Not strong enough
The pikachu flinches as she is, yet again, defeated in battle. Her teammates turn to glare at her, this was the third time they had tried to complete this mission and now they would need to return to town to get care for her.
Totodile and Torchic hoist the pikachu's limp frame up off the dungeon floor and back outside toward their base. It's modeled after the team's leader, Totodile, so it's surrounded by water and painted blue.
The pikachu is set down, rather roughly, on the grassy bed inside the base. It seemed to her that her teammates were annoyed about something aside from failing again.
She tries to prop herself up on her elbow only to be pushed down again by Totodile, "You need to rest, again..." he adds the last word on under his breath, again with the annoyed tone, "We'll talk when you've recovered." he finishes, turning away to talk with Torchic.
The pikachu lays on the bed, eyes wide with dread, Talk? What does he mean 'talk'? Did I do something I wasn't supposed to? She questions herself at Totodile's words, not noticing Torchic leave for Oran Forest to pick up berries.
Totodile sits beside the bed, oblivious to the pikachu's worry, "I sent Torchic out to get some berries for you. Those should be enough to bring you back to full health." he replies, a detached tone in his voice, as if they weren't friends and she was just some random stranger.
What is going on here? She wonders, He's never been one for emotion but this is different.
"Try to get some sleep. Torchic should be back later." he continues in his flat tone as he starts to leave.
The pikachu props herself up desperately, "Did I do something wrong today?" she asks, "I didn't mean to faint and I'm sorry I've caused so many failures."
Totodile turns his head to look at the pikachu, "Get some rest. We'll have a team meeting when Torchic gets back to decide where to go." he replies with a final tone, walking out the door and slamming it behind him.
The sound echoes around the small space as the pikachu sinks slowly into the grass. She tries to forget about all the red flags she'd seen and relax. Eventually, the calm sound of the little river flowing through the base lulls her to sleep.
The next thing she knows, she's being shaken awake by Totodile's small paw, "Torchic's back." his voice explains.
She opens her eyes, noticing the Oran berry being held before her nose. She reaches for it, nibbling at it and feeling a warm healing wave wash over her. She smiles contentedly, finishing the berry, "So what did we need to talk about?" she asks, feeling refreshed.
Totodile and Torchic glance at each other briefly before Totodile replies to the pikachu's question, "We need to talk about you."
"Me? Why?"
"We feel that you've been holding the team back, lately, and..."
"And what?" the pikachu asks, worried about his next words.
He grimaces, "We think it's time you left." he finishes bluntly.
"Time I left? As in, leave the team? But..." she starts.
Totodile holds up his paw to stop her, "I need to do what's best for the rest of the team. We can't be a helpful rescue team if we have to keep coming back with you. I'm sorry but you need to go."
Her mouth quivers as she tries to hold back the tears. She should have been expecting this after yesterday but it still came as a shock. She bolts out of the base in tears, simply running deeper into the surrounding forest.
The pikachu eventually stops by a large tree, sitting down by it to finish crying. She closes her eyes, letting the tears just roll down her face as she tries to calm herself and stop sobbing.
A small pink pokemon peers down at her from a branch over-head. Mew flicks her tail, wondering what a pikachu was doing this deep into her forest. She decides to ask, floating down to the pikachu. Mew hangs upside-down in front of the pikachu's face, tilting her head to the side, "What're you crying for?" she asks, curious.
The pikachu's eyes snap open suddenly as she tries to scuttle away from Mew, "Where did...Who're you?" she stammers.
Mew rights herself, "I asked a question first." she pouts, "I'm Mew and this is my forest." she replies, gesturing widely around her as if to embrace the entire jungle.
The pikachu relaxes slightly, "I'm crying because I just got kicked off a rescue team." she replies, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.
Mew turns her attention back to the pikachu, "Aww. No wonder, then." she smiles, "That would be sad." she floats over to the pikachu, hovering beside her to offer comfort.
The pikachu sniffles again, "Thanks, Mew." she smiles.
Mew beams, "No problem, uhh...what was your name again?"
The pikachu smiles, "Voltess. My name's Voltess."