Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Reality ❯ Reality ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The boy opened his eyes, letting them grow accustomed to the daylight. He sat up, stretched, and put on his slippers. He then quickly rummaged through the clutter on his desk to find a small, leather bound book.

That dream. I had that dream again. She's always there, in my mind. Ayaka. But when I wake up, it's not real. How can something so real be only a fantasy?
-Satoshi

He walked down the steps to the first floor of his house. His mother, Hanako, stood by the stove making breakfast. She took a box of instant noodles from the cabinet and poured the contents of one of the small paper packets inside into the bowl full of boiling water. Her head snapped around, suddenly aware of Satoshi's presence in the room.

“Oh, hi Satoshi-kun! Happy birthday! Fifteen...wow..you sure have grown a lot. I'm making your favorite..shrimp flavored!"

Satoshi simply stared at her.

“Why soquiet? What's wrong baby?"

“Huh...?" he replied, snapping out of his daydream. "Oh! I'm great! Thanks for the noodles!!"

Hanako giggled. "I'm glad you're happy. So, will you be leaving for the Alph Ruins soon? I hope you can stay a little longer."

“I wish I could..but I promised Shigeru and Ookidu-sensei that I'd be there by noon tomorrow. It seems there's been an important find concerning the mystery of those strange Pokemon..the Annon."

“Oh. Well, I wish you luck. Call me sometime, and tell me what you've found out. And...at least stay and eat your breakfast!!"

Satoshi smiled. "Don't worry..I will!!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Satoshi...SATOSHI!! Stop spacin' out!!" demanded Shigeru Ookidu, Ookidu-sensei's grandson. "Now..as I was saying. A box filled with strange tiles was found in the ruins. Grandpop wants you to check it out. Thinks you might be able to figure out what to do with the tiles. Of course..I couldn't do anything with them..so I can't imagine a dimwit like you to do it. But..we've gotta do whathe says I guess."

“Shigeru-kun!!" scolded Ookidu-sensei. "Satoshi's come all the way from Kanto to try to help us solve this puzzle. Now, I know you're not the best of friends, but your high and mighty attitude isn't helping anything!"

Satoshi smirked at Shigeru.

“You are so gonna pay for that," mouthed Shigeru towards Satoshi.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ookidu-sensei led the two boys into the dark cave, lit only by the glow of Shigeru's flashlight. The air was cool and musty smelling, and there was a distant sound of the trickle of water.

Ookidu-sensei stopped and knelt down, opening a large iron box that sat on the cave floor. "Here it is. Come here and look Satoshi."

Satoshi knelt down beside Ookidu-sensei. The box was filled with tiles that looked like scrabble pieces written in strange letters. He picked up one, and held it up to the light of Shigeru's flashlight.

“It looks like...like an 'A'," he commented quietly. "A..for Ayaka." He thought of his dream..the girl in his dream. A girl with long shiny brown hair and sparkling green eyes. They had talked..in their dreams..and he knew her name. Ayaka. He looked through the box and found the other letters he needed to spell her name. He began arranging them on the floor.

“Satoshi? What exactly are you doing?" asked Ookidu-sensei.

“Huh? Oh..just playing around I guess. Sorry."

“Why did you pick those tiles? Why that order?"

“Oh..Ayaka's this girl...I know. Never mind that though."

“What's that got to do with 'Ayaka'?"

“They're letters. See? 'A', 'Y', 'A, 'K', 'A'."

“No..I don't see. Those tiles are blank."

Satoshi looked back at the row of five tiles on the floor. There it was. "Ayaka." Plain as anything.

“Are you crazy? They've got letters on 'em!"

“You're the crazy one Satoshi," smirked Shigeru. "Grandpop's right. They're totally blank."

He rubbed his eyes and looked back in the box. Every piece had a letter on it.

“And those..the ones in the box...they're blank too?"

“Yep. I think you need some fresh air. You take those tiles you've got on the floor there with you. Get some rest, and look at them tomorrow." suggested Ookidu-sensei.

“Right..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi sat on the bed in his borrowed room in Shigeru's house, looking over and over at the five tiles in his hand. He still saw the letters in them.

“I must be..going crazy. Why can I see letters where there aren't any?"

He flopped back down on the bed, pulling the cool cotton covers up to his ears. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to relax..to erase his troubles from his mind and fall asleep. Slowly, his eyes closed and he fell asleep. The darkness and thoughtlessness in his mind was soon replaced by dreaming.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi woke up, surprised to see not the unfamiliar ceiling of his room in Shigeru's house, but the open sky. He rolled over onto his side, still drowsy and not too concerned about his change in location.

A pair of bright green eyes greeted his, blinking twice before staring back at him with happiness and relaxation. Satoshi's eyes focused on them, and startled, he sat up abruptly.

“What...where am I?" He looked back, now seeing fully the person who the eyes belonged to. She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and tilted her head and smiled.

“Oh..Ayaka! I..I'm dreaming again..aren't I?"

She didn't say a word, only putting her finger to his lips to silence him. She stood up, taking his hand and pulling him up with her.

“Isn't it beautiful?" she said softly, looking out over the field of brightly colored wildflowers that lay like a blanket to the horizon. She reached down and picked one gently, its lavender edges sparkling and growing slowly darker until it became a soft, deep purple at the center. She held it out to him.

Satoshi stared back at her for a moment, and then took it from her hand. Its petals felt like cool velvet. He smiled, and stuck it behind Ayaka's ear.

She smiled back at him. "I wish you could stay here forever. I'm so alone when you're gone. Why must you leave?"

“I can't stay asleep forever..."

“Asleep? But that would make me just a dream. And I'm pretty sure I'm real..."

Satoshi looked questioningly at her..but then smiled again. "I guess...I'm not really sure. If it was my choice, I'd stay here for all eternity though."

“Choice? Well..I guess if we cannot have eternity, we must treasure the beautiful moments we do have......"

Slowly the beautiful landscape around him blurred, and darkened, until he could no longer feel the cool grass under his feet. Instead, he felt his soft bed and smooth covers, and slowly opened his eyes to find himself back in Shigeru's house.

Sitting up, he looked in his bag for his small leather journal, where he liked to reflect on his dreams so he wouldn't forget them. He opened to a blank page.

I remember...so clearly. It's not like a dream, it's just like a memory. Sometimes I question what is real. I do wish I could spend all eternity in that world, Ayaka's world. She doesn't know that she's not real. Oh..I must sound silly. I talk as if she has real thoughts, real feelings. But she's just my dream. Nothing more than that. Oh..but sometimes I really find that hard to believe. She's told me of her life before I knew her...but I guess that's just a dream too. Yet it seems so real. She says she loves me. I think I must love her too. But how can I feel love to someone who doesn't exist?
-Satoshi

Satoshi closed the cover of his journal and put it down on the table next to the bed. There, he saw the tiles from the day before. The letters were still there. 'A', 'Y', 'A, 'K', 'A'. Plain as anything.

“Maybe it was just a joke. Maybe they were just tryin' to freak me out." he thought. "How can I see something they can't?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“No. We're dead serious," said Shigeru, for once a look of genuine concern in his eyes. "We were starting to think you were joking."

“Oh.." replied Satoshi. He sighed. "Maybe I am going crazy," he thought. "I am having trouble telling my dreams from reality." He stood up and walked back up to his room.

“I don't know what's up with him," said Shigeru.

“Me neither," responded Ookidu-sensei. "I hope he'll be alright. He's a nice kid. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to him."

“Yeah. He might be a dork..but I guess I can't wish anything bad upon him."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi sat on the floor of his room, the tiles laid out in front of him. He took out his journal, and sketched them exactly. He moved to get up, to show the sketch of what he saw to Shigeru and Ookidu-sensei. But something stopped him. He looked back into the early pages of his journal, where he had recorded not dreams, but information on the strange Pokemon they had been studying. The Annon.

It is said that the Annon have the ability to know what other life forms are thinking, and that they can alter reality according to hopes and dreams. I wonder what it would be like to be with an Annon. I wonder if what they say is true. The old legends speak of Annon doing all sorts of things for people. They can grant wishes. I wish I had an Annon.
-Satoshi

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was nighttime again, and Satoshi put on his jacket and shoes and snuck outside. He had in his backpack everything he would need. Shigeru's flashlight, his sleeping bag, a change of clothes, a water bottle, and some food. Turning on the flashlight, he walked out of the yard and onto the small path. Soon he had reached the cave, the place known as the Alph Ruins. Where he had found the tiles. Where he was sure he would find Annon.

He practically ran through the cave to the large iron box, the excitement keeping him awake even though it was the middle of the night. He pushed at the box with all of his energy, and he managed to tilt it on its side, spilling the tiles all over the cave floor.

He searched through the tiles to find the letters he needed, and finally took his five tiles from his pocket. He spent a good amount of time arranging the many tiles. But, finally, the message was complete.

“Annon? If you are here, and can understand my message, please grant my one wish. Bring Ayaka, the girl from my dream, here to the real world to be with me for all eternity." Satoshi read the tiles aloud. But there was only silence to answer his request. He sighed. "Just legends I guess. I should have known better to believe those dumb legends. It's too bad. I..I really...wanted my wish..to come true." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I..really...wanted Ayaka to be real. But...I guess it's just a dream. Only..a dream.." The tears ran down his face, dripping off his chin and splashing onto the tiles.

Satoshi rubbed his eyes, not noticing that the tears that had landed on the tiles had begun to glow a soft blue. A brilliant blue light then came from the tiles, cerulean sparkles dancing up from them and surrounding the room. But Satoshi was still too sad to notice. The sparkles then condensed in front of him, to form a seemingly human figure. The glow slowly dissipated, until one could see a small boy standing there where the sparkles had been. He couldn't have been more than eight, his long spiky blond hair and overly large blue eyes giving him an almost angelic appearance.

“So..you've found my secret," he said.

Satoshi looked up, startled by the voice. "Who..who are you?"

“I am Annon. I have come to grant your wish."

“But you can't be Annon! You're a human!"

“Looks can be deceiving. I am Annon. Now...you must have an important wish. Or else you wouldn't have been able to see the letters to spell out your message. Let's see...you wish for the presence of the girl who is in your dreams? Is this truly what you want?"

Satoshi's eyes brightened. "Yes! Of course!"

“Alright...if that is what you wish, you will have Ayaka."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi sat up, and rubbed his eyes. He felt the cold cave floor under him. He felt for his flashlight, and flicked the on/off switch twice.

“Great. The battery's dead."

He felt through his backpack for a replacement pair, and then put them in the flashlight (not an easy thing to do in the dark). He switched it on, then jumped back. Ayaka lay on the floor next to him.

“The Annon..they brought her to me..." he thought. "Ayaka!!" he said aloud. "Wake up!!"

She rolled over, opening her eyes slowly. "Wha..where am I?"

“It's okay Ayaka. Don't be afraid. You're in my world. I wished that we could be together forever in the real world, and my wish came true!"

“The real world?.." she questioned, sitting up. "What are you talking about?"

“Oh..never mind. Well..it's almost morning..we should get back to the house."

Satoshi stood up, and reached for Ayaka's hand, meaning to help her up. But his hand went straight through hers. They both jumped back.

“What??!!" cried Satoshi.

The air in front of him rippled strangely, and the boy who had called himself the Annon appeared.

“You wished for Ayaka to come to the real world, but she is no more real here than she was in your dreams. You can see her, and hear her, but if you reach out to touch her, you will touch nothing, because there is nothing there."

The air rippled again, and he vanished.

“Wha..whadaya mean 'not real'?" Ayaka asked tentatively.

Satoshi looked at her with the strangest sadness in his eyes.

“I don't know how to tell you this...but you aren't..real. You were created from my dreams."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi and Ayaka sat on the bed, silently thinking about what had happened. Satoshi took the tiles from out of his pocket. They were blank. The letters were gone.

Just then, Shigeru walked into the room.

“Hey Satoshi. How're ya feeling?"

He turned around, looking past Ayaka to see Shigeru. "Okay. I can't see the letters anymore."

“Oh. That's good." He smiled at Satoshi. "You're...not quite as dimwitted as I say you are..." He walked out.

“Is that your friend? Why didn't he say hi to me?" Ayaka asked.

“He's not really my friend..and I don't think he can see you."

“Oh yeah..that's right," she said, a bitter tone in her voice. "I'm not real."

“Satoshi?" Shigeru called. "Who are ya talkin to?"

“Me? Oh..just myself..."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Satoshi was sleeping. A dreamless sleep. Ayaka sat on the floor and watched him turn over restlessly for a few moments, before her eyes turned to his journal on the table. She stood up and opened it. She read the small, neat printed handwriting on the page.

I remember...so clearly. It's not like a dream, it's just like a memory. Sometimes I question what is real. I do wish I could spend all eternity in that world, Ayaka's world. She doesn't know that she's not real. Oh..I must sound silly. I talk as if she has real thoughts, real feelings. But she's just my dream. Nothing more than that. Oh..but sometimes I really find that hard to believe. She's told me of her life before I knew her...but I guess that's just a dream too. Yet it seems so real. She says she loves me. I think I must love her too. But how can I feel love to someone who doesn't exist?
-Satoshi

Tears came to her eyes. "He knows how I feel about him," she thought. "And he feels the same way. But I can never truly be with him. But I do have real thoughts. Real feelings. My love for Satoshi...that's real. But I am not."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ayaka sat on the floor of the cave in the Alph Ruins, moving around the tiles to spell her name and Satoshi's name.

“I wish I was real...can't the Annon grant my wish?"

The Annon appeared, looking at Ayaka. "I can't grant your wish. You don't exist. But...if you have real feelings, real love for Satoshi...then you must exist. And Satoshi must love you...so that could make you real in his eyes." Even as he finished speaking, he vanished.

“If our love is real...than I must be real too."

Ayaka heard a cry for help, coming from the outside. She ran out of the cave and looked around. She saw a small river with a bridge across it, but the bridge had broken, and someone was splashing frantically in the water. She ran down to the riverbank, and recognized the boy immediately.

“Satoshi!!" she cried out to him.

“Ayaka!! Help me!!"

“Oh..Satoshi!! I wish I could!! I wish I was real!!"

“Please Ayaka...I can't swim..." he gasped for air above the surface of the water.

“Satoshi...please..hang on!!"

He coughed, trying to push himself through the water but failing miserably. "Ayaka...I love you...I'll always remember..."

“SATOSHI!!!" She felt his love for her surround her. He believed in her. She saw him go under the water, and soon the rippled surface of the river became still.

“I believe that I'm real. I know I'm real. My love for Satoshi is real, and he is real, and he loves me, so I must be real. And I must save him!"

She dove into the water and opened her eyes. She saw Satoshi laying on the bottom of the river, and reached out for his hand. She could feel her hand start to go through his, but then she remembered. "I'm real," she thought. And she believed it. And she grasped his hand and pulled him from the water.

For a moment he lay gray and still on the bank, but suddenly he breathed in and coughed, water dripping down his flushed cheeks.

“Ayaka?" he questioned softly. "You..saved me?"

She smiled at him, and touched her finger to his lips to silence him.

“Isn't it beautiful?" she said softly. "And..it's real."

She wrapped her arms around Satoshi, and never thought once that she wasn't real, because she was now. Love had made her real in his heart, and her belief in herself had made her real to the world. She gave her hand to Satoshi and helped him to stand up. And they walked back to the house. And to their future together.