Note: As promised, the next chapter. Don't have much to say this time around.
Please enjoy. Like, share, comment, the works.
Johto chapter 1: Pika one, Pika two, Pikachu!
Ash felt like he had been here forever.
He did not know where he was, or what was happening. He remembered… a Gyarados? Or at least he thinks it was a Gyarados. He couldn't remember, he couldn't even think. But he could still see, still feel. And while he saw very little, he felt a lot.
He was sitting on a white chair in an empty white room. No colour, no windows, not even a door. There was just… nothing. He didn't move a muscle, he couldn't even if he tried. He felt bound to this chair, content to stay in this room forever, drifting into utter thoughtlessness.
Well, he would, but despite the complete lack of sensory stimulation provided by the room, he felt multiple intrusive forces clamoring all over his body. He could feel arms grasping at him, almost like a force was lifting him from his feet. Yet he remained motionless, completely undisturbed by any external influence. He felt a cold sensation running down his head and through his entire body. It felt like water, yet he was completely dry. These feelings came and went as time trickled on. Or… at least he thinks time was passing. Time did not exist here, concepts such as past and future ceased to register. He just waited, and waited ,and waited, until the room began to get brighter, and brighter, and brighter…
Ash couldn't see anything as he opened his eyes, the blinding light consuming his vision. For a moment he panicked as his memories began to flood back in. Where was that Gyarados? Wasn't it just attacking him? He tried to jolt himself up, only now realizing that he was lying down. He rose slowly, his muscles feeling extremely stiff. His eyes finally adjusted to his new surroundings, and he immediately realized that he wasn't outside anymore.
He was lying down on a simple floor mat in a large room, his body covered by a purple woolen blanket. He was relieved that the room wasn't white. Instead, the room's walls were adorned with red oak boards. Warm sunlight poured through an open window that gave him a view of the dense forest outside. He noticed several paintings on the walls, all depicting various people wearing simple coloured robes, conducting daily chores with various Pokémon. One showed a young woman in a grey robe, washing clothes near a small river with her Psyduck. Another painting showed an old man in a red robe, carrying a large basket next to a Totodile…
"Totodile?! Pikachu!?" Ash said aloud as he recalled his final moments at Lake Moon. Pikachu and Totodile were in his arms as he went unconscious. A sharp pain emanated from his chest as he attempted to jump to his feet. He tossed off the blanket, revealing that he was shirtless, with gauze wrapped around his ribs and abdomen.
"Wait… what?" his voice panicked and rasped. The scenario was getting stranger and stranger by the second. He attempted to get up again but he could only manage to wince in pain. He wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.
"Oh, you're awake" Ash heard a voice from the other end of the room. He didn't even realize that someone had entered. Standing at the door was a young woman, wearing a yellow robe, similar to the people in the paintings, with a purple sash around her waist. Her clothing matched her yellow eyes and blonde hair which was tucked underneath her most striking piece of attire, a large straw hat. She also held a small satchel over her shoulder.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where's Pikachu and Totodile?" Ash asked, his voice raising at the final question. He didn't intend to sound hostile. Ash was the last person to immediately distrust a stranger, but even he couldn't help but feel suspicious about the current situation, especially when the safety of his Pokémon was in question.
"Your Pokémon are doing well; they're just resting in the other room," the women responded with a soft tone. Ash couldn't help but feel relieved.
"Good, good," Ash said as the woman began to make her way towards him. She knelt down next to him, eying his bandages.
"As for my name, well," she snickered, almost like she was remembering an old joke "some call me Amarillo del Bosque Verde, but you can call me Yellow. It's nice to finally speak to you."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Yellow!" The slight hostility in his voice had completely vanished. Yellow smiled, he was just like him. "My name's Ash, from Pallet town."
"Pleasure to meet you, Ash. You're probably very confused by all of this. I will explain everything to you in a bit, but first I need to treat your injuries."
"So, you're a nurse? Like Nurse Joy?"
"Well, not exactly," Yellow said as she placed her hand on his chest. Her hand felt warm and surprisingly soothing on his sore chest. For a moment, Ash didn't even realize that her hand was glowing! An ethereal, whitish glow emanated from her palm. It was almost like she was imitating the healing auras exhibited from certain Pokémon such as the enigmatic Chanseys that accompanied many of the Pokémon nurses that he met in his travels. He had seen individuals with similar abilities before, but it never failed to amaze him whenever he witnessed them showcase their powers.
Ash felt his chest becoming numb. It wasn't comfortable, but it was far preferable to sharp jolts of pain. Finally, the pressure dissipated altogether.
"You should stay put for a while. My powers aren't as effective as they used to be, so you'll need to rest for a couple hours."
"It's fine… thank you" Ash said, lying back down. He had no idea what Yellow meant by "not as effective" considering that she just conducted a minor miracle, but those questions would hopefully be answered when she was ready.
"PIKA!"
Ash quickly raised his head, spotting Pikachu standing on the other side of the room. Ash was relieved to see that Pikachu looked uninjured. Actually, he looked even better than that, and happier than ever. Pikachu sprinted towards the pair, looking to leap into Ash's arms, which were already outstretched to catch the small Pokémon. To his surprise, Pikachu paused right before jumping, standing next to Yellow. He looked at her with a puzzled expression, almost as if he was expecting something. Yellow reached down and held out her hand, placing her palm on Pikachu's forehead. While the glow was gone, Ash could feel that what she was doing now wasn't any less mystifying.
Is he… is he better now? Pikachu's concern hadn't lessoned even though Ash was now awake. Yellow heard his thoughts clearly, another facet of her abilities.
Yes he is, but take it slowly, ok?
Rather than leaping, Pikachu crawled slowly into Ash arms. Ash was surprised by his gentleness. He didn't know what that little interaction entailed, but he was quite sure that it was more than a simple head pat. It wasn't exactly like anything about the current situation was normal.
"Hey Pikachu, it's good to see you're okay," he said as Pikachu laid in his lap. He rested soundly, trying his best not to disturb Ash.
"He's been so worried for the last few days. Totodile as well," Yellow said
"I'm sure they were… wait? A few days?" The concern in Ash's voice returned.
Yellow fully sat down next to Ash, legs crossed and hunched forward.
"I guess it's time I told you everything. But where to start…," Yellow's voice became stern. "Well… It's better if I show you". Yellow reached into her bag and pulled out a photograph, facing it towards Ash. His heart skipped a beat.
"This is you, from another world," Yellow said, holding out a picture of Red.
In an instant, it all came back to him. He remembered being at his home, speaking to Dawn, and heading out for a stroll to Lake Moon. He remembered falling, being in an ethereal world and speaking to Red. He remembered the Gyarados attacking, Totodile feinting, and him and his Pokémon being knocked unconscious…
"I've met him. His name's Red, right?"
Yellow's eyes widened. "You've seen him?! Where?! Is he hurt?! Is he ok?!" Her voice was panicked, her calm demeanour breaking at the seams as she leaned forward from her position.
"I… I don't know where he is but…" Yellow glared at him. He realized that he should probably choose his next words carefully. "He looked okay, or… well…"
"I'm sorry," She calmed herself, letting her muscles relax and allowing herself to breathe. She sighed in relief. "Let me finish first. We can talk about Red later."
"Alright, so what's going on?" Ash asked. Red must have been important to Yellow. Maybe they travelled together. I wonder if they were Pokémon trainers. If Red is anything like me…
"Like I said, Red is from another world, as am I. It's difficult to explain but people just sort of… appeared," Yellow shrugged. She knew that she wasn't the best person to explain the situation. The reality was that even she wasn't really sure what had happened, and the debates still ran rampant among professors around the world.
"A few weeks ago, something happened. No one knows what exactly happened, but everyone felt it. It was like…"
"Like your heart stopped in place." Ash finished. So, it wasn't just him.
"Yes. Some had different side effects, but," She shuddered slightly at the memory "it was like a moment in time was just… taken away. It only lasted for a moment, but when everyone came to, they realized that there were all new people surrounding them."
"But… how do we know that we're from different worlds?"
"Well, you and Red aren't the only lookalikes. People all over the world reported that they suddenly ran into people who were identical to them. The weird thing is that how identical they actually were would vary between them as well."
"Vary?"
Yellow nodded. "Some looked almost identical like twins, others had slight differences in appearance," she motioned at Ash and the picture of Red. "Many had different parents, who would also have lookalikes, with different kids and families. Sometimes these lookalikes would be at different ages, or different names, or even different personalities, but the similarities were unquestionable." She paused for a moment, pondering on that last sentence. "How old are you, anyway?".
"Twenty-two."
"Ya, you looked a bit younger. Red's twenty-nine"
"Twenty-nine?!" Ash didn't intend to say that so loudly, but Red didn't look that much older to him. "Guess I age pretty well, huh?". Ash placed his hands behind his head, oddly proud of himself.
"He's only seven years older."
"But that's still like… a lot of years ya know?"
He is a lot like Red…
"So, how old are you?" He asked
"Twenty-seven," Once again Ash was surprised. Even though she was sitting down; he could tell that she was quite short. He didn't comment on it though, not wanting to be rude.
"So, how did I end up here then? Where even is here?"
"We're in a small monastery near Mount Silver. Some of the other members found you and your Pokémon unconscious while on their way to Silver Town. You were all hurt really, really badly, so they brought you to me."
"So, you're a healer or something?"
"Yes, well sort of. I am a child of the Viridian Forest."
"The Viridian Forest?" Ash was quite puzzled. He didn't recall anything particularly unique about the Viridian Forest. As far as he knew, it was just… a forest.
"Yes. In my world, once every 10 years, a child born in the Viridian Forest is given special powers. I can heal Pokémon and people, with great effort. I can also read Pokémon's minds…"
"Like Pikachu. That's what you were doing earlier!" Ash said, Pikachu still laying on his lap. Ash found it somewhat odd that the usually active Pokémon was so content to stay still and awake during this entire conversation.
"I have been healing you over the last two weeks, but admittedly my healing abilities have been waning for a few years now. I used to be able to heal almost any injury within a few hours, but now it takes me a couple of days."
"How… how badly were we hurt?" Ash asked hesitantly. He could already assume the worst, considering his own injuries, as well as the implication that he was knocked out for so long.
"Your Pokémon were badly injured, but you were far worse. It looks like they fought hard to protect you, but they could only do so much."
"Oh they did plenty," Ash said, smiling down at Pikachu while he scratched the spot behind his pointer ears.
"Chuu," a high-pitched voice called from behind them. Ash and Yellow looked over to see another Pikachu standing at the doorway. The heart shape on its tail indicated it was a female, and she had a bright pink flower situated on the base of her left ear. Next to her was Totodile, who looked somewhat cautious to enter the room. It was a far cry from his usual, energetic self.
"Hey Chuchu. I see Totodile's awake too," Yellow said, motioning for the two Pokémon to approach her. Chuchu ran up to her trainer, with Totodile following timidly behind her. They both stopped in front of Yellow.
"Thanks for bringing Totodile here" Yellow said, rubbing Chuchu's head. She looked over at Totodile. "Don't worry, he isn't angry. He's just happy you're safe."
But I wasn't strong enough and he… Totodile's thoughts drowned in malaise.
Ash couldn't read Pokémon's minds like Yellow, but he could easily tell when they were in distress.
"It's okay Totodile, you did the best you could," Totodile looked up meekly at Ash, letting out a limp croon. Ash gave him a reassuring smile. "Totodile, you and Pikachu did everything you could to protect me against that Gyarados. I couldn't be prouder of you two." Totodile smiled and put his chin up.
"Totodile!" The pitch returned to Totodile's voice.
"That's more like it!" With Totodile calmed, Ash's thoughts turned to his assailant. "I wonder why that Gyarados was so mad…"
"Actually," Yellow interrupted "that's also something that has been reported all over the world. Wild Pokémon suddenly appeared just like the people did, and many were extremely agitated and aggressive. My guess is that whatever happened to cause this merging has made them angry. Pokémon are very sensitive to changes in their ecosystem, so this must have caused a massive stir for all of them."
"Yah, I think I get it" Ash said, though the reality was that a lot of what Yellow was saying was going over his head for most of this conversation.
"I'm sorry. I would like to explain more, but I must return to my duties," Yellow stood up. "In a few hours you should be good to move around. Just stay here for a bit longer. Chuchu will stay as well. If you need anything, send her to come get me."
"Thank you. I'll be fine with my Pokémon with me" Ash said as Yellow made her way towards the door. Chuchu waved her goodbye. Yellow waved back at her in turn. As Yellow was about to leave the room, Ash remembered one of his earlier questions.
"So, how do you know Red anyway, is he a friend of yours or…"
Yellow's heart tensed. She didn't really want to answer this question, but she figured that there was no point in lying to the young man.
"He's my fiancé" She said, closing the door behind her as she left the room.
