Shadows and Ash Chapter 23: Leader of the Pack, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 23, everybody! In which Pikachu and Volt have a conversation and sparks fly….We also learn that I don't have a firm grasp on the differences between amperage and voltage, and simply went with whichever one sounded more pleasing at the time. Bear with me. ^^;

The title of this chapter is also the title of a song by the Shangri-Las, by the way.

IAmUmbreon11, thanks for the review! Yup—and yes…well, they're not around anymore….Yes, the Pokémon franchise was a little vague on that matter (I think because they intended everyone who wasn't a main character to be a one-off character?). Thank you, glad you liked, and I hope to continue to please! :D

Dunkaccino, thanks for the review! Yes, there seems to be more to him than appears….

Yami-chan and Unrealistic, thanks for the review! Thank you, glad you like—love fan theory myself, and am always open to hearing more. :D I suppose it did get a little heavy compared to early chapters….Haha, thank you. :D

Thor94, thanks for the review! Yes he does. Hmm….

IceDragonGirl36, thanks for the review! Good question…and thank you! :D

Beautiful-Liar13, thanks for the review! Me too….

ChangelingRin, thanks for the review! Haha, I got a kick out of writing that one. :D And thank you! It seemed fitting. :D Perhaps….

QuartSigma, thanks for the review! Thank you, glad you like—I've been having a lot of fun delving into world-building for this story, and taking what's already there and arranging it into something that makes sense according to how our world works, but still accounts for a culture built around city-leveling creatures. :)

Raven DK, thanks for the review! I'm glad you've liked the story so far! :D Does this count as your weekly fix, then?...

Ardtornismyname, thanks for the review! Ah, but you can have more than one reason for doing something….Me too….

Luktopis, thanks for the review! Yes….

Wings of an Eternal Blaze, thanks for the review! Yes! Tell him like it is! :D

Johnny Spectre, thanks for the review! That would be interesting…and yes, he does!

AveragePichu, thanks for the reviews! I have too, which might have been part of the driving force of writing this story—glad you took a chance on it. :) Agreed, mature Ash is…quite common (usually, if I run into a detail of Ash's training regimen, I quit). Don't worry, I have no intention of Ash noticing girls like that. :) Perhaps….And I think the characters are starting to notice that Frenzy isn't as average for Paras as they initially feared….Thank you, glad you liked the Nugget Bridge! Eh, in my experience, Explosion was terrible (and I'm sure Nuzlockers think it's violent). Saying that, it might have been exaggerated a bit here….We're not sure….Yes, I'm surprised at how long the anime is! And how it was to begin with—watched a few of the early episodes for this fic and realized that a lot of character development has happened in those fifteen years (that is, the characters are likeable—early on, I'm surprised they took off at all with their attitudes).

Madrigal-in-training, thanks for the reviews! Really? Thank you, glad you like Darkrai—I have a ton of fun writing for him. :D Glad you liked the Pokéball touch too. Maybe—I had some idea of what he was saying when I wrote it, but since then….Yes, they were saying that because he was a Dark type. *bricked* And glad you liked the bonding and the starter sorting! :D Yes…he'll be back. Eventually.

Calzifer, thanks for the reviews! Petting Eevee is very therapeutic. :D No, Ash has no concept of sarcasm just yet (he'll get there eventually). Really? You make me blush. :D Glad you like the Level 100 and League explanations as well (and there's other explanations? I need to find these and compare…).

Thanks for the review, Gust! Yes, he does. Maybe. And maybe. :)

Thanks for the review, Guest! Aw, thank you! You make me blush. :D

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

The Pokémon League would like to remind you that travelling into the long grass without a Pokémon is extremely dangerous. The Pokémon League would also like to remind you that the "survival kits" floating around actually detract from your survival, as Tamato-spray does nothing more than anger the Ursaring you are trying to flee from.

"Augh, this sucks! I'll never get this!"

So sayeth Pikachu as he flopped down on the ground after another attempted Volt Tackle had resulted in just a simple Tackle. This was his fourth day, and he was running out of time—they'd be leaving soon, and he would have still not mastered it. He was a failure to Pikachu everywhere.

Something tapped on his head, prompting him to look up. Volt looked down at him, scars rippling as he leaned forward. Pikachu unconsciously closed the eye matching Volt's missing one—that just looked downright painful.

"You're doing it wrong," Volt told him.

"Funnily enough, I figured that out," Pikachu spat.

"You misunderstand," Volt said, offering a paw. "Get up."

Pikachu did so, ignoring the offered paw.

"Take my paw," Volt said, using a tone usually reserved for young hatchlings. Pikachu did so, grumbling.

"All right," Volt said, and then started coursing a small electrical current through the both of them. "First thing's first, we've got to get you used to handling a lot of electricity and then work on your finesse with it. Tell me, what was your biggest Thunderbolt?"

Pikachu had to think about it. Err, let's see…."About a year ago," he said finally. "I ran into a flock of wild Spearow and gave them a what-for."

"Huh," Volt noised. "Was that before or after you started traveling with your trainer?"

"Before. I've been travelling with him…about a month, I think?"

"Huh. Ready to up the amperage?"

"I guess," Pikachu said, wincing a bit as the voltage increased. "So…."

"Yeah. Just relax, feel the flow….So what do you think of your trainer so far?"

Pikachu glanced over at Ash, who was being spared from headlocks for the moment—he was listening to Lt. Surge tell an animated story about a fight between him and somebody named Klendaniel. "He's…all right, I guess."

"You don't sound sure."

"I wasn't captured by choice."

"Huh. I thought you were his starter."

Pikachu looked at Volt, startled. "How did you know?"

"Trainers and their starters have a certain bond. When you've been around as long as I have, you start to recognize this, one eye or two," he cracked, closing his good eye for a moment in what he must have thought was a wink. "You two have it, and usually my instincts on the matter are spot-on. I guess they still are. But not by choice?"

Pikachu scowled at the memory. "I got lost, separated from my troupe," he explained. "I was wandering around, trying to find my way, and stopped to chew on some guy's wires for some quick electricity. And while I was distracted, the dope attacked me and captured me. And then to top it all off, he gives me to some yutz kid after I shocked him for poking me!"

Volt looked mildly amused. "Yutz kid?"

"Well…he is."

"And after a month of travelling with him, you don't feel differently?"

Pikachu looked back at Ash. The conversation had ended, and the humans were watching them now. "Well," he said, turning back to Volt. "I…I think he's less of a yutz. His heart's in the right place. His head isn't, but his heart is."

Volt nodded. "That's the important thing. I know you were probably brought up to believe that being captured by a human is the end of the world, but that's not necessarily true. You get a good human, and you can go places, kid."

Pikachu nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable—he didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he had grown to like Ash. He had even missed him when he had been forced to overnight at the Pokémon Center. "You can up the amperage again," he said, wanting to distract himself.

Volt chuckled. "I have been—steadily over the course of the conversation."

Pikachu looked at him, floored. That dirty—

"You feel the electricity?" Volt asked him.

Pikachu blinked. "Well, yeah—"

"That's the level you need for Volt Tackle," Volt said, letting go. The electricity began to die down. "Now that you know what to aim for, try again."

Pikachu started walking away, paused, looked back at Volt. "That was low," he informed the old Raichu.

Volt chuckled again. "Don't you know? All's fair in love and war."

Pikachu blinked again. "But I'm not fighting a war."

"Not anymore—but if you were born ten years ago, you would have been."

Pikachu blinked and continued walking.

"Hey," Volt called after him as he reached his starting point. "You're the starter. That means you have more responsibility than any other Pokémon. You have to lead your team, because they will look to you for guidance, and you have to protect your trainer, because he will trust you more than anyone else. It's a lot to live up to. Do you think you can manage?"

Did he?

That was a lot of responsibility Volt was implying—and Pikachu just simply wasn't ready for that sort of thing. He never wanted anything like that—he had never wanted to be some human's pet. Volt was right—Pokémon caught by humans were never heard from again. He had never wanted to become a statistic. He had been pressganged into this.

But…he…he liked the kid, he realized. Ash and Misty and Brock were good, for humans. And Ash had never forced him to do anything—he'd ask first, give him the option to back out….He had even offered to up and quit, for crying out loud!

All he had wanted was to find home again. Ever since he had gotten separated from his family, that was what he wanted.

And now….

He looked over to Ash, who finally managed to squirm out of a headlock and cheered, thrilled with the victory.

Pikachu turned to face Volt.

"Prove it, kid," Volt said, tapping his chest. "Hit me—right here."

Pikachu charged, throwing all the frustration and anger and fear and hope into it, screaming his fury at being forced to actually face all these uncomfortable feelings—

He slammed into Volt—

And heard electricity discharged.

He collapsed on the floor from the impact, looked—

To see sparks dancing all over Volt.

"Yes!" Pikachu heard Ash cheer. "You did it, Pikachu! You did it!"

Volt nodded sagely. "You answered my question," he told Pikachu. "And you performed that Volt Tackle perfectly.

"Now do it again."