Pokemon Dark Mirror chapter 1 by Shadymissionary on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

The woods around Kalville were very thick, and it was several miles from the next town. Too far to walk, even for a journeyman or Pokemon trainer. That was why the bus was the most popular way to get into the town. It was a huge bus, but it was packed full of trainers chattering about the tournament they had all been formally invited to.

Among this crowd were four children, who had been fortunate enough to find seats all together. A girl with long brown hair tied in a bandana, an older boy with squinted eyes, and a smaller child with glasses were enjoying the passing scenery. A boy with thick black hair, a baseball cap and jeans was holding his invitation in front of his eyes, proudly reciting.

"Dear

Ash Ketchum

we have seen your skills in

Pokemon Battling competitions

and are very impressed. We would like to cordially invite you to our fair city of Kalville, for our annual Battle Competition, where you will face off against many trainers of your skill. You will also enjoy a discount at our four-star hotels and equally prestigious restaurants. All we ask in return is that you honor us with your skilled presence and participate in our competition." The boy beamed at the Pikachu sitting on his lap. "You hear that? My skills are impressive!"

"Pikabee!" his best friend agreed.

"Yeah, just like everyone else on the town's mailing list." the girl remarked.

"Ah May, you're just jealous that you didn't get an invitation." Ash retorted.

"Easy Ash." the other boy replied. "You can see they invited a lot of people."

"And I'm gonna beat 'em all!"

"We'll see!" seemed to be the general echo of the rest of the trainers.

Ash had seen a lot ever since he began his Pokemon Journey. He had climbed mountains, crossed seas, wandered through endless plains and walked through bustling cities. But he had still never seen anything like Kalville before.

The place was celebration central, tourists milling around to check out the next restaurant/tourist stand/shop/hotel. There were banners and bright colors everywhere. Workers in bright Pokemon mascot suits gave tours and recommendations. Cheerful music boomed over the speakers, interposed occasionally by someone speaking about the upcoming election. The entire place seemed to consist entirely of tourist attractions, which were copiously advertised alongside the competition. It was tourist paradise.

A giant Pikachu with a huge head waddled up to Ash's group. May nearly shrieked before realizing it was just a man in a costume. A face with a big smile peeped out of the mask.

"Hello trainers, and welcome to Kalville! May I see your invitation?"

Ash proudly presented it in a flash. "Excellent! And are they with you?"

"Yep!"

"Excellent. Show that invitation to the hotels or restaurants and you'll get an immediate discount! Just remember to register at the battle dome!" A finger pointed at the huge structure in the distance. It looked like a huge covered bowl with neon signs.

"You betcha!" Ash didn't have to be told twice. "C'mon guys!"

And without waiting for his friends to respond, Ash took off towards the battle dome, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Ash, WAIT!"

High in the sky, three teenage thieves watched the children dash after their friend. Team Rockets Meowth balloon hovered far over Kalville, with the trio using high-power binoculars to spy.

"Looks like a nice town, James."

"Yeah. Lots of stuff. Say, Jessie, I wonder why we didn't get an invitation?"

"Maybe dey figure our Pokemon battlin' skills ain't impressive enough." Meowth answered back.

"Well, then we'll just have to make up for that…"

"With our Pokemon STEALING skills!"

"WOBBUFFET!"

"Hey! Dat's MY line! Er…"

Ash wouldn't wait. He was so excited to participate in the tournament he paid no heed to his friends calls. They could always catch up. He just had to get to the dome and register! He was so focused on the building in the distance, he didn't see the girl step into his path until it was too late.

"OOOOOOOOF!"

Suddenly, both of them were in a heap on the ground. Ash groaned and Pikachu shook his head clear as the girl they had collided with swiftly put her large hat back on. She gazed at the papers that had spilled out of her purse upon impact.

"You indescribable clod!" she snapped as she rushed to regain her lost objects. "These are important!" She sounded roughly the same age as Ash, but her angry voice had an undertone that was rather disturbing.

"Um…sorry?"

It wasn't until the girl had regained all her objects that she spoke again. "It's alright. No-one died." Relaxed, Ash got up and had a good look at the girl he had run into.

She was exactly his height, but seemed to dress in a manner of someone much older. She wore a plaid button-up shirt with short sleeves, covered by a lumberjack-style vest brown vest. A nondescript baseball cap keep most of her face in shadow. Her back was turned to him as she stuffed several documents into her purse.

"Yeah, sorry about that. My name's Ash."

"Ash?" she remarked without turning around. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Strange name for a child." She suddenly remembered her manners and turned around. "My name is…"

She stopped suddenly. She and Ash were face-to-face, and they were quite surprised by what they saw. Ash blinked to make sure he wasn't imagining it. There was something…indescribably familiar about this girl. She had short, black hair and dark brown eyes. Her eyes looked like bottomless wells holding many secrets. But something about her face seemed like something he had seen before…

"Um…Have we met? You seem really familiar…" he remarked.

She shook her head, smiling ruefully. "No. You would remember vividly if we had met. Anyway, my name is Alyx." she extended her hand for a greeting.

Ash shook it eagerly. "Nice to meet ya, Alyx. Oh, this is Pikachu." he motioned to the Pokemon on his shoulder.

Alyx scratched Pikachu under the chin. "Interesting." she mused. Pikachu shivered slightly. Something about this girl was making him nervous…

Just then, the others came up gasping. "Ash, there you are! You shouldn't just run off like that in a town this big…woah." They opened their eyes very wide on seeing Alyx.

Ash and Alyx blinked in unison. "What?"

"Is that your sister?"

"WHAT?!"

"She sure looks like your sister, Ash."

Ash took another look. They were right…except for the eyes and a few girl features, Alyx looked very much like him. "Yeah…maybe that's where I remember you from." he joked.

Alyx wasn't amused. "I can safely assure you that is not possible."

"How do you know, sis?"

Alyx's glare was the single most intimidating thing in the world, sending a winter's worth of ice down Ash's back. Her voice was just as chilling. "I am NOT 'sis'."

"I know, I know, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" the boy stammered.

That seemed to satisfy her. Her icy look vanished and she allowed a half smile to appear on her face. "That would be the day…hm hm hmm." she turned to the other children. "My name's Alyx. I live here."

"I'm May."

"I'm Max, her brilliant little brother!"

"And I'm Brock, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Alyx glanced back at Ash. Siblings or not, their resemblance did not escape her. "We ran into each other. Where were you rushing to?"

"The battle dome, to register. I was specially invited for the tournament!"

"Of course. You know, there's a huge line there at the moment. It might be prudent to go later today, when the rush is over."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Alyx thought for a moment. "If you would like, I could show you around this town briefly."

"That'd be great! Thanks a lot, Alyx."

"No problem. Follow me please."

Ash and his friends followed Alyx, eager to see the town.

They would have been a lot less eager had they known what would happen in this town in the next few days and nights.

Because their world was about to be turned upside-down.