Um. I don't think a simple apology will really suffice for a break of that length, but here it is: sorry. Very sorry. I honestly didn't think I'd be back, but I find I can't just let this one go after getting so far. No matter what my opinion of the story/fandom now (oh, the horror! *laughs*), I find I'm determined to finish it. Especially with the amounts of hits it's *still* getting daily (don't you just love then new tracking system?!). Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews, especially the ones still trickling in after my horrid lack of updates - they prodded me into continuing. The members of this site continue to astound me with their kindness. I hope this installment pleases.

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A Different Kind of Soulmate

Chapter 8: Rally Point

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Crunch. Crunch. …Crunch.

Pikachu listened to Ash's uneven steps on the gravelly road as she watched the scenery pass by. Not that there was much of it. The pair had already made it through Viridian Forest, so now it was just field after field until they hit Pallet Town. The little hamlet really was in the middle of nowhere. Despite the lack of interesting scenery, Ash had no trouble getting distracted, and his random stops and starts made for an uncomfortable ride. No doubt he had many childhood memories tied to these places, but it wasn't as if they'd been gone for years. They had been away for maybe a month. At most.

Pikachu gave a little sigh and rested her head on her paws, which in turn were resting on Ash's head. The boy's movements made her jaw chatter, but she could bear it for a little while. Even that minor annoyance was better than boredom.

They had been traveling for almost a week straight. Due to their experiences with the forested 'short cut' last time through, they had taken the traditional road back to Pallet. Pikachu had definitely had enough of walking. She would force Pidgeot to fly them for their next journey, whatever it took. It wouldn't be too hard, after all birds did hate electricity. She would just have to be careful that Ash didn't catch her threatening one of his other pokemon…

Ash. Her trainer had rebounded completely and totally from his capture experience, and was back to being his normal, cheerful and determined self, someone she hadn't seen since before they started climbing the mountain. It seemed the boy had finally accepted his pikachu form and was willing to learn to use it without fighting against it every step of the way. It was a huge weight off Pikachu's heart, even if it had taken her trainer awhile. But that new level of comfort had another issue attached.

Interactions with Ash had been…odd this past week. During the day she was fine, since Ash remained in his human form to travel, claiming it to be faster. When they stopped at night without a center close by, however, he changed. Apparently it was much warmer, or something. Pikachu hadn't really been listening.

And that was part of the problem. Pikachu found that she wasn't hearing most of what Ash said in the evenings. She was too distracted. And she blamed the de-charging fiasco completely and totally. But what really irked her was that Ash seemed to be totally unaffected by the hyper-sensitivity side effect. Only she was affected, and that made it even more awkward.

Luckily Ash, being Ash, hadn't noticed. Yet. Pikachu was sure it was only a matter of time. She knew he wasn't completely dense, contrary to some people's beliefs. He was just…unobservant. And Pikachu was doing her best to hide it. He hadn't even caught her staring, not once.

Yet.

Pikachu covered her eyes with her paws in childish refusal. She would make sure he didn't notice, and soon enough the hyper-sensitivity would fade. She could control herself for at least that long. And even if he had noticed her acting a bit odd at night, she was normal enough during the day. He would probably just pass it off as travel exhaustion.

Right.

"Ash! You're back!" Pikachu uncovered her eyes and lifted her head in interest at the sound. There was a figure running towards them down the long spiraling path to Oak's lab; apparently Ash had covered a lot of ground while Pikachu had been musing. The figure was tall, even from this distance, and was topped with a tuft of unruly and equally unmistakable brown hair: Gary. Pikachu's ride had also noticed the incoming researcher and, with an unenthused look at the stairs, had paused at the bottom of the hill to wait.

"What are you waiting for?" was Gary's first comment upon reaching them. Not waiting for an answer to the obviously rhetorical question, he continued, "Gramps is dying to know what you've been up to! And you'd better make it good, or he'll never listen to me again."

Laughing at Gary's half-serious joke, Ash started up the steps. His former rival immediately began pestering him with questions about his trip, but Ash was able to beg off answering until Oak was there, not wanting to have to tell his partly fabricated story twice. On the way home he and Pikachu had realized that they wouldn't be able to tell their friends everything, and had struggled with what exactly they would say for more than one night. Ash just hoped he would be able to remember everything now.

Getting annoyed herself with Gary's prods for details, Pikachu suddenly leapt off Ash's head and on to Gary's. The brown-haired man let out an awkward yelp on finding the rodent in his hair, and swatted at her instinctively. Pikachu didn't even bother to dodge, only flattened herself in his hair and made herself a nest, resisting all attempts to remove her and cooing happily. Ash had nearly doubled over in laughter by the time the three made it to the lab.

Apparently the lab walls were very thin, because Oak came barreling outside just as they were pushing the doors open. Gary received a smack to the head from the flying door, and the impact finally knocked Pikachu from her perch. Grumbling she sat on his shoulder instead and along with Gary, who was also grumbling and rubbing his head, watched Ash being crushed in a hug by the overeager professor. Suddenly Pikachu was very grateful to be with Gary instead.

"Ash, it's been two months! No calls, no news, except for that one sighting near Lavender…" Ash sighed and extricated himself carefully. Thankfully, the professor seemed to be over the formalities of being worried, and was ready to get down to what was really important. Unfortunately that was even worse. "How did you ever manage to collect sufficient research samples when you forgot to bring all the equipment I gave you?"

Ash sighed again. He could tell this was going to be another of those conversations that never seem to end.

(o^. ^o)

Ash ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair in exasperation as he plodded down the path from the laboratory. The interrogation had gone as interrogations lacking lie detectors usually do; Ash had stuck to the truth as much as possible, but from past experience he knew it was worse to try to evade Oak's questions than to outright lie. Odd, but true. As long as he could keep his story straight in his head he could tell it without hesitation and hopefully without arousing suspicion. And it seemed to have worked this time, for Oak at least hadn't made any obvious attempts to trip up his story.

The good professor did, however, drag him through the dirt for leaving all the equipment behind. At first he was ready to believe Ash's innocence in the matter, but it quickly became apparent that Ash didn't share his rather unique sorrow for the loss of data. After that realization Oak quickly forgot about his original line of questioning, and focused on one more unpleasant but also less dangerous. And Ash, in a brief surge of brain power, was able to derail that tangent by popping in a question related to pokeballs.

According to the professor, the type of reaction both Ash and Pikachu experienced when in contact with the balls was a very rare reaction, almost allergic. There were very few documented cases of it occurring, and even less that have been available for study, so Oak didn't really have all that much to tell him about it, other than the fact that most pokemon did not experience the nasty feeling of suffocation, and were perfectly fine within the balls. Ash, on the other hand, became of even greater interest to the professor when it appeared that he was able to recount the experience, seemingly first hand. Ash brushed it off as Pikachu's explanation, and was eventually able to escape amid the professor's enthusiasm and Gary's laughter.

Unfortunately the discussion had still taken the better part of the day, and it was late afternoon when Ash finally made his escape. He was at a loss to guess where his best friend had disappeared to, only that she had run off after the first hour or so. But he knew from experience that if he wandered the lab grounds long enough, eventually one of his pokemon would spot him, and the commotion they caused would draw all the others.

"Pikapi!" Ash turned his head at the familiar cry, but Pikachu didn't charge at him like usual, instead she remained where she was and pointed at him. Ash tilted his head in confusion, but before he had taken even two steps towards his best friend, a wave of multicoloured creatures overtook her and swarmed over him. Ash was toppled to the ground, and all was chaos and disorientation as the tramplers tried unsuccessfully to locate their hapless target, who had now curled into fetal position on the ground. Finally the pokemon backed away, allowing Ash to uncurl and face his attackers. To his surprise he found that he had actually curled around something, and that something was now making happy squeaking noises. He relaxed his grip, allowing the thing to sit up. It did so, looked him right in the eye, and promptly headbutted him. Ash toppled backwards once again, Cyndaquil leapt on his chest, and the circle closed around him.

Pikachu waited from a safe distance for her trainer to reemerge, knowing that his pokemon needed their time to greet him. She had only collected a few of Ash's many pokemon on Oak's grounds, but those few were apparently still capable of overwhelming Ash with hellos. And the biggest one hadn't even arrived yet.

As if on cue, a roar filled the air, signaling the arrival of the last two. The clump of pokemon surrounding Ash prudently dispersed, leaving Ash alone and confused for a moment. Then the winged shapes descended, and a burst of flame engulfed the poor trainer. Satisfied with his traditional greeting, Charizard plopped down beside his charred trainer and gave him an affectionate nuzzle which Ash was, at the moment, unable to fully appreciate. Pidgeot fluttered down a little ways off with the other pokemon, giving a pleasant chirrup as her only hello.

Seeing that the other pokemon were mostly done, Pikachu hopped forward and gave her trainer a hesitant poke. Ash coughed, but rose and shook himself, regaining most of his normal colour. That done, he turned his gaze to his attackers, mentally checking off all those Pikachu had managed to gather. Charizard and Pidgeot were present, of course, as were Cyndaquil, Bulbasaur, Bayleef, Noctowl, and…

"Squirtle?" Ash commented, surprised. "Pikachu, how did you manage that one? Wasn't he back with the Squad?" Expecting the question, Pikachu puffed out her chest proudly as she explained her small adventure inside the lab, where she had made use of the professor's distraction in order to commandeer one of the computer terminals and request Squirtle's transfer. The water pokemon had come through surprisingly fast, and they had set out together to track down the rest of Ash's pokemon.

She didn't mean all his pokemon by that, Ash noted to himself. Pikachu had been quite selective in her choices, but Ash had to agree. If he had to reveal his secret, it would be best to keep it within the most trusted pokemon that he had. His oldest pokemon, such as Pidgeot, Charizard, Bulbasaur and Squirtle were a must, and even though he and Pidgeot were on shaky terms after she returned, he still felt he could trust her as much as any of his pokemon. Cyndaquil , Bayleef, and Noctowl, although not quite as old, were still close; and unlike Totodile had enough sense to be reliable.

Having finally sorted the situation out in his mind, Ash was ready to begin. Seeing he already had everyone's attention, he opened his mouth, and was just as surprised as everyone else when nothing came out. Belatedly he realized he had no clue how to start, or even what he was planning to say. After a moment of silence he felt a gentle poke on his leg, and looked down.

"Pikapi, pi pika kachu?" Pikachu suggested quietly, understanding Ash's dilemma and trying to help where she could. She was just thankful it wasn't her job to explain the entire thing.

"Oh, yeah, some privacy would probably be good," Ash agreed, and immediately started walking off towards the edge of the lab property and into the forest. Pikachu hopped along behind, and the rest of the pokemon trailed after the pair bemusedly.

Ash led the assorted group a ways into the trees, and only when he was confident that they would not be overheard or found accidentally did he stop. Then he turned, and the staring contest resumed once more. After a few moments of this, Ash decided he had better just go for the big opening.

"Okay guys, I think the best way to start is to just show you," he explained. "Wait here. I'll be back in a minute." And with that he took off deeper into the forest. As one, the pokemon turned to look at Pikachu.

"Chaaa…" she sighed, unwilling to prepare the others for Ash's surprise. Fortunately they got the message and began to chatter amongst themselves, developing their own theories about what Ash was going to show them. Pikachu just plopped herself down on the grass and stared absently about, waiting for Ash to return. Suddenly her wandering gaze encountered a familiar pair of large golden eyes, and she leapt about a foot off the ground in shock.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little mouse, back again," the big cat purred. "You cannot still be singing the praises of your little human after being left here twice."

"I was never left here, not that it's any of your business," Pikachu hissed back, sounding rather like a cat herself. Ash's other pokemon simply watched, too surprised and confused by the existing dynamic between the two to act. "This is a private gathering. Now will you leave or do I have to use force?" Pikachu's cheeks sparked in warning, but to her annoyance the cat ignored her.

"Am I to assume you all share the same trainer?" she queried, sweeping her tail in an inclusive gesture and acknowledging the presence of others for the first time. There were a few nods, and the persian seemed to assume general assent. She continued, "Are you all so blindly in love with him as this foolish pikachu?"

"He's our friend!" Cyndaquil cried out, her fire flaring up from her back in her excitement. The one-on-one training on the mountain flashed through her mind, and she again felt intense pride that she could finally control her flames. All that was thanks to Ash. The persian gave her a disgusted look and did not deign to respond.

"Ash is one of the better ones," came the calmer, reasonable voice of Bulbasaur. A few of the others gave their murmured agreements. The persian fixed the grass pokemon with a thoughtful look and sat slowly, tail twitching.

"Ash," it echoed softly, as if testing the name. "Ash. He is the champion, is he not? Ah, and of course his little favourite," it added, gaze flicking to Pikachu. "I understand your obstinacy so much better now. As the favoured pokemon of the entire world, you must live in a world of sunshine and roses. What chance would you have to experience the darkness outside your little gilded cage?"

"You know nothing about me," Pikachu spat back, irked at the persian's sudden assumption of her complete innocence. "Or about Ash, or any of my friends here." Pikachu remembered the doubt the persian had sown within her after their first meeting, and the anger she had felt at herself for ever doubting her trainer when she of all pokemon knew better. She let that anger be redirected at the cat now, and felt the electricity dance around her. "Now leave."

"No, let her stay." Pikachu blinked at the familiar voice, and at the less familiar shape that hopped quietly out of the trees. She had thought Ash would have the sense to stay away when he heard an unfamiliar voice, but apparently the Master had other ideas. Incredulous gasps broke out from the other pokemon as they connected the familiar voice and scent to a form that was most definitely not human. Silence reigned, and surprisingly not even the persian dared break it. Everyone seemed afraid to move, and no one seemed to have the slightest idea where to begin. Ash sighed and beckoned to Pikachu, who hopped over to his side.

"I guess I need to explain a bit," he began hesitantly, feeling unnerved by the unrelenting looks of astonishment he was facing. "Well…we did make it to the top of the mountain like we set out to do, and there was a woman there waiting for us. Or…something. And she told us a story…"

Ash's tale grew like a rolling snowball, more and more detail finding its way in as the tale progressed, and Ash's confidence growing as the looks of astonishment and incredulity began to fade. Pikachu made occasional contributions to accuracy, but she was uncomfortable with the persian's presence. She had made sure to select only the most trustworthy of Ash's own pokemon, but she wouldn't have bothered had she known the Master was willing to let just any hostile stranger sit in on the meeting. She found herself sending glares at the Persian throughout Ash's talk, hoping she would leave, but to her chagrin the large cat's attention was completely on Ash and she appeared to have totally forgotten the other mouse's existence. As had everyone else, Pikachu noted with amusement.

Finally Ash's explanation dwindled to a close, having covered Celebi's tale and plan, their own failed attempt, and ending with their thoughts on what needed to happen next and a general request for aid. The audience, such as it was, only seemed to truly wake up when Ash tried to skim over his capture and escape. Then they seemed to forget all context of the story and latched on to it for its entertainment value, pestering Ash for details which Pikachu happily provided. Although outright acceptance hadn't been reached, not yet, at least by the time Ash was finished the others seemed conscious again.

There was a long pause after he finished speaking as everything sank in and was digested by the others, but someone had to speak first and unsurprisingly it was the Persian.

"So let me get this straight," the cat said in a low, growling purr. "You journeyed to the top of the highest mountain in the world because of a dream, and then when you find this imaginary person she tells you that you have to destroy the current established order because you two are responsible for the coming apocalypse, and you believed her?" Ash shifted uncomfortably, and Bulbasaur cleared his throat.

"She has a point," Bulbasaur agreed, seeming almost reluctant. "How do you know that woman was telling the truth? It's seems a bit extreme to pin the end of the world on one person's actions, even if that person is you, Ash."

"But she didn't say that, not quite," Ash defended. "It's not that we caused the end of the world, we just managed to mess up earlier attempts to stop it. It's like shoving a stick into a spinning wheel or something, it doesn't require a lot of effort from the stick." He got a couple startled blinks for that analogy but trundled on. "Now it's just that Celebi has, you know, run out of wheels, so we have to make a new one." Pikachu became the victim of a small coughing fit to cover her laugh, but Ash seemed to have gotten his point across regardless.

"Alright, so fine, she's got everything right," Squirtle piped up. "Then what? You want our help on this thing, right?"

"So you guys are still with me? You'll help?" Ash asked, looking hopeful. Squirtle gave him the victory sign, but it was Noctowl who spoke.

"No matter what strangeness you manage to get yourself into, we will help you out of it," the owl confirmed, sounding amused. Ash gave the bird a befuddled but grateful look. It seemed he had a lot to learn about the personalities of his own pokemon.

"You're still our trainer!" Cyndaquil cheered and Ash smiled with relief. Until the ground shook.

A jet of flame shot into the sky a second later, and the pokemon cleared a wary circle around Charizard. Upon realizing he was the center of attention, the fiery dragon stopped rampaging and fixed Ash with a serious and challenging stare.

"I accepted you as my trainer because you proved yourself worthy and strong," Charizard began in a low, rumbling tone that reminded Ash of the beginnings of an avalanche. "But whatever the shrew might say," and here he threw a scathing look at Cyndaquil, who seemed to sink into herself slightly but flared up anyway, "you can no longer be my trainer, not as a pokemon. And I will not have a weak leader!" The dragon finished with a roar and sent yet another jet of flame into the sky. The pokemon around him backed even farther away. "I challenge you, Ash," Charizard finished, lowering his head and staring straight at the black-cheeked rodent. 'Don't back down' began playing in Ash's head on repeat, and he fought the urge to glance at Pikachu, who he knew was staring a hole into the back of his head.

"I accept," Ash said, distantly proud that his voice hadn't gone into a register that only pikachu could hear. The dragon nodded in approval.

"Five minutes. I will find a spot." With that Charizard lifted off in a great gust of air that almost sent the two pikachu tumbling, and headed off over the treetops. Both pokemon watched him go in silence for a moment before Ash spoke.

"You know, maybe bringing Charizard wasn't the best idea," he commented casually, turning to his friend. Pikachu shook her head slowly.

"No, this had to happen eventually. Maybe it's better that it happens now," she mused. Then she turned serious eyes up to her trainer. "Ash, you can't win." Ash returned her gaze, equally serious.

"I know."

No more words were spoken as the two waited for Charizard to pick a spot. No more words were needed. Pikachu knew there was nothing she could say to change Ash's decision, for to back down now would be to give up on their entire mission. But more than that, she understood why he had accepted. To accept and lose was still infinitely better than to refuse outright and give up all claims to courage, to forever forfeit leadership. Although of course, the true reason behind his acceptance lay in the simple fact that he was Ash. And if there was one thing Pikachu was sure of, it was that she knew Ash.

So without speaking they waited what seemed an eternity, staring up at the sky and waiting for Charizard to return.

After about five minutes (relative to the rest of the world) the great dragon made his usual dramatic re-entrance, and the group followed him to a clearing deeper within the woods. Silently Ash and Charizard made their way to the center of the field, and Pikachu forced herself to keep to the sidelines by sitting on her own tail. She didn't trust herself not to do something, whether that something proved to be drastic – such as interfering in the middle of the match or even knocking one or both combatants unconscious before it could begin – or slightly less so, such as giving Ash a goodbye lick. Ash's obtuseness on the matter notwithstanding, Pikachu was all too aware of the new meaning the latter action now held, and it was definitely something she did not want others to see and comment on. So she positioned herself between Squirtle and Bulbasaur and prepared herself to just watch.

Ash, meanwhile, was thinking harder and deeper than he ever had in his life. …Well, that was his intention anyways, and just because it wasn't going so well didn't mean he wasn't trying his darndest. He knew he didn't have enough control over his electricity to overpower Charizard like Pikachu could, and he also wasn't nearly as fast as his best friend so a redo of the Vermilion gym battle was out. Those two attributes, in various combinations, had always managed to pull his prime pokemon out of tight spots in the past, but the only attributes he was coming up with for himself were things like 'yellow'.

Not helpful, Ashy-boy. Try again.

Noctowl, the self-appointed referee, began the countdown, and despite the disturbingly Gary-ish tone his inner voice had developed, Ash continued to come up blank. When the owl gave his final hoot, Ash's brain finally gave a command – move – and he leapt in a random direction which, luckily, happened not to be the direction that Charizard had decided to bathe in fire. Safe.

Unfortunately Ash had trained his pokemon well, and Charizard moved quickly, swinging his gigantic tail at Ash next. Ash leapt again, since it had worked out so well for him last time, and ended up clinging to the scaly tail for dear life. Charizard roared in annoyance, thrashing his tail and flapping his wings until Ash finally lost his grip and tumbled off. The stunned black-cheeked chu lay unmoving for a moment, and that was enough time for the huge lizard to grasp him firmly in his talons and take off.

When Ash recovered his senses it was to the realization that he was flying. For a moment he was confused, and then the danger of the situation hit him. And in his panic, his claws scrabbling and his mind firing a lot faster than usual as he watched the ground speed away, he realized something that he possessed that might help him, something that required absolutely no skill on his part at all. He was small. More importantly, he was light.

From his own experience with throwing various toy pokeballs when he was small, Ash was well acquainted with the fact that light things were considerably harder to throw than heavier things, within reason. In fact, sometimes they just stuck to you and there was nothing you could do about it, like a bit of pidgey down. And relative to Charizard, Ash figured he must not weigh that much more than a bit of pidgey down.

With his newest skewed analogy in mind, Ash reached and dug his tiny claws as far beneath the dragon's scales as he could, angling himself so that all four paws had a reasonable grip. Ash had no doubt that this would hurt, but he suspected it would hurt a lot less than leaving an imprint on the ground. Charizard gripped his prey a bit tighter to stop the squirming, but didn't seem to notice Ash's clinging. With the wind whistling in his ears, Ash located his power source.

The moment of truth arrived, and Charizard thrust his opened claws at the ground while simultaneously flaring his wings to lift up and save himself. But Ash's plan worked, and the still-clinging 'chu of the aching claws provided critically unexpected extra weight. Still, the dragon might have recovered if Ash hadn't sent off a large spark of electricity to frazzle and delay his reaction just when he needed it most. Instead, Charizard plowed into the trees bordering the clearing, Ash using a scaled leg as a shield as twigs whipped everywhere and dirt, grass and leaves flew.

Finally they came to a stop, and Ash wasted no time in getting himself away to a safe distance. He scrabbled up a tree and stopped on a branch, poised to scurry amid the treetops if necessary.

Fortunately Charizard seemed in no mood to continue the fight. He was unable to stand completely in the constricted space, and every movement seemed pained due to the numerous twigs protruding from between his scales. One wing was caught in a tree, and the dragon reduced the tree to embers rather than struggling to get it free. Dirt covered his belly like a second skin. His annoyed gaze sought out Ash, and the pikachu met it unblinkingly.

"You are not strong, but you are still Ash," was Charizard's summary of the battle. The dragon expelled a puff of a smoke in an oddly petulant gesture, but didn't break eye contact with Ash. "You will become strong, and I will be part of your strength."

Ash couldn't stop a wide grin from forming on his face, even as he tried to respond with as much seriousness as he had before. "Welcome back, Charizard." Deeming it safe, Ash dropped back to the ground.

Charizard nodded, appeased, and with a great tearing and cracking of vegetation he freed himself and flew straight up out of the forest. Ash blinked up at the gaping hole the dragon had left in the canopy, not surprised by Charizard's destructive exit but dismayed nonetheless.

"Pikapi!" Ash's ears twitched towards the familiar cry, but he was still in the process of turning to look when the yellow blur collided with him. As with the last time that Pikachu had charged him while he was in this smaller form, the impact knocked him over and he found himself staring up at his friend.

"You really need to stop doing that," he noted, but he was grinning helplessly and Pikachu paid it no mind, instead preferring to nuzzle into his fur, cooing. As always, Ash's own happiness grew with his friend's congratulations, but this form gave him a new way of expressing it. The emotion triggered an unconscious response from his new close relationship with electricity, resulting in sparks. Of course the first spark that left his cheek found its home in Pikachu's fur. In an instant she was gone.

"Pikachu?" Startled, Ash sat up slowly, giving his friend an odd look. She hadn't gone far, although she now seemed very determined not to meet his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," was the immediate reply, and Ash didn't think he'd ever seen a more horrible lie. She still wouldn't look at him. "We should head back to the clearing, the others are probably waiting. Do you know what you're going to say?"

As puzzled as Ash was, it was obvious he wasn't going to get an explanation out of her right now, and they did have more pressing concerns at the moment. His inability to answer Pikachu's question would be a perfect example of that. Reluctantly he started to walk in the direction of the clearing, following Charizard's trail of wreckage.

"Not really," Ash was forced to admit. "I haven't come up with a new plan since my last one failed so spectacularly. I was hoping someone would have a suggestion."

"Pikapi," she sighed. Ash glanced at her, and although her eyes remained trained on the flattened grass in front of her, a grin had formed on her face. Ash grinned again himself, feeling his good mood returning now that he knew he hadn't unknowingly caused some sort of irreparable damage.

"Hey, I haven't heard any ideas from you," he teased, and his furred friend predictably rewarded him with a light shock. Of course, his new form completely changed the experience, absorbing the additional electricity and using it as a pure energy boost. Something to remember, Ash noted to himself as the pair of pikachu made their way back to others. Whenever I'm tired, all I have to do is annoy Pikachu!

They made it back quickly, and Ash was immediately tackled by an overexcited Cyndaquil.

"Cyn is so happy!" the oversized shrew squealed, burying her long snout in Ash's fur. Moments later she stilled so completely that Ash would've suspected her of falling asleep were it not for the probing nose he could still feel rooting around near his skin. Eventually she drew back and stared at him, eyes wide.

A beat.

"You smell like poison ivy."

Ash could only return her stare in silence as explosions of laughter erupted around them.

And just like that, everything was back to normal.

(o^. ^o)-/

The rising sun found Ash and Pikachu travelling once more, albeit at a much sedated pace. Primarily this was Ash's fault, as his hind leg had developed blistering rash overnight and was causing him to limp. But Pikachu also did her part to slow their progress by insisting on resting when Ash would otherwise have plowed on for hours longer. The itching was driving him slowly insane, and Pikachu had to keep nipping him to keep him from scratching himself.

Planning had lasted until nightfall, but some rudimentary decisions had been made. Ash's pokemon had split up into groups, and each group would travel to a different area to do some basic reconnaissance. The Persian had been tasked with watching over things at Oak's, and it was yet to be seen whether she would follow through, though Ash was hopeful. The two pikachu were exempt from observation missions; instead they were heading to the wild pikachu clan, on Ash's suggestion. He knew it would be good for Pikachu to interact with others of her kind, and he hoped to get some much needed training out of the time they spent there. After a few weeks they would meet back in Pallet Town with the other pokemon, and decide what to do from there.

Upon setting out again the next morning, Ash's pack had been even heavier, if possible, than the last time. Distressed by Ash's early departure and her own inability to cook a feast on such short notice, his mother had resorted to dumping the entire kitchen into his bag. No one knew exactly what was in there, but Ash was hopeful that most of it was edible.

But one of the joys of his new form was its mystical ability to make his bag disappear. For logistical and/or magical reasons unknown to Ash, nothing that he was wearing made the transition with him. This meant that (among other conveniences, such as preventing his bag from flattening him and ensuring he never resurfaced naked) he could carry as much as he wanted without actually carrying it. The tradeoff, of course, was remaining in his pokemon form for the duration, but more and more that seemed like an advantage rather than a trial.

Pikachu had expressed concern for the state of the food when it came back – would it spoil wherever it was, would something else eat it – but Ash had always been of the opinion that she thought a bit too much. For himself, the system seemed to work: the food always came back, and he hadn't gotten sick from eating it yet.

Ash paused as Pikachu stopped on the path ahead of him, rising to her hind legs and lifting her ears. After taking advantage of her distraction to get in a good scratch, he followed his friend's example and listened.

"Ssshh, I think they heard us!" A high, frantic sounding voice floated back to him through the trees on his left. Ash turned more fully to face the sound, angling both ears forward. His reward came in the form of more frantic shushing noises from the trees, followed by a much calmer voice.

"It's too late Melanie. They know we're here, but they haven't run. If we can show them we're friendly, they might stay."

Ash froze at the sound of that voice, and he could see Pikachu perk up even more than he'd thought was possible. Ash could only stare at the dark forest, waiting. This was one disadvantage that certainly hadn't occurred to him when planning travel arrangements.

A splutter of indecipherable but excited chatter emerged as 'Melanie's' response to the statement, but she was quickly hushed. There was some crunching and snapping, and then a very familiar figure stepped out of the trees.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried ecstatically, leaping forward. Ash acted instantly.

"Pi!" Ash countered, darting in front of her. They engaged in a brief staring contest. Pikachu's ears drew back, but eventually she backed down, recalling the need for secrecy.

But the damage had been done.

"Pikachu?" Brock said in disbelief. Immediately Pikachu perked back up. She silently pled with Ash for permission, and faced with inevitability Ash could only sigh in defeat.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exulted, flying over the drooping figure of her best friend and into Brock's arms. Laughing and cooing, they shared a happy reunion while Ash looked on. He was the only one who noticed when the second figure emerged from the forest.

Ash couldn't prevent a quiet 'chu' of surprise from escaping when he recognized the second figure. She was, without a doubt, the trainer that he and Pikachu had encountered in Viridian Forest while on their way to the mountain: the bulbasaur trainer with the uncontrollable rhydon. At least with Brock around, that particular pokemon was no longer a threat. Said unthreatening trainer was now staring at Brock with wide eyes.

"You know this pikachu?" she said, to which Brock gave a cheerful nod.

"Yeah, it belongs to one of my best friends," he confirmed, looking at Pikachu fondly. "I haven't seen him for a while, but I would still count him among the most important people in my life. He and his pikachu are inseparable, like nothing I've seen before or since. Which makes me wonder…"

While Brock looked around expectantly, perhaps waiting for Ash to pop out of the bushes at any moment, furry Ash could only blink at him. A lot of information was tumbling into his head, things he really should have realized and considered before. If they and the other pokemon succeeded in this, what would happen to Brock and the other gym leaders? If being the Master was an automatic death sentence, what did being a gym leader mean?

Ash had a very strong urge to transform, right there and now, and tell his friend everything. He suspected that the presence of the girl, Melanie, was the only thing that stopped him. His sudden fear for his friends was almost overwhelming, but at least he was now aware of the need to protect them, somehow.

While Ash was mulling over the epic question of What To Do, the two humans present continued to discuss him. Brock had passed Pikachu to Melanie, who proceeded to shower Pikachu with affection while the pokemon struggled to keep her electricity in check.

"Maybe it's lost," Melanie guessed, ruffling Pikachu's ears. The mouse's eyes narrowed into obsidian slits.

"Er, here, let me," Brock said, retrieving Pikachu from the excited girl. "Pikachu's never been a very affectionate pokemon, and it needs a bit of time to warm up to you. It used to shock strangers pretty badly for touching it."

"Oh." Despite the note of disappointment in her voice, Melanie looked more insulted than anything, and seemed ready to snatch the electric mouse back at the first opportunity. "Well, where does its trainer live? Maybe we can return it."

"Officially, Ash lives in Pallet Town, but it's anyone's guess if he's there right now. He travels a lot."

"Ash?" The girl seemed to fade where she was standing, withdrawing into herself so much that she actually looked shorter. "You mean Ash, the Pokemon Master?"

"It still feels strange to hear him called that," Brock laughed, still watching Pikachu. "But yes, the one and only."

"Oh." Her voice was almost a whisper. "Maybe we should just let them be then…after all, the Master's pikachu can take care of itself…"

"There's always Team Rocket to look out for," Brock joked, mostly to his audience of pokemon. "Maybe we can escort them to wherever they're headed. At least until Ash shows up, and that shouldn't be long. It'll be a great experience for you, meeting Ash. You could learn a lot from him." Still smiling, Brock placed Pikachu back on the ground and stepped back to give her space.

"So Pikachu, tell us; where are you headed?"

Pikachu thought for a moment and then pointed up the road. Brock launched in a list of all the towns and cities in that general direction, and after a while Pikachu shook her head in frustration. She cast around for props of some sort, but the road was barren of everything but dust and pebbles.

"Pi, pika pika chu…" Pikachu whirled at the soft voice behind her. The song! Of course!

"Pika!" she cried joyfully, bounding to her best friend's side before joining him in the moon song, the family song, the wish song.

"Pipi, ka pikachuuu…"

The two pikachu trailed off together, fading to silence. Though the song was meant to be sung under moonlight, singing it with Ash had felt so immensely right that the time and even location had become irrelevant. Ignoring the gaping Brock and Melanie (who had become a bit more solid), Pikachu turned to Ash.

"You remembered," she breathed, fearing that speaking any louder would break the something fragile in the air. She was filled almost to bursting with an emotion that she couldn't name, and she was forgetting to breathe. She had no idea why the song was so important to her, but she felt like something momentous – something changing – had happened. She needed Ash to acknowledge that, be okay with it, somehow.

"Yeah."

And he smiled.

It wasn't much; in fact it was almost nothing. But somehow, it was enough. It filled the last free part of her, and she knew she had stopped breathing but couldn't seem to care. She stared into Ash's eyes and he stared back and she knew that something similar was happening to him – not consciously, no, never consciously with Ash – but something all the same and she knew that there was no going back after this, not for her, although she wasn't sure where she was going or what she would've gone back to.

And he smiled.

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Enjoyed it? Review! Be my OOC alarm. ;D

And I do have the next 8,000 words or so already written...though that chapter is simply refusing to end. Two parts, perhaps. Regardless, it shouldn't take another year.