//------------------------------//
// Evil Finds A Way 
// Story: The Dark of Midnight 
// by TaiKetchem 
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Welcome to the world of Pokemon. A place that you might be familiar with. Filled with many creatures of many shapes and sizes, with many great powers that make each unique from one another. When a child turns ten years old, they are allowed to receive their very first Pokemon and begin their journey across the land

On his tenth birthday, Ash Ketchum received his first Pokemon: Pikachu, and began his journey to become a Pokemon Master. Unfortunately, as he left his home: Pallet Town, things weren’t the greatest, but he and his partner pulled through, and soon other adventures would follow over the years. Traveling from region to region, catching many Pokemon, and making lots of friends along the way.

Unfortunately, not everything was all good as he had experienced evil that he had to face and defeat. Even then, it wasn’t anything he wasn’t able to overcome. The forces of evil tried to break him down, but he didn’t allow such a thing and in the end, he was able to become a hero that would protect those in need.

However, what’ll happen when the hero who helps those in need is himself needing help…?


Chapter 1: Evil Finds A Way


… You’ll pay… I will make you PAY!!!

Ash awoke from his sleep in a panic, springing into a sitting position while gasping for air. His heart was racing as his vision started to clear and he was met with the sight of his hands clutching his blanket. His breathing started to steady before letting go of the blanket, looking at his shaky fingers. He took his time, staring at each finger as if to make sure he wasn’t missing any before he settled them down in his lap.

He slowly turned his head up and began examining his bedroom. Nothing seemed out of place. He began recalling all that had changed since he first started his journey. His bed was long since he wasn’t a little boy anymore, was no longer a bunk bed, his dresser was shorter because of such, and his closet was much full with his old outfits and hats that he had gathered over the seven years of his life. Other than that, it was mostly the same.

Some relief began to wash over his face before he turned to his side. And there laid his little friend, Pikachu, curled up by his side, sleeping peacefully. With a heavy sigh, he rubbed the mouse’s back, hearing a coo from him as he snuggled his head against his trainer.

Ash smiled before he laid back down, relaxed. Then he brushed his arm over his forehead, stopping as he felt something moist. Sweat. Checking his arm, he was surprised. He didn’t feel hot, especially with his head against his pillow or the blanket over him.

As unusual as it had seemed, he didn’t think too much about it and got up to go to the bathroom. After cleaning his face, he returned to his bed and returned to his slumber, brushing off what happened as nothing more than a dream and safely relaxing into the comforts of his mattress.

(The next day)

Ash woke up completely refreshed from last night and full of energy. He opened the curtains and his window as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and together they stared outside, the cool breeze against their faces brightening up their day before they were called down by the boy’s mother for breakfast which they could not wait for.

After chowing down on their meals, the phone rings and Delia goes to answer it.

“Ash, it’s for you!” She says as he turned to her.

“Whath is iff?” He asked, mouth still full.

“Ash, first, don’t talk with your mouth full. Second, it’s Professor Oak. He wants to speak to you.”

“Really?” The boy says before swallowing then dashing out of his chair, taking the phone from her. “Professor, it’s me. Something up?” He asked before he listened closely… then his eyes widened.

Not long after the call, he was running out his door in his Kalos outfit with Pikachu following close behind. The two were running down the road to the laboratory of the one and only Professor Samual Oak. He passed by the town and the many people who greeted him with smiles on their faces as he returned the favor with his own, slowing down at some points to make small talk before running again.

With the lab coming closer and closer into view, he spotted something that caused his smile to widen brightly before speeding up. In the distance, he saw the old man standing out in front of his lawn with a large orange dragon-like creature also coming into view.

“Charizard!” He called out as the dragon turned, then looked happy before he started doing his best to run over to the boy.

As they got close, the boy jumped at the Pokemon and was caught in his arms as they nuzzled against each other with Pikachu also joining in on the snuggling.

“Oh, man! I missed you buddy!” The boy says as the dragon roared in glee before they pulled back from the hug. “Look at you, you’ve gotten so big.” He says before he was hit with a Flamethrower, leaving him coughing with a bit of sot. “And strong too.”

“Charizard came over not too long ago.” Oak says while walking up to him. “I figured you’d be happy to see him.”

“Figured? Of course, I’m happy to see him. You’re a real sight for sore eyes.” Ash says before Charizard rubbed his head against the boy.

“Well, would you look at that.” They then heard as they turned to the sound of the voice, seeing a brunette boy who looked Ash’s age walk up. “If it isn’t ol’ Ash Ketchum.”

“Gary?” The boy says.

“Long time no see, Ashy-boy.” The brunette says back as he walked up to face him. “Heard about what happened after your journey in Kalos. Surprised to hear that you didn’t win the league though.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“What, does nothing get you down? I wouldn’t have expected you to be so happy-go-lucky after that.”

“I get that, but it’s nothing to get angry over.”

“Eh, forget about it.” Gary then looked at Charizard. “Ya know what speak of the devil, since Charizard’s back, how about a little one on one? Make sure you’re not rusty and all.” He then says as the black-haired boy looked surprised to hear him say that. “What? Scared that I might win?”

Ash chuckled while adjusting his hat. “You’re on!”

Que Gotta Catch’em All: XY Version

And just like that they all made their way to the battlegrounds as other people appeared and crowded to see the two rivals face each other. Gary brushed his nose before taking out a Pokeball and tossing it, releasing Blastoise onto the field. Ash looked to Charizard, nodding to each other as the dragon made his way onto the field.

“Blastoise, start with Rain Dance!” Gary called as the turtle fired a ball of water into the sky and then clouds formed around the field, letting out rain.

“Starting off with that, huh? Smart.” Ash says with a smirk.

“I may have learned a few things since our last encounter.” The brunette says, returning the smirk.

“Alright, suit yourself. Charizard, use Leer!” The dragon had a glint in his eye before a glow emitted from the large turtle.

“Not starting with an attack?”

“Well you didn’t, so I’m taking advantage of it.”

“Classic Ash. Blastoise, use Skull Bash!” At that command, the turtle bounced at his opponent.

“Return it with your own, Skull Bash!” The dragon proceeded to do the same.

Charizard and Blastoise both clashed heads against each other, causing dust to fly up.

The two bounced back as their attacks were cancelled out.

“Use Rapid Spin!” Blastoise then charged before withdrawing into his shell, flying at his opponent.

“Counter it with Wing Attack!” Charizard’s wing glew as he swiped it at the incoming attack, sending the shell flying into the air.

“Now, use Hydro Pump!” Blastoise stopped hiding and his canons popped out before firing large streams of water which hit his opponent head-on.

“You okay, Charizard?” Ash asked as the attack died down. Charizrd huffed, but stayed standing. “Okay then, hit him with a Mega Punch!” The dragon listened and flew at his opponent.

“Quick, use Iron Defense!” Gary called out as Blastoise went into his shell, taking the hit.

“That’s not gonna stop us. Use Dragon Breath!” Charizard then released a breath of fire at the shelled turtle.

“Hang in there, Blastoise!”

The crowd watched in awe and amazement as the professor’s grandson’s and one of the most popular trainer’s Pokemon duking it out with one another. The turtle grunting in pain as he felt the attack of his opponent before he had enough. He popped out of his shell, slamming his head into the dragon’s which cancelled the attack out.

“Alright, now use Hydro Pump again!” Gary commanded.

Blastoise didn’t hold back and fired large streams of water at Charizard sending him back as he used his wings to block the attack. That made Ash worried as the attack began to die down, seeing his Pokemon huff.

“Charizard, are you still okay?” The boy asked as he got a nod in return. “Then let’s take to the skies. Use Fly!” He called before the dragon flew into the air.

“Keep using Hydro Pump! Get him back down here!” Gary yelled as Blastoise listened, blasting more water at his opponent.

Charizard gracious flew through the sky, avoiding the blasts with ease, much to the crowd’s excitement. However, Ash suddenly grunted as he gripped the side of his head. Though it went away quickly so he brushed it off and went back to focusing on the battle.

“Charizard, finish it with Seismic Toss!”

Charizard took his chance and flew behind Blastoise, grabbing him by his shell, throwing the turtle off guard as they flew into the air.

They flew around the air in a circular formation as everyone watched in anticipation.

After a bit more spinning, they stopped.

Then they flew straight down to the ground.

Then Charizard flung Blastoise and he crashed into the ground, hard before landing.

As the dust began to clear, Blastoise was seen trying to get off the ground, only to slip and fall down as the rainclouds disappeared.

“Blastoise is unable to battle! The winners are Ash and Charizard!” Tracy called out.

“Yes! We did it!” Ash cheered as he and Pikachu ran to the dragon. “Good job, Charizard!” The boy says while petting his Pokemon.

“You good, Blastoise.” Gary asked while rubbing his head, getting a nod in return. “Alright, you did well. Get some rest.” He then says, returning him to his Pokeball before getting up and walking to his opponent. “I gotta say, I expected this guy to be a little rusty. Guess you still got some fight in ya.”

“Well, he has been training in the Charizard Valley. So, he’s already ready for a battle. Right, bud.” Ash says as Charizard he responded he rubbing against his trainer.

“Heh, probably shouldn’t be surprised to say the least.”

It won’t be much longer…

Ash suddenly gripped his head, grunting.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah, just… a small headache. Nothing to worry about.” Ash explains as his Pokemon looked worried for their trainer. “It’s fine, guys. Really.”

Gary and the Pokemon still had a look of concern on their faces, but the black-haired boy continued to brush it off as nothing.

(A few hours later)

Nightime had set in and Ash was in the bathroom washing his hands. After rinsing the soap off, he splashed water on his face. He thought those small headaches were nothing to worry about, but he was completely wrong. They kept recurring ever so often throughout the day and though they only lasted for so long, it was irritating for him.

He couldn’t put his finger on what it was that was causing these small headaches and he could’ve sworn they were getting more painful the more it continued to go on. He stopped splashing his face and turned off the water before drying off with the towel. Then he looked into the mirror, seeing his tired. With a sigh, he opened the mirror, taking out his toothbrush and toothpaste.

It’s not over…

But as soon as he closed it, he jumped back, frightened. He panted before he went back to look at the mirror. He saw his normalself, nothing out of the ordinary. But he could’ve sworn he saw something else. Something completely off and dare he say, sinister.

“Geez, come on, Ash. Get yourself together!” He says while rubbing the sides of his head.

With a sigh, he went on to brush his teeth, hoping that it was just a lack of sleep on his part. After he was done, he went to his room, finding Pikachu bouncing on his bed before running up to his trainer and jumping into his arms.

“Hey, buddy. See you’re still full of energy.” Ash says while petting him.

“Pika, Pika.” The mouse says, looking concerned.

“Really, I’m fine. I just need some sleep.” The boy says while placing him on the bed before petting him. “We’ll go see Charizard tomorrow and maybe go meet some of our old friends while we’re at it. Sound good?”

“Pikachu.”

“Right, so get some rest for tomorrow.”

Ash then turned the lights off and was just about ready to go to bed, until something caught his eye. He looked to his window and saw some kind of floating light outside. His face scrunched a bit as he was ready to ignore it before looking at his Pokemon and seeing him looking at the light as well.

“Pikachu, can you see that?” He asked, getting a nod in response. “Then, does that mean…?” He says before approaching the window.

As soon as he was close, the light floated away and into the field. Pikachu ran up to the window, getting a look as well. The two looked at each other before back to the light. It clearly wanted them to follow them, surely.

The boy decided to follow along and left the house with his partner. He got to the light and it floated away as they gave chase. They were hoping that maybe it wouldn’t take long as it was still night and past their bedtime, but then the light floated above the trees, ascending higher and higher.

“Wait! Wait! We can’t follow you from there!” Ash called out to no avail.

He stopped in his tracks and watched as the light did the same.

“Wha… how are we supposed to…” He sighed before he some other light made contact with him, and he heard a roar by his side as he turned to see his other Pokemon. “Charizard? You’re still up too?” He says getting a roar as a response.

He looked back at the light, which had remained in the same part of the sky as if taunting him. He figured that this might be longer than expected and that he might need to prepare.

After making up his mind, Ash ran back to his house and quickly yet quietly packed his gear, rations and many other things while changing back into his Kalos outfit. Then he wrote a note that he left in the kitchen before he was out the door with Pikachu on his shoulder, ready to follow the light.

He took one more look back at his house one. “Sorry to leave like this, mom. I’ll be back soon.” He says while adjusting his hat before taking off.

Now prepared for a new journey, Ash took off on Charizard, following the light throught night sky. He wasn’t sure what might come, but he needed to know what it needed him for. So far, it seems to have sped up thanks to how fast the dragon was and they were now flying over seas which did concern the boy, but like his headaches, he ignored it.

“I’m sorry to get you two involved in this.” He says.

“Pika/*Roar*.” The two Pokemon said, telling him not to worry.

“Heh, you two are the best.” He chuckled.

Then he looked forward before narrowing his eyes. An island was beginning to come into view of where the light was leading them. He tried to think if he had seen it before, but nothing rung a bell. Well, looks like it was a new place for him to explore. The light then floated down to the ground of the island as the trio followed. Then it became dimmer, dimmer, and dimmer.

“Wait, wait! No, no!” Ash called out, but the light was gone. “Oh, great. Okay, Charizard, let’s land and stay the night here. Hopefully we’ll find that light again tomorrow.”

Hearing his trainer, the dragon Pokemon flew down to the ground and landed as his trainer got off of him. After a bit of stretching, he took his backpack off and laid it on the ground, he was about to unzip it when another headache came over him.

Give me control!

“Pika!” He heard as he turned to Pikachu who looked worried.

“It’s fine, I’m sure it’s just lack of sleep or something.” He reassured his partner.

Don’t deny it!

Then Ash suddenly gripped his head and started groaning in pain as his Pokemon called out to him in worry. He stood up, stumbling as he started to yell out in agony, shaking his head trying to free himself of whatever was attacking his mind.

“What’s happening?!” He screamed.

His Pokemon stood back, not knowing what to do. Then they looked horrified as they saw strings of darkness begin to wrap around their trainer. The boy opened his eyes and was shocked to see it. He tried to grab the strings, but his hands passed right throught, making his attempt futile.

Do not resist…

“What… what are you?” Ash says in fright.

Someone you won’t need to remember…

Then his eyes shot wide open before he stumbled forward, his head hanging forward from his torso as he kept his footing. The dark strings seemed to have disappeared which made the two Pokemon hopeful that their trainer might be okay… that was until he started to emit a dark an sinister aura from his body.

Then they heard a chuckle, that slowly turned into a laugh… and then a full on cackle as Ash looked up into the sky. The Pokemon were frightened to see what their trainer was doing.

He stopped cackling, then looked at them, the once cheery boy with chocolate brown eyes now having a wide and wicked smile and glowing red eyes. It was at that point they knew he wasn’t their trainer anymore.

“Oh, what’s the matter? Come now, don’t you recognize your own master?” He then says with a deep, eerie voice that didn’t match the boy’s by any means. “Come on you beasts. You serve me now.”

Pikachu stepped back, fearful of whoever this was that had replaced his best friend, but Charizard on the otherhand was furious that it happened. Almost in an instant, the dragon breathed fire at the faker, hitting him and hoping to have defeated this spiritual freak.

However, after his attack stopped, they saw a red barrier around the boy’s form as he kept the wicked smile amongst his face. Seeing how easily he had blocked his attack turned the dragon’s fury into fear once more.

“Wow, so this is what power this boy failed to use.” He laughed as he suddenly created a red aura sphere in his hand.

The two Pokemon quickly retreated at a distance before they saw what was controlling their trainer fire a red beam that went across the island. A delayed explosion soon followed afterwards. The evil being then laughed to himself before forming another red aura sphere and then firing that at a distant mountain, causing it to explode as he continued laughing.

“All this power that this brat didn’t even attempt to put to use. It’s amazing. I could actually rule the world with this.” He says before forming two spheres in his hands. “Now who’s gonna stop me!” He then yelled out into the night as the Pokemon could only watch from a distance.

Though it seemed as though his welcome to the world was interrupted as a crackle was heard in the sky which made him stop his laughter. He then turned in the direction of a crack forming in the sky. The crack spread which made him puzzled, wondering what it was.

Then, a burst of light flashed, nearly blinding those in sight for a second. When looking back, they saw what seemed to be a rift opened in the sky before they watched as a being began to fly through then down towards the island.

The being took on a female appearance, with a purple dress and boots, her hair flaring up as if it were flames mixed with the colors of pink, purple and black, a horse-like tail to follow up along with long feathery wings of the same color, and bright glowing blue eyes with red pupils that shined off of her magnetta skin.

“Well, this is certainly different from what I was expecting of Equestria to say the least. Not very popularated as I thought.” She says while looking around before her eyes fell on the boy’s form and she smiled widely. “So, you’re the one radiating all that power, are you?”

The being inside of the boy turned to fully face her, still confused. “And just who are you?”

To his question, she merely giggled before making ful eye contact. “Someone who requires your powers.”

To be continued…