V
"You'd better have a good explanation handy, young man!" said my mother, who had come outside to see why the light had come on. "What on earth were you doing out there, in the middle of the night?"
I knew my mom meant business, but I just had to chuckle. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
"Okay," I said, "I'll tell you what I was doing. I was looking for a Pikachu."
Mom slapped her head. "Oh, for the love of… have you gone insane? You woke me up because you can't get out of your little fantasy world?"
"Mom…"
"Don't 'mom' me! We're cutting back on your video game time, young one. Then hopefully you'll stop having midnight urges to go Pikachu hunting."
"Mom, we found its droppings."
"Bull! Now I know you're playing too much video games. And besides that, you're filthy! You look like you've been crawling around on the front lawn!"
"Well, I kinda have." I told her.
"Enough. You take yourself a bath and then go to bed, you hear me? We'll talk about this in the morning." And with that, she turned and went back upstairs.
" 'Take yourself a bath and go to bed,'" I said, mocking her. What kind of mother makes you take a bath at one in the morning? But I could tell I needed one.
And so, I went into the bathroom, and started filling the tub with water. At least I had fun tonight, I thought. I rarely get to do anything cool with Donald, but tonight was an exception. I began wondering if I had just imagined the yellow light and the chattering. "No," I told myself, "What about that shadowy animal? And the glowing dung? All signs point to Pikachu." Oh, well. I would look more in the morning. It made me uncomfortable, however, when I recalled that the footprints had ended right in front of my house. But I tried not to let it bother me. As I went to undress, I felt a weight in my pocket.
"Oh. Almost forgot to take my Game Boy out of my pocket." I said to myself. As I lifted it out, I suddenly looked up, and screamed. Standing in front of the bathroom door was a yellow, mouse-looking creature, with red cheek-patches and a zig-zaggy tail. In other words, a Pikachu was standing right in front of me, in my bathroom.
"Holy hell!" I cried. I started to back away, but it followed me, backing me into a corner. I was scared crapless! I knew what these things were capable of. It stared at me with angry eyes, advancing towards me. Its cheeks, which are what generates its electrical attack, were slowly starting to glow.
"Oh, boy…" I murmured, knowing that this thing was about to zap me. I stood there, unable to move. Suddenly, in a flash, it ran and jumped on top of me. I fell back, into the bathtub. It jumped on the edge, glaring at me, its cheeks glowing even brighter. Suddenly, my brain sent me an interesting question. "Isn't the bathtub the worst place to be when you're about to get shocked?"
That thought proved to be my last, because before I could move, the Pikachu sent a gigantic electric attack my way. My body shook as the electric currents surged through me. I had a vague awareness of dropping my Game Boy into the tub, and then I collapsed in the water.
Blackness. Inky blackness was all I saw. I couldn't move, but I didn't know if that meant I was paralyzed, or if my senses weren't functioning. Suddenly, I began to see images in front of me. Images of different people and things. I saw Ash Ketchum, the hero of the "Pokemon" game, high-fiving his Pikachu. I saw Lance, the leader of the Elite Four. He looked distressed, like something was troubling him. A vision of Gold, the character from the Gold and Silver versions, and Silver, his rival, passed before me. They were running, and they looked scared. It looked as if they were fleeing from something evil. Then I saw the insignia of Team Rocket, an evil Pokemon society, flash in front of me, accompanied by a cackling laugh. Finally, I saw a Poke Ball open to reveal a Wobbuffet. It looked left and right, as if searching for something. Then it turned and stared right at me. It started glowing, and it unleashed a brutal psychic attack. I saw nothing after that.
"You'd better have a good explanation handy, young man!" said my mother, who had come outside to see why the light had come on. "What on earth were you doing out there, in the middle of the night?"
I knew my mom meant business, but I just had to chuckle. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
"Okay," I said, "I'll tell you what I was doing. I was looking for a Pikachu."
Mom slapped her head. "Oh, for the love of… have you gone insane? You woke me up because you can't get out of your little fantasy world?"
"Mom…"
"Don't 'mom' me! We're cutting back on your video game time, young one. Then hopefully you'll stop having midnight urges to go Pikachu hunting."
"Mom, we found its droppings."
"Bull! Now I know you're playing too much video games. And besides that, you're filthy! You look like you've been crawling around on the front lawn!"
"Well, I kinda have." I told her.
"Enough. You take yourself a bath and then go to bed, you hear me? We'll talk about this in the morning." And with that, she turned and went back upstairs.
" 'Take yourself a bath and go to bed,'" I said, mocking her. What kind of mother makes you take a bath at one in the morning? But I could tell I needed one.
And so, I went into the bathroom, and started filling the tub with water. At least I had fun tonight, I thought. I rarely get to do anything cool with Donald, but tonight was an exception. I began wondering if I had just imagined the yellow light and the chattering. "No," I told myself, "What about that shadowy animal? And the glowing dung? All signs point to Pikachu." Oh, well. I would look more in the morning. It made me uncomfortable, however, when I recalled that the footprints had ended right in front of my house. But I tried not to let it bother me. As I went to undress, I felt a weight in my pocket.
"Oh. Almost forgot to take my Game Boy out of my pocket." I said to myself. As I lifted it out, I suddenly looked up, and screamed. Standing in front of the bathroom door was a yellow, mouse-looking creature, with red cheek-patches and a zig-zaggy tail. In other words, a Pikachu was standing right in front of me, in my bathroom.
"Holy hell!" I cried. I started to back away, but it followed me, backing me into a corner. I was scared crapless! I knew what these things were capable of. It stared at me with angry eyes, advancing towards me. Its cheeks, which are what generates its electrical attack, were slowly starting to glow.
"Oh, boy…" I murmured, knowing that this thing was about to zap me. I stood there, unable to move. Suddenly, in a flash, it ran and jumped on top of me. I fell back, into the bathtub. It jumped on the edge, glaring at me, its cheeks glowing even brighter. Suddenly, my brain sent me an interesting question. "Isn't the bathtub the worst place to be when you're about to get shocked?"
That thought proved to be my last, because before I could move, the Pikachu sent a gigantic electric attack my way. My body shook as the electric currents surged through me. I had a vague awareness of dropping my Game Boy into the tub, and then I collapsed in the water.
Blackness. Inky blackness was all I saw. I couldn't move, but I didn't know if that meant I was paralyzed, or if my senses weren't functioning. Suddenly, I began to see images in front of me. Images of different people and things. I saw Ash Ketchum, the hero of the "Pokemon" game, high-fiving his Pikachu. I saw Lance, the leader of the Elite Four. He looked distressed, like something was troubling him. A vision of Gold, the character from the Gold and Silver versions, and Silver, his rival, passed before me. They were running, and they looked scared. It looked as if they were fleeing from something evil. Then I saw the insignia of Team Rocket, an evil Pokemon society, flash in front of me, accompanied by a cackling laugh. Finally, I saw a Poke Ball open to reveal a Wobbuffet. It looked left and right, as if searching for something. Then it turned and stared right at me. It started glowing, and it unleashed a brutal psychic attack. I saw nothing after that.