Back in Pallet Town, Delia was busy with her morning housecleaning when a knock at the door interrupted her dusting.
"Mimie, would you…?" She then saw that her Pokémon was busy with the vacuuming, so she decided to answer the door herself. Delia gasped at the sight of her son and his Pokémon standing on her front doorstep.
"Hi, Mom," Ash smiled slightly. "Pikachu and I decided to come back to Pallet for a little while. We kinda missed your cooking."
"Oh…oh, Ash…my poor baby." Delia's eyes filled with tears as she embraced her son. "Oh, Pikachu…you poor little thing," Delia's voiced trembled as she very gently lifted the Pokémon off of her son's shoulder, afraid she would kill the poor creature if she were too rough. With tears streaming down her face, she carefully hugged the Pokémon as if it were made of glass, then carried it over to the sofa and gently placed it atop the softest pillow in the house.
"Pika?" the Pokémon said in confusion as Delia covered it with a blanket.
Ash watched the entire scene in disbelief. "Mom, what are you doing?"
"Shh, Ash," Delia admonished her son. "Pikachu needs to rest. He's had a long, tiring journey and the last thing in the world he needs right now is any additional stress."
Ash then understood what was going on. "Professor Oak told you about Pikachu, didn't he?"
Delia nodded. "Matter of fact, let's take Pikachu upstairs. I think he'll be more comfortable in your bed – the mattress is much softer than the couch. And it'll be quieter upstairs too." She carefully lifted the puzzled-looking Pokémon and carried it upstairs, making sure not to jostle it even once.
"There, Pikachu," Delia smiled as soon as she had tucked the Pokémon into the bottom bunk of Ash's bed. "Now you just lie there quietly and get some rest. Do you need anything?"
"Well, Pikachu and I could both use something to eat," Ash answered. "Do you have any Poké Chow?"
"Poké Chow? I'm not sure if Pikachu should be eating that in his condition. Maybe I should call Sam…Professor Oak and see if that's okay," Delia said, heading for the videophone downstairs.
"Mom, Pikachu eats Poké Chow all the time. He ate it at Professor Birch's lab," Ash called down after her.
"Yes, but given the circumstances, maybe Pikachu needs a special diet. I'll give Professor Oak a call right now and ask him about it."
Ash sighed and sat down on the bed next to his confused-looking Pokémon.
"Pika? Pikachu?" ("Why do I have to rest now? And why is your mom acting so strange?")
Ash began stroking Pikachu's ears and then caught sight of the windmill lazily spinning atop the hill outside his window.
"C'mon, Pikachu," Ash said, gathering up his Pokémon. "Let's go see Professor Oak ourselves."
-
"Hello, Ash," Professor Oak smiled slightly as the boy and his Pokémon came into the lab. "I just got off the phone with your mother. I must admit I was rather surprised to find out that you weren't in Hoenn anymore."
"I didn't see the point in staying there with everything that's gone on," Ash replied. "Besides, I thought Pikachu might be happier here…ya' know what I mean?"
"I do, Ash," Professor Oak said, reaching out and scratching the Pokémon's pointy ears affectionately. "How are you feeling, Pikachu?"
"Pika," the Pokémon sighed happily, shutting its eyes in pleasure at Professor Oak's touch.
"Don't worry. I told Deli…your mother what Pikachu could and couldn't have," Professor Oak told the boy. "And it's perfectly all right for Pikachu to have Poké Chow or ketchup or whatever he wants. Whatever makes Pikachu happy."
"That's good," Ash said, gently setting Pikachu down on Professor Oak's desk. "Maybe that way Mom won't worry so much." Ash reached inside the pocket of his jacket, pulled out a handful of Poké Chow nuggets, and handed them to Pikachu, who began to nibble them eagerly. "Professor, could you take a look at Pikachu? See if maybe there's anything you can do to help him? Please?"
Even though Professor Oak knew that there really wasn't anything he could do for Pikachu, he didn't have the heart to turn down Ash's request.
"Of course, Ash. I'll go get my stethoscope." As Professor Oak disappeared into the adjacent Pokémon examination room in search of his medical instruments, the videophone rang.
"Hey, Professor…should I get that?" Ash called out.
"If you would, please, Ash," Professor Oak called back. "Muk's been playing back here again and knocked over a few things. It'll be a couple of minutes."
Ash picked up the receiver, and his eyes widened when he saw who the caller was.
"Misty?"
The girl was equally stunned to see who was on the other end of the line. "Ash? Is that you?"
"Yeah, Misty. It's me."
"What are you doing at Professor Oak's?" the surprised girl asked. "How come you're not in Hoenn?"
"I…it's kind of a long story, Misty," Ash said, glancing down at Pikachu.
Misty broke into a grin. "Well, I'm sure glad to see you. Are you going to be staying in Pallet for a while?"
"Dunno. Probably a while," Ash replied, feeding Pikachu another nugget of Poké Chow.
"I have so much to tell you," Misty said eagerly. "Stay put there for a while. I was planning on bringing Togepi over for a play date with Phanpy. I'll close down the Cerulean City Gym for the afternoon and come over. I'll take my bike," Misty said with a wink. "See you later."
"Who was that, Ash?" Professor Oak asked as he came back into the room.
"Misty," Ash replied. "She said she was bringing over Togepi to play with Phanpy."
"Toge…? Oh yes, I forgot all about it." Professor Oak reached inside the pocket of his lab coat and brought out his stethoscope. "Come here, Pikachu. Let's have a listen and see what's going on with you."
Ash watched anxiously as Professor Oak listened carefully to the Pokémon's heart.
"How does Pikachu's heart sound, Professor Oak?" Ash asked, hoping that perhaps Pikachu's condition would've improved upon their return to Pallet.
"I wish I had good news for you, Ash," Professor Oak said with a sigh, removing the stethoscope's earpieces. "But I don't."
"Oh." Ash's face fell.
"Why don't you take Pikachu outside and let him visit with all his old friends?" Professor Oak suggested, handing Pikachu back to Ash. "I think he might like that. And I know that Pikachu will be happy to see Misty and Togepi again when they get here. And Tracey's outside feeding the Pokémon – he'll like to visit with Pikachu too."
"Oh…okay," Ash said dejectedly. He had been hoping that Professor Oak was going to tell him that Pikachu was all better, that Professor Birch had been wrong, that he had discovered a miraculous cure for Pikachu's ailment, that Pikachu wasn't really dying after all.
"And I think you might benefit from visiting with your old friends too, Ash," Professor Oak said. "When Misty gets here, I'll send her in your direction."
"Thanks, Professor," Ash said with a disappointed sigh. "Come on, Pikachu. Let's go outside."
-
Ash sat in the shade of a huge maple tree and watched as Pikachu chatted with its old friend Bulbasaur, who was now the overseer of the Oak Pokémon Preserve.
"Bulba?" ("And Ash told you to stop the battle?") the Pokémon said incredulously.
"Pikachu. Pi-pika-pi." ("Yeah. Everyone's been acting really weird lately.")
"Bulba? Bulbasaur?" ("Weird? What do you mean?")
"Pika-pikachu. Pika-pi. Pika. Pikachu." ("Ash has been crying a lot. He's really sad about something. Ash's mom is sad too. Even Professor Oak seemed like something was bothering him.")
"Bulbasaur?" ("Wonder what's going on?")
"Pikachu. Pi…" ("I don't know. But…") The Pokémon stopped, sniffed the air for a moment, and went dashing off in the other direction.
"Hey, Pikachu, slow down!" Ash cried in alarm as the Pokémon sped past him. "It's not good for…"
"Hello, Pikachu!" a female voice cried happily.
Ash turned around and saw Misty standing behind him. The girl knelt down and gave Pikachu, who was looking up at her with a big smile on its face, a hug.
"Oh, I missed you so much, Pikachu," Misty said cheerfully. "And Togepi did too!" The little egg-like Pokémon in Misty's arms chirruped happily in agreement. "And I missed you too, Ash."
"Hi, Mist," Ash smiled slightly. "How's your bike working now?"
"Great," the girl replied, leaning it against a nearby tree. "The person Nurse Joy had repair it did a great job."
"That's good," Ash replied in a voice that indicated that wasn't how he felt.
Misty's smile faded, and she put Togepi down on the ground next to Pikachu. "Togepi, go play with Pikachu and Bulbasaur for a little while, then we'll go find Phanpy."
"Prii," the baby Pokémon replied, toddling off in the direction of the two older Pokémon.
"Ash, is something wrong?" Misty asked, concerned, as she sat down next to him.
"What makes you think something's wrong, Misty?" Ash replied unconvincingly.
"Because I've known you for a long time, and I know when something's bothering you," Misty replied. "I was kind of worried when you came back from Hoenn so suddenly. Why did you come back?"
"Pikachu's dying, Misty," Ash replied quietly.
"Dying?" Misty gasped in disbelief. "What are you talking about, Ash?"
"Not so loud, Misty!" Ash hissed. "I don't want to scare Pikachu."
"Scare Pika…? Ash, you'd better tell me what's going on right now," Misty demanded, although in a quieter voice than before.
"It's all Team Rocket's fault," Ash said angrily, picking up a pebble and flinging it savagely into a nearby puddle. "Them and their stupid magnet. They tried to trap Pikachu in a magnetic field and messed up his body's electrical system."
"Electrical system?" Misty glanced over at where the three Pokémon were happily playing a game of hide-and-seek. "But Pikachu looks okay to me."
"It's not on the outside, Misty. It's on the inside. That magnet messed up Pikachu's heart so that it's not beating right. And Professor Birch – he's the professor in Littleroot Town – couldn't fix it. And Professor Oak can't, either."
"They can't?" Misty echoed in disbelief.
"No. Professor Oak said that the only thing that'd work is a pacemaker, but he said that the electricity in Pikachu's body would mess it up. There's nothing anyone can do, Mist."
"I…I can't believe it," Misty said, stunned by her friend's sobering news. "Did…did Professor Oak say how long Pikachu was going to…?"
"Couple of months, as long as Pikachu takes it easy. That's why I didn't tell him."
"You didn't tell him?" Misty exclaimed. "Ash, Pikachu has a right to know what's going on!"
"It's not that easy, Misty. Professor Oak said that emotional shock – like finding out that you're gonna die soon – could also cause Pikachu to…to…" Ash's voice began to quaver. "That's why you've gotta promise me that you won't say anything to Pikachu, Misty. I want him to enjoy the time he's got left."
"I won't say anything, Ash," Misty said, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.
"Mist, what am I gonna do?" Ash's eyes began to fill with tears. "What am I gonna do without Pikachu, Misty? He's my best friend. I don't want him to…to…"
Misty gently took Ash into her arms, and the boy started sobbing uncontrollably.
"Oh, Misty…what am I gonna do?" Ash wept into the warmth of the girl's neck. "What am I gonna do?"
"Shh, Ash. It's okay," Misty said reassuringly as she hugged him closer and began stroking his back. "Just cry. Just go ahead and cry."
And then her tears started too.
To be continued…