A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. It warms my heart to see so many of you take the time to write.
I've decided to keep Ash as a male, and whether he's going to be able to change his gender will be a surprise.
I will use some of your suggestions once he's going to meet more of his future Pokemon 😊
Thank you for being amazing and reviewing!
1
The first thing Ash saw that morning was Pikachu's lovely behind. Truly, what a fantastic way to start your day, right?
The boy turned Pokemon, of course, couldn't contain his surprise, and with a confused shriek, he tossed himself back as far as he could. He fell back to the floor with a loud bang.
Pikachu groggily woke up from the abrupt noise and turned to face the panicking boy. This leads us to the second thing Ash saw that morning: Pikachu's annoyed face. It appears that the other was not a morning Pokemon.
"Good morning to you too," Pikachu said sarcastically before stifling a yawn.
"Sorry, Pikachu," Ash said awkwardly, before getting up and stretching. His long tail felt like it really needed the workout.
Having a tail at all was still strange. Ash tried to get used to it if only to get better-used to the long limb, but that wasn't here nor there. In the meantime, He was hungry and thirsty. If his memory served him right, the last thing he ate was what Doctor Ben gave him. 'I should have stuffed his throat with those cookies.'
Ash pushed. 'No, wait. The last thing I ate was the berries Pikachu gave me.' Which were a million times better than what the scientist fed him. Ash liked how sweet they tasted. 'I wonder if Pikachu has more.'
"What are you looking at? How long are you going to keep on staring?" Pikachu grumbled drowsily before he snorted softly. The other clearly wasn't waiting for an answer. He turned away from Ash and walked towards the mouth of the den.
"Hey, Pikachu. Do you still have some of those berries from before?" Ash hurriedly followed the other. His long tail dragged uncomfortably on the ground, but Ash ignored the feeling.
"Um? Yeah, I took some with me." The mouse pokemon said absent-mindedly. "They're by the entrance."
Ash nodded and started searching for the berries. He found them not far from where he was, so not wanting to waste any time, the boy picked a few before he ran after Pikachu.
The two walked side by side for a while when Pikachu turned to face him, "so, Mew-"
"The name's Ash," he corrected Pikachu.
"Whatever you say," Pikachu shrugged. "I've told you before. Until I have undeniable proof, I can't be sure of what you told me. I've never even heard of a case like yours before."
"I guess," Ash agreed, "But I'm telling the truth. I swear."
"Look, kid," Pikachu said tiredly, "I'm not saying that you aren't. I'm also not saying that you are. What I'm saying is that this," he pointed at Ash's new body, "story of yours is rather unbelievable. And, as you can tell, I'm not someone who's a quick believer."
Pikachu stopped walking and turned around. "Still, I'm not unreasonable. I'll feel awful if your story is true because if I'm honest, kid, you've been dealt a harsh hand." He turned away, "So, I've decided to help you."
Ash blinked in surprise and smiled brightly at the other Pokemon, "thanks, Pikachu!"
"S-Sure, whatever. Don't mention it."
Pikachu cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "Ok, so the first thing we're going to do, is trying to teach you one of my moves."
Ash nodded at that, however, that didn't mean he missed the irony of the situation. Wasn't he supposed to be the Pokémon trainer here?
"I thought about starting with your basic move set, but since I'm not a psychic Pokémon, I don't know much about it." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'what can you do.'
"So, what move are you going to teach me first?" Ash was pretty curious. He had seen many Pokémon working their magic, but to actually be the one to shoot lightning is something else entirely!
"Thunderbolt is a good move. It shouldn't be too hard to learn, which is why I think it's the perfect place to start," Pikachu explained reasonably. "Plus, there a large flock of Spearows nearby and Thunderbolt is good against flying and water types. I think it's a good move to have under your belt."
"Ok!" Ash didn't mind. He was happy to learn any move as long as it was going to help him get back home.
The boy grinned at his new friend, 'how hard can it be?'
Turns out, it can be incredibly hard.
Ash had zero-idea about what he was doing - which, let's face it, wasn't all that surprising. Naturally, teaching Pokemon moves is much easier than learning them yourself.
Ash was sure that he's going to be a great Pokemon trainer. Yet he wasn't a real Pokemon, so it was ridiculously hard to do something that went this far out of his comfort zone.
It was also kind of ridiculous that the aspiring pokemon trainer was the one getting trained by a Pikachu.
Pikachu, on the other hand, kept insisting that using Thunderbolt shouldn't be that hard, but it was getting late, and Ash was spent.
So, without much success, Ash gave up for the day. After all, there was always tomorrow.
The two Pokemon ate, drank, and got back to Pikachu's den.
Ash fell asleep sooner than he expected.
2
"You're back."
Ash immediately recognized Yami's voice. It was unusual in more than one way. The most bizarre and unique quality had to be how Yami's voice echoed from all directions.
"Hey," Ash said awkwardly, and his left ear twitched.
The boy turned Pokemon appeared tired like he didn't get any rest until now, and the whole day drank his pitiable health until there was nothing left. However, he breathed out in relief as the tension left him to drift in the endless murkiness of the psychic realm, and his body relaxed.
He had been feeling down about his fruitless attempts to use the moves pikachu showed him. While the disappointment didn't lessen, Ash felt as if little of his energy came back, and it made everything seem more bearable.
Ash closed his eyes and comforted himself silently.
"Is everything alright?" Yami asked in concern. The bodyless voice's full attention was on Ash as the other reluctantly opened his eyes. "Is it about what I last spoke with you about? If so, then I'll apologize. It was not my intention to make you feel this way."
Ash shook his head. What Yami had told him had been spot on. He reflected a lot about what the other had said - about no longer being human. It was a good thing that Yami made him face this reality early on because pushing something like this aside was the same as living in delusions.
Ash was grateful that he didn't have this burden weighing his shoulders anymore. Because, while he acknowledged the fact that he wasn't human anymore, that didn't mean Ash didn't think like one or acted like one. What he was didn't change who he was.
"No, it's nothing like that," Ash assured the other.
"So, what's on your mind, little one?" Yami urged the newly cloned, or more accurately, altered pokemon to answer.
"I can't get the hang of using moves. Pikachu tried teaching me some of his moves, but I can't even fly or, or..." Ash groaned in frustration, "I don't know. I don't know how to be a Pokemon. I've been human until now, and I feel like I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"
The pink cat pokemon sighed deeply, "Sorry, I didn't mean to dump my problems on you like this." Ash reddened in embarrassment.
"It's fine. I did ask," Yami pointed out. Ash had a mild suspicious that the other was privately laughing at him. However, with how bland Yami's tone was, the human turned pokemon was probably mistaken.
"What about you?" Ash asked. His tail moved in gentle sways in the empty space.
"Nothing I can share with you at the moment." Yami admitted, "I know you're probably curious, but it's not time yet."
"Oh. Ok," Ash said dejectedly. It's not like he expected Yami to share, but a little something would have been nice. The pink psychic pokemon turned his head in disappointment.
"I can help," Yami sputtered as if sensing Ash's darkening mood, "I mean, with the psychic moves. I am a psychic pokemon like you, after all."
"You are?"
"Um, Yes. I am."
Ash was surprised. That was the first thing Yami had shared about himself. "What kind of Pokemon are you?"
"I'm sorry. I'll tell you eventually," Yami assured Ash in a calming tone, "after I've escaped."
Ash didn't ask Yami anything else, even if he really wanted to. Instead, the boy turned Pokemon focused on the information the other provided.
He learned two things about Yami today: that he's a psychic type and that he's held captive somewhere.
Ash could see a picture forming in his head - It was a Pokemon, but Ash couldn't tell you what he looked like. Everything around them was blurred and dark, so it was hard to see, but one thing was clear. The poor guy was wrapped in chains and locked behind bared steel doors.
Alone.
Angry.
Hurt.
Ash shook his head and hoped that was all in his mind, and that Yami wasn't in pain. He hoped that he was somewhere decent. Ash wanted to ask the other if he needed help, but it wasn't like Ash would be much help at the moment.
'I can't even use one move effectively...'
Ash glowered for one second before he decided to take Yami's offer. If nothing else, he could later use what the other taught him to help.
"Do you know how I could fly? I mean, you probably do, since you're a psychic type, but could you teach me?"
Yami was silent for a moment, probably trying to keep himself from laughing at the childish wording.
"Sure, I don't mind."
Yami took a deep breath, or at least that's what Ash thought the other did. He couldn't see him.
"You haven't been born a Pokemon, so first, I want you to tell me what it is you're actually doing when you try to use a move."
It was a reasonable question. So, Ash took a few moments to reflect on his actions. When he tried to use Thunderbolt, he kept searching for some kind of energy. The source of the electric power that Thunderbolt uses.
He tried closing his eyes and manipulating his emotions, but all that did was one giant headache. He tried to put pressure on his cheeks, but other than make some silly faces, it didn't change a thing.
In short, he was a failure as a Pokémon.
"Well," Ash started slowly. He didn't know how to put it into words, "I- I can't find where the electric shock comes from. There's nothing to use. I-I don't know. I'm probably not explaining it properly."
"When you say the source, what do you mean?" Yami wondered.
"I mean, the thunder isn't coming out of nowhere. It has to be created somewhere inside or outside my body, right?" Ash tried to explain.
"Little one, you're thinking about it too hard. Pokemon aren't and had never been human. We don't need all this extra information. We work on instinct." The other corrected, "Which is why I believe this is what I'm going to use to help you."
Ash watched silently as a bouncy ball of purple light appeared before him. Curious, Ash moved closer, "what's that?"
"Just a little something to help you keep your mind off things," Yami said, amused.
"What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Play."
Ash almost snorted in dismay. Why would Yami want him to play with a ball of all things?
Shrugging his shoulders, the boy turned Pokémon walked closer to the ball of light and touched it softly. To his surprise, his hand didn't pass through the light, and the ball moved away from him.
Amused, Ash tried pushing harder. The ball bounced around, and the boy started chasing it. A soft giggle left him, and before he knew it, Ash was deep inside the game.
He didn't even notice how he floated over to the other side of it in an attempt to catch it.
Yami watched with a slight smile on his face, "I believe you're flying."
Ash looked down only to see the ball of light under his feet.
"I did it!" He cried out in wonder.
"Yes, you did." Somewhat, Ash thought he heard a proud note in the other's voice.
It only made him happier.