Hey, everybody! For those who celebrate it, Happy Memorial Day! Now, how can I find a way to make this an even more memorable Memorial Day? Oh, wait! I know!

THE ULTIMATE COLLABORATION!

Okay, for those of you who read the Shiny Gengar's stories, some of you may have heard that he was looking for somebody to work with on an awesome Advanceshipping/Pearlshipping collaboration. Well, guess who answered the call? Yeah, that's right! Me, the Lightning Writer of Aura! Anyway, I think it's time to introduce you all to our new story: "Awake"!

Oh, yeah. Disclaimer: Neither PichuAuraGuardian18 nor The Shiny Gengar own Pokemon or its characters.

Chapter 1

"Dreaming or awake, we perceive only events that have meaning to us." – Jane Roberts

A loud roar of screaming overtook the entire stadium as Ash Ketchum took the field. All of the years he had spent traveling and training to become the very best led up to this point.

Ever since he had started his journey back in his hometown of Pallet, Ash had done all that he could to fulfill his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. This dream was a strong one that guided his very lifestyle, leading him to all kinds of new places like Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and even Unova.

Now, after all of that training, he had reached one the highest points of his training career: the Pokémon World Tournament. This tournament was where the greatest trainers from all around the world battled it out for the chance to become as world-renowned as the Elite Four or even the Champions. As such, Ash Ketchum was one of those trainers.

Today was the day when he was to battle against one of his toughest rivals of all time, Paul, his rival from the Sinnoh Region. Out of all of his rivals, Paul was one of the only ones to be able to equal him in battle strength.

In the crowd, many of Ash's friends were scattered all throughout the stands, including his best friend Brock and a certain blue-eyed girl that was very close to him.

Ash gave a happy sigh as he thought about this girl. For a few months now, they had been going out. Well, they had started going out once she had gotten it through his thick skull that she liked him. Surprisingly, he had never even known that she had liked him so much. Maybe he really was as dense as a Geodude like everybody said.

Oddly enough, he began to think back to the conversation he had last night with these two best friends of his.

(Flashback)

"Looks like I'm up against Paul tomorrow," Ash said as he looked out the window of the room that the Pokémon World Council had provided him with during the tournament.

Ash really did enjoy the sight. It gave him a perfect view of the stadium where all of the main battles would be taking place now that the preliminaries were over. As such, Ash had won the battles with flying colors.

"Isn't this awesome, Pikachu?" Ash said to his partner who currently sat on his shoulder. "We finally made it."

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"And tomorrow, we're going up against Paul," Ash sighed. The thought of facing his long-time rival filled him with both excitement and worry. Would he be able to best his rival this time? Or would the Sinnoh native come out as the victor, leaving him the loser?

All of the sudden, there was a knock on the door, causing Ash to turn around quickly to see two familiar faces smiling at him.

"Ash! Pikachu!" The blue-eyed beauty squealed in happiness.

"Pika!" Pikachu gave the girl a wave.

"Well, how's it going?" Brock asked with a smirk. "You feel at home in this room or what?"

Ash looked around at all of the clothes he had left lying around in the few days that he had been there. He had never been the neatest person in the world, and all of the non-stop battles that he had either participated in or watched had kept him busy.

"Heh-heh-heh," Ash chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I haven't exactly had much time for organization."

"Ash, what would your mother say if she saw this?" His girlfriend scolded him with her hands on her hips and an angry look that maybe really could kill.

Ash gulped in fear at the thought of what his mother would have done if this had been his own room. Sometimes, his mother could be as nice and cheerful as a Pichu, but when she really got mad at him, she was scarier than even a Gengar.

The girl's anger soon subsided as she sighed and said, "Well, I guess that I can help you out since you're battling in the tournament."

"Speaking of which, how did the Grand Festival go?" Ash inquired.

The blue-eyed coordinator placed her hand to her chin as she remembered all of the appeals and battles that took place during the biggest contest of the year.

"It was interesting," She said contemplatively. "I'll have to tell you about it later."

Ash groaned. "I wish that I had been able to make it!"

"Well, you'll have to make it up to me," The girl smiled coyly.

Ash's eyes widened as his imagination began to get the best of him. Before it could go too far, however, Brock, the self-proclaimed "ladies' man", interrupted him, which was strangely ironic.

"So, Ash," The future Pokémon Doctor began. "Are you ready for this? I mean, you are facing Paul after all."

Ash's thoughts turned to his rival, the purple-haired powerhouse trainer of Sinnoh. Paul and Ash had never had the best relationship of rivals, but in any case, it was clear that they balanced each other out, almost like yin and yang.

"Paul is a tough rival," Ash said as he looked back out the window over the field that he would be battling his rival on the next morning. "But I know that we can win. With my Pokémon by my side, we can win any battle."

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu fist-pumped in excitement.

(End Flashback)

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when he felt something tug the leg of his jeans. He looked down to see the small, yellow mouse-like Pokémon that had been with him from the start gesturing towards the battlefield set before them.

Ash looked towards it and smiled. It really was a magnificent battlefield.

"Welcome, everyone, to the First Round of the Pokémon World Tournament!" An announcer's voice could be heard over the loud speakers all throughout the stadium.

Thousands upon thousands of screaming fans could be heard in the rows surrounding the battlefield. It was as if they had managed to fit the entire population of the world into the very large stadium.

"The first battle taking place will be between two very promising trainers by the names of Ash of the Kanto Region and Paul of the Sinnoh Region!" The announcer continued. "And now, let us go to our official referee to hear the rules of this battle!"

Ash turned and looked at the referee as he waited to hear about exactly what kind of battle that he and Paul would be battling in.

"This will be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions where the winner will be determined by the number of victories that each trainer has at the end of the battle!" The referee said to the crowd. "Once both trainers are ready, we will begin the battle!"

Ash looked into the cold black eyes of his rival, who stood opposite of him on the other side of the field. All of their previous battles had led up to this fierce encounter of titans. In the back of his mind, Ash had a feeling that this battle would change their lives forever.

"Ash!" Paul called out to him. "I hope that you're ready. I'm much stronger than the last time we met."

"So are we," Ash replied with a grin. "Let's give this our all."

With that, each trainer took a Pokéball from their belts and prepared to throw out their most powerful forces to face off against each other.

"Torterra, standby for battle!" Paul yelled as he hurled the Pokéball in his hand to the field.

In a burst of blue light, the Sinnoh native's starter Pokémon appeared, landing onto the ground with a thud.

"Terra!" The Continent Pokémon grunted as it glared at Ash and Pikachu.

"So Paul's going with Torterra first, huh?" Ash muttered.

He then threw his Pokéball into the air and shouted out, "Infernape, I choose you!"

Instantly, the Fire/Fighting-type monkey-like Pokémon from the Sinnoh region appeared onto the field, giving an amused grin as it prepared to battle.

"In-fer-nape!" Infernape bellowed while pounding his fists up against his chest in an effort to show off his strength.

Time stood still as everyone waited for the referee to give the trainers the okay to begin the battle. If this wasn't the tensest moment of the events that were to take place today, Ash didn't know what was.

Finally, the referee held both of the red and green flags up into the air and proclaimed to the crowd, "Begin!"

"Infernape, start off with Mach Punch!" Ash commanded.

Infernape's eyes flashed yellow before it began to run straight towards its foe with a fist blazing in a light blue energy ready to punch.

"Torterra, Withdraw!" Paul instructed.

Torterra bent its head down and got down upon its knees as Infernape came and struck it in the back.

After striking Torterra with the Mach Punch, Infernape did a backflip and landed back in front of Ash. Both the Pokémon and the trainer's eyes widened when they saw what that one simple Mach Punch had ended up doing.

At the moment, Torterra was bouncing and spinning around all over the battlefield. Every time that it would hit a wall, it would simply rebound off of it and keep going like a top.

Ash had a confounded look on his face as he watched the Continent Pokémon ricochet all over the place. What was this, a Pokémon version of pinball?

"Infernape, slow it down with Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

Infernape took a deep breath before releasing a red-orange stream of fire from its mouth at Torterra.

As the beam of fire hit the Grass/Ground-Type Pokémon, the flames seemed to spiral around its body, preventing any serious damage that it might have gotten normally from the super-effective attack.

"Aw, great," Ash groaned as he face-palmed himself. Not even a Flamethrower could stop it! They just had to find some way to stop Torterra's spinning completely.

Then, all of the sudden, an idea popped into the raven-haired trainer's mind.

"Infernape, use Dig to make a pit to stop Torterra!" Ash directed.

Infernape nodded before jumping up into the air and then diving down into the ground.

At that point, Torterra came spinning towards the hole that Infernape had dug, which was by now a pit large enough to fit the large turtle, Paul's Pokémon fell into it. Once Torterra had landed inside of the hole, it stopped spinning altogether.

"Now we've got it," Ash grinned. "Infernape! Come out and use Flare Blitz!"

Infernape immediately popped out of another hole that it had dug and jumped into the air. Then, its body became surrounded by red-orange fire before it shot towards Torterra like a missile. As it flew through the air towards its opponent, the fire around Infernape's body turned light blue.

Ash smirked. Now that Torterra was trapped in that pit, there was no way that it could avoid Infernape's strongest attack. This round seemed to be in the bag.

"Torterra, stop it with Stone Edge!" Paul hollered out.

Three blue rings suddenly surrounded Torterra's body. The rings soon turned white before forming into chunks of gray stones that continued to circle around it. Torterra's eyes then glowed green and it fired the stones at the oncoming Infernape.

As the stones pelted against the flaming torpedo that was Infernape, the Flame Pokémon cringed a bit in pain and its attack began to falter until it soon crash-landed into the ground.

"Infernape!" Ash cried out in worry.

"Torterra! Climb out of that hole with Rock Climb!" Paul yelled.

Torterra's claws glowed white and they grew longer. It then ran towards the wall of the pit that it was currently in and climbed out of the hole with ease.

Once Torterra had climbed out of the hole, it began a stare-down with Infernape, who was struggling to stand up after the damage that it had received from Torterra's Stone Edge attack.

"Infernape, let's get things moving with a little Close Combat!" Ash called out.

Infernape grinned and then ran towards Torterra at a super-fast speed. Strangely, the latter made no attempt to avoid the attack.

As Infernape came up to its opponent, it began punching and kicking it repeatedly with lightning fast speed. Torterra winced slightly from the damage that it was taking, but it still continued to stand.

"Follow it up with Flame Wheel!" Ash continued.

Infernape jumped into the air and somersaulted as the flame on its head extended and covered its entire body. It then rolled into Torterra, who continued to take in the damage, despite how much pain that it was in.

"Now, finish it off with Overheat!" Ash shouted.

Infernape's body turned red and it released a powerful orange-yellow fire with an orange flame spiraling around it from its mouth at Torterra. As the attack hit its mark, an explosion occurred that covered the field in a fog of black smoke.

"We did it!" Ash celebrated happily.

"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu said while giving its signature two-fingered peace sign.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Paul yelled over to Ash, stopping his celebration in its tracks.

"Huh?" Ash said in confusion. He looked back at the field and his eyes then widened in shock.

As the smoke cleared, everyone could see Torterra still standing strong despite all of the damage it had taken.

"Grab Infernape with Frenzy Plant!" Paul commanded.

Torterra's body became outlined in green and it slammed its front two legs into the ground. Then, all of the sudden, giant roots with spikes on them came out of the ground.

"In-fer-nape!" Infernape shrieked in shock as the roots wrapped around its body tightly and lifted it up into the air.

"Infernape!" Ash yelled.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu echoed, also worried about its teammate.

Ash grimaced. He knew that Torterra would have to wait before being able to attack again, but unless they could get Infernape out of the vines, the Flame Pokémon was doomed.

Then, Ash had an idea. "Infernape, get out of there with Fury Swipes!"

Infernape's fingers began to glow white, and then, it used its hands to slash its way out of the roots that were currently strangling it. Seconds later, it landed back onto the ground, free as a Pidgey.

"Nice work, Infernape!" Ash grinned. "Now, let's hit Torterra hard with one last Mach Punch!"

Infernape nodded eagerly and then ran at a super-fast speed towards Torterra and punched it in the back with a glowing light blue fist.

"Awesome!" Ash cheered. However, the Pallet Town trainer didn't notice the smirk on his rival's face.

"Crunch," Paul said with a sneer.

Slowly but surely, Torterra bit its jaws down upon Infernape's tail, causing the latter to scream in pain.

"Now, Giga Drain!" Paul ordered.

The three mountains on Torterra's back glowed green, and then green energy beams extended from the tops of the mountains at Infernape, wrapping it up as they began to drain energy from it.

"Infernape, you've got to get out of there!" Ash hollered out to his Pokémon.

Infernape attempted to free itself from the glowing green tendrils, but was unfortunately unable to. Eventually, however, the energy beams went back into the mountains on Torterra's back.

"Let's wrap this up," Paul said with a smirk. "Use Return!"

"Return?" Ash repeated in confusion.

At its trainer's command, Torterra began to rush towards the nearest wall with Infernape's tail still trapped in its jaws. Then, it slammed itself into the wall, along with Infernape, creating a cloud of dust that shrouded the both of them.

Once the dust finally cleared, Torterra slowly backed away from the wall, allowing everyone to see Infernape, who was now lying on the ground unconscious with swirls in its eyes.

"Infernape is unable to battle!" The referee announced. "Torterra is the winner!"

Ash's eyebrows furrowed as he returned Infernape back into its Pokéball. Paul now had one victory while Ash had none. However, there were still two more rounds, and Ash still had a chance to win.

"This battle ain't over yet," Ash said confidently as he took the Pokéball of his second choice into his hand. "Not by a long shot."

As the two rivals continued to battle it out in this intense battle, a beautiful-looking woman with blonde hair and gray eyes sat high in the stands overlooking the battle. A smile crept its way onto her face as she watched them and their Pokémon battle one another.

"They sure have come far since they first met back in Sinnoh," Cynthia, also known as the Champion of the Sinnoh Region, said with remembrance. "No matter what the outcome of this battle, those two will one day be legendary."

Suddenly, a powerful explosion occurred on the battle, causing the entire crowd to gasp in awe.

Cynthia chuckled a bit. "Maybe even fiercer."

Meanwhile, another figure watched the match in interest. As they continued to battle, a menacing sneer appeared on his face.

"So what my associates have told me about him is true," He said with an impressed look on his face. "He is strong."

His lips curled as he thought about the plans he had in store for the tournament. "No matter what, even if he wins or loses this battle, I will most definitely have to challenge this one."

"Gliscor, use Giga Impact!" Ash instructed.

"Gliiiiiiiscor!" The bluish-purple vampire bat-like Pokémon yelled as it flew straight towards the large Drapion that it had been fighting fiercely for the past ten minutes.

As it gained speed, Gliscor's body became surrounded by a purple aura accompanied with yellow-orange streaks of light. Eventually, it slammed its body with all of its might into the Ogre Scorp Pokémon.

Upon impact, an explosion occurred, blinding everyone's view of the field with a fog of dark smog. Once it finally cleared, however, all of the people in the stadium saw that Paul's Drapion was now lying on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Drapion is unable to battle!" The referee proclaimed. "Gliscor is the winner!"

Ash, Pikachu, and Gliscor all smiled in relief. After much fierce battling, including a time when Drapion had poisoned the Fang Scorp Pokémon, they had managed to pull out of the second round victorious.

"Great work, Gliscor," Ash said as he held out the former's Pokéball and returned it back into the device. Once the Ground/Flying-type had disappeared from sight, Ash turned to face his rival.

Paul had just finished recalling his fallen Pokémon as well before returning Ash's intense stare.

Now that the second round of their battle was over, they were both tied with one win each. It would now take one more battle to decide who would continue on in the World Tournament. As always, both trainers were ready to give it their all.

"Pikachu," Ash said while looking down at the Electric-type that stood by his side. "Are you ready?"

Pikachu nodded, giving him what Ash decided was a thumbs-up before it ran out onto the field.

"Electivire, standby for battle!" Paul yelled as he threw a Pokéball into the air.

Bursting from the ball in a blaze of blue light was a large, familiar-looking humanoid Pokémon whose body was covered in yellow fur with black stripes all over it.

As soon as the Thunderbolt Pokémon's devious red eyes fell upon the small but powerful opponent that stood before it, a menacing smile of glee appeared onto its face.

"Vire," Electivire grunted, cracking its knuckles eagerly.

"Pika," Pikachu growled back. As it glared at its opponent, small sparks of yellow electricity began to dance across Pikachu's red cheeks.

"This is the final round of this battle!" The referee reminded them. "The victory will go to whoever manages to win this match. Now, if both trainers are ready, you may begin!"

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.

A white outline suddenly surrounded Pikachu's body before it took off towards its opponent with a blinding speed. As it ran, a silver trail of energy followed the yellow mouse's body.

"Protect!" Paul quickly told his Pokémon.

Electivire put its arms in front of its face and its body started to glow yellow-green. Then, a green force field surrounded its body, causing Pikachu to end up crashing into the sphere.

Pikachu rubbed its head to try and lessen the slight pain that it had received from the impact. All the while, it glared up at Electivire, who seemed to be mocking it with its goofy grin.

"Electivire, now use Brick Break!" Paul commanded.

Electivire's forearm flashed white before the arm became surrounded in white sparks. It then jumped up as it prepared to come down and karate chop Pikachu.

"Pikachu, block it with Iron Tail!" Ash instructed.

Pikachu's tail began to sparkle white and it soon gained a white outline. The Electric-type's tail then turned to iron as it jumped into the air and somersaulted into Electivire's attack.

Sparks flew as the two attacks continued to push up against one another. Eventually, the force became too much and the two opponents were knocked apart.

Somehow, both managed to easily land back down onto the ground on their feet as they got ready to continue the battle. Ash began to notice, however, that Paul had a confident smile on his face.

"If I remember correctly," The purple-haired trainer began, "your Pikachu only has two moves that it can actually use against Electivire without activating its Motor Drive ability: Quick Attack and Iron Tail. Unless it has some other non-Electric-typed moves, your Pikachu is at a disadvantage."

"Well, it's a good thing that Pikachu has learned a few new moves just for the occasion," Ash replied to Paul's surprise. "Pikachu, use Focus Punch!"

"What?" Paul's eyes widened in shock.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu yelled as it jumped up at Electivire and punched it in the jaw with a glowing blue fist. The force of the punch caused the Electric-type to stumble back in pain.

"Follow it up with another Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

"Block it with another Protect!" Paul smirked.

As Pikachu ran towards Electivire at a fast speed, the latter created a green force field around its body with an amused look on its face.

"So much for new moves," Paul said as he waited for Pikachu to crash into Electivire's force field again. "You haven't learned a thing."

"Haven't we?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow. "Pikachu, break through that shield with Feint!"

Pikachu's tail began to glow white as it got closer to Electivire. Then, it jumped and somersaulted into Electivire's shield. It slammed its tail against the shield and effectively destroyed the barrier.

"No!" Paul growled in anger.

"Now hit it with Toxic!" Ash hollered out.

The end of Pikachu's tail took on a purple glow as continued flipping towards Electivire and struck it in the chest with the point of its tail.

"Vire!" Electivire cried out as its body took on a purple glow and purple static caused it pain.

"Sweet! We poisoned it!" Ash fist-pumped happily.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu said with a peace sign while still standing near Electivire.

Things looked bad for Electivire, but strangely, Paul looked pleased.

"Perfect," Paul sneered. "Time to show them our new move. Use Façade!"

White electricity sparkled around Electivire's body and it became surrounded in an orange aura that made its body shine. Then, catching Pikachu off guard, it threw a punch at it, sending it flying.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in pain as it flew back to its side of the battlefield. Eventually, it crash landed a few feet in front of Ash.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in shock. "Are you okay?"

"Chu," Pikachu nodded. It seemed okay, but in reality, that Façade attack had caused it a lot of damage.

"We're going to have to end this fast," Ash told it. "Electivire may be poisoned, but that Façade attack could cause a lot of damage. You think you can do it?"

Pikachu gave him a nod and a thumbs-up before running back onto the field. Things were about to get serious.

"Electivire, use ThunderPunch!" Paul hollered out.

Electivire began sprinting towards Pikachu with its fist cloaked in yellow electricity.

"Pikachu, stop it with Focus Punch!" Ash instructed.

As Electivire threw a super-charged punch at the Electric Mouse Pokémon, Pikachu ran and jumped towards it, punching against Electivire's fist with its own glowing light blue one.

"Use Brick Break with your other hand!" Paul called out.

"Block it with Iron Tail!" Ash quickly shouted.

While Electivire pulled back one hand and prepared to strike with the other, Pikachu managed to stay airborne when flipping at it. Seconds later, hand met tail, causing intense sparks as they pushed against one another.

Once the force became too much, the two were blown back a few feet to the ground. This time, however, they both crashed into the ground.

"Pika," Pikachu winced as it tried to pull itself up off of the ground.

It looked up to see that Electivire was already standing and cringing as its body lit up in purple light. The poisoning was taking a dire effect upon the Electric-type, but yet it still stood.

"This battle ends now, Ketchum," Paul said with a serious look on its face. "Use Thunderbolt!"

The balls on the ends of Electivire's antennae became surrounded by yellow electricity. Then, its whole body became engulfed in electricity and it fired a blast of lightning from its body at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash bellowed.

"Pika-chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as it released a massive bolt of electricity from its cheeks.

As the two attacks collided, a huge surge of electricity began to build up as the two Electric-types continued to fire their Thunderbolt attacks continued to hit one another.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in fear. The raven-haired trainer knew if that those attacks exploded, Pikachu could be seriously injured.

Without even thinking, he ran out onto the field towards Pikachu just as Electivire's Thunderbolt pushed overwhelmed Pikachu's. Unfortunately, the electrical attack continued flying and hit the only person that was standing between it and the wall: Ash.

"AHHHHH!" Ash screamed in intense pain as the electricity traveled through his entire body, electrocuting him. Once the attack ceased, everyone gasped as Ash slowly fell back to the ground.

As his body touched the dirt field, Ash could only faintly hear several gasps and screams while his vision faded and the world turned to black.

…

…

…

"Is something the matter?"

…

"I've had… a vision…"

"Really? What did you see?"

"Light… lots of light, two powerful forces colliding."

"Is that all?"

…

"No… there was a boy… he was injured by the light…"

"Was he alright?"

"No… there was… blood… he didn't make it through alive."

…

"It's a shame…"

"It was the boy with the Pikachu."

"What! The boy with the Pikachu?"

"Indeed… I must intervene."

"But… But how?"

"The mind can be restored while he's mentally somewhere else."

"Where?"

…

"A parallel universe."

So how was it? We hope that you guys enjoyed this first chapter.

This story is based on that short-lived television series on NBC by the same name. The Shiny Gengar is the one that came up with this awesome idea, so most of the praise and applause should go to him! And I can tell you now: this story is going to be amazing!

Now, to answer the question that's on everyone's minds: How is this collaboration story going to work? Well, I wrote this first chapter with a small bit of it written by The Shiny Gengar. However, the next chapter will be written by The Shiny Gengar. Basically, we'll alternate with each chapter. We're really excited about this and hope that you will like this story. Also, if you would like to keep up with each one of our other stories, including my upcoming movie fic, "Kyurem and the Hero's Sword", I'd suggest that you put both of us on Author Alert.

Anyways, until next time, read and review!