Background Story Pichu

*Author Note – You know how we wrote a short/longer background story on the Crew Members? We have written a background story for Pichu, and it became longer and longer, so it turned into a Chapter! It's an extra, if I'm correct, so it won't take the next chapter away from you for another week!

Disclaimer: We don't own Pokémon in any way. We only write this story with Pokémon, but nothing more.*

No! This Chapter doesn't really have a name. But it's thanks to our faithful reviewer!

Pichu's Point of View ~ Flashback

My life was all planned out even before I hatched. My parents had summoned a Xatu, so they could know my gender and a part of the future. After that, they started planning. Marriages were not completely thought out, since there could be higher priorities in the future.

I did not know everything, even though I was able to hear their conversations when I was in my room. I never knew the whole truth - of course not - as their conversations were mystical. I could not get the message hidden underneath their sentences, no matter how hard I tried. The only thing I found out was that I had to be protected, all the time. I heard some maids say it when they thought I was asleep.

I never felt at ease at night. My room was too large for a Pichu like me. My room did not even look like a room. I would be able to live here, there was no need for living in the whole palace. It would take hours to go through each room of the palace.

It actually was a castle, but my father always referred to it as a palace.

There was a fire place at the North side of the room, and candles were present in the other parts.

I was never allowed to light a candle; it would be too dangerous. So the maids would light them while I was having breakfast with my parents. When I returned, the candles were lit, and the fireplace was burning.

My bed, it was simply too big. It felt as if I could fit in it over a thousand times. I never got used to it, and I knew I never would.

And the walls? The walls were painted by Smeargle in two colours. The colours my country had. Green and red, but not leaf-green and apple-red. It was painted with an awful tint. The best way to say it was black-green and dark-red. Really dark red. They were painted in a complicated pattern, but the colours made me feel claustrophobic.

Claustrophobic in such a big room.

The desk was the only decent object in my room. It had a fitting chair, there were no problems with my height. When I was unable to do anything in my room, I would pick up my quill, and start to write. Most of the time, I would practice my handwriting; a Princess needed a beautiful handwriting. My mother encouraged me to keep it up, so I did. I admired her in various ways.

Multiple couches, chairs and pillows were present in the room. There was room for twenty Pokémon to be seated with more than enough space. I only used the chair at the desk - never had I seated myself on the couches.

Next to that, I had one place where I felt like the girl in those fairy tales. I would sit next to the window, and stare at the one place that would change with every season.

It looked like Winter Wonderland in the snow. I always liked the snow, but my father saw it as a bother. It slowed down all messages. In Spring, I would often get out of bed early, only to see the glistening red and green. I would stare at those the same way as in Summer. And Fall was special; the leaves on the apple trees were changing colours, something that always amazed me. The apple trees were my ups of the day.

Unfortunately, I could only look instead of being outside most of the time. On most days, one hour was the time I was given outside. Body guards always had an eye on me, as I was the Princess.

That was my life inside my room. It was a big part in my life. I could not walk down the stairs when I wanted. I had to wait for an adult, be it a maid or my mother. To say it, when I was young, an adult had to walk me up and down the stairs for my own safety.

Well, I thought so. When I got older, I found out I still had to be walked up and down the stairs. I was seen as a reckless Princess, although my dresses never got a spot of dirt on them. I had never fallen, yet everyone else in the castle thought I would endanger myself. I knew I would not, if they just simply gave me a chance.

The daily routine was simple. I would wake up, wait for the maids to 'wake me up' and they would help me getting dressed. Two of them would escort me toward the table - solely made for breakfast - where my father and mother were waiting. Apples would be eaten through the whole year. Our own in Summer and Spring, while the apples in Fall and Winter were brought from a different country.

We would sometimes chit-chat, but we ate in silence most of the times. The times we did speak, the subject would be me and my lessons.

I had to learn how to speak in public, without my own opinion. I had to be neutral. Next to that, my way of speaking had to be flawless, nothing was allowed to be said short. It was always 'do not' in the place of 'don't'. My father would give me useless tips on how to improve in my lessons.

All added, I had to write flawless, I had to speak flawless and I had to walk flawless. Next to doing these movements flawless, I had to be taught the mistakes Queens and Kings before me made. A mistake should not be made twice. History, politics, and knowing my country. I was not sure how Kings and Queens managed to survive all this.

I will continue with the day. After breakfast, my father would often leave the castle. He would listen to his people, and try to make their situation more comfortable. He was a fair King, always making sure the Pokémon were happy. So the Pokémon were happy.

Everyone, apart from me. When he leaves, I would be brought back to my room. There I would study for hours straight, always accompanied by maids. It made me feel like a prisoner. And in some way, the castle was a prison itself. I never left the walls around our land, I never had a day off, or another routine.

Everything was scheduled.

All I wrote down in my spare time would be read by maids, my mother and my father. I wanted to write down my thoughts, without being scared of the thought everyone would read it.

I made up my own secret language, only for myself. It was not that difficult to come up with, but it certainly was hard to discover. An "A" would be a "Z" and the other way around. A "B" would turn into a "Y", a "V" would become an "E". My father became frustrated by my coding, but he never found out how to uncover the real written text. My mother stayed silent about it.

My life became more bearable after that. I found out how to survive this life. First, I had to learn the rules used to play this ´game´ called life. When I knew them by heart, I was playing it better than anyone in the castle, maybe apart from the one who taught it to me - my mother. No one was able to guess my real emotions, nor were they able to uncover my thoughts. It was not possible to control me anymore.

In my younger years, I felt like a piece in chess, being played against my will. Now I would win the game easily. Not even my father was able to beat my act. I was finally a person at this moment.

Of course, my freedom time was limited. The way I played the game could only lengthen my time by an hour, but it was worth it. My mother thought it would not hurt to stay outside in the fresh air for a bit longer. There was no need for convincing her, as she was already convinced.

She would even let me have an hour outside when it rained or snowed. She asked me to stay inside when there was lightning, as that was dangerous. My mother was one who knew the rules of the game. I always obeyed her without questioning, although she never let room for a question. She explained every unclear part.

My mother decided to make my time outside more special; we made a tree house together, she managed to get the guards away. It was our tree house, and it felt more my room than the one at the castle. I remember every happy memory from the tree house, and those are many. Probably since the life in the tree house is more secure, and more hidden. Those were great times in my life.

One day was very clear in my memory.

My mother and I were walking outside, in the snow. The snow was falling down, and we were talking about all and nothing. She had told me how snow could fall from clouds. She also said she knew so much about snow, as she was the Princess of the Mountain of Ice at first. She had lived there for eighteen years, and she was telling me all about her life. It was almost identical to mine.

I listened with big eyes. I never thought our lives would be so much the same. She was not one for big rooms, either. She felt locked up in the castle, so she wanted to go outside with me, hopefully every day. That was one of the reasons she helped me by giving a hidden place.

This was the last day I walked outside with my mother. At the end of her story, her hand flew to her mouth, and she coughed. I froze when she brought her hand down. Blood was visible on it. My mother coughed up blood, and I knew it was a bad sign. The red blood fell on the white, as if my mother painted the white snow.

It made me think about 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', where the white roses were painted red. I never liked that part. The white, with the meaning 'Purity', and 'Innocence', turned into 'Courage & Passion'. The 'innocence' and 'purity' were gone in its meaning. I never thought it was positive, to lose something so beautiful in meaning.

The guards came in action in a blinding flash. My mother was lifted up by a Machoke, and a Wingull flew to the palace, to warn the maids outside. I heard the roar of a Mightyena through the cold air. I knew what it meant; a doctor was called through this fast communication, and my father would be informed.

I ran and ran. I could not see anything through my watery eyes, they were overflowing, but I continued running. The Machoke was already inside, and I felt powerless. When I entered, I could see my mother lying on a couch. The doctor and my father hadn't arrived yet. I ran to my mother's side, and did all within my power to calm my mother.

She was in a bad shape, the heat inside the castle was not helping her fever after being outside. She was shaking, and kept mumbling about the cold. When she was not talking about the cold, she was muttering about unknown things for me.

The doctor - a Togetic - entered the room, only minutes after being called. He made me leave the room, as he did not want me to see this.

I was sitting alone - left alone by the maids, they had to either assist the doctor or continue their usual tasks - and felt locked up in my own head. My father rushed by and went into the room I had to leave.

I did not want to think of the worst, but it would not leave my head. No one informed me how my mother was doing, I was in my father's eyes a small child that should be protected. As if not telling me would be of any help. My mother was the Pokémon that understood me. She was my friend, if only for that one hour on the day I spoke to her freely.

In a normal day, I would return to my room to study after walking outside for an hour. Today, the routine broke for the first time.

Not even that deep down, I knew my mother was sick. I only knew it after the blood-coughing, but it was frightening. No one told me what was going on, yet I was relieved I was not given any bad news.

My father came out of the room after a few hours. He did not look at ease, and his face seemed years older. He did not even glance at me, so I ran in the room. The doctor already left the room, as the situation was not critical anymore. My mother was breathing to my surprise, and I stumbled over to the couch.

She was awake, and her gaze crept up to my face. She was panting and shaking, but her look was steady.

Her hands moved to her necklace, a silver coloured feather, and the feather got the colours of a rainbow when held in light - no matter how faint. It was an item worn by many, it even crossed the boundaries of the country. I did not know the exact meaning of it, but it had to do with the legend of 'The MasterPokémon'.

She gave the necklace with shaky hands to me, without words. Her eyes, the same eyes as I had, said everything words could not describe. My hands, as shaky as hers, opened, ready to receive her gift. Her last gift.

My father entered the room after a while. He saw me this time, and had a maid bring me to my room.

It was a sleepless night, and my tears kept coming from my eyes. Since the routine already broke this day, I broke the rule for the first time. I ran down the stairs, alone, for the first time in my life. It was silent in my mother's room, only one nurse was walking around - I made sure she did not see me.

She was laying on the couch peacefully, and I crept to her. Her skin was pale, almost white - unusual for a Pikachu. Her breathing was shallow, and her condition had worsened. I prayed for her that night. And if she would not survive this, I prayed for her going to Heaven.

I left the room a short time before sun rise, and ran to my room. I made it unseen, and got into the bed.

My father entered the room a few minutes later - for the first time in my life - and the meaning made me cry some more. He told me my mother would not wake up anymore.

The mealtimes were always silent after that. I never had a talk with my father.

I almost never wore the necklace, as it should only be worn at special occasions. I hid it in my first 'Train How To', the only one my mother gave me. I would get other 'Train How To' magazines by asking one of the maids, a Charmander. She was kind, and was the only maid that did not get intimidated by my father. I was happy she was one of the maids.

I never wanted to look in the mirror, and see those green eyes staring at me. Even the thought of seeing her in my own eyes was terrifying. Up till today, I have never looked in a mirror since then. And I want to keep it that way.

~ Ending Flashback

I had the 'Train How To' with me; it was the first one I had hidden underneath my dress. I was glad the necklace was not at home or deep in the sea. It was the only thing I had left from my mother, or at least, the only important thing.

I only wore it once, at the funeral. I often cleaned it, but I had not done so at the ship. I was scared of showing it to anyone, especially pirates who were after money. Next to that, I would not be able to keep my emotions hidden after seeing it again. And I did not want to lose myself on a Pirate ship, it did not even matter how nice the Pirates were.

A prisoner in a palace
Locked up in a room for the reason 'studying'
It is 'a' room instead of 'her' room

Not a thing in it is hers
Not a minute at day is she alone

A father that does not bother to talk with his daughter
He avoids her as much as he can

A loving mother
Knowing and all about the situation
She cared and did her best at educating
The game is not something written in books

The moment outside seemed longer than it was
An hour looked like a day even if it felt like time flew

She lost her mother and only friend at the same day
Her life changed a lot because of it

She became even more closed to her father
And never thought happiness would become hers

She made peace with being a Pichu forever

*Author Note - The rainbow (silver, but rainbow in light) feather has two meanings. One: it's a sign for the MasterPokémon, to show its influence. Two: it's actually the cross, but we couldn't imagine the origin in this alternate universe. It wasn't right to think up a Jesus in Pokémon version, so we thought up a decoy that would fit better. We had no intention in offending anyone with this, so if we did, we like to apologize.*