Hi, Fan Fiction Members! This is HollowKU, ready for another chapter of this fic! I'm glad that I'm finally getting reviews and I'm happy that you liked it! I have to tell you that I really had trouble doing this chapter, since I had another idea for how this chapter was going to be, but in the end I made it work out. Well, hope you like it, and let's get to the fic!

Pokémon: The Parallel Challenger

Chapter 3: Counterparts

Red's POV

I don't even know why I'm doing this...

"It's because you want to meet this trainer I told you about. Your inner hyperactive nature wished a new challenge."

How did he...? Oh, right. Pokémon "god". Well, that makes things easier. I won't need to talk.

"Indeed. So we're now heading to another dimension through this space rift I created. It's exclusively of MY use. Not even my children can access to this tunnel. Not even Giratina, who can travel across dimensions without any problem."

...So, mind telling me who is this trainer I'm about to battle with?

"Well, that's something I don't want to tell you."

...You're kidding, right? What do you expect? That I go to a world I don't know and find this "magnificent" trainer without a clue?

"First of all, we're going to a parallel world, meaning that the places you know in your world also exist in that world. Second and last, I know only by seeing you that you're not an ordinary trainer. I'm sure you're capable of recognizing the nature of another human being just looking at him/her. I'm sure you'll recognize him just by looking at him. Don't worry, I'll drop you near to where he is located right now."

... ...

"Well, we're almost there. This is where I stay. Don't worry. If you need to return to your world, just tell and I'll appear and take you back."

... ...

"Good luck...Red."

Normal POV

It was morning. The sun had just rise from the hills and illuminating the houses of every family in Pallet Town. However, the true interest was in the Ketchum residence, where the trainer that was found yesterday by Ash and his friends just woke up from after his sudden collapse. He found himself trying to remember how he ended up there and how was he going to get out so he could challenge the great trainer Arceus told him about.

"Oh! Look who's finally up!"

The trainer, who was a little confused about his whereabouts, looked at one corner of the room to find a brown-haired girl with blue eyes, who was wearing an orange shirt, black shorts, black and white gloves, orange and white shoes and a green headscarf. The trainer didn't recognize the girl at all, just looking at her with a puzzled look. The girl just smiled.

"So, that fall must have been a lot for you, wasn't it?" The girl asked.

"..." The trainer remained in silence.

"So, you're the shy type of guy, aren't you?"

"...I prefer quiet type." The trainer finally replied. This made the girl giggle.

"By the way, my name's May! It's good to meet you..."

"Red. The name's Red." The trainer introduced himself, while trying to get up. His head started to hurt. "Ugh..."

"Easy there. Take your time." May said. "Remember that you passed out yesterday so your system is still weak."

"Ok..." Red replied. He noticed that his things were missing, including his Pokéballs.

"Don't worry, your stuff are in the first floor. I assure you that no one has touched them." This calmed Red a little, but the principal doubt was still there.

"...Where am I?" Red asked, while he checked on the window of the room, and started feeling that he was there before.

"We are in Pallet Town."

"I'm in Pallet Town?" Red thought while surprised. He never expected that he would end up in the parallel equivalent to his hometown. "Arceus said that he would drop me in a place near to where the trainer was. So...this trainer also lives in Pallet Town like me?" His thoughts were interrupted when May called a certain friend to check on him.

"Brock! Misty! He's already up!" May yelled.

"Brock? Misty? The Pewter City Gym Leader Brock and the Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty? Why are they here? What is their business with this girl? Don't they have gyms to take care of?"

All of these questions were invading the trainer's head, without getting a logical answer. He knew that even if he was at a parallel world, things should not be so different from his world. Suddenly the two leaders entered the room.

"Oh, hi! It's good to see that you recovered! I'm Misty, by the way." The water-type leader said.

"Feel the same. It's impressive how fast you've recovered! My name's Brock. It's a pleasure to meet you." The rock-type leader said.

"I'm Red..." The trainer introduced himself and said nothing more.

"Well Red, take this tea. It will help you get better." Brock said as he handed the tea to Red.

"..." Red said nothing and took the tea gently and started to drink it. "...Thanks."

"Oh, and here is your bag. As you can see, no one of us looked on the inside." Misty handed the back pack to Red as he finished his tea. He took his bag and still with doubts, he checked its insides. He found all his stuff inside.

"...I feel much better now. Now, if you excuse me..." Red said as he put his bag on his back and got up, ready to go.

"Wait, where do you think you are going?" Misty said with such a noisy voice that made Red stop. "It's pretty early in the morning and breakfast its almost ready!"

"I can take care of myself..." Red replied. "Besides, I have business to take care of. I need to find a certain person..." He said as he continued walking to the door.

"Everyone in the town is sleeping right now." Brock said. This comment made Red to stop in the entrance. "Even if you leave now, you will have to wait to that person to wake up. Besides, we could help you find him/her."

"...He got me there. Besides, a little homemade breakfast could be nice for a change." Red thought, remembering the meals he ate after he started living in Mt. Silver. He then turned to face the leaders and May. "Very well then, I'll stay." He replied.

After convincing Red to stay, he, Misty, Brock and May went downstairs and headed to the kitchen. They found Ms. Ketchum cooking breakfast while her loyal Pokémon Mr. Mime was setting the table. Sitting around the table was Dawn and Max, also people that Red didn't recognize at all.

"Hi, honey! It's good to see you finally up! I'm Delia Ketchum" Ms. Ketchum said to Red. "Wow! You really look like my son! Come on, take a sit. Breakfast is almost ready."

"U-um...ok." Red said replied and took a sit. "...Wow...this young lady makes me feel like home...she reminds me of my mom..." He thought.

"Hi, I'm Dawn! Nice to meet you!" Dawn introduced herself.

"I'm Red..." The trainer said.

"My name is Max. I hope my sister didn't scare you with that face of hers..." Max joked, but regretted it later when he saw his now enraged sister making a fist and quickly heading to his head.

"Ow!" Max rubbed his head. "Oh, come on! It was a little joke!"

"Not funny, Max!" May yelled at his little brother. Misty and Brock grabbed May, stopping her from unleashing her rage. Red couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Ok! Breakfast's ready!" Ms. Ketchum said with joy, as she and Mr. Mime put the food on the table. "Mmm...Ash is still sleeping. May, could you be so kind to wake him up?"

"E-Ehhhh?! Me?" May asked nervously, while her cheeks got red like a tomato. She tried to hide it, although. "O-ok, Ms. Ketchum...I'll bring him..." Still blushing, she went upstairs to wake Ash up. Red watched the scene in silence, and after a moment, he finally spoke.

"So..." He said while grabbing a piece of bread. "This Ash guy must be a pretty dense guy, isn't he?"

Everyone else in the kitchen burst in laughter after hearing Red's comment.

Meanwhile, May arrived to Ash's room, still blushing and kind of doubting of entering the room...

"Oh, come on May! You've seen him sleeping before when you travelled with him both Hoenn and Kanto! There's nothing to be embarrassed of!" May said to herself. "Although...I didn't realize I liked him until the end of our journey. So this is a completely different scenario!" Her thoughts were having a fight.

"This is ridiculous! I just need to wake him up!" May thought, while gaining confidence. "Ok. Here I go!" She said as she entered the room.

Already inside, she looked and analyzed every corner of the room. It was pretty clean, but she doubt that it was because of Ash. She giggled at this comment. When checking the left side of the room, she noticed a desk with all of Ash's awards and most valuable gifts: The Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh Leagues certificates, the Orange Island League Trophy, between others.

What caught her attention was a special gift she recognized almost instantly: it was a wood Teddiursa sculpture. She gave that to Ash as a gift during her short stay at the Sinnoh region due to the Wallace Cup. She remembered that she also gave Brock and Dawn gifts, so they wouldn't suspect of her true feelings for Ash. She felt really happy seeing that her gift was one of Ash's most valuable treasures. Her thoughts however were interrupted by the sudden noises of her sleeping crush.

"Mm...Elite Four...here I go..." Ash snored after saying these words.

"He hasn't change one bit..." May said while giggling. Her giggle made Ash's Pikachu to wake up.

"Piiiii...Kaaaa..." Pikachu said as it stretched. "Pikapi!" Pikachu greeted May.

"Good morning, Pikachu! Did you sleep well?" May asked. The electric-type Pokémon nodded. She then turned to see the sleeping trainer.

"He looks kind of cute when sleeping..." May couldn't help but blush at her own comment. She approached to the trainer and shook him up a little.

"Ash, wake up!" May said while shaking the trainer, with no results.

"Mmm...just five more minutes..."

"Ash, come on! Breakfast's ready!" She continued shaking Ash. Out of blue, Ash woke up and sat in his bed very quickly.

"BREAKFAST!" Ash yelled as he raised a fist in sign of victory.

"A-Ash..."

What Ash didn't realize was that in his sudden reaction, his face was just a few inches from May's. Although this happened, none of them reacted at all. They just stayed looking at each other's faces, like if they were in some kind of spell.

"Come on, May! Stop looking at him, before it's too late..." May said to herself while gazing the trainer's eyes.

"Why can't I stop looking at her?" Ash asked himself. "It's like...she has me trapped with her eyes...those beautiful blue eyes...wait, what?" He blushed, even though he didn't understand why.

"What? Ash's blushing? Does that mean...?" May blushed even more.

"Um...Am I interrupting something?"

When hearing this, May jumped from the bed and fell to the floor, while Ash jumped so high that his head hit with the roof of his room. Both of them were groaning in pain while seeing the person that came to see them. It was Red.

"Red? What are you doing here?" May asked while rubbing her head.

"You were taking your time..." Red replied.

"Ok. I'll be heading there." May said as she ran to the door, but she heard a whisper from Red.

"Maybe he's not as dense as I thought..."

As May left, Ash just recovered from his hit in the head. Pikachu climbed to his shoulder to see his trainer.

"Ow...well, I should get ready for breakfast..." Ash said as he noticed that Red was still in his room. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Ash, and this is my friend Pikachu!" Ash said as he raised his hand for a handshake.

"I'm Red..." Red said as he returned the handshake with a smile on his face.

When both their hands connected, they both felt a strange sensation running through their hands to every part of their bodies, yet it felt like there was some kind of familiar connection. After a few seconds their hands separated.

"Did you felt that?" Ash asked to Red. This one nodded. "It was like some kind of familiar feeling, like if you and I have met before..."

"..." Red remained in silence, while looking at Ash.

"Oh, well. Let's talk about it later, I'm hungry!" Ash said as he grabbed his cap and headed downstairs with Pikachu in his shoulder.

"His face...his clothes...his Pikachu..." Red said as he looked into his hand and made it into a fist. He realized who Ash truly was. "This is going to be interesting..." He smiled.

After a nice breakfast...

"Oh, I'm so full! Thanks for the food, mom!" Ash said while rubbing his belly.

"Thanks for the meal, Ms. Ketchum. It was delicious." Red said.

"It's good to see you liked it!" Ms. Ketchum said very happy. "Well, what are you going to do now?" She asked. Then Brock, who had finished breakfast earlier, came into the kitchen.

"Prof. Oak just called and has requested that Red should go to his lab. Apparently, he is quite curious in meeting our friend over here." Brock said while looking at Red. "Of course, only if you don't mind..."

"...Let's go." Red said, while heading to the door and going to Prof. Oak's lab.

"I'm also quite interested in that fact, aren't you Ash?" Max asked.

"Sure. Well, only one way to find out. Come on guys, let's go!" Ash said.

At the lab...

"Welcome, everyone!" Prof. Oak said as he noticed the new person in the group. "Oh, you must be Red! My name is Prof. Oak. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for your time in coming here, since Brock told me you were kind in a hurry into finding someone in the town."

"No problem, professor." Red said. "I already found who I was looking..." Everyone was confused by this comment.

"Well, here is my grandson. His name is Gary. He used to be a Pokémon Trainer and Ash's rival, but now he's a Pokémon researcher like me." Prof. Oak said while presenting Gary to Red.

"Hi, like my gramps said, I'm Gary. Seeing you is kind of weird, although. It's like I'm seeing double." Gary also noticed the great resemblance between Red and Ash.

"..." Red remained in silence, as he gave Gary a deadly glare, which he noticed.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Gary asked a little annoyed.

"..." Red didn't say anything, still with a mean look that eventually faded.

"Well...first things first. I analyzed the environment near the portal where you came from, and noticed that it share the same components of the space particles that are all around the universe."

"..." Red remained in silence while listening to the professor.

"So, what does that mean?" May asked.

"To be more accurate, in my first conclusion, I thought that the portal that appeared yesterday was due to a time rift caused by a strong energy, maybe caused by Celebi. But then I compared that data with the components of another data that was given to me by Prof. Rowan from the Sinnoh region after the legendary Dialga, Palkia and Giratina were summoned in the region, I realized I was wrong." Ash and his friends were confused by the professor's statement.

"It was not a time rift, it was a space rift: a portal between dimensions." Prof. Oak concluded. "So, is that true...Red?"

"...Yes..." Red nodded to the professor's conclusion. "That portal was a space rift. I used it to come to this world."

"So that means...?"

"Yes, I've came from another world: a parallel world, to be exact." Red said while grabbing his cap. Everyone in the room, except Prof. Oak and Gary were shocked. They couldn't believe that Red came from another world.

"A parallel world?" Max asked.

"A parallel world is another dimension that shares the same basic elements as ours, like the planets, the laws of physics, but they're always different in some ways." Gary explained.

"That's not all. Now that you've said that you're from a parallel world, and judging by your appearance and the fact that I noticed you were holding a Pikachu with you when you arrived to this dimension..." Prof. Oak said, as he got to the precise point. "I can actually say that you're the Ash from the other world, aren't you?"

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed, especially Ash.

"That's right. When I first met him, I realized that we shared the same traits and I felt a familiar energy when I touched his hand. It was seeing into a mirror. I think you felt it too, other me." Red said while smiling.

"So...are you saying that we're both the same person?" Ash asked still confused.

"Basically, yes." Red replied.

"So you and I have visited the same places, met the same friends, met the same rivals and have the same Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Well, I first started my journey in Pallet Town and received my starter Pokémon from the Prof. Oak of my world. My only rival was Blue Oak, who is the professor's grandson and-"

"My counterpart, I presume." Gary said interrupting Red, who nodded at the ex-trainer's statement. "So that deadly glare you gave me earlier makes me think that you and my counterpart don't get along, do you?" Gary asked.

"Yes. In my world, he started his journey with me, and appeared constantly when my Pokémon were already weak from battling other trainers. He managed to get the 8 Gym Badges from Kanto, and he eventually defeated the Elite Four and became Champion, but his ambition for power and mistreat of Pokémon lead to his defeat minutes after your victory. In the present, you are the Viridian City Gym Leader in my world." Red said.

"So, in your world...I actually became Champion..." Gary said, surprised that his counterpart managed to achieve the highest rank for a Pokémon Trainer. "Although from what you say, my counterpart seems to be a bad person."

"Now he's just arrogant. His worst moment was when he became Champion. A good example of how power can corrupt. He's still a jerk, but he's a better person than he used to be." Red said.

"So what about us? How are our counterparts?" Misty asked. "Did they travel with you?"

"Well, I spent my entire journey alone, so I can't really say much about you. In my world I know a Brock and a Misty, but I just saw them once, when I went to their respective gyms for a battle." Red said to Misty and Brock, and then turned to face May, Max and Dawn. "In your case, I didn't meet anyone like you back there in my world."

"But why? Didn't you travel across the others regions, like Hoenn and Sinnoh?"

"Actually, I only went through the Kanto region." Red replied.

"Only Kanto?!" Ash exclaimed. "I thought that we had the same experience."

"Experience..." Red only laughed at that statement. "So you think you have more experience than me because I only travelled through Kanto? You're underestimating me..."

"So you're telling me that you learned more during your first journey that I in all of mine?" Ash asked annoyed.

"I have trained during three years non-stop in the top of Mt. Silver." Red replied calmed. "I don't doubt of your ability, but judging that you have travelled to other regions and have more "experience" than I do, I expected a little more."

Red and Ash continued arguing between each other, yet they reacted differently. Ash was getting extremely pissed off, while Red kept his cool all the time. May and the others only saw the scene and wondered how to put an end to it.

"Why are they suddenly fighting? A minute ago they were fine!" Dawn said.

"It is natural." Prof. Oak replied. "They are both the same person, so both of them have natural expectations from each other. As I can see, Red's "short" journey as a Pokémon Trainer has, in a way, made Ash a little arrogant, since he already has visited five regions. On the other hand, Ash always starts from scratch in each region he visits, leaving the Pokémon he used on his previous journeys here at the lab, except for Pikachu, of course."

"So, are you going to leave them like that?" May asked worried.

"They'll eventually solve their differences. After all, they're the same person." Prof. Oak said. Then they continued hearing the fight.

"Oh, yeah? So you think you're better than I am?" Ash said while grabbing a Pokéball and pointing at Red. "Then prove it."

"..." Red smiled, while grabbing his cap and also grabbing a Pokéball. "Bring it on...other me."

"Ok, then. Red, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

Ok! So this was the third chapter! Hope you liked it! Remember to read and review. See you in the next chapter!