TEEN: Mirror Adventures (Anime AU — Chapter Two Posted)

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

​

Hello everyone, and welcome to Mirror Adventures! This is a Pokémon fanfic based on the Kalos saga anime episode "The Cave of Mirrors", which features a strange alternate universe known simply as the Mirror World. There, everyone's personalities are the opposite — or "mirror image", so to speak — of their real-world ones. Mirror Adventures intends to explore this concept further by not only focusing on the mirror versions of Ash Ketchum and his companions from the Kalos saga, but also those of other characters from the anime, and possibly those of characters from other continuities of the franchise as well. Additionally, this story will also explore how everyone's mirrored personalities affect the choices they make, and how the consequences of these choices affect both other characters and the wider world around them.

There are a few things that readers should know about Mirror Adventures before diving in:

First: this will not be a direct re-telling of the anime except with mirror characters. There is simply too much changed in this universe for such an approach to be realistically possible, and honestly speaking, I don't believe that it would make for a particularly good story anyway. That said, that doesn't mean that elements of certain episodes won't possibly inspire stories in Mirror Adventures, or that characters from said episodes may never appear elsewhere in different roles that are fitting for their mirrored personalities.

Second: the story in its current form will be split into two sections, each with a different narrative approach. The first few chapters will consist of a traditional chaptered story focusing on a relatively small pool of characters. However, later chapters will essentially be self-contained short stories focusing primarily on one mirror character and their own unique story within the Mirror World. Some of these short stories may be told in only one chapter, while others may be told in multiple chapters. Because they are self-contained, they can be read on their own and won't require reading of prior chapters to enjoy or (mostly) understand. However, it should also be noted that all of these stories are interconnected with each other in various ways, and they're also all connected to a much larger story going on behind the scenes. So if you have read prior chapters, you'll get to enjoy connections and references to previous chapters that other readers may not necessarily be able to pick up on.

As far as content ratings go, this story will generally be rated TEEN for the following:

• Mild-to-moderate depictions of violence, including but not limited to: slightly more intense and realistic battle sequences than the canon anime, minor depictions of blood, Pokémon-on-human violence, and the use of firearms and other realistic weapons,
• Occasional crude or impolite language, including more or less everything between "crap" and "shit", as well as the use of more directly insulting language, most notably words like "bastard" or "bitch" (the latter being used mostly in a non-misogynistic manner),
• Instances of character death, including deaths of main characters (basically, any character can die at any time, for any reason),
• Low-to-medium-level depictions of mature themes, including occasional suggestive jokes or references; explorations of real-world themes such as war, crime, corruption, and sociopolitical conflict; and mild but nonetheless potentially disturbing depictions of child abuse of an emotional, psychological, and (less frequently) physical nature.

However, due to the fragmented narrative structure of Mirror Adventures, certain stories may have different and/or stronger themes than others. Therefore, there may be individual chapters or sets of chapters that end up being rated MATURE for one or more of the following:

• Unflinching depictions of violence, including graphic descriptions of blood, gore, and death, and full depictions of the effects of Pokémon attacks, firearms, and other weapons,
• Strong language that will almost certainly offend at least some readers, including the varying (but potentially very frequent) use of pretty much any curse word that's not a slur, or basically everything up to and including words like "fuck" and all of its variants,
• Full depictions of mature themes, including more graphic and explicit explorations of everything mentioned in the TEEN rating section, but not including sexual content (which will be limited to kissing and hand-holding + suggestive references at worst).

Please note that a significant majority of the traditional chaptered story mentioned above (essentially, the first dozen chapters or so) will — as of this time of writing — very likely lean more towards a MATURE rating. Do also note, however, that the very first few chapters will stay within the TEEN range of content as described above, at the absolute worst. I'll be giving Mirror Adventures as a whole a TEEN rating for now until the MATURE-rated chapters start to arrive (or unless requested otherwise by a moderator).

With all of the above said, let's begin. The first chapter can be found in the next post, while a table of contents for all currently posted chapters is available below:

[Mirror Adventures: Table of Contents]
Chapter 01: Mirror Ash... The Aspirations of a Dreamer... (02/04/2019)
Chapter 02: Mirror Ash... A Chance Encounter in the Forest!? (03/31/2019)

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

[Mirror Adventures: Chapter One]
Mirror Ash... The Aspirations of a Dreamer...​

Ladies and gentlemen... boys and girls... we're just one battle away from watching history being made here tonight! For those of you who are just tuning in, our challenger for the title of Champion of Kanto — Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town — has just defeated the second-to-last Pokémon of our defending Champion! That leaves only one — yes, just one! — Pokémon standing in his way to becoming the new Champion... the first in over a generation! He's swept the Pokémon League Challenge... he's conquered the Elite Four... could he even overcome the strength of our legendary Champion? We're about to find out, right here and right now!

The challenger named Ash Ketchum stood on the battlefield, his eyes filled with fire and his spirit driven by purpose. Ash was just a young boy — barely older than ten, in fact — and yet here he was, in the middle of one of the greatest trials that anyone, at any age, could face. He, like many boys and girls his age, had a dream. A dream to journey across the world with Pokémon, and to visit many fascinating places and make wonderful new friends. A dream to capture as many Pokémon as possible and train them all to surpass all others, and to overcome any and all obstacles in their way. A dream to conquer every gym before then conquering the Pokémon League, earning the right to challenge the most powerful trainers in the world: the Elite Four and the Champion. A dream to become a Pokémon master... the best, like no one ever was.

Ash — through a combination of courage, skill, and a little bit of luck — managed to accomplish every part of that dream... all except for one. Now the only thing that stood in his way to becoming the best was one last opponent... the opponent that he was about to face with his loyal Charizard by his side. The Pokémon — a large orange dragon with a mighty flame erupting from its long tail — gave a ferocious, earth-shaking roar in anticipation of its final challenge, and deep inside, Ash could feel the same kind of roar erupting from within his soul as well.

There's no running away from this one, Ash told himself. Not now... not ever again.

Looking straight ahead of him, he could see the distant figure of his opponent on the other side of the stadium. Dressed rather bizarrely in a black hooded longcoat, the defending Champion of Kanto...
...
...
...wait a minute... what was this guy's name again?

Our Champion is about to release his final Pokémon... you all know what it is! This is definitely going to be a battle for the ages, ladies and gentlemen...

That's weird, Ash thought to himself as the roar in his soul was quickly replaced by the strange feeling that something wasn't quite right. How could he not know who the champion of an entire region was... the champion that he was in the middle of battling right now!?

But Ash had little time to think about that as the Champion of Kanto threw a Poké Ball into the air. With a pop and an audible surge of energy, a flash of light emerged from the Poké Ball and materialized itself as a Pokémon on the battlefield, revealing itself as...

"Dragonittttteeee!!!"

Ash froze upon hearing the mighty cry of his final opponent: a massive yellow dragon with relatively small wings... deceptively small wings. It stood on its two legs with a powerful and dominant posture, staring down at Ash with a dark, almost murderous glare.

But as Ash shifted his eyes away from the frightening dragon, he immediately caught another glare... from his human opponent. And it was at that moment that he realized exactly who this person was...

"P-Professor Oak!? What are you doing here!?"

The Champion of Kanto lowered his hood in response, revealing the face of what was indeed the famous Professor Oak. Silver hair and an aged face defined the man, but nothing stood out to Ash more than the death glare that the Professor gave him... one that was practically as fierce as that of his Dragonite.

"What am I doing here!?" Professor Oak barked, loud enough to practically reverberate across the entire stadium. "I'm the Champion; I deserve to be here! What are you doing here is the question, Ash Ketchum! Shouldn't you be with your mother right now?"

"N-no...!" Ash blurted out, his voice small and tentative compared to that of the Professor's. "I-I deserve to be here too!"

"Of course you do," Professor Oak replied with a smug, sarcastic smile. "Crybaby."

He then turned his attention to Dragonite, his face serious and decisive.

"Let's show him what a real trainer is, Dragonite. Finish it!"

Professor Oak's Pokémon then lifted itself into the air and began inhaling a seemingly impossible amount of air, before a massive white sphere of energy started to form around its mouth. Dragonite was about to perform Hyper Beam, one of its most powerful and devastating attacks. With his Pokémon League victory hanging in the balance, Ash knew that he had to make a move now...

...but he didn't... he couldn't. He could only stare in awe at Dragonite as its Hyper Beam grew bigger and bigger, eventually becoming nearly as large as Dragonite itself. Finally, the dragon unleashed its powerful attack, and in an instant, the beam connected not with Ash's Charizard, but rather with Ash himself. The beam exploded on impact, engulfing Ash and his aspirations of Pokémon League victory in flames.

Well... that's it, I guess. I've failed. My dream is over...

Those words were more correct than he knew. Because as it turned out, it was just a dream after all...

* * * * * * *​

Ash awoke to the warmth of thick bedsheets covering his body, a far cry from the warmth and heat of the Hyper Beam that was thankfully as much of a reality as his hopes and dreams. His actual reality was made all too clear by the time displayed on the Voltorb-shaped clock next to his bed: 4:30 AM. Or in other words: just over four hours before he was due to arrive at Professor Oak's annual summer camp.

Ash felt a sickening sensation grow in his gut as he contemplated this reality. Were Ash an average, typical kid, that feeling would instead have likely been the raw, youthful anticipation that every child felt when something exciting was about to happen; the kind that either kept them hopelessly awake all night, or made them intensely eager to go to sleep so that the next day would come faster.

But Ash was neither an average kid nor a typical one, and for him, the idea of summer camp was anything but exciting. In fact, he himself would rather have stayed in bed for as long as possible and have had the start of the day delayed for as long as possible, the result of a very different type of anticipation from everyone else's. Because while most kids would imagine adventure, friendship, and fun when thinking about Professor Oak's summer camp, Ash could only imagine fear, embarrassment, and failure: the three great constants in his life. After all, if he couldn't even escape these things in his dreams, then how could he ever hope to escape them in reality?

The light of the rising sun crept into Ash's room, becoming brighter and brighter with each passing moment. To Ash, it almost felt as if the universe itself was trying to tell him what he already knew he needed to do: kick off his bedsheets and embrace the inevitable new day ahead of him, no matter how frightening it might be. But even if deep down he wanted to do that — and he wasn't even really sure that he did — he simply couldn't find the strength or the courage to do so, just as he couldn't find the strength or courage to defend himself and his dreams from being vaporized by that Hyper Beam. When it all came down to it, he preferred the warmth and safety of his bedsheets... his protection from the cold of both his room and the world, if only for a short while.

The morning sun finally rose past the horizon, sending bright orange rays of light through the windows of Ash's room and bathing everything in their glow. They shone to greet the young boy and mark the beginning of a new and beautiful day... but there was no longer anyone there to receive the greeting.

Just as quickly as he had awoken, Ash was fast asleep once again...

* * * * * * *​

"ASH KETCHUM, IT'S 8:30 IN THE MORNING! SUMMER CAMP STARTS IN THIRTY MINUTES! THIRTY MINUTES! BUT YOU KNEW THAT, DIDN'T YOU!?"

...and in what felt almost as quickly to Ash, he was awake once again.

Oh no... said the faint inner voice of Ash as the very first thing he processed was a sense of impending trouble. He was barely awake — even after hearing the mighty, furious shout of the voice that he knew all too well — and yet he instantly knew that he had almost certainly overslept, completely missing the alarm that he had set for an hour earlier on his Voltorb-shaped clock... which indeed read just past 8:30 AM.

Barely moving his head off his pillow, Ash slowly turned around to the source of the sound that had awoken him. A long pink bathrobe was the first thing that he saw, and with a lift of his head he met the fiery brown eyes of its owner, which were nearly the spitting image of his own. That, of course, was because they belonged to...

Mom...

Delia Ketchum — the mother of Ash Ketchum — was staring straight at him, her hands locked firmly on her hips. Shifting his eyes away from her, Ash began lifting himself up from underneath his covers. He groaned a bit as he did so, his body working to adjust itself from lying comfortably in bed for the past few hou--

"Don't try to act like you were asleep!" Delia suddenly shouted again. "What, did you think that you could just sleep the whole day out and skip summer camp that way?"

"But I didn't--"

"Please, please don't," Delia interrupted. "I can tell what you're doing from a mile away... call it mother's instinct. Did you think that you could fool me, of all people? Your own mother!?"

Ash had no reply for his mother, having absolutely nothing that could convince her from that belief. Delia simply sighed in response, appearing more exasperated than flat-out angry at this point.

"Whatever... just get up and get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes... please don't keep me waiting."

Delia then walked out of the room, leaving Ash alone. He sighed to himself in resignation as he leapt out of the bed and onto his feet, walking over to his closet to find something to wear...

* * * * * * *​

Roughly ten minutes later, Ash was out of his room and walking down the stairs, ready to leave. He had chosen a simple red-and-yellow T-shirt and dark blue shorts to wear to summer camp, a perfect fit for the warm weather that he knew he was likely to encounter on this summer's day. That said, it was far from his favorite outfit... but his opinion wasn't the one that he was most concerned about. He was more worried about what his mother would think of it, and he shuddered at the thought of seeing her even more agitated than she already was.

Delia herself was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, wearing a plain light green shirt and a pair of blue jeans, with hair just as unkempt as it was when she was in Ash's room not long before. It was far from the greatest that Delia had ever looked, but she clearly didn't care. She took one brief look at her son's outfit once he reached her, and her wordless, expressionless response was all that Ash needed to know what she thought about said outfit. Nonetheless, that was the least of their worries at that point. Delia motioned him towards the front door — "let's go," she said almost breathlessly — and Ash obediently walked out.

A gentle breeze greeted Ash as he stepped out into the outside world. From his doorstep, Ash could clearly see the expanse of mountains that flanked the north side of Pallet Town near Route 1, all covered in a seemingly endless expanse of evergreen trees. The view of the mountains juxtaposed with the plains of Pallet Town made the town look larger and grander than it really was, but in reality, the houses and pavement on the ground in front of Ash summarized almost the entirety of what the town had to offer.

There was, however, one exception: Professor Oak's laboratory. The town's sole and defining landmark, the lab was situated on top of its own little mountain right in the middle of Pallet Town, overlooking everything. One could have mistaken the lab at first glance as simply a larger version of one of the near-identical houses on the ground if it weren't for the sheer size of the structure: a two-story monstrosity split into a smaller space about the size of Ash's house on the right, and a much larger, much taller section on the left that almost resembled a giant barn in Ash's eyes. The rounded metallic red roof of the larger part of the lab, along with the building's muted yellow facade and its large open windows, drove the difference home. Perhaps the single most distinguishing part of the lab, however, was the massive wind turbine located just behind the building, towering over it and all of Pallet Town. Its bright yellow blades spun slowly yet dutifully with the help of the gentle breeze sourced from the ocean waves in the south, providing both the lab and the entirety of Pallet Town with its sole source of energy.

Ash made a move towards Professor Oak's lab, having assumed that everyone would be gathered there to prepare for summer camp. But he was swiftly corrected by Delia — "not there, Ash!" — who grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him in the opposite direction, towards the trees and the distant ocean near the southern end of Pallet Town.

"Over there."

Delia pointed to a batch of trees to the west, where an entrance leading to the forest could be found, marked by a pair of bright yellow cones.

"W-we're going in t-there!?" Ash cried out.

"No, Ash," Delia replied. "You are going in there."

"M-me? By myself!?"

Delia groaned in response, and she glared at Ash in such a way that he was almost willing to take his chances with the forest at that point.

"Yes, Ash... by yourself. You're not five anymore; you're eight years old now. Pokémon Trainers go out into the whole wide world at ten. If you can't even handle going into the woods by yourself, how will you ever handle being a trainer?"

"But I--"

"Ah!" Delia interrupted, silencing him. "No excuses! This is something that you're going to have to do on your own, whether you want to or not. If I let you just give up because you cry and say how scared you are or some other excuse, then that means I'm teaching you to give up when things get hard. What kind of mother would I be if I taught my son that?"

"But I didn't even want to go to summer camp in the first place!" Ash cried out, both surprising and scaring himself with his own audacity. "I never even signed up for it!"

Delia must have been surprised — but most certainly not scared — at Ash's audacity as well, as she paused for a while after Ash said those words... words that he was now beginning to regret as the adrenaline rush of his desperate attempt to argue his way out of summer camp wore off. Said adrenaline was swiftly replaced with fear of inevitable punishment, or at least an inevitable sharp rebuke. Instead, however, Delia took a deep breath as if preparing herself, before addressing Ash calmly yet firmly:

"No, Ash... you didn't sign up for it. I did, on your behalf. Why? Because I'm your mother, and I can do whatever I want in your name... especially when it's for your own good."

Her calmness did absolutely nothing to diminish the power in her words, and Ash didn't dare go a second attempt at a counter after that. Delia continued:

"Ash... you know that I'm going to be honest with you because I'm your mother. And the truth is... you are not a normal kid. You're afraid of everything, you can barely talk to people without crying, and you only have one real friend. Surely you don't think that you're going to survive in this cold, cruel world by being a cowardly crybaby with no friends, are you?"

"N-no..."

"Exactly. So that's why you're going to summer camp... so that you can grow up and learn to be someone who can take care of himself and not run away from every little thing. Better to learn it here than out there."

"Now go," Delia ordered, pointing to the forest entrance. "You're already late, and the Professor will be waiting for you. If you think I'm angry..."

Ash nodded in acknowledgement, having very much recognized her point; his dream last night was practically all about the Professor's wrath, after all. And so with just a second or two of hesitation, he turned around and followed his mother's orders, walking slowly but surely towards the forest. The thought of a goodbye — spoken or otherwise — never crossed his mind as he walked; but then again, the same appeared to be true for his mother as she herself began rather nonchalantly walking in the other direction. Neither fact really bothered Ash at all, however, as their goodbyes in fact tended to be rather silent and uneventful in nature; indeed, anything else would've been the truly unusual thing.

"Oh, and one more thing, Ash."

Ash froze in surprise as that unusual thing just happened right then and there, after he had walked roughly halfway towards the forest entrance. Somewhat nervous, he reluctantly turned back around to face his mother in the distance, wondering if he had somehow done something to incur her wrath yet again. As it turned out, he didn't... but what she said was arguably far worse for Ash.

"I want you to make at least one friend while you're at summer camp. There are twenty-three kids there besides yourself; surely you should be able to make a connection with at least one. I want proof when you come back; no excuses! Understand?"

Ash nodded, being in no position whatsoever to object to such an order... an order that just made his prospects of summer camp even more frightening. And with that, Delia turned around and headed back towards home again without any further comment. He was on his own now, and as his mother's presence left him, he wondered if the strange, empty feeling in his heart was something that he would feel again on the first day of his Pokémon journey. He left that thought behind for now, however, as he turned his attention to the forest that he now had to enter... and survive. With a deep breath, he stepped through the forest entrance and began his journey inside...

[chapter end]​

 

[InfiniteBakuphoon]

[Mirror Adventures: Chapter Two]
Mirror Ash... A Chance Encounter in the Forest!?​

Ash had only taken a few steps into the forest before he was nearly completely overcome with fear. Even though the forest was well-lit by the morning sun while a line of bright yellow cones established a straight and clear path through the trees, Ash couldn't help but fear the possibility of getting lost in these woods... or worse. He had heard stories about people getting ensnared in the labyrinth of Viridian Forest, or making the wrong turn in the caves of Mt. Moon, never to be seen again... or rather, never to be seen alive again. As he pondered over the horrible fates suffered by those unfortunate souls, he wondered what the chances were that he would meet one of those same fates here, in this dark and creepy forest where wild Pokémon were almost certainly roaming about.

But nonetheless, Ash continued on, looking for something to shift his attention away from the phantom threats of the forest. He ultimately began thinking about Gary Oak, his one "friend" that his mother had mentioned earlier. As the grandson of Professor Oak, he was someone that Ash expected to meet at summer camp, and his presence was also pretty much the only thing that he even slightly looked forward to in his immediate future. That said, Ash knew that he couldn't really use him to fulfill his mother's orders for him to make a new friend at summer camp, and that she in fact would probably complain that he spent far too much time with hi—

crunchcrunchcrunchcrunchcrunch...

That sound — a loud, rapid crunching sound — snapped Ash out of his current train of thought, all while instantly eliminating any peace or solace that he may have found over the past few moments. His fear returned in their place, fueled by the realization that there was only one thing in the forest that could make a sound like that: a wild Pokémon.

crunchcrunchcrunch... the sound continued. Ash could easily tell where the sound was coming from... it was somewhere to his left. Did he dare turn around to look? Or, Ash thought, should he just run and get away right now? But maybe then that would make it angry... he couldn't decide what to do.

crunchcrunchcrunch... still the sound continued, and still Ash stood there, paralyzed by indecision. After a little while, however, his curiosity got the better of him as he slowly, daringly turned his head left towards the source of the sound. There, about five feet away from him, was a tree covered with leaves, and on top of one of those leaves was a Weedle. A Bug-type Pokémon with a small, bright yellow larva-shaped body, Weedle was currently busy munching on one of the many leaves covering the base of the tree, confirming the source of the crunching sound. Ash recognized this particular species of Pokémon immediately, as it was one of the many Pokémon that he, along with every other child in Pallet Town, learned about in school. While he couldn't recall everything that he read about Weedle, he most definitely remembered its two sharp stingers — a large one on its head and a smaller one on its tail — and how they both held a potent venom that Weedle used to ward off both attackers and anyone unfortunate enough to step on it.

That last fact in particular made Ash want to get away from Weedle as quickly as possible, and as it turned out, it apparently didn't even notice that he was there; he had an opportunity to run. But he couldn't help but keep staring at Weedle as it continued to munch on its breakfast of leaves. With each bite, Ash could hear Weedle quietly utter a high-pitched sound that vaguely resembled its name: wee... wee... wee... Even with the limited facial expressions that Weedle were capable of compared to humans or most other Pokémon — it barely even had a visible mouth, for instance — Ash could tell that it was in utter bliss at the moment. It appeared completely relaxed and carefree, with its eyes closed as if it was in the middle of a idyllic dream... each of its sounds might as well have been light snores. For a second, Ash actually thought that Weedle looked kind of adorable there...

...and then it noticed him.

The Pokémon, upon spotting Ash, immediately stopped eating its leaf and stared straight at him, its expression blank and completely unreadable. Ash was struck with fear as he instantly regretted not fleeing from the scene back when he had the chance. He then began wondering if he had made Weedle angry with his presence, and if he was about to incur its wrath in the form of an assault with one of its venomous stingers. But he didn't have much time to contemplate that as Weedle suddenly leapt from its current position — a seemingly impossible feat for a creature that small — and landed near the base of the tree, a mere two feet away from Ash.

Ash himself, who had nearly expected Weedle to impale him with one of its stingers right then and there, cried out in both surprise and panic. If there was any time to run, he knew, now was it... but he couldn't. He could only stand there, completely petrified with fear, as Weedle continued to stare at him with that same blank, unreadable face. Unfortunately for Ash, things became even more frightening for him as Weedle suddenly took a single, tiny inch towards him. And then another. And then another... and another... and another... each and every time accompanied by that same high-pitched cry:

wee... wee... wee... wee... wee...

"W-W-W-WWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

That was enough for Ash. With absolutely no hesitation whatsoever, Ash made a beeline towards the end of the path of the yellow cones, not once looking back to see if Weedle was following him, or possibly flying through the air again to attack him with one of its stingers. And even as he ran many, many feet away from where Weedle last stood, Ash could practically feel the sensation of a sharp object impaling him in the back practically every other moment... although nothing like that ever actually came to be. Before long, Ash reached the breaking point of what his small eight-year-old body could handle, and so he stopped in his tracks with several feet of path left to go, leaning down and resting his hands on his knees in total exhaustion. His heart was beating so fast that if he had ran any faster or if Weedle had frightened him any greater, he might as well had received that stinger...

"Ash?"

Hearing a voice to his side, Ash turned around to see a familiar face... but not the one that he had been expecting. He assumed he would eventually run into Professor Oak somewhere, but instead he found himself in the presence of Daisy Oak: the older sister of Gary Oak and the eldest granddaughter of Professor Oak.

Daisy was the spitting image of her younger brother in many ways, although in other ways they couldn't have been any more different. They shared the same dark auburn hair, although Daisy had more feminine waves of hair that were large and numerous enough to frame her entire face and run slightly down her back, versus the more upwards nature of her brother's signature and unmistakable spiky hairstyle. They also shared similar eyes — both characterized by a dark, barely visible viridian color — although Daisy's eyes were wider and more immediately friendly compared to the narrower and more piercing eyes that Ash knew Gary for. They were a welcome sight for Ash compared to what he had seen earlier, but he still couldn't get the image of that Weedle out of his head...

"Hey there!" Daisy greeted with a radiant smile on her face. "Long time no see! You're literally just in time. I guess all of that running back there did the trick, huh?"

Ash didn't respond, having not entirely recovered from what he had just experienced not too long ago. His condition wasn't lost on Daisy, who looked at him worriedly.

"Um... are you OK, Ash? You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

"I-I'm fine..." Ash hastily replied, still panting from all the running he had done. Daisy, however, looked rather unconvinced.

"Ash... were you running from a Pokémon back there?"

No way... how could she know that?

"N-no..."

Even though he was certain that Daisy would see right through that lie, he couldn't find the strength to admit that he had in fact been running from a Pokémon... and a tiny bug one, of all things.

"It was a Weedle, wasn't it?"

Darn it... she even knew exactly what Pokémon it was! But how...!?

"Ash... you don't have to be afraid to tell me. I promise I won't laugh at you or tease you about it... OK? Now... was it a Weedle?"

There was no getting out of this one, Ash knew. With some hesitation, he lightly, barely nodded.

At first, Daisy said nothing and did nothing, appearing completely and strangely unfazed by Ash's response. But before long, Ash could see a smile forming on her face... which soon gave way to giggles... and then finally to flat-out laughter that Daisy could barely control. So much for that promise... although Ash, somehow, felt as though she wasn't really laughing at him more so than the fact that a Weedle that was involved (not that he was sure that was really much better).

"Oh, Ash... Weedle are completely harmless! They're one of those don't-bother-them-and-they-won't-bother-you type of Pokémon. You didn't try to kick one or anything, right?"

"N-no..."

"Great, then you didn't die!"

"W-what!?"

"Ha ha! Just kidding, Ash!" Daisy laughed again, apparently ignoring the wide-eyed look on Ash's increasingly distressed-looking face. "But seriously, they really won't hurt you. Now Caterpie, on the other hand... those things are vicious! They'll crawl up your leg and stare at you with their little cute-face, and just when you think you've met the most adorable Pokémon ever... faaawooosh! They'll trap you with their String Shot and make you their dinner! And don't even get me started about Butterf— oh."

Daisy could now see Ash practically shaking where he stood, his eyes just a few seconds away from exploding in an ocean's worth of tears. She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment as she realized that she probably went a bit too far with her description there, and she couldn't help but laugh at her own over-enthusiasm.

"Sorry about that, Ash..." said Daisy, placing a gentle hand on Ash's shoulder. "Why don't we just get out of here and meet up with the others?"

Ash nodded in agreement, very much relieved at the idea of finally leaving the forest... or at least of having someone walking with him, as embarrassing as that felt to admit. And with that, the two began walking out of the forest together, down the path of the bright yellow cones.

About a minute passed before an awkward silence began to creep in, the result of neither Ash nor Daisy saying a word within that minute. Before long, however, the latter broke the silence.

"So, Ash... how's life been treating you?"

"OK," Ash replied, not in a particularly enthusiastic manner. He knew exactly where a conversation like this would go — "How's school? Have you made another friend yet? How's your mother been doing?" — and so he hastily followed through with a question of his own:

"H-how did you know that I saw a Weedle?"

"Well," Daisy began, "wild Pokémon don't really appear in this part of Pallet Town... not usually, anyway. Gramps and I have been doing experiments here to see how Pokémon from the wild adapt to different habitats. We had Caterpie and Rattata here a few weeks ago — and wow, you don't want to put them together — but we chose Weedle this week because we figured that they wouldn't bother anyone coming through for summer camp. You know, since they're so docile and all."

"Oh," said Ash, not really understanding much of anything that Daisy just said, but trying his best to sound like he did anyway. He was, however, rather curious about Daisy's earlier claim about Weedle, namely:

"Do they... r-really not bother anyone?"

Daisy blinked at Ash's question, confused. "No, they really don't. Why do you ask?"

"I think... one of them tried to attack me..."

"That's... pretty unlikely, Ash," Daisy replied simply. "You'll probably find this strange, but if I had to guess... I'd say that it was probably trying to be your friend. They can be... well, kind of over-enthusiastic about things at times."

Daisy said that last part with a smile, but Ash — try as he might — simply couldn't share her joy in talking about a Pokémon like Weedle. What Daisy considered "over-enthusiastic" was nothing less than a threat to his life in Ash's eyes... if not necessarily in his heart. He had to admit that his mother was right: he was afraid of practically everything... even an apparently friendly Pokémon like Weedle. And if he couldn't even make friends with that, then how would he ever have a chance to make friends with people... human beings, like himself... at summer camp?

As awkward silence began to creep in again, Ash preempted Daisy again with another question, one that came to naturally came to his mind when thinking about friends:

"Is... Gary around right now?"

This question, above all, was what he was really concerned about. Would he at least have his company to look forward to, if nothing else? But unfortunately for Ash, the increasingly less cheerful expression on Daisy's face pretty much answered that question for him.

"Sorry, Ash," Daisy replied. "Gary isn't going to be at summer camp this year. He's with Gramps right now... doing what exactly, I have no idea."

Ash's heart sunk at the revelation. While he had been dreading the thought of going to summer camp from the moment he realized that he was going, he had also been holding on to the knowledge that Gary would be there, as he had been every year. Unfortunately, Ash now knew that he would not have that support to hold on to; he was alone.

"But hey," Daisy continued, her smile returning, "At least you'll get the chance to make some new friends! Speaking of which, everyone is right down there," — she stopped and pointed at a large grassy clearing in front of her, surrounded by trees and occupied by a large circle of children — "in that clearing. They've been waiting for you... let's not keep them waiting for too much longer, okay? I'll be right behind you in a bit."

Ash simply nodded as Daisy turned back, leaving him alone for now. He continued forward towards the clearing and towards his fellow summer camp participants, and as he came closer, he was immediately greeted with stares... some from strangers, and some from people that Ash knew from school. Not that he actually "knew" any of them in any meaningful sense, hence why stares were all that he earned from them, rather than a "Hey Ash!" or even a "Hello". Ash keenly felt the lack of such words, but it was also a familiar feeling. He was unconcerned until he realized that the circle was full — containing the entirety of the summer camp participants — and that he, the late one to arrive and the last one to arrive, would have to ask for a space in said circle.

Immediately, an all-too-palpable sense of dread rose within Ash. At least if he had been earlier, Ash realized, maybe he would have been able to accomplish the simple task of finding somewhere to sit without completely embarrassing himself in front of everyone. Now he was really beginning to regret oversleeping last night...

The stares continued as Ash just stood there, paralyzed with fear. He wanted nothing more at that point than to just run away... away from his classmates... away from the summer camp... maybe even away from Pallet Town altogether. But deep down, Ash knew that there was nowhere to run... not this time. What would everyone say if they saw him run away like a coward before the summer camp even began? "Crybaby" would no longer be an adequate nickname for poor Ash... surely he would be subjected to an even worse adjective as everyone constantly reminded him of his spectacular failure that day at summer camp. He could hear everyone's voices already:

"Hey Ash, wanna sit over here? Oops, sorry; we're all full. Guess you're gonna have to ask someone else! Good luck with that... crybaby."

"Oh, hi Ash! Late again, huh? Looks like you're gonna have to find a place to sit! How about on the floor? 'Cause we know that talking to people is so hard for you."

There was torture and there was suicide, Ash knew. He had no choice. Filled with drive if only for the moment, Ash summoned all of the courage he had and approached the circle, scanning his classmates for what he hoped and prayed would be the path of least resistance. In just a few seconds, however, he had already found himself skipping over several classmates that he had less-than-pleasant encounters with the past... not to mention those who he hadn't met at all. The situation felt more and more helpless to Ash by the time he reached the halfway point of the circle, his luck completely unimproved and his courage almost totally depleted...

"Hey, Ash."

He looked below to see a familiar face staring at him: a long-haired brunette girl with a signature bright white-and-red hat, its design roughly resembling the bottom half of a Poké Ball. Ash shared many classes in school with her, but this was the first time that she had ever actually spoken to him. The girl guided her hand towards a rather cramped yet nonetheless empty space next to her, and Ash — who was much relieved and grateful for her kindness — gave her a quiet "thank you" as he sat down to take the spot. It was a tight spot indeed — he had to brush up slightly against both the girl and a boy who had been sitting next to her previously, earning the latter's quiet yet clear ire — but it was certainly better than nothing.

Ash sat quietly for about a minute or so, not really thinking or feeling anything other than relief that his previous ordeal was over. But then he suddenly remembered his mother's words:

"I want you to make at least one friend while you're at summer camp..."

So he had no time to relax after all, Ash realized. With some trepidation, he began to explore his options. He briefly thought about talking to the brunette girl — who sat quietly next to him — before he wondered what he could actually talk to her about, and soon felt anxiety overwhelm him as he considered all of the many ways that a conversation with her could go wrong. With that option off the table, he then began to scan the circle... and what he saw there pretty much confirmed what he already knew. Most everyone was already talking to someone else, laughing and smiling at whatever they were discussing at the time. Why should he bother everyone with his pitiful attempts at friendship, Ash thought, when they all seemed so happy and satisfied already?

One person, however, did catch Ash's interest. Sitting almost directly opposite from Ash, give or take a person or two, was a girl... one who stood out from everyone else in more ways than one. She had golden blonde hair — or maybe more like honey, Ash thought — that reached just below her shoulders, and she was also wearing a long pink dress. The dress fit her perfectly — almost too perfectly, Ash thought — and yet the girl looked extremely uncomfortable in it, almost as if the dress was wearing her, rather than the other way around. Her body language also made her look quite uncomfortable, least of all because it was constantly changing. One second she was sitting rather awkwardly on her knees, the next she sat with her legs crossed just as awkwardly; one second her arms were crossed rather tightly around herself, the next the side of her head was practically buried in one of her hands. She stared off into the distance quite a bit, not really looking at anyone or anything in particular, and her eyes themselves — a light and radiant blue — were frequently, and perhaps not coincidentally, shadowed by what stood out for Ash the most out of all of her attire: her large, pink-ribboned straw hat.

Ash found himself rather fascinated by this somewhat strange girl. She seemed completely uninterested in interacting with any of the other kids around her, even as everyone else appeared to be quite interested in her, for reasons that Ash was unaware of. He could see several of his classmates stare at the straw hat girl every once in a while and have low, whispered conversations right after, which Ash could only assume were about her. For a while, he wondered if the straw hat girl knew that her fellow campgoers were talking about her and, if she did, whether or not she cared. Before long, though, he stopped having to wonder as he watched the normally blank expression in her eyes start to shift after a while. They certainly looked unhappy — maybe even angry, as Ash witnessed flashes of that emotion appear every so often — but he could swear that he recognized a hint of another emotion... one that perhaps summarized her feelings more than any other.

Sadness...

At that thought, Ash couldn't help but feel a strange kind of solidarity with the straw hat girl, even though he knew pretty much nothing about her other than the very little that he had just observed. For a moment, he wondered if there was a chance that he could actually befriend this girl who appeared to be more like him than anyone else at summer camp... and not merely to satisfy his mother's wishes, but also to actually get to know a little bit more about her.

However, those feelings were quickly washed away when the straw hat girl's eyes suddenly met Ash's, startling them both. The girl's eyes widened in surprise at the boy who she realized had been staring at her for quite some time, while Ash turned away quickly, completely embarrassed. He didn't dare to turn back around or even move his eyes back in the girl's direction for a long time afterwards, and he never got to see her reaction past that point... other than that she didn't yell at him or call him out in front of everyone, much to his relief.

So much for making friends... Ash thought, figuring that the straw hat girl wouldn't even want to be near him after that experience. How would he be able to—

"Helloooooo, everyoneeeeee! ♪"

That was Daisy's voice, which echoed from the distance sounding loud and rather distorted... almost as if it was being amplified by a megaphone. And indeed, everyone turned around to see Daisy Oak entering the circle with a giant megaphone in her hand. She appeared as enthusiastic as her greeting suggested (maybe even too much so, if the bewildered expressions on everyone's faces said anything), and a smile adorned her face as she prepared to speak again, this time — and perhaps thankfully — without the megaphone.

"Hello again, and welcome to another year of Professor Oak's summer camp! I'm sure all of you are excited, right?"

All of the children cheered loudly in response... all of them except for Ash, who tried his best to act excited but failed miserably, only managing a weak attempt at a smile. He could only imagine how the straw hat girl had reacted, but he was still far too afraid to look at her at this point.

"Great! Although I'm sure some of you are wondering where Professor Oak himself is right now. I mean, it's not called Professor Oak's summer camp for nothing, right? Well unfortunately, I've got some not-so-great news for you all. Professor Oak... won't actually be here for summer camp this year."

That statement went considerably less well with the children, who became increasingly unruly as they complained loudly about the news.

"OK, quiet everyone!" said Daisy, trying to take back control over the situation. "Quiet! Alright. You see, Professor Oak is working on a really big project right now. Like, really big. So he simply can't make it to summer camp this time. Sorry! But... someone's gotta take over summer camp, right? Well, that someone's gonna be me, Daisy Oak!"

Dead silence categorized everyone's response this time; clearly, no one felt particularly enthusiastic about that.

"Not too excited, huh?" Daisy responded to her audience, cheerful-sounding as ever, although Ash could swear that he caught a brief flash of disapproval on her face. "Well, that's OK; I understand. I'm no Professor Oak, after all. But if you can't get excited about me, then let's get excited for our first activity of the day... a treasure hunt!"

That seemed to command everyone's full attention again, much to Daisy's immediately evident pleasure.

"Wow, you guys sound more excited about that than spending time with me! But anyway, I'm sure you all know how a treasure hunt works, right? There's a whole bunch of stuff that I've hidden in this forest here. Your goal is to find as many items as you can and bring them all back here. The person with the most items in the end wins! Simple, right?"

"I have a question," the brunette girl next to Ash suddenly piped up, catching Daisy's attention. "How are we supposed to actually carry all of this stuff? I mean, if it's a treasure hunt, we're supposed to have a lot of things, right?"

That actually was a pretty good question, Ash thought. Daisy, however, didn't really seem to have an answer for the brunette girl, if the increasingly nervous look on her face was any indication.

"Well, I... uh... just carry as much stuff as you can, OK?"

"But that means that we're all gonna have the same amount of items!" another girl responded from the opposite side of the circle, right next to the straw hat girl. "How is anyone gonna win?"

"Don't worry about it!" Daisy responded again, this time looking considerably more flustered than before. "This isn't a competition or anything; we're all just here to have fun!"

"But winning is fun!" yet another kid squealed, this time a boy a few persons down from Ash. "What's the point of a treasure hunt if someone doesn't wi—"

"I said don't worry about it!" Daisy suddenly shouted, this time using the megaphone. Her amplified voice crackled through the phone and cut sharply through the air, sending many of the kids' hands flying towards their ears to block the incredibly painful sound. And as Ash did the same, he could practically see fire rising in Daisy's eyes... the kind of fire that he knew all too well from a certain other significant person in his life. And if Daisy were anything like her...

...but Daisy was not quite like her, as the swiftly fading fire in her eyes reminded Ash. In its place were the same friendly eyes that Ash was familiar with, accompanied by a smile on her face... all as if nothing had even happened just a few seconds ago.

"Wow... I actually surprised myself there!" said Daisy in her normal, non-amplified voice. "Sorry, guys! But seriously, don't worry about it. Anyway... you'll all have thirty minutes to explore this forest and find as many items as you can for the treasure hunt! You can go anywhere you want, so long as you don't go past the cones and yellow tape... you'll know it when you see them. And if you're one of those people who are worried about getting lost in the forest and getting eaten alive by a Rattata or something like that," — she then winked at Ash with a quick and mischievous smile, causing him to flinch in place before blushing in embarrassment — "then simply stay within the cones and yellow tape! And when there's only five minutes left, I'll let you know! Just listen for the sound on my voice on the megaphone... you won't miss it!"

Ash was quite sure of that, given his still-fresh experience with the power of said megaphone. But his thoughts turned elsewhere as he began to wonder how he was actually going to go about doing this treasure hunt. He could already see his classmates converse amongst themselves with determined and plotting faces, almost certainly forming teams... teams that he was about to be left out of. In a burst of desperation, Ash turned over to the brunette girl...

"Sure, Leaf; I'll be your partner!"

...and watched that opportunity slip right out of his grasp, as if he really even had a chance at all. Now what? Ash wondered as he watched more kids run around, and witnessed more teams being formed without him...

...!
The straw hat girl?
...
No, Ash... don't be stupid, Ash's inner voice told him as he remembered his last encounter with the straw hat girl, and how well that turned out...

"So if everyone's ready," called out Daisy's voice, interrupting Ash's thoughts, "let's get this treasure hunt started! On the count of three: one... two... three!"

At "three", the circle of children exploded into chaos as everyone ran off in different directions, executing their plans to achieve treasure hunt victory. Everyone, that is, except for Ash, who was left in the proverbial dust as he simply remained where he was, paralyzed by indecision and anxiety at the impossible situation he was faced with... one that seemed only impossible for him. Even the straw hat girl was gone, Ash realized, having obviously run off in some direction; with whom, if anyone, he had no idea. All he knew — and all that mattered — was that it wasn't him. Once again, he was alone...

"Hey, Ash!"

A glimmer of hope? But only for a millisecond, as Ash remembered who that voice belonged to; indeed, he looked up to see Daisy staring at him with a perplexed look on her face.

"What are you still doing here?" Daisy said to Ash. "You'd better get a move on if you wanna win that treasure hunt! Go on, go!"

Having little choice, Ash finally got up from the ground and started running in a random direction into the forest. He was greeted by many extremely thick bushes and other exotic-looking flora, a far cry from the simple, straightforward forest that he had traveled through earlier.

"Don't forget about the cones and yellow tape!" the very distant voice of Daisy echoed as Ash realized just how deep he was going into this new dark and intimidating forest, and before long, he stopped running in fear in going in too deep. Taking a few deep breaths to recover, he turned around to see that the clearing from which he came was now but a barely visible blot of light in a sea of darkness, itself only illuminated by a few narrow rays of light breaking through the leaves and branches above.

There was a part of Ash that wanted to run back towards that tiny blot of light... an exit from the frightening predicament that he now found himself in. A few more steps into the forest and there would be no turning back until he heard Daisy's voice on the megaphone twenty-five minutes from now. What could happen before then? Ash anxiously pondered to himself. Could he possibly have another encounter with a wild Pokémon... something far worse than the Weedle that he met earlier?

But before long, the more rational side of Ash's mind took over. Would someone like Daisy or Professor Oak let children run around in a big forest if it was dangerous? And if he ran away now, then he would almost certainly invoke the ire of his mother... which, now that he thought about it, would be a far more terrifying prospect than anything that he could encounter in this forest...

...and with that thought convincing him above all else, he continued on.

As he began the first few minutes of his search, Ash found that he didn't really have any meaningful strategy for the treasure hunt. He ended up simply randomly scanning the area to see if he could find any typical hiding places for treasure hunt items. But all he could see was trees, trees, and more trees... some bushes here and there... a handful of vines hanging from the trees... and that was when he could actually see anything at all in the overwhelming darkness of the forest. It also didn't help that he didn't actually know what he was supposed to be looking for; or at least, Ash didn't remember hearing Daisy say anything about that...

As Ash took his search to some bushes and found nothing there, and then repeated the same story for bush after bush, he began to wonder just how much of a chance he really had to win this treasure hunt... or even find anything at all. And increasingly, he began to wonder how much he truly cared. Not that he disliked the very idea of a treasure hunt, but what Daisy promised would be fun was instead quickly becoming an exercise in futility and frustration. Were treasure hunts always this hard, Ash wondered as he began taking his search to the ground, or did he just suck that much at them?
...
...
...yeah, that was it, Ash concluded. He never really was that great at anything, was he? And with the luck he was having so far with this treasure hunt, he would almost certainly come back empty-handed. He could already hear the laughter of his classmates with far greater success than him, mocking his complete inability to find even one thing...

Speaking of which... where was everyone, Ash thought as he realized that he was still the only person around after searching for at least five minutes. He was quite surprised to not have seen at least one other person pass him by at this point... this forest couldn't be that big, right? Especially with the cones and yellow tape around...

...actually, where were the cones and yellow tape, anyway? Ash scanned the area for them, but he couldn't find anything resembling them, despite having walked pretty far into the forest at this point. And now that he thought about it, he shouldn't have been able to walk that far if there were cones and yellow tape to stop him, right? But if that was the case... then where exactly was he right now?
...
...
...he did wonder why the forest was so dark... and in a moment of sudden realization, he knew why. It was because he was deeper into the forest that any child should've been allowed to go into, and there were no cones or yellow tape to stop him. He had no idea how he managed to get himself to this point or why he never found those yellow cones and tape, but ultimately, the reason didn't matter. What did matter was a single resultant fact, one that Ash was now keenly aware of as he stared at the seemingly endless expanse of trees and bushes surrounding him...

...he was lost.

* * * * * * *​

Ash wandered around the forest for quite some time after realizing his predicament, unsure of what to do. He considered simply waiting until Daisy's voice sounded on the megaphone, after which he could simply follow the sound back to camp. But if he was truly lost, Ash thought, then he could be so deep in the forest right now that he may not even hear it, despite Daisy's assurances. And yet, if it actually was loud enough for him to hear, then walking even farther meant that he was essentially sabotaging his own chances of reaching safety...

Eventually, he settled on stopping once he noticed that the forest suddenly became a lot brighter, with full rays of sunshine now blasting through the trees and bathing the entire area with golden morning light. He figured that if the forest was that bright compared to the dark and scary woods that he was walking through not too long ago, then he must not be that far away from camp after all, which in turn meant that he was better off staying where he could hear Daisy's megaphone. As he rested himself on a tree, Ash wondered just how many minutes he actually had left, having long since lost track of time. Although a part of him hoped that it wouldn't be much longer before he heard Daisy's voice on the megaphone, another part of him almost began to not mind staying around this place for a while; it was peaceful, it was bright, he could completely forget about the treasure hunt if only for a while, and — most importantly of all — there appeared to be no wild Pokémon around to bother him whatsoever.

"...Poli?"

...or perhaps he had spoken too soon. Barely a minute into his respite, Ash heard a cry of a Pokémon just below him: a weak, high-pitched cry that could have easily belonged to a baby. He looked down to see a tiny blue Pokémon that barely reached past his knee, its body shaped like a circle and its stomach sporting a distinguishing swirl pattern. Like Weedle, Ash recognized this one from his studies at school; its name was Poliwag, a Water-type Pokémon. It stared straight at Ash with its large eyes, looking neither displeased nor particularly happy to see him, and in fact looking rather confused at his presence... or at least, that's how Ash read its expression.

It was then, however, that Ash had an idea. This Poliwag probably knew the forest better than he ever could, right? So, Ash reasoned, why not simply ask it for directions? Then he could simply head back to camp without worrying about if he could hear Daisy's megaphone or not. And so he crouched down to the tiny Water-type Pokémon and began speaking to it:

"H-hey... I'm lost. Do you know if there's a way out of here?"

In retrospect, Ash realized that trying to talk to Poliwag was a rather foolish idea. It wouldn't have been able to say anything back to him — anything other than its name, anyway, as was the case with all Pokémon — which meant that asking it for something like directions would've been completely futile, assuming that it did even know anything in the first place. And perhaps most relevantly to Ash at that moment, Poliwag were never exactly known for their friendliness... a fact that Ash was about the learn the hard way. He was confused at the Poliwag's increasingly angry face in response to his question, but the deep breath that it took almost immediately after that — as if preparing to launch an attack — quickly alerted Ash to the full extent of its feelings, and signaled that he was about to be in serious trouble.

In an act of pure instinct, Ash practically leapt from where he was to whatever direction he could think of within a millisecond (in this case, to his right, into some bushes) and only barely dodged the high-pressure jet of water — a Water Gun attack — that Poliwag had indeed been preparing to launch. Blasting through plants and racing past trees with absolutely no care for where he was going or even when he would stop, Ash prayed that the Poliwag wasn't hunting him down right now, and that he was running fast enough — and far enough — to escape its wrath if it was. But unbeknownst to Ash, he was about to face a whole new problem as he suddenly found himself flying off the edge of a cliff... a cliff that he never saw coming through the thick of the bushes and leaves. Before he knew it, Ash was flying high through the open air with absolutely zero chance of escape from the inevitable fall into the trees several feet below.

Ash almost couldn't believe how high in the air he was; he could actually see the sparkling blue ocean in the distance, far beyond the forests and mountains surrounding Pallet Town. It was like he was flying, and as he saw the horizon become higher and the ground become closer, he wished that was actually the case. But the reality was that he was going to fall hard on the ground below and that his head had a good chance of reaching it first, which would almost certainly bring his life to a tragic and miserable end. And at that thought, Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt the full force of gravity send him to his fate. The echo of his scream reverberated all throughout the forest... the final trace of the life of a doomed young boy who made a tragically wrong turn in the forests surrounding Pallet Town.

...or rather, that's how Ash's story could've ended... but it wasn't meant to be. Ash was ultimately spared from such a fate by a branch from one of the trees that he landed in, which caught him and absorbed the force of his fall. The fall itself was far from over, however, and so Ash continued his descent through the trees, his body jerking in a different direction with every branch that he struck on his way down. The trees eventually released him into a grassy clearing bathed in rays of sunlight, and Ash yelped his pain as he landed squarely on his left knee and bounced slightly off the ground from the impact, marking the end of his near-fatal flight.

For what felt like an eternity to him, Ash just laid there on the ground, completely overcome with shock at what he had just survived. His body ached all over after crashing through those trees, but nothing ached more than his left knee, which he knew probably looked horrible right now; there would almost certainly be a scar there. Tears began to form in Ash's eyes as he fought back all of his pain — physical and otherwise — and even though he held them back as hard as he could — "stop crying already!" he could already hear his mother's voice say — he knew that it was a losing battle... he was the "crybaby", after all. Eventually he gave up trying, and before long he began to sob loudly and uncontrollably, soaking the ground beneath him with an endless stream of tears.

Ash's crying was soon interrupted, however, by the sound of rustling in one of the bushes at the edge of clearing, causing his survival instinct to take over yet again. Ash turned around to the source of the sound, shaking with fear with what he would find there. Had Poliwag really tracked him down this far? Ash wondered as he thought of possible ways to defend himself, before his heart sunk at the realization that he had none... no one did, after all, without a Pokémon of their own to fight for them. The rustling sound became ever so louder, and its source became ever so closer to Ash... what he was going to do? In the end, he knew that there was only one thing that he could do. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst...

The rustling sound occurred yet again, louder than it ever was. Ash knew that whatever was in the bushes had just come out, and that it was almost certainly right in front of him at that very moment. He could already hear Poliwag's cry ring through his ears...

"Hey."

It was a soft voice. And most importantly, it was a girl's voice... not a Poliwag's...

"Hey!" the voice practically shouted at him, this time in a clearly more irritated tone. It was then that Ash realized... his eyes were still closed, weren't they? With some bravery, he opened his eyes to the girl in front of him...

...and found a pair of piercing blue eyes staring straight at him, belonging to none other than the straw hat girl.

The sight of her startled Ash and sent him jumping back several feet, an act accompanied by a brief but high-pitched cry that seemed more befitting of a wild Pokémon than an eight-year-old boy. He could've never imagined that he would meet this girl under these circumstances — or at all — and he was in no way whatsoever prepared for the encounter. All that he was able to say was:

"W-what are you doing here?"

He instantly regretted saying those words as he watched the straw hat girl's expression change from almost fascinated confusion to flat-out annoyance.

"Huh!? I'm explorin'! Wassit to you, anyway?"

Her voice... it was the complete opposite of what Ash had expected. Or rather, her speech patterns were; they almost made her sound like she belonged to another region, or — if Ash had to be completely honest with himself — like she came from some backwater country region or something. Where does this girl come from!? Ash wondered; she certainly wasn't from around here. But then a more immediately relevant question came to mind:

"Exploring? But... w-what about the treasure hunt?"

"What about it?" the straw hat girl almost immediately snapped back, startling Ash with the sheer speed at which she answered him. "It's a stupid game anyway... just runnin' around in circles lookin' for some stupid, worthless stuff. But what are you doin' here, if you're so worried about that treasure hunt? You explorin' too or somethin'?"

"I-I... fell and... h-hurt my knee..." Ash told her. His tears returned as he was reminded of his pain; the straw hat girl, however, was clearly unmoved by said tears.

"Lemme guess... you tripped on a rock or somethin'?" the straw hat girl dismissively replied. "Quit cryin' already... it can't be that bad. I mean, I fell from a tree as high as that one once," — she pointed at a seemingly random tree above — "and I never cried!"

"But I did fall from that high!" Ash cried out. "From..."

He then looked up and realized that he couldn't actually see anything resembling the cliff edge that he had fallen off from earlier. All he could see was...

"...the sky..."

It was with those two words that the straw hat girl's expression changed from almost bored apathy to genuine surprise, as if she couldn't believe what Ash had just said.

"The sky...!? No way..."

It wasn't a dismissal. On the contrary, Ash could already see the wheels turning in the straw hat girl's head as she started processing everything that he just told her. And not long after that, Ash could see the lightbulb flash in her mind, and an expression of shocked realization appear on her face.

"It was you..."

"Huh?" Ash said, having absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"You were the one doin' all that screamin'!" the straw hat girl exclaimed. "I heard you all the way back there... that's why I came down here in the first place!"

A look of concern then washed over her face as looked up at the sky and back down again, followed by an expression of horrified realization of what Ash had just experienced.

"H-how... how are you even still standin' right now!?"

"I-I... d-don't..."

But the straw hat girl was no longer listening to him as her eyes shifted over to Ash's injured knee.

"Lemme take a look at that..."

It wasn't a request. Before Ash even could even think about objecting or doing anything else, the straw hat girl was already right in front of him and in the middle of crouching down to his knee.

"Hold still," she ordered as she took an up-close look at Ash's injury. It was then that he realized that he never actually saw it up-close himself; he had been too busy crying over it to actually look. He joined the straw hat girl in observing the wound, and it was ultimately everything that he had feared it would be. His knee had been scraped well below the skin, with blood and dirt visible all over. Just looking at it was painful, and the straw hat girl — who winced noticeably at the sight — clearly would've agreed with that assessment.

"Okay, maybe this is kinda bad," she conceded, looking at the wound with worry. "I've got an idea, though... don't move!"

The straw hat girl then looked down at the long pink dress she was wearing, and frowned at it. She then grabbed one of its edges and, with a strong, merciless tug, tore it straight across the front before going sharply and abruptly down, ultimately breaking a large piece of her dress apart. Ash, witnessing the act, stared wide-eyed at the straw hat girl with complete shock and disbelief, his eyes beginning to fill with tears yet again. The straw hat girl, meanwhile, didn't even flinch at either his reaction or what she had just done as she lifted up the broken piece of dress for Ash to see.

"Never liked it anyway," she told him simply. "Now hold still... and please stop cryin', okay?"

Ash sniffled in response, which the straw hat girl took as enough of an affirmative to shift her attention towards Ash's injured knee. She then took the broken piece of dress and — with a surprisingly gentle hand, contrary to what Ash would've assumed from a girl like her — placed it on top of Ash's bleeding wound, creating a makeshift bandage out of it.

"This'll keep it from gettin' infected," the straw hat girl explained to Ash. "Trust me, you don't want that to happen..."

Ash took her word for it, not wanting to imagine what an infected version of his knee would look like. He watched as the straw hat girl then looped the makeshift bandage around the back of his knee and began making a knot there... and Ash had a sneaking suspicion about what she was about to do next.

"This'll hurt a little," the straw hat girl warned Ash before she rather abruptly tightened the knot on the bandage, causing Ash to wince in pain at the pressure. So much for a gentle hand...

"Told ya," said the straw hat girl, having obviously sensed the pain in Ash's face as she completed her amateur patch-up session. She then stoop up and began admiring her handiwork, ultimately appearing rather pleased with what she had accomplished. Ash, while not exactly feeling that much better, couldn't really find any reason to complain; on the contrary, she had done arguably one of the kindest things that anyone had done for him in quite some time.

"Not the greatest bandage ever," the straw hat girl remarked, "but it'll have to do. Now, you're gonna wanna head back to camp and get that checked out by a real doctor. The exit's that way," — she pointed behind her, where she came in originally — "past those bushes. It's a hill back there, so I hope your legs didn't get broken too... 'cause I can't fix those for you!"

Ash nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you," he told her.

"Yep," replied the straw hat girl. "Now if you excuse me, I've got some explorin' to do..."

And with that, she began walking towards the other side of the clearing — opposite from where she had originally entered — to go deeper into the forest. Ash, meanwhile, was more eager than ever to get out of the forest, even with the embarrassment of knowing that he would most definitely not be bringing anything back for the treasure hunt at this point. That became the least of his worries, however, as he took his first step and felt a stinging, paralyzing pain in his knee... which, of course, was his injured knee. An involuntary cry of pain burst out of Ash, catching the attention of the straw hat girl just as she was about to disappear into the bushes.

"Sigh... don't tell me you can't even walk!"

Clearly, Ash had caught her ire as well. Against his better judgement but in the face of bitter reality, Ash shook his head no. He expected to earn yet another irritated look from the straw hat girl, but instead she stared off into the distance, indeed looking slightly annoyed but also rather conflicted, as if she was torn between helping Ash again or just leaving him there. Before long, however, she made her choice; with another sigh, the straw hat girl walked back over to Ash and, rather inexplicably, turned around and lowered her back in front of him.

"Get on," she told Ash simply.

"Huh?"

"On my back."

"On your back!?" Ash cried incredulously at the straw hat girl. "But—"

"Just do it," she snapped, startling Ash yet again with her ferocity. "I'm a strong girl; I can handle it."

Ash had his concerns about that claim, but he was in no position whatsoever to argue with the straw hat girl, let alone right after she agreed to do something that she clearly didn't really want to do. He lifted himself up from the ground — avoiding putting pressure on his left knee while doing so — and, with some hesitation, placed himself on the straw hat girl's back, grabbing at her shoulders for support. She grunted slightly at the weight, but after lowering herself a bit more, she managed to keep Ash steady on her back; clearly, she actually could handle it.

"I can't carry you up that hill, y'know," the straw hat girl informed Ash, who was beginning to wonder how she planned on carrying him nearly a hundred feet up. "We're gonna have to find another way back."

Ash nodded, but the straw hat girl didn't seem to actually wait for his response before turning towards where she was originally about to leave. With a deep breath, she pushed forward with Ash in tow on her back. Just as they were about to go deep into the forest — far from the familiarity and safety of the clearing — Ash suddenly realized that the entire time, he had neglected to ask the straw hat girl something very important: what her name was. He scolded himself for not thinking to ask her back when she was working on his injured knee... she would've left without either of them even knowing each others' names. But he knew that he had the opportunity to fix that now, and that he had to take it... even as he could feel his usual anxiety rising up at the thought.

"Hey, I... um... never got your name..."

The very question made Ash feel incredibly uncomfortable, and he sighed to himself in embarrassment at how such a simple question could make him feel that way. He could only imagine what the straw hat girl was feeling right now, given how much of a hostile state she was in already. He was surprised, then, when she stopped and turned around at Ash with a completely puzzled look on her face.

"You... don't know who I am?"

Ash shook his head no, wondering why she would ask such a strange question; they definitely hadn't met before. The straw hat girl then shifted her gaze away from Ash and stared into space as if thinking deeply about something. Eventually she looked back at Ash, and it was then that she gave him something that Ash would have never expected from her in a million years:

A smile.

"I'm Serena."

Serena... what a strange name for someone who was anything but serene, Ash thought to himself. (Not that he would dare share that observation with her...)

"And yours?"

Ash couldn't help but feel the beginnings of a smile grow on his own face as he realized that he might not actually return to camp with nothing after all. And so, with some inevitable but brief hesitation, he answered her:

"I'm Ash."

[chapter end]​

 

[Beth Pavell]

Here for the Review Game, having read Chapter One. So first, some context. XY was the last season of the Pokémon anime I watched, and I remember the episode in question. I read the Ratings information, frankly with my mod hat on so I could keep an eye out for inconsistencies (Didn't see any, all good), and skimmed your introduction. With that in mind, the review proper:

Technical Accuracy/Style
There are really two stylistic issues I want to pick up on. The first is that you really love your ellipses! I think you've developed a habit of using them where really a full stop would be appropriate. Remember an ellipse is a long pause. In the narrative you're slowing down the pace as much as the dialogue, which has the effect of making it contemplative when it's either not appropriate or not useful to the tone.

The second issue is an overuse of bold text. This one isn't so bad. I don't know if it's really needed in most cases, but the one where I am sure it's too much is when Delia yells in bold, caps, with underlining. The effect taken together comes across as melodramatic.

Story
I presume from the tone that you're intending to stay pretty close to the anime - in which case that would be a success. It's not a million miles away from the sort of thing that could easily end up on screen. It's a bit too anime-esque for my taste, but for those who like it, it would be welcome.

Characters
I can see the whole "opposite day" theme running through here. Neither Ash nor Delia are particularly rounded, but then their anime appearances aren't either. So related to my comments above in Story, that's very arguably appropriate.

I admit that when I saw XY037 I felt rather uncomfortable about the whole "crybaby" thing. It's been quite a while since I saw it, but I remember thinking that the anime seemed to think this was a good excuse to shame Mirror!Ash for not being the headstrong twerp Ash is. And it seems like you've run with this, because the tone for his character very much comes across as a downtrodden kid. I'm not sure what to make of that, not least because it doesn't feel like you're endorsing it, which to my mind the anime did

 

[Snuggle Tier List]

Sniped from the review game! Ah well. Might as well post what I got.

After being linked from the Review Game, I wasn't actually intending to write a review (I am not remotely caught up on anime canon). And then I read your content warnings.

So, uh, about child abuse. I've already disclosed to these forums my history of panic attacks; while I was attending a partial hospitalization program, the psychiatrist there connected my family situation growing up to those panic attacks. And so, they gave me a "working diagnosis" of PTSD. It wasn't a "real" diagnosis, in the sense it was more psychiatric notes for treatment than actual clinically-tested PTSD. But I do have some relatives I grew up with that I've cut off, because they scare me.

Reading that your fic will depict child abuse was what made me read your fic. And despite my lack of anime knowledge, I've done some Bulbapedia-based research to learn the basics of known mirror characters. Combine that with pre-existing general knowledge of the anime's main characters, and I feel I'm reasonably qualified for a review. And because you left such a detailed review for the review game, I feel it's common courtesy to give you the same deep dive. Hopefully, my perspective can give you something other reviewers can't.

Everything so far in this review has been based on your intro post. Which has convinced me to read when I would've otherwise skipped, so your evidently doing something right. Even though I'm not up-to-date with the anime, I still feel welcomed. Linking to your inspiration, clarifying fic structure and use of cannon, good attention to content warnings; everything in your intro post is polished to a shine. And while the intro isn't technically your fic, your intro should be recognized as the gold standard. I haven't seen any fic that does it better than you.

So I guess it's about time I actually read. Give me one moment.

* * *​

I read both chapters. I couldn't stop. It hooked me.

I took notes as I read, so I'll give you a scene-by-scene. But if you're in a rush, here's the cliffnotes:

1. Ash's character starts out extremely strong, but gets weaker as we hear his internal monologue.
2. Delia doesn't justify Ash's personality, as she's a rather weak example of a paranoia-inducing parent.
3. Poor Weedle
4. Daisy Oak is awesome.
5. As a general technical comment, you're capable of using less words to say about the same.
6. Never use the sentence "That's how the story could have ended" in a straight-faced drama.
7. When all hope was lost, Serena saved Chapter 2.
8. If future chapters are to succeed, Serena needs to beat the self-pity out of Ash.

For my full thoughts, read on. But quick note: I'm going to be referring to your characters by your fic's canon names. Just in case there might be mirror world confusion.

Onward!

Spoiler: Chapter 1 Full Thoughts

• The introductory dream sequence was very fluid way to introduce otherwise hidden dreams and fears. But I think its execution neutered some of its potential. Wording was a little on-the-nose ("...the best, like no one ever was.") and made me giggly, which took me out of the foc for a bit. And I caught on it was a dream sequence a few sentences into the first paragraph (the title was a giveway, unfortunately). This, in turn, deflated much of the battle's tension, leaving me not all that concerned with the actual battle. But I was brought right back in when Professor Oak came into play. Two-for-one character establishment; nice job.


• First of all, it's a fundamental law of physics that summer camps suck. Ash, you're not alone. At least in the non-mirror universe, at least. Small detail, but it's giving me "Ash is the only sane man" vibes. And considering he lives in a universe where summer camps are enjoyed (worldbuilding!), I'm definitely relating to Ash. He even set an alarm, like a responsible adult! Non-mirror Ash wasn't nearly this likable in, what, the first five minutes of plot? You're doubling down on the protagonist's likable character traits in record time. There's still some execution issues — I would've prefered Ash's social anxiety be shown, not told — but "staying in bed because you're scared of facing the world" is yet another understandable character trait. I want to spend more time with this character. The hook is sinking in.


• Delia's character establishment scene was odd. While I realise the fic's premise is "mirror universe", I wasn't expected an aggressive mother figure. It didn't seem internally consistant; a more passive-aggressive or socially manipulatihe parental figure would've explained Ash's social anxiety better, and I speak from personal experience. But it was a short scene that got the plot moving, so it's easy to ignore.


• The last scene of chapter one was a tough read. And I'm seeing aggressive Delia is her consistent personality, so let me go more in-depth on why I'm not a fan.

From my personal experience, social anxiety is less a product of unpleasantness and more uncertainty. It'd make perfect sense for Ash to be overly cautious if, for instance, his single parent was perfectly nice unless you did one tiny thing wrong, at which point they blow their lid. But Ash's mother seems consistently angry. Which means, from Ash's point of view, there's no point bothering getting things right. I'd expect Delia's son to be more mean-spirited and rebellious, as that would be the most effective way for Ash to cope. It's an opinion from personal experience, but regardless, I feel uncomfortable with the representation. It would be easier to brush off if it was a short scene, but this was one of the longer scenes of the first chapter. It was a tough read.

Still, the promise of Delia removing herself from the plot gave me hope. And Ash was still a strong protagonist (all the points he makes seem personally reasonable IMO), so I powered through to Chapter 2.

Spoiler: Chapter 2 Full Thoughts

• Once again, Ash's fear of wandering through the woods alone is a perfectly reasonable point. He lives in a world with literal monsters. And he has no protection whatsoever. Another point on the "Ash likability" meter.

I do think his handling of Weedle was flawed. An irrational flaw, but an understandable flaw. Weedle seemed perfectly friendly, so I think Ash was in a situation where boundaries could be established. Something like "I don't know you and you can kill me; you move towards me, I slowly step back. Nothing personal." Not sure how Weedle would've responded, but it'd have been a decent starting point to salvage a social interaction. But it's already been well established that Ash has trouble socializing; while I want Ash to overcome his flaws, I want it to make sense within the context of the fic. So Ash is demonstrably flawed, but I think you handled the scene well.

Daisy Oak's introduction painted her somewhat sympathetically. She teased him, but also explained herself and gave admittedly useful advice for the future. I'm not sure of her motivations, so I'm withholding judgement. Which from my reader's point of view left me feeling "meh". Not a bland character initially; just nothing all that interesting.

However, as the scene progressed, I started to like Daisy more. She apologized, laid off the teasing. But I think the bigger factor is that she started serving as a foil to Ash. Her social confidence gave an opportunity for Ash to show off his "avoiding social situations" toolbag. We even got peaks into how Ash thinks the conversation will go, which is telling of his past social experiences. I do think there's some tell, don't show happening with Ash's thoughts (perhaps body language instead of literally telling thoughts?), but the characters themselves were likable enough that the technical side of things feels nitpick-y, at least in this scene.

Hmm. It seems Chapter 2 is light on line breaks. I'll consider Ash's arrival at summer camp a new scene then.


• Once Ash arrives at the crowd, I noticed the writing style shift. Much more words were being devoted to Ash's internal thoughts, rather than actual stuff happening. This significantly increased the word count without giving much information (Ash is already fleshed out; his thoughts aren't giving more context). To me, this is the point where the technicals started to get distracting, as the amount of words was so heavy it was slowing down the pace. I think the fic would've been better served if Ash's thoughts were cut, replaced with some minor socially-awkward situations (i.e. stepping on someone's toe, tripping, etc).

But perhaps it wouldn't be bad if Ash's thoughts were sympathetic. The peaks inside of Ash's head reflect badly on him as a character. It's not that he's pessimistic or mopey; it's that he's resigned. He consistently assumes the worse, which is fine, but then he don't prepare for the worst. It's self-pity for self-pity's sake; he thinks he's a loser, and it's okay for him to think that, but he doesn't make any plans to change. Which I could forgive if his mother was emotionally manipulative, or even if the world had some sort of vendetta against him, but as Daisy Oak and poor Weedle demonstrate, no one's secretly out to get him. Even his mother, who is out to get him isn't hiding it. Ash's world is pretty black and white from his perspective; I don't understand how Ash can interpret good things so negatively, and so my sympathy is slipping.

In a similar vein, the "girl in the straw hat" had quite a few paragraphs devoted to her. But after reading those paragraphs, all I learned was that she might be socially uncomfortable like Ash, that she wears a hat, and that something as small as brief eye contact is enough to upset Ash. All this info could've been told in a couple sentences without losing anything. You could probably even eliminate the thoughts altogether and show a short, kindred moment. Perhaps the girl is the only one who says "sorry" as Ash traverses the crowd. Ash looks down, girl looks away, Ash thinks "huh...maybe..." (just one possible example). To sum up this thought, I think the amount of things happening at any point in this fic can be summed up by how many words are devoted to Ash's superfluous internal monologue. The camp scene is the most egregious example.

But then Daisy Oak takes the stage, and things pick up pace instantly. Seeing her do her best when she's clearly unprepared pulled a heartstring. This is the point I started really liking Daisy Oak, even if the crowd objects. Seeing her get frustrated when she's under obvious stress is completely understandable. And even Daisy pushing Ash around a little seems like a good thing, because Ash needs a reminder it's not that bad, that he has at least one more friend than he thinks (Daisy).

And then the treasure hunt starts, and we're back to Ash and his thoughts. While all my previous criticism of his internal monologue holds true, I do like how you showed him getting lost in his thoughts and thus forgetting to pay attention. That is absolutely how human minds work; great little trick-of-words you pulled.


• Line break! Woo! We skip time! Kinda. The paragraphs of Ash wandering through the forest could've been replaced by just re-setting the setting, i.e.:

The woods were thick. Ash had lost track of time. He didn't know what to do.

"..."Poli?"

Something like that. Keep the pace high, the words thick with content. Cut Ash's exact thoughts and let the audience infer them from his actions.

Speaking of Poliwag, that dodge through a bush is no laughing matter. Ignoring the cliff, ramming yourself through a bushes thick enough to block your view hurts. The leaves are pretty harmless, but the branches are usually jagged and can cut skin. And the wound will likely be dirty like the forest, which means possible infection if Ash can't get home soon. I don't think this is something every reader will pick up on, but I find it best to er on the side of reality when you're dealing with survival situations. Don't want to give anyone dumb ideas.

And now we gotta talk about that fall.

In the text of the fic, you literally spell out how Ash could've died:

And at that thought, Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt the full force of gravity send him to his fate. The echo of his scream reverberated all throughout the forest... the final trace of the life of a doomed young boy who made a tragically wrong turn in the forests surrounding Pallet Town.

...or rather, that's how Ash's story could've ended... but it wasn't meant to be.

I won't sugarcoat it: this was the lowpoint of the fic. By acknowledging that Ash could very well have died if not for dumb luck, you have removed any competence from your protagonist. They are lethally incompetent; they wandered off because they were so absorded in unproductive negative thoughts, and they put themselves in a situation where only luck can save them. Ash, at this point, is a cartoon character; they're Mr. Magoo mixed with Eeyore, and they're only alive because the plot needs them to be. Ash needs to acknowledge his mistakes and vow to better himself ASAP, because his character no longer has me hooked.

And enter stage Serena. Her verbal beatdown of Ash comes at the perfect moment. He needed that telling off, someone to snap Ash out of his self-pity mentality. She saves the fic. Unlikeable character? Maybe, to some. But letting her take charge was exactly what Ash needed. Ash is not cut out for leadership, but if Serena's a recurring character, that could be that start of Ash's de-wimpification. Ash needs to learn to take any agency he's given, and Serena, while blunt, is showing him exactly how to do it.

* * *​

Woah. That was a lot of reading. Your chapters are quite wordy (my browser's reader mode gives a time estimate of 48-61 minutes for Chapter 2 alone). Looking back, I don't think I realised how much reading and writing I was in for. But while I worry about Ash's self-pity, I'm optimistic now that Serena's in play. It's okay for Ash to be anxious, to be scared, to be a "crybaby", but he needs to at least attempt to control his own fate. That wonderful intro sequence shows Ash has dreams; if he can realise he's not being fed with a silver spoon, I think he'll make a good protagonist. And I think Serena's the perfect vehicle to make that happen.

One final note: I think you're overrating your fic. These first two Chapters struck me as Everyone. I'm not sure what you have in store, but a lot of the content in your content warnings isn't there. To me, someone who suffered abuse, the most triggering aspect of this fic was Ash's self-pity. Perhaps I'm desensitized, but I don't think this fic even features abuse. At least, nothing beyond cartoonish levels.

I'm pooped. Little sad I missed the review game window, but oh well. Hope you continue writing: I see a good fic begging to blossom into something greater.

EDIT: Re-read my review the morning after and saw inexcusable grammah butchering. Cleaned up the mess.