Chapter Text
Our story begins in a world inhabited only by Pokémon…
It starts with an Eevee and a Pikachu who spent their youth exploring the Sand Continent. Learning all of the secrets they could, helping Pokémon in need, and going on adventures as they figured out their place in the world. Eventually, the two evolved – Eevee into Sylveon, and Pikachu into Raichu – and decided to settle down in Sahra Town and start a family together.
This… is not their story.
Only hours before their egg was fated to hatch into a baby Pichu, they found a strange Pokémon in the nursery. He was young, very young, and had the appearance of a blue feline. Neither Raichu nor Sylveon recognized his species, and the boy himself didn't know.
His only memory was his name: Ash.
With no idea where he came from and no way to get him home, the reality of the matter was clear, as far as Raichu and Sylveon were concerned.
Rather than one son, they now had two.
Today was the day Pikachu had been waiting for his whole life. He and Ash had finally managed to convince their parents to let them go out on an adventure and see the world! Well, they'd convinced them a couple of weeks ago, but then there had been an accident that caused a bit of a delay. Now, however, that had been resolved and today they were going to the Air Continent! Ash was still asleep in their room, for now, but Pikachu was busy making sure that he had everything they'd need packed in his bag.
Pencils and notepads for notes and mapmaking, check. A Devolve Orb in case some maniac threw a Thunder Stone at him, check. Apples, a backup Devolve Orb, and a jar of ketchup, all check. A backup backup Devolve Orb and a second jar of ketchup, check. Various seeds and orbs, including an emergency Devolve Orb, some Cheri Berries in case he accidentally paralyzed Ash again, Oran Berries… Most of their supplies were already packed, he just had to grab one more thing from his room. It was nearly noon, anyway, he had to go get Ash up so that they had time to say goodbye before catching a ride to the Air Continent.
Pikachu put the bag on, slinging it around his right shoulder, the strap going diagonally across his body. Even though Ash was older, it had been decided that Pikachu should carry the bag since Ash knowing Transform meant that his shape and size were liable to change suddenly. Pikachu had picked out a nice dark green color with a bit of blue in it.
He walked over to his and Ash's shared room and pushed the door open. The room wasn't much to look at, they had a window with a nightstand under it, walls with stucco coating, a small desk, and a large pillow to act as a bed, which Pikachu's older brother currently occupied. The blue feline's limbs were splayed out as he lay face-up, snoring away as his drool soaked the pillow.
Ash was always one to sleep in, and a pretty heavy sleeper at that. Pikachu smirked. Thankfully, he had the perfect wake-up call! He slapped his cheeks to build up a bit of a charge, and then used Thunder Shock on Ash.
"Ack! Pikachu!"
Well, Ash was awake now! And also a bit singed.
"Good morning!" Pikachu grinned.
"Morning…" Ash yawned. "Why do I gotta be up?" Okay, maybe he wasn't completely awake yet.
"Well, we have to be at the docks in an hour," Pikachu pointed out. "Don't you want to have time to say bye to Mom and Dad? And eat something?" Pikachu had already eaten breakfast that morning, of course.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Oh right! It's time for our big adventure!" He jumped to his feet and ran out of the room, not even saying anything else. Pikachu laughed, and then made to follow his brother before remembering that he still needed something else in here and stopping himself.
He opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand to take out the emergency backup Devolve Orb and put it into this bag. Originally, it had been the backup emergency backup Devolve Orb, but he'd accidentally used the original emergency backup on himself a few weeks ago (this may have been directly related to what caused their trip to be delayed, but Pikachu refused to admit that). Now he was ready!
As he walked through the house to catch up to Ash, Pikachu took the time to look at all the pictures in the hall – this had been his home his whole life, he and Ash had never left the Sand Continent before, and it would probably be a while before they saw it again. He passed by the doors leading to his parents' room, his dad's alphabetized blade collection, and his mom's workshop.
Ash was already eating by the time Pikachu reached the kitchen/dining area, which wasn't too surprising. What was surprising was that their parents were in the room too, Raichu cooking pancakes while Sylveon was chopping berries (with a knife held in his ribbons) to add to them.
"Pikachu!" Raichu called. "Get yourself some food, kiddo!"
"Mom?" Pikachu said. "I was just going to eat lunch on the boat…"
Raichu chuckled. "Your pops insisted we get you boys some real home-cooked food in your bellies before you go."
"Pancakes are an important part of any growing 'chu's diet," Sylveon claimed.
That wasn't true at all, but Pikachu did love his parents' pancakes.
"Plus, it's a celebration for you evolving into Pikachu," Raichu teased. "Again."
Pikachu groaned. "Mom…"
"Why don't we celebrate it when I evolve into Pikachu?" Ash asked, and then promptly used Transform to turn into a Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu form looked a bit different than Pikachu – his tail was a bit oddly-shaped, not quite a match either of the usual shapes you saw on Pikachu, and he retained the same scruffy head fur and zigzag-shaped markings on his face from his normal form (those tended to stay no matter what he transformed into, along with his voice, which had dashed the hopes of ever using it as a disguise).
"Ha!" Raichu laughed. "You just want more pancakes."
"Of course! You make the best pancakes," Ash smiled. He then went back to eating his pancakes.
Pikachu's stomach grumbled, and he made the wise choice to join his brother. Soon, the entire family was having some delicious pancakes.
It was… Nice. It was really nice. Pikachu was glad that he had this moment with his parents before leaving on a grand adventure. Soon, the pancakes were gone, and the little family was standing outside the door.
Raichu took her sons – Ash still in Pikachu form – into a hug, wrapping her tail around as well since her arms didn't quite reach. Sylveon wrapped his ribbons around the rest of his family and leaned close.
"Aw, I love you dumb kids," Raichu said. "Have fun on your big adventure."
"Thanks, Mom," Pikachu laughed.
"I'll miss you guys," Ash said, and Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Raichu said with a smile. "If things get too tough… We'll always be here for you. Not that you need it! I know my boys. Remember, nothing can hurt you..."
"As long as we're together," Ash and Pikachu chorused.
"That's the ticket," Raichu beamed.
"Look out for each other," Sylveon said softly, as he released the hug. "Don't get into any trouble."
"No, get into tons of trouble!" Raichu argued as she stepped back, gesturing wildly. "And then punch trouble in the face to assert dominance!"
"Don't do that," Sylveon said. "Alright, how about… don't get into any trouble you can't get yourselves out of."
Raichu made a show of considering it, scratching her head with her tail. "Eh… sure, that works."
Pikachu had tears in his eyes.
"Now, you two need to get going if you don't want to miss the boat," Sylveon said.
"I guess this is goodbye," Ash said.
"Nope, none of that," Raichu said. "Goodbyes are hard. Just say… see ya later."
"Okay then… I'll see you later."
"See you later, mom and dad," Pikachu said. "We'll make you proud."
"I know," Sylveon said.
"Make yourselves proud," Raichu corrected. "See ya later, kids! Hurry up and go!" She was crying a little now.
"Let's go, buddy," Ash said. "Wanna race to the port?"
Pikachu snapped out of it. "Oh, it's on!" Before Ash could even react, Pikachu had dropped to all fours and began racing ahead.
"Hey, wait for me!" Pikachu could hear Ash from behind.
Faintly, he could hear their parents wishing them farewell.
Pikachu was, of course, much faster. Not only that, he was used to running on all fours, as his species typically did, while Ash most definitely was not.
"Whoa!" While cutting through an alleyway about halfway to the port, Pikachu heard Ash's voice off to the side, and the tell-tale sounds of his brother taking a tumble. He skidded to a halt as best he could (his palms did not thank him for this, but he'd be fine).
"Oh, quite clever of you to notice!" A new voice rang out behind Pikachu. "That's right! I'm…"
The voice trailed off, and Pikachu turned to see a pink-and-grey Pokémon wearing golden rings that he'd never seen before floating above a strangely designed bottle, which seemed to be what had tripped up Ash, judging by how it was knocked over and he was getting to his feet next to it.
"… You didn't even notice my Djinn's Bottle, did you? You just tripped over it," the new Pokémon said. They sounded disappointed.
"Sorry," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head and looking away. "I didn't mean to knock over the… thingy, um… what's your name?"
The Pokémon grinned and struck a pose. "I'm Hoopa! Hoopa of the Djinn's Bottle!"
"Oh," Ash said. "Uh, sorry, I haven't heard of you before."
"Neither have I," Pikachu said suspiciously, as he stepped forward towards Hoopa. "What's with the bottle?"
"Djinn's Bottle!" Hoopa corrected. "It is Hoopa's object of power! And home."
"Home?" Ash asked. He looked at Hoopa. "How's that work? It's smaller than you."
Hoopas eyes were wide now as they stared at Ash. "It's you!"
"Me?" Ash asked. "What do I gotta do with this?"
"No, not that! You've got the…" Hoopa drew a zigzag shape in the air. "Thingies, on your face! You're supposed to be somewhere else."
Something was wrong. Pikachu decided to speak up. "Well, we're leaving anyway. Ash, let's go."
Ash tried to take a step, but then froze. A pink glow surrounded him as he was lifted into the air.
"No need to worry," Hoopa said, as they threw up an arm, the ring flying into the air and then expanding in size. Within it a strange glow appeared, looking almost like… stars, if they weer flying past at impossible speeds. "Hoopa can get you home in a second flat!"
"Hey!" Pikachu snapped. "Put him down!" He jumped forward to try and attack Hoopa, but was stopped by the same psychic glow.
"He needs to go back," Hoopa said. Back where? "That's where he belongs! Not here."
And without further ado, Hoopa threw Ash through the ring.
Hoopa grinned. "Another job well done for the amazing Hoopa! I'll just need to zip back to find a new place."
The ring began to shrink, and Pikachu started struggling. "Give him back!"
"No, Hoopa can't do that!" Hoopa said. "It's very important! Big trouble if he comes back!"
"He's my brother!" Pikachu snapped. "I need him! We can handle a little trouble!"
"You can't go!" Hoopa protested. "Pokémon like us aren't allowed."
Electricity began coursing through Pikachu's body as he glared at the floating Pokémon… and more importantly, the ring that was now floating back down towards them.
The glow was in the middle was still there, but it was fading.
No… it couldn't end like this. His brother couldn't just be snatched away from him!
He needed to get to Ash. He needed to break free, he needed to move, and he needed to do it FAST!
It happened seemingly on instinct. For a split second, it felt like he wasn't there – like the electricity had consumed everything he was – and he zipped straight through the ring, breaking through Hoopa's psychic with such speed that the other Pokémon didn't even have time to see him before he made it through.
Ash came out of the hoop right above the treetops of a forest, and fell to the ground, screaming.
He landed on his back on the forest floor. Thankfully, he missed hitting any trees or rocks, but a patch of packed dirt was still enough to knock the wind out of him.
Once he managed to catch his breath, Ash could see the ring in the sky above slowly shrinking. He'd managed to push himself into a sitting position to call out for his brother when a bolt of lightning shot out of the ring and impacted the top of a tree.
Ash scrambled to his feet, running over to peer up into the tree and try to see what had just happened. Hopefully that hadn't started a fire...
Half a second later, Pikachu fell out of it and landed directly on top of Ash's head.
"Ow!" The mouse exclaimed as he bounced off and tumbled to the ground. In less than a second, he was on his feet, looking around. "Ash!" He looked straight at Ash, and then stepped closer. "Hey, uh… tall guy?"
Pikachu stood up at his full height (tiny, so much smaller than Ash was used to, how had that happened), looking up at Ash. "Have you seen my brother around here? He's sorta got the same hair, and, uh…" Pikachu pointed underneath his own eyes. "Zizgag thingies, that you have?"
"Pikachu, it's me," Ash said.
Pikachu stared at Ash for a moment before slapping himself in the forehead. "… And he knows Transform and I look like an idiot."
Pikachu jumped towards Ash and began climbing on him.
"Ack! Pikachu!"
"What are you wearing?" Pikachu asked, tugging at the green-and-yellow shirt Ash hadn't realized he was wearing as he made his way up. "Why are you so tall and what's with the color? All brownish-pink?" Pikachu poked at Ash's face. "Except this!" Pikachu pulled Ash's hair, earning a yelp.
"Sorry," Pikachu said, releasing the hair and settling down on Ash's shoulder. "… Ash, you should have turned into this before, your shoulder is really comfortable."
"I don't know what this is," Ash said, gesturing to himself. He didn't bother getting Pikachu off his shoulder, his weight was actually less noticeable than when Ash would turn into Sylveon and Pikachu would ride on his back. "I didn't turn into it on purpose. I didn't even notice until you started climbing on me…"
"… That's not how Transform works," Pikachu pointed out, sounding concerned.
"I'm gonna turn back," Ash said.
Pikachu hopped down, and Ash tried to let the Transform go. Normally, that was pretty easy – if he just focused on his powers, he could find the transformation, which felt like a sort of… tension covering him that he could just poke at with his mind to undo. But this time… he couldn't feel it at all.
"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "You okay?"
"… I can't turn back," Ash said.
Pikachu jumped up on his shoulder again, and placed a paw on Ash's forehead. "Are you sick? You feel a little colder than normal, but maybe that's normal for this Pokémon…"
"Pid?"
Ash and Pikachu looked up to see a group of Pidgey in the tree.
"Pidgey? Pid?" One of them repeated, looking at them curiously.
"Wild Pokémon!" Pikachu pointed, speaking in a harsh whisper. "Stay quiet, back up slowly..."
"Key-key-key!" A voice sounded out from behind the two, and Ash turned to see a group of laughing Makney in a tree.
"Wrong way," Ash whispered. Pikachu nodded.
"Nido!" A pair of voices called from behind. Two Nidoran, one purple and one blue.
"Fweee-free!" A bunch of Butterflee flew overhead.
"Shoot, it's a Monster House," Pikachu muttered. "They could attack at any moment…"
"But we're not in a dungeon," Ash pointed out. "Are we?"
"Spearow!" A Spearow fluttered down and landing in front of them, tilting its head curiously. "Row?"
"And the wild Pokémon are acting really weird," Ash continued.
"Spear!" the Spearow snapped, glaring at him.
Pikachu inhaled sharply. "Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"I think they can understand us."
Ash nodded.
"… We should leave," Pikachu suggested.
"Pidgeo!" A Pidgeotto flew down, landing next to the Spearow. "O-tto!"
"Spear!"
"Pidgeo, otto, pidge!"
"Row…" the Spearow grumbled and flew off.
"Pidgeo, otto!" The Pidgeotto faced them, raising a wing to point. "To!"
Ash said, looking in the direction it was pointing. Sure enough, there was an old, worn path through the tress. "Uh… Thanks."
The Pidgeotto saluted – what the heck was going on – and flew off back into the trees.
Neither Ash nor Pikachu really had any idea of what to do besides follow the path and hope the strange Pokémon wasn't leading them astray. The path opened up from a forest to a more open field before too long, and once they were out of the woods Pikachu finally chose to speak up about what had just happened.
"… What were those?" the electric mouse asked. "They were smart like us, and they talked to each other, but they weren't saying anything! They just made wild Pokémon sounds." He gestured around. "And there's no way this is a Mystery Dungeon, why would wild Pokémon even be here in the first place?"
"I dunno." Pikachu knew a lot more about dungeons and exploring than he did, Ash had always been more interested in figuring out different strategies that the two of them could use in battle. Which reminded him… "Hey, what was it you did back there? Did you learn a new move?"
Pikachu immediately brightened up. "I think I did! I was so fast, I'm pretty sure I turned into lightning! It was like a zip and a zap and there I was in the tree! Watch this!"
Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder, and, true to his words, turned into a bolt of lightning. Pikachu's small yellow form reappeared as the bolt struck the ground about thirty feet ahead.
"Wow, that's so amazing!" Ash's eyes shone as he ran to catch up with Pikachu. "I didn't know you could do that!"
"Well, I am amazing," Pikachu pointed out.
Ash picked him up and ruffled the fur on top of his head. "Don't get a big head."
"Too late," Pikachu grinned, tapping his head. "Had one my whole life."
Ash laughed. "Pikachu…"
"So, seen anything like it before?" Pikachu asked.
"Nope! I think that might be a brand-new move." Ash said. "I know! If you zip and zap, then we'll call it Zippy Zap!"
Pikachu took a moment to give his brother a deadpan look. "Ash. That's a terrible name. I love it."
"… Thanks?" Ash wasn't sure that was the right way to respond.
"You're welcome," Pikachu said, so apparently it was the right way to respond?
A Rattata shot out of the grass nearby.
"Rattata?" It said, as it sniffed. It made a face. "Rat." It dashed off into the bushes.
"What was that about?" Ash wondered.
"Maybe you need a bath," Pikachu said, as he poked Ash. "I don't know."
Ash's little brother shuffled around and moved to his other shoulder.
"I don't like not knowing," Pikachu grumbled. "This place is so weird, and you're stuck like… this."
"Hey, it'll be alright," Ash reassured him. "You just gotta take it one step at a time, right? This is supposed to be our big adventure."
"But I'm supposed to know this stuff," Pikachu insisted. "None of this makes sense."
Ash frowned. "Well… if we can't figure out where we are, maybe we can figure out why we're here?" Ash crossed his arms. "Hoopa said something about sending me home…"
"That's right!" Pikachu realized. "And they said it was important… But what makes you special?" Pikachu began muttering under his breath. Ash didn't catch a lot of it.
"Dunno," Ash said. "Nothin' mysterious about me."
Pikachu stopped. "… That's it! Ash, do you remember how Mom and Dad found you? That was pretty mysterious, right?"
Ash concentrated. "I remember… waking up, and there was an egg. But I couldn't remember how I got there or who I was, all I knew was my name."
"Well, I was thinking… what if you're a human?" Pikachu asked, beginning to sound very excited.
"Human?" Ash asked. "You think?" It sounded a bit far-fetched. Or Farfetch'd, maybe.
"Well, in all the stories, when humans show up, they lose all their memories and become Pokémon," Pikachu explained. "You didn't have any memories, and now you look like this… I don't know what humans are supposed to look like, but you don't look like any Pokémon I know! This must be the human world!" Pikachu's eyes were shining.
Huh. Ash guessed it made sense, but it felt… weird. Humans were supposed to be super-special and he was just Ash. So what if they'd never figured out where he came from or what species of Pokémon he was? "I dunno. Maybe we should see if we can find any humans first."
Pikachu's excitement held for quite a while. Well… at least he wasn't freaking out anymore. The prospect of an exciting adventure in a brand new place no one had ever seen before sounded like a dream come true for him.
Ash would've thought it was cool, too, if not for the whole human thing.
By the time Pikachu finally spotted civilization, they'd been walking for hours. Well, Ash had walked, Pikachu had hitched a ride, as he always did whenever Ash took a form big enough to ride. Little brother privileges!
Ash had just stepped over the top of a hill, and below the two of them lay a town. There were dirt roads throughout, along with houses that somehow looked both way too big and way too small and a whole lot of farmland.
"Is this Baram Town?" Ash asked, pointing. "Look, there's a big windmill over there!"
And that told Pikachu that Ash hadn't actually done any research on where they were planning to go for their big adventure, or even looked at the travel pamphlets for Baram Town. There was a building with a big windmill on it, that was true, but it didn't look anything like the famous windmills of the Air Continent's port town.
"This doesn't look anything like the pictures that you didn't look at," Pikachu pointed out. For good measure, he pulled a pamphlet out of his bag that, sure enough, had a photograph of the Baram Town windmills on it.
Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"That place looks important, though, we should go there."
As the two of them made there way into town, it quickly became apparent that the buildings were so large because they housed more creatures like Ash was now – most of whom were even taller than Ash was. Humans, Pikachu had to guess.
A few of them waved hello, but none of them really spoke to the two until, not far from the big windmill building, they encountered one just a little bit taller than Ash with green eyes and spiky brown hair.
"Let me guess," the boy snarked. "Wannabe trainer, just woke up and hoping to get the go-ahead from Gramps? Nab a special Pokédex?"
"Trainer?" Ash asked. "Pokédex? What's that?"
Pikachu felt like he'd heard of trainers before somewhere, but he couldn't actually remember where… One of the stories about humans, definitely.
"Wow, you're way behind right from the start," The boy laughed. "I guess you've got a Pokémon already, at least, that's better than nothing."
"What does that mean?" Ash questioned. "Are you saying you're not a Pokémon?"
For several seconds, the boy stared at him like he had two heads. "I think I underestimated just how much of a loser you are."
"Hey!" Pikachu snapped, cheeks sparking in warning as he jumped down to place himself between Ash and the bully. "Ash isn't a loser!"
"Ash, huh?" The boy asked, seeming entirely unconcerned by Pikachu's threat. "Name's Gary. Mr. Gary to you! And if you're really planning on going on a journey, you'd better step it up!"
Gary walked past the two of them, raising a hand in the air in a sort of wave. "Smell ya later!"
"What's his problem?" Pikachu asked.
Ash shrugged, and continued onward. The building with the windmill had a long staircase leading up to it, which was very clearly not built for someone of Pikachu's stature. However, Ash, in his new shape, was able to handle it just fine. Pikachu was slightly jealous, though it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it anyway.
Even the door to the building was huge, with a handle that Ash wouldn't be able to reach in his normal shape even if he were standing on top of Pikachu's head. But as he was now, Ash would easily be able to open it.
That's not what he did, of course. He just knocked instead.
A crashing sound could be heard from inside, followed by a voice shouting out "I'm coming!"
A moment later, the door swung open, a grey-haired maybe-human wearing a red shirt, tan pants, and a long white coat on the other side, breathing heavily with his eyes closed.
"Now, how can I-" He began, as he stood and opened his eyes. "Ash?!"
"You know me?" Ash asked.
"Why, yes!" the man smiled. "My name is Professor Oak. People call me the Pokémon professor!"
"How do you know him?" Pikachu demanded.
Professor Oak paused for a moment. "Ah… well, that's a long story. Come in and have a seat, I'll explain everything."
A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting on a couch (which was naturally too big for Pikachu, his legs didn't even reach the edge) in the building's lobby, a table with tea and snacks set out between them and the professor on the opposite couch.
"I must say, it's been quite some time since I've seen you, Ash," Oak remarked, as he drank some of his tea.
Pikachu nibbled on one of the snacks the professor had left out. It wasn't as good as his dad's cooking, that was for sure, but it was okay.
"I don't think I've met you before," Ash said.
"I definitely haven't," Pikachu added.
Professor Oak set his tea down and rubbed his chin. "Yes, I expected as much. You were quite young when I last saw you. Our families have been good friends for quite some time."
"My family?" Ash wondered. "Like… my parents? Raichu and Sylveon?"
"Oh, no," Professor Oak shook his head. "I suppose that would be confusing. I mean your human family, the Ketchums."
Pikachu's eyes widened. "Ash, you are human! I knew it!"
Professor Oak was looking at him curiously. "You didn't know? How interesting…"
Ash shook his head. "No… I was kind of hoping Pikachu was wrong."
Professor Oak looked to Pikachu. "Why might that be?"
"We've never seen humans before," Pikachu explained. "Where we come from, you guys are myths."
"I suppose I could say the same of talking Pokémon," Professor Oak chuckled. "Well, not quite myths, hmm… talking Pokémon are uncommon, but I've met a few over the years. If I may ask… where did you two come from?"
"A world with only Pokémon," Pikachu explained. "A weird Pokémon called Hoopa sent us here."
"And I turned into this when that happened," Ash added.
"I imagine that must have been quite a shock," Professor Oak observed.
"I didn't even notice at first, but it's weird," Ash crossed his arms. "But it only feels weird if I think about it? I don't get it."
Pikachu had a thought. Quickly, he grabbed a notepad and a pencil from his bag and started drawing.
"Pikachu?" Ash asked.
He worked quick, it was really just a doodle, but maybe it'd be enough. "Professor, you know a lot of different Pokémon, right?"
"Oh, more than most, but far from everything," Professor Oak said with a smile.
"Well, who's that Pokémon?" Pikachu asked, as he tore the paper with a doodle of Ash's Pokémon self from the notepad and held it up for the professor. "Ever seen this before?"
Professor Oak took the drawing and studied it for a moment. "Once, around… oh, about forty years ago, now? It was quite an adventure," he reminisced. "I never did learn the name of the species, though."
"Oh…" Pikachu could tell Ash was a little disappointed. "Thanks anyway, professor."
"Think nothing of it, my boy," Professor Oak said. "There are many mysteries of Pokémon still left to unravel. I'm sure you'll find the answers if you go looking."
The old human gave an earnest smile, before drinking a bit more of his tea. "That reminds me… I imagine you boys are a bit lost on what to do in this world. How would you two feel about going on a journey?"
Pikachu perked up. "A journey? Traveling? Like an adventure?"
Professor Oak nodded. "Something of the sort. In this world, humans are allowed to become Pokémon trainers once they're old enough. Many of them leave home and go on a journey."
"Trainers… that's what that guy outside said," Ash recalled. "Gary?"
"Ah, you met my grandson," Professor Oak said. "I'd like to apologize, he can be a bit…"
"He's a jerk," Pikachu piped up.
Professor Oak sighed. "I was going to say that he can be a bit much. A little too proud. Not entirely without reason," Professor Oak smiled, an odd expression on his face – proud, but also something else. "I think a journey would be good for him. But yes, Pokémon trainers… Where to begin?"
It took some time, but the old man did eventually manage to explain the concept of Pokémon training. It was strange, and Pikachu really didn't like the sound of Poké Balls, not even with all of the professor's reassurances, and neither he nor Ash had liked the professor referring to Pikachu as wild one bit (as it turned out, here 'wild Pokémon' just meant Pokémon that didn't have Poké Balls), but on the whole… It had a certain appeal to it? It was different, but it sounded like it was just… this world's version of building up a team to go on adventures. Apparently there was even a whole competition about battling, which Ash got really excited for. Pikachu wasn't totally sold on it, though. Especially because apparently the humans weren't allowed to battle! That was dumb, Ash was plenty strong. Stronger than Pikachu, for sure! At least when it came to punching or lifting things. Professor Oak did have an explanation for that: while humans were heavily resistant to Pokémon attacks, they couldn't actually use moves themselves.
"So, what do you say?" Professor Oak asked, once he had explained everything. "There's still some time before you'd be able to start, Ash, so you don't have to answer right away."
"It sounds cool," Ash said, looking at Pikachu. "… Maybe it's not the adventure we expected, but it's still an adventure, right? Do you wanna do it?"
He did think it sounded interesting, at least, but he did have a question to ask first. "… What about Mom and Dad, though?"
Ash frowned. "Oh, yeah… I don't think they'll worry for a while, but… How are we supposed to get home?"
"That, I can't tell you," Professor Oak said. "Sadly, I've never heard of this Pokémon world before today. At least nothing concrete…" he grumbled. "But… I'm sure we can find you a way back. The best way to run into something mysterious is to go on a journey, I say, and I'll do my best to look into it myself. I promise, I'll do everything in my power to help you see your parents again."
"… Okay," Pikachu decided. "I'm in. Thanks, Professor."
Professor Oak beamed. "Now, there is an important matter to take care of…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny red-and-white sphere with a button on it, which expanded to about the size of a Wonder Orb once he pressed the button. "This is a Poké Ball. Pikachu, I'm going to need to catch you for Ash."
Pikachu glared. "No. I'm not staying in that thing!"
"I wouldn't dream of making you stay in it," Professor Oak promised. "But when a Poké Ball catches a Pokémon, it forms a link with them, which not only allows them to be recalled but also prevents any other Poké Ball from drawing them in. You only need to go in once, and then I can lock it up so you'll be safe from ever entering one again."
Pikachu was still glaring. "I don't like the sound of this."
"Professor? What happens if Pikachu doesn't do this?"
"There's a small risk that someone else could catch him," Professor Oak explained. "While Poké Balls are designed to have multiple points of failure to prevent the capture of unwilling Pokémon, it isn't perfect, and there's a chance that his ability to speak would make Pikachu an especially appealing target." Professor Oak paused for a moment. "Of course, that'd also make it much easier to sort out with Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny," (Pikachu had no idea who those were) "But it's best to just avoid the risk entirely."
… Pikachu knew the professor was right, and he hated it. "… Fine. How do we do this?"
Professor Oak held the ball to Pikachu. "Just touch the button, and try to stay still."
Pikachu took a deep breath and touched the button.
"… Is this how it's supposed to work?" Ash asked after a few seconds of absolutely nothing happening.
"No," Professor Oak shook his head. "How strange… There is another option, though." He backed up and readied the ball in his hand. "Poké Balls are often thrown at Pokémon to initiate a capture. Are you ready, Pikachu?"
Pikachu nodded reluctantly. He wanted this even less, but if it was really the only way…
Professor Oak wound up and threw the ball.
"Ow!" Pikachu yelped, and began rubbing at his nose where the ball had bounced off. The ball had hit him directly in the face, and it had hit hard! His face stung, what were those things made of?
There was a clatter as the ball landed on the table, remaining stubbornly inert.
Professor Oak picked it up, frowning. "… Well, it appears the ball doesn't work on you at all… I've never seen anything like that before."
"… So what you're saying is that you didn't need to hit me in the face," Pikachu said, cheeks beginning to spark as he glared at the professor.
"Ah, Pikachu…"
Shortly after this, Professor Oak looked quite singed. Pikachu had enacted his go-to revenge scheme… Which was just Thunder Shock, but it was effective!
Professor Oak coughed a few times. "An electrifying personality, I see…"
"Oh, yeah," Ash agreed. "That's how he wakes me up in the morning."
"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!" Pikachu protested lightheartedly. "Traitor!"
Professor Oak chuckled. "Well, I suppose the lack of a Poké Ball won't be a problem now. Though I'll have to sort out some extra paperwork for Pikachu…"
Pikachu groaned. "No…"
"Oh, Pokémon don't do paperwork," Professor Oak assured him. "Well, except Nurse Joy's assistants… that Oranguru Samson told me about… Oh, and I suppose any of them who decide to become trainers…"
"Wait, that's an option?" Pikachu asked.
"There's no rule against it," Professor Oak confirmed. "But you do have to be ten years old. How old are you?"
Pikachu crossed his arms and grumbled. "… Seven."
"Wait, I'm just a little older than Pikachu, so I'm not ten, either," Ash pointed out. "… Am I?"
"You'll be able to start next month alongside Gary," Professor Oak confirmed. "In the meantime, the two of you will need somewhere to stay, right?"
Ash nodded. "That'd be really cool! Thanks!"
"You're just gonna give us a room?" Pikachu asked.
Professor Oak's eyes twinkled. "Oh, no. I have an old friend who would be very happy to take you in. I haven't asked her yet, but I know she'll agree." He smiled brightly. "Ash, are you ready to meet your mother?"
Professor Oak led them to a different part of the town than where they'd walked before, though it all looked much the same. There was a wide dirt road passing the occasional white house with a red roof scattered throughout the grassy fields.
Ash was following along with Pikachu on his shoulder, not sure how to feel about this. He guessed he should've known he had another mom somewhere out there, but it hadn't really crossed his mind. Whenever he thought of the idea of a mom, all he could picture was Raichu. It'd be kind of weird to call someone else 'mom', wouldn't it? And he had no idea what his human mom was like. He was still pretty excited, it was just… weird.
Pikachu was way more nervous than he was, though. He was gripping Ash's shoulder tight, muttering things into his ear.
"What if she doesn't like me?" Pikachu asked. "Is it weird that I'm a Pokémon?"
"I don't think so…" Ash whispered. How was he supposed to know, anyway?
Professor Oak, who was leading the way through town, piped up. "You don't have anything to worry about, Pikachu." Pikachu perked up a bit from his spot on Ash's shoulder. "Delia is one of the kindest, most understanding people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Plus, she has quite the soft spot for cute Pokémon."
"I am not cute," Pikachu protested. "I am adorable."
Ash smiled. That helped his nerves a bit, too. And it was true! Pikachu was, in fact, adorable, and since Ash was his older brother that made him the leading expert in Pikachu adorableness.
"Oh, yes, she's going to love you." Professor Oak chuckled. He looked ahead. "I believe it's just the next house now."
The house the professor indicated, while big by Pokémon standards, was on the smaller side compared to the houses around. It was painted white with a red roof, and had a small, fenced-in garden around it. As he stood next to the professor at the entrance to the garden, Ash couldn't help but think about how normal it looked.
"Ash, look," Pikachu whispered, pointing. Ash looked to see that he was pointing at a row of tomato plants, and was about to say something about how Pikachu thought about ketchup too much when he saw what, or rather who, Pikachu had actually been pointing at.
There was a human woman watering the tomatoes. She had brown hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a pink shirt and purple skirt. She had to be younger than the professor, but it was hard to say by how much. Ash didn't recognize her, but there really wasn't anyone else she could be.
"Delia!" Professor Oak called out, waving from the entrance to the garden.
"Samuel?" The woman – Delia – said, as she looked up with a warm smile. "I wasn't expecting a visit today!" She set the watering can down. "And who's…" Delia stopped speaking the instant her eyes came to rest on Ash fully.
After some time of just starting at Ash, Delia smiled widely. "Ash… It really is you, isn't it?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah. Hi… mom." (he'd have to get used to that). "I'm home." (… and that.)
"My, you've gotten so big!" She had tears in her eyes, but continued to smile. "Come inside. I'll make some food for you, your cute little Pokémon friend, and Samuel, and we can catch up."
"That sounds wonderful," Professor Oak said, as he followed Delia inside, Ash right behind him.
Once they were inside, Ash couldn't help but look around and stare at everything in the house. The Professor's lab had been full of weird machines and furniture, sure, but he was a scientist. That's how scientists were. But it seemed like Delia had a lot of the same sort of stuff, so maybe it was a human thing.
Pikachu had hopped to the floor to do his own exploring, poking around and sniffing the furniture. If this was weird for him, it had to be extra-weird for Pikachu, Ash realized. This place was definitely built for humans, all of the furniture was taller than Pikachu.
It didn't take long for Pikachu to become fascinated by a strange box-shaped device in the corner of the room. The bottom half of the box was cabinet with glass doors filled with things that Ash couldn't identify, and the top had a big glass screen on it that was totally black. It didn't seem to be connected to anything, so Ash wasn't sure what it could be.
"What is this thing?" Pikachu asked, as he hopped on top of the box. "It's definitely electrical, I can feel the electricity, but it's not connected to or doing anything."
"I dunno," Ash said. "I think Professor Oak had one, too."
"Yeah, but he's a weird scientist, they're supposed to have stuff like this," Pikachu pointed out, echoing Ash's thoughts from earlier.
"Alright, the potatoes are boiling, and Sam offered to chop some veggies." Ash and Pikachu looked up from the strange device to see Delia walking in. "So I thought now would be the time to catch up."
Delia sat down on the yellow couch, and patted the seat next to her. Ash hesitated a moment before Pikachu jumped on his shoulder to try and reassure him. The boy smiled, and took a seat next to… his mother.
That felt strange.
"Why don't you introduce me to your friend?" Delia asked.
"My name is Pikachu," Pikachu said before Ash got a chance to. "Ash is my…" he hesitated. "Best friend."
That was true, but not what Ash would've said.
"Oh my," Delia said. "You spoke… That just makes you even more adorable!" Pikachu preened. "Ash, where did you find him?"
"It was a long time ago," Ash said. "I woke up in a room with an egg in it."
"That's me," Pikachu piped up.
Ash nodded. "I couldn't remember anything, but I went to sleep. I woke up when mom and dad found me, and Pichu hatched the same day."
"Mom and dad?" Delia asked curiously.
"My mom and dad," Pikachu clarified.
Ash winced. "Yeah. Sorry, mom…"
"So, does that make Pikachu your little brother?" Delia asked, curious.
Ash nodded. "Yeah! He's the best."
"You know it!" Pikachu agreed with a grin.
Delia smiled, but a hint of sadness quickly bled into her expression. "Ash… I'm so sorry I missed your life."
Ash looked at her, confused.
"You don't even remember me, do you?" Delia asked.
Ash shook his head. "I'm sorry… I still don't remember anything before that day."
Delia sighed. "I can't say I'm surprised… You were so young."
"… Can you tell me about what I was like before?" Ash asked. She looked really down, and… he really did want to know.
Delia took a moment before answering. "You were always so full of energy. The moment you could walk on your own, you'd always try to run off to play with whatever Pokémon you could find. Just like your father," Delia reminisced wistfully. "You'd insist that we go explore the routes outside town, and then you'd point in a direction and ask what was out there. Whenever I answered, you'd ask about what was past that over and over."
Delia looked out the window. "… One day, we were on a walk through the forest outside town. Professor Oak's Charizard was flying above to keep us safe. You said something about seeing a Pokémon you'd never seen before, and ran off into the bushes. After that, you just… vanished. None of us could find you, and I thought I'd never see you again."
Delia smiled again, this time more genuine. "The professor never gave up hope, though. He always told me that he was sure you were safe and that you'd return to us one day."
"I told you so!" Professor Oak yelled from the kitchen.
Delia ignored him. "But Ash… where were you all this time?"
And so Ash, and Pikachu began to explain to Delia about the Pokémon world they called home. They did have to move to the kitchen before long, the potatoes needed to be mashed so the veggies could be mixed in. Delia especially liked hearing stories about Raichu and Sylveon.
"I hope that I get to meet them someday," Delia said, once she was rolling the potato-and-vegetable mix in breadcrumbs. "I'm so grateful that you had some kind folks to look after you."
"Yeah," Ash nodded. "Me too."
"And speaking of… Pikachu?" Delia said.
Pikachu's ears perked up. "Yes?"
"You don't have to be nervous, you have a place in this family, too," Delia smiled. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you. And Ash… I'm looking forward to getting to know you again."
Ash smiled. "I am, too."
The cooking lasted a bit longer, and once it was time to eat Delia brought out a strange high-up chair that she said used to belong to Ash before he disappeared. It was a perfect fit for Pikachu to see over the table, something he was pleased by. Soon enough, they were eating Delia's croquettes, which in Ash's opinion were maybe the best food he'd ever tasted. Pikachu had agreed… after adding a sizable helping of ketchup.
This whole time, they continued telling more stories about their different worlds, and Ash and Pikachu's time with their family. Professor Oak had to excuse himself after eating, but Ash and Pikachu remained. After a while, it began to grow dark outside, and Delia taught Ash and Pikachu that the strange electrical box they'd been wondering about was called a 'tee-vee', and it could show images and sound, like a tiny theater.
The three of them watched a movie together, a cartoon telling the story of a boy in red – named 'Red' – and his adventures with his Pikachu and Clefairy, who talked just like the real Pikachu (but was a lot ruder). It was a lot of fun, Ash really liked the story, but of course it had to come to an end eventually.
"That was your favorite movie when you were little," Delia told Ash. "Whenever the theater didn't have anything new to show, they'd run it over and over for the kids to watch. So, what did you think?"
"I think Pikachu should've shocked more people," Pikachu said. "Mostly Clefairy."
Delia laughed. "Yes, he can be a bit… much. What about you, Ash?"
"I liked it," Ash said. "If a real Pokémon journey's anything like that, I can't wait!"
"You're planning on going on a journey, then?" Delia asked.
"Um… yeah," Ash admitted. "It sounds fun, and I want to find a way back home."
Delia sighed, but smiled. "Just like your father. He was always running off on some new adventure, too." Delia hugged Ash. "I wish you would stay longer, but I know that's not what's right for you."
Ash hugged her back. "Thanks, mom." It still felt weird to say to Delia, but it was getting a little easier.
Pikachu joined in the hug, too.
For a while, they just stayed there. It was nice. New, but also good.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep…" Delia began singing softly. "Close your tired eyes… the gentle breeze, and the twinkling stars..."
Ash and Pikachu slowly drifted off to sleep.
The first few days staying with Delia were chaotic. She and the professor were both working hard to turn the room that had been Ash's as a baby into a proper bedroom for a ten-year-old human boy (and a seven-year-old Pikachu boy). Ash and Pikachu pitched in where they could… Mostly Ash, because Pikachu was tiny and he was a heck of a lot stronger than him. And also stronger than Delia and Oak combined, as it turned out. Most of the furniture moving fell to Ash once they figured that out. But Pikachu did help to pick out the furniture! And Delia even bought him a green doll that was nearly as big as he was to help him sleep. He wasn't sure what it was supposed to be, but he'd known he'd wanted it the moment he saw it at the store.
Soon enough, there was a properly-sized bed and desk for Ash in the room. A lot of the old baby-sized furniture was kept because, while Ash couldn't use it, it was only a little big for Pikachu, which was a lot better than nothing. They also installed a flap at the bottom of the door so that Pikachu didn't have to jump to the knob every time he wanted to go into or out of the room – a pretty interesting invention, something that made it a lot easier for small Pokémon or ones without hands to get into and out of places.
Once work on the room slowed down, the rest of the month before their journey began quickly fell into a routine. He and Ash would spend time with his mother and Professor Oak, with the adult humans teaching the two of them as much as they could about the human world and how things worked here. Mostly Pikachu, admittedly. It was pretty obvious that Ash didn't really find it all that interesting with how he kept spacing out. That was fine, though. The two of them could cover their weak points! And Pikachu could tease Ash about it, as was his obligation as a younger brother.
What Ash really got into, unsurprisingly, was watching Pokémon battles on the old TV Professor Oak gave him. Pikachu had to admit that the battles were way more intense than anything he'd experienced in the Mystery Dungeons near town, and that was kind of exciting… but he was still a lot more interested in just learning about the human world. Still, on most nights Pikachu ended up drifting off to sleep while watching battles with Ash.
One day, the alarm clock didn't go off. Pikachu only woke up once he literally rolled out of bed and onto the floor. He blearily blinked a few times, taking note of the destroyed alarm clock next to him, and decided that he should just go downstairs and eat some breakfast instead of worrying about that. Ash had been up really late the night before, so Pikachu hadn't slept very well and it wasn't really surprising that Ash wasn't up yet.
Pikachu's breakfast consisted of some leftover pancakes covered in ketchup. His mom never would've let him eat this, and Delia probably wouldn't either, but Raichu was in another world (and hopefully not worrying too much about him) while Delia was at work at her restaurant. The day new trainers went off on their journeys tended to be a bit busier than usual for Pallet Town, after all, so Delia wouldn't be home until a couple of hours past noon at the earliest.
…
Wait a minute.
As he chewed the last of his food, Pikachu slowly looked up at the clock on the oven.
1:56 P. M.
Pikachu bolted from the kitchen, running up the stairs as fast as he could without Zippy Zap (Zippy Zap was not an indoors move).
He crashed through the flap, and then leapt to land directly on top of Ash.
Ash startled awake. "Pikachu!"
"Good, I didn't have to shock you this time," Pikachu said. "Ash, it's two in the afternoon! We're late!"
It was all Pikachu could do to cling to Ash's head while his brother frantically threw his shoes on and ran out the door. It wasn't like they needed to be on time for Ash to get a partner Pokémon, that was Pikachu's job after all, but Ash was… really dead-set on this journey now, and not just to get back home.
There was also, of course, the matter of a certain annoyance. The two had encountered Gary Oak a few times since they got here, and somehow he kept getting worse every time they spoke to him. He didn't like them, and the feeling was mutual. This time, he'd stuck around just so he could make fun of Ash for being late and insult Pikachu for 'not being a proper Pokémon'. Ugh. At least he didn't stay too long before his car full of cheerleaders drove him away.
Professor Oak couldn't help but poke a few jabs at them for sleeping in, but in the end he'd just given them a Pokédex and some Poké Balls before wishing them the best of luck on their journey. After receiving their supplies, the two of them walked outside to find Delia walking towards the lab, holding a green backpack.
"Ash! Pikachu!" She called out, waving. "I brought your things!" She opened up the bag. "I packed your sneakers, some jeans, nice clean shirts and underwear, some snacks and hot chocolate, some stuff to do your laundry…"
"Thanks, mom," Ash said, as he took the bag.
"Oh! And I brought your bag, too, Pikachu," Delia said, leaning down to hand it to Pikachu. "I packed your doll and I added a little something, too!"
Pikachu took the bag, and immediately noticed Delia's addition. "A lightning bolt?" She'd sewn a yellow patch shaped like a lightning bolt to the front of the bag.
"I think it suits you!" Delia smiled. "Do you like it?"
Pikachu nodded, smiling as he put his bag on. "Yeah! Thank you."
"I have one more gift for you, Ash," Delia said. "It's right in the bag with everything else!"
Pikachu watched as Ash rummaged through his backpack for a moment before pulling out a hat. It was mostly red, but the front was white, and there was a green symbol that vaguely resembled a Poké Ball on the front.
"A good trainer always has to have his hat," Delia said.
Ash quickly put the hat on.
"I like it, it really works for you," Pikachu complimented. He quickly clambered up to sit on top of Ash's head. "It's comfortable, too!"
Delia laughed. "Oh, I'm going to miss you two… Take care of yourselves and make sure you call every time you reach a Pokémon Center, okay?"
"We will," Ash promised.
Pikachu gave a thumbs-up. Thankfully, he actually knew how to use a phone now!
Delia smiled, but there was a bit of sadness to it. "Goodbye, Ash, Pikachu…"
"See you later, mom," Ash said.
Pikachu echoed him, and then froze once he realized what he'd said.
Delia's smile became warm and genuine. "Oh, Pikachu… Alright then. See you later, boys. I love you. Now go on and do your best, okay? I'm proud of you."
An hour later found Ash and Pikachu walking down route one, Ash having fully changed into the outfit his mother had given him. Pikachu was singing away, little care in the world as the two of them took the first steps in their great adventure. Maybe they didn't know how they'd find a way back home yet, but Ash was sure that they could figure something out together. And have a lot of fun doing it!
"Pidgeo!" The cry of a Pokémon called out from above. Ash looked up just in time to see a Pidgeotto swooping down to land right in front of the two of them, blocking the path forward. It had a steely, determined look in its eye, and something about it was… oddly familiar?
"Wait, you're the Pidgeotto that helped us out last month!" Pikachu realized.
Pidgeotto trilled in confirmation.
"I think it's challenging us to a battle," Ash said.
"Geo!" Pidgeotto raised a wing to point at Ash, giving a quick nod.
"Alright! Pikachu, let's go!" Ash cheered.
Pikachu nodded, getting into a battle stance, while Pidgeotto took to the skies.
"I don't think Thunder Shock's gonna reach," Ash said. "Zippy Zap?"
Pikachu zapped into the air as a bolt of lightning. The bird squawked in surprise, but Pikachu had missed by several meters.
"Whoa!" Pikachu flailed as he tumbled out of the sky, but Ash was quick to catch him.
"You alright, buddy?" Ash asked, as he set Pikachu down.
"I'm fine," Pikachu said. "… I think I need more practice."
Before Pikachu could try another move, however, he was bowled over by a gust of wind. Pidgeotto had recovered from its shock and retaliated, and before Pikachu could recover from the Gust it swooped in with a Quick attack. Pikachu took a tumble, but quickly righted himself and got to his feet. He'd clearly taken a beating from the attack, but looked just as determined to keep going as Ash was.
Pikachu's eyes lit up for a moment as he spotted something on the ground, and Ash knew he had a plan. The mouse picked up a small rock from the ground, grinning at Ash.
"Oh, good idea!" Ash said, and picked up one of his own. Every adventurer worth their salt knew that if a Pokémon was staying out of range of your moves, then it was time to start throwing things. Pidgeotto was back in the sky, watching them intently as Ash picked up a rock of his own.
As one, Ash and Pikachu chucked their rocks at Pidgeotto.
Suddenly, Pidgeotto tucked its wings in and rolled to the side, making the rocks miss entirely and slam into the branches of a tree behind it.
"Ott-to!" Pidgeotto trilled a taunting laugh.
Before Ash and Pikachu could come up with another tactic, however, the tree that was hit began rustling.
An angry Spearow with a bump on its head flew out, glaring at Ash. It was quickly followed by another, equally-angry Spearow with a bump on its head glaring at Pikachu. Which was then followed by another Spearow, which didn't have a bump on its head but was still quite angry. And then another, and another… Dozens of Spearow came out of the one tree.
"SPEAROW!" The first two Spearow cried out, and then the other trees in the area began rustling and releasing more and more Spearow. There were hundreds of them, more than Ash could count, and all of them were glaring at the three battlers.
Ash made the wise decision to grab Pikachu and flee. Pidgeotto flew off in a different direction, and a few of the Spearow chased it, but most of them were clearly after him and Pikachu, filling the skies on all sides.
Ash did his best to get away from them, but it wasn't quite enough. They kept managing to get through. A few of them pecked at Ash, but it became clear all too quickly that Pikachu was the target of their ire with how many had managed to peck at him. Ash kept trying to shield his brother as best he could, but he knew it wasn't working very well.
It didn't take long for the chase to lead Ash to a dead end. There was a cliff over a river, and Spearow were surrounding them on every other side. So Ash did something that he knew his mother wouldn't approve of… Well, Delia wouldn't approve. Raichu might, though.
Ash jumped off the cliff and into the water.
He didn't know much of what happened underwater – it was hard to see, and he was just focused on holding his breath and making sure he didn't let go of Pikachu no matter what – but it was over quickly, when something managed to snag his vest and pull him out.
Ash coughed and sputtered, and he could feel Pikachu doing the same against his chest.
"Nah, it's just a kid," Ash heard a voice. He looked up to see that his savior was a human with orange hair tied in a ponytail and green eyes. Probably about his age?
"Oh, and a Pokémon!" The girl said, noticing Pikachu. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay…" Pikachu said faintly. Ash actually took a look at him for the first time since the Spearow and immediately had to look away. Pikachu didn't look good at all, he definitely wasn't okay.
"Not you!" The girl snapped at Ash despite the fact that it was Pikachu who had spoken. "Look at what you've done to that poor little thing!"
"Don't… yell at Ash." Pikachu coughed. "S'my job." He slumped in Ash's arms, eyes closed.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried. "Buddy, wake up!"
"Wait, that wasn't you who…" The girl shook her head. "Never mind! It needs a Pokémon Center right away, there's one not too far from here. You've gotta get moving!"
"Which way?" Ash asked frantically.
The girl pointed. Ash got ready to get going, but he heard the sounds of Spearow screeching and wings fluttering behind him.
"They're catching up! You gotta run and hide," Ash said. He was about to start running himself, when he spotted a red bike.
He didn't know how to ride, but he'd seen other people doing it. It couldn't be that hard, and Pikachu…
He glanced at Pikachu again.
Pikachu needed him.
"I'm sorry, I need to borrow this," Ash jumped onto the bike, putting Pikachu in the basket.
"Hey!" The girl yelled as Ash started pedaling. "That's my bike!"
"I'll bring it back once Pikachu's okay!"
Everything hurt. Pikachu didn't think he'd ever felt as awful as this in his short life.
How had everything gone so wrong so fast?
This was supposed to be a fun adventure while they tried to find a way home.
This couldn't happen… it wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Spearow, do you know who I am?" Ash's voice cut into Pikachu's thoughts, and the mouse opened his eyes to finally see what had happened.
The Spearow swarmed in a raging thunderstorm, lit only by flashes of lightning.
"I am Ash! Child of the human and Pokémon worlds!" Ash called out, arms raised to the sides as he stood in front of Pikachu. "I am destined to become the world's greatest Pokémon Master!"
What that meant, Pikachu still wasn't sure, and he didn't think Ash even knew. Pikachu slowly raised his head off the ground, wincing in pain.
"I won't be defeated by the likes of you!" Ash yelled out as he continued to use his body to shield Pikachu. "I will fight and defeat every one of you!"
Ash turned his head to look at Pikachu for a moment. In the light of the storm, Ash's eyes almost seemed to shine a bright blue.
"Pikachu, there's a town just down the road," Ash said. "They can help you! Just go, don't worry about me."
Ash turned back to the Spearow. "COME AND GET ME!"
… No.
Pikachu may be hurt, but he wasn't going to listen to his idiot brother! They were in this together, just like they always were!
And together, there was nothing the two of them couldn't do.
Pikachu got to his feet. It still hurt, but the pain felt duller somehow.
The storm raged above, and Pikachu realized that the Spearow had made one fatal mistake.
They weren't creatures of the storm… but he was.
With newfound strength coursing through his body, Pikachu climbed up to Ash's head and launched himself into the air.
He felt the electricity surging through the air, latched onto it, and made the storm his own.
Everything went very bright.
When the light faded, the storm was breaking up, and Pikachu could barely see the singed Spearow flapping into the distance.
"Well, we beat 'em," Ash said, from where he was laying next to Pikachu.
Pikachu nodded. The pain and exhaustion was back in full force, and he didn't feel like he could do much else.
Still, he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment.
A bright light shone from above, and the two brothers of different worlds looked to the sky to see a massive shining Pokémon fly in front of the rainbow.
"Whoa…" the two said together.
The sight filled Pikachu with wonder and energy, the pain and fatigue subsiding just a little.
Ash's Pokédex chose that moment to chime in about unknown Pokémon left to discover.
Ash stood up, and lifted Pikachu into his arms. Pikachu didn't protest, he definitely didn't feel up to walking right now.
"How'd you do that, anyway?" Ash asked as he began walking. "I thought your ability was Static."
"I don't know," Pikachu said. "I just… knew I had to."
"Well, thanks, buddy," Ash said, giving him a gentle hug. "You really saved us. Now it's my turn."
Pikachu nodded, and closed his eyes. He really needed rest… and a doctor. He knew in his heart he'd be just fine, though.
Nothing could hurt them as long as they were together.
That was just the beginning of Ash and Pikachu's many adventures throughout their incredible journey. The road ahead was long, but with it came new and wondrous places, tough battles, and even saving the world a few times. They'd meet great friends, fierce rivals, lots of legendary Pokémon, and even other people who had been to the Pokémon world before.
But that's a story for another day.
