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This was a very strange place Ash had suddenly found himself in, and even worse, he had no idea how he had suddenly found himself here. He couldn't tell anything about this place for that matter, just that it was entirely pitch black to the point that he was unable to see his hand in front of his face. The cold was so heavy and intense that it seeped through his clothes, biting all the way down to the bone. Ash wrapped his arms around his shivering body and took a hesitant step forward. Walking in such a dark place was probably dangerous but what choice did he have? It made no sense to just stand there and wait for something to happen.
What a creepy situation he had found himself in all of a sudden, Ash thought, though he was no stranger to such unnatural occurrences. All kinds of things seemed to happen around him after all. The eerie silence was not helping matters either. Was there anyone else out there?
"Hello?" Ash called out. The echo of his voice faded away into the empty silence and he heard nothing in response.
"What is this anyway? Some kind of weird dream? I sure hope so, anyway. I wish Pikachu was here."
The sound of steady footsteps rang out from somewhere behind Ash, giving him a start. He whirled around to face an eerie red glow that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. At the center of that glow was a shadowy figure. The silhouette seemed kind of familiar to him. When the figure came even closer, Ash emitted a shocked gasp. He knew who it was now and yet, that should be impossible, for he was looking at himself.
The Ash lookalike stopped a few feet away and looked up. His mouth twisted into a malicious sneer. "It's been a long time, Ash." His voice sounded deep and raspy, completely ill-fitting for the body he wore.
"Who... are you...?" Ash stuttered out, gaping with wide eyes.
"Oh?" The Ash lookalike tilted his head, snickering softly. "I see that you don't remember me but like I said, it has been a long time. You thought that I was gone forever and you would never hear of me ever again, didn't you? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, brat, but I'm still here."
His words only made Ash even more confused. He slowly shook his head.
"I've been lying in wait the whole time, deep inside of you, and slowly regaining my power. That fool Brandon thought I was gone completely when I was sucked back into that prison but I managed to leave a part of myself in you. I've been biding my time until I was strong enough and now here I am."
"... Brandon?" Ash frowned. He considered what the other him had just said and the horrifying thought occurred to him. "Hold on, are you that evil spirit that possessed me at that time?"
"That's the King of Pokélantis to you."
The king smiled wickedly and a shadowy aura began to flow around his body. Coils of darkness snaked out of his body and shot toward Ash. Ash cried out and tried to run away, but he was quickly caught in the snare. The coils wrapped tightly around his body and crackled, provoking agonized screams from the young trainer. He thrashed about as his feet left the ground.
"You never figured out that I was still here. I doubt Brandon will ever find out either. Now I can do as I wish and nobody will be able to stop me."
Ash continued to struggle against the coils, wincing at the pain that shot through his body whenever he moved. He gritted his teeth and directed a fierce glare at the king. "I beat you last time and I'll do it again!"
The king chuckled, his eyes showing amusement. "You don't have the strength to defeat me, not this time. When I wake up in your body, I'm going to kill your friends and then continue my quest to take over the world. That Pikachu of yours won't be spared. I'll enjoy killing that pathetic little rat."
"No!" Ash's blood ran cold at the very thought of anything happening to his best friend. He groaned and strained even harder. Little beads of sweat were forming on his head. "I... I won't let you..."
"It's useless. You're going to sleep now and I'll never let you wake up again. Goodnight, Ash."
A tendril of energy looped around Ash's neck and tightened, crushing his windpipe. He could only gasp for air while the king's mocking laugh rang in his ears. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of what would happen to his dear friends. If only he could fight back. Darkness crept into his vision and then he knew nothing more.