Ash sighed as he walked out of his match with the gym leader. He'd won the match, and the badge, but May wasn't there to see it. No, she was still unconscious in their room at the Pokemon Center, where he'd placed her last night after finding her unconscious near an extremely beat-up criminal. Lucario and Blaziken were currently watching over her.
"Pika. Pikachu?"
Ash smiled at Pikachu. "I'm fine, buddy. Just worried about May."
"Pikaaaa Pikachuuu." Pikachu teased.
Ash shook his head. "It's not like that, Pikachu, and it can't be." He sighed again. "I wish I was normal again. That would be nice."
"Excuse me." Ash looked over his shoulder to see Officer Jenny trying to catch up to him.
"Can I help you?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I wanted to talk to you." Officer Jenny said. "About your Pikachu."
"Pikapi…" Pikachu whined quietly.
Ash pulled Pikachu's specially-designed pokeball off his belt and lifted it to where Pikachu could reach it. The yellow mouse pressed the button with his paw, allowing himself to be swept inside the ball.
"What about him?" Ash asked, locking the ball silently and placing it back on his belt.
"We heard from spectators of the gym tournament that he was abnormally powerful. They said he was only used once." Officer Jenny said. "A normal Pikachu shouldn't have been able to knock out two powerful pokemon with one attack each."
"Yeah, well, Pikachu isn't normal." Ash replied.
Officer Jenny pulled out a device and scanned Pikachu's pokeball. The device dinged and the officer gasped.
"Level 558?! No pokemon is physically able to reach that level in a lifetime!"
"Key words 'in a lifetime'." Ash said, tensely. Telepathically, he communicated with Lucario. "If May's awake, take her back to the Pokemon Center. Tell her she can't come to where I am right now."
Lucario responded almost immediately. "She is not conscious yet, but she seems to be close to waking."
"I'm going to have to confiscate your Pikachu. A level 558 pokemon is far too dangerous for any trainer to own." Officer Jenny said.
"And what exactly would you do with Pikachu if I allowed you to take him? Put him down? Not if I can help it." Ash growled, gripping Pikachu's pokeball tightly. "Trust me, you do not want to be on my bad side." "Lucario, grab everything from the room that belongs to us. Meet me where Nacrene City used to be. Bring May and Blaziken as well."
Officer Jenny glared at Ash. "I'm warning you. That pokemon is too dangerous to be around. I don't want to use force, but I will if I have to."
"Use all the force you want. You can't separate me from Pikachu." Ash paused. "If you don't leave me alone, you can forget about having a hero around. I can hold a grudge for a long time."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Officer Jenny said. "Hey! Where are you going?! Get back here!"
Ash ran as fast as he could, turning around only when he reached the edge of the city.
"You're cornered." Officer Jenny growled.
"Really? I see thousands of acres of wildlife behind me. Escape isn't a problem." Ash said. "I'm giving you one last chance. You don't leave me alone, I won't ever save a human again."
Officer Jenny pulled out handcuffs.
"I see you've made your decision. Too bad. I kind of liked saving people."
Ash stepped off the edge of the city.
