Chapter 2 – Family Reunions
A/N: Thank you for all the views everyone! This story might not be as popular as my other story, Chosen of the Phoenix, but that's understandable, due to the difference in the popularity of fandoms. I'd like to give a special thanks to PuppyProngs for favoriting this story (as you're the only one that did so) and I hope we get more favorites, alerts, and reviews in the future! Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: We do not own Pokémon, nor will we ever own it.
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Recap:
"Goodbye, Pikachu," the young boy said, looking more vulnerable than any of his Pokémon had ever seen him, "I'll miss you, buddy. Go ahead and live a good life with all your friends now."
As he spoke, he began shaking. "And just remember, that I'll never forget you as long as you never forget me!" With this final statement, a single sparkle could be seen dropping from one of his now-visible eyes onto Pikachu's old pokéball, leaving a drop of moisture on it.
"Have fun now, Pikachu!" he yelled, running into the Pokémon Center, trying to hide the rest of his oncoming tears.
Reaching towards him, but stopping short, Pikachu called out to him with his own final farewell instead. "Pika Pi! Pika, chu! Goodbye Ash, I'll miss you too!"
Watching his ex-trainer until he disappeared completely into the Pokémon Center, Pikachu looked towards the now-setting sun, wondering what to do next.
"I'll miss you too…"
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After staring dejectedly at the Pokémon Center doors for a few moments, Pikachu sighed and glanced around. Noticing the absence of his closest friend on the team, Charmander, he turned to Squirtle and asked, "Hey Squirtle, do you know where Charmander is? Did he already run off?" Pikachu already knew the answers to the questions he was asking, but he still held onto the small glimmer of hope that it would be easy to find his friend. However, he already knew that his friend would never abandon them in such a way, and that the unfavorable alternative must be true.
"No, I think he's with Professor Oak back with all the other Pokémon. He'll probably get released from there," Squirtle told Pikachu, unhappy with having to crush his friend's hopes.
Not knowing the way to Professor Oak's Laboratory, Pikachu instead chose to find his family, instead. "Oh, okay. Well, I guess this is goodbye Squirtle. Maybe we'll see each other again someday."
Following that short farewell, he ran off into the woods, not waiting for a response from the blue turtle.
"Yeah, bye…" the Tiny Turtle Pokémon said, a little too late.
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Meanwhile in the Pokémon Center, Ash was having a solemn conversation with Professor Oak over the video phone.
"Hey, Professor, could you release all of my Pokémon for me? Apparently it's against the law to be a trainer now," Ash said, all traces of his once happy-go-lucky nature erased from his face.
With a sad smile, the Professor responded, "Sure Ash, I'll do that for you. Consider it done."
"Thanks. I think I'll start heading home tomorrow, too. Since the whole trainer thing didn't work and all."
"That's a good idea Ash. Well, I guess I'll see you soon then. Have a safe trip," were the old man's last words before he hung up on the video phone. Sighing, the teenager wondered what he would do now that he no longer had a dream to follow.
From then on, there would be no such thing as a Pokémon Master.
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Looking at the many Pokémon before him, the ex-Pokémon Professor sighed. It was such a terrible thing for Ash to have to go through, especially at such a young age. He was so attached to all his Pokémon, and he went through life with the full intention of becoming a Pokémon Master, and that would be his life. Without that dream, the young boy would be lost and disheartened, perhaps even fall into a depression. However, the most he could hope for is that Ash would find a new dream and follow it with the same amount of determination as he did with this one.
Giving the Pokémon one final glance, he finally began to go through the release process with each and every one of them. As they were released, each one went in a seemingly random direction, but by the confidence in their step, it was apparent that they knew exactly where they were going.
Finally, the aged man got to Charmander. It was a rather uneventful release, and before either of them knew it, the small fire lizard was now considered a wild Pokémon.
"Well, I suppose you should head off to your family now. I'm sure it will be a happy and long-awaited reunion," was the professor's feeble goodbye.
Nodding, Charmander left towards the beach south of Palette Town, intending to ask a water-type Pokémon for a ride.
When he got there, he was slightly surprised when a Lapras just popped out from under the surface of the water. "Hello," the large Pokémon greeted kindly, "I'm part of something called the Pokémon Ferry Service, of PFS for short. Because of all the Pokémon that are being released from their masters due to that new rule, everyone is returning home, to the Legendary Continents."
"The Legendary Continents?"
"Yes, the Legendary Continents. They are various lands split up into separate kingdoms or domains, whichever you may call them. Each domain is ruled by a separate Legendary Pokémon, however some of the stronger ones rule over several domains because of their superiority over the Legendaries that rule the separate parts. The population in them has begun to dwindle, however, as more and more Pokémon desire the companionship of humans, and thus travel to the human regions for that very reason. Your parents must have taken you here when you were very young for you to not remember that," the Lapras explained patiently.
"Yeah, all I remember is what home looks like and my parents telling me what the place is called. It was called Mt. Firecrest. Do you know where that is?" came Charmander's hopeful inquiry.
The Lapras indignantly replied, "Hmf. Who do you take me for? Of course I know where Mt. Firecrest is! It lies in the center Wildfire Plains, commanded by a Lord of Fire, Entei. Wildfire Plains is one of three domains within the Continent of the Phoenix. I can take you to the shores of Wildfire Plains in no time at all, but you'll have to travel to Mt. Firecrest on your own once I drop you off."
"Really? That would be great! I can get home easily from there!" Charmander yelled excitedly.
Suddenly changing to a worried tone, the ferrying Pokémon said, "Yes, but do be careful. I heard there's a war brewing between two of the domains in the Continent of the Phoenix, but I don't know who it's between. You should be fine travelling through Wildfire Plains, though, since you're a fire type, but be extra cautious when venturing to other lands."
"Okay!" the fire lizard said distractedly, not actually paying any attention to Lapras's words in his glee at being able to see his family once again.
After jumping onto the PFS member's back, they headed off into the distance, without a single glance towards the fading landscape of the Kanto Region.
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Riding along the ocean's waters on the back of another Lapras, this one female, Pikachu sat on her back, watching the easily-visible stars. It wasn't often that he got the opportunity to see them, as he was usually near or in a city at night when he was with Ash.
Ash… he missed him, a lot. And he was going to miss him even more, but he had to let go. There was no changing that new human law, and Pikachu didn't want his previous trainer to be scorned by his kin.
However, the one he was really worried about was Charmander. They were released quite a fair distance away from each other, and the likeliness wasn't high that they would both be headed towards the Continent of the Phoenix. There were plenty of other fire-type paradises for his best friend to live in, ones that were more rocky than Wildfire Plains. If he knew anything about the fire lizard evolutionary line, it was that they preferred rocky climates to the more flat ones.
Still, it was a tempting idea, but Pikachu needed to find his family first, since he hadn't seen any of them for most of his life. Maybe afterwards, he would go hunt for his long-time buddy.
Wanting to get his mind off the slightly depressing subject, red-cheeked mouse decided to chat with his only companion at the moment.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, my name's Pikachu. What's yours?"
Looking amused, the Lapras responded, "Ah, so you must be a trainer's Pokémon, which would explain why you're so far away from home. To answer your question, my name is Siali. I was born and raised in the wild, which is why I have an actual name, rather than just the title of my species."
"Oh, really? What else is there to living in the wild?" questioned Pikachu, ready to learn more about his new life.
"Well, you already know about the division of land, and how the different domains are ruled by the various Legendary Pokémon. However, most of the similarly grouped Pokémon have domains near one another. For example, the Continent of the Phoenix is ruled by Ho-oh, which is where the continent's name comes from, and the three legendary beasts, whom Ho-oh rules over, command the three domains of the continent. Entei rules over Wildfire Plains, a mostly flat landscape that is prone to many fires, with a single volcano in the center that erupts frequently. Raikou commands Thunderclap Valley, which is consistently wrought with powerful thunderstorms, some of the most electrifying there are. Then there is Suicune, who commands The Waterchill Mountains, the coldest area of the continent, and it is dotted with many freshwater lakes that lie on its mountainous terrain. Many other continents and islands exist, also ruled over by the Legendary Pokémon, but this will most likely be the only one you ever visit. Especially since most of the domains have conditions favorable to a single type, and only a few are favorable for fire-type Pokémon. I myself live on the shores of Suicune's domain," the Transport Pokémon lectured.
As Lapras continued to tell Pikachu about the various wonders of the world of wild Pokémon, they drew closer and closer to Thunderclap Valley until they finally arrived at the shores of the continent, near Pikachu's home, Thunderstorm Forest.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," said Pikachu with a saddened tone.
"Yes, but if you need me, I'll be on the shores of Suicune's territory. But do be careful, I heard there's a bit of a conflict going on between the domains of the Continent of the Phoenix at the moment, but you should be fine inside of Lord Raikou's domain," Lapras warned.
"Okay, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Pikachu responded while bounding away, "bye!"
"Farewell." And with that small goodbye, the two Pokémon went their separate ways. Eventually, after about a half an hour of running, the small yellow mouse arrived at his home, Thunderstorm Forest. He could tell that many Pokémon lived in here besides just Pikachu, but he'd take the time to figure out his environment later. His family comes first.
He traveled further into the forest, searching, only stopping when he hears the rustling of bushes a little ahead of him.
"Hello? Anybody there?" the frightened Pokémon questioned warily. His only response was more shaking from the bush.
"Who are you? Come on out, whoever you are!" The bush continued to shake, until the head of a small Pikachu popped out.
Tilting her head in curiosity, the baby Pikachu questioned, "Hello? Who're you? I've never seen you around before. Are you an outsider? Are you here to take our land? If you are, we're just gonna have to get rid of you then," she aggressively ended her interrogation.
Panicking at her accusations, Pikachu franticly explained, "Oh no! None of that, I don't want to take your land away. You see, I was actually just released by my trainer because of a new human law that forbids having Pokémon with you. But I remembered my parents telling me when I was really young, before I was captured, that I was from a clan in a place called Thunderstorm Forest. So I thought I'd just return home since I have nowhere else to go now."
"Really? Well, I'll let everyone else tell if you're bad or not. But you seem nice enough to me!" the baby yelled in a happy-go-lucky manner. "Follow me!" The mini electric mouse ran off at his command, prompting Pikachu to follow her through the thick foliage of the forest.
Eventually, they arrived in a clearing filled with dozens of Pikachu, all seeming to be friendly. Upon the crowd noticing their arrival, however, everything grew silent. The entire clan of Pikachu starred at the new arrivals accusingly, though for different reasons.
Finally, what appeared to be the leader of the clan walked up toward Pikachu, and offered his tail without a single word spoken.
In response to this gesture, the foreign arrival starred at the other Pikachu dumbly for a second, wondering what he was doing. Eventually, it dawned on him that this was their version of a hand shake, something he had forgotten in all his time away from his kin.
Turning around as well, Pikachu interlocked his tail with the other Pikachu's, creating a static charge. Upon doing this, the rest of the clan bounded up toward him in glee, and began greeting the long-lost family member excitedly.
"It's good to be home," Pikachu thought happily.
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"Oh my goodness," Charmander whispered, starring at the gruesome scene before him. "What could have possibly happened here?"
Dead bodies littered the scorched soil, staining it crimson with the blood of his family. There were no survivors, easily visible by the lack of tail flame on each of their corpses.
Charmander was absolutely devastated. It wasn't just that they were all dead and their remains were scattered all over the paradise his parents had spoken to him about, although that was a big reason, but there was more to it. He no longer had anyone left in the world, Ash had to release him, and all the Pokémon went their separate ways, including Pikachu, his best friend…
Wait! He could always search for Pikachu! The small fire lizard had nothing to lose, after all, and there was even a famous Pikachu hot spot in the Continent of the Phoenix! And even if Pikachu wasn't there, he would continue searching for his long-time friend, because he has no one else left in the world but him.
And with that, Charmander found his resolve to search for Pikachu, even if it takes the rest of his life.
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A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review!