Gary's POV

I didn't go to bed last night. Not having Ash there with me seems to leave me cold, not to mention lonely. I haven't seen the Fake since yesterday, and that's always a plus on my end. Here I am, sitting at the dining room table. Normally Ash would have been awake by now, asking what I want for breakfast and if to take anything out for dinner. A smile always on his face when he asks. I miss his smile. I miss his lips… I just miss him.

I heard a knock on the door, and my head instantly shifted towards the sound. I got up and walked over to the front door. The person was just about to knock again, since when I opened the door, the hand was lifted, knuckles ready to hit the door. I looked at the person's face, it was the Fake. My facial expression immediately changed from depressed to furious.

"What do you want?" it wasn't really a question, but more of a statement.

"What, no hello?"

"Why should I greet you? You're not Ash, and you'll never be."

"Have you thought about it at all?" I hate it how he changes the subject. He gets under my nerves.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I won't get to see him either way." The Fake's face cracked and showed… regret? Sadness?

"There is something I haven't told you." Oh great, now he is going to give me the 'life story' that would supposedly change my mind. Not going to happen.

"In my world, I am kind of like you. A Pokémon scientist, but only an assistant right now. I recently found a way to travel from one world to another. I created my own wormhole." The Fake? A scientist? No, that can't be.

"And your point is?"

"I finished it, the machine. I used myself as the test subject. I was ready for anything that could happen. But there was one thing that I wasn't prepared for. While I was in the wormhole, the machine broke down. The explosion within the wormhole shot me to the other end of the wormhole and into your world. Due to the machine having been broken down, I haven't been able to return to my original world. I have been stuck here for three months now, taking up other people's identities, to prevent any universal changes to this world. And the longer I stayed, the more I realized I belonged here. That I should've been here, and that my anti-self should've been in my world. From then on, I searched for him. Asking others, for as much information as possible. Once realizing that he is the gym leader, I caught and trained as many Pokémon as possible. I took the identity of your former classmate, Trixie—"

"What did you do to her?!" I remember now, why the girl looked so familiar, her name so familiar. How could I have forgotten my friend from college?

"That's not important—"

"Answer me. Now!"

"She's in Pewter. But please listen to—"Before he could finish his sentence, I was already out the door. I have to find Trixie; she might be able to help me get Ash back. I hope so, at least.

Ash's POV

Thanks to Professor Oak's generosity, the pain was gone, and I was able to walk perfectly again. Luckily the ribs weren't horribly broken. I haven't seen Gary—I mean… what should I call him? Maybe just 'Not-Gary' would do until I get a good name for him. Any ways, I haven't seen 'Not-Gary' since last night. Not only that but I haven't had food since then either. Man I'm hungry.

My stomach growled loudly, as if angered by my thoughts. I sighed and laid my head back down on the surprisingly comfortable metal bed. Maybe I should think of nice thoughts… like Gary. I remember our first date together, and no not when we were in Unova. The first real date, in Pallet Town. He took me out to the little restaurant called "Vinnie's" I think. Having been here before when we were younger, before becoming Pokémon trainers, we knew how large their meals were. We split a hamburger that seemed to look twice as big as a normal one, as well as a serving of fries. We even met an old friend there. Her name was Lucy; she was one of our classmates when we were in school, training for our Pokémon Trainer's license. And she just happened to be our waitress. After our reunion and dinner, we went to the movie theatre. Gary just happened to have prearranged it all, so he already had tickets for the night. We watched some romance movie, even though that was a bit 'inside the box', I still liked it. Just because Gary was there. After that, he took me to the spot where we met. The riverside and it looked beautiful. He and I sat there, counting stars until we lost count. And every time one of us did, we'd laugh, and then we could kiss.

The thought of that kiss made me smile, but more in a depressed way. It brought tears in my eyes, and one blink later they were falling. I sat up again and brought my legs to my chest. I let the sadness take over, more tears rolled down my face.

"Why are you crying?" I instantly looked up, not having heard the door open. It was 'Not-Gary', he looked at me concerned. I looked away from him, as more tears fell.

"Gramps told me about your problem. And, I am sorry for what I did."

"I have already forgiven you. Once I found out that I am not from here, I wasn't mad at you. I'm just…"

"You miss home?" he came over to me and sat on the bed. I nodded, "Not just home, but… him too."

"Who's 'him'? A friend?"

"He's more… than just a friend. We have been dating a little over a year."

"Oh, I bet he misses you too."

"Yeah…" silence overtook the room. The only noise being my sniffling or one of us shifting on the bed.

"What's his name?" 'Not-Gary' finally asked. I looked at him, "Gary." He seemed shocked for a moment, but it quickly disappeared to one of regret.

"Maybe I should go; I might be giving you unwanted memories."

"No! No, it's okay, really. I like having the company." I patted the spot next to me on the bed, and he returned to his former seat.

Silence over took the room once more. 'Not-Gary' shifted a little before asking, "What is your world like?"

"In my world, Pokémon and humans live together in harmony. We work together as a team. So some people go into business, politics, you name it. And due to our friendship with the Pokémon, some people strive to become a Pokémon trainer, or even better a Pokémon master."

"Are you a Pokémon master, Ash?" 'Not-Gary' asked, and I chuckled.

"No, but for many years I journeyed all over the world to become one. But after finally dating Gary, I chose to stop. I became a gym leader."

"What's a gym leader?" He asked. I looked at him, his face looking like a confused dog's. I chuckled once more before saying, "They are trainers, but they are essential to other Pokémon trainers and Pokémon masters. If you defeat them, they give you a badge. It is proof that you beat them."

"I bet your world is much better than ours. We fight the Pokémon all the time. And I am getting tired of it. I read books so that I could figure out how this war all started. But afterwards, they all said the same thing: the Pokémon betrayed the human. But, what if it was the other way around? Or, it was a misunderstanding?" 'Not-Gary' rambled on about his thoughts on the war, and to be truthful, he is a lot like Gary. Smart, kind, and easy to get along with. I listened intently, his thoughts just mind blowing. He explained how this world works, how the politics are different here. Now gym leaders, nothing to do with Pokémon resided here. We stayed like this for what seemed like an eternity. Unfortunately, an announcement came on, "All men recruited for this month's departure, please meet in the lobby immediately." 'Not-Gary' sighed in what seemed like disappointment. I guess he is going.

"Thanks for listening to me." He told me, "No problem."

"And I am sorry for rambling on so much, I am such a blabber mouth." He and I chuckled, "Again, no problem. In fact, I like hearing you talk. You remind me so much of Gary, it is almost like… you came with me to this world." My voice softened at the mentioning of Gary. 'Not-Gary' sensing this, he came up to me a gave me a gentle hug… just like the ones Gary always gives me when I am upset.

"I am so—" I put a finger up to his lips, making him mute. I smiled at him, "You don't need to apologize. This isn't your fault. Nor am I blaming you. Thank you for giving me company, G-Gary." I struggled to say his name. Just the mention of his name brought so many memories, which made my smile falter. I looked down, breaking any eye contact we had.

But, within a few seconds, I felt my face being lifted up and lips on mine. My eyes widened in shock. I tried to push him back, but my body was stubbornly staying put. But just as quickly the kiss came, it went and 'Not-Gary' looked away from me.

"I… I-I'm sorry. I'll just go now. See you later, Ash." He rushed out the door, the door automatically opening and shutting on its own. I looked at the door, my eyes still wide. I brought my fingertips to my lips. And I felt that nervous, 'butterfree-in-your-stomach' feeling.

Oh no… I am falling in love with him!