Chapter Text
Pikachu was having a hard time sleeping.
It was the night before the finals of the Masters 8. The biggest battle of his and Ash's life, the greatest test of everything they'd been through together.
Win or lose, it would be amazing.
Pikachu really did want to win, though. But… This was supposed to be their big, shining moment. And he was caught up on thinking about something he'd never been able to bring himself to tell Ash.
Not only that, it was something he'd lied to Ash about since they day they'd met. He'd never been able to build up the courage to come clean.
It was a secret that could change everything… or nothing at all.
For such an impactful secret, the story didn't have a dramatic start. There wasn't any intense training to achieve something that was supposed to be impossible, and it wasn't caused by some magical relic or strange science experiment.
At the time, he hadn't even realized it was supposed to be incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
He'd been two years old, nearly three, and it was about half a year after he'd left Kangaskhan. Which, unfortunately, meant that it was winter, and a snowy night wasn't exactly the best time to go out to forage for berries and fruit. This wasn't the first time he'd had to wait out the snow hungry, he'd done it before meeting Kangaskhan as well, but it was the first time he was doing so in a human town instead of the forest. He'd been hiding out in a phone booth for several hours when an old man (who he'd much later come to recognize as Professor Oak) came in and used the phone to order a pizza.
Now, Pikachu had been impressed by the ability to summon food, and so tried it himself with absolutely no understanding of how phones actually worked. The operator had been confused at the Pika-speak, and then Pikachu remembered that humans had their own language.
So he'd focused on the sounds he was making, trying to mimic the way humans sounded, and tried to speak it. And it had simply worked. The sounds he thought of came out of his mouth.
For the first (but far from last) time, he'd done the impossible without even trying.
The operator hadn't been terribly amused by him explaining that he was a hungry Pikachu, thinking that he was a prank caller. They had complimented his Pikachu impression before hanging up, though.
That just left Pikachu hungry and confused as he went to sleep. The snow had let up in the morning, though, and he'd finally been able to forage for some fruit… from a grocery store display.
In hindsight, he was pretty sure the owner of the store believed he was a dream, since it wasn't like a wild Pikachu would just walk up and ask for an apple at the crack of dawn.
Eventually, though, someone both heard him talking and realizing he was real. And that had led to someone getting him into a Poké Ball for the first time. Thankfully, he'd managed to escape, but even being in one for a few seconds had been a horribly unpleasant experience. It also introduced him to the fact that a Pikachu speaking was a very unusual sight indeed.
He stopped talking to humans after that. Well, mostly. There was a time when he found a lost walkie-talkie, and a human on the other end started talking to him, informing him that her little brother had lost it. Instead of using his real name, he'd tried translating the meaning as best he could, and he was pretty sure that Daisy May Oak never learned that her friend 'Rainbow' wasn't actually a human. Pikachu, however, learned a lot about humans, and that made him very curious. Daisy May had left on a journey after he'd only known her a few weeks, and that was sadly the end. He did come to Professor Oak's lab the day she left, though, to finally see her in person, and to say goodbye from the sidelines in his own way.
That night he'd ended up caught by the professor after sticking around too long chewing the wiring under the lab.
Not once during the years Pikachu spent with Professor Oak did he speak. But his interest in humans and the way they did things had been piqued, and as much as he hated the stupid ball, he finally had a chance to learn so much more about humans and all the amazing things they'd learned, or the incredible devices they'd created.
He learned to read and write – skills that, like his speech, he kept mostly quiet. Well, he tried to. Professor Oak did eventually catch on to the fact that Pikachu actually knew what was in his research papers.
The professor had been amused, but infuriatingly unsurprised, and had started simply leaving fiction books for Pikachu to amuse himself with while Oak was working. Pikachu never did quite figure out what the professor's deal was when it came to him.
When Ash had asked "Is your name all you can say?", Pikachu had lied and said that it was. What reason did he have to trust Ash with the truth?
Of course, it didn't take long for Ash to give him a reason. Standing up to all of the Spearow to protect Pikachu, willing to take them on, even as a human, just so Pikachu could be safe… After a display like that, Pikachu knew that he could trust him. That he'd found a trainer who wasn't like those who wanted him just because he spoke, like before.
When he and Ash saved each other, when he truly trusted Ash, Pikachu was having second thoughts about lying to Ash. As nervous as the idea made him after everything that had happened in the past, he was considering telling him the truth just as soon as things had calmed down and they were past Viridian City, but something gave him pause.
(or maybe just an excuse not to)
In the Pokémon Center, when fighting Team Rocket, he and Ash had worked together. He'd come up with a plan, and Ash had followed it.
Pikachu hadn't spoken human, and yet Ash had listened to him anyway. He'd repeated Pikachu's words back at him. He'd known what they meant.
It shouldn't have been possible, and maybe it was just a fluke.
But maybe, just maybe, by some miracle… it wasn't.
Pikachu decided that he wasn't going to tell Ash. Why, he wasn't really sure. Maybe he was scared, or maybe he was curious. Maybe he just wanted to pretend to be normal for a little bit longer.
It was inconsistent, and Pikachu could not for the life of him figure out why, but it quickly became apparent that it most certainly was not a fluke.
He'd had to use charades for Ash to understand at Mount Moon, but the boy had still gotten a few words.
And then there was the Thunder Stone and Raichu.
After he'd lost, which had been a real blow to his pride, Ash had held out the Thunder Stone and spoke seven words that changed everything:
"Pikachu, what do you want to do?"
He should've seen it coming, he knew what Ash was like. But it hadn't really hit him until he heard it out loud. Pikachu wasn't sure Ash ever realized how much that meant.
He'd swatted the Thunder Stone away and gone on a whole rant about not wanting to evolve and the honor of Pikachu everywhere. Admittedly, he didn't exactly know how most Pikachu felt about evolving, but he knew how he felt about it, and that's what really mattered.
And Ash had listened. To both his words and his choice.
And they'd trained up and fought Raichu together. They'd won, and it had been incredible.
Some of the instances where Ash failed to understand him were frustrating.
Meeting other Pikachu in the wild had been an unforgettable experience. It had been fun, for sure! He'd never actually met wild Pikachu before. The only times he'd met another Pikachu at all were in the Viridian City Pokémon Center and aboard the St. Anne. They hadn’t been wild, and there had been a lot going on, so he didn't exactly get a chance to socialize.
As fun as it was to spend time with the wild Pikachu, it was obvious to Pikachu that he wasn't like them. All of them stood and walked on four legs for some reason, and he didn't really understand a lot of what was going on. To them, he was weird, but once he saved the tiny Pikachu they'd gotten over their fear and accepted him.
All Ash had seen was him having fun, though, and he decided to try and leave Pikachu behind because he thought he'd be happier with the other Pikachu. He hadn't even bothered to ask him!
And… And maybe Pikachu sort of got why Ash might think he wanted to stay. Because he really hadn't gotten along well with Ash at first, and this was still so new. Ash couldn't really understand him yet.
Pikachu could've changed that in an instant, then and there. But even now, he still had doubts, and he hesitated.
He decided to make a promise to himself: He didn’t know when, or how, but someday, he would tell Ash. No matter how this started, here and now, he was choosing Ash. He'd always choose Ash.
For a good long while after that, things were simple. Okay, sure, they ran into some bizarre problem every couple of days, sometimes less, but that had quickly become surprisingly routine.
Ash's ability to understand Pikachu slowly improved, becoming more and more consistent. Pikachu was pretty sure Ash hadn't even noticed, though. The thing that caught him by surprise, though, was that Ash wasn't the only one. The longer Misty and Brock were around, their teasing became less mean-spirited and more good-natured, and they really began to listen to and trust Ash… and, somehow, Pikachu, too. They weren't as good at it as Ash, but Pikachu…
It wasn't a sudden thing, but little group of weirdoes Ash had attracted slowly morphed into something that felt more like home than anything Pikachu had had before. Even if he only really realized what was going on once Togepi came into their lives and he suddenly became a big brother of sorts.
The first Pokémon League came and went. The failure hit Ash hard, and Pikachu could see why. Sure, they'd done pretty well, top 16 out of 256 was nothing to sneeze at, but the way they lost…
If it was just because they hadn't trained hard enough, maybe it would've been better. And… that was a big part of it, sure, they really had kind of neglected training. But the day of the match, everyone had been run ragged by Team Rocket being surprisingly competent for once, and then Charizard had just decided he didn't feel like battling and basically forfeit the match.
Pikachu had kind of been at a loss for what to do. Ash hadn't really been trying to listen to him, or anyone else, even. Not that they were much help anyway… He wondered, sometimes, if it would've been better to reveal his secret then and talk things out, instead of just Thunderbolting everyone once the arguments started.
It was Ritchie that managed to pull Ash out of his funk… and fighting Team Rocket again, that helped too. And there'd been a promise, and a question that Ash asked Pikachu – if he was ready to train harder. Pikachu had immediately responded in the affirmative, but spent the trip back to Pallet Town… really thinking about it.
Fighting in the Pokémon League had been exhilarating. It was a whole different beast than Gym Battles, and the most fun Pikachu had ever had.
After the two of them had returned to Ash's home – Pikachu's too, now – and his trainer had fallen asleep, Pikachu had climbed out of the window to sit on the roof look at the Moon. Pikachu wasn't sure why, but it had always been a source of comfort for him whenever his emotions got to be too much.
"I'm always by your side, Ash," Pikachu whispered – in human language, the first time he'd spoken it in well over a year. "We'll make a destiny where we're the best. Like no one ever was."
"Pikachu?" Ash mumbled sleepily.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu instantly switched back to Pika-speak, as he jumped back through the window.
"'S… time for sleep, buddy," Ash said.
After closing the window, Pikachu jumped back up in bed and snuggled close. Ash didn't seem to have heard him, thankfully.
For most of the Orange Islands and Johto, Pikachu didn't think about his ability to speak very often. It simply didn't matter, Ash could talk to him, and he could talk to Ash, and that was that. And yet, from time to time, there were still moments that gave him pause.
It was a chance run-in with an actual witch, with spells and potions and everything, on the way to Blackthorn City that gave Pikachu something to think about. After Ash had temporarily become a Pikachu, still fully capable of speech, Pikachu had begun to wonder about his own origins. They'd met a human boy raised by some Kangaskhan back in Kanto who could speak both human and Pokémon languages, a parallel that was not lost on him, so was it possible that Pikachu wasn't… actually a Pikachu?
He didn't seriously think he was secretly human, or anything, but he knew that he was weird even without counting his ability to speak. For one thing, a normal Pikachu his age should've been an adult by now, and Pikachu was very sure that he was still a long way off from that.
Maybe it didn't really matter all that much. Ash had still been himself for the brief period of time that he was a Pikachu, and Pikachu couldn't actually figure out any answers to what else he could be, so maybe… The circumstances of how he got here were irrelevant, and it was what he chose to do now that determined who he really was (he wasn't quite sure where he'd gotten that from, but it sounded nice), and the answer to that was Pikachu, even if he might be something that wasn't quite a Pikachu.
… Which would definitely sound a lot less confusing if he had a nickname, but he wasn't even going to entertain the idea of calling himself anything but 'Pikachu'.
The one and only time Pikachu had heard any of Meowth's history of learning to talk had been when he, the cat, and Max had been stuck in a cave that Team Rocket had made unstable by digging a big hole to trap and capture him (because of course they had).
When the three of them had been climbing up to a higher level of the cave, Max had asked about why Meowth could talk. And that had reminded Pikachu that, oh yeah, he could do that too (he'd really gotten into the habit of just not thinking about it by that point), and so he'd listened to Meowth's story with curiosity.
… Which was quickly replaced with boredom because Meowth really could not just get to the point and had to go on about his life in the streets. Pikachu and Max had tuned him out and just gone back to climbing about the time he mentioned he'd done it to impress some girl.
Ugh, Pikachu hoped that he didn't get like that once he grew older…
All he really managed to learn from that was that Meowth probably hadn't always been able to talk, which was a surprise to him. He'd never actually asked any of the other talking Pokémon they'd met about the whole talking thing, so he didn't know if that was how it usually worked or if they just could like Pikachu.
(Though he did have a nagging suspicion that he was the weird one there, too…)
As the Moon peeked out from behind the clouds, Pikachu opened his eyes.
Today had gone… horribly. And he wasn't feeling great. He'd taken a beating from a Raichu. His entire body, and more importantly his pride, stung.
The image of Raichu taunting him stuck in his mind. He hated it. He hated that other people thought he was weak just because he wasn't fully evolved.
He stared over at the table by the window, where Ash had left the same Thunder Stone Pikachu had refused way back in Vermilion City, and quickly turned away from it.
Thunder Stones frightened Pikachu. He didn't like being anywhere near them, and it was a bit discomforting to learn that he'd actually been in Ash's bag with the Thunder Stone – the same one from way back with Lt. Surge – in the past, and had never known it. That was part of the reason Pikachu was so scared of them, actually.
Something that he'd learned when living with Professor Oak, and that he'd seen a few times throughout his journey with Ash, was that normal Pokémon could sense their evolution items and were usually drawn to them. But Pikachu, much to his chagrin, wasn't a normal Pokémon and couldn't feel the energy of a Thunder Stone at all, which made him just that much more nervous about being anywhere close to one.
Ash had still offered him the chance to change his mind, though. Pikachu frowned. The reason he'd given Ash back then was that he wanted to prove himself and uphold the honor of all Pikachu everywhere. And back then, he'd succeeded and proved himself. He wasn't really sure if what he'd said then still made sense now. But… he still didn't want to be Raichu. He was happy being Pikachu. Was that a good enough reason to refuse?
… It was good enough for Bulbasaur, Pikachu realized. He'd refused to evolve for no other reason that he liked himself the way he was, and Ash had stood up for him. Huh, that was a lot less of a dilemma than Pikachu had expected. That left only one option for beating Sho's Raichu, then: special training!
Ash usually came up with training ideas, but Pikachu had a few of his own that he hadn't gotten a chance to try out yet. No way Sho and Raichu would see that coming! Pikachu pushed the blanket off of himself and crouched down to prepare to jump, facing the open window. But, as fate would have it, the pain from his earlier loss flared up just as he leapt, throwing him off balance and off-target.
Instead of landing outside the open window, Pikachu landed on top of the Thunder Stone.
Pikachu panicked, shoving himself away from the stone as quickly as possible, hanging on with all his heart to the futile hope that he'd somehow managed to avoid direct contact.
But he'd seen evolution stones in action so many times. All it took was a single touch, even from tiny particles in the wind, and it was over.
He screwed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see it. Soon, he'd feel his bones shifting and his body growing, just as he had all those years ago when he first became Pikachu.
… Any moment now.
… Had it already finished? He opened his eyes, and looked at his hands to see that they were still yellow with five stubby fingers. He wasn't glowing at all, and he didn't feel any sort of energy like his memories of his first evolution.
The Thunder Stone was still next to him, just as inert as any other rock.
"Kapi?!" Pikachu exclaimed.
That shouldn't be possible! He'd touched it! He'd landed directly on it, belly-first. It was actually starting to hurt a little where he'd fallen on it (stupid Raichu).
Pikachu quickly scooted as far away from the stone as possible to avoid accidentally touching it again. Even if it hadn't worked, the thing still freaked him out and he wasn't taking any risks with it. He ended up just staring at it, trying to process and reason around… whatever had just happened. Not even an Everstone could stop a Pikachu from evolving when they touched a Thunder Stone. It was impossible.
Pikachu frowned. Just like everything else about him… "What am I?" he whispered to himself.
He still didn't have an answer. Maybe the stone was just faulty, or maybe he really couldn't evolve (because he wasn't really a Pikachu). The only thing he was sure of was that he had a Raichu to beat, and training would be a good excuse to avoid thinking about this any more.
Pikachu knew he wasn't one to talk – or, rather, he was one to talk, and that was why he wasn't one to talk – but N was weird. He was nice enough, but… weird. The first day he'd met him, Pikachu had been a bit confused by the whole 'inner voice' talk, he had no idea what it was supposed to mean. He liked Ash's interpretation, though, when their hearts and stomachs truly became one and they had a nice meal together…
(Iris may have had something of a point about the two of them really liking to eat)
N had helped him out of a tight spot and then left for Castelia City on his own, but not before criticizing Meowth for speaking the language of people instead of the 'beautiful language' of Pokémon.
That had weirded Meowth out, and, honestly, Pikachu felt the same. Even though he chose not to speak, and his voice was kind of embarrassing (okay, really embarrassing, he was so squeaky…), it was still a part of him! It sort of felt like N thought that Pokémon were better than humans, which Pikachu really didn't like.
The chance to actually talk to N on his own came a few days later, while Cilan was preparing lunch for the group in the Pokémon Center right after they saved Braviary. Ash was busy drooling over the food – with how it smelled Pikachu was sorely tempted to join him – and Iris was trying to stop Axew from eating the ingredients.
N was sitting patiently at a table, and so Pikachu leapt onto the table to join him.
"Hello, Pikachu, my friend," N said. "Unless you have another name?"
"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu clarified.
N smiled. "That's a beautiful name. What is it you wanted to talk about?"
"Pika pichuka," Pikachu said.
"Alright," N said. "Ask away."
"Kapi kachui Pika kakapichu?" Pikachu asked.
N seemed confused. "You want to know what's wrong with Meowth speaking?"
Pikachu nodded.
"I don't understand," N said. "You speak the beautiful language of Pokémon, yet you believe he should speak as a person does anyway?"
"PiPi-kachu Pika chuchukapi," Pikachu explained. "Pika kakapichu, chupi-ka!"
"… Because he speaks, his friends can hear his voice," N summarized.
Pikachu nodded. "Pikapi chupi-ka pika," he added. "Pika pi kakapichu."
"You don't need to speak for Ash to hear your voice?" N sounded shocked. "He can hear the voices of Pokémon too?"
Pikachu shook his head. "Pikapi chupi-ka pika," he repeated, making sure to stress the last word this time.
"He hears your voice," N realized.
Pikachu nodded. "Pikapi pi chupi-ka… Pika kakapichu pika."
N's eyes widened. "… Truly? You would speak the language of people?" He seemed completely flabbergasted at the suggestion.
Pikachu crossed his arms and nodded sagely. If that's what it took for Ash to understand him, he absolutely would, no matter what doubts he had. N didn't need to know that he could've already done it at any time.
"Pika," He pointed at N, "Kachu…" pointing at himself, "Pika pikapi. Chuchukapi," Pikachu stated as though it was the simplest thing in the world, because really it was.
"Humans, Pokémon, we're the same," N repeated. "Friends."
N frowned. He seemed troubled.
… Had Pikachu said something wrong? He didn't think so.
"Pikachu… is that your truth?" N asked. "What you truly believe?"
"Cha." With all his heart.
N chuckled slightly. "You're a strange one, aren't you?"
"Pika kachu pichu…" Pikachu grumbled. He knew that, N didn't need to say it…
N laughed a little louder. "Pikachu, thank you. So often the perspectives I hear about the place Pokémon have in this world alongside humans come from humans. To know that a Pokémon would come to me to share their own ideas… I'm honored. You've given me something to think about."
It was about then that Cilan announced that lunch was finally done. Pikachu wasn't totally sure if he'd gotten through to N, but he had hopes for the new friend their group had made.
Pikachu, admittedly, did not know much about astronomy. Electricity was more of his realm of expertise.
… But he was pretty sure that meteor showers didn't usually result in all of the Pokémon except him suddenly being able to speak and devolve. Or the humans starting to talk like Pokémon. Meowth had been normal, at least. Squishy hadn't, though, talking quite a lot for a Pokémon that normally just refused to have anything to say to anyone else, even in Pokémon language.
Pikachu had been sorely tempted to just start talking randomly in order to mess with Meowth. A little bit of payback for everything Team Rocket had put him through over the years. He didn't end up doing that, there was just a lot going on with Squishy apparently being… Pikachu wasn't sure what, yet, but it was probably important. Some sort of Legendary Pokémon.
It wasn't really a surprise when the whole thing turned out to be a dream shared between him, Meowth, and Squishy because of a Darkrai. It took Pikachu an… embarrassingly long time afterwards to figure out why he'd continued to speak normally in the dream while all the humans had spoken Pokémon and the Pokémon had spoken human.
It was because he could choose what language to speak, just like Meowth, only he preferred Pikachu language instead. He didn't think Meowth had managed to figure that out, though, and he was glad for that. Who knows what Team Rocket would do if they figured out he could talk?
…
Wait, hold on, didn't Meowth being able to speak make him exactly the sort of super-rare and unique Pokémon that Team Rocket was always trying to capture?
"I'm telling you, that's impossible!" Rotom insisted as it flew into Professor Kukui's house after Ash.
Pikachu looked up from his spot on the couch. He'd just been spending a little bit of time watching TV by himself, taking a break for the afternoon while Ash trained the less experienced Pokémon. Rockruff was right behind Ash, panting happily as they took a spot on the floor next to Pikachu.
Litten had chosen a spot far from everyone else to curl up in the sun. She still wasn't the most open about things, though it was hard to blame her.
Rowlet, as usual, was sleeping on Ash's head. Nothing would rouse him except a battle, Pikachu knew.
"Kapi?" Pikachu asked, wondering what Rotom was so worked up about.
"Pikachu! Your trainer is lying about your history!" the haunted Pokédex said as it flew right up to Pikachu's face. The mouse scooted back a bit.
"Chu pika?" Pikachu asked warily. He was quite certain whatever it was, Ash wasn't lying, but he didn't know what specifically was bothering it.
"He claims that you've known each other as long as he's been a trainer!" Rotom explained. "Based on my calculations on your data, you are roughly one year old! It does not compute!"
Pikachu froze.
… Oh, no, not now, not with everyone here. And all of the other Pokémon were staring at him.
"Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Are you okay, buddy?"
"Look, see! He knows how ridiculous your claims are!" Rotom claimed.
Pikachu quickly shook his head. "Pi!"
Rockruff tilted their head. "Ruff? Rockruff-rock?" They were asking how old he was.
"I already said!" Rotom insisted. "He is only-"
"Pika chu," Pikachu interrupted with his actual age, which was considerably more than Rotom's estimate.
There really wasn't any point pretending he was normal here. It wasn't like with the talking thing, he couldn't just decide to grow into an adult. They'd notice sooner or later anyway.
The other Pokémon were all staring at him in surprise now. Even Rowlet had woken from his nap.
"Does not compute." Rotom repeated. "My data states the average time for your species to reach adulthood is twenty-four months! You are an adolescent! Does not compute!" It flew towards Professor Kukui's lab – presumably to tell him about the amazing scientific discovery. Or unnatural anomaly, whatever it was you wanted to call Pikachu.
(Why couldn't he just be Pikachu?)
The other Pokémon seemed to have finally snapped out of their surprise. "… Ruff?!" Rockruff was surprised that he was actually older than them by several years. "Ruff-rock!" They'd thought they were older.
"Pichuchu?" They kind of were? "Pikaka-pika…" Depending on how you looked at it…
"Mritten?" Litten asked, as she walked over to jump onto the couch next to Pikachu. "Ten, litten…"
Oh. That was a much heavier question than he'd been expecting. One that he hadn't even thought about before.
"Pi," Pikachu shook his head. No, he'd never actually lost a friend to old age like Stoutland. But now that Litten brought it up, he realized it was probably just a matter of time, and that was an unhappy thought.
"Mrr." Litten purred. "Lit-ten, ten." She was assuring him that when it did happen, that he'd be okay someday, and she'd be there to help him through it if she could. That helped him feel a bit better.
"Rroo-roo?" Rowlet asked, which was a good way of bringing the mood back up.
Pikachu laughed. "Pi, kapikachuchu…" No, it wasn't something he ate! "Pika, pichuka chuka." This was just… how he'd always been. "Pi pikaka Kapika kachu pika." He hadn't even known it was weird until he was reading Professor Oak's notes on him.
"Rroo! Rroo-roo-rowlet?"
"Litten-ten!"
"Rruff! Rockruff!"
And now they all wanted him to teach them to read.
"Kakakapi…" Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "… Pika pikachu." He wasn't sure how good he'd be at that, but he'd give it a shot.
Rockruff jumped up onto the couch, tail wagging as they squeezed into the space between Pikachu and Litten.
"I'll help too," Ash offered, as he sat next to Pikachu on the opposite side. "Uh… do we want to do this now, or…"
Rowlet's stomach growled, and everyone else wasn't far behind.
Pikachu laughed again. Maybe after dinner… He was just glad that none of his teammates seemed to think he was a freak.
He squashed the thought of whether or not they'd still think that if they learned he could speak.
Pikachu's trip down memory lane, unsurprisingly, didn't do much to help him sleep. In a lot of ways, it just reminded him of all of his doubts and all the questions he still didn't have any answers for.
The biggest battle of his and Ash's lives was right around the corner. It was exciting, it was exhilarating. They'd never have gotten this far without their friendship, without all the trust they'd put into each other over the years of journeys, battles… losses.
They'd shared everything… everything except for one secret that Pikachu hadn't been able to bring himself to let go of, after all this time.
…
Pikachu made a decision.
Tonight, he was keeping a promise he'd made to himself.
Battling was all about friendship and trust. If he and Ash were going to win, then Pikachu had to forget about the pain and doubt and put all of his trust in him.
Pikachu nudged Ash's face. When the boy continued snoring, he did it again.
"Pikapi…"
Ash opened his eyes slowly. "Pikachu? What is it, buddy?"
"Pipichu, chuchu," Pikachu said.
"Something you wanna tell me?" Ash asked. "Outside?"
Pikachu nodded.
As always, Ash had gotten it perfectly.
Ash stretched and stood up, offering Pikachu his shoulder. Pikachu gladly hopped up, and Ash walked them outside to the Pokémon Center's grassy lawn.
Wyndon had one of the nicest Pokémon Centers Pikachu had ever seen, in all honesty, and it was a beautiful clear night.
Pikachu jumped down to the grass, and looked up at the full Moon, high in the sky.
Ash sat down cross-legged next to him, and looked up with him. "It's a big deal, huh?"
He nodded. Was it that obvious? It was just his biggest secret of his life that he'd been lying about since they day they'd met. Even if he knew in his mind that Ash wouldn't think of him any differently for it, it was still hard. He looked at the Moon's comforting presence a few moments more, gathering his courage.
He took a deep breath.
It was time.
No going back now.
"Hi, Ash."
Ash blinked. "Pikachu… You spoke."
Pikachu nodded. "I always could. I'm sorry for lying."
Ash smiled. "Thanks for telling me, buddy. But…" Ash rubbed the back of his own head, grinning sheepishly. "I kind of already knew."
…Wait, WHAT?
"Kapi?!" This was not what Pikachu had expected!
"You go off and talk to yourself sometimes," Ash explained. "I couldn't really tell what you were saying, but I know it wasn't 'Pikachu'."
Ash began petting Pikachu on the head. "I figured you'd just tell me whenever you were ready."
…Okay, so Ash had heard him, but he hadn't said anything because… he was being a good friend, and he respected Pikachu and trusted him to tell him when he was ready.
Warmth filled Pikachu's heart, and he felt kind of foolish for ever doubting Ash. Of course Ash would do that. That was just how he was.
"I sorta get it, y'know?" Ash said after a few moments.
"Kapi?" Pikachu tilted his head curiously. "I mean, what do you mean?"
"You know how people keep telling me I'm weird or mysterious or asking me what makes me special?" Ash asked.
Pikachu nodded. Yes, he did remember that, and he also remembered how uncomfortable it made Ash.
"It's like they think I'm more than me, and I don't really like that," Ash admitted. "It's the same for you, right, buddy?"
If Pikachu's doubts weren't quelled before, they certainly were now. Ash got it. He understood, in that special way that only he ever could.
Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms for a hug. Ash stumbled back in surprise, but quickly returned it.
"Thank you," Pikachu said. "For being my best friend."
"You don't have to be afraid," Ash promised. "I'm always by your side."
Ash stood up, still holding Pikachu. "And I'll keep your secret as long as you want, okay?"
Pikachu nodded. "I know."
"You ready?" Ash asked. "Tomorrow's a big day."
Pikachu thought for a moment, and gave a quick nod. "Cha."
He still didn't have answers to all of his questions, and he didn't know where the road they were on lead.
But he did know that together, he and Ash could go anywhere.
As Pikachu struggled to lift himself off the ground, he thought back again.
Not about himself, as he had last night. Not to all of the challenges, not to all the times he'd fallen.
Instead, he thought to all the times he and Ash had stood tall together. He thought all of the wonderful friends he'd made along the way.
And he'd seen them. He didn't know how real it was, but he felt something new fill him, a new warmth, as he looked upon all of the Pokémon that had joined him and Ash on their journey, and finally Ash himself.
"You see, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Everybody's backing us up!"
A new power surged through Pikachu as he pushed himself up off the ground. The fatigue and pain began to feel distant and muted.
"Awesome, Pikachu!" Ash cheered. "Way to go!"
The electricity surrounding Pikachu's body bathed him in a strange golden light, lightning bolts of many colors flying off his body.
In his heart he knew this move, whatever it was, wasn't something he was doing alone.
"Pikachu, we're gonna put everything we've got into this attack!" Ash said as he flipped his hat around.
Pikachu grinned in determination, the electricity surrounding his body sparkling.
Maybe Pikachu didn't know where he came from, or why he could do the things he could do. But he knew who he was, he knew who his friends were, and he knew…
"Thunderbolt, let's go!"
He was never really alone.
It wasn't quite Thunderbolt, it was something so much more. All the friendship, all the trust, everything that this was really about, that's what this was!
Leon called for Fire Blast, and Charizard rushed forward.
Pikachu used Pika Papow.
It was super-effective.