Disclaimers: I don't own Pokemon. I wouldn't be that creative to make so many creatures and then have to go through the process of trying to make them unique.
I do have an idea. Make move interactions like if Hypno uses Hypnosis, it is a 100% accuracy move for Hypno only or Ninetales using Will-O-Wisp is a 100% accuracy move.
Integrate the lore and such, Game Freak. It'll bring back a lot of Pokemons into some sort of meta.
That being said… This was a hard one. I debated back and forth on whether or not I want Pikachu to be considered an All-Star member of Red's Team. I know canonically Red has a Pikachu as his strongest and is his signature Pokemon and all, but still.
It's not that I hate Pikachu either. Practically speaking, I just don't care for Pikachu due to its usage in actual games being pretty shoddy. I have respect for Pikachu though, being our mascot Pikachu kept Pokemon in the spotlight among many others.
Ah well, let's just get this over with for you guys.
Pokedex No. 25: Pikachu
The meeting
Reds eyes glanced over his surroundings, his Spearow on his shoulder as they both look around.
The Viridian Forest.
Red had made it to Pewter City, expecting to go battle the gym leader right after a trip to the Pokemon Center, but the issue lied in qualifying.
Due to anyone and everyone being able to challenge the gym, the league established a filter process in whether or not you are able to challenge the gym leader.
Either you have other badges to qualify you to battle the Gym Leader or you have to go through a screening process.
Naturally, Red being a greenhorn, was unable to meet the requirements.
That being needing 6 Pokemons and to win the small tournament held for the chance to battle the Gym Leader.
Therein lies the problem. Everyone knows that the Gym Leader is a rock type user, so everyone at the tournament will have full teams of water, fighting, ground and grass. Steel types can show up, but they're a bit harder for a newbie to acquire.
So Red having Charmeleon as his ace would be capable of at least taking out any grass type with potential steel types showing up is an easy answer.
The issue is there's no rest periods. Charmeleon for all his power wouldn't last such a long gauntlet against people around their level or above for long periods of times. The gym is aiming to go through the battles as quick as possible and with veteran trainers coming around, it'd be highly unlikely for Reds team to last against that many potential opponents.
Currently, Red has his Charmeleon naturally, his Metapod who wouldn't be too useful in battle, his Mankey who is unpredictable, his Pidgeotto and Spearow who weren't stamina warriors and his Nidorino who would definitely not be able to last as long as Red would like.
Red needed to at least have an answer for the upcoming water types, since Pidgeotto should be able to negate ground types and clear fighting types while Charmeleon can handle the grass types and any potential steel types.
It was a lot easier said than done however.
No doubt, Red had caught more Pokemons on his way to Pewter City, he just can't use any fresh caught Pokemons to try and handle experienced trainers.
While he can train any of them up or try to make it up with strategy and skill, it's something to be said that it'd be ideal if he could maximize the effectiveness by catching a Pokemon that can fit the criteria for what he needs in the upcoming tournament.
That's when his Spearow started chirping loudly.
Red immediately reacted and looked around, seeing nothing.
Thankfully, Spearow did a hard tug on Red's clothing, pulling him slightly out of the way of the danger.
Due to Spearow being much smaller than Red and not being a real powerful flyer, the poor bird was only capable of pulling on Red a slight distant as a giant jaw came from underneath them, only being able to snatch at Red's shoe.
Red regained his balance as he examined what was in front of him.
It was a strange Pokemon with what seemed to be vines for his body and a giant head with a frightening smile.
The Carnivine in front of him looked at him impassively, as if it didn't just try to snatch his leg off.
However, something was odd about this Carnivine.
It seemed sickly. Its color wasn't a vibrant green, but instead a kind of brown as if it was decaying.
It didn't seem sick, but there was one thing he did notice.
The Carnivine was drooling. Its expression was as impassive as you can expect, but there was a kind of feral atmosphere coming from it.
It must be starving, Red concluded.
This Carnivine must be one of the rare occurrences of when a Pokemon is born with unnatural colors. That could also be why it was acting like this.
Being a Carnivine, it must be able to camouflage itself to catch prey, but due to its colorings, its options were limited. It was fully capable of blending in with dead leaves when winter was near, but Viridian Forest was never dying. This forest had mystical properties that made it so that it was always vibrant and full of life, which was unfortunate for this Carnivine.
It must have been blending in with the dirt a bit, but Red hadn't paid attention.
Reds Spearow chirped a bit, nuzzling Reds ear.
Yeah, Red knew.
This Carnivine would be great against water, ground AND rock types.
Immediately sending out his Charmeleon, Red tilted his hat downward, focusing immediately.
The Carnivine was feral so it was unpredictable, but Charmeleon at least had a type advantage.
That is…
Charmeleon scoffed as he casually walked over to Red, curling up beside his feet to nap.
Huh?
Looking down at the fire lizard, it took Red a while to understand.
Charmeleon didn't see this Carnivine as a worthy opponent right now.
That seemed to be a trait among the Charmander line where they refuse to spit fire at a weaker opponent.
Clicking his tongue, Red needed to fix that trait at some point.
Red sent out his Pidgeotto, immediately commanding the bird to use gust, creating a miniature tornado to attack Carnivine from afar.
Red couldn't risk using Mankey or Nidorino who were up front close fighters, which would be dangerous against a Carnivine.
The Carnivine swayed, before digging its roots into the ground, keeping its ground while Red's Pidgeotto stayed far away.
Ingrain, a move used to not only keep a Pokemon from being forced anywhere it didn't want to be, but it also healed the Pokemon.
Gust didn't seem to be doing as much damage as Red liked, so Red snapped his fingers, making his Pidgeotto immediately start to charge up.
Focus Energy, by focusing and keeping steady, Pidgeotto will be able to cause more damage with its attacks, hitting where it needs to hit and bringing out more force.
The Carnivine seemed to understand the situation and started glowing green.
Stockpile, by condensing its own body's nutrients, the Carnivine was building its own defenses up to tank for Pidgeottos attack.
Accepting the challenge, Red ordered his Pidgeotto to use wing attack, immediately having the bird fly down to charge down the plant creature.
Pidgeottos offense vs the Carnivines defense would be a no contest.
However.
The Carnivine did something Red kind of expected but didn't think would be capable of doing so successfully.
The Carnivine immediately broke out of its own ingrain and flew up to catch Pidgeotto midair.
While Red considered it being able to do that, the speed it showed was unexpected, causing Pidgeotto to be caught within its mouth.
This was a dangerous situation.
Red immediately had his Pidgeotto returned to its Pokeball, getting Nidorino ready.
Nidorino will definitely have to deal with this surprisingly quick Carnivine, but this Carnivine would be unlikely to try and eat a poison type.
The Carnivine disappointed by its lack of a meal turned to look at Nidorino.
The creature was definitely starving, since it didn't seem to care if Nidorino is a poison type.
However, Red had no doubt he'd be able to catch this Pokemon.
That was until a blur flashed in front of Reds eyes.
Red reflexively shut his eyes and when he opened them, Nidorino was on the ground, electrocuted.
In front of him was an electric yellow mouse in front of the Carnivine.
Red could swear that it was smirking.
The Carnivine and Red were not at all knowledgeable of the Pikachu. This was easily proven when the Carnivine immediately tried to eat the Pikachu.
The Pikachu did a front flip into the air, letting the Carnivine harmlessly pass by under it, before the Pikachu slammed down its tail into the Carnivines head, immediately knocking the grass type out.
The Pikachu landed on the Carnivines back, before glaring at Red.
"…"
Red wasn't too sure what had happened, but one thing was for sure.
Red snapped his fingers.
His Charmeleon who had been watching midway through the battle with Carnivine was up.
Seems like this piqued his interest.
Returning his Nidorino, the Pikachu stepped off the Carnivine and in front of Charmeleon.
Seems they aren't getting anything without a fight.
Charmeleon and the Pikachu stayed silent as they glared at each other.
It didn't take long for Red to snap his fingers and Charmeleon immediately went on the offensive.
The fire Pokemon breathed out fire, the stream of fire heading directly towards the rodent at an alarming pace for the creature, having it immediately dash to the side.
The Pikachu charged its own electric attack, having it immediately hit Charmeleon due to the nature of electricity.
Charmeleon shrugged off the damage, before roaring at the Pikachu, causing it to instinctively flee.
The damage was substantial, but not enough to knock out Charmeleon like it did to Nidorino.
The Pikachu regained its senses and begin trying to zap Charmeleon once more with its fast electric attacks.
Red commanded Charmeleon to use Metal Claw. The Fire Pokemon immediately obeyed, focusing his claws to have a metallic sheen, before defending himself from the electric attacks, by blocking with the claws.
There was no sign of any visible damage, to what seemed to be the annoyance of the electric mouse.
Red ordered Charmeleon to use smokescreen to which the Pokemon obeyed, sending out a giant haze of smoke everywhere.
The Pikachu, startled, was also caught in the haze.
Red's eyes focused, the smoke properties not affecting him, as he examined the position of the 2 Pokemons.
Red snapped his fingers, getting Charmeleon to send another powerful stream of fire at the rodent Pokemon.
The Pikachus ears twitched before it omitted its own attack from its body.
The 2 moves clashed, before the Pikachu was quickly overpowered by Charmeleons superior firepower.
It was hit dead on by the fire attack, causing Charmeleon to cease.
When the 2 looked to where the Pikachu was supposed to be, they were mildly surprised and annoyed to see a small log in its place.
That was when the fast rodent smashed into Charmeleon from the side out of nowhere.
The proud Pokemon was caught off guard, but Red was unfazed, ordering his Pokemon to expend all his energy right there.
Flame Burst.
The Pikachu was mistaken if it thought Charmeleon could only send fire attacks through its mouth or tail.
Charmeleon quickly stored energy in the fraction of the time the Pikachu had hit him, before letting it loose around him, catching the Pikachu in its AoE.
The Pikachu yelped, falling to the floor with minor burns, struggling weakly to get up before collapsing.
Charmeleon, looking more annoyed than tired, didn't spare it a glance, simply walking back to Red.
Red held out his Pokeball, to which the Pokemon pressed the button for and was returned.
Red sighed, before holding out two empty Pokeballs.
The Journey
Red stayed quiet as he placed another plaque on the wall.
He held up his Pikachu to reach a higher area so that he may put his Unova Region World Championship Tournament Award up.
Stepping back, the 2 appreciated the wall adorned with nothing but his achievements.
Though his mom argues that he should try to win more Pokemon Contests, seeing as how she's obsessed with Fantina, she loved seeing them too.
That being said, the area where he'd occasionally place ribbons and trophies from Pokemon contests was lacking in comparison to the battling achievements.
Reds eyes looked over the wall, his head flooding with memories for each one he shared with his Pokemons.
When his Kingler dealt the final blow to Eldes' Snorlax in the Orre Region Coliseum.
When his Hitmonchan scored a knockout on the first blow in the Fighting Tournament in Celadon City.
When Steelix trudged through the Pokeathlons Strength Courses, being capable of handling every event easily at the Pokeathlon.
His Bellossoms performance in the Cuteness Contest in the Sinnoh Region, winning him a ribbon that his mother adored with a passion.
The list went on and no one felt the satisfaction as much as him and his Pikachu.
His Charizard was of a different opinion, giving zero care as to what they earned, only wanting to further improve himself.
Reds eyes settled upon one ribbon.
The Kanto Pokemon League Champion ribbon that Red had won. His first championship.
Remembering that battle with Blue, Red couldn't help but smile a bit.
While the battle ended with his Charizard scraping on by against Blue's Blastoise, the battle that lead it off with Pikachu vs Umbreon was also a spectacular one.
The 2 have made it so far with their Pokemons that every second of it was one to remember for their battle to be the best in their region.
Now battles like that were rare for any of Reds oldest companions with them finding it hard to even find anyone a challenge, hence the wall adorned with their accomplishments.
Holding Pikachu close in his arms as he sat in the couch of his living room.
He had his own actual house on Mount Silver, but he could never forget the comfort and warmness of where he grew up in.
Even Pikachu felt so, which is why the yellow mouse didn't come with him to travel as often.
The Electric Mouse would only come every couple of adventures or so, opting to rather stay with his mother.
In a way, Pikachu was basically a Growlithe that every soldier would come home to.
Pikachu nuzzled his cheek against Red, showing affection as it usually would, before hopping off to go curl up on the couch.
Red could swear the Pikachu was getting bigger, but he didn't dwell on it.
All of his Pokemons were free to do what they want as long as it wasn't harmful or dangerous.
Red yawned before he moved to go sit on the couch with Pikachu, both of them waiting for Reds mom to come home.
"It wasn't bad to just relax in your own home sometimes…" Was Reds thoughts as both Trainer and Pokemon dozed off.
The End
Reds arms trembled.
He slowly walked through the Viridian Forest which he knew and remembered all too well.
In his arms was one of his bestest friends.
Pikachus eyes were closed as he clung to his Trainer.
Things were coming to an end.
Things lasted a while at least, but the buildup was noticeable from the beginning.
Pikachu was growing weaker and his mom notified him at some point that the poor electric Pokemon couldn't even walk by himself.
Red came back and started taking Pikachu with him throughout the world once more.
As they went, Red carried his beloved companion with him, since the rodent had less energy than it once had.
Everyone around Red knew it was coming too.
Red wasn't no stranger to this, he had many Pokemons that were now in a better place, but each time it wasn't any different.
Red made special connections to each and every one of his Pokemons. Why wouldn't he have any?
Red's Charizard dragged himself along behind Red, watching over the 2 and making sure nothing attacked.
Red didn't bring anyone else, deciding that this was something he should do alone.
His mother was as heartbroken as he was, but she understood their feelings, giving Pikachu one last embrace.
Blue was saddened to hear what was happening with Pikachu and offered his support if he ever needed it.
Many of Reds admirers, friends and lovers offered their condolences, but in the end, he didn't feel any better.
They reached a small area underneath a large tree.
The same one that they first met Mew under.
Red tightly held his Pikachu close, tears flowing again, the Pokemon returning the same feelings weakly.
Red sat against the tree, holding his Pokemon closely.
There they sat, the 3 friends in the forest.
Red remained with his companion as his Charizard stood over them.
Pikachu closed his eyes, ready for the eternal rest that laid ahead, as Red waited, not wanting to let his friend leave alone.
It was when the electric mouses body stopped admitting as much heat and the breathing had slowed to a soft halt that Red and his Charizard decided to finally place Pikachu in a flower bed.
It seemed the forest was ever knowledgeable and had a conveniently soft area for Red to lay his friend on.
Red lingered for a while, before standing up, looking down at the peacefully resting Pikachu.
The light that filtered through the forest focused on him, as if he was on a spotlight.
Little by little a green glow surrounded them, before flowing over Pikachu.
Pikachus body glowed before slowly fading into the air.
Red, unsurprised, watched the particles float up, before his connection with Pikachu felt a tug.
A corporeal view of Pikachu slowly appeared, floating way from Red and Charizard slowly, before waving his hand.
Red understood.
"Goodbye, my friend…" Red whispered, watching one of the longest friends disappear.
"I'll see you again someday…" Red promised.
.
.
.
Well there was my homage to Pikachu.
Kind of.
I decided to make Pikachu relevant, because I have respect for the Pokemon even though I never care to have one in my team fantasy or in game.
I tried a bit hard to capture the feeling of having to depart from a beloved pet or childhood best friend. One or the other.
Either way, this was a hard one, but I'm slightly happy with how it turned out. We basically jumped from Viridian Forest all the way to Red's late life.
How old is Red?
I'm not spoiling that.
Anyways, let's get onto the next one, hope you enjoyed.