Pikachu and Riolu presently return to the hotel where they see a group of very worried humans gathered outside. "We've looked all over but haven't seen him anywhere!" Delia despairs. "Pikachu's missing too," Ash adds. "He must have gone out to look for Riolu." A very regretful look crosses Riolu's face, feeling terrible over how mean he'd been to everyone; quickly, he and Pikachu happily race up to Ash and leap into his arms.
"Pikachu, Riolu, you're okay!" the young boy exclaims with elation as he gently hugs his dear little friends close. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you again."
"Pikapi!" "Riolu riiii!" the two small Pokemon coo happily as they softly snuggle their trainer in reply with warm smiles gracing their lips(1). Delia traipses up to Riolu with a stern look on her face. "You gave us quite a scare, young man. From now on, don't leave home without your trainer for any reason; it's very dangerous out there." The small blue Pokemon obligingly nods with a shamefaced expression on his face. "R-ri riolu, ri riolu ri."(Y-yes, ma'am, I promise.) After the harrowing experience he'd had, Riolu had more than learned his lesson. Riolu then turns to Ash. "Ri riolu, ri...riolu riolu ri riolu ri ri riolu; ri riolu riolu ri riolu riolu ri ri riolu."(Ash, I'm...very sorry for running away and for how I've been treating you and Pikachu lately. I promise to behave myself from hereon.) The young boy smiles kindly. "All's well, buddy, I'm just glad you're back and safe."
"Riolu ri riolu ri riolu riolu ri riolu ri ri riolu ri ri riolu."(Pikachu and I spoke with each other while we were away and we came to an understanding.) Riolu continues as Ash gently places him and Pikachu back on the ground. "Hey, that's great!" Ash replies happily. Looking over his shoulder for a moment, Riolu gives Pikachu a smile, upon which the small electric mouse smiles in reply.
That evening, the group sit down to a nice dinner, with another special treat for the Pokemon. Riolu happily joins the others and engages in a polite conversation with them; as he eats his ketchup covered meal, Pikachu looks up with a smile, delighted by the change in Riolu's demeanor.(Pikachu, incidentally, had also offered Riolu a bit of ketchup earlier, though Riolu had also declined.)
Later that night, the group make their way to bed; Ash, clad in his usual pajama shirt and pants, climbs into bed as Pikachu hops over to the left side of the pillow. "Hey Riolu," Ash says cheerily. "Wanna join us for bed?" Pikachu happily pats the pillow. "Pi pikachupi pi pika pikachu pi."(There's plenty of room up here for you, too.)(2) The small blue Pokemon smiles elatedly. "Ri riolu ri riolu!"(You bet I would!) He happily hops up beside Ash, upon which the young boy gently wraps his arms around him and Pikachu, gently cuddling them close like teddy bears. The four then slowly drift off to sleep with smiles gracing their lips, thankful that they were a family once more and peace had finally been made.
As she passes by the room, Delia gently places a blanket over Ash and his little friends. "Sweet dreams, dears."
THE END
Voice cast
Ash Ketchum/Delia Ketchum/Truck Driver-Veronica Taylor
Pikachu-Ikue Ootani
Riolu/Carvanhas-Cristina Vee
Misty/Jessie/Azurill-Rachel Lillis
Brock/James/Tony/Murkrows-Ted Lewis
Meowth/Carvanhas/Murkrows-Jimmy Zoppi
Mr. Mime/Wobbufet/Mime Jr./Murkrows-Kayzie Rodgers
Electabuzz-Bill Rogers
Other Pokemon voices-Michele Knotz, James Carter Cathcart, Nathan Price
Pikachu speaking English-Veronica Taylor
Riolu speaking English-Kayzie Rodgers
(1) Why, fancy that, rather than headbutting Ash in the belly and shocking him, Pikachu was sweet and loving to him. It feels almost as though...he loves and respects Ash! XD
(2) Like trainer, like Pokemon. :3
Editor's note: I wish to mention that I have nothing against the Pokemon Journeys TV series at all, more so as I haven't seen enough of it to judge one way or another, and likewise respect the views of both its fans and detractors. Betrayed, Bothered and Beleaguered was the only episode I knew well enough to pass judgement on.
Pikachu has always been such a kind, loyal, selfless, and even sympathetic little guy who loves Ash more than anything, as such, seeing him act selfish, disrespectful and immature, willing to kick Ash to the curb over the littlest thing was extremely jarring and out of character, feeling almost like watching a completely different character and largely seemed to have been done for nothing more than plot convenience.(The writers, in fact, went to such great pains to make Pikachu look like a terrible person that it almost felt as though someone on the writing team really hated him, or at the very least, didn't understand, or even care about how Ash and Pikachu's relationship worked.)
Swapping the roles likewise seemed to make more sense as Riolu had been shown to be stubborn and hard to reach from his very first appearance, having this story line serve as character development for him and likewise tie into the eventual story line of his becoming a Lucario and obtaining a Mega Stone, as per my good Deviantart friend JewelSwirlix's suggestion.
I hope everyone enjoys this story; I shall openly welcome readers' advice.