Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Pseudo Shigeru ❯ Ally in the Darkness ( Chapter 1 )

Pseudo Shigeru

Note: This takes place after Gary encounters MewTwo at the Viridian Gym. Gary would be cool if he was actually involved in the plot a little bit more. Ah, well. Another anime bad guy gone to waste. At least he doesn't have to crossdress to get attention. Also, I'm hooked on Pokémon Gold. That's your only warning. J

Summary: Gary travels to a dangerous world where the Pokémon League and Team Rocket are one. To free the legendary birds from captivity, he must pose as one of the Rocket League's Elite Five, but even if he can fool Giovanni, how long can he deceive Satoshi and Kasumi, the ones who know him best?

Pokémon speech is in italics.

Chapter 1: Ally in the Darkness

It had been a typical argument between the two. As usual, Gary wasn't winning.

"How could you have been so irrational, Gary?!" Professor Oak shouted. "Taking on an unknown Pokémon is absolutely insane!"

"I had things under control, Grampa!" he protested.

"You did not! And to think that it was a Psychic type, too! You're just lucky Ash arrived in time to get you medical attention! I can't imagine how the Viridian City Gym Leader got such an incredible Pokémon, but I'll have to look into--"

Gary growled and bit his lip, ignoring his grandfather's rambling. The battle at the Viridian Gym HAD been a disaster…but he'd been on the winning side of it, at first. All the Gym Leader's Pokémon had fallen to Gary's Dream Team. He'd had the match won.

But then…IT had appeared. He hadn't even seen it clearly, but it had taken his Dream Team apart without breaking a sweat. And then everything had gone black. The next thing Gary knew, Ash was shaking him, asking what had happened.

Now that he'd thought about it, it could have been anything. Confusion. Disable. Hypnosis. Maybe even Dream Eater after that. Gary had nightmares about the thing for at least a week. He'd stayed cooped up in his room, only coming out to help his grandfather with the Pokémon research.

And then Professor Oak had gotten a call from Ash, who'd just won his first Orange League Badge. Despite the fact that Gary already had ten badges while Ash only had nine, something in Gary had just…snapped. The vid-phone had exploded as the pokeball slammed into the screen. Gary hadn't even realized he'd thrown it until his grandfather had started yelling.

They'd gone back and forth as usual, somehow getting to the subject of the mysterious psychic Pokémon at the Viridian Gym. Despite the fact it had been months ago, they could never agree on how Gary should've handled the situation. Gary no longer had nightmares about the creature, but he dreamed of defeating it…and capturing it for himself. Then he'd show everyone. His grandfather. His sister. And especially Ash and his friends. With that kind of power, he'd be unstoppable.

Gary was still dreaming of his revenge when he heard his grandfather mutter something.

"Sometimes I wish I had Ash for a grandson instead…"

The words were barely out of Professor Oak's mouth when Gary grabbed the old man and spun him around. "What did you say?!" he shouted in rage.

"Let go of me, Gary," Professor Oak said calmly.

"Oh, I get it. So Ash is the perfect grandson now, huh? His own father wouldn't even stay around long enough to--!"

Before he could complete the sentence, Professor Oak's hand slapped him hard across the cheek. Gary blinked in shock and took a step back.

"I won't have that kind of talk in my lab, Gary Oak!" Professor Oak made a last attempt to regain his composure.

Gary sneered at him. "Oh? And where would you have it? Maybe in Ash's mother's bedroom?!" He paused, realizing he'd crossed a very thin line, but it was too late to take it back.

Professor Oak's face turned a bright shade of red. He slowly raised a finger, shaking with anger as he pointed to the door. "Get out of my lab, Gary. Right now. And don't EVER come back."

Gary glared at him defiantly a moment longer, then stormed out of the lab, kicking over a table as he went.

Professor Oak watched him go, then sighed heavily and began to clean up the mess. "One day you'll learn, my grandson…hopefully, one day soon…"

* * * * *

May Oak looked up as she heard her younger brother enter the house. "Gary?" she called.

The only reply was the sound of Gary's door slamming shut.

May blinked and left her room, stopping in front of Gary's door. She knocked gently. "Gary, what's wrong?"

"Go away!"

"We both know you don't really mean that. Can I come in?"

Silence.

May eased the door open and peered in.

Gary was lying across his bed, fingering a pokeball in one hand. "You never did listen very well, did you, May?" he muttered.

May ignored the insult, as she was used to them when Gary was upset, which was often. They lived alone for the most part, and he needed to vent frequently. She was the only one around, so she put up with it, simply because she loved him dearly. She knew Gary loved her, too, even if he had a derisive way of showing it.

May sat down beside him. "Another fight with Grampa?"

Gary's eyes narrowed.

May hesitantly reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Gary started to shrug it off, then thought better of it and sighed. "He said he wished Ash was his grandson."

May gently squeezed his shoulders. "You know he didn't mean that."

"But he DID, May. I know he did." Gary frowned and stared at the pokeball. "I don't get it. I'm better than Ash at everything, especially Pokémon. Why isn't he proud of me?"

"Oh, Gary, but he is! Grampa encourages Ash so much because he doesn't have a father, and-"

"Neither do we," Gary snapped. "At least Ash's mother is alive. We don't have ANY parents. So why is Ash more important than me?"

"He isn't, Gary. But Ash is an only child. He doesn't have an older sister that loves him no matter what. You do. See the difference?"

"No," Gary muttered, even though he did. May was terrible at being subtle, but she always seemed to be right, anyway.

May wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Gary, why can't you understand? Ms. Ketchum can only do so much for Ash at home. Grampa's the only one that can really keep up with him for her. That's why they're so close. She's a lonely woman, and Grampa's a lonely man. I mean, remember that time we caught him having a tea party with Ash's Muk?"

Gary smirked. It had been pretty funny…and very, very strange. But he'd gotten an advance on his allowance as hush money, so he couldn't complain. He was fairly certain he had a photo stashed in his closet, anyway…

May squeezed his neck gently. "Still mad?"

"Yeah. Some."

"I'll go make dinner, then." May leaned her head against his. "I love you, Gary."

Gary grunted. May always said that, no matter what they'd been talking about. She was fairly certain that one day it'd be the last time they'd see each other, and made a point of telling Gary that at least three times a day. Somehow, she'd even gotten his cell phone number, and called at least twice a day when he was on the road, sometimes just to tell him she loved him. It was annoying and endearing at the same time.

"Well?" she asked, smiling at him.

Gary sighed and closed his eyes. "Love you, too, sis," he muttered, looking in the other direction.

May leaned closer and lightly kissed his cheek. "You shouldn't stay so mad all the time, Gary," she whispered in his ear. "I miss seeing you smile." She kissed his cheek once again and left the room.

Gary sighed and tossed his pokeball up in the air. "Yeah. Me, too." He rolled over and hit the Redial button on his vid-phone. Almost instantly, the person on the other end picked up.

"I don't know how you got this number, but I don't-"

"Relax, Frieda. It's me." Gary sat up and glanced at the screen, watching the girl's face light up.

"Gary! Hi! This is a nice surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Never mind the small talk, Frieda. I need my usual, and I need it fast."

"Oh?" Frieda leaned closer to the screen, her green eyes fixed on his face. "And what's in it for me?"

Gary sighed in frustration. "You know I always have something for you. Is it a deal?"

Frieda pretended to think about it. "I don't know…"

"Fine. TWO surprises this time," Gary hissed, narrowing his eyes.

Frieda flashed him a winning smile. "That's my boy. Same spot?"

Gary nodded. "Yeah. And Frieda?"

"Yes, Gary?"

He paused, as if thinking something over. "This will be our last meeting." Gary hung up just as the smell of one of May's many stews hit his nose. Deciding he wasn't hungry, Gary got up to leave, but his stomach growled in protest. With an angry grunt, he went down to have dinner.

* * * * *

The cold wind whipped harshly at his body, but Gary hardly noticed it. With the combined heat of the cloak, the active Fearow beneath him, and the Eevee sleeping in his lap, he was warm enough.

A few minutes later, Diglett Cave finally came into sight. Gary didn't even order his Fearow to slow down. Instead, he told it to speed up, which the bird Pokémon instantly did. The only precaution Gary did take was to wake up his Eevee. "C'mon, girl," he whispered, stroking her back. "Time to work your magic."

The Eevee immediately came to life, opening her eyes and hopping up on all fours, her back slightly arched.

"Use your Bubblebeam on anything that gets in our way. We don't have time for interruptions."

"Ewee!" Eevee replied, nodding. The small collar partially hidden by her neck fur began to glow, and the blue jewel on it pulsed brightly.

"Keep us steady, Fearow." Gary shifted slightly to the right on Fearow's back. "And no attacks. Save your strength."

The Fearow cawed in reply, almost sounding disappointed.

"I know, I know. Next time, pal." Gary's eyes narrowed as he spotted something moving toward them, leaving cracked rocks and upturned ground in its path. "You're up, girl."

"Eweeeee!" Eevee ran along Fearow's back and leaped onto his head.

The Diglett had barely emerged from the ground when it was stunned by a surge of bubbles. The rest of the ground Pokémon were dismissed in a similar matter, save for a particularly strong Dugtrio, which required Eevee's Water Gun. Even so, they reached the secret passage in record time.

Roughly ten minutes later, they emerged once again into the night sky. Gary didn't need to direct Fearow any further; they had made the trip enough times. Soon they had reached the clearing in the woods with the brown patch of grass, even in the darkness. Even if Fearow's night vision had failed to find the spot, Eevee could've easily sniffed it out. In any case, Gary thanked Fearow and recalled it. He didn't want it spooking whatever Pokémon would be accompanying Frieda this time.

It wasn't long before Gary heard a familiar sound, followed by a faint glow appearing in the grass. "You're late," he said.

"Your usual was harder to collect this time," Frieda replied as she came into the open. She wore a violet cloak, similar to Gary's own, with the hood hiding everything but her face from view. "But, I got everything you asked for."

"And more, it seems," Gary added, his eyes settling on the Pokémon at her side. It was giving off a faint glow, and looked something like a sheep that had just barely escaped a shearing gone wrong. He almost mistook it for a poodle, but then he noticed the black and yellow tail, which put him in mind of an Electabuzz. "What is that thing?"

Frieda looked offended, and the Pokémon hid behind her leg as she replied, "This is Mark. He's shy."

"Answer the question or no deal." Gary was already searching his cloak's compartments for his Pokedex.

"Don't bother. You won't have any info in that thing." Frieda reached down to stroke one of the sheep's bare spots. "Mark's a Flaaffy. Electric type."

"And apparently, a victim of bad fashion in the Pokémon world." Gary barely kept the smile off his face, but he somehow managed.

Frieda frowned and patted Mark's head reassuringly. "Be nice. Mark's sensitive." Then she smiled and waved at the mass of fur curled up on Gary's shoulder. "Hi, Eve!"

Eve leaped off Gary's shoulder and sprang into Frieda's arms, licking her face excitedly.

Gary rolled his eyes. "You must smell like food to her."

"No, she just knows a good trainer when she sees one." Frieda kissed Eve's head, then set her down for Mark's inspection.

The two Pokémon stared at each other hesitantly, until the yellow jewel on Eve's collar began to pulse. Then Mark ventured closer.

"I see she's gotten used to her EvoRing," Frieda said, smiling as Mark and Eve began playing with each other.

"Eve's a good Pokémon. She can adjust to anything." Gary's eyes darted to her cloak. "Well?"

"Okay, fine," Frieda sighed, pulling out a small backpack. She tossed it over to him.

Gary opened the backpack and peered inside. He began to pull out items one by one.

"Your Drowzee," Frieda said, indicating the pokeball in his hand. "Leveled up by 17 this time."

"Good." Gary opened the pokeball, releasing a rather large Drowzee wearing a necklace with a violet stone. "The Everstone works, then?"

"Well, he hasn't evolved, has he?" Frieda asked, looking annoyed.

"Just asking." Gary put the Drowzee away and pulled out another pokeball.

"Ditto. Grown by 29." Frieda looked especially proud. "Gotten bigger, too."

Gary arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. A quick glance verified that the requested potions, pokeballs, and berries were all present. He drew out two pokeballs and tossed them to her. "Umbreon, grown by 38. Espeon, grown by 45."

Frieda smiled. "Pretty good, for someone who's never even seen them before."

"Doesn't matter. They're still basically Eevees to me. Just a little stronger."

Eve looked at him and growled.

"No offense, girl. You know you're my best."

"So I guess that's it, huh?" Frieda asked quietly.

"Not quite." Gary slipped the backpack over one shoulder.

"What?" Frieda looked puzzled. "But you said this was our last meeting."

"It is. We won't be meeting any longer." Gary nodded, as if confirming a decision he'd just made. "This time, I'm going back with you."

"Going back? With…m-me?" Frieda blinked several times, not believing her ears. "But…you said you'd never even think of-"

"I changed my mind," Gary snapped, then paused, instantly regretting his tone. "I'm sorry, Frieda. It's just…there's nothing left for me here."

"What about your training? Your Pokémon? And your family?"

"I can train anywhere, and I brought all of the Pokémon I need for now," Gary replied.

"Then you'd leave your family, just like that?" Frieda asked. She lowered her voice ever so slightly. "You'd leave…May?"

Gary frowned, but showed very little surprise. Perhaps it didn't surprise him at all. He had never mentioned his sister to Frieda, but he suspected she was more than she seemed, which was a very pretty face, now that he thought about it. He'd known from the start that Frieda had certain…connections. Chances were, she knew a great deal about him…including who his grandfather was, his rivalry with Ash, and maybe, just maybe, his obsession with the mysterious Pokémon that had haunted him for months.

"Yeah. I'd leave her," he said at last. "She knew this would happen, sooner or later. Maybe she didn't want to believe it, but she knew. They both did."

"I see." Frieda looked away from him. "Are you sure? I mean…really sure? My world…it's different from this one…"

Gary closed the distance between them with a few steps and gently turned her face back to him. "Any world that produced you couldn't be all bad."

Frieda's cheeks turned bright red, just before she quickly pulled away. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes." Gary nodded. "I don't think I've ever been more serious."

"Then we have to go now, while the sun's still down." Frieda turned and started through the woods. "The trip gets harder during the day."

Mark bleated in protest and sprang after his trainer.

Eve started to follow, then turned back to look at Gary questioningly.

"Yeah, girl," he confirmed, scooping her up. "This time, we follow."

"Vee!" Eve squeaked happily and licked his chin.

Gary only smiled faintly and squeezed her affectionately before rushing after Frieda. He was very surprised to find that she'd vanished. "Frieda? Where'd you go?"

His answer came in the form of a hand wrapping around his ankle and tugging.

Gary's eyes widened as he dropped through a hole in the ground and landed on his rear. As luck would have it, Eve landed on his head.

Frieda smirked down at him. "You've got to start paying attention. Do you have any really big water types?" she asked, gesturing to a river a few yards away. "It's the fastest way back."

Gary grunted and scrambled to his feet, but only after Eve had returned to his shoulder. "I've got plenty. But after a stunt like that, what makes you think I'll let you ride any of them?"

Frieda continued to smirk. "You couldn't even find this hole. I doubt you'll be able to find your way into another world. Even if you could, you have no allies there." She poked a finger against his chest. "Face it, Gary. You need me."

"Never said I didn't. Just said you'd be lucky to get a ride." Gary pulled a pokeball from his cloak and released a large Blastoise into the river. "Ladies first."

"Oh, no. I'm not falling for THAT one. You've probably got him trained so that only you can step on him without getting tossed. You get on first."

Gary shrugged and climbed onto Blastoise's back. "You coming?" he asked, noticing the hesitant look on Frieda's face.

"Don't you have a Lapras or something…more gentle?"

"Of course. But my Blastoise is at a higher level, so it's faster. Didn't you say we had to do this quickly?"

Frieda sighed. "Fine. But one false move, and-"

"Frieda, if you don't trust me, why are you letting me follow you, anyway?" Gary interrupted.

Frieda stared at him for a long moment. The she climbed onto Blastoise's back, sitting behind him.

"You might want to hang onto something," Gary warned. "Bubba loves to push it around curves."

Frieda's lips twitched as she struggled to keep a straight face. "Bubba? You call him…Bubba?"

Gary ignored the question. "Do me a favor and hold Eve."

"Sure." Frieda carefully removed Eve from Gary's shoulder and sat the Eevee in her lap. "There should only be one path, unless the river's changed since I was here last time. How long ago was that?"

"About a year." Gary patted Blastoise's right cannon twice, and the water Pokémon pushed off, letting the river current carry it downstream.

Frieda figured that it would take them about twenty minutes to reach the river's end, and busied herself by brushing Eve's fur. Eve was certainly enjoying the attention, as was made obvious by the soft purring sounds she kept making.

Gary, on the other hand, divided his time between wondering if he was making the right decision by following Frieda, and throwing backward glances over his shoulder at her. At first, he tried to convince himself that he was only checking on Eve. But as minutes passed, Gary slowly began to admit that his supposed concern for his Eevee was actually a growing fascination with Frieda. Most of their meetings had only lasted a couple of minutes at most, so he'd never been alone with her this long. There was so much he didn't know about her, yet there were few that Gary honestly trusted more. Of course, he was careful not to let Frieda know that, but it was true.

Suddenly, Frieda looked up, only to meet Gary's gaze and blush slightly. "Um…we should just about be there now," she muttered.

Gary blinked and looked ahead. Sure enough, he could make out a rocky shoreline decorated with a few green plants. He tapped Blastoise's right cannon once, and they slowly came to a stop. "Where to now?"

"There's a path that'll lead us into a forest. Once we get there, I can handle the rest."

As he hopped to the rocky ground, Gary got the distinct feeling they were being watched. He pushed it from his mind and turned around to help Frieda off Blastoise's back.

Frieda had already inched over and was about to jump off, but stopped when she noticed Gary's outstretched arms. "I can make it," she said, looking annoyed. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm helpless."

"Just because I'm being a gentleman doesn't mean I think you're weak," Gary countered. "Besides, if you twist your ankle, I'll be the one that has to carry you."

Frieda was about to protest again, but Blastoise suddenly lurched to the right. She found herself tumbling off the large shell and into Gary's waiting arms, which tightened the instant she was in them.

Gary gave her a "told-you-so" look, but said nothing else as he let go.

"You made him do that," Frieda said accusingly.

Gary only recalled Blastoise and whistled once. Eve jumped out of Frieda's arms and ran a few feet ahead of them, stopping to look back and wag her bushy tail before heading up the path. Gary followed, assuming Frieda would do the same.

Frieda mumbled something under her breath, but eventually ran to catch up with her travel companions.

* * * * *

"Okay. So where's your time machine or…whatever it is?"

Frieda glanced at Gary. "You watch too much TV."

Gary glared at her. "You said you were from the future. How else could you get here?"

Instead of answering, Frieda dropped to her knees on the forest floor. Then she closed her eyes, lowered her head, and began to murmur something in a strange language.

Gary stared at her for about two minutes before finally asking, "What in the world are you doing?"

Frieda sighed in frustration and opened her eyes. "Look, Gary. I don't have a time machine. The way I travel between our worlds is…" She paused, looking doubtful, then sighed again. "I pray to the forest guardian to transport me. So either shut up so I can concentrate, or go ahead and get the laughter out of your system so it won't bug me later on."

When Gary didn't say anything, Frieda closed her eyes and went back to murmuring. Only when she risked a glance a minute later did she gape in surprise. Gary was kneeling next to her, his eyes closed and his face a mask on concentration. Frieda smiled slightly and moved a little closer to him.

To be honest, Gary was starting to wonder if Frieda was just joking about a forest guardian. He thought she might be trying to get back at him for the Blastoise stunt, or something else. But before he could ask, he began to feel very sleepy. By the time he heard the rustling in the nearby bushes, his eyelids were too heavy to lift. Something soft and wet brushed against his cheek, and then he knew no more.

* * * * *

"Gary? C'mon, wake up! Please!"

Gary's eyes snapped open to see Frieda leaning over him. Eve was perched on her shoulder, looking equally worried. They both sighed in relief as he sat up.

"Don't scare me like that, Gary!" Frieda scolded, hitting his shoulder. "I thought something bad had happened!"

Gary stared at her suspiciously. "Something like what…?"

"Oh. Well, uh…sometimes Pokémon from my world can't go to yours. I was hoping it didn't apply to humans, but…"

"You mean I could've been in some freak accident and ended up looking like a Porygon?! When were you going to tell me?!"

Frieda blinked. "Uh…not that I know of. Generally, they catch stuff like that BEFORE you go through. Anyway, I've only heard of some Pokémon and certain items not being able to make the trip, nothing else. Besides, Sally would've told me if it was dangerous for you."

Gary stared at her. "Who's…Sally?"

"We'd better get going," Frieda said a little too quickly. She stood up and headed into the bushes.

Gary frowned as he got to his feet.

"Vee?" Eve asked, brushing against his leg.

"I don't know, girl. But I think we can trust her. At least, I hope we can. C'mon, we don't wanna get separated."

* * * * *

"You live out here?" Gary asked in surprise.

Frieda nodded as they approached the house in the woods. "Yeah. Keeps the trainers away. We're fairly popular around here."

"We?"

"My brothers and sisters. Seven of us in all. Only Santos should be here right now, though." Frieda paused. "He'll seem a little odd at first, but you'll get used to it…or you'll just be freaked out the whole time he's here."

Gary was about to ask what she meant when the front door swung open. A young man almost twice as tall as Gary walked out, ducking his head as he came through. He stopped when he spotted Frieda. "Ah. Welcome…back, sis. I see you…brought company."

"Hey, big bro," Frieda said, standing on her toes to give him a hug. "This is my…business partner, Gary."

"Business…partner?" Santos peered down at Gary. "Huh. Thought he…was your…boyfriend."

Frieda turned bright red. "Well, he's not!"

"Oh. Well, I'm…heading out. Duty calls…and all." Santos nodded to Gary before walking past. He physically didn't put forth much effort, but his legs were so long that he'd vanished with a few giant strides.

"Let me guess," Gary said. "Each of your siblings has a…quirk."

Frieda glared at him. "I suppose it depends on the eye of the beholder." Noticing the grin on his face, she frowned. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm wondering what your quirk is," he replied.

"I have terrible taste in business partners."

"Good thing I'm not a business partner anymore, then," Gary pointed out.

"And just what are you, Mr. Oak?"

"House-guest extraordinaire," Gary replied as he strolled into the house. "I'm hoping to be promoted to boyfriend by tonight, but I guess that'll have to wait."

Frieda smirked. "Yeah, well, don't hold your breath."

* * * * *

Continued in Chapter 2: The Forest Guardian

Gary overhears details of Frieda's secret mission and decides to get involved. But what is this dangerous task, and how is Frieda's mysterious forest guardian involved? Only time and a confrontation with the creature will give Gary all the answers…