Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OC's mentioned in the last chapter and another one that will appear later on.
Italics mean Pokémon speech.
Let's begin shall we.
The Battle Continues: A Partnership Formed.
Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Trent were shocked at the arrival of this new spirit that looked like Ash. Zyber however looked both scared and angry.
"No it-it can't be!" The other spirit smirked a little at Zyber's priceless face.
"Funny you don't seem happy to see me Zyber." Zyber growled a little at that. Ash however still looked confused at this new guy which he seemed to notice. He turned and smiled a little at Ash. "Nice to finally meet you face to face, Ashton." He held out his hand to Ash.
Ash shook his hand awkwardly. "Nice to meet you too, I…" Ash stopped as he realized something. "Wait how do you know my name? And for that matter who are you?"
"My name is Jakero Everheart and I am your spiritual counterpart." Jakero explained.
"My what now?" The young trainer questioned. Jakero sighed.
"I'll explain later. Right now I believe we have a battle to win." He focused his attention back to the battlefield and the two opposing them.
"How do I know for sure I can even trust you?" Ash questioned.
"You said that you were glad that I was on your side." Jakero remembered Ash had said that. "Besides what choice do you have right now?"
Ash looked to Jakero and then the battlefield. Pikachu may be strong but taking on two Pokémon who probably know all of the same attacks and can combine them together would be hard for one Pokémon to do. He sighed. "All right, I'll trust you." He started. "But don't make me regret it, got it?"
"No problem." Jakero stated.
"All right enough talk! Let's continue!" Trent shouted rather impatiently. "Sceptile use Fury Cutter!" His Sceptile ran at both Pikachus and got ready to attack.
"Pikachu use Protect!" Jakero commanded. His Pikachu got in front of Ash's Pikachu and surrounded them both with a blue-green force field.
"Nice save!" Ash complimented his new friend's tactics.
"Thank you!"Jakero said.
"Sceptile use Night Slash!" Zyber commanded his Sceptile. His Sceptile wound up its arms as the leaves on them started to glow a dark shadowy color.
"Dodge it!" Both Ash and Jakero called out to their Pikachus. Both of them jumped into the air and avoided the Night Slash attack.
"Use Bullet Seed!" Trent and Zyber called out. Both Sceptiles fired Bullet Seed at the two Pikachus.
"Use Shockwave, Pikachu!" Ash and Jakero called out. Both Pikachus, still mid-air, charged up and unleashed Shockwave which knocked down the combined Bullet Seed attack right back at the Sceptiles. The power must have been too much for Trent's Sceptile to handle as it fainted after that.
"No I'm out!" Trent exclaimed both angrily and sadly. Zyber didn't look to happy either.
"You've failed me, Trent." He muttered darkly. "You have done what needed to be done and that was to help me find him." He finished as he pointed towards Jakero.
"They were looking for him? Why?" Ash thought as to why they wanted his new friend.
"Sceptile use Giga Impact!" Zyber shouted. His Sceptile started running directly at both Pikachus who dodged it with ease. And due to Giga Impact's effect, Sceptile now had to recharge.
"Ash, I know of a combo that can end this now." Jakero told Ash. "But it will require your help."
Ash looked to Jakero for a second. Sure he may have just met this guy but he could tell by the look in his eyes that he could trust him. "Okay, tell me what you need me to do."
"First both of Pikachus need to use Electro Ball." He started. Ash nodded.
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" They both called out. Both Pikachus charged Electro Ball and were ready to launch it.
"Now use Iron Tail!" Jakero commanded. They both used Iron Tail on the two Electro Balls and launched them at Sceptile with great speed.
"I get it. Electro Ball by itself wouldn't do much against a grass-type on its own. But if its speed is increased it can be very powerful." Brock thought.
"Wow, that much speed should win us the match if they both hit." Ash said.
"That isn't all that's happening, Ash." Jakero started. Ash looked at him. "Take a look." Ash did and noticed the two Electro Balls fused together into a bigger Electro Ball.
"Whoa!" Ash and Brock were amazed.
The giant Electro Ball hit Zyber's Sceptile in the chest but instead of fainting it exploded into a burst of light. That had Ash, Brock and Pikachu concerned.
"What just happened?" Ash asked.
"Zyber's Pokémon was nothing more than a spiritual replica of the original." Jakero explained. That put the concerned trio at ease.
Zyber looked down in defeat and then looked up with rage in his eyes. "I may have lost this battle but I can still take you down!" He shouted as he rushed at both Ash and Jakero.
Jakero intercepted him by punching him hard in the face. "You have caused pain to two young children and have used a human to harm others. By the power of the council, Zyber I banish you to the Dark Realm!" He shouted as he raised his hand and suddenly Zyber was sucked into a dark vortex of some kind.
"This isn't over Jakero! There will be other dark spirits out to destroy you and they will be worse than me!" He shouted as he the portal closed.
"Before you ask he was sent to the Dark Realm where he belongs." Jakero answered the unasked question.
"What about Trent?" Ash noticed Trent had passed out as soon as Zyber lost and was banished. Jakero floated over to him and placed two fingers on Trent's neck.
"He's fine just unconscious. He won't remember anything about being possessed by Zyber and neither will those that lost to him."
"Okay so now that that's out of the way, maybe you can explain who you are and what is going on." Brock said.
"Very well but not here let's talk somewhere else." Jakero said as he began to leave the forest. The two humans and Pikachu looked confused. Jakero turned. "You wanna be here when he wakes up?"
"Good point." Ash said as he, Brock, and Pikachu followed their new mysterious friend.
A little later Ash, Brock, Pikachu and Jakero were sitting near the lake and Jakero was beginning to tell them everything about what's going on.
"Okay here's the story. In my world, the Spirit World, we spirits have lived in peace for many centuries. However, our peaceful existence was threatened when the dark spirits attacked our home. Many spirits were lost and many were injured. Our ruler the Grand Elder had managed to banish the dark spirits from our world but somehow they had escaped from the Dark Realm and now many of them have been spotted on your world as well as the Spirit World and many others." Jakero finished explaining.
"Whoa, so why were you sent to our world Jakero?" Ash asked him.
"The Grand Elder had assigned me and two of my friends to team up with our human counterparts." Ash looked confused at that which he noticed. "You see, your world as well as every other world out there is the counterpart of my world and so every human on your world and the other worlds has a spiritual counterpart like I am yours."
"Okay I think I understand now." Ash said. "So I'm guessing that's how you can use Pikachu and how that Zyber creep could use Trent's Sceptile, right?"
"Yes a spirit adapts to the human they are connected to, so all the Pokémon I have are the same as the ones you have or have owned at one point in time."
"Whoa!" The other three were in shock about everything Jakero had told them.
"So Ash will you help me fight against these dark spirits and help save the world?" Jakero asked him. Ash pondered this for a moment. "If you don't help me I will understand." Ash looked up at Jakero and smiled at him then held out his hand.
"Yeah I'll help you, partner!" Ash said happily. Jakero looked happy with his answer as he shook Ash's hand.
"Thank you Ash!"
"No problem, Jakero!" Ash said back to him but then had a question. "Uh by the way do you have a nickname I can call you? Cause calling you Jakero all the time is going to drive me crazy."
Jakero understood his new partner's concern. "Jake, my friends call me Jake." Jake said to him.
"Okay Jake!" Ash said as he smiled at his partner.
Brock then came up to both of them. "I may not have a spirit partner but I'll help you guys anyway I can." He told them. They looked satisfied with his offer.
"I'll help out too no matter what!" Pikachu said happily.
"Thanks, you two!" Jake thanked both of them. "Quick question." They looked to him. "Is there anyone else who could help us in this crisis?" He asked but soon regretted it after he saw the frowns on their faces. "I'm sorry I didn't…"
"No it's all right." Ash cut him off. "To answer your question. No there is no one else who can help us. Our other 'friends' abandoned us." He said as Jake noticed his voice drip with venom as he said friends.
"What happened exactly?" Jake asked wondering what these so-called friends of theirs did to them.
Brock stepped in and decided to explain. "Well it all started after Ash got back from his trip in Unova. The rest of our *spits* friends said he should give up on his dream of becoming a Pokémon master. They said a weak trainer can't become the greatest and said he trained his Pokémon lousily. After that Ash left and I stayed behind for awhile then ran to grab the rest of Ash's Pokémon."
Ash took over after that. "I had just arrived at Viridian Forest by the time Brock caught up and had called for my Pidgeot. I told her everything and she joined afterwards but not before telling her flock to make sure the others never entered the forest again and to tell the other inhabitants of the forest of it. After that we got tickets for a boat to Orre and never went back." Ash finished.
After hearing that Jake looked angry and sympathetic (Wait is that even possible?). "Those bastards! If you ask me Ash they are the weak ones for abandoning a friend!"
"Whoa calm down Jake. I've learned not to let their words get to me since I've been training everyday for the last year and I still have all my hatred towards them." Ash explained and then noticed not only anger in Jake's eyes but something else. "Is everything alright?"
Jake sighed. "If it means anything Ash I know just how you feel to be betrayed by someone you care about." That had the others surprised.
"You do?" Brock asked.
"Yes my brother betrayed not only me but betrayed the Spirit World to and it's my fault. He was angry because I didn't help him when he needed me the most. I blame myself everyday for it and felt maybe if I did do something maybe he wouldn't have turned against everyone." That had the others looking at him in sympathy.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Jake." Ash said to his partner but then thought something. "Could who I saw in my dream last night be the same brother?"
"Thank you, Ash." Jake said back to his partner. Brock decided to break the sad and dramatic atmosphere.
"Hey fellas, let's not let the past get us down." He started as the two looked at him. "Right now we should be focusing on the here and now like the Dark Spirits and the tournament."
"Brock's right we have important stuff to focus on!" Pikachu agreed with Brock.
"Right no matter what we can't let the past get to us only the future is what we're trying to preserve!" Ash said with determination.
"That's right the Dark Spirits better be prepared cause they don't know who they're messing with!" Jake said with equal determination.
"The Ultimate Team! We'll take any dark spirit down!" The two new partners exclaimed and they clasped hands.
Alright that's the end of this chapter.
Looks like Ash has got a new partner and a new mission. In the next episode the group arrives in Phenac City and discovers another spirit that has been helping repair mechanical equipment. The biggest surprise is who he looks like. Next time: Nebuchadnezzar the Master Mechanic!
Also I have just made and posted my new Pokemon/Kingdom Hearts crossover but it's my version of the KH Series with Ash as Sora, Joey Wheeler as Donald Duck, Tristan Taylor as Goofy, Aaron as Riku, and Leaf as Kairi. The cast list is posted already so be sure to check it out.
