Ash awoke the next morning to discover that he was lying in bed next to Pikachu, who was still sleeping peacefully. For a moment, he didn't recognize where he was, but then a tall, heavyset, bearded young man wearing shorts and a lab coat stuck his head inside the doorway.
"Morning, Ash," Professor Birch said softly, not wanting to awaken Pikachu. "How are you doing?"
"Okay, I guess," Ash said, massaging the crick in his neck from where he had fallen asleep slumped over on the bed earlier.
"Your arm okay?" Professor Birch asked, drawing closer to the bed and examining the readout on the monitor that was still hooked up to Pikachu.
"Yeah, it's fine," replied Ash. "How's Pikachu doing, Professor Birch?"
Professor Birch stared at the monitor and frowned in reply. He had been hoping that a long rest would cause some improvement in Pikachu's condition, but it hadn't.
Ash noticed the expression on Professor Birch's face. "What's wrong, Professor? Is Pikachu okay?"
"Better let Pikachu rest some more today, Ash," Professor Birch said, lightly stroking the sleeping Pokémon's pointed ears. "Want some breakfast?"
Ash's stomach growled in reply. "Yeah, Professor Birch. I'm starved."
"I've got scrambled eggs, pancakes, muffins, cereal, waffles, fruit, bacon, sausage, and toast," Professor Birch said as Ash followed him down the hallway to the kitchen. "You don't get to be a big guy like me unless you eat a hearty breakfast every morning."
As Ash proceeded to devour most of the items on the breakfast table, the videophone rang. Professor Birch got up from the table, disappeared down the hallway, then returned a moment later with a solemn expression on his face.
"Ash, Professor Oak's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
"Professor Oak? Wonder what he wants to talk to me about?" Ash stuffed the rest of his blueberry muffin in his mouth and headed down the hallway. Professor Birch sat back down at the kitchen table and picked listlessly at his scrambled eggs. There were few things in the world that would cause him to lose his appetite – and a dying Pokémon was one of them.
"Hi, Professor Oak," Ash said cheerfully. "Pikachu and I made it to Hoenn!"
"Yes, I can see that," Professor Oak said, smiling slightly.
"Professor Birch is really great," Ash continued. "He's really cool for a professor." Realizing what he had just said, Ash's face turned bright red. "Uh…I didn't mean that you weren't cool, Professor Oak."
"Never mind, Ash. I know what you meant. Honestly, with legs like mine, I don't think I'd look too good running around in a pair of shorts and sandals either," Professor Oak said.
"So what did you call for, Professor Oak?" Ash asked curiously.
Professor Oak's smile faded. "Ash, how's Pikachu doing?"
"He's still asleep. Professor Birch said that's normal after getting anesthesia – you sleep a lot."
"Ash, Professor Birch told me what happened to Pikachu yesterday, and I'd like to talk to you about it. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Yeah, I just finished breakfast," Ash said, plopping down in Professor Birch's oversized chair.
Professor Oak took a deep breath. This conversation wasn't going to be easy for either one of them. "Ash, when Pikachu got caught in that magnetic field, Professor Birch was concerned that there might have been some damage to Pikachu's system."
"Oh, you mean like when Pikachu was acting really wild yesterday and bit me? Yeah, but he's okay now – it wasn't his fault. Professor Birch helped Pikachu get rid of all that extra electricity."
"Yes, I know he did. But Ash, Professor Birch was concerned that the magnetic field was so powerful that it might've damaged Pikachu's electrical regulatory system even after all the excess electricity was discharged. That's why he called me yesterday."
"Professor Birch called you yesterday? He didn't tell me that."
"You were asleep then. I told him not to wake you. Both you and Pikachu looked pretty tired."
"Yeah, but I'm ready to go now," Ash smiled, adjusting the baseball cap on his head. "As soon as Pikachu wakes up, we're on our way to Petalburg Gym and our first Hoenn gym badge!"
"Ash, that's what I need to talk to you about. You can't go to Petalburg Gym."
Ash was puzzled. "What are you talking about, Professor Oak?"
"Ash, the reason Professor Birch called me yesterday was because he was concerned that Pikachu might have a problem with its heart as a result of the magnetic field."
"Huh? Pikachu's heart? What are you talking about, Professor Oak?"
"Ash, Professor Birch and I talked, and I consulted with some of my other colleagues and did some research on my own. And we all came to the same conclusion."
"What? I still don't understand what you're talking about, Professor Oak."
"Ash…son, Pikachu is sick. Very sick."
"Sick?" Ash looked bewildered. "But…Professor Birch said that he got all of the extra electricity out of Pikachu's system!"
"He did, Ash. But that's not the problem. The problem is that the damage to Pikachu's system has already been done."
"Damage? What kind of damage are you talking about, Professor Oak? Pikachu looks fine."
"The damage isn't on the outside, Ash. It's on the inside. Specifically, the part of the system that regulates heartbeat."
"Heart…? Professor Oak, are you saying that that magnet messed up Pikachu's heart?"
"Yes, Ash. Professor Birch noticed it yesterday when he was examining Pikachu and called to ask me about it."
"But…but…can't you or Professor Birch do something about it? Can't you give Pikachu some medicine or something to make him get better?"
"I wish we could, Ash. But this type of injury doesn't respond well to medication."
"Then can't you do some kind of surgery instead? Can you fix Pikachu's heart that way?"
"Ash, it doesn't work that way. The only treatment for this type of condition is to install a pacemaker, but…"
"I don't care how much it costs, Professor Oak!" Ash interrupted, misinterpreting Professor Oak's reticence. "I'll do anything to save Pikachu's life! Anything!"
"Ash, that's not it. Yes, a pacemaker would normally work in other Pokémon, but the problem is that Pikachu is an electric-type Pokémon. The electricity that normally flows through Pikachu's body would constantly be shorting out the pacemaker, not to mention what would happen with one good Thunderbolt. The pacemaker would never work properly."
Ash's voice began to quaver. "What…what are you saying, Professor Oak?"
"Ash, what I'm trying to say is that there's nothing Professor Birch or I or anyone else can do."
"Professor…are you saying that Pikachu is gonna…he's gonna…?" Ash's eyes began to fill with tears.
Professor Oak nodded. "I'm sorry, Ash. So sorry."
Ash looked so stricken that Professor Oak wished that the boy had someone there to comfort him. But Misty and Brock were both back in Cerulean City and Pewter City respectively. Ash had no one in Hoenn to help him deal with his upcoming loss.
"Ash, Pikachu's condition isn't painful," Professor Oak continued, trying to provide some reassurance to the distraught boy. "As long as Pikachu gets plenty of rest and avoids any extreme physical or emotional exertion, he should do all right for awhile."
"How long, Professor?" was the almost inaudible reply.
"As long as Pikachu avoids any strenuous physical activity, maybe a couple of months."
"A couple of…" Ash bit his lip in an effort to stave off more tears.
"Ash, even though I know this is hard for you to hear, you need to understand that in Pikachu's condition, any type of physical exertion, such as battling, could be harmful…or fatal."
"Fatal…? Are you saying that Pikachu can never battle again, Professor?"
"That's a decision that you and Pikachu will have to make on your own, Ash. I know that you and Pikachu love battling other Pokémon…"
"More than anything in the world," Ash finished.
"So you have to decide if Pikachu would be happier spending its last days either resting or doing what it loves best, even though it might mean shortening its life in the process."
"So…what you're saying, Professor Oak, is that if Pikachu rests all the time he'll live longer."
"Yes."
"But you're also saying that Pikachu might not be happy if I don't ever let him battle again," Ash sniffled, brushing away a tear.
"That's something you need to decide, Ash. You're Pikachu's trainer. You know Pikachu better than anyone else. You know what's best for him."
"But if I do let Pikachu keep on battling, then you're saying that he could…he would…" Ash couldn't bring himself to say the word "die".
"Yes."
"Will…is it gonna hurt Pikachu…when…?" Ash was biting his lip so hard that he was starting to draw blood.
"No. It'll be very sudden," Professor Oak replied gently. "Pikachu won't suffer."
With that thought, Ash couldn't fight back the tears any longer.
"I…thanksProfessorOakgottago…" With a sob, Ash threw down the phone receiver and raced back to the room where his Pokémon was just waking up.
"Pika?" the confused Pokémon said softly at the sight of its trainer's tear-stained face.
"Oh, Pikachu…oh, Pikachu…" Ash sobbed into the soft yellow fur on his Pokémon's back.
"Pika." Pikachu laid its paw atop Ash's hand, trying to comfort its upset trainer.
But the tender gesture made Ash cry even harder. "Oh, Pikachu…"
Professor Birch, who had been in the kitchen cleaning up the breakfast dishes, overheard Ash's sobbing. Figuring the boy needed some time alone to deal with his grief, he quietly shut the door to the recovery room. With a heavy heart, he headed back to his laboratory where he discovered that Professor Oak was still on the phone.
"I see you told him," Professor Birch said, picking up the receiver.
"Is Ash all right, Noah?" a worried Professor Oak asked.
"Yeah, but he's pretty broken up about it. I left the two of them alone," he said, gesturing in the direction of the door across the hallway.
"Be sure to let him know that if he needs to talk about this, he can call me anytime - day or night."
"I'll tell him, Professor Oak. It's a damn shame - something like this happening to a young, healthy Pokémon. Ash was telling me about all the battles he and Pikachu had won over breakfast. I'll tell you one thing – if I ever get my hands on the bastards that did this…" Professor Birch said angrily, slamming his fist against the videophone's control panel. The impact caused the video screen to go black, ending their conversation in the process.
On the other end of the line, Professor Oak jumped. His former student had been a wrestler in high school and college, and he almost felt sorry for the poor bastard whose throat Professor Birch wanted to wrap his massive hands around.
But then again, part of him wanted to do the very same thing.
To be continued…