Author's Note: Lightning! And thunder, too. Holy crap, it's loud. My dog is very distressed right now, poor thing xD In other news, it's been almost three months since chapter two .. oops. For anyone still following this, you are so sweet and so very patient. Inspiration for this has been severely lacking .. but don't worry! I shall never abandon a story! And this fic is entirely planned out, so plot-wise I don't have to stress myself out in having to sort that out. In fact, this might be done by the end of August, with any luck.

Summer is not good to my muse :'(

Disclaimer: Nope, Pokémon still isn't mine.

Anima Feminam

xxx

"It's ready!"

After an hour of sitting cross-legged in front of a make-shift potion set, an unusual look of determination plastered over her normally cheerful and bright features, Lily sat up, exclaiming those two words with her arms out wide.

Before her, a small glass bowl bubbled with a pinkish substance which emitted a scent that was surprisingly pleasant. Though putting into consideration that it was a love spell, it made sense that it would smell nice.

That said, Buneary, who had been eagerly observing the entire potions making from a safe distance, jumped up to her feet with an overjoyed cry of her name. She bounced on the spot, unable to reign in her enthusiasm at the completion of the strange witch's potion. Behind her, the trio of humans came over upon hearing Lily's announcement, with Pikachu a few steps in front of them. And as much as she tried, Buneary couldn't redirect her gaze from the electric type, feeling a sense of elation rising within her stomach.

"It's done?" Dawn inquired unnecessarily, taking her seat next to the excited bunny pokémon.

Lily nodded, her pink curls bouncing wildly against her face. "The spell is done; now all I need is a volunteer to cast it on," she spoke, though a paw was raised up in the air before she had finished her sentence.

"Bun!" Came Buneary's call, bouncing up in tempo with her voice.

"Alright, then," Lily replied, smiling at the energetic bunny. "Are you ready?"

Once again, Buneary was already one step ahead, jumping forward to stand in front of Lily before she'd really asked her question. Her eyes were straight and pointed, as she smiled up at the teenage witch.

"Wow, I wouldn't have thought Buneary would be so eager to volunteer," the bunny heard Brock comment from behind her. She tilted her head slightly, eyeing the trio of trainer with curiosity as Ash spoke next.

"After what happened to me last time, I wouldn't be so hasty to agree."

Confusion made the young bunny frown. What on earth were they indicating at?

Thankfully, Dawn voiced the question Buneary could not, "What makes you say that?"

Brock chuckled slightly, apparently caught up in a memory. "Remember what we told you about last time we met Lily?" He asked, continuing when Dawn nodded. "It just goes to show you that anything can happen, really. Ash was supposed to be able to get into a Pikachu's mind-set, but he got turned into a Pikachu himself. Who says that this spell won't backfire in some way?"

Dawn's blue eyes widened comically. "You really think that could happen? As in .. Buneary ends up as a human for a while?" Her eyebrows drew together at the thought. Now there was something to ponder over for a while ..

"Not necessarily," Brock interjected. "Since this spell is different, Buneary isn't trying to read your mind, or anything of the sort. Last time the spell did what it was meant to, just not in the way any of us anticipated. Who's to say it won't work out the same this time? Buneary is meant to find her soul mate this way, but how is the situation meant to unfold?"

"I get it," she said, tapping her chin. "As in, Buneary could end up being teleported away to her soul mate and we won't know where she is, or she could end up attracting a lot of pokémon and having to pick from them?"

"That and more," Brock agreed. "I don't mean to be supersticious about this kind of stuff, but it's hard not to when I've seen a lot of crazy stuff since I met Ash."

And as expected, a protest of "Hey!" followed shortly. The breeder and the co-ordinator turned to face Ash, who was frowning slightly at them.

"You asked to come," he elaborated, as Pikachu jumped up to sit on his lap, observing the budding disagreement unfold.

"That's not true, Ash," Brock said. "Don't you remember? You offered, and I accepted."

The raven-haired trainer paused for the entirety of half a minute, rummaging through the memories in question at the back of his mind. His sienna eyes glazed over for a few moments, then blinked and brought themselves back to focus. "Oh yeah," he mumbled, then spoke louder, "but it's not like you couldn't have said no, or anything."

Dawn, having chosen her seat to be between her two companions, switched her gaze back to Brock, her eyes having flickered back and forth during the small banter.

"Let's stop before we start losing the point," Brock resigned. "There are much more interesting things to focus on."

"Indeed there is," Lily spoke up, her azure eyes having never left the still bubbling potion in front of her. "I hate to break this up, but if you'd like to see how the spell goes, then it has to be now. The book says it needs to be cast while the potion is still freshly-made." And for good measure, she spun around the book that lay open beside her, allowing the text to be upright for the three-person audience. "I'm ready whenever you are."

At that, Dawn smiled. "Alright then. Buneary, are you - "

A generous ammount of time had passed since the day Dawn had captured the bunny pokémon, during which the co-ordinator had found their personalities to be much more alike that she'd originally thought. That said, Dawn could tell a lot about each of her pokémon simply by looking at them. Perhaps it was their body language, or some kind of mysterious bond that countless trainers through history claimed to be the most sacred form of a pokémon's abilities, but whatever the reason, Dawn could read Buneary like a book. And right now, the brown bunny was without a doubt more nervous than the day she had met Pikachu.

"Buneary?" The blunette inquired, tilting her head in a natural show of concern for the normal-type. "Are you feeling okay?"

The bunny in question didn't acknowledge her trainer's words. Her dark eyes, previously focused on the trio, were staring straight at the ground as she gripped a tuft of beige fur between her paws, twisting it nervously while idly shifting her weight.

"Bun," the normal-type's small voice quivered, her dark eyes trailing up to meet her trainer's. "Bun .. buneary .. " Her long ears drooped a little, one eclipsing part of her face until she pushed it aside.

And suddenly, there it was. The sole action from Buneary was all that was needed for the blue pair of eyes watching her to widened. Then, as they diverted to the teenager on her left, narrowed while her lips pressed themselves into a tense line.

"You scared her," were the blunette's accusing words. The teen whom the words were directed at leaned back slightly, as if the they had dealt him a physical push. "Did you have to bring all of that up now, Brock?"

The breeder's own gaze lingered on Dawn's for a moment, then swivelled over to the normal-type, who continued to fiddle with tufts of her beige fur. Shortly thereafter, she was scooped up into her trainer's arms.

"Bun, buneary," the bunny pokémon cooed, looking up into concerned blue eyes.

"It's okay, Buneary," the blunette assured, offering the bunny pokémon a kind smile. "If you don't want to do it, then that's fine. No need to worry."

Buneary tilted her head, inquiring mutely, and managed a smile as her trainer gave a short nod. She hugged the blunette with as much force as her small arms could manage, a content coo in her poké-language emitting past her lips.

"So, uh, what happens now?" Ash's voice broke through the moment, making both the co-ordinator and her pokémon divert their gaze towards him. "If Buneary doesn't wanna do it, who's gonna volunteer instead?"

"Oh, any is fine," Lily said absently, flicking her wrist aside. "But you really ought to hurry up; this mixture is starting to cool down."

"Alright," Ash replied, then his sienna gaze turned towards the other two pokémon present. "Pikachu, Piplup, either one of you guys wanna step up?"

The reactions of the two pokémon were divided; Piplup folded his petite flippers across his chest, shaking his head with a 'lup!' in verbal confirmation, while Pikachu's pointed ears twitched, and at the penguin's refusal, gave his variation of a shrug.

"Pi, pika," he replied, jumping down from his trainer's lap. He directed a smile up at Buneary, who smiled and blushed, burying her face against her own trainer's arm.

"Well, I guess that's settled, then," Brock commented. "Is that right, Pikachu?"

The electric mouse turned towards the breeder, giving a happy nod of his head. "Pikachu!" He chirped with equal cheerfulness.

"Excellent!" Lily exclaimed. "Are you ready to do it now, Pikachu?"

The pokémon in question nodded once more, running the short distance on all fours, then standing up to look up at the pink-haired teen with a smile. "Pi, pikachu!"

With speed to rival a Scizor, the young witch poured a generous amount of the bubbling, rose-tinted liquid into a glass vial shaped conveniently for Pikachu to hold. He took it in his paws, tumbling back onto the ground to sit, being careful not to spill a single drop.

"Alright, Pikachu, you drink that while I cast the spell. But not a moment too soon, you understand? I don't know what the side-effects that could cause," Lily instructed, her voice taking on an authoritive tone that didn't fit with her bubbly personality.

Nonetheless, Pikachu nodded his confirmation. Murkrow swooped down from a branch high above the group, the height having allowed him to observe the goings-on until the spell was ready to cast. As such, his assistance was now required.

"On my count, Pikachu," Lily spoke as the darkness pokémon landed on her shoulder, ready to take flight once again. "And everyone else keep back, unless you're willing to be human test subjects."

The bridge of Dawn's nose crinkled at the thought. "If there's side-effects, then count me out," she murmured under her breath, stepping back to retake her seat between her two companions.

Buneary leapt from her trainer's arms, landing softly on the ground before hopping over to the brave electric mouse. His inky black eyes met her's, and without granting him the chance to question her actions, she threw her arms around him, hugging him as best she could. She cooed words in her poké-language, perhaps of admiration or concern, but they seemed to have the desired effect. Though momentarily stunned at the bunny's forwardness, the initial surprise soon wore off, and Pikachu patted her shoulder with a tiny fist, his other arm keeping a firm hold on the vial.

"Pikachu ~ " He chirped in her ear, and she nuzzled against him, continuing to murmur words to him. Though unfortunately for the bunny, her brief moment of perfection came to an abrupt and unwelcome end by an annoyed chirp from a certain blue penguin.

His blue flippers crossed and an expression to match, Piplup made no attempt to hide his distaste to the scene playing out before him. But thankfully for those involved, a disapproving frown from their trainer prevented either the penguin or the bunny developing the scene anymore than necessary.

xxx

"Okay Pikachu, just relax ~ " Lily cooed, her usually chipper voice uncharacteristically spaced out and slow. "Clear your mind and nothing can go wrong."

Less than a foot's distance from where Lily knelt, Pikachu sat with his eyes closed. His face impassive and his ears drooping slightly as he obediently followed her instructions, he cleared his mind of all coherent thought. The sweet scent emitting from the simmering potion filled his senses, clouding his head and making the order rather simple to obey. Perhaps a little too well, considering he felt content enough to fall asleep right there and then. It was only Lily's voice that kept his mind active enough to stay conscious.

Though what exactly she was saying was a challenge in itself. He could hear her speak, but the words were distant, disoriented, and like they'd been merged into one long quote of unintelligible ramblings. But at the same time, they seemed to echo through his head in a way that felt as though she were speaking directly from within his mind.

"Pikaaaa .. " He murmured, the words forming as if he were speaking through a dream.

Then, the strangest sensation reached him. The very tips of his ears began to tingle, the feeling enough to compare to the numerous times he'd fallen asleep with his weight on his arm then woken up with little feeling in it. As though the nerves in his ears were gradually waking up after a long, deep sleep.

Involuntarily, Pikachu felt his ears twitch with irritation. The sensation wasn't unpleasant, and though annoying it was easily ignored, but it was still enough to coax a natural reaction from him before he could stop it.

The sensation began to spread. At first it was subtle enough to remain unnoticed, but when Pikachu's ears twitched once more, the tingling began to flow through his body, consuming him as though he sat beneath a small stream of water pouring directly onto his head.

He felt trapped, consumed by the strange feeling, but there was something within him, perhaps an intuitive realisation, that reassured him it was fine. That it was the exact thing that was meant to happen.

But then there was something else.

A distant rumbling, a sound insistent to force its way through the barrier of water clogging up his sensitive ears.

A voice, maybe? Not .. bouncy enough to be music, but too sharp to be considered an appropriate voice for a casual conversation. He strained his ears, eager to grasp onto the one thread connecting his mind to the physical reality outside.

The incessant murmuring grew in volume, irking Pikachu's senses and forcibly coaxing him away from the warm, dark bliss of sleep. His head felt light in comparison to the rest of his body, which weighed down with the density of a well-fed Munchlax. Perhaps that was contributing to his losing battle against the looming sense of consciousness. Had his body been willing to move, then he would have simply turned over and buried his face in the sleeping bag, or at least covered his ears to plug out any other source of sound.

But the mumbling continued to the point that Pikachu knew he'd lost the mental struggle. He sighed, an action he took only because he was certain he could do it. There was no point in resuming a futile battle.

Only then, he felt something touch his face, a tender motion that caught his attention. His eyelids were shut and though he knew they would not betray his command to part, he found himself unwilling to give the mental order.

At least, not until the soft, quivering coo of "Bun?" alerted his senses, warm breath ghosting over the sensitive skin below his ear and making them twitch. There was no hesitation as his eyes snapped open of their own accord.

For a moment everything was blurred, but Pikachu didn't blink, his eyes staring straight ahead to what he quickly determined to be the sky. His ears could have been filled to the brim with water for all the sound that reached them, muffled words filled the air around him as though they'd been spoken from under the surface of the ocean.

Time passed, either minutes or seconds, before he blinked. The distorted corners of his vision took their time in returning to their original shapes, but it went unnoticed as a small shadow obscured Pikachu's face. Rather than move away to locate the source, the answer was clear from the get-go, as a pair of concerned chocolate-brown eyes gazed back into his own.

xxx

While the air outside of the bubble of tranquillity was a mixture between confusion and concern.

"Hmm .. perhaps it takes a while to kick in," Lily mused, tapping her index finger against her chin whilst examining the disoriented, but otherwise unaffected electric mouse. "You never really know with magic, especially the first time you cast a spell." With a flick of her wrist, the book was open in her lap, azure eyes scanning over the correct page. "No .. no, it doesn't say. How convenient." She snapped the book shut with a huff. "I really don't know what to say at this point; either the spell didn't work or it takes time to take effect .. or could it be possible that Pikachu doesn't have a soul mate?"

The development lit up the witch's eyes with intrigue, their gaze returning to watch for any physical changes in Pikachu. "After all, there's no guarantee. For all we know I cast it on a pokémon who doesn't have a destined soul mate .. unless no one will know unless he meets them." Her lips firmly set themselves into a frown. "The downside to being a magician - half the time the spell books never contain the right instructions. What am I supposed to do if there's an emergency?" In her moment of over-dramatics, she threw her arms in the air. "Well, I'm stumped. The only thing left to do is wait and see."

"Wait and see for what?" Dawn questioned, drawing her eyes away from the two small pokémon half-embracing on the grass. "You must know if it did something?"

"I would answer that if I could," the witch mused. "I certainly felt the magical pulse, but perhaps it wasn't strong enough to create the desired effect. Unless I mixed it up again by accident," she added with a wary look towards Pikachu and Buneary, the former having steadied himself on his own two legs. "Perhaps I should contact my grandfather, he usually knows what's what with magic. In fact, he memorised every last book in the library, word for word, by the time he was eighteen. Speaking of which, I have a lot of catching up to do!"

Snatching a pen from her bag, Lily hastily scribbled something down on a scrap of paper and handed it to Ash. "Here you go. If anything abnormal happens to Pikachu -anything at all- I want to call me on this number, okay?" She gave him a smile and no time to respond before she whirled round, swiftly gathering her things up and slotting them back into her back. "The life of a magician is a busy one, so I must make like an Exceggutor and split from you guys; form my own pack of Exceccute and evolve again, that's my plan." She rammed her fist onto her open palm. "And remember, you must tell me if anything happens to Pikachu! At least then I can have some decent instructions."

With a swish of her skirt and a flap of dark wings, both Lily and Murkrow disappeared deep into the forest, leaving behind a bewildered trio of pokémon trainers.

The youngest was the first to break her silence. "She's certainly .. energetic," she commented, blue eyes staring after the route Lily had departed down.

"Energetic, huh?" Brock added, standing by the blunette's side. "I'd say she's more - "

"Ka - chuu!" Pikachu inadvertently cut him off, shaking his head to throw away the after-shock of the sudden sneeze.

"Yeah," his trainer spoke, rubbing the spot behind the electric mouse's ears. He found himself staring over his shoulder not a moment later, towards the forest stretching out in the opposite direction. "I'd say energetic sums it up well .. "

xxx

"Meeting a real-life witch was fun and all, but it feel so cheated that we didn't see any actual magic," Dawn spoke with a slight pout, carefully pulling a brush through her navy hair.

"Hey, it could have been worse," Brock interjected. "Just because nothing happened doesn't automatically make it bad; at least it didn't backfire like last time."

Dawn thought this over for a moment, before her lips curved into a smile. "I guess you're right," she agreed, then as an after-thought, added, "Even if it means we'll get to Jublife City a day later than planned."

"We're all in one piece, aren't we?" Brock continued. "And Pikachu is in perfect health. I'm just happy everyone is in their correct form, don't you agree, Ash?" His answer never came, and when he turned to face the addressed trainer, he found Ash gazing off to the side, eyes glazed and deep in thought. "Ash?" He repeated.

It wasn't until Pikachu tugged on his trainer's sleeve with a concerned "Pikapi?" that sienna eyes blinked, regaining their focus and directing themselves down to the electric mouse.

"Uh, yeah .. what's up, Pikachu?" He inquired, to which the electric mouse tilted his head.

"You zoned out a bit there, Ash," Brock filled in.

Once again, sienna eyes blinked, tinged with confusion. "Oh," he said simply, "right, sorry .. " With a sheepish grin, Ash rubbed the back of his head.

With a quick wave of his hand, Brock ushered the younger's worry aside. "I think we're all pretty tired, and if we leave early in the morning we can get to Jublife by the late afternoon, considering we don't stop along the way." Though with their natural group ability to attract trouble like metal to a Magnemite, his final comment fell comfortably into another wishful thought. His gaze turned up from his back-pack to see the trainer staring off to the side once again, though in a lesser trance-like manner.

"Well after today, I'm exhausted," Dawn said, covering her mouth as she yawned. "I could use a good night's sleep. Night, you two." She retreated into her tent, barely acknowledging the response she got.

Minutes later, Brock was near-enough asleep, and as the light in Dawn's tent flickered out, the temporary camp-site was enveloped in darkness.

Pikachu, muffling his own yawn, was content to finally settle down beside his trainer, curling up and letting his eyes close. Sleep came easy to him, but though he was out a moment later, his trainer remained fully conscious. Any other night, Ash would have been asleep at that moment, but instead of rolling over onto his front and drifting off into nostalgic dreams of battles and championships, he found himself on his back, eyes fixated on the distant stars above, the light of which illuminated the small opening of the forest enough to make out the rough outline of the surroundings.

A frown reached Ash's expression, his lips pressing into a firm, straight line while his eyebrows narrowed, his forehead tense.

He was restless; that much he knew. But the information, which usually would have sated his curiosity, only irked him further. Perhaps it was the full day's loss of journey, he pondered, allowing his head to loll to the side, his glazed eyes idly taking in small details from the forest before them.

Yeah, that's probably it, he told himself, remaining unsure of his own words.

The cool, night breeze rustled the tree branches hanging a short distance away, the nocturnal calls of Hoothoot sounding a chorus deep within the forest where Ash felt he'd rather be. The prickling's of exhaustion crept over him, weighing down his eyelids as minutes passes, building up into a countless jumble as sienna eyes stared, yet remained unseeing. And against the wishes of his over-active curiosity, the moment they closed, Ash fell into a dreamless sleep.

xxx

Hours later, and the campsite was still, enveloped in the cool darkness of the night that contrasted with the heat of the day. It was a peaceful, comfortable setting in a visual perspective, but the illusion was shattered as the raven-haired one of the travelling trio was trapped in an unconscious fit, his body turning this way and that as his mind futilely tried to succumb to sleep.

A thin layer of sweat covered Ash's skin, his breathing coming in shallow gasps as his forehead tensed, as though he were experiencing agony far beyond the mere capacity of words.

But as though a shower of icy water had come crashing down upon him, every fevered movement in Ash's body froze, sienna eyes snapping open to stare up at the starry skies aboves. His chest rose and fell with each deep, even breath he took, a sharp contrast to the sharp gasps that shook his body a few moments previous.

Random thoughts drifted lazily through his clouded mind, flexible as smoke and just as impossible to grasp on to. His eyelids weighed down, depleting the minimal level of energy he had in the effort to keep them open. Moving the rest of himself came easily to him, his body strangely light and willingly to comply with his hazy demands. The effort to push himself up to stand was as simple as doing it underwater.

And then, with barely a moment to call hesitation, the campsite he left behind blurred away from the reality his mind could focus on. The forest became rapidly darker with each step he took deeper in, yet the path he was focused on was bright, as though lit up by a parade of Chinchou.

But when his foot snagged onto an uplifted tree root, he fell almost comfortably to the ground, the rush of air stealing away the motivation he had. His body heavy and exhausted, resting against the grass that felt like the softest bed of feathers beneath him, the simple action of closing his eyes was all it took to lose himself in the dark cocoon of tranquillity that enveloped his every sense.

Author's Note:I don't like this .. I really don't. I'm no good with Ash / Dawn / Brock conversations! But it's done, and I. Am. Relieved. I've been adding to this chapter little by little throughout the past three months, and it's FINALLY done! Such a huge weight off my shoulders, I feel so light and springy right now .. I shall skip off into the sunset ~

Oh, I found out why the thunder was so loud. Turns out my window was wide open. Perhaps I should close it.

Once again, I shall ask the everlasting question .. if you, unlike myself, enjoyed this chapter, then pretty please may you leave a review? They're always SO wonderful to receive ~

Also, next chapter? Gary. Yes, finally! xD