Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Ripples ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

It had all happened so fast. One moment, my trainer and I were happily sharing dinner; the next, a nasty Scyther had attacked us without provocation. And I’d been the only one around to handle the problem. Why had it had to rain? If it hadn’t been for the rain, she probably would have asked Wanderlust or Firestorm to handle the problem. But they’re fire pokémon--an Arcanine and a Charizard, respectively--so one can’t ask them to be out when it’s wet.
But the ground had still been wet, I’d been the only one out (I hated poké balls), and she didn‘t have time to call anyone else. That Scyther was big, and I was scared. But I had to deal with it. I had smiled in satisfaction as I zapped the Scyther. My satisfaction had turned to horror, however, when I had seen my trainer lying on the ground, unconscious. Apparently, I’d zapped her too.
I ran over to her and cried, ("Wake up! Wake up!”) To any human, that would have sounded like, “Pika pi! Pika pi!”
After an eternity, she stirred.
“Oh. . .” she moaned.“Where am I?” She sat there for a while, rubbing her head. Then she saw me and got this strange, evil look on her face.
“Gotcha, Pikachu!” she exclaimed as she grabbed me.
“Chu?” ("What? Are you okay?") I replied.
“Yes!” she cried happily. Well, sometimes she played silly games with me, and I was just happy that she was conscious, so I licked her on the nose.
She looked at me in puzzlement.
“Pi Pikachu!” ("Look! The Scyther!") I said, looking worried. I struggled out of her grasp and pointed.
She looked. Lying on the ground was a crisped looking Scyther.
She smiled, reached for her belt, and found a poké ball.
“Poké ball, go!” she cried. It struck the Scyther, which was then sucked into it. The ball rocked six times, then the light went out. That had been a close one. She'd almost thrown Stinger's poké ball instead, and waking up a sleeping Beedrill without good cause is not a wise thing to do.
“Yes!” she cried, cackling gleefully. “I’m having a great night!”
Just as she said that, a white light enveloped the poké ball, and it vanished.
“What! No, it can’t be!” she cried. “It’s mine! You brats can’t steal this from me!” She growled, glaring around.
I looked at her worriedly and jumped into her nearby backpack because I was scared and felt the need to hide. Why was she acting like this? There was no one else around, and how could she forget that she was already carrying six pokémon, including me?
“Chu pika?“ ("Are you okay?") I asked timidly. The thunder shock, that must be it. I’ve got to get her water, I thought. I crawled out of the backpack and offered her some water. Surprised, she accepted it and looked around in confusion.
“Where is everybody, anyway?” she said. “James? Meowth?”
“What are you babbling about?” I said to her. “We don’t know anyone named James, and you don’t have a Meowth! And why aren’t you listening or talking to me?” I couldn't understand it. Ever since my trainer's psychic powers had emerged, she had always been able to understand us perfectly. But she didn’t hear me as a look of terrible fear crossed her face. Shortly after that, she got a look of resolve on her face and calmed down.
“Come on, Pikachu,” she said.
“Pika!” ("All right!") I cried. Good, she’s getting her bearings. We should be heading home now.
We marched off into the night, and I was hopeful.
As we marched on hour after hour, however, I became more and more worried. I hope she’s not mad at me for thunder shocking her. But I’ve never seen her like this. What have I done? Something is wrong.
I managed to persuade her to rest for a few hours, but then we started marching again at a relentless pace.
“Whoever made this forest made too much of it,” she growled. I cringed, but then I heard two unfamiliar voices.
“Pika?” ("Huh?") My ears perked up. “Pika!” I cried. ("Listen!") I pointed.
Maybe they can help us, I thought. We’re not finding our way, and she hasn’t been able to understand me since this accident.
The look of anger and fear that had been on her face for the last several hours changed to joy. She picked me up, grabbed me, and began to run toward the voices.
“Dimwit! Dis is all your fault!” cried a male voice with a really weird accent. “I don’t know if we got a big enough patch to fix dat hole!”
“It is not! It’s the Pidgey’s fault for not watching where it was going!” answered a deeper voice.
She ran into the clearing where we saw a blue haired man wearing white pants, a white shirt, and black gloves and boots. Next to him was a Meowth, and they were both working on a balloon--a balloon shaped like a Meowth’s head?
“Where have you two been?” said Kerri. “I’ve been looking all over for you! And look what I got!” She held me over her head like a prize trophy.
They looked up in surprise as she ran up to them. The man looked utterly mesmerized as he spotted Kerri. The Meowth looked confused.
“Pika-pi? Pi ka chu pi? Pikachu?” ("Kerri? Why are you showing me to this strange person and the Meowth? Are you feeling all right?") I said, confused and worried.
“I--I don’t know you, but I’d sure like to!” exclaimed the man.
Then the Meowth spoke. “The pikachu said, ‘Kerri, why are you showing me to this strange person and the Meowth? Are you feeling all right?’”
My eyes widened in surprise, and I looked directly at the Meowth, who had been the source of that weirdly accented voice. I couldn’t believe it! A pokémon that could speak in human language? And of course it understood me because it was a pokémon itself!
“Kerri--what a beautiful name,” murmured the man dreamily.
“What has gotten into you? Wipe that goofy expression off your face, James! And tell that pikachu that I’m just fine, thank you!“ cried my trainer, who angrily stormed up to him. “All right, it’s not the brat’s pikachu, but it’s a beginning!”
Meowth looked at me. “Yup, she’s right, it ain’t the kid’s pikachu. Hmm, I’ve never seen a pikachu with green eyes before.”
“How do you know my name?” said James, who still had a goofy expression on his face.
Her eyes flashed. “What is the matter with you!” she cried as she tucked me under one arm and slapped him. Why was she being so cruel to him? Human behavior often puzzled me.
The goofy expression on James’ face was rapidly replaced by anger. “What do you think you’re doing!” he retorted angrily.
I took that opportunity to slip out of her arms, and I went over to Meowth and explained what had happened.
James said, “Meowth, what’s the pikachu saying?”
My trainer growled.
“It says that Kerri has been acting weird ever since they battled a Scyther in the forest. It’s begging us to take her to a doctor; she’s sick and is suffering from delusions brought on by a really big thunder shock, ” Meowth translated.
“My name is not Kerri!” she cried. “It’s Jessie! I’m your partner, remember! Wait--a Scyther? Yes, I caught one in the forest, but then somebody stole it from me! This little pikachu has been following me around, but I don’t know why.”
Please believe me, James, I thought. Listen to Meowth. I can’t take her to a doctor, but you can!
“You’re not Jessie! Or at least you’re not the Jessie I know!” cried James. “You don’t look anything like her!”
“What do you mean, I don’t look anything like her?” said my trainer icily.
“You’ve got blond hair; Jessie has red hair,” said James. “That pikachu is right--you do need a doctor!”
Thank you, I thought silently. Now we’re getting--
“My hair is red!” she shrieked.
“I’ll prove it to you,” said James. He fished into the balloon and handed Jessie a mirror.
She glared at James, then looked in the mirror.
She was wearing her usual clothing--a light and dark blue striped shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, a gold necklace in the shape of a Ponyta, and gold earrings. Dark blue fingerless gloves were on her hands. A delicate face with slightly longer than shoulder-length blond hair and aquamarine blue eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She didn’t look any different than she normally did, yet she stared back at her reflection for several long moments, gasping for breath.
“Who--who is this strange person in the mirror?” she asked as she sank to her knees. Tears formed in her eyes, and she looked utterly deflated.
James shook his head sadly.
Then she got a hard determined look on her face and said in a very nasty voice: “Prepare for trouble!”
Prepare for trouble? I thought. Now what’s that supposed to mean? Great Zapdos, I think she’s really lost it.
James looked at her in astonishment as something seemed to click in his mind, and he replied: “And make it double!”
“To protect the world from devastation!” said my trainer.
“To unite all peoples within our nation!” replied James.
“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
“To extend our reach to the stars above!”
Is this some sort of human mating ritual? I thought.
“Jessie!”
JESSIE?! I thought. Who is Jessie?
“James!”
“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”
“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”
“Meowth, that’s right!” chimed in Meowth.

We all gaped at Kerri in amazement.
“Can it be?” said James.
“I--I don’t know,” said Meowth. “Dis is really weird! She said it perfectly, but dat girl don’t look like her!”
“You’ve got to believe me!” cried Kerri (or was it Jessie?)
Meanwhile, I looked up at the person I thought was my trainer. Tears filled my eyes.
My whole world is turning upside down, I thought. She’s been acting like somebody else, but--but--she looks like my trainer! This can’t be happening! But on the other hand, she hasn’t called me by my name since the battle or understood me, and she’s been saying her words in a strange way. It’s her voice, but she’s saying them differently. If this isn’t Kerri--if this is somebody else named Jessie--then where is Kerri? I don’t know what to do. How can I know for sure? I can’t look into her mind and see what’s there!
Suddenly, my ears perked up. I can’t, but there’s someone else here who can!
I ran up to Kerri and pressed one of the poké balls. A flare of light burst out of it.
“What?” cried my trainer and James in unison as the flare of light formed into. . .
“Kadabra!” cried Merlin, Kerri’s Kadabra.
“Merlin! Quick! Kerri’s been acting really weird and claiming that she’s someone named Jessie! Please look into her mind and see who’s there!” I cried.
Before anyone could do anything, Merlin’s eyes glowed as they met my trainer’s.
Merlin exclaimed in surprise, then turned to me and said, “You were right; that is not our trainer in there. Our trainer’s body is being occupied by another entity named ‘Jessie.’”
“What! How could this happen!’" I cried.
“I do not know,” said Merlin.
“What just happened?” said Kerri--no, Jessie.
“Da pikachu asked Kadabra to look into your mind to see who you really were,” said Meowth. “And it says you’re not Kerri, you’re Jessie.”
“What?!” said James.
“If a psychic pokémon says it’s true, I believe it,” said Meowth.
“So you believe me now,” said Jessie.
James and Meowth looked at each other, nodded, and hugged Jessie. Tears formed in their eyes.
“This is so weird, but it’s good to have you back,” said James. “We thought you’d left us. In fact, we were looking for you.”
“What happened while I was gone?” asked Jessie.
“After we landed, we found you--or what we thought was you--lying rather dazed on the ground. You said you had a headache--wait. If this is Jessie, then who was that with us?” asked James.
“Well, if this is Jessie, an‘ she‘s in Kerri‘s body, then Kerri--” said Meowth.
“Must be in my body!” exclaimed Jessie. “Where am I--I mean, where is she?”
When I heard that, hope flared within me. “Merlin, try to contact Kerri!” I cried.
Merlin nodded. It had a far away look in its eyes. “I have found her,” it said.
I sighed in relief.
“We don’t know,” said James. “I gave her an aspirin last night--she seemed rather dazed. Then we went to sleep. When we woke up, she was gone, but Meowth heard her moving in the distance. We followed her, but she was too far ahead for us to catch up on foot. We saw her get into a taxi, and we followed her in the balloon, but then a Pidgey flew into the balloon, and we crashed. The rest you know.”
“An’ she took all of our money, half our jewelry stash, most of your clothes, and your poké balls,” said Meowth to Jessie. “Except da uniform--she left dat behind.”
A look of hot fury filled Jessie’s eyes. “How dare she! How dare she steal from me! She’s going to pay for this!”
“Da poké balls an’ da clothes are yours, but she stole from us too, Jessie!” replied Meowth. “Remember, dat jewelry belonged to all of us!”
“The strange thing is that she only took half of it,” replied James.
“Yes, my half, no doubt! She’s going to pay for this!” cried Jessie.
“Um, Jessie, I hate ta be the one to point dis out to ya, but you’re not exactly yourself right now,” said Meowth. “And it’s not like ya didn’t get nothing out of it--you got her pokémon and her stuff.”
Jessie smiled evilly and rubbed her hands together. “I did, and I got a pikachu out of the bargain, too--even if it wasn’t the brat’s.”
“She wants us to leave--now,” said Merlin, who teleported us both.

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