Hey guys! Guess what…a new chapter! Enjoy as always! Just a heads up, a lot of swearing in this chapter.

Chapter sixteen: Becoming Allies Part 1

Today is just not my day.

I'm sick and tired of this rain. I'm cold and wet from the downpour. I'm starving, I can't find a good place to rest and I'm pretty much exhausted from hiking on mud-covered trails all day.

Some people think that because I'm a Pikachu and my kind mostly come from the Viridian Forest that I know everything about survival. This isn't true because I've lived near humans my whole life! I've always depended on my trainer, Rigel, for basic needs.

Well…at least my situation right now is better than the problems I had went through yesterday.

After running far away from the prison, I've been alone ever since. I almost caught up with Cy yesterday after our brief skirmish with the robot, but he managed to disappear into the depths of the forest. I got lost trying to find him. At least being by myself has given me some peace of mind, but it's depressing and frightening to be alone, especially at night when it's too dark to see.

Today, I'm just trying to find a place to rest. Walking for hours up and down a mountain took a lot of energy from me today, and with nothing to eat it only makes things worse. I decide to stop and rest under a large tree, which doesn't do much to shield me from the cold rain. Regardless, I close my eyes slowly.

Crack…

My ears twitch. I open my eyes and look around. Thinking it was my imagination, I close them again to try and get some rest.

Pop!

My heart almost stops. I open my eyes and quickly stand up, cautiously searching my surroundings.

Crack!

"What is that…?"

The noise is radiating from inside the forest, away from the trail. Curious, I begin making my way there.

I search for the source of the noise which continues to get louder and louder until I am able to see a dim light source nearby. I look closer: It's a camp fire, someone is close by! I quickly but cautiously climb up a nearby tree, despite it being wet. I stand on a wide branch, hidden, and inspect the camp site more closely.

I can see a pair of hands placed over the dying fire in an attempt to stay warm from the cold. I can't see the person's face, but it's obvious that it's a human, a Team Rocket member perhaps? I decide to climb to another branch to be able to see more of the person. I narrow my eyes afterward: it's Cy! Of all places where he could have been in this vast forest, he managed to run into me a second time.

He has found shelter at the base of a small hill inside the forest. Above him is a fallen tree that shields the inside of the shelter rather nicely from the rain. He's preparing what seem to be tenderized berries, Pecha berries to be more exact, next to the camp fire.

Pecha berries are small and pink with two leaves at the bottom and they're making my mouth flow with saliva. They're not my favorite kind of food to eat but right now they look so appealing that I didn't care. Besides, they're better than the garbage I ate inside the prison. That's for sure.

With newfound energy flowing through my veins, I climb down the tree and rush toward the human. It was an easy decision: I'm going to kick his butt and then steal the berries for myself. It's the least I can do after all the pain I went through because of him!

I stand before him, my shadow catches his attention. He looks up and sighs, "You're the most aggravating Pokémon I have ever met, next to Jigglypuff..." He says.

"This time, you're not getting away!" I release a ThunderShock toward him, but something suddenly emerges from underneath the ground, in front of Cy, to block the electric attack. It's Diglett and it is unaffected by the electricity.

I growl loudly, "Why do you have to side with him!? He's a bad human!"

The Diglett shakes his head, "I don't care. He's my trainer; I will protect his life with mine."

"Have you even seen all the horrible things he does to Pokémon!?" I retort. He gets ready to retaliate but Cy walks in front of him and kneels down.

"Diglett, I'd rather you don't." It looks toward Cy with a confused face, "You're my last Pokémon and although you've rested enough to fight, I can't afford to lose you." He brandishes a Poké ball and the brown Pokémon is forced to retreat. Cy places the ball next to his jacket, which is laying on the ground inside the shelter.

He comes out into the rain and walks toward me. I go down on all fours as electricity sparks from my body, "Go ahead. You've won. Use the highest voltage you can make and get it over with. I won't run away."

His statement makes me hesitate. If I electrocute him when he's covered in water, the electricity will fatally injure him. One part of my mind is telling me to do it while the other tells me not to. I really want to shock him after everything that has happened, but what justice would there be to kill him?

After a few seconds of emotional conflict, I decide to jump instead and smack him with my tail, as hard as I can. The sheer force sends him falling toward the ground. He grabs his face in pain. I run to his shelter to take all the cooked berries that he has with me.

As I flee, I look back momentarily to see the Grunt standing up from the ground. He circles around the camp site looking for me. He waves his hands around, as if to intimidate me.

"You've got your revenge Pikachu. I hope you're satisfied!"

Oh…that was just the start of it…

I climb up another tree near the camp site, where he can't find me. I sit on yet another branch and I begin eating. The berries are now wet but they're still edible by all means. I stuff one into my mouth with joy. The sweetness coming from it is intoxicating. I haven't eaten anything since my escape from the prison, so this really makes me happy.

I think this was worth it. Cy deserved it. Hitting him was the most refreshing thing I've done all day.

My only question was…why did he let me hit him? He didn't try to move away or use Diglett to defend himself. I guess he's really determined to keep Diglett in one piece for whatever reason.

I had finished eating all the berries just after I heard a Poké ball go off. I look down to see the human, with his Diglett inside his shelter. It looks like it's concerned for his injury. Cy is speaking softly, but my Pikachu ears can perfectly pick up every word he's saying.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't risk it. If I lose you, I won't be able to save her. Besides, there was no need to fight that midget Pikachu. You would have wasted valuable Power Points on it." He says.

oh…I beat him up and now he's provoking me? Is he serious?

"There are other things we should worry about, like finding more berries to eat and wood to burn." He stands up and puts on his jacket, "Stay here, I won't take long." He leaves the vicinity but makes sure to mark the trees with his knife, so he won't get lost. From the tree, I examine the weapon that I had just realized he had with him all this time. The human disappears into the darker parts of the forest.

After a few minutes, I yawn. I don't have enough energy to keep my eyes open after what just happened, so I curl into a ball, placing my tail next to my belly in the process, and I fall asleep.

A few hours pass.

I hear noises. Not just any noise but…music. I open my eyes to see that it is now night time and the rain has stopped. The sky is surprisingly clear. I see thousands of stars occupy the sky.

I look to my left: the soft tranquil music is coming from inside Cy's shelter. I climb down the tree to inspect.

Cy is playing an instrument next to his camp fire, what Rigel calls…the guitar. I didn't even know he plays an instrument. It's yellow in color and it looks too big for him to play with, yet he still manages to perfectly play really calm music.

"Tastar de Corde. It was the first classical song I learned on the guitar." He opens his eyes and stops playing. He is speaking to Diglett, who is next to him eating berries, "Heh…you're probably wondering why I'm making us an easy target for them to find us. Honestly, it's because I haven't played in two days." He continues playing, "I'll risk it all just to listen to this song again. It's the first song I played to Km two years ago after all."

Km?

"I want to see her again, don't you?" Diglett nods, "She's always had this beautiful smile and she only smiled when I was around. It's because I understood what she was going through. No one else did, except her parents."

Who is Km and why do I even care…forget it…I'm leaving…

He sighs deeply as he stops playing. He sets the guitar down next to him, "I hope she's okay."

He suddenly shouts as he smashes his fists against the ground. I quickly turn around, "Those damn bastards, using her for their sick and twisted experiments! They betrayed both of us! They're going to pay for this…"

He turns back toward his companion, "This is why I need you here Diglett. We're going to storm Outpost 3C 273 and we're going to get her out of there before things get worse. I can't afford to lose you, you must understand."

He huddles around the camp fire, not saying another word.

I bet he's knows I'm listening. He's just trying to convince me to let him go away peacefully. Well I won't let that happen…Cy has a whole day of misery ahead of him. That mark on his face is just the beginning. He's going to pay for all the torturing he has done.

The sun rises on the horizon; it breaks through the trees quite nicely. It's not raining as of now, so that's good news. I yawn and stretch as I get adjusted to the sunlight hitting my face. I look down to see Cy getting ready to leave silently. He's trying to get away without me noticing!

As he packs his gear, I take a pine cone from the tree quietly and aim it towards the human. I throw it at him afterwards…direct hit! He drops several things he is carrying to hold his head in pain and looks up toward me with an angry look. I throw another pine cone up and down and whistle as if I didn't do anything.

He ignores my taunting and picks up the equipment from the floor but I throw another pine cone at him. He looks back toward me and shouts, "Fuck off…"

I chuckle, happy to see him angry. I would go down to shock him, since he's dry, but now I'm thinking of just using him for my own benefits.

Cy knows his way around the forest, so I figured…I'll survive by taking his meals as my own. I also decide to follow Cy because he seems to know the way out of this place.

He leaves the campsite to resume following a trail and I follow him from a distance, but I'm close enough to make sure that he doesn't manage to escape from me again.

We begin hiking up the steep trail. We then come across a downhill path, which we take. Cy eventually finds a large stick to use; he makes sure it isn't damp. Then, he sharpens the edge with his knife. He looks toward me and brandishes the stick from afar.

"You're messing with the wrong guy here. This branch is now a spear. Get too close and you're my next meal." He taunts me.

I put my arms on my hips and taunt him too, "Good luck using that toothpick on me, lover boy!"

He didn't understand what I had just said, as always, but he still gets annoyed from my ridicule. He turns around and continues walking silently as I resume following him, smiling mischievously.

An hour passes and we reach another steep trail to climb, only this time the ground at the base is covered in mud. I grab a handful as Cy is climbing and I shout toward him. He looks back and receives a pile of mud to his face. He wipes it off and hears me howling with laughter. He takes the same heap for himself and throws it at me. I am also hit in the face. I clean myself as I hear him grumbling. He continues climbing. However, he accidentally slips and slides down the small hill. His entire front body is covered with mud when he reaches the bottom. I laugh harder than before, but I'm near him so he tries to grab me in anger.

"Stupid rat!"

I manage to move away in time. I begin mooning him, and this sends him into a rage. He tries to catch me again which results in his face hitting a pile of mud. I laugh more as I climb up a tree to avoid him.

Later on, we come across a very dark trail. Cy uses a flashlight to get through the path. He hears a noise and shines the light to the right: it reveals dozens of Kakuna, the cocoon-shaped predecessor to the Beedrill, hanging from the trees. The fierce glares that the Kakuna are giving us make me nervous, he immediately turns his flashlight away in panic, "Shit…a Beedrill nest…" he says silently to himself. He decides to set the flashlight to a dimmer setting, which forces me to follow him much closer.

Soon after we get out of the dark trail, Cy finds a river and hunts for fish by using the spear. It takes a while but he manages to catch one. He temporarily makes camp and starts a fire. He proceeds to cook the fish as I watch from several bushes near him. The boy calls upon Diglett to guard the area surrounding him.

To find an effective way to steal the fish from him, I examine the whole camp. To my surprise, however, I find a tree that is littered with berries nearby. I decide to take them for myself. I quietly make my way to the tree and just when I'm less than a few feet away, I feel the earth move underneath me. Diglett emerges as I jump away and the Pokémon disappears right after. I try getting to the tree again from the other side, but the same thing happens: it comes out from underground and prevents me from getting closer to the berries.

Frustrated, I try to catch the mole as it keeps coming in and out of the burrows that it has made for itself. Now it seems like I'm playing Wack a Mole…ironic.

"Good job Diglett."

I turn around to see the human walking towards me with the spear. I squeak loudly as I run to climb the nearest tree, "That's right, you better run."

From the top of the tree, as high up as I could go, I breathe uncontrollably because of what happened.

That…was a close call.

Cy collects the berries, to the point where there's none left in the tree to take, and places all of them inside his bag. After, he walks back to eat his meal in peace.

As the day goes by, I continue to follow Cy despite the heated competition that I am having with him. He's my only source for finding food in this place after all. Where ever he goes, he knows exactly where to look for meals. He isn't new to the forest…he's an experienced survivalist no doubt. He's my solution for finding a way out of this large forest, which is ironic.

The sun is now directly above us and it's the hottest hour of the daytime. We're now trekking across a field in tall grass. Unable to see him because of it, I follow Cy by relying on my ears to find him. He stops for a second to rest. Now I'm able to see him: he's about to eat a berry…I won't let him though!

I jump toward the human and I manage to take the Oran berry from him. He shouts at me as I hide myself in the grass. I quickly roast the berry with my electricity to eat it.

He takes out another, I catch it. He tries once more and I flawlessly take it again from him. Then he decides to stop trying to eat them. I smile, I'm victorious once more! These three berries will help a lot.

Orion: three

Cy: zero, because he sucks!

"You're really getting on my nerves…" He says as he continues walking toward yet another patch of deep forest. I gladly follow him.

Several minutes later and we're now inside another dark forest. Cy finds yet another water source. He refills his canteen and decides to rest under a tree for a while. Forgetting to use Diglett, I take this opportunity to steal the rest of the berries from him. I stealthily make my way toward the human. He's fast asleep, so this shouldn't be a problem. I quietly reach into his bag, which is lying next to him, and grab as many as I can. I almost get away until.

Snap!

I've stepped on a fallen twig. I hear a gasp next to me which soon turns into a low growl, "You yellow piece of…"

I make a run for it. He is right behind me. As always, I climb a tree to get away as he grumbles in anger, "You're pushing your luck." He says to me. I stick my tongue out to him which makes him clench his fists. He walks away to check what else I might have stolen. I eat the berries quickly as he gets ready to leave.

I see a pine cone near another branch and I decide to throw it at him. When I do, it only manages to hit his back. He ignores it, but I can tell he's getting mad which satisfies me. I throw another one, but this time, he yells and picks up a rock from the ground. He throws it at me but misses. I laugh at him but then I hear a loud noise nearby…sounds like…buzzing!

I see the boy's face: it's stricken with fear. He begins to run away, almost falling flat on his stomach in the process. I quickly look behind me: the rock has hit a Kakuna and it is evolving. It managed to call its brethren before it evolves, which are the hundreds of Beedrill that populate a large nest in a nearby tree. I climb down with haste and begin running for my life.

"Hey! Wait for me!" I shout.

Cy and I are now being chased by an angry swarm and they're gaining on us. The human is having trouble running fast enough to escape from them, thanks to the heavy guitar on his back. I run ahead as Cy falls behind, shouting at me to come back and help him.

I see several shrubs in front of me and I decide to go through them. Sunlight then hits my eyes as I come to a full stop and fall on my back. My heart pounds, I almost fell off a cliff. I look to my left and right, nothing but this cliff. I would have to climb down but that's impossible, so I would have to go back the way I came. I see Cy break through the bushes as he stops, also seeing the tall cliff that we're both on.

There's no way down, so I guess the only thing I can do is fight back the swarm. We see the Beedrill come out of the forest and surround us.

"I should have skinned you when I had the chance…" The human says as he points his spear toward the wasps.

"Oh shut up, this is your fault." I shout back. Ironically, we have our backs turned toward each other.

The Beedrill attack from all sides and I retaliate by unleashing a lightning strike at some of them. Some fall down to the floor and some fly away back to the nest. The rest either go for me or the Team Rocket Grunt. They try to sting me but I sidestep several times to avoid them. I use Quick-Attack on one Beedrill that got close enough to me: it faints.

I look to my right, I see Cy and he is struggling to fight back three of them, but his spear is keeping them from attacking. Against my judgement, I jump toward them and release a shock of electricity. They also fall to the ground. The human briefly looks at me, surprised that I just helped him but he looks away after.

"See if I help again…" I say softly.

I then hear buzzing coming from behind me, but I'm too late. I manage to see one of them inches away from stinging me, but then I see the spear hit the Pokémon as it falls down to the floor, injured. I take this opportunity to jump and avoid several more wasps. I see Cy: he nods to me but I narrow my eyes to him, not trusting him.

I look away as I engage another set of Beedrill nearby. I use yet another ThunderShock to quickly dispose of them. Cy manages to hurt one or two before he needs my help again.

Eventually, the Beedrill begin to retreat back into the forest. Just as it seems that we are victorious, I feel a sharp pain on my shoulder: one of them has just stung me! I yell in pain as I release a diminished amount of electricity, but it proves futile. I then see Cy yell as he smacks the insect, it flies away in pain.

Now safe for the time being, I see the human make a deep sigh. He begins walking away, knowing full well that I've been poisoned, as if nothing has happened. He's leaving without me. I try to follow him but I feel extreme pain all over my body with each step I take. I slump to the ground, "Please help…"

The human looks back as he hears my plea. He hesitates to come and help me. He starts walking away again, trying to avoid me altogether.

"Help me…Don't leave me here! Please..."

The human, Cy, looks down on the ground for a few seconds and then turns toward me. He rolls his eyes but nonetheless comes to my aid. He picks me up and takes me back into the forest, away from the advancing Beedrill reinforcements.

All I could say, in pain, was 'thank you.'

Hey guys! I Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I took some time with it because it's what actually got me to do Cosplay as Ansel long before the story was made back in November. Yes, I have done some Cosplay pictures as Ansel with Orion (As Pikachu Plush of course). Feel free to check out my deviant art page, TheCommonCosplayer, if you are interested. Regarding the storyline, some of the photos are non-canon. Thanks guys!