Chapter 10 — The Ash From Another World
The stadium was silent.
Completely silent.
Jin stared at the newcomer standing inside the dimensional gate.
The young man wore a familiar red-and-white cap.
A Pikachu stood proudly on his shoulder.
His clothes were different from the Ash everyone knew, but his face—
There was no mistaking it.
It was Ash Ketchum.
Or, more accurately...
Another version of him.
The Ash standing beside Jin slowly stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The newcomer smiled.
"That's a pretty complicated question."
Ash's Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder.
"Pika!"
The Pikachu beside the original Ash immediately responded.
"Pika pika!"
Both Pikachu stared at each other.
Then—
They ran.
PIKA!
The two Pikachu collided in a joyful embrace.
Ash blinked.
"Hey!"
The other Ash laughed.
"Looks like they like each other."
Jin looked at Astra.
"You knew this was possible?"
Astra shook her head.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely."
Jin looked back at the newcomer.
"Then why does the System say he's from World One?"
A holographic display appeared.
[WORLD ONE CONNECTION ESTABLISHED]
Origin: Pokémon Dimension
World classification: Parallel Pokémon Reality
Humanity: Compatible
Pokémon ecosystem: Compatible
Dimensional stability: 97%
Administrator interference: NONE
WARNING
Multiple versions of known individuals detected.
Jin's eyes widened.
"Multiple?"
The other Ash's smile disappeared.
"That's why we're here."
The Other Ash
Everyone gathered around the dimensional gate.
Cynthia examined the newcomer carefully.
"You're Ash Ketchum."
The newcomer nodded.
"Yeah."
Ash crossed his arms.
"And you're me."
"Apparently."
The two Ashes stared at each other.
Then Ash laughed.
"That's weird."
The other Ash laughed too.
"Tell me about it."
Pikachu climbed back onto the other Ash's shoulder.
Ash's Pikachu remained beside his Trainer.
The two Pikachu stared at one another.
"Pika."
"Pika pika."
Jin looked at them.
"What are they saying?"
The large island Pikachu translated.
"Pika."
[They're comparing battle records.]
Jin blinked.
"They can do that?"
"Pika pika."
[Apparently.]
Clemont adjusted his glasses.
"That's fascinating!"
Bonnie pointed at the two Pikachu.
"Which one is stronger?"
Both Pikachu immediately turned toward Bonnie.
"Pika!"
"Pika!"
They both looked offended.
Bonnie giggled.
The Other World
Jin turned toward the alternate Ash.
"Tell us what happened."
The other Ash's expression became serious.
"My world was normal."
He looked around the island.
"Well... mostly."
"How long have you known about Dimensional Island?"
"We didn't."
Jin frowned.
"Then how did you get here?"
The alternate Ash pointed behind him.
"Three days ago, a dimensional storm appeared above our region."
Cynthia listened carefully.
"What region?"
"Kanto."
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Kanto?"
The other Ash nodded.
"But something was different."
He pulled a strange device from his backpack.
A holographic map appeared.
Jin immediately recognized the outline.
Kanto.
Johto.
Hoenn.
Sinnoh.
Unova.
Kalos.
Alola.
Galar.
Paldea.
But several areas were distorted.
Ash looked at the map.
"That's not our world."
"No."
The other Ash shook his head.
"Our world has regions we've never heard of."
He pointed toward the map.
"And then this happened."
A black area appeared.
The screen began flickering.
Clemont leaned closer.
"What is that?"
The alternate Ash answered:
"Something started removing places from our world."
Silence.
Jin stared.
"Removing?"
"Cities disappeared."
He swallowed.
"Then routes."
"Then entire Pokémon habitats."
"People remembered them."
"Maps remembered them."
"But physically..."
He clenched his fist.
"They were gone."
The Erased Regions
Astra stepped closer.
"How many?"
The other Ash looked at her.
"Seven."
Astra's expression hardened.
"Seven regions?"
"Not entirely."
He shook his head.
"Parts of them."
Cynthia's eyes narrowed.
"Someone is selectively removing dimensional information."
Clemont nodded.
"Almost like deleting data from reality."
Jin looked at the System.
"Can the Administrator interface detect this?"
[ANALYSIS]
Phenomenon recognized.
Classification: Dimensional Erasure
Cause: Unknown
Current spread: 7.3%
Potential spread: 100%
Threat level: EXTREME
Jin's expression darkened.
"One hundred percent?"
The System continued.
If dimensional erasure reaches 100%:
World will become inaccessible.
Pokémon and humans within erased regions may become permanently disconnected from reality.
Ash's face hardened.
"So people could disappear."
"Yes."
Jin clenched his fist.
"Then we stop it."
The alternate Ash looked at him.
"That's why we came here."
A Familiar Face
Suddenly, another voice came from the dimensional gate.
"ASH!"
Everyone turned.
A girl ran through the portal.
Brown hair.
Blue eyes.
A familiar red ribbon.
Ash's eyes widened.
"Serena?!"
The Serena already standing on the island stared.
"Another me?"
The newcomer stopped.
Then looked at the other Serena.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally—
The alternate Serena smiled.
"Okay."
She laughed nervously.
"This is officially the strangest day of my life."
The original Serena smiled.
"I understand."
Behind her came several more people.
A blond boy with goggles.
"Clemont!"
The original Clemont stared.
Another Clemont stepped through.
Both adjusted their glasses at exactly the same time.
They froze.
Bonnie started laughing.
"You're both doing it!"
The two Clemonts looked at each other.
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
Then another figure appeared.
A girl with orange hair.
Ash's eyes widened.
"Misty!"
The alternate Misty stepped through.
She stared at the original Misty.
"...You have got to be kidding me."
The original Misty folded her arms.
"Don't look so surprised."
Then another familiar voice came from the gate.
"Is this Dimensional Island?"
A tall man with brown hair stepped through.
Ash shouted:
"Brock!"
Brock looked at the original Brock.
The two men stared.
Then Brock smiled.
"Well."
He put his hands on his hips.
"This is going to be interesting."
The Island's Reaction
Jin watched as more people entered.
Ash.
Misty.
Brock.
Serena.
Clemont.
Bonnie.
Different versions of people already present.
The System began displaying warning after warning.
[DIMENSIONAL DUPLICATES DETECTED]
Known individual overlap: 14
Identity conflict: NONE
Reality rejection: NONE
Dimensional compatibility: STABLE
Jin blinked.
"Stable?"
Clemont nodded.
"Apparently the island can support them."
The large Pikachu walked toward the alternate Pikachu.
"Pika."
The alternate Pikachu responded.
"Pika pika."
Jin looked at them.
"What are they talking about?"
The island Pikachu turned.
"Pika."
[They want to battle.]
Ash's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
Both Pikachu nodded.
Jin sighed.
"Of course."
Leon laughed.
"At least they're consistent."
The Battle of Two Pikachu
The two Pikachu stepped into the Battle Stadium.
Ash looked at the alternate Ash.
"Friendly battle?"
The alternate Ash grinned.
"Why not?"
Jin looked at the System.
"Set it to friendly."
[BATTLE MODE: FRIENDLY]
Damage limitation: ACTIVE
Fatality prevention: ACTIVE
Dimensional synchronization: ACTIVE
The two Pikachu faced each other.
Ash pointed.
"Quick Attack!"
"Thunderbolt!"
The alternate Ash shouted at the same time.
"Electro Ball!"
Both Pikachu moved.
BOOM!
They collided.
Lightning exploded.
Both jumped backward.
"Pika!"
"Pika pika!"
The two Pikachu grinned.
Jin smiled.
"They're having fun."
Cynthia nodded.
"Battle is one of the ways Pokémon understand each other."
The alternate Serena watched.
"They really are the same."
Original Serena smiled.
"Not exactly."
She pointed toward Ash.
"Every world changes people."
Jin looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Serena looked toward the alternate Ash.
"He's still Ash."
Then she looked at the original.
"But he's not our Ash."
Jin nodded slowly.
Different worlds.
Different experiences.
Different choices.
But the same person at the core.
The Battle Changes
The alternate Ash raised his Z-Ring.
The original Ash smiled.
"You have one too?"
"Of course."
Both Ashes raised their arms.
Jin's System immediately reacted.
[MULTIPLE Z-POWER SOURCES DETECTED]
Potential resonance detected.
Warning: Parallel Z-Power synchronization may create dimensional feedback.
Jin immediately shouted:
"Wait!"
Both Ashes stopped.
"What?"
Jin pointed at the System.
"Don't use your Z-Moves yet."
Clemont looked at the readings.
"He's right!"
The two Pikachu stopped.
"What happens if we do?"
Clemont swallowed.
"It could create a dimensional resonance between your two worlds."
Jin looked toward the alternate Ash.
"Your world is already unstable."
"Exactly."
Astra suddenly looked toward the dimensional gate.
"Everyone stop."
The gate was flickering.
The black distortion from the other world was spreading into the stadium.
Jin's expression changed.
"That's not supposed to happen."
Astra shook her head.
"The connection is being forced open."
The alternate Ash's face became pale.
"It's here."
Jin looked at him.
"What is?"
The alternate Ash slowly pointed toward the gate.
"The thing destroying our world."
The Eraser
The dimensional gate went completely black.
Then something stepped through.
At first it looked human.
A tall silhouette.
No face.
No clothing.
No features.
Just a completely black shape.
The System couldn't identify it.
[ERROR]
ENTITY ANALYSIS FAILED
NAME: NULL
TYPE: NULL
ORIGIN: NULL
DATA: NULL
Jin stared.
"Null?"
The large Pikachu stepped forward.
"Pika..."
[Master...]
The Null King, who had been resting near the edge of the island, suddenly stood.
Its eyes widened.
The Guardian trembled.
[ENEMY DETECTED.]
Jin looked at it.
"Who is that?"
The Guardian answered through the System.
[THE ERASER.]
The alternate Ash stepped backward.
"It followed us."
Cynthia immediately summoned Garchomp.
Steven activated Mega Evolution.
Leon prepared his Dynamax Band.
Ash raised his Z-Ring.
Misty and Brock released their Pokémon.
Serena called out Sylveon.
Clemont prepared his equipment.
The entire island began moving.
Jin raised his hand.
"Everyone!"
Thousands of Pokémon turned toward him.
"Defensive formation!"
The island responded instantly.
[COMMAND ACCEPTED]
The Eraser slowly raised one hand.
A tiny black sphere appeared above its palm.
Jin felt something.
Not energy.
Not power.
Something worse.
Absence.
Where the sphere pointed...
The grass disappeared.
Not burned.
Not destroyed.
It simply ceased to exist.
Jin's face went pale.
"It's not attacking."
Clemont stared at his scanner.
"It's deleting matter."
The Eraser turned toward Jin.
And for the first time...
It spoke.
"Administrator."
Jin's blood ran cold.
The Eraser took one step forward.
"Return what belongs to the Void."
Jin stepped forward.
"No."
The Eraser tilted its head.
"You do not understand."
Jin looked around at his Pokémon.
At Ash.
At Serena.
At Cynthia.
At his mansion.
At Dimensional Island.
"This is my home."
His eyes began glowing with Dimensional Power.
"And I'm not giving it to you."
The Eraser raised its hand.
Jin raised his.
The System exploded into light.
[DIMENSIONAL BATTLE PROTOCOL]
ALL POWER SYSTEMS AVAILABLE
MEGA EVOLUTION
Z-POWER
DYNAMAX/GIGANTAMAX
TERASTALLIZATION
DIMENSIONAL POWER
Administrator authority: 100%
The large Pikachu stepped beside Jin.
"Pika!"
[Let's protect our home.]
Ash stood on Jin's other side.
"Together."
Cynthia nodded.
"Together."
Leon grinned.
"Let's do this."
Steven activated Mega Metagross.
Diantha's Mega Gardevoir appeared.
Cynthia's Garchomp became surrounded by crystalline energy.
Leon raised his Dynamax Band.
Ash's Pikachu crackled with Z-Power.
And thousands of Pokémon across Dimensional Island prepared for battle.
Jin smiled.
"Everyone..."
He raised his hand.
"DIMENSIONAL ISLAND—DEFEND!"
The island answered.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR!
The battle began.
But far beneath the island...
Something ancient awakened.
The System displayed one final message.
[HIDDEN FACILITY DETECTED]
Location: Beneath Dimensional Island
Status: SEALED
Administrator access: REQUIRED
Warning:
The sealed facility predates the island's recorded history.
Estimated age: UNKNOWN
Possible connection to the origin of the four power systems.
Jin didn't see the message.
Not yet.
Because the Eraser had already begun its attack.
And this time...
Dimensional Island was fighting for its existence.