Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Ripples ❯ Displacement ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

When I first started hearing about Pokemon, I wondered what the big deal was, so one day I decided to watch. I was fascinated. I enjoyed the friendship between Pokemon and their trainers, and I kept laughing at the ridiculous antics of Team Rocket. It was especially interesting when Team Rocket had to ally with Ash, Misty, and Brock to fight someone else.

One day, ideas just started growing in my mind, and they turned into this fanfic. I would like to thank my beta reader, Yarrow, for her input, patience, and suggestions. Pokemon and its characters belong to Nintendo, so I don't own them. Kerri Vanderhorn, her family, and her friends belong to me.

Historical note: This takes place somewhere during the first season of Pokemon. I know that's ancient history as far as the series is concerned, but that's when it's set.

Narration note: There are two first person narrators; the narrator is identified at the top of each chapter.

Lightning. Waves upon waves of lightning and pain struck me, pouring over me like a torrent.
No, no, make it stop! I cried out in my mind.
I tried to scream, but all that came out was a groan.
I smelled burnt clothing, hair, fur, salt water, and sand. For the moment, I didn’t have the energy to do anything. Oh, how my body ached!
For a time, all I heard was the sound of the waves, then the sounds of spitting, cursing, and scuffling and two unfamiliar, but obviously male, voices.
“Ow! Quit it, Meowth!” whined one voice.
“Dis is all your stupid fault! Our plan was goin’ without a hitch until ya tripped over your feet and sent that shockproof jar crashing into a tree! If ya hadn’t done dat, Pikachu wouldn’t have escaped! And we wouldn’t have gotten fried and blasted off again! We wouldn't be eatin' sand, either!” exclaimed the other voice, which had one of the strangest accents I’d ever heard.
“It was an accident!” cried the first voice.
“I don’t wanna hear dat!” exclaimed the second voice. I heard more scuffling sounds and more cries of pain. Then a pause. “Wait--where‘s Jessie?”
“I don’t see her,” exclaimed the first voice, which had a rather pleasant, deep quality to it when it wasn’t whining. “Jessie!”
“Jessie!” exclaimed the second voice.
Who’s Jessie? I thought as my head pounded. I wish they’d shut up, whoever they are, and let me finish my hangover in peace!
Two sets of footsteps, one heavy, one light, approached me.
“Jessie!” cried the first voice. “Oh no, don’t tell me she’s--”
“Nah, she’s still breathin’,” replied the strangely accented voice.
I heard someone kneel beside me. Then someone shook me. “Jessie! Are you all right? Please say something!”
I gasped in pain as I opened my eyes and croaked, “Oh. . .”
I saw a young man in his late teens. He wore a white shirt and pants; the shirt had a large red “R” stenciled on it, and I could see that he was wearing black gloves on his hands. His chin-length blue hair framed a handsome face with expressive green eyes that reflected worry and--fear? Next to him was a Meowth.
I looked at them in confusion. “Where am I?”
“It looks like we’re on a beach somewhere,” said Meowth.
Oh man, that really must have been some party! That Meowth is talking! I thought desperately.
“And who are you?” I replied.
The blue-haired man’s eyes widened in shock, as did the Meowth’s.
“Oh no,” breathed the blue-haired man. “She’s got--”
“Amnesia,” finished the Meowth.
“What do we do, Meowth?” exclaimed the young man.
The Meowth looked thoughtful. “Well, it looks like we’re miles from anywhere, we’re tired, and we’re hurt, so let’s hole up for da night. If she’s still bad in da morning, den we take her to a doctor.”
“I guess we’ll have to disguise ourselves if we do that,” replied the young man.
“Excuse me,” I said, “but I don’t remember a thing. Who are you? What happened? Why are we on this beach?”
The young man looked pained, so the Meowth spoke. “You’re Jessie, dat’s James, and I’m Meowth. We went blasting off again after klutzy over here messed up our foolproof plan.” Meowth unsheathed his claws and glared at James, who cringed.
I shook my head. “I don’t remember any of this.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll all come back to ya,” replied the Meowth.
“Say, do either one of you have any aspirin? I feel like there’s a mariachi band marching through my head,” I said.
“Um, I think so,” replied James.
As I tried to get up, I noticed that I wore black gloves like James’ and was wearing a white miniskirt and black thigh-high boots. This isn’t right, I thought. I shakily managed to get to my feet, but started swaying.
“Oh,” I croaked. James put an arm around me, and I leaned on him for support.
Back in camp, Meowth made a fire as James got out the sleeping bags. After that, he began rummaging through some stuff.
“Now I know that aspirin is here somewhere,” said James. “Ah, here it is! No wait, those are earplugs. . .”
I lay on my sleeping bag, staring into space. Finally, with a triumphant cry, James brought me the aspirin and a glass of water. I took a few sips of the water, and then I swallowed the aspirin.
“I think the band has stopped playing. Thanks, James,” I said. Oh, he was cute.
James smiled at me.
“Good night, Jessie,” he replied.
We went to sleep.
As I drifted off, I heard Meowth say, "Jessie's talkin' funny. . ."
James replied, "You're right; maybe the accident has affected her mind. I just hope she'll be okay..."

I was walking through a forest. My pikachu, Jade, was at my side.
“Pi ka?” said Jade as it looked up at me.
“Hmm, no, that’s not quite what I wanted to sketch,” I mused.
“Chu!” it exclaimed as its stomach growled loudly.
“Ok, ok, we can stop and get something to eat,” I replied, laughing.
I sat down on a stump, took off my backpack, and dug out some food. I offered it to Jade, who eagerly started eating. I began to eat, too.
I dropped to the dirt as a flash of green swooped down on us. We dove in opposite directions.
I said, “Go, Jade!”
“Pika!” it cried. The electric mouse prepared to attack.
“Jade, thunder shock!” I exclaimed.
“pikaaCHUUUUU!” it exclaimed as the air crackled with electricity.
Pain rippled through my body, and I screamed. . .

I awoke with a gasp. James and Meowth remained asleep.
This isn’t right, I thought. I need to get my bearings. I don’t trust this guy and his Meowth. They’re weird. Now where do they keep their stuff? Ah.
I carefully slipped out of the sleeping bag and walked over to a balloon, which was shaped like the head of a Meowth and started looking through the stuff. I found several bottle caps, some makeup, numerous outfits, a few cans of pokémon chow, some roses, a hairbrush, and a mirror--
I picked up the mirror and looked at myself in it. I gasped and nearly dropped it.
My clothes and hair were a mess. But that wasn’t the worst of the shock. I was wearing black gloves and a white midriff-length top with a large red “R” on it. Underneath that was a black tank top shirt. My earrings were round green balls instead of the usual gold ones that I wore.
Blue eyes and incredibly long red hair were what I saw in the mirror.
No! I thought. This is wrong! My hair is supposed to be blond! My eyes aren’t supposed to be that shade of blue! My face--that’s not my face!
This is all wrong, I thought. Who is that strange guy and his Meowth that I’m with? This is not my face! But I know this uniform; I’ve seen reports of this on the news. This is a Team Rocket uniform! But I’m not Jessie! I’m not a member of Team Rocket! I’m Kerri Vanderhorn! I’ve got to find out where I am and get home. I then remembered what the Meowth had said just before he went to sleep. I really have to get home--they're already starting to get suspicious.
Tears filled my eyes. No, I can’t cry now--I’ll wake them up. Wait, I can just teleport home. But not looking like this.
I bit my lip, then carefully rummaged through the balloon and found some women’s clothing that looked like Jessie’s size as well as some that looked like it would fit James, and a small jewelry box that contained a few rings and necklaces, as well as some money. As I found what I needed, I glanced down to my belt and realized I had two poké balls.
They’re not mine, I thought. Wait--Jessie has my pokémon, so why can’t I borrow her two? I wonder what she has? Well, I can’t let them out now.
I changed my clothes, clipped the poké balls to my new outfit, and tried to teleport. A wave of dizziness overcame me, and I choked off a moan as I grasped the side of the balloon.
Oh my God, I thought. What’s happened to my psychic powers? Why can’t I teleport? I had sometimes wished to be rid of them because people were almost always afraid of me when they found out, and sometimes they'd caused me great trouble, but now I needed them more than ever.
I fought down the rising panic inside me and thought, I’ve got to stay calm. Maybe I’m too far from home to teleport, or if I’m not, maybe not all my powers are affected.
Looking around nervously to make sure that James and Meowth were still asleep, I focused my attention on a small rock. Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I managed to levitate it, although it took far more effort than it usually did. Next, I tried reading the thoughts of the Meowth. He was happily dreaming about an enormous ball of yarn.
I sighed in relief. My powers were still with me, albeit very weakly. Teleportation was out of the question, at least for now. More mundane means would be required to get me home. I silently counted how much money they had, but I didn't take all of it. Just to be safe, I took some of the jewelry too.
When I finished my preparations, I slipped out into the night.

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