"Damn," Professor Birch swore under his breath as he examined the readout on the monitor that was attached to Pikachu's chest.

"It didn't work?" Joshua whispered back.

Both men were speaking in low voices to avoid being overheard by Ash, who was waiting anxiously in the next room.

Professor Birch shook his head. "No. That magnet must've done some damage when it sent Pikachu's electrical system into overdrive. Either that, or else Pikachu's had this for awhile and no one ever diagnosed it. Wonder when Pikachu last had a physical?"

"I'll go ask Ash," Joshua said, starting for the doorway.

"Hey…don't tell him what's going on, okay?" Professor Birch said in a low voice. "I don't want to upset him until I know for sure what's going on."

Joshua nodded and disappeared down the hallway while his boss busied himself with scratching the sleeping Pokémon's ears.

"Ash said that Pikachu had a physical when he was at Professor Oak's in Pallet Town a few days ago," Joshua said when he returned to the treatment room.

Professor Birch smiled at the mention of his former teacher's name. "Well, Professor Oak definitely would know if Pikachu had this problem before all this happened." He gently lifted the unconscious Pokémon and placed it in his assistant's arms. "Take Pikachu to the recovery room and keep an eye on him until he wakes up. You can tell Ash that he can stay with him." Professor Birch reached up and turned off the electrical discharge machine. "Meanwhile, I'm going to give Professor Oak a call."

-

Back in Pallet Town, Professor Birch's former instructor was busy with editing his latest research paper when the videophone rang.

"Professor Birch, this is a nice surprise!" Professor Oak smiled at his former student. "How are things in Hoenn? Matter of fact, a young friend of mine was heading in your direction…a dark-haired boy named…"

"Ash Ketchum? Yeah, he's here." Professor Birch swung the videophone's camera around to reveal a dark-haired boy slumped over asleep on a bed next to a sleeping Pikachu.

"My goodness, looks like the trip must've worn both of them out," Professor Oak smiled. "I didn't think…" He then noticed the bandage on Ash's arm and the monitor hooked up to Pikachu, and his smile faded. "What's going on? What's happened to Ash and Pikachu?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Professor Oak," Professor Birch said, turning the videophone's camera back to its original position. "Professor, when you examined Pikachu a few days ago, did you notice anything abnormal?"

"Abnormal?" Professor Oak shook his head. "No. Pikachu was in top condition. Ash has always taken good care of Pikachu."

"You didn't notice any kind of abnormality with Pikachu's heart? Any irregularities, arrhythmias, anything like that?"

"No. Pikachu was in perfect health. Matter of fact, I wish all my Pokémon were as healthy as Pikachu."

"Damn, I was afraid of that," Professor Birch sighed.

"What's going on, Noah? You're starting to worry me. Is something the matter with Pikachu?"

Professor Birch nodded. "Yeah. On the way over here, Pikachu got trapped in a powerful magnetic field, and it sent its electrical regulation system haywire. I've discharge the excess electricity, but it looks like there's some residual damage."

"Damage? What kind of damage?"

"I'm not one hundred percent certain, but I think the magnet has somehow damaged Pikachu's electrical regulatory system. Specifically, the portion of the system that regulates heartbeat. I was hoping that when I discharged the excess electricity that everything would go back to normal, but it hasn't." He held up a portion of Pikachu's EKG strip to the video screen. "Take a look at this and tell me what you think, Professor Oak. I'm not an expert on Pikachus. Is this normal?"

Professor Oak studied the printout and shook his head. "No. Unfortunately, Noah, you're right. There's definitely something abnormal there. Could you transmit the rest of the EKG over to me? I'd like to study it further."

"Will do, Professor Oak."

"How's Ash dealing with all this?" Professor Oak asked, concerned.

"I haven't told him yet – I wanted to wait until I talked to you first. I was hoping that maybe I'd made a mistake in my diagnosis and that nothing was wrong with Pikachu."

"Well, there's no sense in worrying Ash until we know for certain what's going on with Pikachu. I'll take a look at the EKG as soon as you send it over and call you right back. Meanwhile, just to be on the safe side, make sure Pikachu rests and doesn't overexert himself. No battling."

"That won't be a problem. He's still anesthetized from the electrical discharge procedure." Professor Birch glanced over at the bed where Ash lay snoring. "I think he and Ash will both be out for awhile."

"Good. What happened to Ash's arm, by the way?"

"Pikachu went crazy from the excess electrical stimulation and bit Ash while he was trying to restrain him. It's just a small bite…he's okay."

"Well, that's one bit of good news. Anyway, send over that EKG as soon as you can."

"I'll transmit it as soon as I get off of the phone. Thanks for your help, Professor."

"No problem, Noah. Take care."

Professor Birch hung up the receiver and looked over at where Ash and Pikachu lay. Being careful not to disturb either one of them, he silently made his way over to the bed in the recovery room. Effortlessly he lifted Ash (who was sleeping so soundly that he didn't even move) and laid the boy next to his Pokémon. After covering both of them with a blanket, he studied the monitor that was keeping readout of Pikachu's vital signs and frowned.

I sure hope I made a mistake, Professor Birch thought as he turned out the light and let the boy and his Pokémon sleep.

To be continued…