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No. No no no, this can’t be happening! The skies were pitch black, and the grasses all turned a murky yellow color. There was screaming, but Ash couldn’t identify its origin, not when the life of his best friend was draining out before his very eyes. Pikachu, his buddy, his first pokemon, his starter, was dying.
“Pikachu?” Ash mumbled. “What’s wrong, Pikachu?”
“Pikapi...” Pikachu closed his eyes, as if regretting his death. Ash shook the stone-cold body in his arms, fingers clenching. This has never happened before, they were always together, life or death!
“You can’t do this to me. Pikachu, you can’t!” Ash held his partner to his chest, only to be greeted with pure silence. No sparks of electricity. No tiny squeaks or chirps. Nothing.
Ash suddenly stood up, frantically glancing around. But nobody came. The wind whipped around, playing jump rope with Ash’s hair, not caring about irritating Ash’s red-rimmed eyes. The landscape before him was a black and white photo, frozen in time. Staring down the cliff, Ash took a sharp breath, adjusting Pikachu in his arms.
“No one cares,” an unknown voice whispered. Ash sported a blank face as a cold hand clamped around his chest. Turning around, he was greeted with dark shadows rising out of the ground. “Why do you care about it so much? It’s just a pokemon.”
“He’s my best friend!” Ash snarled.
“Oh?” The shadows swirled around Ash as if judging his every move. “This is your fault, isn’t it? What did you ever do for your little Pikachu?” Ash sweated, covering Pikachu with his arms. “You can’t protect him. He would be so much better without you.” Biting his lower lip, Ash trembled, taking a step back. He gasped as the cliff crumbled beneath him, the void engulfing him as he shattered into stone shards.
Jolting up in his bed, Ash breathed heavily as the darkness spun around him, his heart throbbing all over as he tumbled to the ground. Not even bothering to sit up, Ash’s pupils flitted from side to side as he stared into empty space.
“Pikapi?” That voice... Ash raised his arm, and a toasty ball of fur curled into Ash’s side, tail resting on his stomach. “Pika-Pikachu...”
“Just a nightmare,” Ash reassured, both to Pikachu and himself, “It was just a nightmare.” Running a clammy hand over Pikachu’s soft fur--not stone--Ash’s panicked heartbeat finally decided it was being foolish and tried to slow down.
“Pika?” Pikachu cooed, snuggling and tickling Ash’s side, but Ash didn’t react.
After a pause, Ash said, “I can’t exactly tell you how important you are to me.” Pikachu nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what his partner is thinking. “...I have so many other friends, yet you’re different. You’re special. Even so, if you want to go-”
Pikachu’s ears straightened up, shaking his head. “Pika!”
“That’s enough for me.” Ash shakily breathed out, tickling Pikachu’s cheeks. “Oh, and sorry for getting your fur sweaty.”
Pikachu’s tail slightly slapped Ash’s face, causing Ash to pout. Rolling his eyes, Pikachu hopped onto Ash’s stomach and yawned. “Chaaa~”
Ash didn’t mind sleeping on the hard floor, as long as he could look after his best buddy as he drifted off. They both know it would be a long week, but at least they had each other. And it would be ok.