Hey guys, another chapter! Enjoy.

Chapter fifteen: Lucas Bright

"…Jen…" I open my eyes.

I hear the wind, but there's no sound of rain hitting the ground. I lift my head up to see that the rain has stopped completely. This small forest den has protected me from most of the natural elements, but for a while now, small tiny droplets, since last night, have been seeping through the roof of the den. They hit my head and nose which makes me pretty much uncomfortable. The good thing is: if it wasn't for my fur, I would have died from hypothermia a long time ago.

I yawn as I stretch. Now fully awake, I think about the 'dream' that I had experienced in my sleep.

I know for sure that what I experienced in my sleep wasn't a dream, at least most of it…I was experiencing the past. Maybe there were some dreamlike elements to it…like the very bright windows and the subconscious feeling of not being able to control your dreams.

I was finally going to see my mom, brother and dad again…and then this happened…it has been two weeks…two painful weeks since then, they're frantically searching for me right now no doubt. How will my parents or my brother feel if they found out that I'm now a mouse? Now that Bartoli refuses to turn me back, what will I do to change back?

I wish I can tell you guys about everything that has happened…but I'm stuck as a damn Pikachu…it wouldn't be the same…I wouldn't be able to voice my feelings…I hope you guys know that I've been thinking about you since day one, and you too…Jen.

Sunlight pierces through the trees and lights up the ground near the den. I look toward it, this reminds me: how long have I been asleep? I spent a great deal of the late afternoon searching for shelter.

I leave the den and I inspect the environment around me. It's kind of dark but that's because the trees in this forest are dense. Some birds are chirping and I am barely able to see the sun, which is at a forty-five degree angle, through the trees. The sun had already fallen by the time I found shelter, so it's probably morning right now.

I sigh softly: Well…I better check to see if anybody's nearby…

I survey the area: apparently I'm the only one here.

After a few more steps, I begin feeling pressure near my groin: maybe, I'll take care of business first before I go…

This would be new to me, but I had to do it in 'public' inside the prison. That was embarrassing enough, but after several camping trips with my brother in the wilderness as a kid, I guess this wasn't anything 'new'. I simply stand behind a tree and…well…it's pretty self-explanatory. When I'm done I walk back to where I was, I sigh deeply.

I miss using toilets...

Trying to forget the ordeal, I inspect the area one more time: the ground is moderately wet and tiny drops of rainwater are falling from numerous trees, thankfully they won't cause any problems like last night.

"Well…time to go, hopefully I'll find Orion along the way..." I leave the vicinity of the den as I continue my journey by making my way down a long but narrow trail, a human-made trail. To my left and right are pine trees with abundant scrubs scattered all around each tree. I enjoy the view. Or at least I would enjoy the view most of the time if it wasn't for my upset stomach. I've got to find food soon. I examine the numerous pine trees which have several pine cones hanging from them. I rub my chin in thought as I focus on the pine cones.

From my dream…or…flashback…I remember…there were…Oran berries! I don't know exactly where I am but maybe there are a lot to be found here. If I can get enough, they will help.

I hike along the trail for a long time until finally it comes to a dead end. I see a rusty sign to the left, which is almost completely hidden by tall grass. It reads:

Pond up ahead. Warning - Hunting trail starts here. Exercise caution. Beware of Beedrills when around Oran and Pecha berry trees.

Jackpot.

I enter the tall grass and I immediately become lost in it. The only thing that guides me is the trees. Eventually, however, I do make it to a small pond, which has small fish swimming around aimlessly in it, and it's an open space where I can see where to go to next. Right in front of me, on the other side of the pond, is a tree with blue-color berries.

My stomach growls louder than ever as I begin going around the pond, but I almost don't hear the electronic buzz of a familiar robot floating above me…it's a Needlebot! I quickly flee and hide myself inside the tall grass as it passes over me, unaware that I am nearby. It scans the environment with a wall of red lasers emitting from its body and then flies away, finding nothing. I sigh quietly but I jump in surprise after I hear a voice resonate nearby. I try to back away from the human feet that are now just mere inches away. Two Team Rocket Grunts, both male, stand above me, completely oblivious of where I am.

"This is hopeless; they're all probably as far as the border of Johto by now. We haven't found anything in four hours…"

"The boss wants us to keep searching…I wouldn't complain if I were you…wouldn't want to lose pay for this month…"

"But this is stupid…all we're looking for are just the weak Pokémon. The strong Pokémon are either too far from the base or…"

"Just shut up and deal with it." The other grunt retorts.

"I'm freezing my ass off, my feet keep sinking into the ground, mosquitoes keep biting the hell out of me, and I haven't eaten anything for hours!"

The other grunt looks around and finds the berry tree and points to it, "Look, I see Oran berries over there."

No…please don't…

"Finally, some food!" The hungry Team Rocket member rushes around the pond and takes short breaths of brief exhaustion afterwards. He then starts taking all the berries from the tree, one by one and stores them into his bag. Greedy bastard! He was taking the berries from me!

I was about to try and stop him, but I then hear more Needlebots coming towards the vicinity of the pond and they begin searching the area for Pokémon. I remain hidden under the grass, angered by the fact that my meal was being taken away very easily.

After a few minutes, both the humans and the robots leave and I am left by myself once again. I quietly walk to the depleted Oran tree to find several other trees that used to have Oran and Pecha berries, completely ransacked. I look down at the floor, disappointed. Being who I am however, the feeling of hope kept me on my feet, preventing me from collapsing on the ground to cry.

"These couldn't have been the only trees to have berries…there has to be more…" I decide to look up again and search the nearby area.

I search left and right for about two minutes until finally I find one tree abundant with Oran berries. I smile with happiness, relieved that I have found food in the vast forest. I run my tongue around my lips with hunger as I extend my arm toward the small tree to grab a berry. Then, I hear a loud buzz near the tree…

It's a Beedrill!

"Stay away!" I shout. It points its stinger at me as it dives down to stab me with it. I jump away in time and cross my arms. It looks in my direction with anger, its red compound eyes stare into my very own light-brown eyes, "I don't want trouble, please. I didn't mean to make you mad!" It ignores my pleas as it flies in my direction. I jump away again but this time I instinctively wave my tail at it and it seems to be affected by my Tail Whip. It rubs its head back and forth but resumes its attack: several sharp stingers begin flying toward me and one manages to scratch, luckily it did not impale, my right forearm. I hold onto the slightly bleeding wound with anger, my pupils once again shrink as I shout with rage. My human consciousness once again blacks out at this point. Electricity begins building from my cheeks and spreads all over my body which then travels toward the insect very quickly. It shakes from the pain as a result.

When I regain control of my human mind, I find that I am still standing from where the battle took place. A few feet in front of me is an injured Beedrill that is flying away. It has yellow electricity flowing through its body repeatedly. Eventually it disappears from sight as I grab my head in pain…

There it goes again...forget it…I need to eat and get out of here quick…I'll…deal with this later somewhere else…

With no one else to bother me for now, I quickly grab one berry from the tree and try to eat it…but it ends up almost breaking my tooth. I yell in pain, "Ow! What the heck!? Now you're telling me that I can't eat it!?" In my anger, I accidentally electrocute the berry which results it in now having a slightly brownish-bluish color.

"Great…now it looks less appealing to eat…"

But then…I have the sudden urge to smell it.

That's right…Oran berries need to be tenderized first…

Against my will, I open my mouth and bite into the berry once again, but only this time I can actually take a chunk clean out of it and it actually tastes really good!

This…is amazing…oh my goodness…it tastes ten times better when you're a Pokémon…

The delicious piece of Oran berry melts inside my mouth like a charm. I hurriedly consume the rest of it as I start grabbing more from the tree, my stomach growling as I do so. I electrocute then devour every single berry from the tree as some of the brown-blue color of the berries surrounds my lips and teeth like candy.

When I'm done eating enough berries, I feel ten times better than before. They have actually healed my wound and I feel an extreme amount of energy enter me like never before as the pain in my head slowly goes away. I rub the brownish-bluish coloring off my mouth as I stand up, full from eating about twelve Oran berries. I have completely stripped this tree of any fruit from it.

After a few minutes, I start making my way out of the pond area as I continue hiking across the considerably dark forest for a while until I hear a stream flowing nearby. I arrive by a small river and drink water from it. It's fresh and clean like tap water, which surprises me. Now fully satisfied from eating and drinking, I have enough energy to hike in the forest for several more hours.

A day passes by.

The sun is directly overhead and I can hear thunder in the distance: there's another storm that is probably going to pass by soon. I decide to try and find shelter again to protect myself from the rain. After not being able to find a suitable place, I continue hiking for a while longer. I eventually come across another dead end: only this time I'm on a tall cliff that's about a hundred feet tall. I examine the landscape.

There is more forest to be found below the cliff and far away, both to the left and to the right from where I am are huge green-orange mountains. Above me are dark clouds, a thunderstorm and it has actually started to rain again. However, what gets me the most is the tall space needle, covered with vegetation, to the northwest. It looks like a building! There's a town in the distance and it doesn't seem far away!

I look both sides from me to see that the ground is at an almost smooth angle, enough so I can climb down the hill with ease. I won't have to climb down the rocks from this cliff which is a good thing.

As I make my way left towards the forest where the descending hill is, I feel the ground shake. I hear a familiar noise nearby. Several trees fall to the ground nearby, revealing a fifteen-foot creature, the Spiderbot!

How did it find me!?

I hear a noise above me: a small disk-like robot is flying overhead which is descending toward the Spiderbot. It lands on top of the larger robot's head and turns off. It's a Scannerbot…that's how it found me…

Something is different about this particular Spiderbot: it's shaking uncontrollably and it only has four legs instead of six. One of its eyes is broken and blue electricity is traveling everywhere throughout its body. It's been damaged from a previous battle. It begins walking toward me menacingly. I notice its label: model 004. This is the same one that Orion and I encountered.

It jumps in the air as I try to escape from it. I try to head into the forest behind me but of course it lands right in front of me. It throws me into the air with one of its arms. I fall into the floor with a thud. As I try to stand up, It grabs me by the throat with its metallic claws, cutting off the air heading to my lungs.

Almost like a cliché from the movies, a lightning strike appears overhead as it does nothing to stop the machine. I thrash about, attempting to regain my breathing. I grab the robot's arm as I try to break free, but then I see the robot release something on its right ear: another syringe…could this be it? No…It can't end like this. I won't stop!

I feel tremendous energy build up inside of me. My tail unconsciously lifts up as high as it can to act as a lightning rod. My entire body lights up with electricity. It isn't just me releasing electricity now, the particles in the clouds are 'communicating' with my own…what ends up happening is a very large lightning bolt coming down from the sky to mix with my ThunderShock. The resulting combination is a bright light that blinds me for a split second, but I also feel pain near my right shoulder as this happens. The machine drops me and I fall on my back with pain. It spasms out of control and finally collapses to the ground, motionless.

I sigh, relieved that it was finally destroyed, but then I look to my right shoulder to inspect the pain around the area…I've been hit with the syringe...I quickly pull it out and start panicking.

No! Oh man…I've got to find a place to hide quickly…

I immediately begin making my way into the forest but suddenly, however, a loud noise erupts from behind me: the Scannerbot ejects from the Spiderbot's head. I turn back to see it fly very high in the sky as it opens up and bursts into a bright flare. Then, the Spiderbot explodes. The shockwave sends me flying a few feet back. My vision shakes as my ears begin to ring loudly from the explosion. I can't hear anything and I'm beginning to lose consciousness. I shakily stand up and try to walk into the forest. As I walk, I swerve left and right because of my poor vision and exhaustion. I do make it past the first trees but after two minutes of struggle, I collapse into the ground and begin to tumble down the hill. Everything around me is spinning and I feel cuts and bruises forming all over my body as I hit hard objects as I roll down. I eventually stop rolling down the hill. I feel pain everywhere. I look to see that I am out of the forest once again and the town that I had found earlier is not too far.

"I've…got…to…" I stand up to try and get to the town but after several steps I collapse again. My vision darkens as I succumb to the effects of the drug.