This fic will be introducing a few OCs of mine. Sandy is the protagonist and the story's told through her perspective.

Note: I wanted to play it safe when it came to the rating of this thing. You'll find out as you read.

Sorrowful Discovery

"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower!"

"Chimchar, attack with Flamewheel!"

I watched as both Pokemon launched their attacks. The Flamethrower was penetrated by my cousin's Chimchar as it sped through the fire and hit Cyndaquil head-on. The small creature was sent rolling on the ground. It tried to get up, but it immediately collapsed.

"Good job, Chimchar!"

"Char chimchar!"

I sighed as I called back my fallen Pokémon. This is ridiculous, I thought. I'm getting creamed by my own cousin and he's only 12! Man, for a 16-year-old girl I guess I really do get a little too overconfident.

"Give up, Sandy?" I heard him ask mockingly. I glared at him. No way was I gonna lose to my own cousin just yet.

"I'm just getting started! Go, Raichu!" I tossed the Pokeball into the air as it popped open. A flash of white light emitted out from it and began to take shape on the soft grass in between me and Chimchar. The light began to fade slowly as an orange creature with a long tail took a fighting stance.

"Rai…" It growled, tiny electrical sparks dancing from its cheeks.

"You ready, Raichu?"

"Rai raichu!" I took that as a yes and shouted, "Use Thunderbolt!"

Raichu leapt into the air sending an electric wave towards the fire Pokémon.

"Use Flamewheel!"

"Quick, don't let it get away! Use Iron Tail!" I knew Dan would try to have his Chimchar dodge the attack. I watched as Raichu's tail began to glow and was whipped towards Chimchar's direction. It had just stopped using its attack to evade earlier when it saw something white out of the corner of its eye.

"Char!" It shrieked as the tail collided with its face.

"Now go for a Thunderbolt!" The mouse obeyed as it sent electricity and zapped its opponent. Once it was done, Chimchar stood there for a few moments and was preparing for a command but it suddenly fell, exhausted.

"Yeah! Alright, Raichu!" I couldn't hold in my excitement as I jumped and cheered.

"It's not over yet, Sandy," Dan warned. "Remember: I only lost one Pokemon and you lost two."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him for a moment. Then it clicked.

"Way to ruin my little celebration, Danny!" But I have to admit that he was right. He just lost Chimchar, leaving him with two other Pokemon. I already lost my Shinx and my Cyndaquil; Raichu is now all I have left. Kind of pathetic being beat by a kid if you ask me.

I watched Dan toss a Pokéball in the air and in a flash of white light, out came a Charmeleon. It breathed out a small amount of fire as a way to show that it was ready to fight.

I sighed mostly to myself. It was typical of him to send out another fire-type. But who am I to complain since I'm the same way with electric-types.

"Get ready, Raichu." I knew Dan's Charmeleon focused more on power. I tend to focus more on speed and defense but I digress.

"Char char!"

"Raichu chu chu rai!"

It was as though they were talking for us; they both were just as competitive as we are. Dan and I looked at each other then to the other's Pokemon. More sparks came from Raichu while the flame on Charmeleon's tail grew.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"

"Raichu, counter it with Thunderbolt!"

"Char!"

"Rai… Chu!"

Both attacks were launched at the same time, passing each other and hitting their target. Raichu got scorched by the flame while Charmeleon was zapped by the electricity. But that wasn't enough to make them falter. They were still standing once the attacks ended.

"Fire Blast!" Dan commanded.

"Thunder!" I ordered.

"Char…"

"Rai…"

"Hey, Sandy!" Both of our Pokemon stopped their attacks while Dan and I turned to see who had called. Dan groaned.

"What is it, Jim?" Jim was Dan's younger brother who would get on both of our nerves sometimes. No, scratch that. He does that all the time.

"There's someone at the door." Jim pointed towards the front door with his thumb.

"Who could be here at this hour?" I wondered.

"Maybe your boyfriend?" Danny teased. I gave him a glare while I felt myself blush at the word.

"Just be glad we got interrupted or I would've taken Charmeleon down."

"Whatever." He called back Charmeleon and followed his brother out the backyard. I didn't bother to call back Raichu so I let it come along. The boys moved out of the way as I made it to the door. I opened it and in front of me stood a boy with a red cap. He was a bit taller than I was so I assumed he must be around my age. He had on a blue shirt with a red jacket that was left open. His jeans were a little faded and his white sneakers started to take on a slight gray-ish color over the years they must've been worn.

"Hi," I said casually. "Can I help you?" I heard footsteps from behind me and noticed Jim standing next to me.

"Uh, yeah. We found something in our pool and we're not sure who it belongs to."

I felt myself swallow in sudden suspicion but I tried not to jump to any conclusions. "What is it?"

"A Pokémon."

I felt that something was amiss. I pushed it aside and began to ask more questions, hoping that my guess wouldn't be correct.

"Does it have a tail that looks like a lightning bolt? Or pointed ears that were chipped?" I was starting to feel uneasy.

"I don't know. I didn't get a good look. Maybe you'd like to check?"

I looked at the boy, then at my cousins. It couldn't hurt to just check to see what this mysterious creature is. I turned back to the boy and nodded.

"Follow me."

He led us across the street to his house, which had a big white gate around it. As we walked I started to feel nervous. I glanced at Jim then at Raichu who gave me a worried look.

"Chu?"

"I'm okay, Raichu. Don't worry." I didn't it want to know I was really nervous and a little scared. The suspense was practically killing me by this point.

I saw the boy open the gate and walked into the backyard. "Coming?"

It was like I couldn't move. I slowly took a step forward.

"Come on, Sandy," Jim softly said. I let myself fall behind a bit until we got to the pool. It wasn't an in-ground pool. Instead, it was a round pool that sat in the grass. On it was a black tarp to prevent the leaves and snow from getting inside. The boy stood by the pool and looked inside. Then he faced me.

Dan saw that I was barely moving. "Come on," he said as he waved for me to come over. I cautiously made my way over to the pool, Raichu following my every step. I could've sworn I felt my hands shake.

"Is this your Pokémon?" asked the boy.

I saw the tarp had a humungous hole in it and looked down. At the bottom of the pool was a puddle of water. But something else caused me to turn pale.

It was lying there, completely motionless. I was able to see the top half of the body and the first thing I saw were its eyes. You're probably thinking that they were closed, right? No, they were wide open. I stared at those soulless eyes and that's when I knew.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" I whispered.

"Sandy?" It was Danny. "Is it Pikachu?"

I opened my mouth but nothing else came out. I felt my eyes beginning to water but I forced myself not to shed any tears. I also wanted to smile for the fact that I finally found it but I swallowed my emotions. I nodded, my gaze not leaving the lifeless Pokémon.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded again. "I'd know those chipped ears and dirty yellow paws anywhere." My breath started to hitch as the tears started to come back. I gulped it all down. I'm 16 years old. I didn't want them to think I was a little baby.

"Chu chu rai?" Raichu wanted to see but I shook my head. "I think it would be too much for you."

"So… what do you wanna do?" asked the red-capped boy.

"I- I don't know."

"Chris! Did you find out whose Pokemon that is?" A man stepped into the yard, startling me out of my trance. I shifted my focus from Pikachu to look at him. He had a blue shirt and he also wore jeans but they weren't as faded. His beige shoes seem to be used too much though.

"Yeah. It's hers." Chris pointed to me and I looked away. My sight went back to Pikachu's dead body. I still couldn't believe it.

"What would like to do?" asked the man. I assumed he was Chris' father.

I looked up and shrugged. "I- I'm not sure." I could barely say anything since the discovery.

"Well, are your parents home?"

"No. They went out."

"What time will they be back?"

"I don't know."

The man sighed. "How about we wait until they come back, just to be certain that it's yours."

"Ok," I softly replied.

The man and Chris went back in the house to get some things while the rest of us stood there. My gaze was still on Pikachu.

"Sandy?" Jim came up next to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, not wanting to say anything now. My hands became fists as I tried to keep composure. I gulped down the urge to burst to tears. I turned around so I wouldn't have to look at the poor thing in the pool.

This whole time… You were right here, Pikachu… I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach. Both Jim and Danny knew that Pikachu had gone missing. What they didn't know was that it was missing since November. Five months passed and it never came back. Part of me thought that someone found it and took it under their wing while the other part believed it didn't survive the cold winter. I tried to be optimistic, hoping that someone cared for Pikachu after they found it. Or maybe it was on its way home after getting lost for so long. I never thought I would have to deal with a tragic blow right in the face like now. This was just too much for me.

Pikachu was not exactly a "battle Pokémon", if you could call it that. It was my pet and had been for seven years. And that's how old it was. They say that seven is supposed to be a lucky number. Some luck. It's nothing but a simple number just like the others. Luck means absolutely nothing, if there's even such a thing.

The back door opened and Chris and his father stepped out with a large plastic bag and a snow shovel. I heard them struggle a bit as they tried to get the body out of the pool. They, along with my cousins, started to gag as the stench of the decaying corpse filled their senses. It didn't bother me considering I was further away from them. I let myself look at Pikachu one last time, water dripping from the yellow bundle. I noticed the tail; it was completely furless, like a Raticate's tail. I suddenly felt a small tug on my leg and looked down.

"Chu…" Raichu was clinging on to me with a horrified look on its face. I could only guess that it saw the body.

I looked away again, the sound of the bag rustling penetrating my hearing. I shuddered and let out a shaky breath. I wanted this to be a bad dream that I can wake up from. I wanted to be home finishing the battle Dan and I were interrupted from. I didn't know if I would lose that battle, but I knew I was losing this one, with my emotions about to explode inside me.

I now watched as Chris and his father tied up the bag. I glanced at the lump that was Pikachu and then at everyone else. The boys looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I just stayed mute for a while.

"Would you like it if we buried your Pokémon here, or would you prefer to bury it at your house?" Chris' dad looked at me as he asked me that.

I slowly backed away; I was completely freaked out by this whole experience. "Um… I think maybe it's best to wait for my parents to get home. Just in case."

"Alright." The man walked over to the open gate and set the bag down. We followed behind him, my eyes focused on nothing but the bag. I couldn't believe what was happening here. This day started out great with my cousins being with me for the whole week. We had it all planed out: we'd goof off and have a few Pokémon battles to see who'd be the best trainer. We'd play some games and do nothing. But then by a horrible twist of fate, we wound up here in Chris' yard with my deceased Pikachu that we discovered in his pool. And all this happened in a span of at least an hour or so.

"Make sure you tell them, okay?"

I nodded and took one final look at the bag before walking out. But I didn't get far.

"Hey, Sandy…" It was Chris who called. "I'm sorry about your Pikachu. Is there anything- "

"No," I interrupted. "Thanks for letting me know." I walked away from him. Raichu wasn't clinging on to me anymore but it still remained next to me. Dan and Jim weren't too far behind.

"You okay, Sandy?" asked Jim. I stared at the ground as we made our way back to my house.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I let myself drag behind again, thinking about what had just happened.

Since Pikachu was practically born an outdoor Pokémon, I thought it would come back like it always did. When it never did, I hoped that someone had taken it in. At least it would've had food, water, and a roof over its head.

But I guess that never happened. How it got in the pool in the first place I have no idea. Maybe it was chasing something and the something ran in the hole. Pikachu could've followed it and got stuck and the snow started piling up on it. How else could its body be preserved like that? Either way, I may never know what really happened. The only thing I could guess that caused its death was starvation and hypothermia once it got stuck.

Some owner I was. I didn't even try to look for it, thinking it would come back on its own. And now I find it like this! I feel so stupid! If I had at least put some effort into searching for Pikachu, it could've been home, safe and sound. I feel like I'm responsible for this whole mess.

I know I shouldn't be blaming myself but what could I do? I've had Pikachu for about half of my life and now I find its body. Never again will I hear its cries to be let out of the house. I won't get to feel its soft fur or the sudden jolt of electricity. I won't even get to play with it anymore.

And now it's too late. Five months too late.

I'm sorry, Pikachu. If only I knew sooner. I walked back home, letting the tears finally fall.

Note: The story above is based on my experience when I found my cat two months ago during Spring Break. I'm dedicating this to my cat. and to those who have lost their pets and/or loved ones.