4: Vacation
(This story is based on the day before the first episode of Sun & Moon)
It was another clear night in Pallet Town, with the stars shining bright. All was quiet and warm as the summer air flowed through all the open windows of the small house where a certain Pokémon trainer lives. On that night, one little electric mouse was sound asleep, curled up under the blankets of his trainer's bed. All was at peace and quiet until he awoke to a hand gently jerking his body. "Pikachu, it's time to get up" a voice softly whispered. The mouse rubbed his eyes, confused at the sight of darkness. "Pikapi?" spoke the sleepy mouse. He then saw it was his trainer, Ash who woke him. Ash gently stroked his sensitive ears, calming him down. "I know it's very early in the morning, but I have a surprise for you buddy, since you have been working so hard in battling and helping me get to where I am today" he soothed. "It's gonna be a long journey, we just gotta make it to the airport, and then you can sleep the rest of the way". The tired Pikachu suddenly let out a squeak of excitement, knowing that they are going to travel somewhere. "I'm so glad your excited buddy, let's get going!" Ash announced and scooped up his partner in his arms.
Ash and Pikachu were now outside of their house in a flash, wasting no time and got in Delia's van. "Now Ash, have you made sure you packed everything?" she asked. Ash of course, had learned from his past mistakes of leaving some of his essentials behind which caused some serious consequences. "Yup, I double checked, me and Pikachu are ready to go!" he said in enthusiasm, enough to convince his mom. "Alright, off we go to Alola!" Delia yelled, making Pikachu jump out of his sleeping spot but soon dozed off once again.
It took long enough, about a good hour, until Ash, Pikachu, Delia, and Mr. Mime made it to the Kanto Airport. They were checked in, passed through security, and given tickets to their flight. The small group waited for about a half hour before their flight was boarding. Luckily enough, they were one of the first passengers to board, being seated in the middle of the plane. Not long after, everyone was boarded and ready to depart. Everyone was now excited to finally enjoy a relaxing ride to their destination. However, Pikachu slept through the whole process in his trainer's arms, with nothing to wake him. That was until the plane roared down the runway, accelerating rapidly to achieve flight. The mouse Pokémon awoke to a startling vibration of the plane. "Pikachu?" he said in alarm. "It's okay buddy, we're on the plane now, heading to a special place called Alola!" his trainer replied in excitement. Pikachu looked up at the boy's face and shared his excitement, emulating his joyful smile.
The plane ride was long and quiet for some, but for Ash and Pikachu, every moment was exciting and fun. They both looked out the window of the plane to see a close up sunrise of the warm, glaring sun. The two looked in awe at the amazing sight at such high altitudes. A few minutes later, a flight attendant came over with a tray of various foods. "Here you go Mr. Ketchum, one pinap berry muffin, and some fresh pinap juice, also I have some special Pokémon pellets for that adorable Pikachu of yours!" she spoke in complete enthusiasm. Pikachu blushed when he heard the stranger complimenting his looks. Ash was not expecting such hospitality and quick service to them alone. "Um, thank you ma'am" he said looking at his large portion of food. "Pikachu…" his partner quietly spoke, still in blush as the flight attendant stared down his body. When she walked away, Ash immediately looked back to his mom and Mr. Mime who were already digging in their breakfast. "Mom, what was that about?" he questioned. Delia had taken a few moments to swallow her bite in order to respond. "Oh Ash, didn't you hear? The tickets we received are first class, which means we will be traveling with our bellies full" she quickly replied, taking another bite out of her meal. "What? How did we get them? They must have cost a fortune!" Ash questioned, dumbfounded at the thought of being treated in luxury. "Well luckily, Mimey pulled a few tickets and found they were first class! All thanks to you Mimey" she complimented, turning her attention to the psychic Pokémon. "Mime mime mr. mime!" he said in excitement. Ash rolled his eyes, not surprised one bit when it came to luck with Mr. Mime.
The flight to Alola continued for another few hours with great excitement in the minds of both Ash and Pikachu. To pass the time, they chatted telling each other jokes and wondering what they would do at their destination. Pikachu also found time to take another nap on his trainer's cozy jacket. It was sudden turbulence that woke up Pikachu's slumber, making him jump a foot into the air. "Hey buddy, we are nearly there in just a few more minutes!" Ash announced, sing-songing to the cute mouse. Pikachu gave a squeak of joy before nearly falling off Ash to another quake of turbulence.
The plane made its final descent onto the runway of the Alolan Airport. Once it was docked, all the passengers rushed out, feeling the need to stretch after a long journey. Ash and his group were the first to step out of the plane to see the beautiful horizon of the Alolan beaches and tropical forests. Even the pilot himself came out to breathe in the fresh breeze. As Ash, Delia, Pikachu, and Mr. Mime all walked down the steps, they received many welcomes from the Alolan flight staff and were given flower necklaces as the symbol of Alola.
Once they were out of the airport, a cab was already waiting for their arrival, transporting them to the hotel. Ash and Pikachu looked in awe at the large and luxurious hotel with a large sign indicating the name, "Tapu Paradise". As soon as the cab stopped, Ash slammed the doors open and ran inside, leaving Delia and Mr. Mime to check in their rooms. Delia sighed as she saw her only son roam around the large hallways. "I haven't seen Ash and Pikachu this excited since the start of their journey to Kalos" she said to Mr. Mime, who was already unloading their luggage. "Mime mime, mr. mime!" he spoke casually in his Pokémon chatter. "I guess you're right" Delia instantly responded as if she understood every word the psychic Pokémon said. "It's only a matter of time until my Ash will want to embark on another journey, I know he'll want to stay here and achieve his lifelong dream". With that, she nodded to herself and proceeded to help Mimey out with the luggage.
About an hour later, Ash and Pikachu were all settled in their new room, with Delia and Mr. Mime right next door. Their room had three sections to it, the main bedroom which had a queen sized bed, a mini kitchen with a stove and fridge, and a large bathroom with a jacuzzi. Ash and Pikachu looked in awe at the large bedroom and what could be seen outside its window. The sight of the Alola beaches soothed both their eyes as they gazed at the brightness and beauty of it all.
The first thing that caught Pikachu's eye was a blue rubber ball on the floor. "Pikachu!" squeaked the electric mouse as he ran over to the ball. He then gestured over to his trainer to come see what he found. "You like that ball don't you buddy" Ash laughed as he patted Pikachu on the head. Ash then picked up his partner and once again gazed at the Alolan sunshine while he let him play with his ball. "I already love this place, how about you buddy?" he questioned Pikachu who gave a nod in response. "You know, I'm so lucky that I have such a strong and kind Pokémon like you, we have been together for as long as I can remember". Pikachu looked up and smiled at this, feeling the same way for his trainer. "We have been through so much together and been to so many places region after region, and I wouldn't be where I was now if you weren't there". Ash held his Pikachu closer, wanting him to hear his thoughts. "Thank you buddy, thank you for always being there when I needed you and when I was in danger, I love you" Ash said in great sincerity to his partner. Pikachu cooed in response and gave a ticklish nuzzle on his trainer's cheek. Ash then looked back outside to Pikachu. "How bout we both go to the beach and we can throw your ball around, what do you say buddy?" he shouted in excitement. As if on cue, the electric type squeaked in agreement and jumped on his trainer's shoulder.
Outside their room, Delia and Mr. Mime had an inkling that the two boys would like to spend time at the beach and already packed up. Ash and Pikachu stepped out of their room and saw that they were already waiting to go. "I had a feeling you two would want to get out, well we're all ready!" said Delia, reading the mind of her son.
The walk to the beach only took a few minutes as they were conveniently located next to a boardwalk that led to the ocean. Out of all the excitement that filled the minds of Ash and his family, Pikachu expressed it most of all, letting out a squeak and pointing at all the sights of the ocean horizon. "You're really excited aren't you buddy?" Ash observed, giving his mouse a comfortable pat on the back before heard his response. "Pika Pika Pikachu!" the excited mouse squealed with joy, nuzzling his trainer's face. As soon as they touched the sand, Ash charged playfully towards the ocean, completely forgetting the fact that he had just left Delia and Mr. Mime carrying all the heavy chairs and the umbrella. As much as Pikachu wanted to chase after his trainer, he knew that it was wrong to leave his mother behind and stayed put. Ash looked back and realized what he had done and ran back. "Sorry mom, I guess I got carried away" he spoke apologetically. Delia just rolled her eyes and smiled in forgiveness.
After their umbrella was set up and Ash was overly checked and applied sun cream by Delia, the excited boy ran out towards the sea, gesturing over his partner to follow. Pikachu squeaked in glee and bolted after his trainer. However, the moment his feet hit the sand, the electric Pokémon cried out in pain as the burning hot sand touched his sensitive fur. "Pika pika chu!" he cried, jumping as high as he could to avoid the ground. Ash immediately reacted by sprinting towards his buddy's cries, catching him in mid air. "I got you buddy, what's wrong?" Ash spoke over Pikachu's whimpers. The mouse lifted up his feet, pointing to his soles that were red tinted. Ash understood and started to softly massage his feet, attempting to soothe the aching burn.
"Don't worry Pikachu, let's get you in the water" Ash spoke as he stepped into the crashing waves. The electric mouse cooed as his trainer dipped his feet into the cold ocean water, sending chills. "How does that feel buddy?" Ash said as he slowly lowered him into the water. The mouse gave a squeak of approval and started to splash his trainer. This was caught on as Ash responded by swimming after the cheeky little mouse. "You won't get away from me, here I come!" the trainer sing-songed as he got out his goggles and prepared to dive. Ash then swam underwater over the ripples of the ocean after Pikachu, who was paddling along, unaware of what was to come up.
The boy was now in sight of little mouse feet and paws and hastily resurfaced to catch him. Pikachu however felt his trainer touching his feet and expecting him to pounce. At the last second, Pikachu used his tail to boost himself up and jump over Ash who at this point resurfaced to see this stunt. The boy was in awe at how far he jumped, nearly eight feet to be exact. "Nice jump, I had no idea you could do that!" Ash praised the electric type. Pikachu gave a squeak of affection after hearing kind words from his trainer.
Pikachu then started to notice that his best friend appeared smaller than before. The electric mouse attempted to paddle over to him with all his might, but Ash was still shrinking as he continued to paddle harder. He then heard his trainer calling out to him in a worried tone, making the mouse realize that he was caught in the ocean's strong current and was drifting away! Pikachu began to panic, using all his energy to swim against the current as he called back to Ash. "Pikapi!" he shrieked in distress, trying to avoid drowning from the strong ripples pulling on him.
All of the joy and happiness left Ash when he saw his buddy being swept away by mother nature. The only thing he could think about was his sweet and innocent Pikachu, hearing his cries for help. "I'm coming buddy!" he yelled, while not sparing a millisecond to swim after him. The electric mouse was now desperate to keep his head up as the water became rougher. He was losing energy and began to feel tired of paddling. Ash could sense this and was also feeling tired as his swimming wasn't getting him any closer to Pikachu. Despite this, Ash didn't care, he had to keep trying to save his favorite Pokémon.
The beach wasn't all that crowded, but for the few people and Pokémon that were there saw the little Pikachu in distress. Luckily, a life guard saw the scene and called out his water type Pokemon to swim after him. It was a giant Lapras that went exceedingly fast for its size, swimming out against the waves as if they were little splashes of water. The Lapras soon was in reach of Pikachu, placing him on its turtle-like back. The exhausted Pikachu laid down to catch his breath after nearly being swallowed by the sea.
He then looked out to his trainer who once again seemed to be getting smaller. The mouse called out to him, getting no response. However Ash tried to hear his buddy's squeak and tried to respond, but had a mouth full of the salty ocean water that was pulling him in all directions. "Pik-aa--ch--" he spit out, while struggling to keep himself afloat. Pikachu realized that his trainer was in trouble, he couldn't let the ocean swallow his best friend. He then spoke to the Lapras he was riding on to save the human boy. In an instant, Lapras shot off after the drowning boy with Pikachu ready to pull him up to safety.
The rough current was fast, but Lapras was faster, easily catching up to Ash who at this point only had the tip of his face on the surface. When Pikachu was close enough, he reached his tail at Ash, gesturing him to grab it while he still had consciousness. Ash immediately grabbed ahold of his best buddy's tail, using all of his strength to pull up to safety. Lapras helped out with its huge flippers that covered nearly Ash's entire body, gently resting him on the warm sand.
Ash was motionless as he lay nearly unconscious with his eyes staring into the sky. The lifeguard caught up with them, commanding his Pokémon to use it's healing ability to help Ash recover. Pikachu wanted to help too, so he gently nuzzled his trainer's face in affection. "Pikapi" the mouse whispered, anticipating to hear some kind of response. Ash was silent at first which made Pikachu worry, but he managed to get a word out, calling Pikachu's name.
As soon as Lapras ceased its healing ability, Ash finally opened his eyes completely, looking around to see his mother, Mr. Mime, and Pikachu all staring at him as he got his bearings. "Ash you're okay! Thank goodness, you gave me a heart attack!" Delia scolded her only son. Ash then realized that his past actions nearly got him killed in trying to save Pikachu. "I'm sorry Mom, I'll be more careful from now on" he replied, trying to convince her. Delia's worried expression did not go away, but she seemed content to hear those words from him. "I'm just happy you're okay, I love you" she spoke in deep affection, moving closer towards him for a hug. Pikachu also joined in, squeezing in between Ash and Delia.
When they broke out of their bonding, Delia quickly thanked the lifeguard and Lapras for saving her son. The group then walked back to their seats, with Ash cuddling up with Pikachu. The two were utterly worn out after experiencing a life threatening event. "Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" questioned Ash as he stroked his buddy's fur. "Pika pika" he chirped in response as he rubbed his body into his trainer's chest. "You know, we could have been in trouble back there, especially if you weren't there to rescue me" he commented, "But I know you will always come to my rescue, because we're best friends right?". Pikachu's expression shifted from tired, to deep affection, as he nuzzled and licked his trainer's cheek in approval of his question.
"Piiikapiii" he squeaked in sincerity. Ash felt his love and responded to it by cradling the small mouse, kissing him on his forehead. "I love you buddy" he whispered as he began to feel drowsy. "Pika pikachu Pikapi" the electric type replied, also feeling drowsy. The two dozed off under the Alolan sun, dreaming of happy memories and new adventures together. They may not know it yet, but a new adventure is about to begin, one filled with Pikachu and other new friends in the sunny islands of Alola. But no matter where they go or what happens, Ash and Pikachu will always be there for each other, anywhere, everywhere, and beyond!