Chapter 4: Pikachu's First Encounter With Nature

As it seemed, Pikachu and I had way different wake-up schedules. He woke up around the same time as he did yesterday, however he didn't wake me up this time. He went downstairs and went up to the screen door in the back of the house. He noticed the tree line, and how green the grass was. It was almost like he was in his own world. Then he noticed one other thing. There was a rabbit outside eating some grass.

Pikachu was excited by this, wanting to say hello to it. Although it was a little tough, he was able to push open the door. When he got outside, he yelled, "Pika, pi!" The rabbit just stood there, staring at him. As Pikachu went up to the rabbit, it all of a sudden ran off. "Pi?" Pikachu said, rather confused. Sighing, he went back to the house. And thus, Pikachu learned that there were differences between this world and his, especially the fellow Pokemon who were almost always friendly. However, before he went inside, he noticed the chirping of the birds. It was quite a peaceful sound and definitely made Pikachu feel at peace. Well, maybe there weren't that many differences.

As he got inside, he heard a voice saying, "In a way, our worlds are very similar and very different at the same time." He looked to see me walking down the stairs. "And I hate to say it, but the rabbits usually aren't very sociable," I added with a smile.

"Pi," Pikachu said embarrassingly while putting his paw behind his head.

"Oh, don't worry about it," I said, knowing he must've been embarrassed, I knew that gesture well. "Besides, the neighbors usually aren't up around this time anyway." I then walked up to the door. "Hey, come look at this," I said pointing at something outside. Pikachu then got on my shoulder. "You see that little guy over there? That's a chipmunk, they usually live in trees. What I'm trying to say is that the animals you see in this world and the Pokemon in your world are very much the same. They both represent nature and the environment in big ways."

"Pika...." Pikachu said in amazement.

I looked away from him for a second, feeling some guilt. "I know it must be rough for you, being part of a world you know nothing about. I wish maybe I could feel your struggle."

I suddenly felt his paw against my face and I looked towards him. He had a smile on his face and said, "Pika, pi," telling me it made no difference since I was with him.

I smiled in return, "You're right, you do. Hey, I want to show you one other thing." I put Pikachu on the table and showed him a gesture we use so often. "We usually call this gesture, "pounding it," something like that. What you do is take your hand, or paw," I added, "And you make into a fist and then you just lightly tap it against another person's fist. It pretty much symbolizes friendship. So, want to give it a try?" I made a fist with my one hand and Pikachu did the same. Suddenly, I moved mine to his and stopped and Pikachu, getting the message, went up and met mine.

I smiled. "See, it's real easy." And Pikachu looked at his fist, amazed how he learned a human gesture. "And if you ever see me making a fist, you'll know from now on." I looked at the time. It was almost nine. "Hmm, still need to eat some breakfast. Luckily I got some groceries the other day." I looked through the cupboards. "Well, we got cereal, bread to make toast, butter, and jam. I think that'll be good enough."

I had cereal while Pikachu had some toast with butter and jam. He definitely liked it and couldn't help asking for more. I made a joke saying he had better watch his weight, which at first insulted him but he then realized it was a joke and giggled.

"Say, I have an idea," I said, "Why don't we go to the park since you're so interested with the environment." Pikachu gladly accepted that idea. I ended up packing some food since I had a feeling we would be there for a little while.

After I had taken a shower and did my usual things, we left for the park. Once we got there, we saw the park was empty. Not many people go to the park anymore these days but it worked to our advantage and I could let Pikachu explore. At first, I had him with the food in the bag, but once we got into the park, I let him sit on my shoulder. As soon as we found a bench, I sat down and let Pikachu go around the park. Truth was, this was a pretty big park. They expanded it a couple of years ago but no one really goes to it anymore despite that.

While Pikachu was running around, I sat at the bench thinking to myself. I was wondering how in the world I was going to look after Pikachu while I was at college. I couldn't leave him at the house, someone could discover him and, possibly, kill him. I had no other choice: I would have to take Pikachu with me to college, but it would be a different experience than here, especially with the people I know, and hopefully Pikachu would adapt to that quickly. Also, I needed to find a way to get Pikachu home. He couldn't possibly survive in this world and I won't let him suffer.

Then an idea came to my head. I had a friend named Paul, who worked in the Science Department in town. Paul Brooks was a scientist who was involved with genetic research, but he also looked into the more "paranormal" stuff. Maybe he might be able to help me. I got my cell phone and quickly called him.

"Hello," Paul's voice responded, tiredly. Apparently he had to get up for work rather early.

"Hey Paul, this is Chris," I said.

"Oh, hey Chris," Paul responded, "There anything I can do for you?"

:Actually you can," I said smiling, "I think I found something you might find interesting."

"Oh really?" Paul said. I could imagine the curious look on his face. "And what would that be?"

I looked towards Pikachu, who was rolling around in the grass. "I think it would be better if I showed you in person. Does tomorrow sound like a good time?"

"Sure, sure," Paul said. "Come around one. This had better be good Chris."

"Oh, I think you'll be in for a surprise," I said, grinning before I hung up. After this, I noticed that Pikachu had come up to me and was rubbing his belly telling me he was getting hungry. "What, you're hungry already?" I asked. I then looked towards my watch and, somehow, it was already after noon. "Time sure goes by fast. Well, I'm feeling kind of hungry myself."

We had lunch then and while we were eating, I felt I had to give Pikachu some background about his "reputation."

"You see Pikachu, you're based off a multi-billion franchise known as well Pokemon," I explained. "You're pretty much the mascot of this series and well, you're known and loved everywhere by lots of people. Pretty much you began as a drawing which led to you being in video games by a company called Nintendo." I smiled, "Truth is, there's many different franchises in the Nintendo series, so you're like one huge, happy family."

"Pika...." Pikachu said, staring at his paws and tail.

"But apparently, I guess they never thought you would actually exist, and well, they were mistaken. I have to be honest, I used to be a huge Pokemon fan myself when I was little. I always wanted to have my own Pokemon friend. I just didn't think it would happen when I was 18." Pikachu looked down with a sad look on his face. I noticed this and put my hand on his back. "But hey, you're here now and that's all what matters," I said, scratching behind his ears. Pikachu smiled at this and closed his eyes in pleasure while I kept scratching his ears. After we were done eating, we decided to head back home.

I noticed how summer, as usual, was going by fast. It was already July and before I knew it it would be August. Only about another month of break and then I would be back in college. I wouldn't exactly tell Pikachu just yet what college life was like but when the time came, I would make sure to warn him.

When we got home, we both decided to watch a movie. I thought it would be best to introduce Pikachu to the horror genre and we watched all the Saw movies. After watching all of them, Pikachu looked rather petrified. After watching all of them, it was after midnight and we were both getting tired. We both decided to go to bed and got into bed.

"Hey, Pikachu," I said then, looking at him. "If you ended up having to stay here for the rest of your life, would that be a problem for you?"

Pikachu opened his eyes and looked at me. "Pikachu," he said, but he said it in a happy tone, telling me it wasn't a problem for him.

"Well, if we can't, we'll make the best of this," I said smiling. I then felt Pikachu curl up next to me. My smile then turned to a frown. "I just hope I'm making the right choice seeing Paul tomorrow," I thought. And soon after that, I quickly fell asleep.

(A/N: Well hopefully Chris is making the right choice. Anyway, Chapter 4 is done and I hope you enjoy it.)

FoxMcCloud7921