A/N: I'm baaack!:D I probably won't be able to update every single week, but I thought I'd go ahead and put up Chapter 2. ^.^ Thanks for the few but wonderful reviews, and I can't wait to hear more from you guys!:D Enjoy this next chapter, and don't forget to drop a review on the way out!;D (hope you don't mind me using that Sissy.:P)

Chapter 2: A Colorful Prophecy

"I'm sorry, Gary, but Professor Oak's out right now. He said something about 'the Prophecy of Colors,' and seemed like he was in an awful big hurry," Tracey told him through the videophone, frowning. "Do you need one of your Pokémon? If so, I can—"

"Don't worry about it, Tracey. Do you know when he'll be back?" Gary inquired, glancing back at Green, who was sitting in the waiting area of the Pokémon Center, the Wynaut egg resting in her lap. She'd decided to get her Pokémon healed, and was passing the time by inspecting it and organizing her very disheveled, very muddled thoughts.

So far, she'd come to the conclusion that she was going crazy and this was clearly all a dream; none of it could be real. But that still didn't explain how real it all felt. From Gary's hand to the egg's warmth, it all felt too alive to be a dream she'd simply created over a good night's sleep and a vivid imagination. So what was it really?

"Uh, I can't say it'll be anytime soon. He took off with a suitcase of clothes, a spare set of Pokédexes, his PokéGear, and a passport." Tracey scratched his head, confusion apparent on his young face. "Can I take a message for him?"

Hm, Pokédexes? Who does he plan on giving those to? Gary wondered, biting his lip. "Just tell him I called."

"No problem," Tracey answered, nodding his head.

"Where's Leaf?" Gary asked, noticing the darker brunette's absence. "She normally takes these calls."

"Oh, she went with the professor. Said he'd need her help doing something…" But apparently Tracey had no idea what.

"Well, thanks anyway, Trace. See you later," Gary remarked, staring down at his free hand, the one he'd held Green's with not too long ago. It still had a strange, tingling sensation to it, and her hand felt so cold, almost lifeless. Like she was a ghost.

"You too."

Click.

Gary returned the phone to its cradle and turned in the direction of the girl in question. She looked so pale, almost transparent compared to Leaf, the lab assistant he'd first mistaken her for. It seemed so unworldly, but there had to be a reason. "Well, Gramps is outta town, so it looks like we're gonna have to wait on those answers for now," he told her, strolling over to sit beside her.

"Wonderful," she commented, the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Now I have to wait longer to find out if I belong in a crazy house or not." She hadn't intended to come across as bitterly as she had, but she couldn't see any other way of putting it.

"Green," Gary sighed, rolling his eyes. "Of course you don't. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this. We just have to wait and…and…"

"And what, Gary? 'Wait and see?'" But Gary was too busy staring at the figure approaching them to acknowledge the question.

"Gramps? What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "And where's Leaf?"

"She's outside talking to Flannery," the Pokémon Professor replied, waving the question away. "And I came here to"—he then noticed Green, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere but there—"Oh, and who have we here?"

"This is Green," Gary explained, pointing at the girl with the Wynaut egg in her lap. "She's, uh, from Pallet Town."

Professor Oak's brows furrowed as he took in the information. "You don't say? Well, it's nice to finally meet you Green. I'm sure you already know who I am." Green nodded, finally feeling the first shred of sanity she'd felt since she'd arrived in Hoenn.

"Who doesn't know the Pokémon Professor?" she remarked as she rose to shake his hand, hugging the Wynaut egg tightly to her chest.

"Yes. Now, Gary, if I could, I'd like to speak with you in private," the professor said, making eye contact with his grandson for the first time since his arrival at the Pokémon Center.

"No problem. I've, uh, been needing to talk to you anyway," Gary replied, glancing over at Green and raising an eyebrow at her. "Green?"

"Oh, I'll go see if my Pokémon are ready," she told them, recognizing their desire for her to make herself scarce at the moment. She quickly slipped away, and Gary swiftly took her disappearance as a chance to bombard the professor with questions.

"What in Arceus's name is going on, Gramps? First Green falls out of the sky, and now you're here simply because you need to 'talk to me.' As if. What is it really?"

"Gary, she's what I came here to talk to you about. You're probably not going to believe me on this one, but Green isn't exactly… from here, per se."

"I kinda figured that one out when she kept bringing up her good friends Red and Blue. And wouldn't you know it? Blue also has a grandfather named Professor Oak," Gary remarked snidely. He didn't bother to bring up the whole tingling hand thing. "So where'd she come from?"

"She came from Kanto, but not our Kanto, exactly…" the professor trailed off, trying to think of a good way to explain it without being written off as totally insane by his only grandson. He finally decided to just go for it. "She's from an alternate world, Gary."

It was completely silent—save for the light conversation being made by a few lone travelers in the center and the buzzing noises of the healing machine at work—as Gary took in the surprising information. "Well why didn't you just say so, Gramps? You had me worried she was some kind of alien or something," Gary finally replied, chuckling. "But wait, why is she here?"

"Eh, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, Gary," Professor Oak muttered, running his fingers through his receding gray hair. "I think she's one of the Chosen Trio in the Prophecy of Colors."

"Prophecy of Colors? What are you talking about?" Gary wondered. Having never heard of the prophecy before, he was incredibly curious and somewhat perplexed by it. The professor shuffled through a manila file he'd been holding the entire time and handed Gary a yellowed, slightly singed piece of almost crumpled paper. After reading it, he gave the professor a wide-eyed look.

"Gramps, if this is right, and she really is who you think she is, then that means…"

"I know, Gary. That's why I came here. We don't have much time, as you can see," the professor replied, taking the old paper back. "And there are still two other colors to locate."

"I'm sorry, Red, but I really don't know where Pika could've run off to," Misty told him, scratching her head in confusion. "If you'd just keep up with your Pokémon better, we wouldn't be having this problem anyway!"

Red rolled his eyes. She'd only said that for the hundredth time already. "Well, it's not my fault I came falling out of the sky and landed smack dab in the middle of nowhere!" he exclaimed, glaring at her. "Besides, if he'd be anywhere, it'd be Saffron City…"

"And why would he be there, Red? This is Route 4, not 5, 6, 7, or 8!" she retorted, naming off all possible routes that led to Saffron. "And what in Arceus's name do you mean by that? Falling out of the sky," Misty snorted. "As if."

Red shook his head and facepalmed. It was useless to try explaining everything to this Misty. She was much more stubborn and hotheaded than the Misty he knew. Plus, trying to explain to someone how he fell out of the sky probably wouldn't go so well anyway. "I think I'd know where my own Pikachu would be at. Please?" Red begged, giving her his best puppy dog face.

Misty let out a huff of exasperation. "Fine. But if he isn't there, I swear, Red—"

"Thank you!" he interrupted, giving her a surprise hug and causing Misty's face to flush slightly. "Let's get going! Pika, here we come!" He grabbed her by the arm and practically started dragging her toward Cerulean, which she swiftly stopped by whacking him in the head with her mallet.

"I'm not a Kakuna, you know. I can walk just fine by myself," she huffed, pulling away from his grasp and strutting away.

"But you hit as hard as a Hitmonchan," he muttered, rubbing the knot she'd left on the top of his head.

"What was that, Red?" she quipped, glaring back at him.

"N-nothing, Misty!" he exclaimed, rushing to catch up with her. Jeez, such a temper…

"I've barely known you a few hours and you've already gotten on my nerves just as bad as Ash does," she remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Who is this Ash kid you keep bringing up?" Red wondered, careful to keep his distance so he could avoid another mallet attack if he needed to. "Is he your boyfri—"

"If you even try to finish that question," Misty threatened, raising her mallet and glaring over at him. "I swear, Red, you won't know what hit you." Red gulped. She sounded more serious than she had any of the other times she threatened him, so he took that as a no. After a few minutes of silence, Misty finally piped up to answer him.

"Ash is my best friend from Pallet Town," she told him, staring up at the cloudy sky. "He's the rashest, most stubborn, annoying ten-year-old I know, but he's also the most caring, compassionate, and determined person I've ever met in my entire life." Red nodded. He knew someone like that; namely, the Misty Waterflower he remembered meeting a few months ago. "Tell him any of that last part and you're dead. Got it, Pika Boy?" she asked, to which Red furiously nodded in reply.

Getting on this Misty's bad side would possibly be the worst mistake he'd ever make. "Wait, did you say he was from Pallet?" Misty nodded, a quizzical look on her face.

"Your point?"

"I'm from Pallet too!" he exclaimed, jabbing his thumb in his chest. Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she wondered, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You've already said this once today," she pointed out. "How come I never see you there then? It's only one of the smallest towns in Kanto. I go there to see Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak quite a bit, and I haven't seen you once."

"You know the professor?" Misty gave him an incredulous look.

"Who doesn't know the Pokémon Professor, Red?"

"So you know his grandson?"

Misty snorted. "Gary? Yeah, we've met."

Gary? "Who's that? I'm talking about Blue Oak, my rival."

Misty shook her head. "Are you sure that head of yours is screwed on straight, Pika Boy? I'm almost positive his grandson's name is Gary, not Blue. You must be mistaken."

"But I'm not, Misty!" Red facepalmed. Why didn't Misty believe a word he was saying?! "Screw it. You're not gonna believe me anyway."

Misty froze in her tracks, shocked from what she'd just heard. "Did you just give up fighting me? Just like that?" Red nodded, a very confused expression on his face. "Hm. Never had that happen before. Ash always fought until the very end, even if he was wrong a good ninety-nine percent of the time."

Red shrugged his shoulders. "So? Even if I am right you're not gonna believe me. What's the point in arguing about it?"

Misty frowned, at a complete loss for words. She was used to heartfelt retaliations, not total surrender.

Soon all will become clear, Chosen Color, he heard a voice ringing in his head.

Chosen Color? Who is this? he wondered. And what are you doing in my head?

The Gatherer holds the answers you seek. Find him, before time runs out.

For the love of Mew quit being so cryptic! Who is the Gatherer?!

Find him, Chosen Color. Find Sam.

"Great, now I'm supposed to find some Gatherer and all I know is his first name," Red muttered, not realizing that Misty was listening.

"Who do you have to find, Red?" she asked, a softness in her tone he hadn't heard before and was almost shocked speechless from.

"Uh, some guy named Sam," he answered, scratching his head. "The person called him the 'Gatherer' for some reason. Any idea?"

"Well, I know one Sam, but he's from the past…" she trailed off, referring to the brunet boy they'd once encountered in Celebi's forest. "Wait, the professor's first name is Samuel. Maybe that's who your friend was talking about?"

"Probably. I don't doubt it," Red remarked, rolling his eyes. "Stupid Voice, messing with my head like that." Misty gave him a confused look.

Man, I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut, he thought, shaking his head. "Don't mind that last bit. We could try calling him from Cerulean's Pokémon Center. He might even have some news about Pika."

"Well, it's worth a shot, I guess," Misty answered, shrugging her shoulders. "But let's call from the Gym instead."

"Great!" Red exclaimed, leaping in excitement. "Don't worry, Pika! We're gonna find you soon!"

Ding dong, ding dong.

"Coming!" a male voice called from inside, trying to make his way to the door. Team Rocket stood at it, disguised as a delivery crew, awaiting the Johto Professor's appearance. They'd led Pika to his doorstep, and were about to leave when Jessie had come up with a brilliant plan to swipe a few Pokémon before making their getaway. The door finally opened to reveal a tall brunet man with glasses who had a confused expression on his face.

"Hello there, sir," Jessie began, shaking his hand. "My partner and I found this Pikachu wandering the forest earlier today and decided to bring him to you, thinking he might belong to someone." The professor scratched his head, glancing down at the little yellow Pokémon.

"No one's come by asking about one, but you're probably right. Pikachu are too rare around here to be found in the wild. Uh, Pikachu? Would you like to stay here with me until your Trainer comes to claim you?" Pika nodded, jumping into the professor's arms.

"He's probably a Kanto Trainer's, so I'll be sure to check with Professor Oak on this. Thanks, you two." He was about to shut the door when Jessie held out her hand to stop it.

"Actually, we've also come with a delivery for you."

"Delivery? I haven't ordered anything lately… What is it?" James pulled out a little brown package labeled "Elm" and handed it to the professor. Pika didn't like the looks of this. These two weren't actual delivery people, so what were they up to?

"Pika," the Pokémon growled through gritted teeth.

"Na-unh, Pika. Remember the deal. Be a good little mouse," Jessie urged, pointing a scolding finger at the Pokémon. Elm dropped the box, realizing who the two were and also suspicious of what lay inside.

"Wait a second. I thought I recognized you two! You're the Rockets who ran off with my Totodile!"

Shoot! Our cover is blown! Jessie realized, instinctively shaking her head in response. "You, uh, must be mistaken, sir. Why would we give you this Pikachu if we were a bunch of Pokémon thieves?" she retorted, glaring down at the little furball.

"Well, you're right, but it could easily be a decoy," he pointed out. "You know, Officer Jenny is just a phone call away."

"Why, uh, look at the time! We should get going! Shouldn't we, Jessie Ann?" James asked, receiving a growl in response.

"Yeah, guess we should," she grumbled. "Have a nice life, Pika. Maybe you'll find Red sooner or later." Jessie grabbed the package and ripped it open, triggering a smoke ball that impaired the professor's vision long enough for the duo to make their getaway.

"Hm, those two sure are an odd couple," he remarked, wiping the smoke from his glasses. "Wait, did she say Red?" Pika nodded, eyes glistening in excitement at the mention of his Trainer's name.

"Well, Samuel will definitely find this fascinating," Elm remarked, carrying the Pikachu inside and shutting the door behind him. "Looks like the Chosen Colors have arrived after all. And just in time, no doubt."

Chosen Colors? What was he talking about? Could he mean Red, Green, and Blue? Pika sighed. He'd never understand humans, even if he was owned by one of the best (subject due to biased opinion or not).

Professor Elm walked over to the videophone and dialed the Pokémon Professor's number. After two rings, Tracey picked up. "Is Samuel there?" Elm asked, stroking Pika's fur.

"No sir, I'm afraid not. He and Gary just called from Lavaridge in Hoenn though, so I wanna say they're on their way back. Did you wanna tell the professor something?" Tracey realized that most of Elm's calls consisted of explaining to the Pokémon Professor his latest discoveries on Pokémon Evolution, and he would've gladly listened to the long-winded man had that been the case. Listening to him ramble on about Evolution was at times boring, but it definitely beat sitting in the lab alone with little else to do but twiddle his thumbs.

"No lectures today I'm afraid, Tracey," he told the boy, frowning slightly. "I needed to tell him about a Pokémon someone found. A Pikachu, as a matter of fact." He held up the yellow mouse so Tracey could get a good look, and surprise crossed the Pokémon watcher's face.

"That Pikachu almost looks like Ash's," Tracey mused. "But he's not as…colorful. The yellow in his fur seems to be fading, and his cheeks are pretty light, almost pink." Elm nodded, realizing that the watcher was right. The Pikachu was oddly pale, and holding him sent a strange sensation through the professor's hands.

It probably had to do with the prophecy the Pokémon Professor had mentioned not too long ago.

"The Prophecy of Colors consists of a trio of Chosen Colors. The trio is most likely Red, Blue, and Green, since those are the three additive colors used to create white, but it's currently unclear about the other trio. They're all presumed to be Trainers, as it refers to Poké Balls when it mentions the second set of three, but it isn't very keen to give away much more. With time, I'm sure it will become clearer, but I do know Arceus is involved. For whatever purpose, it is the one designating who the Chosen Colors are," Professor Oak had told him over the videophone one day.

"But how do we know when this will happen, Professor?" Elm had asked. "And how do we even know it's true?"

At the time, Professor Elm wasn't sure whether to trust the professor or not, considering much of it sounded too ambiguous and almost too incredible to believe. But, as time went on, the Pokémon Professor started saying more and more about the prophecy, not really taking the time to explain how he got the information so much as just relaying to Elm what he knew.

"The three colors are from an alternate world, Elm!" the Pokémon Professor exclaimed, wide eyed from his newest discovery. "That's why we don't know who they are." Elm raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to believe his colleague and once-great teacher or not.

"Professor, don't you think that's a bit… out there?" he asked. "I mean, it's possible, but…"

"Believe me, Elm, I was just as doubtful as you, but you have to understand. There isn't much time left, and I'm going to need your help."

Then the professor had gone on to explain how he knew; a Voice had slowly been revealing the information bit by bit. As incredulous as it sounded, and as hard as the Evolution Professor found it to believe, he knew Professor Oak wouldn't lie about something that could possibly label him as insane for the rest of his life. So he agreed to help the professor find the Chosen Colors.

"Uh, Professor, are you there?" Tracey asked, waving a hand in front of the screen.

"Oh! Terribly sorry, Tracey, my mind wandered off on me again," Elm replied, chuckling lightly. "Just let me know if a Trainer calls asking about a Pikachu, okay?" Tracey gave him a thoughtful look.

"Actually, someone already has. A kid named Red called from Cerulean City Gym just a few minutes ago asking about one named Pika. He was with Misty, for some reason. Want me to try calling back and see if they pick up?" Tracey almost sounded a bit nervous to call the Gym, Elm noted. He probably didn't want one of the Sensational Sisters to pick up instead.

"That would be great, actually," Elm replied, scratching Pika behind the ear. "Let me know if they answer, would you?"

"Will do, Professor," Tracey told him. "Call you back in a minute."

"Okay, I'll be looking forward to it, Tracey."

Click.

"Well, Pika, looks like it's just you and me for a little bit. At least we found your Trainer." Pika smiled, excited about the first shred of good news he'd heard since he and Red were separated.

"Pikapi!"

Don't worry, Red! We've almost found you!

"Okay, so you're trying to tell me you're from some alternate Pokémon universe, you fell through some weird light to rescue your rival and some pickpocket you barely know, and now you have this weird Voice in your head that called you a 'Chosen Color'?" Ash asked, a smirk on his face he didn't bother to hide. Blue's farfetched story amused Ash just a bit too much.

"Well, when you put it that way I sound like an idiot." Blue narrowed his eyes at Ash. "I'm being serious here!" Maybe he shouldn't have brought up the Voice. Maybe he shouldn't have brought up anything. It definitely would've saved him a little humiliation, if not some time.

"It's kind of hard to take something like this seriously, you know," Ash giggled before bursting into hysterics yet again. Pikachu quickly followed his Trainer's lead. Blue sighed in frustration. He was getting absolutely nowhere with this kid.

"Brock?" He glanced over at the breeder, who apparently seemed deep in thought over the whole thing. Er, over something, anyway. Finally, the breeder met his gaze and nodded.

"Ash, you and I both know it's possible. After all the legends you've met, I'm surprised you don't believe this story. We met Arceus, for Arceus's sake!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands on the young Trainer's shoulders. "Surely if we can meet the god of all Pokémon and save the entire Pokémon World, multiple times I might add, then this kid could come from some alternate dimension and have a strange Voice in his head." Ash stopped mid-laugh and so did Pikachu, realizing that Brock had a point.

Then he groaned. "Fine, fine. I guess you're right." He glanced over at Blue, whose stoic expression so much resembled Gary's it almost made Ash second guess himself. "Well, first things first, we gotta find out who this Voice is and figure out what he wants."

"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Blue muttered sarcastically, his face in his hand as he undoubtedly rolled his eyes at the raven-haired youth's state-the-obvious comment. Even Pikachu couldn't help but facepalm at his Trainer for such a remark.

"If I had to guess, Blue, it's probably a Pokémon. A legend even," Brock stated as Blue craned his neck to listen.

"Then it's got to be Mew," he pointed out, since that was really the only legend known of where he came from.

Brock shook his head. "I don't really think so. What about Lugia, Ash? You've seen enough of them," he chuckled, referring to the baby Lugia they'd rescued as well as the one Ash rode on as the Chosen One to save the Pokémon World once.

"Eh, I don't think so. Lugia didn't seem like the type of legend to randomly pop up in people's heads," Ash joked, to which Brock rolled his eyes in reply. "Besides, Lugia spends more time sleeping at the bottom of the ocean than it does actually trying to prevent the world's destruction. Didn't it go back to sleep after we left?"

Brock shrugged his shoulders, realizing the validity in Ash's point. "It couldn't be Ho-oh either. Ho-oh is more of a good omen than anything else. What about Kyogre and Groudon? Or even Rayquaza or Deoxys?"

Ash thought it over a moment before replying, "I could see Deoxys, but the other three don't really have any telepathic powers that I know of. Rayquaza's more of a 'Hyper Beam first, ask questions later' kind of Pokémon anyway, and Kyogre and Groudon are asleep like Lugia right now, or like the entire world would be flooded and earthquakes would pop up everywhere."

Blue was getting quite annoyed by the guessing he and Brock kept doing, mainly because he'd never heard of any of these Pokémon they referred to as legends, and Blue loathed being the ignorant one in a conversation. After a few more minutes of tossing Pokémon names back and forth between the two—Latias, Jirachi, Celebi, Shaymin, and Giratina being a few—Blue piped up with, "Perhaps it's that Arceus Pokémon you were talking about earlier?"

Brock and Ash both gaped at him in shock. "You talk about Arceus as if you've never heard of it," Brock noticed, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Well, I haven't. Didn't I tell you I was from Kanto? I was trained in Johto, but still. As far as I know there are only a hundred and fifty-one Pokémon able to be registered in my Pokédex," he answered, holding out a device that much resembled Ash's first model, Dexter.

Brock let out a loud whistle. "You've got some serious catching up to do, Blue. There are about four hundred and ninety-three now," he remarked, taking the Dex from Blue's hand. It crumbled at Brock's touch. "Hm, I don't think that was supposed to happen. Eh, sorry, Blue."

Blue was too busy freaking out about what Brock had said first to notice the outdated device's sudden disintegration. "Four hundred and ninety-three?! No freakin' way!" he exclaimed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "You gotta be kidding me!" Brock shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. And I'm almost positive there will be more to hear about once Ash decides to start another journey in a different region."

No way. Blue stared at them in shock, struck speechless at the thought of so many new Pokémon to catch, to train, to learn about. After another few minutes of silence, Brock jabbed his thumb in the direction of the sea. "Look, Ash, we can almost see Johto from here," he told the boy, who ran over to the handrail and started staring out at the scenery slowly unfolding before them. Pikachu jumped onto the railing to get a better view.

"Pi pi pi!" Pikachu commented, mentioning how pretty it looked from afar.

"Home sweet Johto," Blue breathed. "Well, looks like Goldenrod's gonna be crowded the next few days." Ash nodded, apparently having completely forgotten about their conversation of only a few seconds ago.

"Grand Festivals always are," Ash pointed out, "which is another reason May and Dawn like competing at them so much. The bigger the crowd, the more fans you have. Most of the time, anyway."

"Ash, we should probably call the professor and let him know about Blue," Brock remarked, going over to stand beside him. "I have a feeling he'll wanna know about his grandson from an alternate world." Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno, Brock. Wouldn't that be kind of hard to explain?"

"Ash, if he even believes half the things we've done, I don't think he'll have any trouble trusting us about this."

Gee, arguing with Brock was becoming pretty pointless, as far as Ash was concerned. He was just too good at being right about everything. Ash sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe he'll even know something we don't."

"Well, I'd say it's worth a shot," Blue told them, going over to stand on the opposite side of Ash.

"Of course you would," Ash muttered, rolling his eyes. Blue glared at him, trying to hold back a snappy retort.

Just a little bit longer, Blue, he reminded himself, taking a deep breath. At least Brock offered some form of solace from Ash's immaturity. "About how much longer will it be?" he asked, glancing over at the breeder.

"Hm, I'd say about another few hours, at least," Brock answered, shaking his head. "This is New Bark Town we're passing now, and Goldenrod's on the other side of the region."

"So, Blue, what Pokémon do you have?" Ash asked curiously, looking down at the five Poké Balls at the Trainer's belt.

"Right now I have Charizard, Porygon, Scyther, Golduck, and Machamp, but I've got some more at the lab with Gramps," he replied, ticking off each Pokémon's name on his hand.

"I have a Charizard!" Ash exclaimed. "And Misty has a Psyduck, but I don't think that counts if you're talking about Golduck. But we did think he'd evolved one time." Blue gave him a confused look.

"Misty as in the Cerulean City Gym Leader?"

Ash nodded. "The one and only."

"Hmph. Red knows her then."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "There's a Misty where you're from?"

"Yeah, and a Brock too. Wait, you're not Pewter City's Gym Leader, are you?" Brock shook his head.

"Former Gym Leader. My younger brother Forrest took over after I left to join Ash on his journey."

Blue sighed. He couldn't believe he hadn't put two and two together sooner.

"So there's a Brock, a Professor Oak, and a Misty where you're from," Ash pointed out, yet again stating the obvious. "Then that means there should be a me too!" Pikachu rolled his eyes and facepalmed at his Trainer's brash conclusions.

"Not necessarily, Ash," Brock told him. "If you haven't noticed, all of those people are either Gym Leaders, like Misty and myself, or Professors, like Professor Oak. It may not work the same way for a ten-year-old Trainer, no offense." And yet again, Brock proved a point that Ash couldn't argue with.

"But, if I had to guess, you're probably Red's counterpart," Blue answered, shrugging his shoulders. "He has a Pikachu too, and you both look a lot alike, even if you don't have the same name."

Brock thought it over. "I guess it's possible. But then that means you'd probably be Gary's. I don't know about Green though," Brock mumbled, scratching his head.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see!" Ash exclaimed, suddenly more eager to meet the boy Blue kept talking about.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu agreed, an eagerness bubbling inside him that very much resembled his Trainer's.

If Red really is an alternate me, I have to challenge him to a Pokémon battle!