An hour later, Ash groggily woke up. He had his jacket draped over him like a blanket and his head propped up on Brock's bag.

"Oh, good. You're okay." Brock was crouching over Ash. He stood up and called, "Hey! Everyone! Ash is awake!"

"Wh...What...Where's the Kadabra?" Ash asked.

"Ever the Poke-lover, aren't you? We managed to knock it unconscious and stuff it in a spare Pokeball. But believe me when I say that I don't think any of us want that vicious thing."

"What happened?" Ash asked as he sat up.

"Whoa, hang on." Brock put a hand on Ash's chest. "Don't stand up just yet. That Kadabra attacked you with Psychic."

"Yeah, I remember that. What happened afterwords?"

"We found you twitching and freaking out on the ground. Pikachu was already attacking the Kadabra and I sent Geodude to help him."

"Good. Is Pikachu alright?"

"Of course he is. It'll take a lot more than that to take out that furry little battery." Brock stood. "You'd know that better than I would."

"Yeah, of course. Sorry, my head's bugging me. I've got a nasty headache." Ash stood up slowly and stumbled over to a tree next to Brock and leaned up against it. "I just need some food. I'll be okay."

"Sure. Hey, we're just outside Pallet Town. We can go give the Kadabra to Professor Oak when you feel up for it." Brock looked over into the field. "Here they come."

Misty walked around the corner carrying a couple of logs with Pikachu on her shoulder and Geodude floating close behind.

"That sure was fast. I thought that idiot girl would get distracted by trying to argue the firewood from the trees." Brock said. Ash winced. Misty was not going to take that in stride.

"Sure was! We found a cabin in the woods. The old lady let us borrow a little firewood. I guess I'm too FAST for you now, is that it Brock? Is that your new half-assed reason to yell at me?" Misty said. Ash blinked and jumped a little. That was a little too mean. Even for Misty. He didn't understand why they were taking these insults so well. Was this some new way to argue?

Misty set the firewood down. Pikachu jumped on top of the nearest one and started to try and balance on top of it.

"You had me worried sick, Ash! How dare you scare me like that!"

"Uh...Sure thing Misty. I'll make sure I don't get attacked again. Sorry about that."

"Hmph!" She turned her back to him. "Thank God he's alright. I don't think I could stand him being gone. I'd probably go insane."

"Wow...Thanks, Misty." Ash said, taken aback. She spun around like a top, glaring at him.

"Was I talking to you!?"

"Uh...No?"

"That's right I wasn't! He's so oblivious, some times. I guess that's what makes him so kind." She turned her back again and strutted off into the woods.

"That was...Hey, Brock? Does Misty seem weird to you?"

"Not...any weirder than she normally is. Why? Weird, no. Annoying, GOD YES." said Brock as he got out his cooking supplies.

"I don't know. She seems...more blunt today than she usually is."

"Hmm. I don't really know how she could be more blunt, but I didn't really notice any difference. Misty's too conceited to change her attitude at all, anyway."

"Man, that was a little harsh. Could you take it easy on her?"

Brock suddenly stopped and turned.

"Ash, I didn't say anything." He stood up. "Come here. Are you alright? Do you have a fever?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just a headache." He rubbed his head and sat down. Pikachu had been looking concerned at him for a while and now came over to see if he was okay. "You saved my butt back there, Pikachu. Thanks a lot. I'm glad you're okay." He took off his hat and put it onto Pikachu.

"Pika! Ditto." he said as he lifted the bill out of his eyes.

Ash stared at Pikachu, dumbfounded. If he wasn't completely insane, Pikachu had just spoken. He had just spoken with two voices at the same time, no less. Pikachu's tail twitched with unease and he started to slowly back away.

"Why is he staring at me? Why is he staring at me? What did that Kadabra DO to him?"

"Are...are you talking?" Ash asked pensively. Pikachu's eyes widened.

"Ah crap. That's it. He's insane. That Kadabra drove him off the deep end. I didn't know it would end like this. Maybe I can live with his mom. She's basically a female...not crazy Ash. As long as I don't get sent out into the wild. I wouldn't be able to acclimate. It just wouldn't work. I'd just feel obligated to go with the other Pikachu, but none of them ever know what they're talking about. They're just as stupid as I used to be when I was wild. Man, THAT was a long time ago wasn't it?"

"I'm not crazy! You're talking right now! I can hear you RIGHT NOW!"

"Yeah. Okay. I believe you. Sure thing."

Ash snapped his head over to Brock, who was now standing with a frying pan in his hand.

"He's talking! Can't you hear it!?"

"Ash...Pikachu isn't talking. He...can't. If it gets too much, I'll have to knock him out. Maybe take him to a doctor. Are there any around here?"

"Alright, fine! You think I'm crazy! YOU'RE the ones who are crazy. I'm not going to any hospital! Keep that frying pan away from me."

Brock's eyes suddenly widened in comprehension. He dropped the frying pan and got on eye level with Ash.

"Ash, I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100. What is it?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"46?" Pikachu said.

"See! He was talking again!" Ash snapped his head over to Pikachu. Pikachu set his jaw and sparked his cheeks in warning. Brock grabbed Ash by the face and snapped his head right back.

"What. Number. Am I. Thinking of? I'm not thinking of a number."

"You're not thinking of a number. You just said that."

"Without moving my mouth?"

Ash stopped struggling as comprehension dawned on him as well.

"Ash, I think you can read minds."

Ash was dumbfounded. He slumped back in amazement. Pikachu didn't.

"Holy sweet mother of thunder, that's awesome! God, that's SO AWESOME!" He clambered up onto Ash's lap. "You can hear my thoughts? What am I thinking of right now? Coconuts."

"Coconuts?"

"YES! This is so awesome! This is the coolest thing I've ever seen, and I can shoot lightening out of my face!" He turned to Brock. "What am I thinking now? Crickets."

"He can't read your mind. That's just me...I... guess."

Pikachu turned back to Ash. "Okay then. What am I thinking of? Crickets."

"Crickets."

"Yes! I am! We can finally get past that stupid language barrier! We can take over the world!"

"But I don't want to take over the world."

"Neither does anybody, but when you've got the means you're almost obligated to at least TRY."

"Sure...Actually, I didn't think there was any language barrier to begin with. We always seemed to understand each other pretty well before."

"Well...yeah, but this cuts out any unnecessary exposition on my part. How many times do I have to say 'Pika Power' for you to understand what I'm talking about? None. Not anymore."

"That's true, I guess. But since when were you so scatterbrained?"

"Think about it," Brock chimed in. "Not only is he technically a mouse, but he's also powered by electricity. I can't think of a single thing slow about that combination."

"Ha! See! I'm not scatterbrained! I'm just hyperactive! Pika pikachu? By the way, can you understand what I say when I speak?"

"No, I still can't. When you talk, I hear what you're saying and what you're thinking at the same time."

"So I guess I won't have to use my mouth-words much." Pikachu snatched the hat off of his head and threw it back to Ash. "Here. Take this back."

"Thanks." Ash put the hat back on and stood up. "This is all still weird for me. Lemme see something." He turned to Geodude who had been watching the situation unfold in silence. "Geodude, think something."

Geodude closed his eyes and exasperatedly sighed. "There. I'm thinking something. Happy now?"

"Haha! I knew it! I am psychic!"

"Yes. We came to this conclusion a few minutes ago. May we please attend to the matter at hand?"

"Uh...Right. And...that is...?"

Geodude sighed again and rubbed his temples. Or, at least where his temples would have been.

"Step 1: Going to Pallet Town. Step 2: Visiting Professor Oak and delivering this rogue Kadabra. Step 3: Releasing all the other Pokemon for a relaxation trip while you visit your mother. Step 4: Attending to and investigating your new found psychic abilities, or whatever you wish to call this psychobabble."

"Wow. You're a lot more negative than I thought you were."

"He's not negative, Ash. He's just abrasive." said Brock.

"And how do you know?"

"I don't need psychic powers to understand how my own Pokemon think. If I'm going to care for Pokemon in any way, that's the first thing I need to learn."

"I simply don't enjoy these frequent breaks and vacations. Sure, everyone needs time off now and again, but my process for life is to sit back, analyze, and assess. When there's nothing to do, there's nothing for me to assess. I feel listless and out of place. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Yeah. I guess so." Ash said, hanging his head slightly. "Sorry I called you negative."

"Apology accepted, Ash. Now, may we please find Misty and get out of here?"

"Sure." Ash looked around. "Where did she go?"

"There's a stream around here somewhere, isn't there?" Geodude said.

"She's probably cooling down there." Brock finished. Ash gaped slightly.

"How did you-" he pointed dumbly from Brock to Geodude, then exasperatedly dropped his arm. "Nevermind. Let's go."