This is a side-project I decided to start, and it connects with my other story, "The New Challengers". Basically, what this will be is a collection of short stories, with each chapter focusing on a different character and a different theme and style.
Anyone who knows my writing style knows that I write a lot for each chapter, so writing short stories is not my strong point right now. So, this also serves as practice for me.

Since The New Challengers contains so many characters, I couldn't fit everything I wanted into the main story, so for those of you who want to read more of the story, this is for you.

Setting for this story: About an hour before the race starts (see chapter 4 of The New Challengers).
Tone: Light-hearted humor.
Character: Pikachu.

Also, I tried to make it so you didn't have to read The New Challengers to understand this story, but…yeah, it would kind of help a lot!

The Secret Letter

"To my Dearest Princess,

The time has come for me to confess my admiration for you. Often I have looked at you from afar, dreaming of perhaps getting closer to you but never having the courage to do so.
But fate has once again brought us together. And tonight I pen this love letter to you from my very soul. I want to shout my love from the highest mountain! I dream of becoming your pet, and you my trainer. Oh, the fun we could have together. Princess Zelda, would you do me the honor of-"
Pikachu was sitting at a small desk in the round room of Princess Zelda's castle, clutching a quill awkwardly in one paw, and in the process of writing his very important letter, when he sensed someone approaching his back.
He whirled around in his chair and gazed up at the massive form of Bowser, one of his assigned team-mates. His other team-mate, Luigi, lay on his bed, groaning and whimpering, obviously still hurting from when Bowser threw him against the wall.

"Pika!" ("Please back up, Bowser, I am trying to write a very personal letter!") Pikachu said, looking up warningly at Bowser, who was glaring down at him.

"What you got there, rat?" Bowser asked, peering over Pikachu to the piece of paper on the desk.

"Chu! Pika…" ("I told you, it's a personal letter. Now, if you don't mind…")

Pikachu turned back to his letter, and gasped in horror as Bowser quickly snatched it up in front of his eyes.

"PIKA!" ("Nooo!") He cried, turning and trying to snatch the letter away from Bowser. But the big brute kept the letter from his reach, squinting at it.

"What is this?" Bowser muttered to himself.

Pikachu started shaking, and held a paw to his mouth in fear. Oh no! He thought. My secret love is going to be revealed!

Bowser started laughing a booming laugh, staring at the letter, and Pikachu's knees began to knock together, his body shaking.
"This is priceless!" He said, shaking his head. He read the letter out loud: "'Pika Piiika chu chu pika! Chuuuu Pikachu!'….you can't even write in proper English! What a load of gibberish!" And then, to Pikachu's growing concern, Bowser opened the door to the room, and walked outside, still holding his letter.

Where's he going with that? Pikachu thought wildly, hastily following the Lizard King out into the hallway. He watched wide-eyed as Bowser, spotting a near-by window set in the wall, walked over to it quickly and, without hesitation, suddenly threw the crumpled piece of paper out the window.

"PIIIIKAAAAA!" ("No! My love letter!") Pikachu cried in dismay, scrambling up on the window sill and watching the paper fall towards the moat.

Bowser laughed, holding his sides. "Maybe that will teach you to learn to write properly!" He guffawed, moving back into the room.

Pikachu's eyes filled with tears.

He tried to tell himself that he could just do the letter over, but the truth was that he had been struggling with writing the letter for ages. He had finally gotten down something he felt would be good enough to present to Zelda, and now this had happened!

His ears drooped. Maybe this was a sign that he should just give up, and go back to his original trainer, Ash.
"Pika…chu…" ("Oh how cruel is fate…") He sighed to himself, staring down the wall of the castle at the moat, far below.

Suddenly his eyes widened as he spotted the piece of paper, unexpectedly perched on a thin ledge some ten meters below. A breeze was blowing up against the wall of the castle, so Pikachu could see that the letter would not remain on the ledge for long.

Almost without thinking, the small yellow Pokemon scrabbled backwards out of the window, using his nails to grip onto the rough stonework of the castle.
An updraft of wind threatened to pull him from the wall, but he gritted his teeth and slowly began climbing down the wall, going feet-first and only looking down occasionally, in order to judge his position.

"Chu." ("Careful.") He said to himself, feeling down with one leg.

The grip of one paw suddenly faltered, and the Pokemon found himself sliding down the wall at a fast rate. His nails digging at the wall as he fell, his descent slowed, until finally he came to a stop, gripping the stone properly once more.
Breathing rapidly, he looked down and saw that he was near some windows, their sills jutting out from the castle wall. He hopped down onto a sill, took some deep breaths, and began to hope from ledge to ledge, moving down the wall in short jumps.

"Pika!" (Yesss!") He cried joyously, hopping down finally onto the ledge where the paper rested. He reached a paw for it quickly, grabbed it, and held it to his chest. Holding the paper carefully in his mouth, he began climbing back up the wall, heading for a window, when he looked up suddenly to see a fast-moving yellow object falling towards him.

He couldn't dodge out of the way in time, and he felt something splat against his forehead. Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth in alarm, and the letter drifted down in a spiral movement. He watched it fall, and blinked in hope as a sudden gust of wind picked the letter up and blew it sideways, where it went into a window, back into the castle.

With a growl he reached a hand up and plucked the object off of his face, holding it up so he could look at it. It was a banana peel.

Tossing it away, he climbed awkwardly down to the window he had seen his letter blow into, and jumped through it into a dark room.

He looked around the room cautiously. He was in a room almost identical to the room that he and his team had. Three beds were positioned around the room, and Pikachu realized that they were all occupied by sleeping figures.

As softly as he could, so as not to wake what was most probably another team, Pikachu began to look around the room for his letter.

After a minute of searching with no result, he scratched at his head in confusion, wondering where the letter could have got to. He jumped onto a desk, so he could see the entire room better, and then he spotted the letter.

It lay right on the sheet of the middle bed, directly over whoever was sleeping there.

A drop of sweat trickled down Pikachu's cheek, and he stared at the letter for a while, conflicted on what to do next. Eventually though he decided that he needed to get the letter back, and didn't want the team to wake up, read the letter, and all share a good laugh.

He jumped softly onto the bed, and, with the grace of a stalking cat, moved to the middle of the bed, now walking directly on whoever was on the bed. Reaching the letter, he grabbed at it with relief, and took a glance at the sleeping person's face-and froze.

It was Zelda! Sleeping so peacefully, her breath coming out in slow puffs, her eyelids fluttering slightly. Like the princess that she was, she slept with not only one pillow, but three, one under her head, and the other two positioned around her.

Pikachu's eyes softened, staring at the princess. Was it fate too that his letter happened to land in her room, on her bed?

Maybe he should just leave the letter under her sheets or something, he thought. And then he would simply leave-

His thought was interrupted as Zelda suddenly turned in her sleep, one arm grabbing his body and pulling him towards her. Pikachu struggled to free himself, but Zelda's grip was too strong, and he found himself being squished and cuddled against her body-she thought that he was one of her pillows!

"Pikaaaaa..." ("Oh no!") He whispered, one of his cheeks squashed against Zelda's cheek.

Using his legs, he kicked out at Zelda, trying to pry himself away from her. While it was nice being so close to her, if she woke up and found him in her bed, he would never be able to live it down!

But Zelda just frowned and held him tighter. Suddenly, the princess sat up slightly, grabbing Pikachu, and began to prod and pull at his body, molding him into more of a pillow shape.

"PIKACHU!" ("MY DIGNITY!") Pikachu sobbed, as Zelda began punching him into shape to make for a more comfortable pillow.

Quick as lightning, Pikachu twisted his body, grabbed a near-by pillow, and held it up to the sleeping Zelda. She grabbed the pillow, cuddling it, and then finally settled down once more to sleep.
He was free! He jumped up, away from Zelda, and began cleaning his ruffled fur quickly.
Still, he reflected, being held by Zelda was pretty nice. On an impulse, he walked over to Zelda's head, leaned forward, and gave her a quick peck on her cheek.

Zelda smiled in her sleep. "No Link, don't…not when everyone's watching!" She giggled softly to herself, and Pikachu's eyes boggled.

What? Link? He thought, horrified. I thought they were just friends! Does she like him? How can I compete for Zelda now?

Feeling suddenly like crying, Pikachu grabbed the letter and quickly jumped up to the door-handle, twisting it and running out of the room.

He ran through the castle until he reached the door to his room, but he paused before he went in, suddenly feeling angry as well as sad.

Link always gets everything! He wins everything, all the girls like him…but no-one likes me! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind right now!

Setting out purposely, he used his nose to sniff out Link's scent. It led him to a floor above his room, and he narrowed his location down to a room.

He opened the door and entered the room. Link was standing in the middle of the room, talking to one of his team-mates, but he turned when he heard Pikachu enter.

"Pikachu?" He said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

Pikachu stopped in front of Link and glared up at him.
"Pika, chu! Chu pika! Pika pika chuuu!" ("You think you're such hot stuff, but I'm here to tell you that you won't win Zelda so easily!") Pikachu stormed, jabbing his paws up at Link.

Link knelt down on one knee. "What is it, boy?" He asked seriously. "Is someone in trouble? Did Young Link fall down a well or something?"

Pikachu stared at Link in disbelief, and then smacked his forehead with a paw.

"Pikachu! Chuuuuu. Pika, chu-pika. Pikachu? Pika!" ("What are you on about? Why can't anybody understand me, it's not exactly hard to learn my language! I'm not like a dog, trying to warn you of danger! I'm here to tell you that it's on-we're rivals from now!")

Link turned to look at Mario. "I don't know what he's saying, but it sounds urgent. Maybe he wants us to follow him or something?"

Pikachu turned, disgusted, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Or…maybe not." He heard Link say through the door.

Pikachu returned to his room, where he found Luigi and Bowser fast asleep in their beds. Suddenly feeling exhausted, he climbed into his own bed, snuggling under the covers. Reaching over to his night-table, he picked up his sleeping hat and put it on.

Then he realized he was still holding his letter in a paw. He hugged it to his chest, and then put it on his head, under his hat-the safest place he could think of.

He settled back, to sleep. What a night! His secret almost got out numerous times, he had been smacked in the face with a banana peel, used as a pillow, and then he insulted Link to his face!

Oh well, he told himself. Maybe one day Zelda and I will become trainer and Pokemon. Until then, as long as I get a good night's sleep tonight, I'll be fine.

And he shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

This is almost the shortest chapter/story I have ever written. Which is a good thing, for me. Haha.
Anyway, as you can see, this story was just something funny I thought up, and is meant to be light-hearted and not taken too seriously. Am I saying that I want Princess Zelda and Pikachu to get together? No! But I think it's funny how Pikachu has a crush on someone he can never really be with, and the fact that no-one can understand him is something I wanted to deal with.

Oh, and, for those of you who read chapter 4 and 5 of The New Challengers, you now know why Pikachu was acting kind of angry towards Bowser in those chapters.

Please give this story a chance! The next short story in this collection will be something completely different. And please leave a review! I don't really expect this to get too many hits, because even The New Challengers doesn't have many readers at the moment, but it's still something I wanted to write.