I didn't mean to... It was an accident. Why are you all leaving me? Is this what I deserve for what I've done? Please, don't go, I thought you'd all understand...
A fresh breath of air whipped by a young boy's face, tickling his cheeks where tears had already invaded, as the night sky shone down on him withrays of soft light coming from the moon. On this boy's right was a small rodent Pokémon, Pikachu, the boy's ever so faithful companion. "Pikapi..." The small Pikachu placed a paw on the boy's face.
The boy, Ash Satoshi Ketchum,smiled, looking a bit sad,but thankful anyway. The smile dropped as soon as it came, and the boy turned his gaze away from the Pikachu. "Pikachu... Are you sure you don't want to go back with them? What if...?" Ash trailed,new tears gathering in his eyes.
"Pika! Pikapi, pikachu!" Pikachu cried, snuggling intothe boy's arm, small tears prickling at his eyes.
Ash went silent, but he looked up with a happy smile on his face, his tears running down his face. "Thank you, Pikachu. You're my bestest friend ever!" He rubbed Pikachu's chin.
"Pikachu,"Ash called to get the Pokémon's attention. "Ipromise to forever be the bestest friend you could ever ask for... If you'll stay, that is," Ash mumbled, a bit embarrassed because he didn't consider Pikachu's feelings.
"Pika? Pikachu, pikapi!" Despite not being able to understand him, Ash understood as Pikachu nodded his head happily, going to his rightful spot on Ash's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek with Ash's, smallsparks flying due to how happy he was.
"Alright then, that settles it. We're in this together. That also means we'll make decisions as a team, so that why I'm asking where you wanna go..." Ash stated, and Pikachu looked surprised, but it was a welcomed surprise.
"We can't go to any of the other regions that we've been to..." Pikachu deflated easily, remembering all of their snide comments, even toward himself.
"We can't even be out in the wilderness, not forever, because most of my Pokémon are out looking for me... To take me back..." Pikachu huddled closer to Ash's neck, trying to comfort him, because he knew very well that the only Pokémon besides himself thatmightstill carewere either given away, released, or preoccupied with a job.
"Pika... Pikachu pi... Pika?" Pikachu looked down in thought, trying to think of any places he may have heard of, but he couldn't think of any. "Pikachu..." The Pokémon shook his head, hugging around Ash's forehead.
Ash gave him a small, appreciated turn of the corners of his mouth before reaching up to pet Pikachu. "That's alright buddy, we'll be fine as long as we're together, yeah?"
Pikachu immediately brightened, going down Ash's arm who instinctively wrapped his arms around Pikachu, bringing him into a hug. "Pika!" Pikachu rubbed his face into Ash's shirt.
Ash smiled and stood up, looking back at a town that was in the distance. "Lets hide out inthe Viridian Forest tonight, okay?" Ash explained, making sure it was alright with Pikachu.
"Pika," Pikachu smiled, resting in Ash's arms to get some sleep, knowing that no one else was around but them.
Ash went deeper into the forest, not looking back a second time. He was wandering aimlessly, so he ran into a few dead ends, but then he finally found a closed-off section of the woods. Pushing through the barbed wire that snagged at his legs, Ash forced himself through.
Once he was halfway through the barbed wire, Ash noticed that the air became tighter, and his legs seemed to want to stopfunctioning. "What happened to the air?" Ash struggled, still forcing himself through the squeezing air.
Pikachu seemed to be stirring in his sleep, showing that he was being affected by the change of conditions as well. It was like some foreign force that opposed both humans and Pokémon.
Ash thought about turning back, but another part of him told him to keep going. So he kept going, grimacing as a flurry of wind attacks tried to knock him off his feet. He managed to keep standing, trying to protect Pikachu who was starting to wake up from the harsh wind.
"Pika...pi?" Pikachu tried to say something, but the words seemed to get forced back into his throat.
"Hold on, Pikachu!" Ash shouted, trying to block Pikachu from the barrier.
"Pika!" Pikachu said in fear, clutching onto Ash's shirt.
Ash could see the end of the barbed wire now, and he reached his hand out, and when he steps past the last stretch of grass and wires, he could finally breath again, and so could Pikachu.
Ash took in large amounts of air at a time, and Pikachu was no better. The air was different inside the barrier. Clean, pure. It was like the outside world's conditions didn't reach this place, almost as if it were a mini paradise.
Looking around, Ash and Pikachu found a waterfallwith the cleanest water, and a small patch of all sorts of flowers and vegetations. There were trees that held various berries, and there was a small opening to a cave that seemed to glimmer inside.
"Whoa! This is so cool, right Pikachu?"
"Pika pika!"
Just as they were about to enter the cave, a distraught neutral voice rung out, it's words echoing like sound waves. "You are invading in my land..." It growled, scaring Ash and Pikachu who both became on edge.
"Wh—Who's there?!" Ash looked around frantically, but he couldn't see anyone, and the voice didn't seem to come from just on location.
"I am the guardian of this place, and you are invading. How did you get in here? I was sure my barrier was enough to block out everything..." The voice trailed, before a rush of wind brushed over them. "Unless..."
There was a strange silence, until the apparent guardian decided to speak again. "You two... Must be pure souls...Only the purest of souls can get by my barrier..." The voice seemed to ramble to itself, before focusing on Ash and Pikachu. "You... What have you came here for?"
A little uneasy, Ash answered warily. "I... We came because we have no where else to go... I—If we're a bother to you, we will leave immediately!" Ash turned around, aiming to go back to where he came from.
Suddenly, the limbs of the trees blocked the way, as if something moved them. Ash jumped in fright, and Pikachu jumped down, standing in front of Ash to protect him, his cheeks emitting electricity. "Pika!" Pikachu looked around, looking for the mysterious being.
The strange voice chuckled at the Pokémon. "No, don't worry, you're not a burden. If you need somewhere to stay, you're more than welcome since you've pushed through my forcefield. Besides, it gets lonely here..." At the voice's words, Pikachu relaxed a little, but he was still a little wary, ready to attack if something went wrong.
"Oh... Um, okay, if you say so. I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you?" Ash asked, kneeling down to where his Pikachu was, trying to calm him down, even though he was being cautious as well.
"Hmm... I don't really mind, but please allow me to get to know you first. I don't want to make any wrong decisions." The voice moved during its speech, almost as if it were inspecting Ash and his Pokémon.
"Sure, of course, I mean, I'm the one who broke into your territory..." Ash mumbled, reciting the voice's previous warnings.
"Thank you," the voice spoke, and Ash gave a small smile, one that the voice knew was fake. "How about I give you a small tour of my place? Since you're going to be staying here... Right?"
Ash looked a bit startled to be asked that question, but he answered,albeit with some reluctance. "...Yes, we are, right buddy?" Ash looked down at Pikachu, who nodded in return.
Ash looked to where he thought the voice originated from, smiling just a little bit. "That answers your question, right?"
"I suppose it does... Alright, just follow this leaf, okay? I will move it in the direction you need to go in." As the voice said this, a small leaf flew up to Ash's face tickling his nose slightly, making Ash chuckle.
"Alright, you lead the way, Mr. Leaf," Ash smiled, his playfulness showing for just a minute, and Pikachu rubbed his cheek into Ash's face, happy that Ash sounded a little bit more like himself.
From afar, gleaming eyes peered at Ash and Pikachu, with a calculating look, the mysterious being crawled closer, but just enough so that it could see Ash and Pikachu. It growled a little, still unsure about the boy and the Pokémon.
The leaf guided the duo over to the fountain they saw earlier, and now that they were upclose, they could see just how clear the water actually was. Being surrounded by quartz, the water had a pretty white shine to it, and they couldn't tell how deep the water actually was.
"This is the spring, filled with everlasting water," the leaf wavered, landing in the water to create small ripples.
Pikachu clambered down Ash's arm, before dipping one of his paws inside the cool, refreshing water. "Pikapi, pika!" Pikachu looked at Ash and then back to the water, signalling him to stick his hand in.
Ash smiled lightly at Pikachu's excitement, kneeling down next to him and letting his hand be enveloped by the chilly water, his other hand going to pet the top of Pikachu's head, and the creature that watched from afar stopped its snarling, instead choosing to watch the two's interactions with each other.
"This is nice, right, Pikachu? Do you like that, buddy?" Ash scratched behind Pikachu's ear, who leaned into his touch.
"Cha!" Pikachu smiled, letting Ash pet him, before he pulled his hand out of the water, climbing up Ash's arm and nuzzling his cheek with Ash's, wrapping his wet paw around Ash's neck.
"Brr! Hey, that's cold!" Ash exclaimed, grinning at his Pikachu with a light in his eyes that the creature hadn't seensince they'd been there.
Pikachu simply laughed, hopping up and onto his head, laying there. "Pikachu!" the small rodent placed his paw on Ash's cheek, who laughed with Pikachu.
Ash looked up at Pikachu, before reaching up to grab him, as he squeaked when Ash's cold hand reached him. "Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu's smile seemed neverending, and then Ash pulled him into a warm hug.
The sparks from before came back, a bit smaller than last time, but still showed that he was very happy, and Ash smiled, knowing fully why he did that. Of course he did, he's been with his buddy for four whole years now! He'd be a bad trainer if he didn't learn about his long time partner.
The leaf was picked back up, and then led them to the orchard. Up in the trees were various berries, and both Ash and Pikachu noticed a sweet scent coming from the flowers, and next to thatthey saw different plants aligned neatly. Ash and Pikachu stared in awe as the sweet smelldrew them in.
"Such an amazing smell! Is that Honeysuckle and Plumeria?" Ash gathered around a bush of flowers that smelt of vanilla, and Pikachu found himself crawling out of Ash's warm arms, and going over to the patch of strawberries.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu picked one off of the stem, before nibbling on it, climbing back onto Ash's shoulder who was done smelling the flowers.
The leaf went in a different direction, towards the middle of the place. When the leaf dropped, Ash looked around in wonder. "Um, why did you take us here?"
After a minute or so of waiting, the voice responded. "Before I take you anywhere else, I'd like you to promise me something..." the voice trailed, waiting for Ash to respond.
"Of course, what is it?" He questioned, looking around for the voice. Pikachu hugged Ash around his head, keeping a look out for the voice as well.
"Please do not be afraid, and do not share this secret with just anyone... This can't just be let out for the world to hear, or my small paradise will fade. Do you promise me you will not share this with the wrong people?" The voice boomed, and Ash was startled a little, but still nodded seriously.
"I promise, I will not spread this with the wrong people." Ash said, petting his Pikachu.
"Alright then. I will tell you about my kind and I. The first thing you must know is that we do not normally accept human or Pokémon, but becauseyou pushed past our barriers, we have allowed you to stay." Ash and Pikachu stared at each other, before waiting for the rest.
"We are known as Enisou, short for enigmatic souls. There are only four of us, each with our own mystery," the voice stopped, looking back into the cave entrance. "I'd like you to meet my physical form."
With the voice's words, a creature on all fours went up to them. It's base color was white, but it's ears, tail, and hind legs were a yellow color. The being had a yellow diamond marking onits head. It had a long,dog looking snout, it's ears were like a cheetahs, and it had the legs of a dog, maybe a golden shepherd, and the tail of a lion.
The chimera-looking animal neared the two, who was in awe at the form of it. The animal chuckled, before coming closer to him. "My name is Seikatsu. The ones inside of the cave are my family. Please accompany me inside so you can meet them. One of them has been wanting to meet you for a while." As Seikatsu began to walk towards the cave entrance, Ash and Pikachu followed.
Once they reched the cave, another figure popped out, once again on all four, but looked slightly different. Instead of white, it was blue, it's tail, ear tips, legs, and snout fading from the light blue into a white color. The fur that was under the figure's stomach was a darker blue than the rest of it's fur was. Instead of looking like a chimera, it looked like a baby wolf. The only thing that made him look like a chimera was his abnormally small ears, and his tiny tail, but even then it wasn't that strange.It was much smaller than Seikatsu.
Glaring fiercely at Ash and Pikachu, the animal—Enisou—looked between them and Seikatsu. "Sei, what are you thinking!? You can't just bring two strangers in here and expect me to not ask any questions and then just live with them without knowing them!" It shouted, pouting at the white and yellow Enisou.
"Shinrai, you know I would never put me above any of you. I can assure you that this boy and his Pikachu try their very best to be there for one another." Seikatsu let Shinrai process those thoughts, which led to the Enisou looking back and forth again, this time a wary look instead of a snarling one.
Pikachu didn't really prefer this Enisou at the moment; it looked as if it were gazing into his very being. Pikachu shivered, curling up next to Ash's neck. "Piiikachuu," he drawed out, secretly trying to tell Ash that he was afraid.
Ash immediately caught on to his best friend's uneasy behavior, reaching his hand up to scratch at the top of Pikachu's fur. Ash didn't take his eyes off of the Enisou, even if he knew nothing would happen. "Erm, Shinrai, was it? I'm really sorry for invading into your home, butI don't really have anywhere to go."
Shinrai seemed to weaken at the boy's explanation, whining softly to Seikatsu before letting up, and walking over to Ash to smell his hand, before licking it and nuzzling hisheadinto Ash's hand.It still looked a bit upset with Seikatsu when it looked away, but it let them go through the cave. While they were passing, it noticed the Pikachu looking back at it with curious eyes, but Shinrai just turned away and went to go drink from the fountain.
When the three finally reached the deeper parts of the cavern, Ash and Pikachu were in awe with all of the pretty gems and ores that shone brightly inside of the otherwise dark cave. Before they could take another step, just like before, a figure stepped out of the darkness. The two hadn't even known it was there.
"Stop! Seika, what are you doing? This is our home, and you're going to let two strangers in here!?" The Enisou behind this voice was also small, being black in color instead of blue. The only places where that wasn't true was it's tail, ears, and front legs, which went from black to cream, and Ash could've sworn he saw it's fur turning black more, as if it were taking over. It had the tail of a full-grown fox, a wolf-like snout, along with very big fox ears, and it's legs were like a wolf's.
"Furi, I know you do not like humans or Pokémon, but please give these two a chance. They haven't had the best experiences out there either." Seikatsu explained, but Furi did not back down like Shinrai.
"That doesn't mean they have to be with us! They won't understand! They—!" Furi cut himself off as he noticed Ash staring at Furi with a strange look. It wasn't sad, not scared, but... Understanding? Furi almost gave in, but shook it's head, before glaring at Ash again, take some steps forward. "Do NOT tie me in with the likes of you! Your kind has caused me nothing but suffering!"
As Furi got closer, Pikachu came out of his hiding spot, letting some warning sparks fly to tell the small Enisou that if it hurt his trainer, he wouldn't hold back. "Chu!" Pikachu said to his trainer, because he knew that Ash wouldn't want him to hurt the Enisou, but he wouldn't let Ash get hurt by the Enisou either.
Furi knew that the small yellow Pokémon was serious with his threat, and he wasn't going to hurt the human, but he couldn't help himself from stepping forward some more, and Seikatsu looked between Furi and Ash and Pikachu in worry, but knew that it was the only way for them to work out any knots.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, running down Ash's arm and standing protectively in front of him, sparks flying from his cheeks even if he knew he wouldn't attack the Enisou.
"Pikachu..." Ash warned, looking between Pikachu and Furi.
Pikachu heard his trainer and complied, getting out of stance for a battle, and instead situating himself next to Ash's leg, his ears dropping as he stared at Furi. "Pikachu..." Pikachu told Furi, because he knew that's what Ash would've wanted.
Ash smiled at Pikachu and squatted down to pet him before looking at Furi, who looked skeptical at the way Pikachu acted. "Pikachu says that he's sorry." Ash smiled at Furi, who looked at Ash, stunned.
On the sidelines, Seikatsu was surprised. The human knew exactly what the Pikachu had said, even though it was sure humans didn't speak Pokéspeech, but there Ash was, perfectly translating what the Pokémon said. Seikatsu would know, too, because it understood Pokémon. It was a trait it picked up from it's various encounters with Pokémon and their trainers. Not happy times.
Furi blinked, and it's snarl was gone, but it still looked afraid. "Sorry...? He didn't do anything, if anyone did, it was me, because I..." Furi couldn't lie, guilt filled up, but it wouldn't let itself become soft. "...You can go." It mumbled, backing up, staring at Seikatsu.
So the three continued forward, and Pikachu followed reluctantly. They reached the end of the cave, and inside was so many different routes, each having a sign that led to something different. But they surpassed that for now, instead going straight ahead.
They reached the end of the tunnel and yet another figure popped out, and this time Pikachu watched with cautious eyes. This figure was completely golden yellow, the ears, tail, hind legs, and snout faded to white. It's legs were those of a lion, the snout of a cheetah, ears of a dog that were the size of a husky's, and the tail of a wolf, only larger, and there were two of them moving out of sync. It was the same size as Seikatsu.
"Katsu..." the beast muttered, watching as Seikatsu slipped in-between it and the two foreigners. "You really approve of these two?"
Seikatsu nodded, not looking away from the chimera. "Listen, Hogo, I know we never give humans or Pokémon a chance, but these two broke through the purest barrier without getting hurt, and the kids like them," Ash and Pikachu kind of wondered how Seikatsu thought that, because the second one definitely did not seem to like them, and the first one was still wary.
"Wait, you showed them to the children!?" Hogo glared at the chimera, stepping forward as Seikatsu stood her ground, glaring right back at him.
"Yes, but you're missing the fact that I said they like them!"
"What if they had gotten hurt!? We don't know how strong the humans and Pokémon have gotten!" the Enisou neared Seikatsu, and Ash decided he'd had enough.
Standing in between the two, he pushed his arms out to stop them from nearing each other. "Wait, don't fight because of us! I... We can leave of we're not wanted, but it's not Seikatsu's fault." Ash explained, Pikachu looking back and forth from Hogo and Seikatsu, before staring at Ash sadly.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu nuzzled into Ash's shoulder, hiding his face as he began to wonder what would happen if they weren't allowed to stay.
Hogo stared at the boy and his Pokémon in wonder. Being silent for a long time, Hogo decided. "Fine, you may stay, on one condition!"
Ash decided it was better than nothing, and nodded. "Sure," Ash whispered, letting Pikachu crawl back up his arm.
"Please don't disappoint our kids... They've lost too much faith in your kind already."
Ash was a little shocked at the proposal, but he immediately nodded. "Of course, I would never want to hurt them, or you for that matter." Ash said with a steeled look.
Pikachu moved forward, smiling at Hogo. "Pikachu!" Pikachu let a few sparks fly to show his thanks, and the two must have gotten it because they didn't seem afraid.
"Oh, uhm, Pikachu says thank you, and I should too, so thank you." Ash translated with a smile.
It was Hogo's turn to be confused with how Ash was able to perfectly translate what the Pikachu said, but he chose not to comment on it. "I will show you to your room, alright?" Hogo strode forward, leading the way as Ash and Pikachu followed.
They went back to the intersection where they had previously passed. They turned right, going into one of the tunnels. Seikatsu followed behind them quietly, a little surprised that Hogo wad letting them stay.
"You can stay in here," Hogo muttered, allowing Ash and Pikachu to see their new room.
The cave walls glimmered with yellow and red stones, and there was a bush of leaves, and by leaves, they meant a mountain load. There was cotton for a pillow, and a wool blanket. Next to the bed, there was a stone block, probably to put things on. Other than that, it was empty.
Smiling at Hogo, Ash spoke. "Thank you for this. It's the best we've been offered in a long while," Ash whispered,walking in and putting his bag on the floor next to the stone block.
Hogo frowned, eyes curiously watching them.'This is the best they've been offered? Don't they have family or friends who could've helped?'Hogo dropped his thoughts, but didn't find himself watching their every move as he had planned.
"I see... Tomorrow, there will be a meeting at ten in the evening. It will decide if you stay. Until then, sleep," Hogo muttered, turning around and walking out.
Seikatsu watched as Hogo left, a happy smile on her face. "It'll all work out. Though I will warn you. If you really want to stay here, honesty is the best way. You'll have to tell us the reason why no one will let you be with them." Seikatsu turned on her paws, walking out calmly.
Ash and Pikachu were stunned into silence. It only lasted for a little while. "The only way we can stay is to tell them the truth?" Ash mumbled, fear seeping into his skin.
"Pika... Pikapi, pikachu!" Pikachu said, sounding scared.
However, Ash knew that the words were encouraging, so he smiled up at Pikachu. "You're right. They're nice. We should at least tell them... The truth." Ash sighed. "It'll be tough... Let's get some sleep, Pikachu."
Pikachu nodded in agreement, taking Ash's hat from his head and putting it on the stone slab. Then he crawled up at the end of the makeshift bed, waiting for Ash.
Ash got on the bed, before pulling the cotton blanket over him. Pikachu moved over to his head, putting his head into Ash's shoulder, curling into a ball to sleep.
Ash giggled lightly, before petting Pikachu's head. "Goodnight, Pikachu."
"Pikachu, Pikapi."