Their screams of shock shook Luke and his family and friends.
Pikachu…Luke said. You mean…you're…
"Yes," Pikachu said. "I may be a Pikachu in every sense of the word…but Zygarde is a part of me."
"But…why?" Kuro asked. "Why would Zygarde want part of himself inside a Pikachu?"
"So no one would suspect a thing," Pikachu said. "Some of Zygarde's Cells are a part of me, and a Core is attached to my brain, so I can think like Zygarde and relay information directly to him. This made me the primary commander of Zygarde's forces, answerable only to him. Yet, the Core in my brain can still act independently and lock me out of private discussions with the other Cores. Also, I, as in my brain, can act independently so I can develop strategies of my own to assist Zygarde and command his forces and so I can function as a Pikachu and act like a young, innocent Pokemon, a watcher hidden in plain sight. By remaining hidden, Zygarde would never be a suspect in this case, and I would have taken the fall. If it came to it, I could be stopped and Zygarde would operate unaffected."
"Then that means…" Kira said. "You made scapegoats of us…but you yourself are a scapegoat by design."
Still with that heavy remorse, Pikachu nodded. "I was created by Arceus specifically for this purpose as a part of Zygarde's campaign. Zygarde could never hope to recruit Arceus into his campaign as a subordinate without Arceus becoming suspicious of Zygarde's true motives, so he settled with a vessel for the field.
"Together, Zygarde and I gathered up his forces and recruited the self-proclaimed protectors of nature: Shaymin and her gang. You see, they claim to be a group of fighters for nature, and they are very strong, so Zygarde and I brought them on board; hearing and believing Zygarde's lies, they said yes without hesitation."
Pikachu turned his attention to Luke's father. "Then, Lucario…you came to the Pokémon world. A human had entered because the distortions created by Giratina had already begun twisting the dimensions. So I came to you, pretending to be an orphan, and you took me in; I pretended not to know you were a human. I was able to communicate with Zygarde whenever I wanted without suspicion because of the Core in my brain, and I communicated with Shaymin's gang by night, as well as during my lone Mystery Dungeon 'explorations'.
"Our plan was to gain your trust, then lure you into a dimensional hole. Secretly, Zygarde and I had been analyzing your memories using the distortions, which involved having Giratina interpret data that is created in the distortions as Pokémon are 'scanned' when they traverse through them; we knew you wanted to go home, but I couldn't just bring you there immediately; it would look suspicious. Also, we couldn't fight you and force you there; it would attract too much attention, as you'd already made several friends.
"However, we had to delay that because, in your hunt to find a way home, you had been getting too close to figuring things out, so the three land guardians all caused various disasters to ensure you'd never find anything. That plan didn't work out; when the disappearances and disasters began, you and your friends devoted your searches to finding us, so we kept holding you back.
"Because of the trouble you caused us, I decided that while I told you I would be exploring Mystery Dungeons, in addition to keeping contact with Shaymin's gang, I would patrol the dimensional rifts with Giratina to keep other humans out, using the powers of the distortion to wipe their memories of the incidents. It worked for a while, but we needed a permanent solution to cleanly get you out of the Pokémon world and stop the investigations."
Pikachu turned to Luke, Luna, Kira, and Kuro. "Then we found you. In addition to learning your names, we deduced from Lucario's memories that you, Luke and Luna, were his children, and Kira and Kuro, you were their friends, and that he also cared about you two. We concocted a plan then and there to wipe your memories and use you to get closer to Lucario, to find the source of the investigations and put a stop to them, and to lure him out of the Pokémon world. But Luke took the whole memory-wiping blow for his sister and friends, and the incident dragged them all into the Pokémon world. Luke ended up in Felicity Forest, and the others were sent much farther away. Giratina and I split up. Giratina would handle Luna, Kira and Kuro; that failed because you three were gone by the time Giratina got to where you were, and you managed to avoid him.
"As for me…I found Luke and gained his trust. I took him in as a brother, a partner, and a friend, and it worked out well because when I introduced him, Lucario instantly recognized him as his son, but never said a word. Luke had inherited his father's love of adventure, so I was able to mimic how kind, innocent, genuine, and adventurous he was to seem like a kindred spirit to him, and the two of us worked our way into SIRS; I had finally tracked down the source of the investigations. Once that happened, the full plan was set into motion; have Shaymin and her gang get into SIRS and gain everyone's trust, then disappear, pretending to be kidnapped; we would then lure the search party toward Luna, Kira, and Kuro, who were aloof and untrusting as a result of our attack. Using them as a red Magikarp, we led SIRS on a wild Zangoose chase to weaken and exhaust them and buy time for our plan, then, through a series of traps, we lured the humans into the distortion."
Pikachu paused, letting everything settle in. "Then…I accidentally saw something Zygarde didn't want me to see. Looking into the Core's communications…" He shook, and tears rolled down his face. "I saw…what Zygarde really stood for. Everyone…Zygarde told Shaymin and the others, as well as myself, that our goal was just to get all humans into their world and temporarily imprison the 'unnaturals,' then move them into a new community, a place where they could belong. It would be a perfect, beautiful world. I promise, that's what I thought…it's what Shaymin and the others thought. It's what everyone Zygarde's been manipulating thought. I know that doesn't excuse my actions...but…what I saw…Zygarde doesn't want to create a beautiful world. He wants to create a horrific, ugly world where he's on top.
"Please…please don't ask me to describe what I saw. It was horrible, and words wouldn't do it justice. And please believe me that…Zygarde taught me and the others to hate unnaturals…and to hate humans. His idea of a cleansed world is all Pokémon and humans under his heel. Anyone who he deems unnatural…because they're different, out of place, or just oppose him…" He stopped and sobbed. Luke comforted him.
When Pikachu was able to compose himself, he said, "Zygarde is a brilliant mastermind, but there's one thing he didn't count on. My heart and his are not the same. He taught me to hate as he does. But…because of this, I'm not sure he can feel or even comprehend anything else anymore. I can. Luke…I realized this when you gave me that Weather Band that day; you barely knew me, but you trusted me completely. I couldn't shake that; on our adventures, we always worked together; we were unstoppable. We encouraged each other and stood by each other…and I meant everything I said. Luke…you're a human, but I couldn't hate you. I may have went in only acting like a kindred spirit to you…but soon…it felt genuine. I trusted you…cared about you…you really were my friend…my partner…my brother."
Luke began tearing up, still embracing his friend. Pikachu…he said. I just realized…in spite of everything…you never took it off.
"That's right," Pikachu said. "I never took off my Weather Band, and neither did you. During all this, I began to care about…Dad, too. I didn't want to hurt either of you. And, yet…I had to. I held my feelings back; it was all for Zygarde's new world. So…why did it hurt betraying you? Maybe if I fought you…I could snap out of it. But you didn't fight back. So I went along with the plan and sent you back to the human world. It still hurt, for a long time it hurt, and in that time…it felt like I was no longer one with Zygarde. Zygarde was a parasite plaguing me…then, in a moment of pure emotion, I broke through and saw Zygarde for what he was.
"I decided to resist…I would be my own self. I clung to my emotions, painful as they were, to break free of Zygarde. The sadness, the caring, the remorse, and…fully understanding these emotions, these true emotions, I realized you would try to come back. I had to help you. So I went on my patrol with Giratina, and I had him drop me here, telling him I'd hold you back myself. Yet, once I passed through the distortion…Zygarde somehow managed to figure out what I'd done. He tried yanking me back in to his hate, to force me to cooperate. I…I couldn't resist on my own for long. I got away from Giratina before he noticed and entered the human world...but it still hurt, Zygarde trying to pull me in. I went on a blind rage, trying to break free.
"Then you arrived, Luke. I hoped, maybe, if you could fight me, putting all of your heart and soul into it, you could help me break free. And you did, Luke. You cared about me so much, you helped me break free of Zygarde, Luke. Thank you." He sobbed into Luke's shoulder, and the two friends shared an embrace. "Luke…I can't ever repay you for what you did for me, or apologize enough for what I did to you and your family and friends…so, take this. It's the least I can do. I was able to store it fully when I attacked you and your sister and friends that day, but you should have it back."
Luke felt a warm feeling flowing through his body as Pikachu embraced him, more than the emotions already stirring within him. It started in his heart and pulsated there and in his head.
Pikachu let go of Luke and said, "Luke. Look at your family."
Luke turned around, and he collapsed, overcome.
He looked at his mother, and memories rushed through him of her cooking delicious foods, caring for him while he was sick, and tucking him into bed at night.
He looked at Luna, Kira, and Kuro, and remembered all the times they had played together, laughed, ran around, and talked to each other about everything.
Finally, he looked at his father; besides their time in the Pokémon world, he remembered going with his dad on all sorts of adventures, learning about the art of the lumberjack, and hearing stories from his father.
Tears streaming down his face, Luke uttered all he could. I…remember.
His family and friends rushed over to him and embraced him, overcome with emotion just as he was. He embraced back his beloved family, remembering everything.
After that tender moment, Luke turned around, sobbing and embracing Pikachu once more. Thank you, Pikachu! Thank you! For this gift, for defying his very purpose to be his friend, Luke couldn't thank Pikachu enough.
Luke felt the embrace of his family; they were also grateful to Pikachu for his gift, and had joined Luke's embrace of Pikachu.
"Pikachu," Luna muttered. "My brother calls you his brother. And now…so do I."