Hey everyone, chapter 9! It took me a bit longer, but it's the longest of all. It includes some perspective changes, which Pichufan, my beta-reader (thanks again!) seemed to like very much.
BloodyStarGeneral, my original beta-reader, is in hospital right now. Lukas (that's his name): Lukas, Espeon, Maurice and the pikachu colony send you their greetings and best wishes!
Again, if you got any requests for the story (cuteness, more action, you name it) or any perspective ideas, ideas about anything, please email me! I'd love to adjust some stuff for my readers. Interactive story style or something like that. (Lukas: What's that?)
Anyway, enjoy this part!
We made our way to the forest. I moved quickly through the woods as I was used to and Espeon followed me quickly.
"Hey, wait for me!" Maurice said. I stopped, turned around and smiled at him.
"You need to learn to move faster through the woods!" I said.
"Yeah, you got easy talking. You're small and you can run much faster than I can run on two legs... Plus, I'm a lot bigger than you."
That was certainly true. Maurice was indeed bigger and slower. Although for a human, he was quite quick. I had humans chasing me before and they all gave up quickly. But Maurice was different... His smell was like... I could not really tell, but it was nice... He could handle me very well, as he had shown when he saved me and when we were alone when the ball of light was going down... He wanted me to call it 'sun'... But whatever.
"In these woods you cannot move slow. Predators are always lurking on you. Pidgeotto, noctowl, sparrow. Those are the most dangerous. You really got to keep track of the air, or you're done for. I said. "Really, you can't just stick around spots for a long time unless you know for sure you're safe."
"Don't forget the pokémon on the ground..." Espeon said. "Those snakes, the raichu, and others are lurking on us. They won't attack you that quickly, Maurice, but I think when you are longer with the colony, they will."
"Why that?" Maurice asked.
"Because you'll get our smell." I said to him. "You may not smell it, but we certainly do, and they also do. You'll smell like pikachu. Right now, you already smell like pikachu. That's because we checked you out today. But that'll go away when you would leave us. If you stay longer, you will slowly get our scent on you, which makes others able to tell you're from our colony."
"Other pikachu? Or all pokémon?" he asked me.
"Depends." Espeon said. "If one of them already knows the smell of this colony, it will identify you as a colony member... Pikachu around here know all colony scents. They will know you live with us, just because of that particular scent. It's maybe hard to understand for a human, but scent is the most important thing we use. We can tell about anything just by your scent."
While Espeon was speaking, I checked my surroundings, looking for potential danger. Everything seemed fine. The air, for as far I could see it, was clear. I perked my ears, but I couldn't detect any strange sound or any sound that might be a threat. And between all the scents that I could smell in the forest I couldn't detect any strange or weird smells. No, my instincts told me everything was fine.
"I guess you're right... If it comes to survival, I think you'll win it from me..." Maurice chuckled. "Where are we going?"
"There are some trees with apples nearby. I get my food there." I said, while taking off again. Walking on all fours, a bit slower this time, giving him some time to keep up with me. After a short walk, we arrived at a place with apples. A lot of apple trees were standing right here, and even though the winter was just over, there were apples on them. Looking to the air once again and sniffing around, I made sure everything was safe. Maurice appeared right behind me, as well as Espeon.
"Those look very, very nice..." Maurice said.
"They ARE nice..." I said. "I love to eat apples..."
I jumped Maurice's shoulder and immediately jumped from his shoulder to a lower branch. I used my claws and tail to grab myself tight to it and keep my balance while I moved towards the first apple.
"Can you throw some down for us?" Maurice asked.
"Well no thanks, I'd prefer some berries!" Espeon said as she turned around and walked over to some bushes with Oran and Sitrus berries. "Lukas and I come here regularly... He loves apples and I love the berries."
"You know, I never actually ate one... I fed them to pokémon but never ate them myself..." Maurice said while I threw an apple down. He caught it, thanked me, and started eating.
I made my way down the tree and sat down. I took a bite from the apple and purred as juice came down my mouth and fur as I bit it, as well as a great scent. I loved apples. The aroma coming from the fruit filled my nose and I took another bite, purring again as more juice came from it. I smacked my lips and licked the apple. The taste was just too good...
Taking a bite from my apple, I followed Espeon to the bushes with berries. I watched the surroundings. This place was beautiful. It was a mixture of forest and long areas of grass. This place was a dent in the forest. If you checked from the place we came from, at the right you had forest and at the left, you could watch and see hilly grassland for miles and miles. It was a perfect spot to ask someone to marry you, I thought while taking another bite from the fruit I had received from Lukas.
"Oh, I just LOVE Sitrus..." Espeon said while she used her claws to grab one of the berries. It fell down and she started to eat it.
"Do they taste good?" I asked her.
"Good? Great! I can't believe you never tried one." she said.
"Oh, I'll try one now." I said. I got myself a Sitrus berry and took a bite. It tasted like lemon and it did actually taste great. While chewing on my berry, I watched Lukas feasting on his apple.
"He really likes those, doesn't he?" I said.
"Lukas? Oh yeah, he loves apples. But I prefer berries, but sometimes I take a apple. They taste quite good, but I prefer the taste of Sitrus berries." she smiled.
And while we were eating, we got lost in a conversation about me using berries on sick and injured pokémon in the pokémon center. I explained we always used them to make pokémon heal quicker or heal diseases, while we also mixed them to create a double effect in one drink. Espeon seemed rather interested, but she still found that we humans were complicated creatures.
"We think exactly the same about pokémon." I chuckled. "We try to uncover every secret, every move and every action from you and yet we still can't fully understand you." I said while turning my eyes to Lukas. And it made my heart almost stop. A persian had sneaked up to the little rodent. It was lying low in the grass, unnoticed by Lukas.
"Lukas is in danger. A persian!" I said to Espeon.
"What? Where! I don't see it!" Espeon said.
"Right there!" I said while pointing at it. Meanwhile, Lukas was still not aware of the danger close to him. He was halfway his apple and wasn't planning on stopping his meal anywhere soon.
The persian slowly moved closer, using its cat instincts and body to slowly make its way to the little pikachu. I didn't know what to do. If I would move closer, it would for sure strike before fleeing. If I did nothing, Lukas was done for.
"I can see him now..." Espeon said.
"Don't tell me I have to save his ass again..." I said while looking at the scene. Lukas was about 200 meters away. I sprint to Lukas wouldn't do good, he would notice us and be caught by the persian if we did, being distracted by us.
"I'm afraid so... I think he relied on you to cover him..." Espeon said.
"I got a plan, but I hope he'll listen to me..." I said while looking closely at the persian that was close enough to strike Lukas. It lied down in the grass, and after watching Discovery Channel I knew what was gonna happen: On one particular moment it would launch itself using it hind legs and run for the pikachu, using the element of surprise to catch the rodent.
Watching the cat carefully, I waited for a sign... A sign... A sign... If it would move its hind legs, getting ready to launch, it would strike within a short time... I was waiting for that sign... Lukas was still eating, enjoying his meal.
"Does Lukas know quick attack or agility..." I whispered to Espeon.
"He knows quick attack..." Espeon replied while holding her breath.
"You seem to know much about pikachu... Have you been at that colony?" he asked.
"My dad has a pikachu." I lied.
"Oh, alright then. Here." he said while showing me a ID.
The cat moved his hind legs... At THIS moment I had to activate my "plan". I shouted as loud as I could:
"LUKAS! DODGE WITH QUICK ATTACK, GO!"
Another bite... I loved this. I closed my eyes and felt a great feeling of satisfaction wash over me. Yes - it was a great feeling. Just before I wanted to take another bite I heard Maurice... "Dodge with quick attack..." mmmm...
It took a while before the words really registered in my mind. Dodge with... Wait, dodge? Was I attacked? But I didn't feel like it... I looked around in a dreamy way... I couldn't be in danger, I had checked everything not even thirty seconds ago... Yet my pleasurable feeling left me all of a sudden and a feeling of fear took part of me. My senses returned to me within the blink of an eye and I suddenly didn't feel safe anymore - I had to return to either the forest or Maurice, and I had to do it quickly! My instinct suddenly alerted me that I had to leave, and that I had to leave right now!
I got down onto all fours and dashed for safety, and not a moment too soon, because when I dashed away, a persian appeared! It dashed for me, missed me by just a hair, and ran after me.
I sighed in relief. Lukas had indeed listened to me without even thinking - after I shouted him to dodge he had dashed for me immediately. The persian had missed him, but was still following him. It would give up soon as it was scared for me, and, on top of that, Lukas was running faster. Lukas came running up to me and jumped my shoulder. I could feel his heart pounding as he held on to me.
"That... - scared me." he said while panting. "I thought you were still around me." he said while looking at me. The persian was standing about 50 meters away from us, his eyes looking straight at the little mouse.
"Well, I'm happy you did what I told you to do. Otherwise I think you wouldn't be standing here right now..." I said to him.
"That's the second time Maurice saves your life, Lukas!" Espeon said on a stern tone. "And I thought you could look after yourself..." she added.
"Well I can, but..." Lukas started.
"But what...? Those were two life-threatening mistakes! You may be happy this human is here, otherwise you'd be dead right now!" she stated.
"But... I thought he was standing next to... me..." Lukas said softly... Feeling guilty about what Espeon has said. He looked at the ground and showed very sad, knowing that Espeon was right.
"I can't keep saving you. You need to take care of yourself!" I said. "Plus, it makes the story boring..."
"Story?" Lukas asked.
"Never mind that." I said. "You know, when you save me, we're equal." I laughed. "I'm sure I'll do something stupid within a certain time. Then you help me, OK?" Lukas seemed to cheer up a bit after I said that. He jumped from my shoulder and taunted at the persian, which was still standing in front of us.
"Don't do stupid things, Lukas. We both know you would be eaten right now if I hadn't ordered you to do a quick attack." I said. Lukas looked at me.
"But I want to fight him..." he said.
"Fight him...? You barely escaped death and you want to fight... I'll never understand you pikachu. Not yet." I sighed. "Alright, do thunderbolt!" Lukas listened immediately. He released a strong thunderbolt to the persian. The persian jumped aside but was hit by the thunderbolt, since its range was bigger than the jump a persian could make. It stopped and collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by the shock.
"Well done, Lukas. I didn't know you were that powerful!" I said. Lukas looked proudly at me and at the persian.
"Let's go home... I'm tired..." he said while releasing a wide yawn.
"Tired...? But it's only... 12:30!" I said while taking out my smartphone.
"Twelve Thirty? What's that?" Lukas said while looking at me.
"That's human time, silly." Espeon chuckled. "I've got no clue what that means, but I know it's time. It must be."
"You're right, it's time. Alright, let's head back to the colony then..." I said while starting to walk back.
"Do you think you can find your way back?" Lukas asked. "You humans seem to get lost quickly in forests like these."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I've saved the GPS location of the colony. I can find it from anywhere." I said.
"What's GPS?" Espeon asked me. "You humans have so much things! How can you know how it all works?"
"Look." I said while getting my GPS app on screen. "Let's see... Colony!" I said while tapping the saved position. It appeared on screen and a arrow pointed towards the direction of the colony.
"The colony is that way..." I said while pointing towards the path we came from "...and it's about 950 meters away from here."
"Ninehundredfifty meteres? How much... What is... You humans are crazy." Lukas said. "That ' time' thing was complicated, but this?"
"Oh, it's actually 950 steps from here to the colony." I said.
"What is 950?" Lukas asked. This question surprised me. Even though pikachu always looked smart and intelligent, couldn't they even count?
"Can you count...?" I asked Lukas.
"Uhm... What is count?" he asked me.
"You know, one, two, three?" I said. "How much is this?" I said while raising one finger.
"A finger." he replied.
"How many fingers?" I asked.
"One?" he said unsure.
"That's good. And this?". I raised four fingers.
"Uhm... One?" he asked carelessly. That was enough proof for me. He couldn't count, which surprised me. Aren't they able to keep track of the colony numbers? Do they even keep track of that, in case someone gets lost?"
"How many pichu do you have right now?" I asked Lukas.
"Um, well, you got Shocky, Shooky, Karen, Linzi, Sparky, Orlando and Dillan... And... Uhm... Tim and Julia!" he said while looking at me smiling.
"So, how many are there?" I asked him.
"Uhm... One... Two..." the pikachu said slowly. His mind was busy processing the question I had just asked him. Was he able to tell me that the answer was 9?
"Do you know the answer?" I asked Espeon telepathically.
"It was 5, was it?" she replied without saying a word. I sighed virtually inside my head.
"No, its 9." I said.
"I don't know... Much." Lukas said. "And there will come more pichu soon... Mom said we got at least nine pregnant females which is more than last year. We had one female giving birth in the winter but only one pichu survived that, and that's Tim. But there will be also pichu evolving soon, so there's room for the new pichu. Otherwise we have to make a new pichu playroom..."
I completely forgot about that. It was birth season. Young pokemon were born in this time of year to ensure the best surviving chances and a summer to create some knowledge about surviving and some fat for the winter.
Suddenly, we heard a loud BANG nearby. It sounded like a gunshot. Lukas and Espeon were both gone in a blink, while I looked around to see if I was able to locate the possible hunter. I walked further, noticing Lukas and Espeon both following me through the sides and not over the path. Lukas came from the bushes and jumped my shoulder.
"I smell danger." he said.
"I smell it too..." Espeon said. Just as she finished her sentence, I saw a man in the forest. He hadn't seen us yet, but I quickly ordered Lukas and Espeon to hide, as I saw him holding a gun. He was clearly on the hunt.
"HEY!" he shouted. I acted like I saw him for the first time.
"Oh hi! Was it you that shot just now?" I asked.
"What? Yeah, yeah. There have been reports of a seriously injured raichu around which possibly needs to be shot to prevent further suffering..." he said.
"Can't you bring him to a pokemon center?" I asked. He came from the dense forest, and stood before me.
"Not really, the wounds are too bad to be healed. At least, so they say." he said.
"Did you see it?" I asked.
"Seen what?"
"The raichu. You just shot at something, I guess." I said.
"Oh, that was a test shot." he smirked. "Nothing to worry about."
"So you think I'm gonna tell you so you can shoot them?" I said to him with sarcastic voice.
"Don't try to be funny. I've got a permit to shoot them." he said not very friendly, trying to find something in his pockets.
"So you like hunting them and killing them. Maybe they got a mate or even children and you just go around shooting them." I said. He looked straight at me.
"Pokemon ranger?" I asked. "Why is a pokemon ranger going around this forest shooting a raichu?"
"Well, the raichu is only one part of the job... I'm actually on a mission to lower the amount of hunted pokemon here. And the reason I got a gun is because those illegal poachers don't care to shoot me."
"That explains a lot..." I said.
"Oh... Alright then... Have you seen pikachu around here?" he asked.
"Yes, I have... Lukas, Espeon! You can trust this guy. Come on out!" They both came out of the bushes where they have been laying. The man quickly pointed the gun to the pokemon but lowered immediately as soon he saw they weren't a threat.
"Soooo... You're protecting them? Good thing to see... I have seen you before..." he said to Espeon. "You come to town quite often." Espeon said something in her own language. I suddenly realised she has stopped using telepathy, making me unable to understand what she said.
"You can find a pikachu colony up ahead." I said while pointing to the fields with apple trees. "There are apple trees there and I regularly saw pikachu getting apples and berries there. I think it's at the other side of the fields. At least I'm moving my tent to somewhere around there." I said while looking at the place as if this was all true.
"Oh, thanks! That'll make things easier for sure." the man said before taking off to the location I had just pointed him to.
"See ya later!" he shouted back. I waited before he was completely gone before saying anything.
"I don't trust him." I said. "That ID looked nothing like a real pokémon ranger ID. How about you?"
"I can feel he has bad meanings..." Espeon said.
"He doesn't feel very right..." Lukas said. "Unlike you." he smiled while climbing my back and shoulder. "Lets head back to the colony before he comes back... I actually got shivers when he pointed that gun at me..."
"Haha, I wouldn't allow him to shoot you, don't worry." I said.
After a couple of minutes we made it back to the colony. I still got some nervous glances from several pikachu, but most of them greeted me happily. Why they were so happy that I was here I did not understand, but I didn't bother. As long most pikachu liked me I would be fine. Then a female came running for us.
"Hey Maurice, come with me!" she asked.
"Why...?" I asked.
"Just come, you'll see." she said as she turned around and walked off. Even Lukas who wanted to take a nap was curious what she wanted to show me so badly.
"I can't come, I need to do some stuff. I gotta check the snake colony to see if they're up to something today." Espeon said.
"Oh, too bad... Well, good luck and watch yourself..." I said.
"Oh, don't worry about me." she said. "I won't get into danger!" and she took off to the nearby forest edge.
"I think I already know what she's gonna show you..." Lukas said on my shoulder, while we followed the female. "But I'm not entirely sure..."
"What is it then?" I asked.
"You'll see." Lukas smirked. We reached a clearing in the colony. The female ran straight for it. When I came closer I suddenly saw pichu playing. It was adorable to see them doing their playful business. As soon one spotted me they all ran for the baby-sitters (which were three females plus some watching guards) and hid behind it, looking at me with anxious eyes, except one. He was standing right in front of the baby-sitters and watched me daringly. I simply walked up to him and sat down.
"Pichu!" it said. Espeon's telepathy was out of range, so I had to rely on my own interpretation again.
"Pika. Pika pikachu." Lukas said, while jumping off my shoulder. He made his way to the baby-sitters and stood behind the sitters and pichu.
"That's great, Lukas, but I can't understand you anymore." I said smiling at him. I reached my hand out for the pichu that stood before me. But when I came closer, or close enough for the pichu to panic, it whined and quickly ran behind his protectors. The sitters all chuckled, as if they expected this to happen. Then they turned around and said something to the pichu. They looked questionable at their teachers and then at me. Yet, no one had the courage to get closer to me.
"Come on, I won't bite...!" I said while gently reaching out my hand. I laid my hand on the soft grass, palm upwards and wiggled my fingers. This attracted the attention of the pichu (and also the sitters). The pichu that had stood before me was the first to come closer, followed by another female pichu. The male stopped about halfway, not wanting to move further without the baby-sitters backing him up. The female however came closer, flinched as I wiggled my fingers, but quickly moved closer again and sniffed my finger. She squeaked soft and happily as I slowly and gently started to rub it across her chin.
"You lost against a girl..." I said provocative at the male, while smiling gently at him. He looked angry at me, but them came closer. Meanwhile, the female had climbed my lap and requested more attention by holding her arms upwards and requesting me to pick her up. I picked her up and held her in front of me. She checked me over very interested and wanted to be placed on me. I placed her on my left shoulder where she started to sniff my clothes and my neck. The male pichu had also climbed my lap, but he decided it would be cooler to climb me. His claws dug into my sweater and slowly yet surely he was climbing his way up to my right shoulder.
Encouraged by the two successful pichu (and the baby-sitters), the other pichu came closer. One or two already decided I wasn't that scary, and I decided that it would be better if I remained as low as possible so the pichu wouldn't be that scared of my size. I laid down on my back, grabbing both pichu on my shoulder and halfway my shoulder to prevent them from falling off. This had immediate effect on the other pichu: they didn't seem to be that scared anymore now that they could see over me more easily.
After a minute or five I had turned into a pichu playground. The baby-sitters were sitting right next to me while I was playing tag with some of the pichu, where they had to catch my hand. Others used my body as a jungle gym or something related and one was trying to get my attention by climbing my head. Using my both hands to catch some pichu every now and then, evading others that were trying to catch it (and that included some enthusiastic cuts from pichu claws) I saw they were getting tired. Some of them had quit playing and had cuddled up near the baby-sitters, which were now grooming them. Lukas had curled himself up with his tail around him and looked at me.
"Gonna take a nap?" I asked him. He nodded and looked at the tired pichu.
"Pikachu pi" he said while releasing a big yawn. One pichu grabbed his tail, dragged it away from him and cuddled up against him, releasing a deep sigh. Lukas didn't seem to bother, he simply curled his tail around the pichu and himself again and closed his eyes, enjoying the nice and warm sunlight. Yes, maybe it was a good time to take a nap... I stood up, moved closer to Lukas and laid myself down comfortable using my sweater as a pillow. On my side, looking at the pichu and the rest of the pikachu, I noticed that a lot of pikachu also seemed to take a nap. It probably was naptime for the colony, and not only for the pichu. One thing was for sure: this was a perfect spot to take a nap, lying in the sun and closing my eyes, I enjoyed the sun shining on me. When I suddenly felt some movement at my belly I watched as some pichu decided that I was a perfect spot to sleep against. They came snuggling against my belly and all fell asleep. One climbed my sweater snuggled against my face, rubbing its cheeks against me. I fell asleep, placing my arm and hand around the little creature, as if I had never done different...