VI
The blackness that surrounded me, in some way, seemed to lessen and become thinner. Slowly, I became aware of my body again. The first thing I could tell was that I was lying down, on my stomach. Then, I got my hands back, which felt soft grass around me. My face came back next, which was still burning from that Pikachu's Thundershock. Finally, I regained the option to open my eyes. However, before I could do so, I felt a sharp pain in my leg. And then another on my back. Suddenly, random pains began a rampage on my body. I put my hands over my head and screamed. I didn't know what was doing it, but I wouldn't be able to take much more.
Suddenly, I heard a voice. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt NOW!" I felt a burst of heat, and I heard a faint crackling noise, and then the pain stopped. I slowly opened my eyes, and saw a pair of red and white sneakers in front of me. I looked up gradually, and when I saw who the figure was, I was ready to faint again.
Standing before me was none other than Ash Ketchum, world renowned Pokemon Trainer and main character of the TV series and video games. His Pikachu stood at his side, cool as a cucumber. I screamed again.
"Whoa, calm down!" said Ash, bending down. "Are you okay?"
I slowly looked up again. This had to be a dream. "A-a-Ash? Is it really Ash?"
"Yep! That's me! Hahaha!"
I struggled to my feet. "But, how? What…? How…?" I tried to find the right words.
Ash laughed again. "Take it easy, dude. You've had quite a busy day."
"Pika, pika!"
"But, I don't understand. How did I get here? Where am I?"
"What do you mean, 'how did you get here?'"
"Well, I mean, I don't know… I was at home minding my own business, and then this Pikachu zapped me into next week, and then I feel all these sharp pains all over me, and then POW! I see you." I struggled to catch my breath.
Ash glanced at Pikachu with a look that said, "He's cucco." Pikachu nodded.
"So, you claim you just APPEARED here, huh?" he said, "Well, I've never heard of anything like that happening. And those sharp pains was a flock of Spearows. They were mauling you, until Ash The Great came and scared them away. But I really don't think you just came out of thin air."
"Piii-ka."
I glared at Ash. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Well," he said, "I'm gonna have to take your word for it, as crazy as it sounds. I've never seen you around before, so you must come from SOMEwhere."
"Whatever."
A brief, awkward silence passed. Pikachu stood between us, looking from one to the other. Finally, I broke the silence.
"So?"
"So, what?"
"So what are you doing right now?" I asked, "Out looking for more Pokemon? Traveling to new locations?"
"Actually," said Ash, "I'm on my way to meet my friend, Gold, in Olivine City. He's arriving on the S.S. Aqua at 3:00, and he said he had urgent news for me."
Gold was, of course, the main character in the Gold and Silver versions of the Pokemon video game.
"Awesome!" I said. "I've never seen Gold in person. He was never on the TV show…"
"TV show?" said Ash with a quizzical look.
"Nevermind." I said. "Can I come with you?"
Ash's face turned thoughtful. "Wellll…I don't know…"
"Pleeeeease? I've always wanted to travel around with you! Me and Ash, the world's most famous Pokemon Trainer!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, kid."
"But it's true!"
Ash thought some more. Finally he leaned down and whispered to Pikachu, "What do you think? Should he come with us?"
Pikachu whispered the equivalent of, "It's ok with me, but if he starts acting freaky, I'm gonna zap him into next week."
Finally, Ash put his hand out. "OK, you can come with us. What was your name again?"
"Paul."
"Alright, Paul, you can tag along. I wouldn't mind having a traveling partner."
"Excellent!" I exclaimed. This would be so cool, traveling around with Ash. Suddenly, he asked a question that caught me off guard.
"So where are your Pokemon?"
"What?"
"Your Pokemon. You gotta have Pokemon to travel. What if another trainer challenges you?"
"Oh… well, the only Pokemon I have are the ones on the video game." Suddenly I remembered putting the Game Boy in my pocket. Reaching in, I was shocked to find six shiny Poke Balls.
"See?" said Ash, "You DO have Pokemon. Let's have a look."
I flung each Poke Ball to the ground to reveal the Pokemon within. They were all there; my Meganium, my Charizard, the Gengar I had raised from a Gastly, the Cloyster I fished up, my Fearow, and finally, the Lanturn I caught in Olivine.
"Hello, boys!" I cried. "So good to see you like this!"
My Pokemon stood and looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, my Meganium walked over to me slowly. I petted its head, and it cooed softly. My other Pokemon slowly came to my side. This is what I have dreamed of since the days of the Red Version…being able to stand tall with my Pokemon beside me.
"You've got some good looking Pokemon there." Said Ash. "I'd love to see them in battle."
I was stunned. "Wait…are you saying…?"
"Yep. Let's battle! You and me! Right now!"
"You got it!" I cried. "How many Poke Balls?"
"3 on 3 works for me!"
"As you wish!" I said, and I twisted my cap around and threw my first Poke Ball. "Let's go, Meganium!"
Ash threw out the Poke Ball containing his Snorlax. A big, lazy creature, Snorlax was slow, but very strong.
"Meganium, Sleep Powder!" Meganium, a pure Grass Pokemon with a flower around its neck, released a cloud of yellow spores that filled the air. Snorlax immediately fell into a deep sleep.
"You may think you have the advantage…" muttered Ash, "But watch this! Snorlax, use Snore!"
Snore was a sleeping attack that dealt physical damage. Meganium reeled under the impact.
"C'mon, Meganium, you're stronger! Prepare Solarbeam!" The plant Pokemon raised its green head, looking at the sun. It began to absorb light shining from above, and soon it began to shine as if on fire.
"Snorlax, use Snore again!" Snorlax again unleashed the Snore attack. But my Meganium stood strong.
The Solarbeam was ready. "Fire at will!" I shouted. My Pokemon unleashed a brilliant, shining ray of light, spouting from its antennae, that shot across the field and rammed into the Snorlax. However, the impact woke Snorlax up.
"Alright, Snorlax, give it a Body Slam!" shouted Ash. The Snorlax stood up, and charged at my precious Grass type. But once again, it survived the attack.
"OK, Meganium, finish it off! Cut it!" Using its Grass powers, it chopped at Snorlax, delivering the finishing blow. Snorlax collapsed on its back.
"Hmm, not bad!" said Ash. "But now it's serious! Espeon, I choose you!" He tossed out his second Poke Ball, revealing a cat-like creature called Espeon. Espeon was the Psychic evolution of Eevee, which was a Pokemon that could evolve into many different Pokemon.
I withdrew Meganium, as it was tired and could not go on. "A Psychic type, huh?" I mused. "Alright then. I choose Gengar!" I flung out my second Ball, revealing the Ghost type Gengar. Ghost types were very strong and had few weaknesses. Many attacks just pass right through them!
"OK, Espeon," said Ash, "Let's make the first attack! Use Psybeam, now!" A multicolored blast of Psychic energy flew from the Espeon, hitting Gengar hard.
"That can't stop us!" I boasted, "Gengar, let's have your Curse attack!" Gengar raised its arms and started emitting ultrasonic waves. In that instant, Espeon coiled back, as if hit by a strong attack.
"Oh, no! Espeon!" cried Ash. "Can you still fight?" The Eevee evolution looked up at its trainer with tired eyes, but it seemed to say, "I will not let you down."
"OK, then, Espeon, if you can still go on… let's have a Psywave, now!" With a lot of effort, Espeon sent forth a ball of Psychic energy that struck Gengar and made it stumble backwards. I could see that my Gengar could not go on.
"Gengar, return!" I commanded, calling it back to its Poke Ball. "Um, I think I'll go with… Charizard!" I summoned my Fire and Flying type, the dragon-esque Charizard. Tough to control, yes, but valuable in battle. "Charizard, let's have your Flamethrower attack!" Charizard spat forth a fountain of flames at poor Espeon, which caused it to faint on the spot.
"So it's down to 1 on 1, huh?" snickered Ash. "Ok, I choose…Pikachu!"
"Pikaaaa!" cried the small, electric mouse as it leapt into the battlefield. Pikachu packed a serious punch, (as I had found out earlier), but Ash's Pikachu in particular had electrical powers unmatched by any other.
"Pikachu, paralyze it!" cried Ash.
"Pikapi, ka…chuuuuu!" A field of electric waves spewed forth from the Pikachu, and Charizard lurched. I knew what paralysis could do, but it was down to the last Pokemon, so I had no choice but to keep going.
"Charizard, Fly now!" Despite its paralyzed condition, my dragon flew high into the sky to prepare for an aerial assault.
"Smart thinking." Said Ash. "Normally, a Pokemon can't be attacked while Flying, but we've got a way around that."
"You do??"
"Pikachu, Thunder attack, now!"
"Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!!!" The clouds above darkened, and a massive lightning bolt shot forth from the clouds, slicing cleanly through Charizard and impacting the ground with great force. Charizard fell to earth, and had to be recalled. The battle was over. I had been beaten by Ash.
"All right, Pikachu!" cried Ash, "I knew we would win! We're not gonna let some newcomer beat us, right?" He patted Pikachu on the head.
"Pikapi! Pika-chu!"
For a minute I stood still, caught up in the moment. The fact that I had lost wasn't that which was keeping me riveted. Rather, it was the fact that I had just fought a real-life Pokemon battle against the world's best trainer, Ash. If you had told me I would be doing this about an hour ago, I would have laughed you right out of my room.
I was still having a hard time comprehending what had happened to me. One minute, I'm in my house taking a bath, then the next, I'm in the world of Pokemon, fighting Ash. And then suddenly, it hit me…my ultimate wish had come true! I had always wanted to be here, and now I was!
"YIPPEE!" I cried, jumping into the air, "My dream has come true! Yee-ha!"
Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"Kid…" began Ash.
"The name's Paul." I said.
"Right. Paul, calm down. You're making a fool of yourself."
"Pi-kaaaa."
"Sorry." I said, "But it's always been my dream to live in this world. I don't think you understand."
"Well, this is no dream…"
"I know! That's what makes it so cool!" I cried.
"Sure, whatever you say." Said Ash with a sideways glance. "Well, I had fun battling you…"
"Me too! My first REAL Pokemon battle!"
"Right. Well, if you want to come with us to Olivine, we'd better get on the road."
"Right, then!" I said. "Off we go!"
The blackness that surrounded me, in some way, seemed to lessen and become thinner. Slowly, I became aware of my body again. The first thing I could tell was that I was lying down, on my stomach. Then, I got my hands back, which felt soft grass around me. My face came back next, which was still burning from that Pikachu's Thundershock. Finally, I regained the option to open my eyes. However, before I could do so, I felt a sharp pain in my leg. And then another on my back. Suddenly, random pains began a rampage on my body. I put my hands over my head and screamed. I didn't know what was doing it, but I wouldn't be able to take much more.
Suddenly, I heard a voice. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt NOW!" I felt a burst of heat, and I heard a faint crackling noise, and then the pain stopped. I slowly opened my eyes, and saw a pair of red and white sneakers in front of me. I looked up gradually, and when I saw who the figure was, I was ready to faint again.
Standing before me was none other than Ash Ketchum, world renowned Pokemon Trainer and main character of the TV series and video games. His Pikachu stood at his side, cool as a cucumber. I screamed again.
"Whoa, calm down!" said Ash, bending down. "Are you okay?"
I slowly looked up again. This had to be a dream. "A-a-Ash? Is it really Ash?"
"Yep! That's me! Hahaha!"
I struggled to my feet. "But, how? What…? How…?" I tried to find the right words.
Ash laughed again. "Take it easy, dude. You've had quite a busy day."
"Pika, pika!"
"But, I don't understand. How did I get here? Where am I?"
"What do you mean, 'how did you get here?'"
"Well, I mean, I don't know… I was at home minding my own business, and then this Pikachu zapped me into next week, and then I feel all these sharp pains all over me, and then POW! I see you." I struggled to catch my breath.
Ash glanced at Pikachu with a look that said, "He's cucco." Pikachu nodded.
"So, you claim you just APPEARED here, huh?" he said, "Well, I've never heard of anything like that happening. And those sharp pains was a flock of Spearows. They were mauling you, until Ash The Great came and scared them away. But I really don't think you just came out of thin air."
"Piii-ka."
I glared at Ash. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Well," he said, "I'm gonna have to take your word for it, as crazy as it sounds. I've never seen you around before, so you must come from SOMEwhere."
"Whatever."
A brief, awkward silence passed. Pikachu stood between us, looking from one to the other. Finally, I broke the silence.
"So?"
"So, what?"
"So what are you doing right now?" I asked, "Out looking for more Pokemon? Traveling to new locations?"
"Actually," said Ash, "I'm on my way to meet my friend, Gold, in Olivine City. He's arriving on the S.S. Aqua at 3:00, and he said he had urgent news for me."
Gold was, of course, the main character in the Gold and Silver versions of the Pokemon video game.
"Awesome!" I said. "I've never seen Gold in person. He was never on the TV show…"
"TV show?" said Ash with a quizzical look.
"Nevermind." I said. "Can I come with you?"
Ash's face turned thoughtful. "Wellll…I don't know…"
"Pleeeeease? I've always wanted to travel around with you! Me and Ash, the world's most famous Pokemon Trainer!"
"Flattery will get you nowhere, kid."
"But it's true!"
Ash thought some more. Finally he leaned down and whispered to Pikachu, "What do you think? Should he come with us?"
Pikachu whispered the equivalent of, "It's ok with me, but if he starts acting freaky, I'm gonna zap him into next week."
Finally, Ash put his hand out. "OK, you can come with us. What was your name again?"
"Paul."
"Alright, Paul, you can tag along. I wouldn't mind having a traveling partner."
"Excellent!" I exclaimed. This would be so cool, traveling around with Ash. Suddenly, he asked a question that caught me off guard.
"So where are your Pokemon?"
"What?"
"Your Pokemon. You gotta have Pokemon to travel. What if another trainer challenges you?"
"Oh… well, the only Pokemon I have are the ones on the video game." Suddenly I remembered putting the Game Boy in my pocket. Reaching in, I was shocked to find six shiny Poke Balls.
"See?" said Ash, "You DO have Pokemon. Let's have a look."
I flung each Poke Ball to the ground to reveal the Pokemon within. They were all there; my Meganium, my Charizard, the Gengar I had raised from a Gastly, the Cloyster I fished up, my Fearow, and finally, the Lanturn I caught in Olivine.
"Hello, boys!" I cried. "So good to see you like this!"
My Pokemon stood and looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, my Meganium walked over to me slowly. I petted its head, and it cooed softly. My other Pokemon slowly came to my side. This is what I have dreamed of since the days of the Red Version…being able to stand tall with my Pokemon beside me.
"You've got some good looking Pokemon there." Said Ash. "I'd love to see them in battle."
I was stunned. "Wait…are you saying…?"
"Yep. Let's battle! You and me! Right now!"
"You got it!" I cried. "How many Poke Balls?"
"3 on 3 works for me!"
"As you wish!" I said, and I twisted my cap around and threw my first Poke Ball. "Let's go, Meganium!"
Ash threw out the Poke Ball containing his Snorlax. A big, lazy creature, Snorlax was slow, but very strong.
"Meganium, Sleep Powder!" Meganium, a pure Grass Pokemon with a flower around its neck, released a cloud of yellow spores that filled the air. Snorlax immediately fell into a deep sleep.
"You may think you have the advantage…" muttered Ash, "But watch this! Snorlax, use Snore!"
Snore was a sleeping attack that dealt physical damage. Meganium reeled under the impact.
"C'mon, Meganium, you're stronger! Prepare Solarbeam!" The plant Pokemon raised its green head, looking at the sun. It began to absorb light shining from above, and soon it began to shine as if on fire.
"Snorlax, use Snore again!" Snorlax again unleashed the Snore attack. But my Meganium stood strong.
The Solarbeam was ready. "Fire at will!" I shouted. My Pokemon unleashed a brilliant, shining ray of light, spouting from its antennae, that shot across the field and rammed into the Snorlax. However, the impact woke Snorlax up.
"Alright, Snorlax, give it a Body Slam!" shouted Ash. The Snorlax stood up, and charged at my precious Grass type. But once again, it survived the attack.
"OK, Meganium, finish it off! Cut it!" Using its Grass powers, it chopped at Snorlax, delivering the finishing blow. Snorlax collapsed on its back.
"Hmm, not bad!" said Ash. "But now it's serious! Espeon, I choose you!" He tossed out his second Poke Ball, revealing a cat-like creature called Espeon. Espeon was the Psychic evolution of Eevee, which was a Pokemon that could evolve into many different Pokemon.
I withdrew Meganium, as it was tired and could not go on. "A Psychic type, huh?" I mused. "Alright then. I choose Gengar!" I flung out my second Ball, revealing the Ghost type Gengar. Ghost types were very strong and had few weaknesses. Many attacks just pass right through them!
"OK, Espeon," said Ash, "Let's make the first attack! Use Psybeam, now!" A multicolored blast of Psychic energy flew from the Espeon, hitting Gengar hard.
"That can't stop us!" I boasted, "Gengar, let's have your Curse attack!" Gengar raised its arms and started emitting ultrasonic waves. In that instant, Espeon coiled back, as if hit by a strong attack.
"Oh, no! Espeon!" cried Ash. "Can you still fight?" The Eevee evolution looked up at its trainer with tired eyes, but it seemed to say, "I will not let you down."
"OK, then, Espeon, if you can still go on… let's have a Psywave, now!" With a lot of effort, Espeon sent forth a ball of Psychic energy that struck Gengar and made it stumble backwards. I could see that my Gengar could not go on.
"Gengar, return!" I commanded, calling it back to its Poke Ball. "Um, I think I'll go with… Charizard!" I summoned my Fire and Flying type, the dragon-esque Charizard. Tough to control, yes, but valuable in battle. "Charizard, let's have your Flamethrower attack!" Charizard spat forth a fountain of flames at poor Espeon, which caused it to faint on the spot.
"So it's down to 1 on 1, huh?" snickered Ash. "Ok, I choose…Pikachu!"
"Pikaaaa!" cried the small, electric mouse as it leapt into the battlefield. Pikachu packed a serious punch, (as I had found out earlier), but Ash's Pikachu in particular had electrical powers unmatched by any other.
"Pikachu, paralyze it!" cried Ash.
"Pikapi, ka…chuuuuu!" A field of electric waves spewed forth from the Pikachu, and Charizard lurched. I knew what paralysis could do, but it was down to the last Pokemon, so I had no choice but to keep going.
"Charizard, Fly now!" Despite its paralyzed condition, my dragon flew high into the sky to prepare for an aerial assault.
"Smart thinking." Said Ash. "Normally, a Pokemon can't be attacked while Flying, but we've got a way around that."
"You do??"
"Pikachu, Thunder attack, now!"
"Pi-ka-CHUUUUU!!!" The clouds above darkened, and a massive lightning bolt shot forth from the clouds, slicing cleanly through Charizard and impacting the ground with great force. Charizard fell to earth, and had to be recalled. The battle was over. I had been beaten by Ash.
"All right, Pikachu!" cried Ash, "I knew we would win! We're not gonna let some newcomer beat us, right?" He patted Pikachu on the head.
"Pikapi! Pika-chu!"
For a minute I stood still, caught up in the moment. The fact that I had lost wasn't that which was keeping me riveted. Rather, it was the fact that I had just fought a real-life Pokemon battle against the world's best trainer, Ash. If you had told me I would be doing this about an hour ago, I would have laughed you right out of my room.
I was still having a hard time comprehending what had happened to me. One minute, I'm in my house taking a bath, then the next, I'm in the world of Pokemon, fighting Ash. And then suddenly, it hit me…my ultimate wish had come true! I had always wanted to be here, and now I was!
"YIPPEE!" I cried, jumping into the air, "My dream has come true! Yee-ha!"
Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"Kid…" began Ash.
"The name's Paul." I said.
"Right. Paul, calm down. You're making a fool of yourself."
"Pi-kaaaa."
"Sorry." I said, "But it's always been my dream to live in this world. I don't think you understand."
"Well, this is no dream…"
"I know! That's what makes it so cool!" I cried.
"Sure, whatever you say." Said Ash with a sideways glance. "Well, I had fun battling you…"
"Me too! My first REAL Pokemon battle!"
"Right. Well, if you want to come with us to Olivine, we'd better get on the road."
"Right, then!" I said. "Off we go!"