give it a jump-start. Ash didn't understand why they didn't convert to solar energy. It was a little on the expensive side, but well worth it in the long run. If anyone decided to battle Ash, they didn't use the TM attacks he had sold them. They said they didn't think they would have much of an effect, except for the instant knockout attacks. Ash decided to split the earnings to fit everybody, yet they all decline. (Aside from Jeff, who is his Mew anyways) They had been getting good business lately. Ash felt it was like he was pokemon Master again. "What happened to the Master, anyways?" Ash asked once. "Well, he died in The Great Rocket Revolution. Ever since, we never felt the need to vote a new one out, as all the trainers died in the Victory Road. Some say that the shadows themselves came to life in the shapes of pokemon and attacked them mercilessly. Others say it was the light, and some say both. But, there are those who say none happened, and that they're fairy tails. But, some say they've also seen a man with a Pikachu of black and white, who summoned upon the shadows and the light to do his bidding. They also say he is hidden in the Rocket base, and only the high-ranking Rockets know about it." Misty answered. 'Well, I'd like to hear these fairy tales.' Ash thought. So, he just pried the stories from Misty's mind at night using Dream Eater. The first time, he had indigestion the next morning. But he said he got up for a midnight-to-three-in-the-morning snack. That saved him, as everyone had seen his abyss of a stomach at work. Well, he was up from midnight to three in the morning, but not eating. He decided to practice his Night-type attacks the Ancient told him of. One night, he successfully destroyed three trees in one shot. That did not go unnoticed by neighbors in the morning. In a different night, he was able to form a pitch-black-as-night sword. He cut a large slash down the side of a dumpster, another complaint by neighbors. "How do these problems keep happening?" Misty yelled once, as she paid damage repairs. 'Note to self, stop destroying things.' Ash thought to himself.
"Mike! Are you there?" A voice called from where Ash sold his TMs. "Right here." Ash said, walking out of the darkest corner he could in his shop. "Hey, Richie. Need anymore TMs?" He asked, seeing Richie looking at the new TMs. "No. I was wondering if you would like to battle? Six to six, no time limit, two thousand dollars prize?" Richie asked. "Sure. Only if you think you can take it." Ash said, pulling a box full of his pokeballs from a corner. "Thanks, pal. I won't go easy!" Richie said, walking with Ash to the pool not occupied by Cyndiquil, who was almost over his pyromaniac needs.
"I choose you, Sparky!" Richie called, releasing his Pikachu. "Go, Dugtrio." Ash said, tossing his pokeball to the empty pool. "Well, Mike, it looks like you want this over with fast. So, Quick Attack!" Richie yelled, pointing at the Dugtrio, who seemed sleeping. "Fissure." Ash said, nodding his head. The Dugtrio went from half asleep, to twenty cups of nothing but caffeine and sugar. It quickly dug underground, as the Pikachu passed above it. It seemed to Richie that the attack would never hit while Sparky was going this fast, meaning it shocked him horribly when Sparky smacked into his face, unconscious. He recalled Sparky for a rest, and then sighed. "That was good, Mike. Nobody's ever hit Sparky while he was using Quick Attack, or dodged it either." Richie said. "But Zippo's a whole different story! GO!" he yelled, as the pokeball went flying threw the air. "Return, Dugtrio." Ash said, holding out Dugtrio's pokeball. Richie smiled. Either he was returning Dugtrio, or he was using Return Attack. But, Ash just recalled Dugtrio, and sent out his Pikachu. "What kind of Pikachu is that?" Richie asked. "Well, Pikachu was put to sleep by a bland Jigglypuff, and it decided it would look better in black and white." Ash said, scratching his head. "Quick Attack!" Richie yelled, leaning on the bar in front of him. "Pikachu, show that Charmander who's boss. Lightning Blade, light power." Ash said, pretending to have a sword. And so, Pikachu gave it a light slash in the arm, which wasn't fatal, they all knew, and knocked out the Charmander. "Return, Zippo! Go Happy!" Richie said, tossing another pokeball to reveal a Butterfree. "Return, Pikachu. Go, Gengar!" Ash said, having fun. "Ghost Ultimatum. Then Multiple Shadow Ball." Ash said, as Gengar focused, and four more Gengar appeared. Then, they all used Shadow Ball at once, and Happy couldn't take the five-way attack. "Return, Happy! Go, Squirtle!" Richie said. "Return, Gengar. Go, Feraligatr!" Ash said, tossing its pokeball. "Hydro Pump!" They both yelled, smiles on their faces. The Feraligatr proved more powerful, and Squirtle was out. Misty had heard the battling, and dropped in a while ago. "Go Mike!" She yelled, as they both recalled their pokemon. "This will even the odds! Go, Noctowl!" Richie yelled. "Go, Meganium! Confuse Ray!" Ash said. "Foresight!" Richie yelled at the same time, and Ash's world crumbled again, as the Foresight missed Meganium... and hit him.
"Aaahhh!" Ash yelled, as his true form began materializing. "Ash? Ash!" Misty yelled, running across the room to the hooded Ash. Ash yelled in his mind, as he recalled Meganium, picked up Pikachu and ran to the nearest window. AS he jumped out, he did a flip, and a Celebi with a Pikachu on it's back and a Mew flew off, into a portal the Celebi had made. "Ash! ASH!" Misty yelled, running to the window, only to see the portal close, and a teary-eyed Celebi wave goodbye. "No!" Misty yelled, falling to her knees, crying. "Ash, Ash, Ash!" She moaned, shaking off Richie, who was trying to help her up.
Mew seemed to scream, as Ash reappeared where the Celebi stood. "I knew Foresight would ruin my life, but not like that." Ash said, wiping the tears from his eyes. *Come on, Ash. It's not like you didn't leave her for longer than two seconds before. As a matter of fact, she's probably more shattered than you are. She hasn't seen you for three years! * Pikachu said, not realizing he just made it worse. "Thanks for the encouraging thought." Ash spat, sitting down and pulling out their lunches. They all sat down in silence, said grace, and then ate silently. Ash and Mew just watched Pikachu slurp the remains of a ketchup bottle down, and went to get another. "Pikachu, you're going to turn into a ketchup bottle yourself if you only eat that for snacks." Ash said, shaking his head lightly. Pikachu seemed to be getting greedy with it when he started, and when he finished that sentence; he was drenched from head to toe in ketchup. "What did I tell you?" Ash asked, a smirk on his face. *Shut up and hive me some help. * Pikachu said, waiting for Ash to deploy the water. He got more then he expected, when a Hydro Pump hit him. *Thanks. * He said, shaking himself dry. "Se what happens when you try to help and make it worse?" Ash asked, smiling smugly. Mew said, staring into the distance. *He's right. I can hear them, and smell them. Ash, they smell like you! * Pikachu said, standing on all fours. Ash stood up and started walking to where the person was supposed to be. The pokemon stayed behind, incase someone decided to come from behind.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Ash said, walking forward slowly. "I'm already here." The voice said, in the same leering voice Ash used. "Alright, enough of the games. Who's there? What do you want?" Ash asked, stopping and looking around. "Well, I'm you, and I want to talk to you. You see, after lots of timing and math, I found out that I could find you right here, right now. Me, you can't run from your fears like I just did. Go into the past two years. You will find out things you need to know." Future Ash said, stepping from the mist. "Well, why didn't you just come into the clearing where my pokemon were instead of making me walk?" Ash asked. When he finished saying that, Pikachu's screaming could be heard, and thunder was heard. "Because Pikachu will think he saw something coming, and would have shocked me to death." Future Ash said. "Alright, so, do you think you could show me how to use my light and night techniques?" Ash asked hopefully. "No, sorry. That's not what I came for. I told you what to do, now do it." Future Ash said. So, Ash went back to the group and told where and when they were going. Mew said, transforming back into Jeff. "So, I better get the cloak on, no?" Ash asked, as the cloak appeared on his back.
Three seconds later, they were in on one side of a war. The side he was on was losing horribly. The opposing side had humans that seemed to be more Pokemen. But he knew they weren't, because the person in the front of the opposing side was throwing water blasts, and it was Misty. "Well I'll be... Misty's a Pokeman! And a Master, at that." Ash said shocked to see Misty, killing people faster then she could swim. It seemed that the people couldn't see, feel or hear them. Ash turned to look at the side he was standing at. They were all wearing white and black clothing, all with red R's on them. All but one, whose eyes were red with fury, as he was throwing shadows at the opposing team. The shadows went into the people, and came out carrying souls, screaming with pain. Ash knew from the moment he saw the man, and the other man beside him, that he was sent here to watch the Master die, and Team Rocket take over, with him leading them and Gary his right hand man. "I suppose after I left Misty again, I went into Limbo, and dragged an alternate Gary into this, seeing as another Gary is over there, and seems to be throwing rocks from his hands! Great! Misty and Gary are Pokemen! My life could not possibly get any worse!" Ash yelled, as the him from another future stood up and halted the battle. "Well, if you rebel scum won't cooperate, I'll have to be evil." Future Ash said, a grim smile on his face. Suddenly, Ash's mom, Delia, was standing in front of him. "Surrender, or she dies!" HE yelled at Misty, who seemed to be the leader. "Call back! We surrender! Just don't hurt your mom! She was like a mom to all of us!" She yelled, throwing her hands up. "NO! Don't give up!" Ash yelled at no one. Future Ash grinned more. His eyes glowed crimson, and everybody was put into his command. "Go back home, and know that I'm your Master!" He yelled, as he brought a black sword from nowhere and sliced threw Delia's throat. "NO! I'll find a way to kill you myself, you idiot!" Ashes screamed as he ran at Future Ash and tried to jump kick him. As he thought he would, he went straight threw all of them. When all of them had left, including Future Ash, Ash opened a portal into time again. "If I can't save her here, I'll find her soul in Limbo." He said, as his pokemon followed him.
"Who goes there?" a man asked, not looking up from his papers. "The Master of Night and Day." Ash said, as a scanner flashed his eyes. "Ash? What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be dead." The man said. "Just taking care of business. Earth is my responsibility, so I'll meddle as I please." He said, walking into the portal of the dead. In there, millions of souls were everywhere. Ash had been here before, so he new where to go. After a small hike, he was at a corridor. Another man was at a desk, also reading. "Hello, Ash. Who do you want to talk to, and what year did they die?" The man said, still reading. "I'm looking for my mom. You know when she died." Ash said, as the man tossed him a set of keys. "Down the hall, twentieth to your left." He said, looking up to toss the keys. "Thanks, Joe." Ash said. "No problem, Ash." Joe said, taking the next order. Ash decided to teleport to the door. He knew the doors in Limbo were not accessible, even if you teleported from out side the door. They did that to make sure Sabrina didn't get the chance to resurrect whoever she wanted. When he got to the door, he took the key and hoped it was the right one. He slowly turned the key in the slot, and turned the handle. His mom sat in one corner, rocking on her knees. "Mom? Mom, is that you?" Ash asked, walking in. "Ash, what happened to you? You've been gone for years, and when you come back, you kill me. Why?" She asked, looking up. "Mom, I made some bad decisions in the future that I'm not proud of, and that was a me from Limbo. He got out, along with a lot of other types of me, the one's that don't exist in out time, but have there own. Now, how about I take you back to the realm of the living, and we bring back the evil me, then I'll go out and catch all the other me from different dimensions. Holy Resurrection!" He said, as his mother's spirit returned to the check in. In ten minutes, he was back at Joe. "I see you resurrected your mom. What happened, did your evil selves escape?" Joe asked, looking troubled. "Yeah, and it's up to me to catch them." Ash said, tossing the keys back to Joe. "Good luck." Joe said, putting the keys in a drawer on his desk.
"Ash, what's your mom doing out of her room?" The other man at the first desk asked. "Well, she wasn't supposed to die. You had a problem holding the other dimensions together." Ash said, guiding his mom's soul back to earth.
"Let me see, if I were evil, demented, and in a different dimension, where would I be?" Ash asked, walking around. Mew asked flying around behind Ash and Pikachu. "No, that's more annoying than it is torture. Let's try, The Barney Movie!" Ash said, running to the movies. Mew yelled in agony. "Shut up and fly!" Ash said, transforming into Pidgeot. Pikachu barely made it on Ash's back when he hit the sound barrier. Mew just teleported to the Multiplex. On his way, Ash narrowly avoided three stoplights and one kite. *Dangerous skies, huh Pikachu? * Ash said, smirking the best he could with a beak. *Next time, can you just teleport us, or not transform but use Pidgeot's speed? * Pikachu asked, feeling a little sick. *Sure, why not. * Ash said, as they landed in front of the movies. Mew stood waiting at the entrance. He asked, transforming into Jeff. "I mean, it gets real annoying after two." He finished, walking into the theater. "Give me the details later, right now we need to stop evil me!" Ash said, running down the hall. Pikachu stuck to the shadows, as to not attract attention. When they came to the booth where you give your tickets, Ash used psychic to get them through the door. As they ran, Ash was filled with anger, and sudden shocks and waves of wind were knocking people over every once in a while. They later found out that several people were put into a state of shock, and sent to the hospital. When they got to the door the their movie, they heard evil laughter and someone shouting, "This is what happens when you try to double cross me!" They felt they had hit the jackpot. As the words were said, Ash was filled with more rage, and the very light seemed to take shape and cower before Ash. A shadow came from nowhere and knocked open the door. As this happened, the light figure of Ash jumped into a light, and all the power in the building was knocked out so only Ash and Pikachu. They stepped in, and saw the evil Ash right away, as he had pulled a knife from his belt and slashed the face of the man in front of his. Even from the distance, Ash could see who the man was, and a blind rage took over Ash, as his father's head sagged limp. "I'll kill you!" Ash yelled, as Shadows in the form of him stepped in front of him and stared evilly at Future Ash. "Who is the fool impersonating me?" Evil Ash asked, as his own Shadow slaves appeared. "I am impersonating you, for I am you! You came to my dimension with that false Gary, so I must kill you as protector of Earth." Ash said, as the both of them pointed their shadow army to the other's army of shadows. "Kill!" They both yelled, as their shadow minions attacked. Suddenly, two black and white Pikachu jumped forward, threatening the other. "Attack!" The Ash's yelled, as they created swords. Evil Ash made his sword of light, as Ash made his from shadows. Ash grinned, and started speaking. "You chose the wrong element, friend. Shadow does not need light to be alive, as without light, shadow is everywhere, yet where there is light, there will always be shadow, and night." Ash said, as they both jumped at each other, careful to avoid the Pikachu's, and the armies of shadow. "You fight well, but as this is not my dimension, I will destroy you all." Evil Ash said, but when he said this, Ash yelled. "I am a Master as well! You cannot kill me! I'll just keep coming back for more!" Ash said, as he stepped back, and his sword disappeared into the night. "But, since this is not your dimension, you can be killed." Ash said, as he turned into his dark Scyther. He then hit Evil Ash with many slash attacks, and Evil Ash fell over, bloody. As he fell, his army of shadow disappeared, as did his Pikachu. Ash formed a dark pokeball, and threw it at his evil counterpart. "I caught Evil Ash, hooray." He said, as he picked up the ball, and it disappeared into his cloak. "Come, Pikachu. If he got out, we better head to our time and stop the others. Right after I bring back dad. Holy Resurrection!" He yelled, aiming his hand at all the dead bodies, and their souls happily returned to their bodies, and thanked him before entering the bodies. After a brief explanation to Ash's father, Ash and crew were off, and disappeared into time. "Well, I suppose a man can only die once, or twice, or possibly three times. I'll be careful, son, if you do." Ash's dad had said, right before they left for their time. "I will dad, and the answer is twice. I should know because I've been there. That could explain why I know Limbo so well." Ash said, flying away to fight his counterparts.