#spinpasta

Gold stood up, putting his bag on and picking up his naginata. He wasn't sure if he still needed it. He had a good look around and realised he was at the peak of a mountain. Probably Mt. Silver. Red or rather, Ash, was sitting at the very summit, with a katana stuck in the snow beside him and an Articuno right behind him. "Re- ASH!" Gold called out as he approached. "Hiro?" Red muttered, "Are you hurt too?" Gold was about to answer when he noticed Red's condition. His right arm had also sustained plenty of cuts, the left leg of his trousers were bloodstained and the lower half of his face seemed to be stripped of the top layer of skin in addition to having a few cuts here and there and his left eye was bruised and bloodshot. "Ash... you're..." "Better than outright missing a couple of limbs," Red muttered back. Gold violently shivered, despite the cold being mostly bearable. That years-long nightmare had to have been at least partially real. "R-Remember when we got so badly frostbitten that we l-lost some limbs?" Gold stammered, "O-Our wounds are just like that, but m-minor." Red hugged himself and stared off to the side with a shaky sigh. "We saved your lives. All four of them." Gold looked up at the source of the voice. It was an Articuno. He remembered reading something about Articuno appearing to those stranded on icy mountains. An Articuno saving him and Red didn't seem out of the question. But... "What do you mean four?" Gold asked. "You two weren't the only ones who were killed by the curse placed on his mountain," the Articuno replied. "Killed"? "Curse"? What was the Articuno talking about? Gold felt his heart begin to race.

"So these are the other two you saved?" A girl's voice echoed from Gold's right. Something about it seemed so familiar. He turned in the direction of that voice and saw a Houndoom leading two girls towards them. One of the girls had long brown hair and wore a white hat with a teal-blue ribbon and a short, black dress over the top of a white long-sleeved shirt and white capris along with teal-blue, black sneakers with white toes over a pair of long white socks and a backpack similar to Red's. The other girl had teal eyes and hair shaped into angular pigtails, a grey and yellow beanie, a white jacket with red stripes on the cuffs over a sporty red and grey shirt, yellow cargo shorts with black side pockets and black cuffs, pink socks barely poking out above a pair of red and black shoes with thick white trim and a backpack somewhat similar to Gold's. They looked familiar. Really familiar. "Strange, I thought you would've known the boys," the Houndoom replied. That Houndoom was FOREVER. He had to be FOREVER. FOREVER led the two girls to Gold and Red, "I guess you should introduce yourselves. You can use your real names. You're all in the same boat, after all." "M-My name is Hiro," Gold responded, "Although I usually go by "Gold" around people I don't know." Red walked up beside Gold and tipped his cap at the two girls. "And this is Ash," Gold continued, "and his nickname is "Red"." "Cool names!" the teal-haired girl replied, "My name's Kris, and my nickname's Crystal!" "I'm Omi," the other girl answered, "I let people call me "Green"." "It's likely none of you know me, either," the Articuno boomed. "My name is VITALITY. I saved your lives while FOREVER saved your souls."

Just as VITALITY and FOREVER had hinted at, Crystal and Green weren't any better off than Gold or Red. The entire left side of Crystal's face had been scratched up and bruised. Her left hand was raw and bleeding and not only was her right leg scratched up, but there were bloodstains on the right leg of her shorts. Green's capris and socks were bloodstained from the cuts all over her legs, her face was all scratched up from her nose up and she had two black eyes. "Let me guess, you two had some nightmare about you and your Pokémon getting mauled by frostbite?" Crystal shrugged. "That wasn't a nightmare, Kris," VITALITY replied, "Everything that happened to you was real." Gold felt a freezing chill go down his spine, "N-no... it can't have been real. It shouldn't have been real!" "It doesn't matter whether it was real or not," FOREVER replied, "It being a nightmare wouldn't change the fact that you've been hurt. Whether it actually happened or not doesn't make your pain any less real." Gold sighed. "We did experience that too. Probably just as painful. Did you... also end up in some sort of hell afterwards?" "Well, when you put it that way," Crystal gravely replied, "Yes, that was probably Hell we had been through." "Did you lose all your limbs?" Gold asked. "Yes." Crystal replied. "I was in some hell too," Red muttered, "I lost my head." "I didn't lose anything," Green shuddered, "But everything hurt! My whole body... it was going all haywire! L-like when my SNES stopped working!" Red gritted his teeth. Gold's jaw dropped. Crystal brought a hand to her mouth. "You were the hardest one to resurrect, Omi," FOREVER explained, "Hiro, Ash and Kris were killed by the curse, but you were outright erased." "Why?" Green pleaded, "Did I do something really bad?" "Because apparently you weren't meant to exist at all," FOREVER sighed. "And before you ask us why that is," VITALITY added, "ask those weirdos pretending to be from GameFreak. Or you can kill them in self-defence trying to do so." "What? Why would we need to defend ourselves from them?" Red asked. "Because they cast the curse that killed you," VITALITY replied, "You would know that the cold of Mt. Silver normally isn't even enough to hurt you." "You'd be correct," Crystal replied, "But that time it was really cold!" "Even so, the cold didn't hurt you," VITALITY continued, "The snowflakes did. They became so razor-sharp and tough that they shredded you alive." "I'd assume that also they dragged your souls to whatever hell you ended up in," FOREVER added, "I met one of them there and... well... he tried to kill me so I burnt his face off." "Fair enough," Crystal sighed, "It's not like I didn't gleefully bash... Lyra's... head in..." "Unfortunately, we didn't get rid of all of them," VITALITY gravely spoke, "They may still be out there and if they find out you're alive, they'll almost certainly try to kill you again. We'll have to keep watching over you from now on." "Can we still go home?" Green asked. "You should go home," FOREVER replied, "Your injuries still need to be treated and besides, Hiro and Kris, you've been missing for over a year. And Ash and Omi, you've been missing for over seven years!" "Shit!" Gold yelled before covering his mouth, "S-Sorry." "We better hurry back home then," Green yelled, "Everyone must think we're dead by now!"

The Pokémon Centre just outside the entrance to Mt. Silver was the first stop for the four children on their way back home. At the very least, they'd have a first aid kit for humans. After all, Trainers often got hurt, too! Gold knew that all too well when his first bike ride ended in him crashing and scraping his knee on Goldenrod City's hard pavement. The doors opened and the Nurse there immediately looked up to see four children enter the Centre. "No way... this can't be right... what are you four doing here after all this time? And what happened to you!?" "It's a long story, Nurse..." Gold replied, "We need help!" "I can see that," Nurse Brenda replied, reaching under the desk for a first-aid kit, "You lot look like you've survived being put through a meat grinder!" She produced a large duffle bag and let the four kids into the room behind her. But Red stopped for a moment, reaching into his vest pockets. "What's wrong, Red?" Nurse Brenda asked. "Just want to prove it's really us," Red replied, showing her his Trainer ID, "Pretty sure you might have had to deal with impostors..." "You're fine, Red," Brenda reassured him, "We only met four impostors, and they weren't actually like any of you."

"A medical team will be here soon," Brenda said, putting her Pokégear in her pocket. Until then, I can only really treat one person at a time." "Someone else can go first," Gold replied, "I really need to call my Mum." "Same here," Crystal added. "Pretty sure either of you could go first," Green replied, pulling out her Pokégear "If what FOREVER said is true, everyone probably thinks Red and I are dead at this point." Red just shrugged, "I'll go first, then." Gold selected his mother's phone number, about to call her, while Crystal was about to do the same, until she looked over his shoulder. "Wha- hang on," Crystal exclaimed, "Our mums have the same phone number!" "How even...." Gold muttered, looking at the phone number saved on Crystal's Pokégear, "I'll just call that number and see what happens."

"Yeesh, your leg looks just as bad as your arm. Are there any other injuries I should know about." "Just... this," Red replied, lifting up his shirt to reveal a large graze across his stomach, as if he'd been sliding on his stomach across rough cement without a shirt on. His belly began to bleed in several spots as if scabs had been removed. "Jeez, Red!" Brenda exclaimed, "Were you clinging to a Luxray's tail as it charged all the way through Victory Road?" Red frowned at the nurse and shook his head. "First things first, we should clean and disinfect those wounds of yours," Brenda said, grabbing a bottle of antiseptic and a bottle of disinfectant wipes.

"Hiro? Is that really you?" Gold heard his mother ask. "Y-Yeah... it's me..." he replied. "Are you okay? Where are you?" "I'm at the Pokémon Centre at Route 28," Gold answered, "Kris, Ash and Omi are here, too! Other than a heap of cuts and grazes we're fine... I think..." "Kris is with you too?" his mum exclaimed, probably about to cry. "Y-Yeah, I'm here, Mum," Kris stammered. "I'm so glad my children are safe," the Johto Champions heard their mother sob.

"You are Gold!" the man replied, "You just have a different name and outfit now." "Then why is everyone being mean to be for "replacing" him?" Ethan asked. The man looked at Ethan in shock, "Are you kidding me!?" "N-No!" Ethan yelped. "No... I'm not mad at you..." the man replied, turning around and scratching his head, "This shouldn't be happening... why don't the characters recognise him anymore? Game Freak would kill me if they found this world!" "Uh, what?" "Something bad must've happened," the man growled, turning back towards Ethan, "Some... entity must be trying to hurt you. Probably for some stupid reason like... I dunno... the originals are always superior to the remakes? Yeah, that's a load of crap! You shouldn't be tormented just because you were remade!" The man's words seemed to change something inside Ethan. Fear and confusion melted into anger and a need to do what's right, "Well, whatever it is, I'm going to destroy it. It's clearly a threat to our world!" He turned and started to head back down the mountain. "Ethan, wait!" the man ran up to him, "I have to warn you - please, please be careful! If the entity has managed to brainwash everyone else in this world, who knows what they could do! Do NOT underestimate it!" The man shoved something into Ethan's arms before walking off. It was an occupied Pokéball. Inside was Arceus. The Pokéball reported Arceus to be Level 100 and holding a Water Plate and had the moves Judgement, Refresh, Blizzard and Hidden Power. But the Pokéball had also reported Judgement, Blizzard and Hidden Power to "never miss" and Refresh apparently restored HP and PP as well. This is weird, Ethan thought to himself, I thought Blizzard had terrible accuracy and Refresh only cured status conditions. But he decided that he could probably take anything he could get.

Ethan made his way down the mountain, with Arceus out and following him closely. Arceus would protect him. He was the God of all Pokémon, after all. Neither the people of Johto or Kanto could hurt him, right? And just as well that he had Arceus, because just outside the mountain, was Professor Elm. And he looked enraged. "You... you BASTARD!" He yelled at Ethan, before sending out a Moltres and ordering it to use Fire Blast on Ethan himself! But Arceus wasn't having it - he got in the way of the attack, barely even flinching, before using Judgement. With the Water Plate, Judgement had become a Water-type attack, dealing massive damage to Moltres. "Just leave me alone!" Ethan yelled. "Not until you die!" Elm yelled back, "Moltres, Solar Beam!" "Arceus, use Judgement again!" Arceus used Judgement, completely depleting the rest of Moltres' HP. But it hadn't collapsed yet. It just kept taking in light. Why hasn't Moltres fainted yet? Ethan asked in his mind. He pulled out his Pokédex, which reported that Moltres "did not succumb". "Arceus, try Hidden Power!" Arceus used Hidden Power, blasting Moltres with slashes of dark energy. And yet, Moltres not only remained in the air, but finally fired off its Solar Beam, actually hurting Arceus. Only then did it faint. "You can't just hide behind the Pokémon God, Ethan," Elm replied, sending out Entei, "Entei, use Calm Mind!" "Arceus! Judgement!" Entei somehow managed to go first, using Calm Mind. Arceus used Judgement, but it only took out about a quarter of Entei's HP. Ethan's Pokédex said that Entei somehow managed to raise its defensive stats by all six stages! "Entei, Solar Beam!" "Arceus, use Judgement!" Entei began to take in light, while Arceus took out another quarter of its HP with Judgement. Entei was still roughly at half health, so there was no way Arceus could take out Entei before it could fire at him... unless he could land a critical hit. "Arceus, use Judgement again!" Arceus used Judgement, taking out yet another quarter of Entei's HP, and Entei used Solar Beam, dealing another harsh blow to Arceus and leaving him at roughly half health. Ethan wasn't too worried, however. He just ordered Arceus to Refresh. While Elm made Entei used Swagger. Arceus had regained all his HP, but was now confused. And none of his attacks were physical, so he had nothing to gain from Swagger. "Fire Blast!" "Judgement! Arceus had outsped Entei, taking out the last quarter of its HP before the latter could attack. "Not even a god Pokémon's top stats or powered-up moves will get you out of this," Elm growled, recalling the fainted beast and sending out Articuno. But unlike the previous two Pokémon Elm had sent out, Articuno had a nickname - VITALITY. And it had the Snow Warning ability, something Ethan didn't think an Articuno could possibly have.

"Let's see how you handle this one!" Elm said with a slight chuckle in his voice. "VITALITY, use Blizzard!" "Arceus, use Judgement!" Despite his confusion, Arceus managed to attack. But it didn't seem to even leave a scratch on VITALITY. Ethan gritted his teeth - even with a literal god on his side, this battle was going to be difficult. VITALITY's Blizzard then smashed Arceus, knocking out more than half of his health. "Arceus, use Refresh!" Ethan yelped. Arceus healed all his wounds and the hail barely did anything to hurt him. "Tch," Elm growled, "Refresh isn't going to save you from my wrath. VITALITY, use Mind Reader!" Ethan was already starting to feel nervous. Elm clearly must have some trick up his sleeve. He looked through his bag, looking for anything that might turn things around. He pulled out a Dire Hit and used it on Arceus, before telling him to use Judgement again. This time, Arceus did manage to land a critical hit, smiting VITALITY to less than half of its HP. But Ethan was still worried. What did the Professor mean by Refresh not helping? "VITALITY, use Sheer Cold!" Ethan felt a wave of terror wash over him. There was no way Arceus could tank or avoid the attack. It was a guaranteed KO. But he wasn't going down that easily! He ordered Arceus to use Judgement again, and grabbed Asher's Pokéball and a Max Revive. But Arceus didn't fight back. Instead, he, in his confusion, headbutted Ethan, sending him flying back. VITALITY sidestepped Arceus, using Sheer Cold on Ethan. Ethan felt the unbearable cold and passed out once again.

Ethan woke up in the same Sprout Tower-esque room as he did after what apparently happened on Mt. Silver. What the- again? Ethan growled in his mind. The Unowns spelling "LEAVE" were back. But FOREVER was still gone. Ethan checked his bag and once again, it was empty, except for FOREVER's Pokéball. But this time, he knew what to do. He returned to the ladder in the hollowed-out pillar and peered downwards. There was light coming from the bottom, so at least he wouldn't be in complete darkness. Ethan slid down the ladder, and walked through the hallway into the chamber with the sign saying "TURN BACK NOW". This time, FOREVER was already waiting for him there. "Yes, Ethan, I've been here all this time," FOREVER sarcastically barked. "I managed to get back home," Ethan exclaimed, "Even though everyone was being weird, I managed to get back home! But I got sent back here when an Articuno used Sheer Cold on me!" FOREVER's eyes widened at the mention of Articuno. "Let's try this again," Ethan rambled, "I STILL refuse to "TURN BACK NOW"! Seriously, what to you expect when I came from a place that I got told to leave!" Ethan braced himself for another long fall. But the ground below him remained. "You need to TURN BACK NOW this time," FOREVER replied. Ethan pouted and turned back towards the ladder. However, the Unowns wouldn't even let him re-enter the hallway. "What the hell am I supposed to do!?" Ethan yelled, "That sign is telling me to go back to that Sprout Tower room, but these Unown are blocking my way and telling me to LEAVE! What am I supposed to do!?" "Just say you're going to TURN BACK NOW," FOREVER replied. "Okay!" Ethan yelled back, "I want to TURN BACK NOW! Let me TURN BACK NOW!" Ethan was instantly surrounded in complete darkness. He couldn't even see FOREVER's eyes. But a light had appeared in front of him. He had to be there. That had to be the exit.

Ethan had found himself in a hallway that had seemingly just opened, leading to what he assumed was the outside world. Was the sign telling him to return there all along? But as Ethan started to make out what was at the end of the tunnel, his heart sank. The ground was light grey and littered with headstones and the sky looked to be white. The headstones became more legible and Ethan began to read them.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF: ETHAN HIBIKI'S VENUSAUR BOBBY 2010-03-07 - 2011-08-19 REST IN PEACE

Ethan froze in shock. Did Bobby actually die!? Even worse, he realised the date of death was the same day he and Lyra had gone to Mt. Silver in order to find Fire and Leaf. Was it all real, after all? "No... NO! This can't be!" Ethan yelled, running towards the headstone! His feet hit light grey dirt, kicking up dust. He went right up to the headstone, but its content didn't change. He read the other headstones, which had the names of the other five Pokémon that were in his team that fateful day, all with the same date of death, all surrounding a pit lined with big, grey blocks. This is just a mean trick, Ethan thought to himself, Surely my Pokémon are back in my bag... But there was still nothing inside except for FOREVER's empty Pokéball. So FOREVER had to still be around, right? "FOREVER? FOREVER!? Where are you!?" But instead of a Houndoom coming over to meet him, six Unowns flew out of the pit and floated right in front of him, spelling "DIED HE". "What are you saying!?" Ethan exclaimed, "Are you trying to tell me that FOREVER DIED!?" "No." Ethan turned around, only to get an Ember to the face. He yelped and held his face in his hands, but the pain wouldn't stop. Through his fingers, he saw FOREVER lunge at him, pinning him to the ground. "What was that for!?" Ethan screamed, "I thought you were here to help me!" "I am here to help you," FOREVER replied, "I'm here to help you to atone for your sins!" He bared his teeth, flames flickering in the back of his throat. Ethan shielded himself with his arms, only for the Houndoom to rip them both off. Ethan kicked at FOREVER's abdomen, managing to get the demonic dog off him, before scooting backwards towards the blocks behind him. "M-MY ARMS!!!" FOREVER scrambled to his feet, giving Ethan an even angrier glare than before. The boy managed to stand up without the help of his now missing arms, and turned to the side as if to run away. But something grabbed him by the bottom of his jacket, pulling him towards the pit. He tried to resist, but it held on tight. Ethan looked back at FOREVER, who was slowly walking towards him, then into the pit. A white, ghostly hand was grabbing onto him. Its pull was only strong enough to keep him in place... until it tugged, causing Ethan to lose his balance and fall backwards into the pit.

At the bottom of the pit was a wide, blood-red hallway. Ahead of where Ethan landed, both sides were lined with white figures. Ethan managed to stand up again and staggered towards them They turned out to be all the Gym Leaders from Johto and Kanto, but their colours of both their bodies and clothes had been drained to a stark white, with the exception of the darker parts, which had turned black. "S-Someone! Help me!" Ethan screamed, "I've lost my arms! I'm bleeding!" But there was no response from anyone. They all stood completely still. "ANSWER ME!" Ethan yelled, kicking Whitney, only for his foot to phase through her body as if she was a ghost. Ethan looked around. The end of the hallway was in sight and there was another white figure, but it was floating in the air. On closer inspection, the white figure turned out to be a boy, shorter and stockier than Ethan. He had arms, but no legs and his eyes were completely black and bleeding, with red laser dots for pupils. He wore a backwards cap that was white on the front and black at the back. His black hair had a large lock at the front, swept towards his right, similarly to Ethan's. He was wearing a hoodie with what seemed to be a wider version of Ethan's collar, but without the flaps underneath, and a black undershirt. He was also wielding a naginata in his hands. "A-Are you... G-Gold?" Ethan stammered. The boy tightened his grip on his spear in response and glared at Ethan, but didn't say anything back. "N-No... you can't be Gold, can you? Gold and I are one and the same, right?" "Wrong... I am Gold," the boy muttered back, "They just killed me, and replaced me with you!" Ethan felt a wave of dread wash over him. What the people of Johto were going on about was true! Gold had been killed and Ethan was put into his world. A world that wasn't Ethan's. And now the people of that world had found out and they were pissed. Ethan had been lied to. No. The people of Johto just can't handle change. Their world had to be remade for a reason.

O͞͏͏ut́͢ w͏i̛t͝͞h̵̶ ͏t͜hȩ ͏͏ơl̴͘͞d̸.͏́͘ ̧͘I̵n̸ ͏̢͡w̶i̷̴t̨́̕h̷̕ ̴͡t̸͞͝he̸͝ ̶̧̧n҉̷ew̸̕.͞

"Your death was necessary, you obsolete hack!" Ethan found himself scowling. Gold grimaced in rage and pointed his naginata at Ethan, who backed up in fear. "Spoken like a true murderer," Gold growled, "GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK!" Gold lunged at Ethan, the naginata going straight through his chest. Ethan saw colour returning to Gold's body, revealing his cap to be yellow where there was white, his hoodie to be red and white and his skin to be the exact same colour as Ethan's. His eyes became normal again, revealing gold irises, and his legs grew back, revealing yellow and black shorts and black and white joggers with red and yellow plates on the sides with red socks clearly visible. But Ethan noticed that his legs were gone, and he was losing colour, just like the ghostly Gym Leaders he had gone past in the hallway. He was now floating in front of Gold, crying tears of blood. "Goodbye forever," Gold said, with a tinge of frustration in his voice. Darkness erupted from below Ethan, completely engulfing him, stinging what was left of his body in unbearable pain. Ethan cried and screamed in agony for what must've been hours, until the pain, and everything else with it, stopped.

Ethan was gone. The visages of the Gym Leaders were gone. Gold finally had his body back. FOREVER hadn't just helped him cope with this hell, but had saved him from it. Everything was going to be okay. For the first time in ages, Gold felt something other than fear and misery. He felt relief. And fatigue. Gold's legs were struggling to support the rest of his body. He stumbled, trying to maintain his footing. But his grip on his naginata faltered, and his consciousness petered out.

Previous Chapter Previous Chapter, but Lyra

This Chapter, but Lyra

"F-FOREVER?" A skittering of claws on wood came from behind. Ethan turned around to see the mysterious, demonic dog, glaring at him with an unusually angry expression. "Well, well, look who finally showed up," FOREVER growled, making Ethan jump a whole metre in the air. "Y-You can speak?" Ethan asked. FOREVER whipped his tail around and let out a low growl, "Yes, I can talk. And for reasons you are about to find out very, very soon." Five Unowns promptly floated right in front of Ethan and FOREVER - an L, an E, an A, a V and another E. "Welp, I think you better do what the Unown tell you to do," FOREVER sarcastically replied. "But there's no way out of here!" Ethan exclaimed, "There's no ladder or anything! And we're surrounded by walls!" FOREVER bit down on Ethan's left jacket sleeve, dragging him around, "That's because the exit... is in this pillar!" Ethan looked at the pillar. There was a large, gaping hole, almost like a doorway, revealing the pillar to be strangely hollow, with a ladder leading down. Ethan held FOREVER's Pokéball out, pointed at him. "Don't worry about me," FOREVER replied, "I can make it down there myself." Ethan sighed, lowered the Pokéball, and then slipped down the ladder. FOREVER followed, wall-jumping his way down.

At the bottom of the ladder was absolute darkness. Ethan couldn't see anything other than the glow of FOREVER's eyes as he landed on the ground right next to him. That was, until FOREVER used Flash. Light flooded Ethan and FOREVER's surroundings, revealing a dingy chamber with blood-red walls and a cold, grey concrete floor. Still, the Unown caught up with them, still in their "LEAVE" formation, so they moved into the hallway on the other side of the chamber. The pair kept going until the hallway abruptly stopped, with a sign in the middle of that dead end reading "TURN BACK NOW" "What!?" Ethan exclaimed, "This sign wants me to "TURN BACK NOW" and go back to the place where the Unowns want me to LEAVE!? What am I meant to do!?" "You did have to LEAVE," FOREVER replied, "But you don't have to TURN BACK NOW if you don't want to." "Good," Ethan replied, "Because I refuse to turn back! I'll keep go- WAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Ethan suddenly found himself falling through the floor and into a pitch-black abyss. But a light seemed to shine from below. As Ethan got closer and closer, he recognised it as his bedroom. But there was no ceiling. Only the interior walls, which seemed to have been carved into a pitch-black expanse. As he fell into his room, his falling seemed to be slowed and he gently landed on his feet. The ceiling formed above him and the windows seemed to show the outside world.

But FOREVER was nowhere to be found, and Ethan found that he had six Pokémon again - his Pokémon. They looked happy and healthy, as if the trip to Mt. Silver never even happened. But something wasn't right. Ethan made his way downstairs to the living space. A woman, looking somewhat similar to his mother, sat hunched over at the table, looking rather gloomy. "Uh, hello?" Ethan called out to her. The woman slowly raised her head towards Ethan and immediately glared at him in a mix of confusion and frustration, with tearstains lining her cheeks, "Who are you? You're not my son! Why are you here? Why do you look like him?" Ethan stiffened up in confusion, "What's going on?" The woman glared at him, looking angrier, "You know who I'm taking about..." "No, I don't," Ethan muttered back. "How come you don't know my son!" The woman yelled, "Get out of here!" She lunged at Ethan, kicked the front door open, and threw him out.

Ethan stared back in confusion. But he slowly rose to his feet and looked around his hometown. He noticed Silver standing in front of the Pokémon Lab, and walked up to him. "This was the last place I saw him..." Silver muttered. But as he turned to face Ethan, his expression soured. "YOU STOLE HIS LIFE!" Silver shouted, punching Ethan in the face, sending him flying several metres back. As Ethan picked himself up again, he felt his nose bleeding. "Serves you right," Silver sneered, before turning back around and staring into the lab. As Ethan continued to look around, he noticed that the subtitle New Bark Town sign had changed: "Their hometown." Who are they? Ethan wondered.

Feeling unwelcomed, Ethan left for Route 29. He wasn't even halfway through the first patch of tall grass when a Sentret jumped right in front of him. Before Ethan could even reach for his first Pokéball, Sentret used Fury Swipes... on Ethan himself, leaving him with painful, stingy scratches all over his face, before disappearing into the grass. "What the hell was that about?" Ethan shouted, sending out Asher to follow him. Maybe, if he had a Pokémon already following him around again, he'd be less likely to get attacked before even sending one out. But even then, the next few Pokémon he encountered still tried to attack Ethan himself, even when Asher was right in between them. Hell, a Rattata tried to sidestep Asher to have a go at Ethan.

Cherrygrove City was just as weird. As soon as the Guide Gent saw Ethan, he glared at him as if he had just tortured and murdered his entire family. "So you think it's funny to mock the disappearance of our Champions, huh?" "What are you taking about?" Ethan yelled back, "I don't understand!" "Of course you wouldn't understand," the Guide Gent growled, "You're just a brat who loves to live under a rock! Thugs like you don't deserve the luxury of being spoon-fed basic knowledge." Ethan tried to run around and head back in the direction of New Bark Town, only for the Guide Gent to grab him by the back of his collar. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled, "You seriously want to go back... to his hometown!? So you can keep mocking him!?" He dragged Ethan and threw him face-first into the centre of the town, right in front of the town's sign. Again, the subtitle was different: "The city that gave them a head start on their journeys."

Ethan had no choice but to keep going towards Violet City. He was even less willing to interact with anyone there, knowing he'd probably be disparaged by some random person yet again. But Sprout Tower drew his attention. He stared at it, feeling uneasy. At the peak, he swore he saw a small, white figure, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Something drew him closer. He kept walking up to Sprout Tower and stopped right in front of the sign. The writing on it had completely changed to something rather unsettling.

NOTICE: The presences of Gold and Crystal have been detected here. Make sure at least ten Sages are in every level of the Tower at all times.

Ethan felt a chill go down his spine. Who were Gold and Crystal? Were either of them related the white figure he saw atop the peak of the tower? He backed away, eventually turning around and sprinting back to the city's centre. Just like with New Bark and Cherrygrove, Violet City's sign had also been changed: "No one in this city will give up trying to find them." Were "they"... "Gold" and "Crystal"? Were they supposed to be the Champions of Johto? Was everyone so angry at Ethan because he looked like one of them? Did his house actually belong to either "Gold" or "Crystal"?

It rapidly dawned on Ethan that he must now be in another world. A parallel universe where "Gold" and "Crystal" were the champions rather than Ethan and Lyra. Did "Gold" and "Crystal" share the same fate? Might they also have ended up in Ethan's world? He needed answers, so he dashed into the Pokémon Centre and was instantly met with angry glares from everyone already inside. "You seriously have the audacity to come here and heal your Pokémon," the Nurse Joy snarled, "Come here, give me your Pokémon, and I can take them back to their rightful owner." Ethan promptly returned Asher to his Pokéball, then clutched it tightly to his chest, "I'm sorry guys... I'm from another world... I... I just wanna go back home." "Another world, you say?" an old man replied, "Please, elaborate. Maybe we might just have mercy on you." Ethan tried to explain himself, "I... I think I'm either G-Gold-" "You... what!?" the old man angrily interrupted, "You think you're Gold! No wonder you dress like some dumb rip-off of him!" "W-Well... yeah... but from another world," Ethan replied, "A parallel universe where his name is Ethan and he dresses a little differently." "Yeah..." the old man snarled, "A parallel universe the gods created in order to replace Gold... with a freak like you. If you really are from another world... then where. Is. Gold?!" "Maybe he ended up in my world?" Ethan tried to answer, "If I can find a way to get back there, maybe I help get Gold and Crystal back to this world!" "You're bullshitting us," Nurse Joy replied, "Just as you and your... Lyra... have been for just over a year! You tried to make us forget them so you two could copy them and get all the recognition instead. Everyone! Seize him! We must stop him at once!"

Ethan instantly charged outside before anyone could touch him. He sent out Erin and she flew him away. But suddenly, an Ice Beam fired right beside them. Falkner was flying towards him on a Pidgeot of his own, and had a Dewgong with him as well, that he was ordering to shoot Ethan and Erin down. "They're chasing us down, Erin! Use Air Slash on that Dewgong!" Erin disobeyed orders, instead aiming its attack at the other Pidgeot, sending it and its two riders plummeting to the ground. "Did you just... kill Falkner... and his Pokémon?" Ethan whimpered, "I didn't want you to do that... I just wanted to stop them from chasing us..." Erin gave Ethan an anxious look, as if to say "I had no choice." "Erin, we probably can't even be anywhere near Johto right now... and Kanto might get mad at us, too! We may have no choice but to go to Mt. Silver!"

As much as Ethan dreaded returning to Mt. Silver after what it did to him and his Pokémon, he knew he had no choice. There was probably no one other than himself and Lyra that were even allowed to set foot there, purely because of how dangerous it is. Even if anyone was willing to disregard any dangers just to catch him, it would at least buy Ethan some time to figure out what to do next. As they flew closer towards that cursed mountain, Ethan could see the same ominous clouds that surrounded the mountain when he and Lyra tried to explore it one last time. But even as they got closer, the cold did not feel nearly as bitter as before. Maybe Ethan could take refuge in the mountain, after all. He'd just have to land at the foot of the mountain and go from there. But as he reached the summit, Someone was there. Someone other than Fire. Or Leaf. It looked to be one of those GameFreak workers. "Ethan..." "Wh-what are you doing here?" Ethan asked, his voice trembling. "You're wrong, Ethan," the man replied, "You're wrong about being from another world." "Ugh! That's what absolutely everyone else keeps saying!" Ethan yelled, reaching for Asher's Pokéball, "I don't even wanna be here! I just wanna go home!" "Ethan... you are home," the man replied.

Ethan stared at the Celebi in shock. He wasn't sure what to think. He considered sending out Asher, but he didn't want to put him in any more danger, considering his already critical state.

Less than five seconds later, Celebi raised its head at Ethan and opened its mouth. Before Ethan could even reach for Asher's Pokéball, Celebi emitted what could only be described as a horrible, ragged, high-pitched screech. Ethan's eyes widened in terror when his Pokégear recognised it as Perish Song. Why was this Celebi using Perish Song on him!? Is this what could've happened to Fire or Leaf?

As Celebi kept screeching, Ethan's head began to scream and throb in pain, so much so that he fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. He began to feel extraordinarily dizzy and his body fell forward into the snow. He yelled in pain, only to be cut off by a complete shortness of breath. He felt himself rapidly losing consciousness, but the pain seemed to only be getting worse... and worse... Until his head exploded.

.....

Ethan found himself in an icy tunnel, which was absolutely freezing, even compared to the cursed mountain that he and Lyra tried to explore. He felt woozy and nauseated. He could no longer feel his right eye... his left leg... or his right arm. He couldn't even see out of that eye, either. He tried to pull himself up, but his right arm didn't seem to be doing anything, and a sleeve flopped in front of him, with purple pulp staining it and spilling out. He put his remaining hand to his eye, only to find a tender, gaping hole where it should've been. He looked over at his left leg - it was gone from just below the knee and the same purple pulp was hanging off where his leg had been... amputated. He gritted his teeth and silently cried. He just lost all but one of his Pokémon, he just lost Lyra, and now here he was, having lost an eye, an arm and a leg, cold and alone in a freezing cold tunnel.

Fire... Leaf... did they go through this, too?

Ethan had no choice, however. He had to keep going. No one was going to rescue him. If he was to have any hope at all of surviving this ordeal, he had to get himself out of here... somehow...

He crawled forward, using his remaining arm and leg... It's so cold... As he made his way towards the light at the end of the tunnel, he noticed the tunnel slowly getting darker. And colder. Mother... The cold was making him feel sicker. It stiffened his muscles. It feels so cold... As much as he wanted to escape, his body was starting to give. He was slowing down. I can't go on...

Ethan reached the end of the tunnel. But waiting for him outside was a snowfield that seemed to stretch out into infinity. It wasn't any warmer, either. In fact, the wind was blowing, freezing the young trainer up even more.

But Ethan swore he could see Fire in the distance. He crawled faster towards him, trying desperately to hold onto any hope he had left. As he got closer, he noticed that Fire didn't seem to have any injuries. He just looked cold... and sad...

"Fire!"

But there was no response. Instead, Fire tossed out a Pokéball and to Ethan's horror, out came a Venusaur, blue-grey and frostbitten just like Bobby and tears poured out of his remaining eye. Despite this, Ethan instinctively stood, managing to balance on his remaining leg, and sent out Asher. His Pokéball reported that he had 6 HP left. "Don't die, Asher...!" Ethan pleaded.

Venusaur threw itself as Asher, somehow, dealing only 1 HP of damage, before collapsing into a lifeless heap. Asher did not react. "Fire?" Ethan asked, "What's going on?" But Fire just silently tossed out another Pokéball and out came a mangled, frostbitten Blastoise, sporting similar injuries to Lyra's Blastoise. Before Ethan could even command Asher to even attempt to use any moves, the Blastoise rammed into Asher, before becoming disorientated, stumbling off to the side, and taking its last breath. "Why are you doing this?" Ethan demanded, "You're just making both our situations worse!" Fire remained silent, sending out his next Pokémon, Charizard, which looked to be an even worse state than Venusaur or Blastoise. It immediately charged forward and whipped Asher with its tail, spun around backwards a bit, then collapsed to the floor, its already weak tail flame going out completely. "Fire... stop! Please!" Ethan begged, "Your Pokémon are dying! You're dying!" He had noticed that Fire's left arm was wasting away and so was the left side of his face. Fire did not answer. Instead, he sent out his Snorlax. Ethan could swear that Snorlax had been attacked by something, not just frostbitten. Snorlax leant forward and slashed Asher with its claws, before falling flat on its back, completely silent, completely unmoving. Clearly, it wasn't just sleeping. "Fire, what is wrong with you?" Ethan quietly groaned. Fire, with the skin of his right arm and the left side of his face peeling off, blankly tossed out his next Pokémon, Espeon. Ethan was actually starting to feel nauseous because of how badly mangled it was. It charged at Asher and headbutted him with a sickening crack, before dropping limply to the ground, its already exposed skull now showing deep cracks. "Fire..." Ethan muttered before trailing off. Fire was losing even more skin from his face and part of his skull was exposed on the bottom-left. His right hand had fallen off and purple pulp dripped from a wound on the back of his left arm. To Ethan's horror, Fire used his other arm to sent out his final Pokémon - Pikachu.

Pikachu wasn't just frostbitten and mangled by Arceus-knows-what, but it came out with what could only be described as a ragged scream, much like the Celebi from earlier. It stared at Ethan and Asher with two big, gaping black holes for eyes and a smile that stretched from one end of its face to the other, its unsettlingly large mouth filled with pointy, spaced-out teeth. Ethan shivered in terror. Not only was Fire's last Pokémon an absolute abomination, but Asher only had 1 HP left and only one faint ember remained of his once brightly burning collar of flames.

The Pikachu began to surround itself in shadows. Then the shadows circling it also circled around Asher. The two Pokémon screamed in pain. And then they both collapsed, completely dead.

Ethan looked in horror at the fallen Pokémon. Then he looked at Fire. His right arm and left leg were completely gone. All but the upper-right portion of his face had been completely stripped to the bone. Purple gore bled through his shirt and vest and stained his cap. "It's over..." Fire muttered in a ragged, deathly voice, sending a freezing chill down Ethan's spine.

Ethan's vision went completely white. Celebi's horrifying screech ringed in his ears once again. Ethan felt like he couldn't move. He felt unbearable cold and pain. He tried to scream, but either no sound came out, or it was drowned out by the screeching. Eventually, his vision went black and the screeching faded out.

Previous Chapter Lyra's version of events.