Pikachu and Riolu dash behind a Pokemon Center up the road apiece, then stop to catch their breath. "Are you doing well, Riolu?" a concerned Pikachu inquires. "Yeah." the small blue Pokemon replies. Ever hopeful, Pikachu then inquires, "Riolu, now that we have a moment, may I ask you a question, please?" Riolu hesitates for a moment, then relents. "Oh...All right."
"I've noticed that you've seemed very unhappy with Ash and I lately; you had even said earlier that you felt we didn't appreciate you and weren't acting like real friends. May I ask what the matter might be, please?"
The indignant look returns to the small blue Pokemon's face as he flings his head away again. "What's there to tell? Ash obviously likes you and his other Pokemon more than me! He takes you guys everywhere, lets you hang out with each other, trains and battles with you and won't even give me the time of day!"
"Now Riolu," Pikachu replies seriously. "You know very well that's not true. From the time you hatched, Ash has given you nothing but love and care and spent plenty of time with you(1); he even trained and battled with you just the other day."
"Yeah, but then he tried to swap me out for you even though he knew I was strong enough to finish the battle," Riolu replies with aggravation. "Then, when I asked to train with him later, he wouldn't let me!"
Upon hearing these words, Pikachu comes to the realization that Riolu didn't want to share Ash's attention with anyone; having had a similar experience with Ash's Chikorita several years ago, Pikachu fortunately knew just what to say. "I mean no offense, Riolu, but I believe that you may be looking at this matter the wrong way. You had taken a great amount of damage in the battle, as well as having been paralyzed, and Ash was afraid that you could get badly hurt if you continued on, and Ash chose not to train with you later partly because thought it was best for you to rest after that difficult battle, and partly because he hadn't trained his other Pokemon quite as much lately and wished to give everyone a fair chance.
Ever since Ash and I saved each other from a flock of Spearows back in Pallet Town(2), I've always known him to be a very kind, caring person who only wants what's best for his Pokemon. Though Ash and I are indeed very close it doesn't mean he loves his other Pokemon any less; he always makes sure that every Pokemon on his team is happy, safe and well cared for.
If one Pokemon trains and battles more than the other members of their team, it can be detrimental to the whole team as the other Pokemon would be much less prepared during a tough battle or other dangerous situation, which is why, as a team we need to work together and do what's best for each other and not just for ourselves."
Poring over Pikachu's words, a thoughtful look crosses Riolu's face...followed immediately by one of regret. "Oh man...I've been awfully selfish, haven't I?" He turns to Pikachu. "Pikachu buddy, I-I'm very sorry for how I've been treating you and Ash lately a-and am very sorry that I tried to hit you back at the hotel; I promise to treat you and the others with nothing but respect." Smiling kindly, Pikachu gently pats Riolu's shoulder. "All is well, little friend, I'm just thankful that we understand each other now."
As his gaze falls on the sky, Riolu's brow wrinkles with worry. "Our friends are probably awake by now and must be real worried." Pikachu replies consolingly, "Please don't worry, little friend, I believe I remember seeing a shortcut in the woods back there; we'll be home in no time."
Suddenly, the two hear nasty snickering from nearby. "Poor, poor Pokemon, they think they're going to make it home!" A concerned look crosses Pikachu's face. "Say...I know those voices!" His suspicions are quickly confirmed when the evil Team Rocket leap out to face them.
"Prepare for trouble, Pikachu,"
"And make it double, you too, Riolu,"
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all people within our nation,"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"
"To extend our reach to the stars above,"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"Wobbufet!"
"Mime, mime."
A disinterested Riolu sarcastically claps his paws. "Encore. Bravo. Yeah.(3)" Meowth snarls, "Save da formalities, twoirp, it may interest ya ta know dat we got just da thing to catch youse pesky Pokemon once and for all." Taking out a small remote, Meowth turns a dial, causing a small, slightly rickety looking robot with an antenna and two claw hands to amble out into the open. Riolu looks at the robot incredulously, "Really. That little thing's gonna get us."
"On da contrary," Meowth replies as he quickly presses a button on the remote. "Dis big thing's gonna get you!" The robot's antenna flickers as it suddenly grows two stories tall. Riolu gulps audibly at this very unexpected development. "We'll need to proceed with caution, they often make their devices electricity proof to keep them resistant to my attacks."
Jessie laughs nastily. "How very right you are!" James smiles glibly. "You'll make the perfect gifts for the boss." Jessie then turns to Meowth. "Meowth, would you be so kind?"
"Sure thing!" the small replies as he turns the dial, causing the robot to wheel over to the two small Pokemon and snatch them up in his claws. "This little gem was made with nothing more than the scrap metal discarded from the Pokemon Center and it runs like a dream." Jessie notes. "Some'a my finest handiwork if I do say so myself." Meowth adds with a smug grin. "Wobbu, wobba." Wobbuffet adds.
Struggling against the machine's tight grasp, Riolu thinks, I gotta think of some way to save us, but how? As his gaze falls downward, he suddenly spies a loose plate on the robot's back. Aha, perfect! he thinks excitedly as he leans over to whisper in Pikachu's ear. "I just spotted a weak point on the robot's back; if we pool our attacks together, we should be able to take the robot down." By Riolu's reasoning, his Fighting type power should work together with Pikachu's attack to cancel out the robot's electric resistance.
The small electric mouse smiles. "That's a very wise idea, little friend." Upon this Pikachu quickly charges up a Thundershock and Riolu and Aura Sphere; carefully, the two aim their attacks at the loose plate in synchronization, causing a resounding explosion that shatters the robot into a million pieces; the two small Pokemon quickly leap towards the ground just to see the villainous team blasting off.
"I thought you planned ahead, Meowth," Jessie snaps. "Why didn't you make the robot Fighting proof as well as Electric proof?"
"Aww, cut me some slack, Jessie," the small cat pouts. "I didn't have much time to prepare!"
James sniffs, "Well, I could have told him that rickety old thing wouldn't last, but does anyone ever listen to me? Nooooo."
"Wobbufet."
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
As he watches them go, Riolu laughs, "Ha, good riddance!" He then turns to Pikachu with a kind smile. "Pikachu buddy, I wanna thank you for all that you did for me back there, and I...wanna apologize for all of the trouble I gave you. You were right about the importance of sharing and working together." The small electric mouse smiles. "All is well, Riolu, all that matters now is that we're back together, safe and sound." The small blue Pokemon smiles and nods as the two begin making their way back home.
(1) Keeping with the continuity of the original episode but keeping Pikachu in character as he realistically has never been unwilling to share with anyone. Ash has used many of his Pokemon for a goodly amount of time, from Charizard to Pidgeotto to Greninja to, more recently, Dragonite and Gengar, and Pikachu never once complained.
(2) I chose purposely to make two different mentions of this moment as in the original episode, Pikachu forgot this moment, which, realistically made no sense as this was a very important moment in his and Ash's life and overall relationship.
(3) Although humans are present I purposely chose to keep the "Pokemon Translator" on, partly for the sake of ease and party due to Meowth being available to translate.