Note: So I discovered that there's another significant anime/manga crossover that exists (pokesp meets anime). Might give my thoughts on it (and the others) during the interlude arc chapters, as well as some other ramblings alongside the few questions I got (just 3 from a single user, but that works).

Sinnoh Chapter 5: Oh how I find you so A'paul'ing!

How?

"Senior Ash?!" Platinum looked frantically between Ash and the mystery trainer. "So that's…"

"Yes… it is…" Ash could barely look at his old rival. "Paul?! What happened?"

What happened?! You did, Ash. Years ago in Sinnoh, when you beat me! ME!

"Paul, I…"

An onslaught of voices filled his mind, overwhelming and exceeding painful. He tried covering his ears to no avail as he collapsed to the ground.

"PIKA!" Pikachu screamed as the voices amplified in his head as well, collapsing with his trainer. Ash held the small pokémon as Pikachu began to squirm.

"Ash!" Yellow screamed before she, Platinum and Frostlass fell in turn. They were all engulfed by the force, tortured screams burying into their minds.

My path was set before me… Paul's words sat just above the tormented howls. The league victory was mine. My goals… He moved towards Ash. And then you… you…

He used his free hand to bring Ash to his knees, forcing him to drop Pikachu. Ash tried to resist, but the pain was far too much. He could barely think, his own internal voice choked out and drowned.

I lost! To you… and I didn't know what to do. So I turned to my brother. I gave UP, like my brother! Because of YOU.

"Paul I…"

Paul wrapped the tendrils that led to Torterra around Ash's neck, placing a single foot on his chest and reeling back, choking the life out of the young man.

"Paul… please… I…" Ash tried to talk, to reason, to say anything. "I'm…"

Absolutely

"I'm sorry…"

Pathetic.

"I think… we lost them…"

Out of breath, Diamond, Pearl, and Dawn had finally outpaced the distorted trainers. They finally managed to lose them a few corridors down. The creatures were fast, but luckily for the trainers they were clumsy. They figured they were safe, at least for the moment.

"We need to find the others," Dawn said, recovering her breath.

"Yeah. There could be more of those things in these caves," Diamond said.

"These ain't caves Dia…"

"I don't think that matters right now, Pearl."

"Well, I guess we keep mov…"

Around the corner stood another massive door, carved in stone.

"Another door…" Pearl sighed. "Great, guess we'll have to find another lever to be dropped into another secret maze."

Dawn placed a single palm on the door and pushed. It wasn't heavy like the ones before, and it almost slid gracefully along the rocky floor.

"Guess this isn't another tra…"

The words were ripped from her as the group looked into the darkness of the chamber. The black substance that was coated all around the room, even wrapping itself over the blue torches, their light heavily dimmed. Among the deluge of the ill-coated walls were various bulbous like protrusion, almost perfectly circular spheres that looked almost like bubbles. There were at least 16 of them, at least from what Dawn could see. On closer inspection she could see a rigid, angular patterning on them, giving them an almost biomechanical nature.

"Uh oh…" Diamond slowly moved into the room behind Dawn.

"Yep. More spooky stuff." Pearl moved past the others, examining one of the bubbles. He could faintly see through it…

"Agh!" Pearl leaped back as he noticed a hand sticking out from the sphere, only partially encased in the substance.

"Pearl!" Diamond and Dawn rushed up to him.

"Oh no…" Dawn noticed other parts faintly sticking out. Another hand, a leg, and a… wing?

Creeping closer to the bubble, she noticed a dark, feathering wing in the mesh. It looked like a Murkrow. She looked at the hands and legs again. They were small, likely belonging to a child…

It was almost like a cocoon. And Dawn knew who was inside of it.

"Oh no…" Dawn immediately grabbed onto the hand, fiercely pulling as hard as she could. She wouldn't budge however, being stuck to the wall with what felt like solid concrete.

"Senior Dawn!" Diamond attempted to help the other trainer to no avail.

"No!" Dawn's hand slipped as the force of her efforts sent her tumbling back.

"It's no use!" Pearl grabbed Diamonds arm, noticing the Murkrow wing as well. "... the girl from yesterday…"

"She's in there! We have to get her out!" Dawn took out a pokeball. "Maybe we can get our pokémon to…"

"Senior Dawn, look." Diamond pointed towards the end of the cocoon, tracing his finger over its lower portion. Leading away from it was a line of the dark substance leading towards the back of the room, almost like an extension cord. They noticed that the other cocoons had a similar line, all focusing on a central structure. It looked like a pedestal, flat on the top and bottom and rounded near the center. Floating just above it was a large, darkened orb.

"What is that..?" Dawn asked.

"I have no idea senior Dawn. But we should probably get out of here," Pearl said, noting another door next to the pedestal.

"But we can't leave all these people!" Dawn shouted, looking at the other cocoons she spotted more limbs and other odd bits of pokémon sticking out.

"There's nothing we can do right now senior Dawn!"

"But maybe we can find some way to free them if we keep searching these catacombs," Diamond said. "Look, there's another doorway." Diamond pointed towards a large door, sat right next to the pedestal.

Dawn nodded. She made her way towards the door, with Diamond and Pearl following closely behind.

I can't breathe…

It was one of many thoughts racing through Ash's mind as Paul threatened to crush his windpipe. His vision became blurry as the lack of oxygen starved his brain.

Gave up! I GAVE UP!

The intense winding scream pierced his mind, drowning out his other thoughts. It was Paul's voice for certain, yet it was detached. These thoughts didn't formulate from any sort of human connection. He knew that this creature wasn't Paul. But its emotions were so… real. They were Paul's emotions, and he was hurting.

No, Paul had been hurt. Long ago. And it was because of Ash.

Ash's vision began to go black. He couldn't see the other trainers, but he guessed that they were still writhing on the floor. He could hear Pikachu writhing on the floor near him. They were trapped, and he was going to die here…

A bright flash of light. At least that's what it looked like, from what little he could see. He felt a slight release of tension around his neck, and he used the opportunity to take a deep breath. He still couldn't see straight, but at least his vision stopped worsening. The light intensified in his peripheral vision, a bright orange flame. Fire…

Quilava?!

Paul released his grip fully, turning his attention towards Quilava, who stood in the center of the room, arms outstretched.

Ash tried to scream Quilava's name, but the oppressive voices continued to rage in his mind. He could breathe, but he was once again back on the floor. He grabbed Pikachu again with his right hand, his other outstretched towards the blue pokémon.

"Quilava!" He screamed over the voices, though he couldn't even hear himself.

"Qui…" His flames began to swirl around him, nearly engulfing the pokémon. Suddenly, the purple flames on the torches ignited all at once, and the screams inside the trainers' minds suddenly ceased, now centering around Quilava. The purple fire of the torches raced towards the pokémon, coiling around it like a snake.

No more interruptions!

Torterra launched itself towards Quilava, the smaller pokémon almost disappearing under him. Before the trainers could react, a blue light emanated through Torterra, and a large, purple explosion ignited under him. Torterra was flung against the wall, Paul being forcibly dragged with him.

Ash and the others finally made it to their feet, Pikachu clutched in his arms. For a moment, they were dumbstruck by what they saw.

Where Quilava once stood was a significantly larger pokémon. At a glance, it looked to be a larger version of Quilava. A Typhlosion. Quilava must have evolved! But there were some… odd differences.

The most obvious were the flames on its mane. Rather than being an uncontrolled plume of fir, it consisted of purple flames that writhed like they were swaying in a wind that they couldn't feel. Smaller plumes of purple flame lined the pokémon's collar, and it was somewhat skinnier than the average Typhlosion.

"Quilava?!" Ash spoke in a raspy voice.

"Typhlosion!" The pokémon cried out, smiling at his trainer.

Considering he was saved from the brink of death, Ash figured he shouldn't question this sudden turn of events just yet.

"Oh, my bad. Typhlosion, you ready to fight?!" He returned the smile. He could finally think straight. They finally stood a chance.

"That's not like any Typhlosion I've ever seen," Platinum said.

"No time to question it right now!" Yellow said as she tossed a Pokeball. "Chuchu! Come on out!"

"CHU!"

Paul and Torterra quickly picked themselves up, now eyeing the trainers. A Frostlass, Pikachu, and strange Typhlosion standing between them.

Failed…

"Paul…" Ash called out meekly.

I've failed again, and again…

The distorted young man collapsed to his knees. He begins raking his darkened fingers into the solid rock.

And again and again and again…

"Ash… what should we do?" Yellow asked, nerves on fire and seconds away from declaring an attack.

Ash stared at Paul in bewilderment. Was this really his fault? Were these feelings harbored within him this entire time? Was he the only one..?

How many others have I…

"Plosion!"

Typhlosion stared at Ash, his reassuring grin unwavering. The interruption brought Ash into the present. He was suddenly aware of Yellow and Platinum staring at him as well, and Pikachu in his arms, looking expectantly at the trainer.

"Senior Ash, we can take it from here,"

"No, I'm alright." He placed Pikachu on the floor. "Let's see Typhlosion in action."

"Pika…"

He stepped in front of Typhlosion, giving him a reassuring pat on the back as he passed.

"Paul?"

For a moment, Paul looked up, right before Torterra grabbed him by the back of his neck and launched him at Ash. They almost collided before Typhlosion jumped in between them, a barrage of purple flames knocking Paul back down. Torterra screamed in agony, rearing on its hind legs and crashing itself into the wall behind it.

What was that?! This new Typhlosion was full of surprises.

How many others were there, Ash?

Ash didn't respond. There were a thousand things he wanted to say, but he just couldn't.

In your grand quest to fulfill your dream, how many others did you crush underfoot?

Still nothing. Ash felt paralyzed. The world around him faded away, and he swore that through the darkness he could see Paul, undistorted, and human.

The man he defeated. The boy he ruined.

"It was just another battle…"

I should have been stronger…

"It was a tournament! One of us had to lose!"

If only I could…

"And on that day, it just happened to be you!"

If only I just… could have… gotten…

Paul leaped into the air once again. This time, Yellow and Platinum were ready.

"Chuchu! Use thunder bolt!"

"Frostlass! Use shadow ball!"

The time for talk was done. All that rang in Ash's mind was a single phrase he had never heard before.

"Typhlosion! Use infernal parade!"

The combined attacks landed directly at Paul, long before he got anywhere close to Ash. The area ignited in a deluge of electricity and dark energy, all consumed in a purple blaze. When the energy dissipated, all that was left was a dark puddle of the black substance, right where Paul was hit. Torterra in turn was nowhere to be found.

"...it just happened to be you."

"Ash!" Yellow ran up to Ash. He grabbed his arm, shaking him back to reality.

"Yellow!" Ash frantically looked around, taking a headcount of the other trainers and their pokémon. "Everyone's okay. Good."

"Senior Ash, I'm sorry," Platinum said as she placed Frostlass back into her pokeball.

"We heard everything" Yellow put back Chuchu as well. "You and Paul…"

"It's… it's nothing…" he said, almost inaudibly.

"Ash…"

"No. We need to find a way out of here. And a way to get Paul back. And that girl. And anyone else that this…" he stepped lightly on the substance. He wished it was solid enough to kick "whatever this does!"

"Plho!"

"Typhlosion." Ash scratched the fur on Typhlosions neck, the purple fire no longer emanating from him. He was surprised at how cold it felt. "You did great, bud. Lookin ' great too." Typhlosion smiled.

Yellow eyed the pokémon and trainer. It was almost uncanny how Ash's mood shifted on a dime when it came to pokémon. She wondered if they just had that sort of effect on him, or if he simply cared more for them then he did for himself.

"It's not like any Typhlosion I've ever seen," Yellow reached out her hand towards the pokemon as well. Before her palm could touch his forehead, Typhlosion shuffled back, shaking his head.

"Typhlosion? It's alright, it's just Yellow. She probably just wants to read your thoughts,"

"Typhlosion…" Typhlosion continued shaking his head. For a moment he reactivated the flames on his neck, pointing towards them.

Yellow squinted at the flames. "That fire…"

"That isn't a normal Typhlosion." Platinum stepped forward. "I recognize its slimmer body and purple flames from some of my ancient history books. It's an older form of Typhlosion from ancient Sinnoh. It is said that these forms of Typhlosion are connected to spirits…"

"To spirits?" Yellow asked.

"Yes. It is said that it traps spirits and purifies them in its flames. It's probably why he doesn't want you reading his mind, senior Yellow."

"Right," Yellow said, rubbing her hand awkwardly.

"Trapped spirits huh? Weird…" Ash said as Typhlosion turned around towards the back end of the cavern. He looked at the torches on the wall, recalling that the flames gathered around Typhlosion. "Then those torches…"

"They're… alive?!" Yellow yelled, suddenly aware of every single torch in the room.

"Maybe they could be trapping dormant spirits..? But then why did they call to us during the fight? or… no! No! There will be time for scientific inquiry later. Like Ash said, we need to get out of here."

"Right, now over here…" Ash looked to where Paul was guardian. At the moment, it looked to be just be another massive wall.

"Hey!" A voice suddenly called to them from the other side of the cave. The trainers turned to see Diamond, Pearl and Dawn.

"Platinum!" Pearl and Diamond rushed towards their friend.

"We found ya. I told ya we would Diamond!" Pearl said.

"You weren't saying much while we were running through the tunnels Pearl."

"Well it thought about it okay! That has to count for something!"

"Good to see you're all safe," Dawn said, waving to Ash and Yellow.

"Least everyone's together agai…" Yellow was cut off by Typhlosion, whose purple flames ignited and began to encircle the room. The fire seemed to worm its way towards the ceiling like a living organism, and the torches once again ignited. The group watched as the fire coalesced on the wall that Typhlosion stared at. The flames split the wall in two, outlining a massive seam in the rock that the trainers swore wasn't there before.

"Hey senior Ash, when did you get a Typhlosion?" Diamond asked.

"A weird Typhlosion at that," Pearl added.

"Look… it's creating a door…"

The cave wall almost split at the seam, the fire seeming to burn it away. Soon there was nothing left but cinders, the flames gathering back into Typhlosion. The pokémon stood motionless.

"Piika…"

"Typhlosions quite something, huh?" Ash said as Typhlosion walked back to his trainer, panting heavily. "Tired, huh?" He placed Typhlosion back into his pokeball.

"Wonder why he opened that door?" Yellow asked.

"Cause it's where we need to go," Ash said as he stepped through the gate. Whatever they needed to find in this mountain was inside, he was certain about it.