Hello everyone! Quite a long time since I last updated. I'm sorry for that, even when it's holiday. But I'm kinda busy with everything and nothing. :P
But, to make up, I've got the longest chapter. Currently over 10.000 words, which makes it the longest of all. This chapter contains all kind of elements and you'll get to know some more information of Lukas' past... But I'll quit spoiling stuff, just go read.
Please leave a review so I know what you think of the story!
After we packed some stuff (milk for Cammy, cake for everyone, and some other stuff), we were ready to leave for my family.
"Oh, Lukas...?" I asked.
"There's something I need to do with you and Cammy..." I said. "I gotta register you so you can't be caught by anyone else by accident."
"Pika?" Lukas said as I pulled out a pokéball.
"Don't worry..." I said. "I will reset the ball as soon we go back to the colony, so you're free again."
"Why not use the pad to register him to your name?" Oak asked.
"So I can catch and release him easier." I said.
"Lukas, just standstill. Ever seen a pokémon being caught?" I said. Lukas shook his head. He hadn't. There weren't a lot of trainers that came to the colony and caught pikachu.
"Alright... You'll be caught in this ball when it touches you." I said. "Do not resist. Don't try to escape. You'll get stuck, but I'll get you out immediately." This didn't please Lukas at the very least, but he nodded. I tapped his head gently.
"Don't be afraid, it won't hurt you." I said. I sat in front of him and dropped the pokéball on his head. The pokéball opened and sucked Lukas inside. Lukas panicked as soon he turned red and was sucked inside the pokéball.
"Don't panic Lukas! Do not resist!" I said firmly. I knew he could still hear me inside. But it was no use, the ball opened again and Lukas appeared. The ball fell on the floor and Lukas jumped on my shoulder and clung his paws to my head. I smiled at him.
"Is it scary to be caught?" I said, gently rubbing against him to comfort him and to calm him down. He was breathing heavily as if he was running a long way. It must cost a lot of energy to fight the pokéball and escape it. He nodded and whined, looking at the pokéball that laid on the floor.
"Don't be scared. It's purely to register you so anyone else cannot catch you..." I said. "Cammy can be registered by the poképad, but I want to be able to release you when we return to the forest. Visiting Oak every time will won't be handy..." Lukas looked at me and then nodded. He walked over to the pokéball and gave it to me.
"You can also press this button." I said. "Try it!" Lukas looked at the button, sniffed it, and then pushed it. The pokéball opened and poor Lukas panicked while he was sucked inside again. The ball rumbled. One... Two... And it opened again. Lukas jumped out, panting heavily and looking at the pokéball. He looked at me and shook his head.
"Come on Luuk, one more time..." I said while gently petting the pikachu. "It's just to prevent anyone else catching you and taking you away from the colony. Although chances are slim, if someone notices you're still a wild pokémon, they will probably try to catch you. I don't want you to be gone forever with someone else... I don't know if you want to go on a journey with a trainer..." I said while looking at Lukas. He shook his head quickly, not wanting to go away from his friends, family and in special: me. Although I didn't know that.
"Alright then, one more time. Nothing will happen to you, I promise." I said smiling. Lukas gulped, but then nodded and pressed the button himself again. The ball sucked him inside and Lukas looked panicked again, but stood still this time. The pokéball shook a couple of times before the red button on the front gave one long red beep and Lukas was caught. I immediately walked up to the ball.
"Lukas, come on out!" I said. Lukas appeared and looked around.
"Pika-pikachu..." he said. I noticed he was shivering. I picked him up and looked him over, but nothing seemed to be wrong.
"Lukas, calm down... You don't have to go back." I said and put the ball around my belt and nuzzled my nose through his fur on his head the way he liked it. Then I placed Lukas on the table with the PC and the poképad.
"Alright, Cammy!" I said. Cammy was handed over to me by Jack. I placed Cammy on a pad connected to Oak's PC. I booted it up and placed Cammy back on the pad, since she had walked over to me to check out the PC.
"Stay there one second, sweetie." I said to her. The pad lit up and a light surrounded Cammy. She flinched, but she saw me smiling at her and looked interested at the blue light that seemed to rise from under her. Lukas had forgotten he was scared and he walked up to Cammy.
"Don't go near, Luk'!" I said. Lukas stopped, looked at me and looked back at Cammy.
"Alright... Species... Pichu... Weight... Normal... Height... Normal... Color... Yellow... Yeah sure... Attacks... Wow Cammy, you know Volt Tackle? Cool!" I said." The rest were standard pichu attacks. I clicked a button and registered Cammy to myself.
"All done!" I said while taking Cammy off the pad and putting her on my left shoulder. She squeaked happily and purred while rubbing against my cheek.
"Hehe... You're so sweet..." I chucked while I rubbed her cheek back. Lukas jumped my other shoulder.
"Alright, do we have everything?" I asked to the pikachu and Oak.
"I think so. Otherwise your mother will have it." Oak reacted.
"Yeah, true." I answered. Taking three pikachu and a pichu with you in a car wasn't easy. Both Jack and Rosie were used to it, but Cammy and Lukas didn't like it at all. They didn't know what was gonna happen and they didn't want to enter the car at first. Cammy entered as first (although she still didn't want to, Rosie had picked her up at her scruff and simply placed her inside) and then Lukas did. Jack, Rosie and Cammy had special seats in the back made for pokémon, but there was no room for Lukas. So I took him on my lap, which immediately solved his troubles. I put the seating belts around the pokémon in the back. They couldn't do this themselves because they were special ones. Jack and Rosie drove often in Oak's truck so their seats were easily accessible. The seats were specially made for pokémon, and didn't gave trouble with their tails and height, and had special four-point belts so the pikachu were secure. Even better, both pikachu slept a lot in the seats because they were so comfortable. As soon you started to drive, they would almost immediately doze off to pika-dreamland. We also had special pichu seats, because both pikachu often had children to take care of, which (of course) came along when they went away.
We drove away to Viridian. Lukas and Cammy looked around quite scared as soon the car started. But both pokémon looked surprised when they were suddenly moving quickly. So quick, they couldn't keep track of the surroundings. Lukas was constantly trying to watch stuff and before you knew it was gone. Looking back at the back of the car, I saw Cammy doing the same. She looked left and right, looked to the passing houses of Pallet, the trees, the people walking in the town... It was all new for both of them. I looked at Jack and Rosie. Both pikachu had their eyes closed and their heads to the side of their seat. They slept like a log. Unbelievable that they could do that so quickly.
"Being a pikachu has its advantages..." I though as we moved on towards Viridian. After a while we arrived at my home.
"Thanks for bringing me, Sam." I said.
"No problem. You'll be able to get back yourself?" he said.
"Yes, I will. I'll be back tomorrow morning. I don't know how late you're gonna be there, but I think you won't be there when I'm going back." I said.
"Well, see you later. I'll keep you in touch on Cammy... Oh, Cammy. Yeah, you need to bring her back, don't you?" he said.
"Yes, but I don't need you for that." I smiled. "Jack and Rosie, remember?"
"Of course..." he said. "Have to get used to Cammy for a while I suppose."
"Oh, you will fairly quick I guess." I chuckled while getting out. Lukas jumped on the ground and looked at my house.
"Pika pikachu?" he said while I opened the door of the truck. Jack was still asleep.
"Hey sleepyhead, wake up!" I said to him while shaking him gently. He opened his eyes, released a short "chuuuuu...?" and then got up. I unlocked Cammy for him and moved towards the other side to do the same to Rosie. She didn't wake. I sighed and picked her up. With three pikachu, a bag, stuff, and a pichu I moved towards my house. Oak followed me. I used my key to get in, which I had left at Oak.
The house was empty. My parents weren't home and a note on the table said that they were buying stuff. I had no clue which day it actually was. I had lost track of the week and weekend rhythm after a couple of days. In a pikachu colony, you don't have that... I had only a date on my phone and I looked around.
"Which day is it?" I asked Oak.
"You don't know?" he replied.
"Actually I don't... I lost track of the days after a couple of days inside the colony... They don't have weekend, you know." I said.
"It's monday." he said.
"Worst day of the week!" I said while smiling. Rosie just woke up and looked around sleepy.
"Hello Sleepy, welcome back to the world of the living!" I said.
"Pika pikachu!" she said while she jumped from my arms and sniffed around. Jack, Cammy and Lukas had also entered and Lukas and Cammy looked around.
"Welcome to my house - erm, I mean nest." I said. Lukas looked around and also sniffed around. He could smell human scents... And others... This house was full of interesting stuff. Cammy did the same. She had jumped the table and looked around from a little higher. I could smell food from the kitchen and I knew Jack and Rosie did the same, because they moved towards the kitchen and Jack immediately jumped the sink. He looked around if he could find any pokémon food.
"Uh-uh, Jack, you know you just ate back at Oak's lab..." I said while smiling at him. He dropped his ears and gave me a puppy look. But I knew them so well that it didn't work.
"No, you won't get food yet. If my parents come home you'll get something, alright?" I said smiling. Jacks ears immediately perked up and he looked happily at me. Meanwhile Lukas had found the stairs and looked at it. He climbed it and found himself on the second floor of our house with view to the living room. I walked out of the kitchen with Rosie behind me, which moved towards Cammy. She would probably show her around soon. For now she just sat near Cammy and rubbed her cheek against her. Cammy purred softly and rubbed her new mom back. I smiled when I looked around.
"Where's Lukas?" I said.
"Pika pikachu!" he said from above while he looked at the doors. I moved up the stairs and looked at him. There were a couple of doors on the second floor. One of them contained another corridor with more doors to our bedrooms and one to our bathroom. The door to that corridor stood open and Lukas looked rather confused. He didn't know where to go, but he entered it. He sniffed every door and then wanted to enter one. My room. He scratched it with his paws and looked at me.
"Pikachu-pi! Pika-pi!" he said.
"Hey, you found my room!" I said.
"Pika!" he said while nodding. I pushed the doorknob and allowed Lukas in. He immediately ran in and stopped, sniffing around. I moved towards my bed and flopped flat on my back.
"Ahhh, I missed this..." I said. Lukas jumped my bed and had to regain his balance when he did so, because my bed was kinda soft. His paws sunk into it while he walked it. He was watching me while he walked over to me. I smiled at him.
"This is my real nest, Luk." I said. "I share the other rooms with my parents, but this one is mine..."
"Pika pikachu..." Lukas said as he looked around my room. It was a rather big room with a door that was my storage containing all kinds of old toys, stuff I didn't use anymore or I didn't need at this moment. My bed was against the wall with a desk at the right of it. On the desk was my computer. Under the desk, next to my chair, there was a place for a pokémon. It was the old basket of Bobby, which he loved so much. It was rather big. When I was little, I had sometimes curled myself up in it together with Bobby. It was more of sentimental worth of me. Yet, it was now used by other pikachu (Jack and Rosie) and even their pichu to sleep in. If they didn't sleep in MY bed, of course. Lukas had quickly found the basket because he smelled it and smelled the scent of other pikachu in it and also in my room.
"Pika Pikachu-pi?" he asked me.
"Yup, that's where Jack and Rosie often sleep." I said. "They prefer to sleep with me in bed though. Sometimes they slept there with their children. Like last year when they had a nest of four pichu. But even then they just cuddled up near me, just like you and Cammy did."
"Pika-pikachu." Lukas giggled. When would Maurice finally accept that pikachu always slept together, at all ages?
"Not that I mind though, in the winter it's nice and warm to have them - and you too, by the way - near you. Like my old plush pikachu. I never used it though, I had Bobby..." I said. Lukas smiled at me and continued his inspection of my room. He looked at my computer and decided it wasn't interesting, although the smell certainly was. Then Cammy, Jack and Rosie came in. Both older pikachu immediately jumped on my bed and looked happily at me. They seemed glad they were home. Their second home. Cammy was also looking around and wanted to get up my bed. She attempted to jump, failed because she couldn't reach enough height, and fell down.
"Pichu pi!" she said and immediately Rosie jumped down to help her.
"Pika Pikachu?" she said.
"Pichu pichu!" Cammy said. Rosie grabbed Cammy at her scruff with her teeth and leaped up my bed with Cammy. Then she released her and Cammy had made it up to the bed. She immediately started to sniff around and looked at me, sniffed, looked at Jack, sniffed again and then looked at Rosie. All the scents were there and I was surprised that Cammy was able to pick them up. I had left my home a month ago and Jack and Rose hadn't slept in my bed for over three months. I guess the scents were that strong...
After Lukas and Cammy were both done in my room (Cammy had requested help to climb things multiple times) they went back to the stairs. At the same time I heard sound at the front door. My parents were coming home! Rosie carried Cammy downstairs and Jack quickly followed her. I also moved down when my mother came in.
"Maurice!" she said happily and she immediately hugged me tightly.
"Hi mom...!" I said. She let go and saw the two pikachu with the pichu and a pikachu at the stairs. Her eyes grew furious for a moment but she relaxed. I knew a epic clash between the "dirty little pokemon" and "trained pikachu from Maurice" camp was going on inside her head. But, it looked like the trained part was currently winning with ease. After my mom my father came in.
"Hello, Maurice!" he said while patted my shoulder with his hands and hugged me shortly.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm great!" I said.
"Good, I see you already brought over some pikachu!" he said happily. After all, he wanted me to have my own and he also was big friends with Jack and Rosie.
"Hey Jack and Rosie, how are you?" he said while he kneeled down next to them and gently pet them.
"And who is this...?" he said while he grabbed Cammy at her scruff. He lifted her gently and put her down on his hand, which was about four times the size of the pichu. Understandably, the pichu shivered at the sight of this giant person that picked her up just like that. Cammy softly squeaked for help. I stood behind her and Jack jumped my back and climbed my shoulder. He said something to Cammy which made her look a lot better.
"Cammy, meet my father!" I said. Cammy looked up at his face and made herself tiny, hoping he would not see her.
"She's shy, isn't she?" he laughed. He gently stroked her little head.
"And cute. She's absolutely adorable!" he said while moving his head lower than his hand so he could look into her eyes.
"And she's white... How's that possible?" he asked me while turning his hand to look at Cammy from different angles.
"Dunno..." I said. "But that's the reason she's here. She's born inside the colony about three weeks ago and she was abandoned two days ago because of her color. I adopted her so she had a chance to survive. She was chased off the colony by some pikachu but I managed to find her with some help of Lukas."
"Lukas? Who's that?" he said. Whups, forgot to introduce Lukas! I looked back and saw Lukas halfway the stairs, looking a bit nervous and a bit sad.
"Come on, Lukas, don't be shy!" I said. Lukas came nervously of the stairs and jumped on my hand which I had lowered so he could easily jump my other shoulder.
"This is Lukas!" I said while looking at the pikachu. "He's my guide in the colony and also my current partner... He helps me with learning stuff I need to know to behave as a real pikachu."
"Really interesting!" he said while he ruffled through the rodents ears and fur, making him giggle. "Make sure you look after him, he can get himself into trouble!" my dad said to Lukas while pointing at me. Lukas nodded and then smiled at me.
"So, Cammy is now yours?" he asked.
"Yep, she's mine!" I said. "I adopted her and gave her to Jack and Rosie. As soon I'm getting out of the colony I'll really adopt her and keep her. At least, that's the plan." I said.
"Well, that saves me a argue with your mother!" he smiled. "She's still convinced that this was a bad idea and that you should come back this instance, or rather don't return."
"Oh, but I'm doing great in there. The pikachu are really nice to me! I'm their babysitter, I take care of the pichu and I learn them stuff." I said.
"Oh, really?" he said. "I thought the pichu were always the best protected inside the wild?"
"Yes they are, but after a while they need to come out. And if I'm near them... Well, so be it. I won't go away. That sort of went very well so now I'm the favorite sitter of all pichu... They really love me." I said while smiling.
"Ah, like that." he said. "And why did you take Cammy from them again?"
"They abandoned Cammy..." I said. "She was chased off the colony and left to die... Fortunately I could find her before she was seriously hurt. Lukas helped me... I decided to adopt her. She's been abandoned by mom."
"That's rather sad..." he said.
"Oh, Lukas, don't touch that!" I said. Lukas had jumped off my shoulder and was now standing before... Bobby. The pikachu stood on a closet where we could always see it. Lukas was trying to contact the pikachu, which spirit was gone long before he was even born.
"Pika-pikachu...?" he said to me while looking at me with a questionable face, wondering why the pikachu didn't respond to anything.
"Remember I told you about Bobby...?" I asked him. He nodded.
"This is Bobby. He's dead..." I said while looking at the pikachu. His eyes were looking to the other side of the room, his tail was standing straight up, just as his ears. If you would see him from a distance, it would just like he was still alive.
"He's on display. He won't respond to you anymore." I said while Lukas' ears drooped when he looked at the pikachu suddenly feared by it.
"Don't worry, he won't do anything to you. Bobby was a nice pikachu. I'm sure he would like you." I said. "It's just... We couldn't let him go so easy... We were really sad he passed away... This way it feels like he is still here... But we knew he had a great life. He loved us and we loved him." I said while looking at the pikachu, which smiled as usual. Meanwhile dad was playing with Cammy, trying to gently pin her to the ground and tickle her while she attempted to escape his hands. She ran around him, dodged his hands and then got scooped up by him. Cammy rubbed her cheeks against his hands and purred. This man smelled similar to Maurice! I chuckled as dad tickled her and suddenly a bright flash went across the room.
"You should watch out with making her laugh, she's only three weeks old. She hasn't got any control of electricity yet." I said.
"I can see that..." he said startled. "I mean, I was used to electricity but those years without Bobby made my defense for it fell again..."
"Oh, mine went up. At least, I think so. I get shocked so many times by pichu that I don't even feel it anymore." I said.
Overall the stay with my parents was just as I was used to. Oak had left for the pokémon center after we ate cake. First, Lukas and Cammy didn't want to taste it, but after I had some molten chocolate on my hands for holding it too long, I asked Lukas to lick it. His eyes suddenly glowed with passion and love when he tasted the chocolate. He immediately started to beg for more. After seeing that, Cammy also wanted to try. Same happened and both rodents loved chocolate from that moment on. They were licking it from the plates we had used and even after I had licked my own fingers Cammy and Lukas would come to clean them further. After a time I was saved by Rosie that told Cammy to stop. Cammy didn't listen at first, but after Rosie pulled her away she seemed to listen. Lukas however was another story, and I needed to grab and hold him tightly before he would stop trying to get more. After a firm glance he stopped, yet he looked with a provoking glance at me. After that I turned on the TV to watch anything. I hadn't watched TV for a long time and I sat down at my favorite spot before it. I smiled as all pikachu (and pichu) came cuddling up to me. Lukas and Cammy didn't stay long though... They looked at the television where suddenly another person appeared to read the local news. They both flinched and fled behind the chair as the news began with some nifty sound effects and intro-world-wide video.
"Welcome to today's news." the person announced.
"Pika pikachu?" Lukas said while he sat before the TV. He looked at the screen and Cammy jumped the closet the TV was standing on and looked at the back. She looked at it, attracted by the electric current that went through the TV to generate the images on the screen. She looked at the front, the back, and the front again, and then the back again. She wondered how something so thin could house a complete person. She looked at me from the TV screen with a confused look. Lukas was currently doing the same. I laughed at both rodents while I gently pet Rosie which was standing on my legs with her paws on my shoulders requesting cuddles. She rested her body on my belly and chest and sighed happily.
"Already worn out from Cammy?" I chuckled. She looked at me and shook her head.
"Pika pikachu..." she said while laying her head on my chest just under my neck. She nuzzled it and purred, requesting me to cuddle her. I slowly stroked my hand across her head and back, all over her tail and pulling it gently, more like massaging it. She had been missing me. She gently rubbed her head against me. I knew exactly what Rosie liked and that's why she loved me. She closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep when Cammy appeared. She jumped the chair (which was a respectable height) and stood on the sides looking at me and Rosie.
"Pichu!" she exclaimed while she climbed my arms towards my shoulder. Rosie opened her eyes and looked at her.
"Pika Pikachu!" she said while looking at Cammy. Cammy listened and now stood on my shoulder.
"Oh no, you don't want to..." I said but Cammy jumped for Rosie. Rosie grabbed the pichu in mid air, placed her against my chest and started another thorough grooming.
"Isn't she clean enough yet...?" I chuckled. I watched both pokémon. Cammy and Rosie had their eyes closed and Rosie was licking Cammy all over on auto-pilot. Every now and then she would get to the end and lick my hand or finger before she moved on. Meanwhile Jack and Lukas were chatting a bit. Fun thing was, although I couldn't understand it perfectly, I could understand it was about the colony. The way they talked, the tones, the different 'pi-ka-chu's, was this the start of my pikachu language? After a while of listening to them I could not understand it anymore. They were talking too quick for me to keep up. Rosie and Cammy had fallen asleep against me. Rosie was still licking the pichu at a very slow rate, but I was sure she was asleep. Talk about instinct... Even asleep she would groom her child! I smiled at the two.
"Maurice...?" my mom said from the kitchen.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to get me something from the store? I forgot something for dinner..."
"Oh sure. Lukas will like seeing new stuff." I said. Lukas perked up at hearing his name.
"Wanna come with me to see the pokémart?" I said. He nodded happily and stood up together with Jack. I placed Rosie and Cammy on a pillow on the bench. I laid Cammy against mom and laid Rosie's tail around Cammy. Almost like she knew she opened her eyes for a second, looked at Cammy and then snuggled close to her while starting to groom her again (her back this time).
"Really, isn't she clean enough?" I smiled at the pikachu. Rosie looked at me, shook her head, sniffed Cammy and then pulled a face.
"Ah, she hasn't got the right smell..." I said. Rosie nodded and closed her eyes again. Lukas jumped my shoulder.
"Pika-pikachu-pi pikachu-pikachu-pi!" he said happily.
"Who-wo, down boy." I chuckled. After I got some money I left with Lukas on my shoulder and Jack behind me. I took a turn right and started walking across the pavement towards the shopping area. Lukas looked around and was interested in about anything. He had never seen a human city before.
"Hey Maurice!"
I looked to my right and saw my neighbor. He was a boy of my age and his name was Tim. He was hanging out of his window. Jack replied with a happy "pi-KA-chu!".
"Another new pikachu?" he said. "You get them from everywhere, don't you?". It made me smile.
"Actually, this pikachu is a wild one!" I said.
"Wild?" he said. "Wait!" I stopped one moment when the front door opened and he sprinted out of his house.
"If he's wild, can I catch it?" he asked quickly while running up to me.
"You could try..." I said with a sarcastic smile.
"Pokéball, go!" he screamed. Lukas looked at the pokéball and jumped out of the way. The ball hit me, opened, tried to catch me, but failed. The red light engulfed me, failed, and the pokéball fell to the ground.
"That wasn't nice... Lukas, come back!" I said. Lukas returned to my shoulder and watched angrily at the boy.
"Don't worry... You..." I was interrupted by the pokéball hitting Lukas again. The pikachu panicked, but the red light failed again and Lukas looked confused. Me and Jack both grinned.
"Did you really think I would move into the city without registering him?" I said while I took his pokéball from my belt and played with it in my hands.
"I knew you would..." he grinned. "But I always wanted a pikachu like Bobby. He was brilliant. He looks like him!"
"You're certainly right there, Lukas looks close to him." I said while Jack jumped Tim's shoulder.
"Hey Jack, how are ya?" he said.
"Pika-pikachu!" he said.
"That's good!" Tim said.
"No offense, but all pikachu look similar. Although living with them makes you see differences."
"Living with them? What do you mean?" he asked me.
"No one told you?" I said. Both Tim and Jack shook their heads.
"Nope. I noticed you were gone so I asked where you were gone, but your mom and dad wouldn't tell me." he said.
"Hmmm... I don't know if Oak keeps this secret..." I said while thinking about it.
"Anyways, where were you?" he asked while we moved towards the pokémart.
"I am currently living with a group of wild pikachu to do research. I have to try to get to know what it means to live in a pikachu colony. Like how it works." I said.
"How do you mean?" he asked while he looked confused.
"Well, as a human, we have rules. I cannot steal from you, I cannot attack you, we gotta pay taxes and such. You know how that works, don't ya?"
"Yes, but... Ah..." he said.
"Well, I have to check how that works in a pikachu colony. Not the taxes thing, but how the hierarchy is inside there. Oak said he couldn't manage to find out - or at least didn't know yet. So he asked me if I could because I'm so addicted to pikachu and I can handle pokémon so well." I said.
"Well, that's certainly true." he said. "So... This pikachu is... One from the colony?" he asked. "I know this is Jack."
"Yes, that's Jack and this is Lukas." I said. "He's my sort of guide in the colony. He explains me a lot of stuff and he shows me around."
"But how do you know his name? You cannot understand him, can you?" he asked confused.
"No, I can't. Well, not yet. I'm trying to learn pika-language, but it doesn't go very well." I said. "But there's an espeon in the colony that uses telepathy on me to make me understand them. She actually sends her hearing to my brain and makes it understandable for me... At least, that's what she told me."
"Wow, cool!" Tim said. "So you were able to actually talk with pokémon?"
"Yep. I already learned a lot about them. Lukas here for instance likes me because I smell nice and he can feel I don't want to hurt him. He's also my guide in the colony and explains me stuff I don't get." I said.
"Sounds funny, a pikachu explaining you what to do next." Tim said.
"It certainly was strange for me the first days, but you get used to it. Right now I just see pikachu as one of my own... Not as pokémon. I still know they are, but since I live with them and such..."
"I understand... So what do you exactly do?"
"I am babysitter. I check on the pichu of the colony and learn them stuff. The pikachu on their turn also learn the pichu stuff which I can learn and tell them. You can see it as primary school. The pikachu and I are the teachers, and the pichu are the students."
"Sounds fun. So what did you learn from them?" he asked.
"Well, the first weeks were mainly getting used to the pikachu habits and to the pichu and pikachu. But the last two weeks were a lot better, since more mothers and other pikachu accepted me. I'm part of a colony of approximately eighty pikachu and-
"EIGHTY?" Tim almost shouted. "Jeez, I thought you were part of a small colony! I thought you only had about ten or maybe fifteen pikachu and two or maybe three pichu to take care of!"
"Ehm, not really. I'm part of a big colony. I take care of seventeen pichu at the moment. With help of real pikachu babysitters of course... They won't leave me completely alone."
"Well I thought you were having an easy time there, but it appears to be a fulltime job!" Tim said.
"Trust me, it is. Those pichu, and specially the young ones that are born this season, don't have a clue about danger or predators. Although we try to learn them to watch every step, they just can't take care of themselves. But hey, that's why they're pichu..." I chuckled while Lukas nodded and Jack also nodded.
"Maurice the babysitter..." Tim then said like it was in neon-letters on the side of a house. "Nope, in my head it sounds cooler." Tim said while we reached the pokémart and I laughed. Lukas looked at the building from the top of my shoulder. You could clearly see he was impressed by it. We entered through the sliding doors (something that startled him) and were inside the mart. This was the biggest mart of the town. It had multiple stories which were connected with escalators. Besides the usual pokémon stuff like potions, antidotes and pokéballs which were located right at the entrance for trainers, it had also a supermarket at the second floor. The third floor had more pokémon related stuff as baskets, special type-related stuff and even clothes.
"So, what do you think?" I asked while I looked at Lukas. He looked around at all the kind of stuff surrounding him. He jumped down and looked at the different pokéballs, then at the potions. Lukas then sniffed a bottle and quickly pulled a face and took a couple of steps back.
"Pika-chu?" he asked pointing at the bottle while I saw Jack smiling about Lukas' face.
"Those are repels. Designed to keep pokémon away from you." I chuckled. "You like that?" Lukas quickly shook his head and followed me to the escalator.
"Come on buddy, climb my shoulder." I said. "You can't go on the escalator, it's dangerous for pokémon." Lukas however thought different and looked at the moving metal pieces that seemed to come out of the floor, split into different parts to continue their journey to the second floor on a forty five degrees angle. It was a strange thing to see for the little mouse pokémon.
"I guess you weren't kidding when you said he was wild... He's completely obsessed with this escalator!" Tim said to me.
"Of course, almost all pokémon are when they see it for the first time!" I said.
"Well Bobby wasn't!"
"He was 32 when I was born! He already knew them before we had even seen them." I chuckled.
"Yeah, that's true..." Tim said.
"Don't underestimate pikachu... They are way more intelligent than you might think." I said while smiling and picking up Lukas. I stepped on the escalator and we went to the second floor.
"Bobby must have a lot of fun when WE saw an escalator for the first time." I said to Tim.
"Absolutely. I remember I was scared for those metal things coming out of the floor." he chuckled. I laughed.
"Really? I never was scared or anything. I once fell when I stepped on one when I was younger, but after that I never had problems." We reached the second floor, which was the food section. The first section was the fruit section and Lukas ears perked up as soon he saw all the fruit. As soon we left the escalator he jumped from my shoulder to check everything out.
"He's really having the time of his life..." Tim said.
"Yup, and I can't blame him. Supermarkets are always interesting if you never saw one." I said while Jack smiled and went after Lukas.
"Alright, what do you have to get?" Tim said.
"Oh, something for dinner tonight..." I said while walking through the paths searching for a bottle of jam.
"All that that for just one jar of jam?" Tim said.
"Oh, I don't mind." I said while I headed back to pay and to search Lukas. Not surprising, we found him near the fruit section. He looked happily at me while he was chewing on an apple which he got from the basket with apples. He offered me the apple with a couple of bits taken from it. Jack and Tim laughed at me.
I looked at him and shook my head, but I was unable to not smile at him at the same time. He was wild, he didn't know better...
"Lukas, we can't just take apples from the shop just as in the wild... We gotta pay for it!" I said. Lukas looked at me and pulled his head sideways.
"Pikachu...?" he said.
"Ah well, just forget it... But don't take something just like that from here anymore, understand?" I smiled.
"Pika!" he said happily as I offered him his apple back which he happily started eating on my shoulder.
"Jack, you wanna have one too?" I said. Jack nodded happily when I got an apple. He jumped my shoulder.
"Just make sure you tell Cammy she can't take stuff like Lukas does." I whispered to him while I gave him his apple. He smiled at me and took a bit out of it and purred.
"You want one too?" I said as I took one myself and took a bite.
"Sure!" Tim said while I grabbed one. Then we went down the escalator and payed for the jam and four apples. Then we left the building and headed home. Within a record time our food was gone and both pikachu started running in front of us and chasing each other and playing. It was fun to see them go.
"They seem to get along pretty well!" Tim said.
"Yup, they certainly do..." I said while yawning widely and long.
"Tired...?" Tim asked on a funny tone while I got out my phone.
"Yup. It's naptime..." I said while stretching myself and shaking myself a bit.
"Naptime? Aren't you a bit too old for a nap...?" Tim asked me.
"That's what I thought. But the pichu aren't and since I'm their babysitter, I sleep with them. They love snuggling up to me. It's actually pretty funny to have them around you when you sleep." I said. "Anyways, I got used to sleeping after lunch so I'm gonna take a nap when I get home..." I said while Tim looked at me like I was crazy.
"Come in, I want to introduce you to someone." I said when we reached my house where Jack and Lukas were waiting for me to open the door. They happily entered. It was like the short walk had given them both an energy boost. Rosie and Cammy were still cuddled up on the couch and were sleeping.
"This is Cammy, Tim." I whispered. She's a pichu from the colony and she is abandoned by her mom. Jack and Rosie have adopted her until I come back from the pikachu colony."
"Wow..." Tim said softly as he saw the completely white pichu with pink-purple cheeks and ear-tips, sleeping peacefully between Rosie's paws and under her head.
"What happened to her...?" he whispered.
"Abandoned due to her color. She's possibly an albino, but we aren't sure yet." I said.
"Albino? Is that something like shiny?" he asked.
"No, it's when a mammal misses its skin pigments. In other words: the colors of the skin. Because they are missing in the DNA they turn white." I said.
"Interesting..." he said. "What's the chance that happens?" he asked.
"Something close to zero." I said. "I guess Cammy is even more rare than a shiny pokémon."
"Wow, lucky you!" he said.
"Well, lucky... If I wasn't in that colony when she was abandoned she would have died. I felt more like responsible than lucky." I said while moving into the kitchen and preparing the afternoon bottle of milk for Cammy.
"I'm sure she'll grow up fine with you." Tim said while smiling at Cammy and softly stroking her with his fingertips. Lukas jumped the couch and announced his presence with a loud "PIKACHU!" which woke up Rosie and Cammy. Rosie looked annoyed at Lukas and yawned loudly and stretched herself. Lukas tapped Cammy's ears and body, because he wanted to play with her. Cammy got up, shook herself and looked happily at Lukas. Then both of them started running through the living room, receiving disapproving glances from my mom. When the microwave was done Tim entered the kitchen.
"Cammy needs feeding?" he said.
"Yep. Is this the right temperature...?" I mumbled.
"How you're gonna test that...?" he asked.
"Well, guess...!" I said while placing the tip of the bottle and sucking some milk out.
"Yuck..." Tim said.
"Perfect, she'll love this." I said while heading to the living room. "Seriously, would you expect me to stick a temperature meter in there? This is easier and quicker." I chuckled.
"Cammy! I've got something for you...!" I said. Both Lukas and Cammy stopped in their tracks and looked at the bottle in my hand. It took them a split second before they ran straight for me and started begging me to feed them. Tim looked surprised at both rodents.
"Lukas too?" he asked with a questionable face.
"I used him to show Cammy what to do... She was afraid of the bottle. Lukas loves the milk. And the attention, of course..." I said.
"Whaha, a pikachu that likes being treated like a baby..." he laughed.
"If you were a pikachu, you would do exactly the same!" I said.
"Oh no I won't." Tim said.
"Yes you would." I laughed while I grabbed Cammy, which immediately tried to grab the bottle.
"Can I do it?" Tim asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, sure." I said while handing Cammy over to him. She didn't like this at first, but quickly forgot the worries as Tim put the teat in her mouth and she could drink. Lukas looked from my shoulder and looked rather sad that he wouldn't get anything. Cammy drank the entire bottle before looking tired at Jack, that was now sitting on the couch. Tim put her down and she made her way to Jack and held her head against Jack's belly, looking rather tired. He put both paws on her and started to lick her on her head.
"Awww..." Tim said.
"Yep, I see it every day but it still looks cute." I said while Lukas jumped from my shoulder and made his way to the kitchen. I sat down on the couch and looked at the clock.
"I'm gonna take a nap..." I said while yawning.
"You must get used to that colony life, taking a nap right in the afternoon at your age." Tim said.
"Not really. It's more like taking care of the pichu. Even though I'm not alone, I have to defend them because they are defenceless... The smaller ones, at least. I gotta be sharp all day. sleeping helps to stay sharp." I smiled.
"Except when you're asleep!" he smiled.
"What's why we have guards." I yawned.
"Wanna play a game when you're done sleeping?" he asked.
"Sure, I'll come over when I'm done, which will probably be around two." I said. We sleep one hour, no longer."
"Really?" he said. "Can you control when you wake up?"
"Not control, but my body wakes when it's time. I'm used to it..." I said.
"Well... When you say it..." he laughed, clearly not believing me.
"See ya in an hour!" I said before he closed the door and I was alone with my parents and pokémon. Jack was still licking Cammy, but Rosie was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Rosie?" I asked him. He pointed towards the backyard.
"Pikapikachu." he said. Probably gone to pee or something.
"Lukas?" I asked. Lukas came from the kitchen, his face was all brown. He had found some chocolate which had melt and got stuck in his fur around his mouth.
"Oh, you little thief!" I said on a funny tone while grabbing him from the ground and holding him on my belly which was at a forty-five degree angle.
"Pika-PiKAchu!" he said happily as he started licking around his mouth.
"Yeah, that tastes good, doesn't it...?" I said.
"Pika." he said firmly.
"Alright then..." I said while yawning again. I really should go to sleep right now... I got myself comfortable and held Lukas against me while I dozed off. It would probably save a scolding from my mother later on, if Lukas would steal more food from the kitchen.
After a short nap the afternoon and evening gone by pretty quickly. I played with all pikachu, Tim and Cammy in the backyard, after I played some video games with Tim. Lukas had watched the television with interest. I gave him the controller for a while to drive around in Mario Kart a bit, which he failed miserably. But after some training he was able to keep the kart on the road, while I spammed Tim with blue shells.
After dinner, we were watching a program on TV while Cammy was playing with Jack and Rosie in the corner of the room. They were playing some kind of shock tag which I couldn't really understand yet, but Cammy had a great time and her parents were also enjoying themselves by teaching her the first basics of controlling her electricity, when Lukas came walking from the kitchen. He looked in the direction of Cammy and her parents. He kept staring at that direction and he didn't notice that I was watching him. While my parents were watching the television and the TV was making noise about all kinds of stuff, I suddenly noticed that his expression changed a bit... It went very slowly but Lukas looked rather sad... I wondered what was happening or what happened to him... Lukas kept looking at Cammy, who was still busy playing with Jack and Rosie. All three didn't notice that Lukas was watching them from the other side of the room. Then a soundless tear formed in Lukas eye... It was slowly but surely. It surprised me very much. Lukas, who was always happy and cheerful suddenly was crying. I moved towards the kitchen like I hadn't noticed anything and turned around. I grabbed Lukas which didn't expect a thing and took him to the kitchen quickly. Lukas tried to cover things up but was too late.
"Alright, what's the matter." I said softly so nobody would hear it.
"Chuuuuu..." he said softly, feeling he was caught.
"Don't worry... I'm not mad or anything... Only worried about you... What's the problem?" I said.
"Pika-pikachu-pi..." he said while glancing at Cammy and co.
"Has something to do with Cammy?" I asked. Lukas shook his head.
"Tomorrow, when Espeon can translate, we'll talk about it, alright?" I said. Lukas nodded, took a deep breath and accepted a gentle hug from me.
"Pika-pikachuuuuu..." he said on a sad tone.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." I laughed while moving back to the living room and back to the TV with Lukas in my lap.
"So, what are you gonna do with Cammy after you're done with your 'research'?" my dad asked me after the TV show had ended.
"She'll come and life here with me." I said.
"Don't even think about it." my mom said. "I accepted Bobby because your dad couldn't release him, but I won't accept another pikachu!"
"No problem." I said.
"And no pichu either." she quickly added. I sighed.
"Come on mom, dad always wanted me to have a pichu to take care of. Why you would stop that?" I said.
"Because I'm fed up with the mess they give." she said.
"Pikachu are among the most clean and social pokémon around. What is dirty about them?" I said.
"Just the mess they give. Jack and Rosie behave themselves, but Cammy and Lukas are the biggest mess. I don't want those around here!" she said.
"Lukas is feral and Cammy is only three and a half weeks old. What do you expect from them? To behave like well mannered men and women from fifty years?" I laughed. "Don't worry. Lukas won't return, at least, not permanent. Cammy will be with Jack and Rosie and they will learn her how to behave herself." I said. Cammy had heard the entire conversation and was looking quite scared at me when she heard she wasn't allowed to stay. But as soon I said she would learn how to behave she had calmed down a bit.
"Aww... You're scaring her..." I said when I saw Cammy's face. "Come here...!" I said while I lured her with my hands. I grabbed her from the floor when she came close and I hugged her.
"Don't ever think I don't want you..." I said. Cammy released some soft chu's and rubbed her cheek against mine and stroked across her head and her back.
"Oh come on, how can't you accept this little pichu. You see Maurice loves her and she loves him." My dad said.
"If she can behave properly she can stay. Otherwise she has to go." she said.
"You sound just like Tommy, the colony leader. He said it the exact same way..." I said.
"Colony leader?" my mom asked. "I thought you would be the leader."
"Errrmmm, no." I said. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, you're the biggest, the smartest..." she said.
"Hmm Hmm..." I said. "And I know all about living in the wild...?" I said sarcastically.
"Well yes..." she said slowly.
"So I can get my food without getting to the pokémart, detect predators by scent, smell if a pikachu is from my own colony and not from a rival one and I can also hear and smell, but also see everything about ten times better than an average human?" I said smiling.
"Don't be ridiculous..." my mother said.
"That isn't ridiculous." my dad said. "You didn't even mention fighting skills or social pikachu life. Those aspects are also very important for a pikachu. It determines your place in the colony." my dad said.
"Pikachu social life? You mean Maurice has a relationship with a female pikachu?" she said. It remained silent for a moment and then everyone in the room face faulted, excluding Cammy and my mother.
"If you'd like, I can try to-" I said sarcastically.
"NO I DON'T! I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH A PIKACHU!" she almost screamed.
"Calm down!" I was just kidding..." I laughed.
"And I don't want you to keep a secret relationship with a pikachu!" she said.
"You just forbid me."
"I don't care!"
"Arceus, stop this nonsense." my dad said. "Of course he has no relationship with a pokémon, that would be plain wrong."
"I couldn't say it any better!" I said. "The only relationship I have is with Cammy, because I'm her godfather now. After Jack, of course..." I said while Jack smiled at my parents while pulling Cammy on his lap and licking her. I smiled at her and she smiled back and yawned.
"Yep, sleep time..." I said while grabbing Cammy and saying goodbye to my parents. They were surprised that I went to bed so early, but it was sunset which meant time to sleep. I told them I would be gone tomorrow morning as soon the sun would come up, so they said goodbye one more time before I headed to my room with Jack and Rosie on my shoulders and Lukas and Cammy in my hands. After taking my first shower in weeks (I didn't even care to take one since it was so long ago) I headed to my bed and got in. I had to reposition myself and some pokémon a couple of times but in the end everyone was cuddled up to each other and trying to sleep. Cammy had found her place against my face with Rosie next to her and Lukas and Jack were against my belly. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the pikachu against me... It started to feel rather natural for me to have pikachu around me. The heat of their bodies, my own heat, the scents, their manner of showing affection by rubbing against my cheeks, electric flows when they do so, it became just normal for me. And I loved every second of it.
The next morning things went rather quickly. Before I knew it I stood before Oak's laboratory saying goodbye to Jack, Rosie and Cammy. Surprisingly, Oak was there to say goodbye to me.
"Take this with you..." he said while handing me a gun.
"A gun? Are you serious?" I asked him.
"Officer Jenny has discovered that you are in the forests and she insists that you take a gun with you. There are a lot of poachers in there. If you find one or if he finds you, he might try to shoot you because of it. This is purely for self defense."
"Al... Right..." I said slowly. "Well, let's hope I don't have to use it..."
"I also hope you don't have to. But please keep it with you and be careful. If things get too dangerous, we have to quit this." he said.
"Well, I'm not thinking about quitting anytime soon." I said.
"Alright then." he said. "Well, nice to see you and see you in two months, when your parents are back from holiday." he said.
"Yep. I'll come by more often for Cammy. If you see me you can say hi." I said. "Alright Luuk, let's go! The pichu will wonder where we went..." And with that we moved towards the forest. I got Lukas' pokéball and showed it to him.
"Alright Lukas, you're - I clicked reset - free to go!" I smiled. Lukas smiled back and rubbed against my cheek.
"Haha, I like you too." I said while rubbing him back. He jumped from my shoulder and ran towards the forest when suddenly a white flash tackled him down. It turned out to be Espeon.
"Hi there!" she said playfully.
"Pika-pikachu!" Lukas said.
"Hey Espeon!" I said. "Anything happened when we were gone?"
"Not that I know!" she said.
"That's great, because I need your help. Now Lukas, what was happening yesterday eve?"
"Well, I'd not prefer to..." he stammered while looking at Espeon.
"She'll know eventually, she can read minds, remember?" I chuckled.
"What happened?" Espeon asked.
"We'll hear right now..." I said.
"Right..." he said while I sat down in front of him and looking at him in a interested way.
"So why were you crying all of a sudden? Was something wrong?" I asked.
"Well, not really..." Lukas said. "It was more... I was... I cannot really explain it..." he said while looking to the ground.
"You were looking at Cammy, Jack and Rosie playing with eachother and you went sad... " I said. "There must be a explanation for that..."
"Well, I felt like..." he started. But Lukas was unable to finish. He looked towards the ground for a couple of seconds before he retried.
"I felt like... I was thinking back about the time I was a pichu... When my brother was still with me... We also used to play with my mom and dad like that... It was the best time of my life... But after... After..." he said while tears appeared. "After Irwin died my mom and dad were a bit more strict with me, they didn't want me to overcome the same. But just a couple of days later, my dad also disappeared..." he said while a tear fell on the ground. "He was... Just gone... My mom changed from that day on... She didn't want me to be gone and she was very strict for me... I wasn't allowed to leave the colony and I didn't play with my mother like I used to do. She stopped doing what she had been doing when Irwin still was here... I grew up almost on my own..." Lukas sobbed. "When I looked at Cammy... I... I... I was thinking about the time when I was young... When my parents were actually caring for me..." he said while he looked at the ground and sniffed and sobbed.
"Awww, come here." I said to him. He looked at me but then held his arms towards me so I could easily pick him up. I held him against my chest while he cried.
"Lukas, you never told me that..." Espeon said.
"Ssshhhh... Don't cry Luuk... Your parents still love you and care for you..." I said.
"No th-th-they d-d-don't!" he said slowly. "I don't know what happened to d-d-dad, but mom always was nice to m-m-me and that changed when d-dad was gone! She stopped caring for me... I was fed sometimes, but I had to f-find my own food or even ask other pikachu to feed me! It wouldn't take long or I would be abandoned too, just like Cammy!" he said almost angry but with a very sad tone.
"Yes they do... Remember your mother attacking me when I tried to help you? She would do anything to protect you." I said. Lukas looked at me with watery eyes.
"Do you think so?" he asked me.
"I'm sure of it." I smiled at the pikachu. He seemed rather relieved.
"But..." - he started while getting out of my lap - "...that is also why I like you so much..."
"Why that? I'm a human, what has that to do with this?" I asked.
"Well... You... You act like a dad for me... I can sleep with you, you protected me and you also remind me of Irwin... I was a lot more of a explorer and I learned Irwin a lot of stuff... Just as I do with you..." he said while looking at me.
"So..."
"So you're like a brother to me... And you make me think of my father at the same time."
"So I'm two in one." I chuckled. Lukas remained silent. What he had just said to me was very important to him. I couldn't believe that living with him for only one month had already made me this important for the little pikachu.
"So... You were crying because you were missing your brother and your father back there... Now I understand..." I said. "Telling me this clears a lot of things... I actually never understood why you liked me so much from day one..." I said. "I mean, I knew that scent thing wasn't the entire truth, but I would never, ever expect you to see me as father and brother at the same time..." I said.
"Well, to be honest I was scared of you the first days, but when you cuddled me and such when we went to sleep and when you fixed my wounds, I knew you were a nice guy... I felt like I was sleeping with my father and my mother and my brother at the same time... It was the same feeling I got when I was sleeping in our nest... It was like... Like... They were there..." he said. He looked towards the forest for a while and then to the sky, before looking back at me.
"Feeling better?" Espeon said. Lukas sighed.
"Shall we go?" he asked. He probably needed some time alone. He jumped my shoulder and stood against my head with his paws holding my head. But this time it felt different to me... I gently rubbed against him with my head. He didn't expect this but smiled when I looked at him. He rubbed my back and I gently scratched behind his ears.
"Cutie... Let's find the colony...!" I said. "Let's see, we should go right here I believe..." I said.
We came closer and closer to the colony when I suddenly stopped. I heard something. Lukas and Espeon also perked their ears and I got low. We sat there for about two minutes, but nothing came. I got up, still listening closely and looking around me, just as Lukas.
"There's something wrong..." Espeon said.
"You hear the same?" Lukas said.
"Come on, quickly!" she replied while both pokémon dashed for the colony. When we came closer, I suddenly heard cries and I saw flashes.
"What the hell is happening...!" I said. When we entered the colony, my heart stopped. The place was infested with arbok and ekans fighting pikachu. The colony was at war...!
To be continued.
I guess you didn't see that coming. The next chapter will contain more action, that's for sure.
Until then, have a nice summer (or winter, when you are in Australia) and enjoy the Olympic Games!