"Pikachu. Pikachu, wake up." The distant voice echoed through her head. Two bright dots of light penetrated the unending darkness that filled her pounding head. "Pikachu, you have to get up now." the voice insisted.

"No..." she moaned weakly.

"There is still something you must do."

"I can't. I'm dead. "She whispered.

She could sense whatever was talking smile. "Your body was, but not your mind. Not yet. Go now and save them." the dots became two cat like eyes that opened wide. The light coming from them gleamed and soon the blinding white enveloped her.

"Go."

Pikachu shot up and coughed hard. Her ribs were on fire and her head was pounding. She looked around fervently but the motion made her stomach churn. She squeezed her eyes shut hard and tried opening them again. She rose her paw to wipe her mouth and recoiled in horror. A slender human hand replaced her short fluffy paw. She went completely rigid as the water stilled and showed her reflection. She was no longer a Pikachu, but a young girl. Short yellow fur covered her head and her ears lay flat, blending in with two of the only long pieces of hair that fell on either side of her face. Her too-red cheeks burned.

Humans had hurt her in so many ways and now she was one? The thought filled her with rage. She splashed at the water disrupting the reflection and made her way to the dry land. She winced as pain racked through her. That human had kicked her hard, a rib might be broken. She stretched out and arched her back. Pain snapped through her making her cry out. She squeezed her eyes closed and the image of the cat like eyes flashed behind them as if seared in to her eye lids.

"Why did you do this to me?" She screamed at the eyes.

"Save them..." the voice echoed weakly in her ears.

Pikachu pushed her hands against her head trying to smother the voice that kept echoing that same phrase over and over.

"OK!" She screamed. Her voice startled her. It was still the same as when she was a Pikachu, but she had just used a human phrase.

"Ohh." She tested her mouth. "Kayyy?" It felt weird but also natural.

"Pika pi?" saying that felt strange. The feeling of her tongue against new teeth made her mouth feel funny. She didn't know any human words, or at least she didn't really understand a lot of them. Her brothers had taught her some phrases from kids that would play in the grass but they mostly tried to play with the family of Pikachus. She liked the soft voices they had used. A soft breeze disturbed the water and she sighed. It was cold and she had no fur anymore. She didn't understand much about humans but she did understand that humans wore clothes and she didn't have any. How was she supposed to rescue her brothers like this? Pikachu tried to stand and found herself on long, lanky, uneasy legs. She took half a step and fell against the rocks. They dug in to her at every angle. She began to crawl carefully towards the grass where the ground would be dirt and not cut in to her.

A rustling in the grass startled her as a young brown haired man made his way to the water's edge a little way from where she sat. He Knelt down and pulled one of the bubbles out of odd pockets on his pants. He said something to it then held the ball out towards the water. A bright light shone from it and a second later a Seaking was splashing happily in the river. The boy smiled and leaned down to get a drink. Pikachu, who had frozen upon hearing the rustling, darted her eyes between the grass and the boy. She took a slow breath and inched towards the grass. She flinched at her rib and snapped her head up as she realized how loud the noise she had just made was. The boy had his hands in the water but his eyes were fixed on her in shock.

His face grew red hot as he realized what he was seeing.

"Ah, Sorry!" He threw his hand up over his eyes suddenly, startling Pikachu. She Bolted towards the grass and fell face first in to the barrier. Blood dripped from her head but she wasn't sure when she had been hurt. She moved to wipe it and made eye contact with the boy again.

"Ah, Hey!" he called. The sound of his footsteps drew closer as Pikachu tried to move. Her side ached and she hugged her arm around it trying to ease the pain. She got on to her knees and tried crawling through the grass but was stopped by the boy bursting through the grass in front of her.

"Pi!" she shrieked falling back. She tried to inch back but the burning in her side was unbearable now.

"Hey! Are you OK?" he asked reaching out towards her. He looked only at her face but his cheeks still burned. She hissed at him and tried to send out a shock but only got the faint feeling of static that caused the hairs on her arms to stand on end.

"Here, you're bleeding," He took a tissue out of his pocket and reached for her face. Her eyes glistened with tears and she backed away from him more, flinching as he leaned down.

"Hey...Are you... Afraid of me?" He asked, backing away slightly. The boy looked out at the water, then back at her and gave a sympathetic smile. "I won't hurt you." He crouched down slowly and held the tissue out towards her. Her ears twitched. He sounded like the kids she played with. Pikachu opened her eyes and looked at him, regarding him through her hazy vision. He seemed kind and didn't act like he wanted to hurt her or put her in one of those bubbles. He inched towards her and instead of backing away she squeezed her eyes shut again. Tears dripped from her eyes. His hand swiped across her cheek gently. A small spark jumped from her and he jumped, startled.

"Oh! You shocked me." He chuckled nervously.

Rika relaxed at his nervous smile. He looked as scared as she felt. Her cheek itched but he had used a simple word.

"Shock?" She tested the word. Her electricity was shock? "Shock" She said again.

"Yeah…" He looked at her oddly. He wiped her face again and this time she leaned in to his hand. He wasn't hurting her. He smiled and blushed as she made a content cooing noise.

"Umm, do you have any clothes?" he asked suddenly awkward. He stepped out of the grass and looked along the rocks only to come up short.

"Pi?" She wasn't sure how to answer so she just shook her head.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Pi" she shook her head again. It seemed like an acceptable answer. He looked around for a second then took off his coat and offered it to her. She pushed herself up on to her hands and knees and sniffed at it.

"You can wear it, I'll walk you home so you can get changed." He looked anywhere but at her as he waited for her to take the jacket. She sniffed it for a second then snatched it away and stuck her arm through one of the holes but soon got it twisted and tangled in the fabric. She threw it aside with a huff and the boy laughed. The Seaking, coming to the water's edge to see what was happening, blubbed and spurted water out as if it too were laughing.

"Here, I'll help." he untwisted the jacket and held it up for her. Pikachu stood uneasily and shrugged on the coat. It was huge on her and hung almost to her knees. The boy buttoned it up and stepped back as she sniffed at the unfamiliar cover. Pikachu sank to her knees and smiled at the feeling of warmth the jacket bought.

"Uh, my name's Yukinari, but you can call me Yuki." He said scratching the back of his head.

"Ki?" She mimicked.

He pointed at himself and said "Yu-ki."

"Yu-ki? Yuki." She repeated it over and over. Human words were odd but she had to learn them if she wanted to find her brothers.

"Yeah, what's your name?" He asked.

What is a name? She wondered. He called himself Yuki even though he is human. She cocked her head slightly. That must be name. She thought for a second. No one in her family had names. They were unimportant. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"You won't tell me?" He asked confused. She shook her head again and winced. The cut above her eye throbbed. "Do you have a name?" He asked slowly. This girl obviously couldn't speak well. Maybe she didn't know the local language? He tried speaking as slowly and simply as he could think to. "What should I call you?" She shook her head again and he huffed.

"Yuki?" she said smiling.

He chuckled despite himself and shook his head. "We can't both be Yuki; it would be confusing." Maybe she had hurt her head more than he originally thought. She seemed like she understood him but just couldn't speak for herself.

Pikachu sighed and thought. She looked around but could find nothing to help her.

"Your hair is yellow and brown like a Richu or a Pikachu." He said as he studied her. She nodded wildly then winced. Pikachu! That was a human word too.

"Pikachu!" she squealed. He smiled uneasily at her excitement; she must be a radical trainer to have a reaction like that.

"Since you look like them how about Chu?" he suggested.

She shook her head. She didn't think she liked being referred to as Chu.

"Umm, mouse?" he tried.

She shook her head again.

He thought for a moment. "Rika? RIchu and PiKAchu? It's both names sort of blended together." he smiled.

"Rika." She repeated. She liked the sound of that one. She nodded and said the name again.

He regarded her with interest. She obviously understood him, or at least most of what he was saying.

"Yeah, Yuki and Rika." He beamed. She was cute. He couldn't help but flirt a little, even if she was brain damaged.

"Seaking!" The Pokémon in the water bellowed suddenly.

"Oh, Rika, this is Seaking." Yuki chuckled. "I found him in this river not too long ago. I guess you could say he's my best friend." Pikachu, now known as Rika, carefully made her way down to the water. Her rib tensed but the pain was manageable. She crouched next to the water as the Seaking swam to the shore.

"Sea, Sea, King" what are you?It asked. Rika started. Even as a human she could still speak with Pokémon! She sighed in relief.

"Pikachu." she said in her human voice. Can I touch you?She asked in her Pokémon way.

"Seaking." amazing...

Rika stood slowly and carefully made her way to the water's edge. As she reached out her hand towards the fish, her arm hair rose and she was able to smell ozone as she reached to touch it.

"Pika?" A jolt of electricity shot from her fingers to the fish. She recoiled as her hand exploded with pain and the Seaking began thrashing about wildly.

"Hey!" Yuki yelled pushing Rika away. He ran in to the water and grabbed his friend. His eyes opened in shock when he saw what had caused the panic. A large singe mark was burned in to the Sneaking's side. "H-How did you do that?" he asked looking back at the girl.

Rika curled in to a tight ball, cradling her hand against her chest. Tears burned in her eyes as jolts of pain shot up her arm.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked kneeling beside her and putting his hand on her shoulder. A sharp burning pain traveled up his arm, throwing his backwards on to the bank. His head smashed the rocks and he went very still. Pain burst from her shoulder, making her flinch hard, but she ignored it when she saw Seaking spurting water on the unconscious Yuki. She made her way to him and lifted his head away from the water. His long brown hair was damp and stuck to his face, which was pale, but his cheeks were very red.

"Pika!" Hey!

"Pika!"I'm sorry!

"Pika Pi!" Wake up!

"Pika!" Please!

She looked around and saw the Seaking nudging Yuki's hand.

Help him! I don't know what to do!She squeaked and Pika'd fervently at the water Pokémon.

We need to get him to town!Seaking replied splashing back in to the water.

Is that where there are people?She asked. The Seaking ignored her and instead began swimming upstream.

Follow me.He demanded.

She took a step, and then another and was soon running forward but stopped and looked back at Yuki.

"Hey!" She called, we can't just leave him!

Seaking stopped and swam back to her, annoyed. She bounced back to him and hooked her arms underneath Yuki's and tried to lift him. Pain burned through her side so intensely she cried out and fell to her knees. She grunted in frustration and hit the ground. I can't do anything in this body!

We must get him to people Pikachu, humans don't last as long as Pokémon do when they are hurt.Seaking seemed to be panicking but Rika didn't know what to do.

Yuki was breathing hard and his face was covered in sweat and contorted in pain.

I can't lift him, but we cannot leave him, here!She cried.

Get his belt, the thing on his waist, and get a Pokeball. Find Charizard, she can help us.

"Pokéball?" she looked at the belt and saw the small bubbles hanging off small nest shaped clips. She fiddled with the clip but after a moment wrestled the belt from his waist and studied the clips. The Pokéballs sat in a neat row all around the belt, interrupted only by large pockets on either side of the Fastener.

She hesitated for only a second before grabbing one. "Pokéball?" She held it out to the Seaking who nodded. Looking it over, she made a face. The ball was no bigger than a berry and it shone in the evening light. A tiny silver button sat in the middle of the ball. Using her index finger, Rika pressed the button and jumped as the ball grew to fill her entire hand. She still couldn't see how a whole Pokémon could fit in such a small space.

She pressed the button again and shrieked as the ball shot out of her hand. A blindingly bright light exploded from it forcing Rika to shield her eyes. She blinked as the light died down and gasped as she saw the small Nidoran staring at her.

Who are you? Where's master? Seaking! What's happening?He shot a sideways glance at the fish Pokémon and bristled at the girl.

That was the wrong one Pikachu, Hurry!

I'm sorry, there are so many!She grabbed another ball and poked the button, throwing it before it could explode. A Pidgey Shrilled and pecked at the ground. She pulled a third ball then a forth and finally found the Charizard.

Get back in your balls, Seaking instructed the other Pokémon, we need to move fast!

The balls that littered the ground began to glow as the Pokémon were sucked back in to them. Rika stared in a mix of horror and amazement as she watched it all happen. The balls returned to their berry sized shape and Seaking instructed to Rika to pick them up as he explained the situation to Charizard. She clipped them in to the belt and strapped it on herself as Charizard picked up Yuki.

Fly ahead, we'll catch up.Seaking Instructed. The Charizard nodded and lifted itself high in to the air before flying off with Yuki in its arms.

Rika wrapped the belt around herself twice and tightened it. She nodded to the Seaking and both made their way after their friend.

Charizard landed in front of the Poke-Center and made its way through the doors. Nurse Joy jumped as the creature entered the room but quickly realized what it was doing. Pushing the button on her earpiece she requested a gurney and the assistance of a human doctor.

"Good girl Charizard." Nurse Joy smiled and patted the Pokémon as Yuki was laid on a table. "We'll take good care of your Trainer." Charizard snuffed and looked back at the door as Rika burst in.

"Yuki?" She ran towards the Charizard and the nurse and looked down at Yuki.

"Yuki Yuki!" she cried. She looked desperately at the nurse who smiled gently.

"He'll be better in no time." Two large metal doors swung open and Rika cried out as Yuki was rolled through them.

Where is Seaking?Charizard asked stopping Rika from running towards the doors.

The dragon started slightly when Rika stopped and grabbed the ball closest to her right hand and held it up. He told me to put him in here.

Good, Charizard was slightly taken back but decided to roll with it. Wait for Master to come out. Come and sit.Charizard led her to a bench along the wall and pointed to one of the pockets on the belt. Did you pick up my ball?

Oh no, it's still there.Rika said looking towards the door.

No matter, press the button of an empty ball so I can rest. Humans are much heavier than they appear.

Rika opened the pocket and saw it was full of the tiny Pokéballs. Do you really live in this?She asked rolling it awkwardly between her fingers.

I mostly sleep when I am in there, I'm getting fairly old, but yes, it is my home.

Rika nodded and held the ball up. The movement caused the momentarily forgotten pain in her side to stab at her again and she winced hard.

"Excuse me miss," A Nurse Joy came up behind her and touched her shoulder, "Are you in pain?"

Pain? She recognized that word. Rika nodded and grabbed her side.

"Your rib?" Nurse Joy gently touched the sore spot then nodded. "I have just what you need." She walked to behind her desk and came back with a small bag. "Mix this in your drink and you'll feel good as new."

"Pika." Rika nodded and accepted the pouch.

What do I do with it?She asked Charizard.

Did you not understand her? You drink it.

I don't speak human.Rika blushed.

But you are human.

Rika stared at the package. Would any creature believe her if she told them the truth? Charizard didn't seem very surprised when Rika talked to her. Maybe…

I…am Pikachu in a human body. I do not know how, but I do know my duty is to save my brothers I was told to do so by whatever force saved me.

Charizard nodded and looked over the child. I see. Well, stranger things have happened. I don't know as much as Seaking, but I can tell you when you are handed something you say Thank You.

"Th-?"

Th-ank- Yoo

"Thank you?" Rika said it a couple times remembering it. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She waved to Nurse Joy behind the counter and called "Thank you!" loudly. The nurse smiled and continued on with her work.

You learn fast. That's good.