Chapter Text
Izumi was finished packing her stuff when she spotted something flying across the sky. “Is that a Pokémon?” she heard Ash say from the side. He was looking up at the sky.
“I’m not too sure,” Izumi said, now holding her bag over her shoulder.
“Well, whatever it is, we should be leaving soon. The first gym, right, Ash?” N asked Ash, who gave him a thumbs up, with Rai on his shoulder nodding along.
Izumi was still looking at the Pokémon in the sky, and suddenly, she felt… overwhelmed with emotions. She touched her face as tears began flowing down her cheeks.
“W-why am I?” she asked herself. Her Meowth, perched on her shoulder, meowed at her. She petted her Pokémon on the head. “I’m fine. I d-don’t know why I’m crying,” she said. Izumi glanced toward N, and he seemed sad as well.
Then, she felt a sudden pain in her head and turned around to see… another her? The figure looked just like her, but this time, her eyes were a striking purple-green.
Izumi realized that… this doppelgänger had been at her house, with her mother. A sinking feeling told her something bad had happened to her mom.
“What did you do to my mom?” she asked slowly. Her Meowth’s fur began to stand on end, her tail raised upward as she growled at the doppelgänger.
“You! You stole my mommy away from me!” her other self shouted. “You’re not my sister, and you never will be!”
She raised her hands, which started to glow brightly pink, and a ball of dark purple energy formed between them.
Two things happened.
First, N threw out a Pokéball to summon one of his Pokémon. At the same time, Izumi grabbed her Meowth into her arms and ducked for cover.
Second, a Dragonite came out of nowhere and redirected the shadow ball toward a giant rock, which shattered completely upon impact.
“Draggy… get out of my way! She… she needs to go away, so Mommy can love me instead!” the doppelgänger shouted as the Dragonite roared in defiance.
Ash grabbed Izumi’s shoulder. “We need to go! Now!” Ash urged.
X-x
“Was that your sister, Izumi?” Ash asked as they walked into Pewter City. Izumi was staring up at the sky.
“I’m not too sure,” she replied, glancing back at Ash. “My mom never told me I had a twin.”
Ash nodded. “She seemed to have powers, right?” he said, clearly deep in thought.
Izumi nodded. “That was Shadow Ball, a move Psychic types can learn,” she explained.
N, who was walking ahead of them, suddenly stopped. “Well,” he said, turning around to face them, “this is where we part ways.”
“Yeah, it was nice to meet you, N. Please be safe,” Ash said, holding out his hand. N shook it with a small smile.
“Likewise. Izumi, if you could hand me your Rotom Phone, I’d like to speak with you more in the future,” N said.
Izumi smiled and handed him her phone.
After a few moments, N handed it back to her, his number now saved in it. “We shall meet again, friends,” he said, tipping his hat to both of them before walking away.
Izumi glanced at Ash. “Gym battle?” she asked.
Ash grinned and nodded. “Yeah, gym battle. You ready, Rai?” he asked his Pikachu, who nodded enthusiastically.
They headed toward the city’s gym. Ash paused briefly to take in the sight before stepping inside, with Izumi following behind him.
Inside, Izumi looked around, noticing a large stadium-like setup. Rows of seats lined the sides of the gym, and the battlefield itself had a rocky terrain, with boulders and jagged rocks scattered across it.
A single person stood at the far end of the terrain. “Ah, new trainers?” the man asked, his voice echoing slightly in the gym. “Are both of you challenging me today? If so, only one of you can battle me now, and the other will have to wait.”
Izumi shook her head and stepped aside as Ash stepped forward. “I’m challenging you, Brock,” Ash said confidently.
Brock smiled. “Alright then, let’s head to the field. Girl, you’re welcome to watch the battle from the stands,” he said, gesturing to Izumi.
“Okay, I’ll be over here,” Izumi replied, climbing into one of the seats on the stadium’s side.
Meanwhile, Ash and Brock took their places at opposite ends of the battlefield. Ash glanced at Rai, who eagerly jumped down onto the field, ready to battle.
“You know Electric types are weak to Ground-type moves, right?” Brock said with a confident smile.
Ash grinned, turning his cap backward. “Yeah, I prepared for that.”
He looked at Rai, his excitement evident. “You ready, Rai?!” he shouted.
Rai cried out its name in exhilaration, sparks flying from its cheeks.
To Be Continued!