3: Bedsheet Trauma
"Think fast buddy!" hollered Ash as he launched a frisbee straight at Pikachu. "Pika!" squeaked the electric mouse, catching it with his tail. The two thought it would be a nice idea to embrace the bright sunny afternoon. Ash and Pikachu have been on the road for quite some time, battling every trainer that comes down their path. However, Ash had come to notice that Pikachu was in a debilitated state after all the opponents he faced which led to the decision to take a break. Pikachu had actually been wanting Ash to settle down and start bonding with him, as Ash can be very worked up in the middle of an intense battle.
The two were now back at Ash's childhood home in Pallet Town, the perfect place to unwind and relax. "Nice catch buddy, I can't keep up with you!" Ash says, complementing his Pikachu. He gave a squeak of affection and beamed at his trainer. All of a sudden, the mouse charged straight into Ash's arms, nuzzling his smooth cheeks. "Pikaaaa!" he cooed, trying to express his loving content in Ash's arms. "Wow! all those battles using Iron Tail, no wonder you could fling that frisbee!" praised Ash. "You made it feel like it was nothing but ash… oh wait-" he was cut off by the squeaking laughter of Pikachu at the silly pun. Ash then realized and joined the laughter while running his fingers through Pikachu's fur.
The duo were having a blast outside in the sunny weather, until they saw big black clouds on the horizon, approaching their place of play. All of a sudden, Ash's mother comes out the back door and announces that a severe thunderstorm was about to arrive in Pallet Town. Ash frowned when he heard this, causing Pikachu to copy his expression. The two went inside to stare out the window of the growing storm. "Man, another storm, I hate thunderstorms! Always ruining a perfect sunny day" moaned Ash. Pikachu looked at him, not responding and looked back at the storm. Ash noticed Pikachu looking nervous as he gazed at the darkening sky. "Hey, everything okay?" Ash soothed. Still no response, making him assume that the mouse is frightened. Ash chuckled out loud, "Aww, you're too scared of a little storm?". Pikachu was in no mood to be teased as his face grew more distraught. His trainer was now puzzled at Pikachu's concern, usually electric type Pokémon like the thunder and lightning, as it is a symbol of their kind. However this one Pikachu had no intentions of feeling content as the wind picked up outside, the sky now engulfed by dark storm clouds.
Suddenly, the first clap of thunder was heard, along with an amber alert that echoed throughout the entire house. This made Pikachu let out a squeak of fear and ran upstairs as fast as he could. Ash heard the patter of little feet and looked back to see that Pikachu had run for the hills. Ash, annoyed at his buddy's cowardness, rolled his eyes and ran after him.
When he made it up the steps, he scanned the small hallway for any sign of Pikachu. He then heard the quiet sounds of sobbing coming from his bedroom and peered over at where he thought it came from. Ash slowly stepped into the room and looked over at his bed, noticing a small hump in the middle of the bedsheets. He came up quietly and attempted to crawl under the covers, but was stopped when he was unexpectedly zapped by a shot of electricity. Pikachu was terrified and his sobbing grew louder. "Buddy, it's me, Ash, you don't have to be frightened…" Ash soothed but was cut off by the booming sound of thunder which sent chills down his spine. In an instant, he reacted to this by burying himself under the bed covers with Pikachu. Pikachu winced at the bright flashes of lightning right flashes of lightning. "Pikachu pi…" he muttered in fear, wanting Ash to hold him. He then crawled on Ash and buried his face into his arms. Ash was shocked that Pikachu could be so frightened by a thunderstorm but did what he could to comfort the little mouse.
Ash began stroking his fur and bracing his haunches and feet so that he was secure. "Shhhh, just breathe, it's okay, you're safe with me" he whispered to the crying electric type. Pikachu started to coo as the soft voice of Ash soothed his whole body. He then tried to relax by taking big breaths which helped him calm down. Ash held him close and looked to his teary eyed face, "Buddy, why are you so scared of this storm?" he asked, "You usually don't seem to mind thunderstorms". Pikachu looked up to Ash before burying his face in his chest. "Pikapi pika chuuuu…" he squeaked in saddened words. Ash thought for a moment, then came up with what Pikachu was feeling. "You remember the day we first met huh?" He said searching for Pikachu's feelings, "Yeah, that was a scary thunderstorm while being attacked by that flock of Spearow". Pikachu looked up to his trainer, curious about where he was going with this. "Awww, I know it was scary, but that is my happiest memory of you where we became best friends", "I like thunderstorms now, because they remind me of you". Pikachu loved every word Ash said and nuzzled his trainer's cheek. "You know buddy, the world is not as scary as you think" he lectured, "You just got to embrace the beauty of it and think of thunderstorms as a symbol of your own thunderbolt!". Pikachu perked up when he heard this, he always felt proud whenever someone complimented his thunderbolt attack. "Pika pika!" he chimed. Ash patted his head as he held him close. "You know if you're still scared, I will always protect you, I love you buddy" he asserted in deep love for his friend. The two gave a hug to each other as they cuddled under the bedsheets.
Another clap of thunder sounded, but this time, Pikachu was no longer scared and shouted back at the sound. Ash laughed at his silly reaction, making Pikachu scratch his neck in embarrassment. Suddenly, a force pushed the bedsheets reaching for Pikachu. He did not realize this until he felt something poke his foot. "Pikapi?" he questioned Ash who had just started to notice his concern. "What is it buddy?" Ash spoke softly. Pikachu pointed to where he had been touched and tapped on his foot. "Something touched you?" Ash guessed with Pikachu nodding. The same force reached out for Pikachu again, this time, Ash seeing it and grabbed Pikachu away from its grasp just in time. Suddenly, the whole bedsheet started to shake, covering Ash and Pikachu. "Pikachu!" Pikachu squeaked in fear and hid in Ash's arms. Ash then pushed with all his might to escape the bedsheets with great difficulty, but eventually he found himself out of his bed.
The room was now pitchblack, barely being able to see Pikachu who had now crawled out of Ash's arms. "This storm must have been pretty bad to completely darken the sky." Ash thought. He then noticed Pikachu nudging him. "Pika pi pi ka" he whimpered. Ash gently patted him on the head, understanding how he felt. "It's okay buddy, just stay near me and we'll get out of here" he whispered, not wanting to draw attention to whatever was in there with them. They began to tiptoe forward, looking for the door which they could not see. The room was dead silent, as all that could be heard was Pikachu's pattering feet, lightly tapping across the wooden floor. This made him a bit unsettled as he could no longer hear Ash that was following behind him. "Pikapi?" he whispered out loud, but no answer came. Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared in front of him, looking darker than the already pitch black room. Pikachu began to panic and tried to stand his ground, but fear got the best of him and he ran for it. "PIKAPI!" he squealed as he ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He eventually ended up back in Ash's bed and buried himself into the bedsheets to hide from the shadow that lurked outside. "(Oh Ash, where are you? I bet the monster took him.)" he thought to himself.
As Pikachu thought this night could not get any worse, he could feel something entering the bedsheets after him with the whole bed shaking. Pikachu ran to the corner of the bed and curled himself up in terror. The shadow figure approached him and seemed to have grown larger than before. Pikachu was out of options, here stood a monster about to bring terror to this poor innocent mouse. Pikachu could not think of anything else but to stare at the terror and try to persuade it not to take him. "Pikapika pi…" he desperately squeaked while trying to give cute puppy-like eyes to the evil. The shadow moved closer and closer until he felt it touch him. Pikachu flinched for a moment, but then something felt familiar when he was lifted off the ground. He slowly and cautiously peaked his eyes open to see his best friend cradling him in his arms. "Pikapi!" he shouted, embracing the warmth of Ash. "Shhhhh, it's alright buddy, you're safe with me now" Ash soothed his little mouse Pokémon. Pikachu cooed in relief as he buried his head into Ash's chest.
When everything seemed to be alright, the bedsheets yet again started to twitch violently, making Pikachu frightened as ever. "Pika Pika Pi!" he shouted in distress, forcing Ash to hide him in his jacket. "It's okay buddy, I've got you!" Ash yelled as he struggled to protect his little mouse from the evil force. Suddenly, the twitching stopped again, leaving both Ash and Pikachu desperate to escape. Ash knew that he had to think of something other than covering up Pikachu to hide from the forces of evil. "Pikachu, I think I have a plan to get us out of here" he announced, "We have to jump out in different directions, so one of us can push the bedsheets out and on the floor, then we can get out of here, what do you say buddy?". Pikachu was hesitant at first, but there didn't seem to be any other option than listening to his best friend. "Pika" he quietly chirped and prepared himself to run full force out of the bedsheets. "Okay buddy" Ash whispered, "Ready, set, go!".
The two lunged forward in opposite directions, making them both fall off the bed. Pikachu found himself on the cold wooden floor. Getting to his feet, he saw something come out of the shadows that approached him. He winced as it came out, covered in white and looked like it had evil eyes, it was a ghost alright. Pikachu spared no time to see what it would do and ran to another blanket where he wrapped himself up, shielding from what was on the outside. He heard the ghost-like object twitch and yell in distress in a muffled tone. It almost sounded like a human, but not quite as the sounds echoed through the room.
Pikachu was feeling many things, frightened, worried, tired, but now a new feeling was rising up. That feeling was anger, pure rage of not being able to escape this nightmare and unable to rescue his best friend. All he wanted to do was for everything to return to normal, and be with Ash again. This was all he could think about, as he suddenly began collecting large amounts of energy that could be seen by his sparking red cheeks. He was willing to use up all his remaining energy to blast the largest thunderbolt he could ever form. "Pika, pika, pika…" he began to whisper as he charged up his electricity. He then became louder and louder until he was screaming at the top of his lungs. "PIKA, PIKA, PIKA, CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" He shouted, nearly exploding in electricity as the whole room went white.
The darkness was now all engulfed by the thunderous and blinding light of Pikachu. At that moment, he looked all around the room for his Ash. He scanned for any sign of movement when suddenly, he saw something move from under the bedsheets. It was twitching, flailing, and struggling to break free from the thick layers of wool. Pikachu then realized that maybe all of this was a part of his imagination and that the scary, evil ghost was Ash all along trying to protect him.
When he ran out of thunder, nearly all his energy was released from him and could no longer move. Pikachu, still under the blanket, could do nothing to escape the thick layers of darkness that covered him. Pikachu felt so weak, powerless against his surroundings, he no longer had the energy to escape and return to Ash. All he could do now, was softly weep which is what he did. He began to close his eyes and faint when suddenly, he felt movement. He then peeked outside to see that the darkness was now light. It took him no time to realize that he was finally out of the bedsheets, and somehow floating above the ground. He then felt his body being turned around to face an angel who suddenly healed him from all his pain and distress. That angel was his trainer, Ash who once again saved him from nearly suffocating under the thick bed sheets.
Ash put a soft hand on his little mouse and lightly stroked his fur. "Pikachu, are you alright? I got caught under the bedsheets and tried to find you" he softly explained. Pikachu didn't know if he was alright, but at least he was back with his trainer, and that is all that matters. All was now right in the world, and nothing could ever defy that.