"Well, I guess we're back buddy." Ash stated, lacking the infectious excitement that he usually carried. His posture was slumped, and he seemed to have been sulking recently. He glanced over at the small yellow rodent hanging off his shoulder, who was nodding in agreement to the comment.

"Pika!" The mouse cheered, before staring at his trainer in concern. "Pikapi? Chu pi pika?" Ash laughed lightly at the worry coming from his best friend. His Pokémon were so loyal and he loved them more than anything else.

"Don't worry about it Pikachu. I'll be fine. I guess really I'm just blaming myself, you know? I mean, we could have had a better chance at winning if I wasn't just so lost in my thoughts…"

"Pikachu chupi pika! Pi pikachu chu Pikapi!" The Electric-type protested. The teenager blinked, before a grin came over his face.

"You mean that it wasn't my fault? If anyone should be blamed, it would be you since you were doing the same as me? Pikachu, I appreciate it, but I can't throw everything on you like that. How about we're both at fault?" He suggested lightheartedly. The Pokémon's face lit up, and he nodded vigorously. Ash laughed. His partner always knew how to cheer him up.

As he walked down the hill, he remembered something else. Turning around, he saw the confused expression on Pikachu's face and decided to enlighten him.

"I wanted to check on Pidgeot. I mean, the last time I saw her was after the Orange Archipelago when I went to get her, but things came up and she had to stay longer than she first anticipated. I was sad, but I let her stay since she's the leader of the flock and it's her job to protect them. But I want to see after all this time how she's doing. Who knows, maybe she'll rejoin the team…"

Pikachu looked up at Ash and saw a genuine smile on his face as he talked. The mouse was glad that his friend had some of his happiness again, even if it was only temporary.

When they got to the forest, Ash sighed. "Man, I forgot how hard it is to travel through here, much less looking for a bird that could be anywhere…"

"Pika…" The Pokémon whined.

After a while of getting lost every which way, there was a screech above them and the duo looked up, startled.

In their sight was a large avian Pokémon with glossy, brown and cream feathers. On the bird's head was a red and yellow crest that was almost as long as the Pokémon's body. There were red, fan-like tail feathers and black angular markings around the eyes.

Gracefully, the Pidgeot descended, landing right in front of the two. Recognition flashed in their eyes after they took a closer look, and they did a double take.

"Pidgeot? Is that you?" Ash finally asked, albeit tentatively, to which the bird happily confirmed his suspicions by nuzzling her face against his cheek.

"Hey! Stop that!" Ash said while laughing. This brought a smile to Pikachu's face as he watched the scene with amusement from the ground. He had jumped off when the large Flying-type had still been airborne, and was not regretting his decision.

After the fated reunion the three went to seek out the flock. The psychotic Fearow leader had been caught by a trainer years ago, and Pidgeot only stayed there and helped just because she was unsure and wanted to be cautious. Of course, there were no qualms at all for her decision to stay, and many Pidgeot had even wanted her to go out and travel a bit. Every time they brought it up, however, she would refuse.

She also didn't leave because she just had a gut feeling that the time after his adventure in the Orange Islands wasn't the last time she would see her trainer.

She had been right.

As Ash waited for the flock to talk it out about Pidgeot's desire to go with him, he thought that out of the corner of his eye he saw that every other Pidgeot was practically shoving her out of the tree. His vision proved right after a brief moment, as it became clear that there were in fact Pidgeot who were pushing her out. They looked overjoyed, and Ash wondered what it was that caused them to be so happy. He could only come to the conclusion that they had wanted their leader to travel some before, but she didn't leave – it at least definitely wasn't that she wasn't wanted in the flock, since they had kept her for so long as leader, it was obvious they'd let her stay as long as she liked.

Ash watched with a smile and Pikachu snickered at the sight. A few squawks and a capture later, and the teenager was peacefully sitting on the avian's back and gripping the mouse firmly in his arms.

"Alright Pidgeot, let's fly!"

A/N: Alright, new story! Okay, I'm sorry that I keep publishing more and more stories since that makes it hard to update any and all of them. Everyone, blame my always-working brain!

Thanks for reading and please review! Criticism is always welcome!