Chapter 37
"Transform"
"Let's try this again…" Misty said.
I sighed in response. The stars were already coming out and they still wouldn't give me a rest…It was probably for the better though, because if they did, then Mewtwo certainly wouldn't.
"Ready, Ash?"
I got up and stood in front of her.
Ready as I'll ever be…
"Okay then! This one should be no problem! Go, Goldeen!"
She threw out her Pokéball and Goldeen appeared in a flash of light. Afterwards, it commenced to flop around on the ground.
"Now, Ash, if you lose this one too, we'll really have good reason to make fun of you," she said.
…Kinda feel sorry for Goldeen…
"Goldeen could beat you easily in the water! All right, Goldeen! Peck!"
…Peck?
Goldeen flopped forward and Pecked me with its horn. I flinched, but it didn't too much damage…It just left a scratch.
…Hey! I'm all right! I grinned.
"Pikachu…"
'Yeah, now fight back…'
"Mew…"
'Right…'
I jumped forward and whacked Goldeen on the head.
"You are so lucky you're not fighting Psyduck this time," Misty said with a laugh.
Did anyone ask you?
She just laughed some more.
"Goldeen! Tail Whip!"
Goldeen flopped towards me again, this time, it turned around and buffeted me with its big tail fins.
"Mew…" I complained.
'Hey…'
Mew, try using Thunderbolt, Mewtwo said.
What!? I can't use that!
Yes you can. I should think that you've experienced it enough times to have gained a sufficient electric power.
Say what…?
I had no idea what it was talking about, but that was worth a try. I closed my eyes and remembered all of the times Pikachu had used Thunderbolt, both on me and our opponents.
"Meee……www!!!!!"
From out of nowhere, a huge blast of electricity went from me to Goldeen. It flashed brightly and I heard it cry in pain, but it was soon over after that.
"What in the world…!?!" Misty exclaimed.
I opened my eyes and stared at the cooked fish.
…Whoa…
"Pipikachu!"
'How did you do that Ash!?'
…Um…
"I didn't know you could use that attack!" Misty exclaimed, "…Why didn't you use it on Psyduck?"
…Uh…
"Goldeen! Return!…So Ash, was that enough experience for you?…Why were you trying to make yourself stronger anyway?"
Um…So I can learn…Transform…
That shocked them. They all stared at me with open mouths.
"B-but…I thought only Ditto could learn Transform…" Misty sputtered.
Well, yeah, but Mew-…s…can learn it too…
That was a close one…I almost told them about Mewtwo…
"Pikapi!"
'Battle me!'
"Mew!?"
'You!?'
No way, Pikachu, you're too strong, there's no way I can-
"Pikapi…"
'Yes you can…'
But-! Wait, why are you so sure!?
"Pikachu…"
'You'd stand a chance if you were a Pikachu…'
I suddenly knew what it meant, but I still didn't think…
"Pika!"
'Come on!'
I sighed.
If you insist…
"Pikachu!"
'I'll let you go first!'
That's…nice of you…
Mew, try Transform. Maybe it'll work, now that you actually beat someone.
…I guess…It can't hurt…
I closed my eyes and concentrated on Pikachu. I remembered all the times that I had spent with it, and all that we'd done together…
"…Pikachu."
'…Nothing happened.'
I opened my eyes and looked at myself. Pikachu was right. I was still a Mew.
"Meww…"
'Lemme try again…'
I tried again. This time, I tried to think about Pikachu itself. I remembered all the battles we had been in, and all the times it had Thundershocked me, and it's speed, and the color of its fur…
…I think I changed.
"Pikapipika!!"
'Ash! You did it!!'
I opened my eyes again and looked down. Now I was yellow…
Oh cool, I can't believe it…
I twitched my eyes and turned around to look at my tail. I recognized the zigzag lightning tail that used to only belong to Pikachu.
"Pika!" I cried.
'I did it!'
I covered my mouth and laughed.
"Pikachu, pika…!"
'And now I'm speaking in Pikachu…!'
"…Pikachu…"
'…It's not the first time…'
"…Pika…"
'…I'd rather not…'
"Pika…Pikachu, pika…"
'That's okay…But we still have to battle, you know…'
"…Uh…Ash, can you still talk…to us?" Misty asked hesitantly.
"Pika!"
'Of course!'
"Uh…I mean, in a way we can understand!?"
You mean like this? I asked, cocking my head.
"Whew…"
"Pika!"
'Watch out!'
"Pi?"
'Huh?'
I glanced at Pikachu just in time to see it dash into me.
"Piika!" I cried out, but I started laughing as we kept rolling over and over.
"…Pikachu…" I grinned when we stopped.
'…I'm getting dizzy…'
"Pikachu…"
'You would…'
We laughed some more.
"…Pika…" I sighed.
'…So this is what it's like to be Pikachu…'
"Pi ka chu!"
'Yep!'
"…Pika!"
'…Cool!'
"…Hey, Ash? Are you gonna change back?" Misty asked.
Huh? Oh…um…I guess I'd better…That is, if we're done battling, right Pikachu?
"Pi-ika!" Pikachu laughed.
Okay…
I concentrated on becoming Mew, and I quickly changed back.
"……Can you only change into Pokémon?" Misty asked.
"…Hm…" said Billie.
Uh…well……
"Um, don't turn into me though," Misty said quickly, "Um…How about…Brock?"
I blinked at her, then I looked over at Brock.
Um…Why?
"Well, you know…Just as a test…" She laughed nervously.
I didn't really want to turn into Brock, but…
"Oh, quit it, Misty. You know you want him to turn back into himself," Billie interrupted.
Eh-heh…
Misty flashed Billie a dangerous look.
"I know that Billie…but don't you think we oughta go one step at a time?"
"Well……He already turned into Pikachu…"
"Mew…"
'Right…'
"But what if he needs to see something in order to turn into it?" Misty asked.
Um…How about if you stop talking about me like I'm not here?
"Sorry, Ash," Billie said.
"Yeah………Oh fine!" Misty shouted, "Go ahead and try right now, if you really want to."
How do I turn into…me?
I tried to think of the different possibilities…
"…Well, what are you waiting for?" Misty asked.
"Mew…"
'Um…'
"Give 'im a little time, geez, Misty," Billie said.
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"I didn't!"
"Well, it sounded like you did!"
"But I didn't."
"MEW!!!"
'Stop it!!!'
Somehow, they made me angry enough to create a large Flash that stopped them in their tracks.
"Pika!"
'My eyes!'
"Ahh! Ash! Why'd you do that!?" Billie cried.
"That wasn't nice…!" Misty added.
Sorry…Um…I just wanted to get your attention, I guess…
"Well you have it!" Misty yelled.
I winced.
Well…Maybe we can…practice…some more…tomorrow? I don't know about you, but I'm tired…
"Yeah…Let's go to bed…Mew's tired," Misty said.
Huh? Wha…?…Did you just call me Mew?
But Misty was already on her way inside. She opened the door that Brock was just finishing, and closed it behind her.
…Misty?
"Um…That was different," Brock said.
"Well, I'm going to bed too. Good night guys," Billie said, following Misty's lead.
Taper got up and stretched.
Count me in…
Now it was just Brock, Pikachu, and me. Richie and Dr. Gray had already been inside when I came back with Mewtwo.
"…Ash, you gonna quit for the night too?…It was your suggestion, after all…"
Um…Yeah………Brock?
"Yeah?"
…Aren't you?
He laughed.
"Ah, don't worry about me, Ash. You know I like fixing stuff."
…Right…
I turned to Pikachu.
"Mew."
'Come on.'
"Pikachu!"
* * *
Pikachu fell asleep quickly, and so did Taper. Brock came in a little later, but he fell asleep pretty fast too. When I was absolutely certain that everyone was asleep, I got up and left the room. I kind of 'willed' the door not to creak, and it actually worked. I made sure it didn't make any noise when I shut it either.
I knew it was dark, but it didn't bother me for some reason. I didn't worry about that though. I had something else on my mind.
I floated down the hall and went into the bathroom. I closed the door and flipped on the light.
I stared at the door for a while. Finally, I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror.
"Mew!" I yelped, and ducked behind the counter.
It's okay, Ash…It's okay…It's just you…
I gathered up my courage and peeked over the counter.
Staring right back at me was a small, pinkish-white creature with big, blue eyes and small, triangular shaped ears.
I gulped.
"Mew…"
'Hello…'
I blinked, and so did the Mew in the mirror.
Finally, I pulled myself up and stood on the counter. Now I could see my whole reflection. Underneath the round nose was a small body with two weak looking arms coming out of it. The legs were round at top, but the feet were really big. Behind, a long, tail curved around on its own.
"…Mew…"
I got a little closer. As I looked, I finally saw something familiar.
"Mew…"
On my cheeks were small, dark spots, that looked like zigzags…
I blinked to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, but they didn't disappear.
"Mew…" I smiled.
When I saw myself smile, I couldn't help but laugh.
Well, now I know why Misty said I was cute…!
Then I remembered that I was supposed to be trying to be quiet, and I made myself stop.
Okay…Now…Now we're gonna try…We're gonna try something new…
I glanced at myself one last time and jumped to the floor.
Okay, this is it. If I can pull this off…
I shut my eyes tight and tried to remember myself…before I had evolved…It wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be, because I did remember everything that had happened before…but my mind seemed to shut itself down when I tried to Transform into myself.
Come on, come on…This can't happen…Please work…
I tried to remember what it had been like to be human, but I came up with a blank.
This is crazy! I know what it's like! Why can't I…?
I tried a different approach.
I am Ash. I am Ash…I am Ash…I am human……I can do this………
I lost track of whether I was standing or floating, but I ignored that. I saw a few flashes of light, even though my eyes were closed, but I ignored that too. The only thing I was worried about was Transforming.
Human…I've gotta become human……please…
"Ah!!"
A blinding flash of light pierced through my head and I collapsed to the ground. I felt sick, and my mind was in a fog, but I was still awake. I blinked my eyes open. I felt the cold tile floor on my cheek, and that helped me wake up a little. I blinked and tried to find my surroundings, but the light was fading back and forth. Light…dark…light…dark…
I looked in front of me. My head was pointed to the side, so if I looked hard enough while it was still light, I could see my hand lying on the ground…
…Hand?
I blinked and looked harder. I think the light lasted a little longer, and I could see that it really was a hand.
Just to prove to myself that it was mine, I clenched it and unclenched it. The hand moved.
…I did it…
I smiled and moved to stand up. I got up to my knees, but I had to stop, because the darkness flashed again. It passed soon, and I grabbed onto the sink and pulled myself up. I glanced at the mirror. Instead of a Mew, I saw a boy…with black hair, tan face, brown eyes…He looked tired…The darkness came again, and I tried to push it away, but it only left for a moment before coming back.
Leave me alone… I pleaded.
I wanted to enjoy myself while I could, but it wouldn't let me. It came back one more time and wasn't as forgiving.