A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates. I swear, if I get one more essay from Eng 105, I'm gonna croak. Anyway, say hello to a familiar face this chapter...

And mucho thanks for the +100 reviews. Yeah, I'm lazy about not saying, 'oh, thank you and for this and that', especially since it's Tuesday, the one day where I don't get enough sleep.


A rest in the house of Ditto, part one:
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It was not the most desirable day for traveling on foot. Especially when you were out in the open, walking along a plains. The rain was falling so hard, one would wonder if several Rain Dances and had been used at once. And the wind the storm generated was not exactly pleasant either.

Unfortunately, the group of five trainers were not fortunate – they were being buffeted by the wind and pouring rain. The only pokemon that was out, besides Ash's Pikachu, was Kani. All of Chris's other pokemon had long since been returned. Sanja said tiredly over the howling wind, "We're going to need to find shelter soon, unless we want to get sick as hell."

Misty, who was closest to the other redhead, nodded tiredly. She shouted Sanja's comments to the others.

Chris looked at the soaked Kani, who looked miserable. The two had a silent conversation for a moment, Kani looking doubtfully at Chris for a short while, before nodding. Chris smiled weakly, like he had won an argument he really hadn't wanted to win, and shouted over the howling wind, "Everyone, put a hand on Kani! We're teleporting to shelter, there's no other choice."

Ash, who had been walking next to him, winced. He said softly to Chris, "Is that a good idea? Teleporting blind is supposed to be dumber than insulting a Charizard to its face on a bad day."

Chris merely looked toward the bedraggled others, and Ash fell silent, shaking his head. The gifted one made sure everyone was alright, and then was the last to lay his hand on Kani, placing a finger gently on the fur right next to the gem in her forehead.

After a few moments, the group of trainers and two pokemon disappeared without a sign that they had ever been there, the howling wind and drenching rain erasing all signs of their former presence effortlessly.


The five, along with a miserably wet Kani and Pikachu appeared underneath an overhang, right in front of a doorway, obviously leading inside.

Ash looked around, then froze, looking up. He said in a tone of disbelief, "No way." He looked at the others, then wildly at the doors, like he expected a rampaging Rhydon to pop out of it. "There's just no way…"

Misty was the first to ask, "What's up, Ash?"

Ash rubbed the back of his head, taking off his hat to shake it dry of water. Pikachu, on his shoulder, jumped off, and shook itself, spraying the nearby trainers with water. Brock cried in protest, until Ash said, "Duplica… Brock, Misty, remember her?"

Brock fell silent, while Misty had pulled out a towel that was mostly-dry, and was using it to dry herself somewhat. After a moment, Brock said, "The Ditto trainer who liked to do performances. What about her?"

Ash said laughingly as he looked around, "Well, it looks like she put down roots again. The house of Imatate is back. I don't think she'll mind if we show up."

Chris and Sanja, who were doing the same thing Misty was doing (except Chris was toweling off Kani first) asked at the same time, "Mind explaining to the two of us what you're talking about?" The two looked quizzically at each other, and Sanja winced while Chris looked confused.

Brock laughed weakly at the look the two exchanged from speaking at the same time, and said, "Duplica is something of an actor. She trains Dittos, and does comedic skits where she imitates pokemon or famous people. Her Dittos get into the act as well."

A female voice added from the doorway, "That's about right, Brock. Long time no see, you three. New friends?"

Ash jumped, since the voice had come from right behind him. He whirled as he stepped to the side, revealing Duplica, complete with her usual pigtails and red shirt with a star on the chest. Her two Dittos were resting on her shoulder, in their blobby normal form.

Chris chuckled, and said quietly, "Nice entrance. I would have missed it, had Kani not been scanning for people." Sanja shook her head, her face not revealing any surprise either, though she didn't comment.

Duplica looked over the gifted one, then Sanja. She took a moment, before saying, "Ash, you sure do run into interesting people. You know that he's wanted by the police for questioning?"

Ash, Misty, and Brock glared at Chris, who looked slightly sheepish. "Uhm… whoops. Didn't I mention that I fled Celadon after an explosion? The police kinda found out about me seeing some things… I'm not wanted criminally, just as a witness… sorta…" Sanja, who already knew, was looking on with an amused expression on her face, while toweling off her hair.

The three relaxed, while Duplica laughed at Ash's expression. "Ashey-boy, you haven't changed one bit, even with becoming a pokemon master."

Ash laughed weakly, and rubbed the back of his neck. Duplica continued to grin, and said, "Alright, get inside before all of you catch a cold. Can't have sick people around here."

Chris shrugged, and his eyes took on a slight glow as he trailed after the others who eagerly entered the building. Inside was an almost theater-like setup, though the seats were farther into the cavernous room, while where the five (plus Duplica) stopped at was similar to an entry hall. He then took out a pokeball, and released Mathrara. The unique Ninetails yawned, then looked around. He commented (well, you found shelter. I take it that's Duplica?)

Chris nodded, and said to Mathrara, "Less talk, more heat. Yes, that's Duplica, who else in this room don't you know?" His tone was snappish, before he shook himself after a nudge from Kani, and said apologetically, "Damp clothes are a pain to wear… stupid rain."

Mathrara snickered, and heat began to shimmer around him, as he breathed out a long-sustained Heat Wave attack, which noticeably increased the temperature around him. The five damp trainers started to steam slightly from water evaporating, while Kani and Pikachu also gave off tiny vapor trails.

Duplica arched an eyebrow, and asked Misty curiously, "Am I hearing things, or did he just understand his Ninetails?"

Misty shook her head tiredly, and said, "He's psychic. So's Sanja. They're a bit weird at times, but they're ok. Just don't bring up anything about…" Misty spotted Duplica's almost child-like eager look, and said quickly, "…nevermind…"

Sanja looked up at the sound of her name, and blinked under Duplica's stare, before going back to partially stripping, and using the towel for modesty, then wringing out her clothing. Her other changes of clothing had gotten damp, so she had taken the simplest route. Brock was reduced to drooling as his mind worked up scenarios involving nudity that never would be. If Sanja noticed, she didn't care about him.

Duplica smacked herself with her palm, and said, "Doh! Alright, Misty… Sanja, was it?" At the berserker's nod, she continued, "You two follow me. I've got two bathrooms, and I think you two need it the most."

Brock moaned, "Hey, we're just as wet!"

Chris rolled his eyes, his shirt already stripped off. He was wringing out the water from it, sitting next to Mathrara, who seemed to enjoy 'accidentally' sending sparks dangerously close to his hair. Kani was curled up next to him in a cat-like ball, their arguments forgotten as she warmed up. The gifted one said, "She's being logical." He rubbed his right shoulder, which had a pale white line obvious on it and added, "Three guys, two wet girls. Two bathrooms. Sorry, but I doubt any of us is homosexual."

Ash added on, "Brock, they'll warm up there, and Mathrara can warm us up here, while we wring out our clothes, and let them dry."

Duplica grinned, waved silently, and the two redheaded girls followed her as she led them down a hallway, and though a door.

Chris then stripped off his pants, and then started to wring them out, ignoring his shirt, which was lain out on the ground nearby. Brock was doing the same, while Ash looked off into the distance, before sneezing, and then following their example.


Sanja sighed, as the hot water poured onto her. Sometimes, she wished she was a more powerful pyrokinetic, rather than having to go completely berserk for the trait to trigger enough to be mentionable. Being able to make her clothing 'burn' but not burn away would be nice for drying off.

The bathroom Duplica had led her to was small, but serviceable. The one at the psychic academy was about the same, actually, though separated by gender.

She shook her head, and turned around, letting the water pound into her shoulders as she reached back, trying to get the tense muscles to relax. They always tensed up whenever she used her powers by channeling rage, and it was damned hard for her to get them to relax, since there wasn't a good massage therapist around.

She shook her head, and had to admit that her irritation was probably a side-effect of her own problems. Ever since she'd admitted the whole 'prophesy' thing to Chris, she had been having trouble just acting normal around him. Part of her wanted more, while the other part wanted to push him as far away as she could. And if there was one thing she hated, it was being torn... especially since she hated her whole 'destiny' crap that the mediums had used on her continually.

She paused, hearing someone humming a breezy tune she recognized from the radio – it was one of those love songs that had driven her crazy. Apparently, Misty was one of those 'sing in the shower' persons.

With a slight smirk, Sanja started getting down to actually showering, instead of warming up.


Chris felt his pants for a moment, then put them back on, saying as he did so, "Heh. Interesting use for a fire type."

Mathrara sent a scowl at him, and said, (you know, I heard about this interesting use for char-broiled human from a Charizard…) Kani hissed, and Mathrara trailed off. Teskara and Anekiro laughed, the two laying down and generally taking it easy.

Restraining a 'whipped' comment, Chris yawned, then rotated his right shoulder. However, Anekiro couldn't resist, and said, (Mathrara, she's got you well trained.)

The Ninetails blinked for a moment, then growled at the Dragoinair. (Don't make me prank you into next century.)

Anekiro blinked, and said, (You know, that might be fun, to go to the future…)

Chris laughed, and fell silent after a few seconds of mirth, though he still had a grin on his face. Brock and Ash sent him odd looks, before they realized he'd laughed at something the pokemon said, and went back to trying to get warm / not get colds. Ash paused from digging in his pack, and asked curiously "Hey, Chris? What happened to your shoulder?"

Chris looked over at Ash, and shrugged. "Old knife scar. Got involved in a knife fight when I was younger. Not exactly fun, having Mom bitch at me for showing up at the hospital, bleeding like that."

Ash winced, and quickly muttered an apology that was unneeded, going back to digging in his pack for something. He came out a moment later with some cold-prevention medicine, and measured out an amount, drinking it with a scowl. To him, the stuff tasted horrible, and always had, though he hated getting colds enough to drink it anyway.

But Chris was slightly disturbed, even as he took the proffered 'shot', and drank it as well. His mother… he hadn't really thought about her in awhile. She wasn't the best example of humanity, in fact, she was one of the reasons people preached for total prohibition… but still… it seemed slightly odd to him. Ash obviously still cared about his mother, for all the fact that she was dead… his mother was supposedly dead as well, yet he didn't care.

Kani spoke, not even moving, saying, (Don't worry about it. She wasn't the best example of motherhood. Chris, you didn't love her, or even really think of her as a mother that much.)

Chris asked tiredly, (Shouldn't I have? I mean, isn't a Gifted One…)

Kani looked up from her curled-up position, and shook her head. (No. You're still human. I don't expect you to become something else, neither does Anekiro.)

Anekiro nodded slight. (We know you're human. Heck, look at how you and Mathrara got along at first.)

Mathrara said in a bemused tone, (That was Kani mostly. We got over it… I kinda brought it on myself, though. Jumping out of nowhere, and pouncing on him, is only funny so many times. And the girlfriend comments… especially since I've been single my whole life. Like a pot calling a kettle black, or whatever that damn expression is.)

Anekiro nodded slightly, then asked, (Kani, what's really bugging him?) Kani cocked her head up, looking at Chris, who had heard the same thing she had. The two spoke privately through telepathy for a few moments, before Chris sighed, and said softly, "Sometimes, I just wonder if humanity is worth saving, you know?"

Brock and Ash, hearing his comment, turned to look at him. Chris shrugged, looking unrepentant. "Sorry, but it's something Kani told me. Don't you know how pokemon trainers came to be?"

Brock crossed his arms over his chest, and said, "I thought that was lost to time… something about a war between pokemon and humans, with pokemon trainers being the peaceful solution."

Kani snorted, while Chris shook his head. "No, not really. The original pokemon trainers… some gifted ones, really… were traitors to the human cause. Some were pure hearted ones who wanted peace, and were thrown out by the lords back then, others were people who wanted to use pokemon to get revenge against their enemies for any cost…"

Ash stared. "Just how do you know this, anyway?"

Chris's mental voice replied softly, (Kani. We don't know how, but she's like a pokedex, encyclopedia, and general source of information for anything under the sun. Zapdos is supposedly looking into it, but it hasn't gotten back to us yet. Not that I blame the legendary bird of thunder… maybe there is no real reason.) Chris shrugged, and said, "Anyway… well, back then, humans warred with pokemon. They'd come from nowhere, and spread rapidly. I think space, but not even Kani knows for sure… humans feared that the pokemon would kill all of them, and started killing them. The pokemon took offense, and fought back. Gifted ones, who realized the pokemon were only fighting because they didn't want to die, abandoned the human cause, and worked alongside the pokemon, along with some of the revenge cases. Mew was the first one to come up with the idea of marking the 'traitors to the humans' with a unique symbol…" Chris brushed his forearm obviously, which Ash and Brock noticed. He was referring to the same markings that he had burned into his arms, and was covered by the arm guards he hadn't taken off, despite the fact that they had to be damp. He continued, "The gifted ones really didn't care, but it helped the pokemon tell them apart from regular humans. The gifted ones helped train the pokemon, building up their strength so that they could better defend their families and loved ones."

Chris sighed, and projected an image into Ash and Brock's mind. On one side was a few humans, all of them bearing the same marking on his arms that he did, standing with a large variety of pokemon, some of whom were extinct now. On the other was an army of humans, carrying swords and bows, along with a few primitive cannons.

The images advanced to a gory battle, with a Kabutops shattering when it was directly hit with a cannonball, and slain humans and pokemon. Some injured crawled about, missing limbs.

Chris continued, unaffected by the images, "Back then, most pokemon special techniques hadn't been unlocked. So things like Flamethrower, which could reduce an army to ashes, didn't happen unless it was coming from Moltres. And the legendary birds were too busy bickering to be of any use like that… so it was a fairly fight. Up until the gifted ones took on the idea to show humans that they could co-exist with pokemon."

The images of war faded away. Chris laughed, saying dryly, "The war ended surprisingly fast after the idiots in charge realized that pokemon wouldn't attack them unless they attacked first."

Ash asked curiously, "So what about humanity not being worth saving?"

Chris sighed. "Because. That stupid church that came about… they know this history. It's in their damned archives. They know that gifted ones are fundamentally united with pokemon. So they're killing us off one by one, then they'll declare war on pokemon, claiming they're 'demons' from outer space, or some crap like that. And the Rockets as well, but that's more obvious."

Ash winced. He hadn't realized that, though from the FEW times he'd gone to a service, it should have been obvious. He scolded himself mentally for not paying attention, even though he was younger back then, and far more 'thickheaded', as Misty liked to put it.

There was another silence, before Brock said firmly, "I'm not allowing that. If those images are what happened before, now would be horrendous, even if a small group of people were doing it."

Chris looked at Brock, his eyes glowing, before he nodded in agreement.


Duplica asked Misty, as she got out of the shower, "Mist, what was it you didn't want to tell Duplica?"

Misty turned, and saw Ash standing next to her (since Duplica was dressed up as him, as per her scheme to get information out of the water trainer). She started to say, "Ash, you know why, it's that whole… wait a second… Duplica!"

Duplica raised her head, exposing her face to Misty's angry gaze. She grinned shamelessly, and said, "Caught me. But still, I want to know."

Misty shook her head, a predatory smile on her face. "Duplica, I told you Sanja was a psychic, right?" At Duplica's blank nod, Misty continued, "Well, she's a special type. If she gets really angry, her powers levels skyrocket, and she doesn't mind holding you up telekinetically until you shut up. She held Brock in the air for five minutes until she thought he'd apologized enough." She couldn't help it, she laughed quietly, just remembering the expression on Brock's face. Brock had even pleaded with Chris to help him down, but apparently, gifted ones were allowed to get away with some things. Well… at least he had learned not to come running to her or Ash, since they'd both gotten tired of rescuing him from women he'd annoyed.

Duplica winced. "Ok, I get the hint. No sneaking around asking. I'll just ask that Chris guy, he'd probably tell me."

Misty sighed, as Duplica disappeared into a room, coming out of the room as her 'usual' self, and nearly whistled as she walked toward the entry hall where the boys were. The pokemon gym leader muttered tiredly, "Same old Duplica..."

The indignant shouts from Ash drove a blushing Duplica back into the hallway. Misty idly wondered how it was possible that her entire body seemed to be blushing. She didn't think normally, that was possible. Though with Duplica, you never knew what could happen, sometimes.