The clouds are coming this way... I'll have to move soon. If I can
get around them, I may be able to find the portal again. Perhaps the
others have all passed through... that must be it. That must be why they
left me alone... my mind isn't working properly, and I can't remember...
things... I must find the portal. They are all there, I'm sure... except
for that first one... the one I met when I came through the portal in
the first place, nearly ten years after Gary Oak defeated me for the
final time. Dominic... the first thing he did when he saw me was try to
kill me. The next thing he did was to save my life...
POKEMON: The Portal - Chapter 2
I awoke to a dull droning sound that was oddly familiar... then I
realized that it was the sound of rain drumming on a rooftop. But the
rooftop wasn't made of wood, or thatch, or any of the normal materials
one would use to construct a house. It was a roof of stone. I slowly
opened my eyes, but at first I couldn't see anything. Then, my vision
cleared to reveal a familiar man in a brown cloak standing over me.
"You're awake," he announced, and I recognized the voice. He had
chanted something in a strange language just before - I couldn't
remember what had happened. It was all black. But I could understand him
now. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Ash Ketchum, from the town of Pallet," I answered, trying to
sit up so that I could see more of him. I found myself unable to move,
as if heavy ropes bound me to the floor, but there were no ropes holding
me down.
"Pallet? I've never heard of such a town. Yet you speak the
truth..." He looked down and saw me struggling against my invisible
bonds. "Your magic must be very weak if you are forced to resort to
physical struggles. It's a simple construct."
"What are you talking about?" I asked incredulously. "There's no
such thing as magic!"
The man looked stunned. "You truly don't know... that would explain
why you didn't try to defend yourself against my spell. Fortunately for
you, your familiar intercepted the attack."
"Familiar? What's that?"
The man waved his arms in the air and pointed to my left. "The
yellow mouse is not your familiar? I can see no other reason that it
would so diligently offer to lay down its own life to save you."
Forgetting about the invisible ropes, I turned my head to look in
the direction that he was pointing and discovered that my head was now
free to turn, even if the rest of my body was still immobilized. Lying
beside me was the still body of Pikachu. "Pikachu!" I shouted, not
believing that she could be dead.
"It's all right," the man assured me. "Your familiar is fine. It's
just unconscious." He laid a finger to the side of his nose in thought.
"It seems odd that one who possesses no magic power could summon a
familiar powerful enough to absorb a lightning spell and survive." I
breathed a sigh of relief. Of course an Electric Pokemon could survive a
lightning attack.
Of course, my relief was short-lived. I was still tied up, in a way;
a prisoner of this strange man who hadn't even bothered to introduce
himself. "Who are you, anyway? And why have you done this to me?"
With a wave of his hand, the man released me from my bondage. I
rubbed the aching muscles in my legs and buttocks in an attempt to
restore any feeling other than numbness. Meanwhile, the man swept his
cloak up and bowed low. "Forgive me for not introducing myself," he
said. "My name is Dominic."
"Well, Dominic, you have a lot of explaining to do," I said,
reaching over to pick up Pikachu. However, I couldn't lift her off the
ground. It wasn't that she was too heavy - the same bonds that had held
me before were at work on Pikachu.
"Your familiar needs its rest," said Dominic. "Come, warm yourself
by the fire and I will attempt to justify my actions." I sat down beside
the fire, noticing that there was no wood under it - the fire simply
floated there, with no fuel or support of any kind. "When you first
appeared before me, I thought you might be a demon," Dominic began. "You
r familiar was the -"
"Why do you keep calling Pikachu that?" I interrupted.
Dominic cocked his head to one side. "You do not know the truth
about magic... A familiar is a creature that one summons to assist with
one's magic. The familiar reflects the summoner's nature. It is always
wise to distrust someone whose familiar is a snake or a rat. When I saw
your familiar, I thought it had to be a demon, and so I challenged you
to magical combat."
"Pikachu isn't a familiar," I explained. "She's a Pokemon."
"Pokemon? What is that?"
"I'll show you," I said, throwing one of my Pokeballs. "Wartortle,
come out!" Wartortle emerged from the Pokeball and smiled at Dominic.
Dominic screamed and backed up against the wall, chanting. He began to
glow.
"TWO familiars! You have far more power than I originally thought!"
"They're not familiars!" I yelled. "They're just Pokemon! Haven't
you ever seen a Pokemon before?" I grabbed another Pokeball and called
out Bulbasaur.
"I warn you, I'm using a powerful reflection spell! If you try to
attack me, your spells will only damage you!"
"I'm not attacking you! These are my Pokemon. They stay in these
little balls at my belt until I call them out, and they only ever attack
other Pokemon. I don't use any magic, and neither do they!"
"Send them away!" shouted Dominic, holding his arms in front of his
body as a shield. I recalled Wartortle and Bulbasaur and sat down.
"I've never seen anyone who could perform such acts," said Dominic.
"I've never seen someone who could make a fire without wood or throw
lightning bolts," I countered. "I came to this world through a strange
portal, and I know nothing about it. Magic is completely new to me, but
I'm beginning to believe in it now. I can learn to accept magic. So
you're going to have to learn to accept Pokemon."
Dominic nodded. "That's how you appeared in front of me, then. It
was the portal's power. It also explains why you couldn't understand me
at first. I challenged you to a battle when you appeared. When you
raised your hands, I thought you meant to attack me, so I attacked you
first."
"Why can I understand you now?" I asked, just out of curiosity.
"The comprehension spell is a simple one," explained Dominic with a
shrug. "I was surprised when my first spell was so effective, as I had
only been using it to test your strength. I thought that surely a demon
would be easily able to defend himself against lightning. The clouds
were coming, and it was my initial intention to leave you there to die;
but I felt compelled to at least let you explain yourself, so I brought
you to the safety of a nearby cave and bound you with my magic until you
awoke."
"Clouds? What's so dangerous about clouds?"
"It isn't the clouds, but the rain that falls from them, that is
deadly to the touch. The rains are acid, and only the plants can survive
their corrosive touch. Any animal or man on whom the rain falls will die
a most horrible death." He stood up and walked into the back of the
cave, where the shadows of rocky overhangs cast the farthest reaches
into darkness. Reaching into one of these shadows, he plucked a large
rat.
"Observe," he said. "But you may not wish to look. Listening will
tell you all that you need to know." He walked to the mouth of the cave
and threw the rat out into the pouring rain. I watched as the first
droplets hit the rat, and blood began to literally gush forth from its
body. I quickly turned away, but I couldn't shut out the sounds of the
rat's tortured death screams. They lasted for several minutes before
finally falling mercifully silent. "Feel no pity for the rat," said
Dominic. "They are vermin spies of enemy agents, all of them. I would
send them all into the rain given the chance."
"Why don't you just use your magic to destroy them?"
"Destructive magic is not to be toyed with so lightly," Dominic
admonished me. "There are times when its use for attack is unavoidable,
but to the Magicians of the Natural Order, it is first and foremost a
measure of defense."
"Like hurling lightning bolts at innocent people?" I asked, which
was rather rude now that I think about it.
Dominic bowed his head in shame. "I apologize for my rash actions,
Ash Ketchum. Now that I know you are not a demon, I hope that you can
see it in your heart to forgive me. Allow me to make amends by healing
your familiar." He carefully picked up Pikachu and cradled her, singing
a beautiful song in a high tenor that, while not a particular contrast
to his voice, which was earthy without being very deep, came as quite a
surprise to my ears. That surprise gave way to another when Pikachu
perked up in Dominic's arms and leaped onto my shoulder, chattering
happily to see me.
"Thanks, Dominic," I said. "And for the last time, Pikachu isn't a
familiar. She's a Pokemon."
Dominic nodded. "The rains will pass us soon, and then we can leave
this cave and try to find food. If you're unfamiliar with this land,
I'll need to show you what to watch out for so that you can learn to
survive here. Without magic, you will have a difficult time, but I'll
help you until you manage to pick up some magic of your own."
"Thanks, but I really should try to find a way to get back to my own
world now," I replied. "Misty and Brock will be wondering what happened
to me. Can you take me back to where you first saw me?"
Dominic hesitated. "I could do that, but the road is treacherous.
I'll have to take the shortcut... and what you see there will not be
pretty."
"After what you just showed me, anything would be pretty," I
rationalized, wrongly. Dominic shrugged.
"Suit yourself," he said, and pulled his cloak up over his
shoulders. He waved his hands and the mysterious fire went out, throwing
the cave into darkness. Tiny squeaks resounded in the cave as the rats
scurried out of their hiding places. I jumped as I felt one rub against
my leg.
"Pika!" shouted Pikachu indignantly at the sudden movement.
"Could you put the light back on, just until we're out of the cave?"
I asked.
"The rains are letting up, and it is not wise to draw attention to
ourselves," came the answer from the darkness. "Not even the Dark Ones
travel in the rain, but when the storm subsides, they will attack. If we
are in the darkness, and quiet, they may pass us by. Now be silent!" I
didn't say another word, and for a while the only sounds in the cave
were the dying drumbeats of the rain on the roof of the cave and the
squeaking of the rats. Just as I was about to ask if it was safe to
speak, however, the entrance of the cave vanished and what little light
there had been was extinguished. A low moan assaulted my eardrums,
sending a chill up my spine. I held my breath, expecting even the
slightest sound to be enough to attract the creatures outside the cave.
My entire body began to shiver uncontrollably as the sounds grew closer,
echoing through the cave as the creatures drew close to the entrance.
Finally, the Dark Ones left, and the sounds faded to blissful silence,
punctuated only by the occasional squeak.
A hand grabbed my right arm, and it was all I could do to stifle the
scream. "There you are," whispered Dominic. "We must remain quiet, lest
the Dark Ones return. But it is safe to leave now." I slowly walked
forward, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dim sunlight. Dominic pointed
into the storm, which was moving away to our left. "I was traveling to
yonder village, known as Urtroa, when our paths crossed. It was my hope
to beat the storm, but carrying a man and his famil- Pokemon, I could
not make it."
"So you'll head back there once you've led me back to the portal?" I
asked. Dominic nodded.
"Ordinarily I would avoid this region of forest, but it is the
quickest and safest path to that field where you appeared."
"Then why would you avoid it?" I asked. Without replying, Dominic
set off into the forest at a brisk pace, and I nearly had to run to keep
up. The look on his face, such as I could see it from behind him, gave
me the impression that something had happened here to upset him. I found
out what it was not long after, when Dominic stopped and knelt beside a
small bramble bush. I burned to ask what he was doing, but couldn't
bring myself to after his earlier reaction.
He told me anyway. "Look well upon this thorny plant, Ash Ketchum.
This shrub is all that remains of the woman I once loved. An evil witch
cast a spell upon her, and my magic was not enough to save her. I
carried her as far as I could in a vain attempt to reach a town where a
powerful healer might be able to cure her, but at this spot her thorns
emerged, and the pain caused me to lose my grip." He continued with a
tear in his eye. "Because of my ineptitude, she took root, and I could
not pry her loose of the earth without killing her. I hastened to the
town, but by the time I returned, the change was complete and
unreversible."
I placed my hand on his shoulder, hoping that it was the right thing
to do. He shook at my touch, but only slightly more than he had been
shaking before. "I'm sorry for your loss," I said. "I wish I could do
something to make it right."
"There is only one thing to be done in the face of such a tragedy,"
replied Dominic. "Take a lesson from it. Even when your love sticks a
thorn in your side, never let her go, or she will never return to you."
Although he was taking the imagery of his phrase a bit literally, I
simply nodded silently. "Is there someone - in your world?" he asked.
"Yes. I should get back to her."
"Then let us be off." Dominic stood and continued on toward the
portal without looking back. I followed, wiping the tears from Pikachu's
eyes as well as my own. But it was the eyes that none of us could see,
watching us from the forest as we walked, that were about to become my
greatest concern.
---------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where we make things up as we go
along, whether they make sense or badger.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp