Ash's Gift
(A Pokémon Fanfiction. I don't own anything.)
Ash sighed as he, Dawn, and Brock traveled up the snowy mountains to Snowpoint City. He was unusually quiet for an upcoming Gym Battle at the Snowpoint City Gym, and this had the trainer's friends worried. "Ash, are you alright?" Brock asked as he walked up and put a hand on Ash's free shoulder that wasn't occupied by Pikachu. Ash looked up at Brock tiredly and rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well." Brock nodded. "Why?" Dawn's chipper voice grated on Ash's eardrums when she spoke. Pikachu looked at her I hold that Pikachu is female. friend in worry. "(Are you sure it's only the lack of sleep?)" She asked in Pokenese. Pikachu knew the humans couldn't understand her, but it made her feel better to ask anyway. Ask turned to Pikachu and scratched her between the ears. (Why do I feel like he can understand me?) Pikachu thought as she looked at him for a moment. "I keep having the same dream." Ask told them as they stopped for lunch.
Once Brock had everything laid out, Ash began to weave his tale. "Ever since I met Arceus, I've felt…strange." He said as the boy began to eat. "Then, for the past few weeks, I've been dreaming of my Dad." This made everyone stop. Ash never talked about his Dad. A war was said to have claimed most of the generation before Ash. The war's origins and reasons for it were shrouded in myth and rumor, but Ash had an idea ever since meeting Arceus. "Dad walks up to me in a white suit and smiles as he sits down next to me." Ash told them. "He tells me he has a gift for me, but says I'm not ready for it yet. Then, I wake up." Dawn smiled at him. "That's weird. What do you think is the 'gift'?" Ash sighed and pushed his plate of food away. Then, he stood up and looked at the path ahead of them to Snowpoint City. "I don't know what it is, Dawn, but my gut tells me I'll find out at the gym." He told her as a small smile pulled at the edges of his mouth. "Let's do this!" He said as he pumped his fist in the air. (That's the Ash I know.) Pikachu thought as she scampered back up to her perch on Ash's shoulder.
Jessie, James, and Meowth were freezing as they ran up about a hundred yards behind the group. "There's The Twerps." Jessie said with a shiver. "Maybe we could ask them for some warm tea." James suggested. Jessie slapped him across the back of the head. "We have to get that Pikachu." She growled with a glare. Meowth looked at the two humans. "Why does it matter that we get THAT particular one? There's countless more right outside Pallet Town." The glare he got from Jessie was deadly, and it made him jump back in fear. "That Pikachu humiliates us constantly!" Jessie roared. Ash turned at Jessie's voice and just looked at Pikachu with a smirk. Pikachu nodded and sent Team Rocket off with a Thunderbolt. Ask shook his head with a light laugh. "Will they ever learn?" Ask mumbled as he and his friends started back on their trek to Snowpoint Gym.
After taking a class taught by Candice, the Gym Leader, Ash felt a little uneasy. She was very skilled with Ice Types, and that made him nervous. The fact that the battlefield was a sheet of ice with large icebergs scattered about only served to heighten his nerves. The referee looked at each of them and explained the rules. "This is a one on one battle. The challenger, Ash of Pallet Town, will have first attack. The battle will be decided when either Pokémon is unable to battle. Begin!" Ash smiled and was about to throw another Pokémon onto the battlefield when Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder with her cheeks sparking. Candice smiled at the Mouse Pokémon's anger. "Abomasnow! Come on out!" Ash glared at the massive creature. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the iceberg and send it at Abomasnow." Ash said as he pointed. Pikachu sent the slab of ice at the Ice Type. "Blizzard!" Candice called. Abomasnow exhaled a gust of wind and snow strong enough to send the slab back at Pikachu. "Dodge it!" Ash called frantically. She managed to leap away, but the slab of ice pinned her tail to the wall. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he glared at Candice who continued the attack in spite of Pikachu being pinned. Ash ran onto the battlefield and shielded his eyes from the wind and snow. Something inside Ash called out, Ice Plate!
Suddenly, the attack stopped and a round of gasps filled the gym. Ash was too focused on his friend to realize anything strange was happening, but directly behind the boy, a pale blue and white shimmering object that looked a little like a pizza slice stood. Dawn stared in shock. "Is that…?" She started to ask which Brock confirmed with wonder in his voice. "…Arceus' Ice Plate." Ash glared at the iceberg that held his best friend's tail against the gym's wall as the Plate disappeared. He then closed his ears and turned the block to shimmering bits with something that looked suspiciously like Hammer Arm. As soon as Ash's fist stopped glowing, he began to sway. Pikachu tried to catch him and cursed her small size before she balanced Ash on her tail and gently laid him on the floor of the gym in worry. "(Please be ok…)" She pleaded as she nuzzled up to his side and waited for him to wake.
In Ash's mind, the boy saw his father again. The man was laughing. "I knew it." He said. Ash looked at the man in confusion. "What do you mean?" The man's eyes sparkled. "Maybe this will help." He said as his form was swallowed in white light and morphed into Arceus. Ash stared in shock. "Arceus is my DAD?!" The boy spat in shock. Through Telepathy Arceus said, "Is it so hard to believe? You ever wonder why Legendaries take to you easily, or how you're able to stand point-blank Pokémon attacks with very little, if any, damage?" Ash laughed. "When Pikachu and I met, she tried to kill me, but I shook off the Thunderbolt." Arceus nodded. "Now, you know why. Speaking of Lightning, I have a gift for both of you." Arceus' Steel and Lightning Plates temporarily fused. Out of the fusion, a small stone floated to Ash's hand. "I don't want her to evolve." Ash said in protest. "It's not a Thunder Stone, but it will change her. Now, awaken my son."
As Ash woke up, he saw he was in a bed with Lightning on his chest. Brock and Dawn looked at their friend in worry. "Are you alright?" Brock asked. "Considering I found out my father is Arceus, I'm doing pretty well." He turned to his head to his friends. "Could you guys leave for a minute?" The Mouse Pokémon felt Ash stir and looked at him. "(What happened?)" Ash answered before he realized he could understand her. "I found out Arceus is my dad, and he gave me this." Ash pulled the strange stone out from under the covers. Lightning walked up to the stone and went to pick it up. When her tail touched the stone, the Pokémon was swallows in white light and the form grew to a human shape with the exception of her tail and ears. As the light retreated, Lightning wrapped her new arms around Ash and held him close. Thank you, Arceus! She thought with a beaming smile.
Please Read and Review. First Pokémon fic EVER. Please be nice.