Hey everyone, I hope you all are enjoying Q3 of 2021, I bring you the next chapter to my flagship story: 50,000 Volts! Enjoy!
Chapter fifty-one: Hydrangeas
Cerulean City, the day after they told me she is here in Kanto…waiting for me…Lucas Bright. Jennifer, how can you see me like this? I can't imagine what your reaction will be.
Nevertheless, seeing her again is giving me hope once more and my short-term depression begins to slowly crumble. Maybe…somehow, she'll help me, help Bill rather…maybe…what am I even saying? Honestly, I just want to see her again…just not looking like this since Jen is somebody from my human life and I need to hang on to that notion for as long as I can. I'm still human inside, and I won't let this Pikachu body tell me otherwise!
We left Bill's cottage for the city just before sunrise and we ended up in Cerulean City by rush hour. It's pretty busy in the streets today, however, because people are commuting and doing other stuff, I guess.
Bill had said Jennifer will meet us at a café in the center of the business district. We got there around nine o'clock; George parked the car and Bill ushered us out. We had gotten out across the street from the café and a tinge of worry overcomes me. Despite my improved mental condition, I'm still doubtful that this will end any way good. Unbeknownst to me, Orion, who walks up next to me, notices my anxious expression. He places a soft yellow paw against my shoulder and said, "don't worry, just go see her…I'm sure she'll understand" the Pikachu reassures me as I take a deep breath, finally nodding.
"This way everyone" Bill leads us as we make our way inside.
The interior is what you'd expect from a café: complete with small round mahogany tables scattered around with dark brown chairs in between. There is a bar-like counter where the Barista idly stands, ready to make beverages for guests. It surprisingly isn't that busy and the atmosphere is quite welcoming for us to sit down and have a chat…which is the whole point of this place.
As our group takes in the scenery and looks for her, my eyes glance over at the sight of a small silhouette sitting by a corner…I know…it's…
I silently break away from the group and make my way to the person sitting by themselves. They're holding a mug by their lips, eagerly preparing to take the first sip of coffee to start their long day. The others can see me and automatically know what's going on. My heart races, my hands tremble, my eyes shake as I focus on her visage. Once I get close enough, she looks over to me steadily approaching her table.
It's her…Jennifer. I recognize the slim face…curved-shaped jaw…her red-colored hair…the red hat and red jacket…and the ponytail…she likes red, it's her thing.
I'm not wearing any "human" clothes or my gray necklace, so I look like some ordinary Pikachu off the street to her…I should have thought about that…stupid me!
Before I can even begin talking to my old friend, Bill and George, of course, walk in front of me and begin the conversation themselves, "Greetings, Mrs. Jennifer Jenson I presume?" Bill began by giving a bow of respect and a hospitable smile glued to his face. Jen stands up and returns the gesture kindly, "Hi, you must be Bill…"
Soon enough Jennifer looks over and sees the rest of the group arriving, "are these the family members you talked about?"
"Of course, this is the father: George Robinson" Bill introduces the middle-aged man next to him.
"Welcome to Kanto, Mrs. Jenson" George adds with similar kind gesture.
"Thank you."
"His wife, Maybelline Robinson"
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Jenson" May bows as Jen does the same.
"This is our son, Rigel" George ushers his family member forward to introduce himself to Jennifer.
"Nice to finally meet you!" Rigel had said as a silly, I dare say-Rigel-like, expression runs down his face and of course Jen rightfully projects confusion in response.
"Finally?" She asks, quite dumbfounded. It's the way he said it too…I have talked about Jen a few times both to him and Orion….so this just got awkward…
Jen composes herself quickly, however, and decides to change the subject: looking down toward me, "and this must be your Pikachu?"
Orion, who is still wearing his blue charm around his neck, suddenly shows up and climbs up Rigel…resting on his shoulder to rest. Jennifer raises an eyebrow at this, confused to see almost two identical Pikachu in the one…not to mention the one on Rigel is smaller than the average Pikachu species.
"Jenson, this is Orion, Rigel's Pokémon and partner. The one below you…is…" Bill stops mid-sentence as I start walking towards her finally.
"J…J…" I try my best to form words, but I am overwhelmed with shame and regret. The young adult notices my attempt to speak and is unsure how to react. Finally, I muster enough courage to finally say in human tongue, "Jennifer…I…it's me…Lucas…"
Jen takes a slight step back as everyone awaits her reaction. I look down, expecting her to scream and run out…take the next flight back to Sinnoh. I wouldn't blame her honestly…if I was still human, I would probably react that way too.
I walk a bit closer with a step, "Jen…it's me."
She looks up to Bill as she's expecting the man to explain this anomaly, but all the researcher does is nod as a reaction.
"Mrs. Jenson, I know this is difficult to comprehend…but as I explained during our conference call: Lucas was turned into the creature standing before you" Bill clarifies.
"He learned how to talk again too" Rigel adds before his father stops him from saying anything else, shaking his head to his son.
"We can't really explain how this all happened, but we are trying our best to cure his condition" Bill continues; however, Jen softly shakes her head…and I know…I just know…she's not having ANY of it.
"Excuse me" she suddenly murmurs, moving away toward the exit before the men begin chasing her.
"Mrs. Jenson!"
"Madam…"
Then, she turns around: anger and sadness filling her rose-colored eyes, "you expect me to believe this ridiculousness!?" the girl shakes her head, hands trembling, "how can you even play tricks on somebody desperate to find their friend!"
"It's the truth!" Rigel stepped in, desperate to stop her.
"Yea!" Orion added, yet she only hears 'Pika!'
"Listen all of you…I am dealing with enough as it is, you're throwing all this absurdity like I'm some child! Kanto is weird enough already…I already got robbed by a Meowth shortly after arriving to this region! Now, I'm being led to believe that somehow the man I cared about was somehow turned into a mouse…A…MOUSE! Goodbye."
Jen is about to exit through the door as everyone tries to stop her, all talking the same time…all trying to change her mind. Unfortunately, she walks outside where Bill stops her. Thankfully, not a lot of people are around…this would have caused a bigger commotion.
"Please, Mrs…give us the chance to-"
"Get away!" Jennifer retorted, almost moving Bill to the side.
"Hydrangeas…roses…" she suddenly hears me say as she stops her outburst. Jennifer turns slowly to face me, "I gave them to…you…at the airport" I explain as she looks away…remembering the time when I left for Kanto several weeks ago.
"Please madam, why would we go through all the trouble to bother you about this if it didn't concern you?" George steps in, trying to vouch for me.
"We gave you his name…and everything…we are telling the truth" Maybelline also vouches.
"Please…" Rigel looks down toward me as Orion does the same from the teen's shoulder.
It's rather touching to see the family come together for me. All I can do is look up to her and hope she understands. Jennifer is silent, thinking for a few moments about everything and how it's falling into place. She gazes into my eyes…to her they're apparently nothing but a Pikachu's staring back; however, she finally sees past the façade. Jen moves past everyone to get to me, all the while shaking her head in disbelief. The twenty-three-year-old kneels to where we're almost eye level and extends a soft hand to touch my furry face, pulling it back for a brief moment before her hesitation slowly fades.
"Lu-Lucas…" her voice cracks as emotion finally overwhelms her. Jen's hand rests against the side of my face, and with that a tear begins rolling down her cheek, "is-is that…really you?"
I too am overwhelmed, grabbing her hand with my small animal paw and I give a smile of assurance to confirm her suspicions, "p…please don't…run" I mutter softly to her, so softly that nobody else, not even Orion, heard what I say.
Jen seems to have the wind knocked out of her as she tries to regain her composure, "wh…I…how?"
"We can explain everything again to you" George finally breaks the silence.
"Or…would you rather we let Lucas explain?" Bill asked.
Jen looks up at the men and nods softly.
…
And so, we left the street for a more secluded place: a small park next to a lake where there aren't many people around. Jen and I sit on the bench, with Rigel and Orion sitting on the one next to us. The adults had bought coffee for us and are now right across from where we're all sitting. For the past few minutes, I recount the events leading up to today…and I mean EVERYTHING.
"So, you met Orion here at a…hideout belonging to some gang…then you both escaped…you met up with his trainer Rigel…and ended up looking for Bill in this city?" Jennifer asked, looking toward Bill who raises his coffee to confirm this story.
"Yes…" I nod to her, "Orion…Rigel…and his family…have been…a big help" I finish.
"That's wonderful" she smiles softly before leaning forward to me, "Lucas…I was so worried, when you went silent suddenly…and I couldn't get in touch with you for days…I came looking for you."
"What about…the shop?" I raise an eyebrow, mouth slightly agape.
"Contraband, remember? It was going under anyway…I sold it off to some guy before I left: manage to walk away with some money" Jen explains as I shake my head, "this…Team Rocket…they sound pretty bizarre…"
"Don't worry about them…they're gone now, we haven't seen them in weeks" Rigel explains.
"Other than on news reports, many have been incarcerated after their base was destroyed" George explains.
"They were trying to…accomplish…something big…" I add even further, recalling their twisted schemes. Orion, too, thinks about all the hell he and I went through with Bartoli in her lab. He remembers when that one grunt attacked us inside Outpost 3C 273…that man used Pokémon abilities and so did Cy's friend…that girl…I forgot her name, "Lucas" Orion waves to me trying to get my attention, "that guy at the base…and that girl…remember when they both used fire?"
Jen looks to the other Pikachu in confusion and rightfully asks, "w-what did they say?"
I decide to chuckle slightly at the language barrier, it does get weird when I forget they aren't able to understand Orion like I do, "He reminded me…some Team Rocket people…were able to…use powers like Pokémon."
"You're kidding!?" Jen pulled away, taking her red hat off, exposing her hair and letting her pony tail become more visible, "that's insane! This is all feeling like a crazy dream."
"More like…a nightmare" I retort softly.
"So then…you CAN understand him? Like, you can talk to other Pokémon like people?" Jennifer looks back to me with a wide shocked look. I nod and she almost falls out of the bench, "wow, that's actually hardcore!"
"Believe me Mrs. Jenson…I had the same reaction when I found out as well" Bill the researcher notes before finishes his coffee.
Suddenly, Jennifer switches away from this conversation and gives a regretful face at the man in response, "Listen…Bill…I'm sorry about blowing up on you earlier…" she apologizes before including everyone else, "all of you for that matter, it wasn't right…"
"It's alright Mrs. Jenson" George accepts the apology with a heartwarming smile.
"We understand wholeheartedly, there's no need to apologize" his wife adds as well, standing next to George in agreement.
"Well…what do we do now?" Jen asks almost quietly.
"Not sure, actually" George scratches his shaved chin in response.
"We're trying our best to cure Lucas as I've stated before, but it's going to take some time I'm afraid" Bill jumps in.
Jen folds her arms, "I see…how exactly will you do it?"
"We're…not entirely sure as of yet…" the researcher mumbles, scratching his greenish hair in response.
"In the meantime, I think we should try to de-stress" Maybelline suggests as Rigel stands up and walks to the middle of everyone with Orion on his shoulder:
"Yea! Everyone! Listen! Up! I got an idea!" Rigel shouts proudly as I roll my head to the side…oh boy here we go, "there's a carnival in town this weekend, I saw it on a poster by the café…maybe we can all go there today!" An amusement park…hmm…I haven't been to one of those in a while…that doesn't sound half-bad actually!
The adults think to themselves as Jennifer smiles happily at the idea, "we should totally do that" she said standing up from the bench.
"Then shall we?" George smiled back, ushering everyone to the trailer to get back to the car. Everyone gladly follows, excited for the day off to be spent for something special. No one was against the idea…not even George himself…the fact he went straight to wanting to do such a thing surprised me a lot. What can I say: the man's stressed out like all of us…he knows it's a great idea.
Jen smirks as she turns to me. I'm still sitting on the bench when she got my attention, "hey bud, can I pick you up just this once?"
I roll my eyes in defense, but I shrug, fine. Jen giggles in retaliation, much to my slight annoyance. I think I know what she wants to do…she's quite the Pikachu fan after all. My human friend picks me up from the wooden bench as she closes her eyes with a big dumb smirk running down her face. Jen places me on her shoulder as I grab on, "now we look like partners" she snickers as I face palm in embarrassment, "look out kid, you got some serious competition now!"
Rigel, and Orion, of course both give smug looks in defense, both fold their arms in unison.
…
Early afternoon…
We all bought tickets for a seasonal carnival in Cerulean City. The place is what one would expect from such a place: rollercoasters, a carousel, a Ferris Wheel, carnival games, and food stalls. It's pretty busy with people from all around the city visiting the park today…maybe that's why not a lot of people were around us earlier…
Anyway, once we're in the park Rigel jumps in the air while Orion does the same, "let's go!" Everyone else just chuckles in response before following the duo. I rest on Jennifer's shoulder…I guess I'll be getting used to that. It's just so strange being like this around her…but I guess for now I'll just let it go…it's a lot easier on me to travel this way anyway. She's taking this better than before, and we both talk to one another as we tour the park: reflecting on the past for a bit.
Eventually, George decides to get us some food, namely elephant ears, as a treat. We wait in line for him to pay.
"Hey Lucas" Jennifer begins, turning her head to me, "remember that time we ate these things at the college campus?"
I give a humorous grin and sneer at her comment, knowing exactly why she's brought this up, "you mean…when they told us…the elephant ears…were made of Phanpy?"
She snickers loudly at my comment, covering her mouth in the process, "you were SO shocked as if they were telling the truth!"
"Well, what do you…expect? Remember the time…people said turkey legs…were made from Torchic?" I grin back to her as she laughs.
"Yea!"
As we both laugh, we barely notice the kids next to us…looking at the both of us with shocked faces. They just heard me talk in English and that's not good! Hopefully, they won't make much of it…
"Uhh…Pika-Pikachu!" I exclaim, adding my Pika-nese in there to throw them off.
"M-mom!" Both shout as they move away from us.
"Oh well…we got to keep you in check around other people, bud" Jen mutters softly in my rabbit-like ear.
"No…kidding…" I retort quietly, "I wouldn't want to be…experimented on…again."
After we get our treats, we continue walking through the carnival as Jen notes something about me, "you know, your voice sounds A LOT higher in pitch now…that'll take some getting used to."
"I mean…yea…I'm tiny now and…I'm a MOUSE…it's pretty self-explanatory."
"Well, I LIKE it" Jen smiles as I roll my eyes to her…
"I don't" I bark back at her as she playfully sticks her tongue out to me.
Eventually, we come across our first ride: the mirror maze funhouse. The other adults decide to wait by the exit while Jen, Orion, Rigel and I enter. It's pretty much claustrophobic and chaotic as it gets, and Jen and I end up bumping into mirrors most of the time. Rigel and Orion, both snicker at our predicament, both seem to fair better than us…that is until they too bump into a mirror. Jen and I look to one another with toothy grins nit too long after this. After a few minutes, we climb up a flight of green stairs to get to the second floor where we find ourselves in front of mirrors that distort our reflection. From one mirror, Jen and I get shorter and wider while Orion and Rigel's reflection has their heads looking triangular in shape…we all can't help but shake our heads and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
The next ride we get on is bumper cars and let me tell you: this one is fun! First, Orion and I swapped places and now I'm with Rigel and vise-versa. Needless to say, Rigel is prepared to unleash everything on Jennifer, but knowing Jenson she won't be easy to beat! We strap ourselves in and we drive off! We soon bump into a random car, however, before we turn our heads left and see Jen and Orion speeding toward us!
Rigel and I yelp as we're hit. Soon enough though, Rigel turns the ride around and lands a hit against the backside of Jen's bumper car and Rigel and I do a high-five as a celebration.
After all that, we continue making our way through the park before doing the small roller coaster and playing some of the carnival games. Rigel managed to win a small Charizard plush after playing a water-gun game with a random crowd, which I thought was cool. Finally, we enter the Ferris Wheel: with all of us, including Bill and the parents, taking part in it; however, Bill, George and May go in a separate compartment from us due to limited space.
We climb higher and higher as we see the entire amusement Park all around us. Orion's eyes shine with excitement as he hops from one end to another to get a different view. Rigel seems to do the same while Jen, who's opposite from us, and I look at one another. She gives a soft smile as I look away. This gets her to place a hand on my small paw, "I'm here now for you, we'll help you get through this."
I look to her, my "depression" almost comes back, "what if…I stay this…way?"
"Then turn me into a Pikachu too. Either way, I'm not going to leave you like this" Jen reassures as I give a small smile back.
…
Once the amusement park closes, we make our way out for the car. Rigel and Orion hop around excitedly, having enjoyed the park in its entirety. I rest on top of Jennifer's shoulder as the adults talk behind us. Orion suddenly stops and looks toward me, hey Lucas, race you to the car!"
Jen looks to me with a raised brow, "what did he say?"
"He wants me…to race…him."
"Oh, fun" Jen giggles as I hop off her shoulder, landing on the ground below. I walk up to Orion as I sigh, "alright, on the count to 3…"
"One" Orion starts.
"Two…" I groan, getting ready to blast off.
"Three!" As soon as he shouts to go, we're both off, making our way down the trail on all fours. Orion gains speed, having used quick-attack, and I try to keep up. Soon enough I growl and use the same ability to try and make gains. The rest of the group try and follow us. Eventually, however, we're so far up ahead they barely see us anymore.
"Come on slow poke, don't let me beat you again!" Orion sneers as I growl softly.
Before I can attempt to pass him, a fast-moving object hits Orion in front of me! I grind to a halt and look with surprise: Orion is now inside of a net!? Oh…no…it…can't be!
I look over to see a Meowth walking out of the bushes across from me.
"That was easy, hehe!" The Pokémon meowed, a masculine tone coming out of its mouth. He abruptly looks over to me and jumps in surprise, looking back and forth between me and Orion, "wait a second, this isn't Pikachu!"
The others arrive and are shocked and confused to see the events unfolding in front of them. Jennifer focused her eyes at the cat-like creature and her eyes widen in response.
"H-hey! That's the Meowth that robbed me!" She points and shouts, gritting her teeth in anger.
I look back to the cat Pokémon and see two more figures appearing from behind the bushes. They join the cat side by side soon after. One is a man with bluish hair. The other is a woman with very long red-violet hair, a color like Jennifer, that curls at the base. Both adults are wearing white clothes with a familiar symbol on their chest…upon realizing what they are: it sends me into panic mode.
They're with Team Rocket…Team Rocket had returned…
…
Oh no! It's Team Rocket from the Anime! What's going to happen to our main characters? Find out on the next update!