Chapter forty: Room 713

When George, Rigel, Orion, and I had arrived at the hotel: the sun was already setting toward the west. Colors of blue, yellow, orange, and red blend in with light grey and dark clouds: all filter the sky above us. Snow had been melting all around us since the temperature has gotten warmer these past few hours; however, it looks like tonight will be colder once again.

"Here we are again. Hopefully, they'll let us out occasionally, eh Lucas?" Orion says to me as I nod, "yea…hopefully."

All of us are ushered out of an unmarked black car and taken inside the tall building alongside some police officers. It takes a few minutes, but we make it to one of the highest levels in the hotel. After making it down a long corridor we arrive at "room 713" where we will remain for an indefinite amount of time: until they could find a more suitable, and safer, place for us. I heard talk of them putting the family in witness protection, setting them up with whole new lives…but none of them wants that…what choice do they have though?

Rigel is taken inside by wheelchair, with the rest of us right behind him. Right as we are inside the hotel room the authorities leave and guard the hallway outside.

Orion and I had already stayed here some nights with Rigel's mother or father, depending on who stayed with the boy at the hospital that night. The boy is impressed with the room we were given and looks around as best as he can. Unfortunately for him, this is not the room he will be staying in. This is the master bedroom where the parents will be sleeping among other things. It has a long and wide picture window (with a view of the city outside), an armchair, a master bath with vanity sinks and a large tub, and other usual utilities one would usually find in a hotel room.

Rigel is led into a room connected to the master bedroom. It isn't as impressive as the parent's room, but it's still pretty big for just Rigel himself. Granted, it wouldn't be just him staying here, Orion and I are joining him. George goes ahead and pulls a couch outward to create a makeshift bed for me, just as some hotels have for their rooms. The fourteen-year old boy is helped onto the bed by his mother along with Orion, who rests next to him. After Maybelline pulls away and gets the remote for Rigel, the teen grabs his Pikachu and brings him into a deep hug.

"I'm so glad you'll be able to be by my side again Orion!" Rigel continues to squeeze the mouse Pokémon as tightly as ever, and the Pikachu just squeaks out a cute "chaa" to the human in response, closing one eye as his cheek rubs against the trainer.

Upon closer inspection it is obvious to us that the boy is much healthier now. We were all glad he is finally out of that blasted hospital, away from all those blasted machines and needles…it just reminded Orion and I of our unfortunate run ins. Of course, Rigel has to take it easy and rest a lot for the time being: especially with the medication he will be on for the next several days.

For now, the kid will probably stay in bed for most of the time, and probably eat and live like a king for the next several days.

It isn't bedtime, it's still early in the night, but after watching some cartoons on the T.V., Rigel is helped by his mother to the bathroom for a much-needed bath. Orion and I stay behind in the bedroom, we stay on the bed facing each other. The yellow electric mouse rocks himself back and forth like a rocking chair. He looks around, and then tries to start a conversation:

"I still can't believe how big this room is…it's so much bigger than our bedroom…" Orion sighs as I shrug, "probably not a cheap room either" I add.

"Do you think we'll stay here forever?" He asks me as the mouse scratches one of his long ears.

"No, of course not. This place is only temporary" I respond, shaking my head to him, "I can tell you don't really like it here that much."

The smaller Pikachu shakes his head to me back, and gives a low sigh in retaliation, "nothing will ever replace our home…I miss it way too much…I wonder if they'll fix it?"

I cross my arms as I look away, "I don't know what to tell you Orion…a lot changes in one's life…nothing usually stays the same. Take it from a guy who went from trying to be a trainer to unknowingly selling counterfeit products to being turned into a damn Pokémon."

Despite my rambling, he asks with concern, "what about Team Rocket?"

I offer consolidation to the mouse:

"have you been seeing everything recently? The entire region is fed up with them, and Giovanni is probably in hiding. I honestly don't think they will be around for any longer."

What the heck am I saying? These damn people are good with disguises…deception…hiding in the shadows…waiting for the right moment to strike…

Orion stands up and walks to me, his Pokémon footsteps can be heard as he walks, "I appreciate trying to make me feel better about it" his expression begins to sour quite a bit, "but I think they should be dealt with once and for all…" the yellow mouse tells me as I groan quietly to him:

"I'm sure the authorities will see to it, Orion."

All Orion does in return is become more infuriated, "I feel like we should go to them…make them really pay…finish them off like we should have at the outpost in Viridian Forest!"

I give the Pikachu a puzzled expression, "Are you listening to yourself right now?" I shake my head to him, "there's your cocky attitude again…look, we've been lucky so far…we barely escaped two places controlled by them…we have been captured by them who knows how many times…narrowly avoided capture at your house…" I list them all with my small stubby fingers as he narrows his eyes at me.

"I don't care! I want to see all of them go away, forever! I'm tired of running and hiding from them! I want Rigel's life back! I want MY life back!" The Pikachu exclaims as sparks appear on his red cheeks, ready to discharge at any moment. I quickly try to calm him down in retaliation.

"They will pay Orion, but now is not the time for this…we have to think about what's best for Rigel…and going on a revenge spree is NOT the way to go about it! I know he and George want the same thing as you, but none of us are in any condition right now to do much of anything of the sort! Please hear me out…" I wave my arms repeatedly at Orion to defuse the situation before grabbing his arms. Despite his electricity hitting my flesh, it does little to affect me, and I really don't bother with any static shocks at the moment anyways: there are far more important things to deal with at hand.

It takes him a few moments, but his expression relaxes as he slowly begins to calm down altogether, "I'm…sorry…"

"I understand where you're coming from…I really do…being trapped in those cages…day in and day out…forced to do things and forced to be a part of things I don't wish to remember…I was angry too…I wished for revenge…I still do…but…just hear me out…there are more important things than letting these things eat you away like acid. Let's just…wait it out a while longer…then we can think about these things at a more appropriate time and place" I finish.

Very soon after, Rigel and his mother exit the bathroom with the boy wearing a bath robe.

"Are you two ready for bed?" Maybelline asks us as we respond with our squeaks.

I look to Orion again and he simply nods in understanding from what I told him.

The parent helps to dry the teen's hair as I retreat to my couch-bed, taking off my coat and the rest of the "pet clothes" I have on that were given to me by the family. Sure, it's weird to be wearing clothes as a Pikachu, but it still helps me feel more human. For the rest of the night, though, I undress, getting rid of them since I'd roast under the heater and the thick bed covers.

Orion, who has calmed down fully by this point, takes his mind off our previous conversation by snickering at me as I get rid of my clothes:

"I still can't get over you wearing that. You always look like you're some fashion designer's Pokémon or something."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment, Orion" I groan softly.

The only thing I am wearing at this point is my grey charm, which hangs freely around my neck: Rigel had given his to me…and Orion had his own charm, a blue one, hanging around his neck too. I can still remember when the human boy begged his parents to get the charms for us. Good luck charms as they claimed to be…I guess they do work; we've been lucky so far since getting them.

By the time Rigel is dry and changed into his pajamas, we all say goodnight to his mother before she leaves to rejoin her husband in the other room. Tired from the day, we all fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

I wake up in cold sweat; a sharp, painful gasp leaves me…sparks of electricity escape from my red cheeks. I look around frantically, but my sense of reality comes back to me: it is another nightmare…the same I've been having for days now…the feeling of being trapped in a tight, dark bag. Orion was there…it didn't end well for neither of us…

Speaking of the Pikachu, where is he? I can see in the dark better than I could as a human; I only see Rigel in the room, who is still fast asleep. I can catch a scent that belongs to Orion…but it's very faint…he's nowhere in the room at all…

Maybe he's in the bathroom? I chuckle slightly to myself. The door is open, but my long rabbit-like ears don't pick up any sound coming from in there. That is, until I can hear faint sounds of someone or something above the ceiling…is there something in the air duct? The noises are leading toward the other room. And so, I quietly get out of bed to investigate; however, as soon as I enter the room: a yellow blur falls from the vent causing me to jump with surprise. I flail my arms around, almost falling on my back from balancing with just one foot. Right as I regain my balance and squeak loudly at who the culprit was.

"Ori-" my mouth is immediately covered by the other rodent. They shake their head repeatedly as they put a chubby finger against their lips:

"Shh!"

I move his paw away from my face as I whisper back, "what the heck!? What are you doing?"

"Lucas, promise me you won't get mad and tell" the mouse asks of me as I give him a puzzled expression.

"It's who knows how late…I mean…what were you doing up there anyways?" I ask back to him, not responding to his request.

He crosses his arms, looking away slightly, "can't sleep, besides…I found something cool the last time we stayed here in this hotel room."

"And this couldn't wait 'till morning?" I retort.

"no, 'cause it's a secret! Now pinky swear…you won't tell a soul about it!" Orion retorts back as I sigh softly, rolling my eyes to him, "okay, fine" we both make the ridiculous gesture together, connecting our stubby pinkies together to seal the promise.

"Thanks" he finishes as we pull away. He gives me that usual cutesy Pikachu smile they are known for before he jumps against the wall and then jumps again to get to the vent above:

"Come on!" he instructs me as I look back toward the bedroom: Rigel is still sound asleep…maybe if we don't take too long the teen won't notice a thing…

And so, I follow the Pikachu into the vent.

The journey through the cramped and narrow air duct leads us to a balcony at the side of the hotel, leading to the outside. We get to see the Viridian skyline, much clearer than we could in the room, with bright neon colors coming off from the tall buildings. Down below are smaller brick buildings with long and dark alleyways in between. From what I can see: some of the electrical wires from the hotel lead down into the streets below.

The wind blows against us, it's cold but my yellow coat makes me barely feel it. Most of the snow is gone now and the sky is mostly clear tonight. Despite being in the middle of the city we both can see stars in the sky.

So, is this why he was out here in the middle of the night? I guess that makes sense: most Pokémon hate being inside for too long, and we haven't exactly been outside all that much these past few days. Maybe Orion is here to get some fresh air to feel better?

The Pikachu stares at the small shining dots in the sky before noticing my questioning expression.

"I…uh…stumbled on this place by accident…the first day we were here." he explains, "I didn't like the idea of being far away from Rigel…so…around this time I tried to sneak out…to try and go back to Rigel at the hospital…"

"Oh, Orion…" I shake my head at him in retaliation, wondering why he would do such a stupid thing!

"I know…it was stupid of me…but I didn't do it…and I found this nice place at least…" he says, brandishing his paws around the plants and furniture on the balcony, "seeing as how high we are, it'd be a great place to gather in a storm to recharge" he adds, saying it so nonchalantly…it's still so weird hearing that as if getting struck by lightning was such a normal thing to do…

"Are you serious right now?" I ask with a dumbfounded look on my face.

"What?" He raises his arms at me in defense, "you're not going to pass off on this experience, are you? Remember how great it was to recharge under a storm; remember the time at my house and how happy you were?"

"Orion..." I try to say.

"The weather man said it'll rain and there will probably be lightning too! We can come back here the same way, recharge quick, then get back to the room before anyone notices we were gone" the mouse explains his plan as I rub my temples.

"I was literally trying to find you just a few minutes ago while you were gone..." I retort.

"Dang it Lucas! Don't be such a downer!" Orion crosses his arms at me as I sigh very softly.

"Alright then...ONE recharge tomorrow and that's it" I give in to his pleas as he gives the biggest Pikachu smile he has made so far to me. He jumps up and down excitedly, "now we're talking! Trust me, you won't regret it!" he finishes before our attention shifts to what appears to be a shooting star in the night sky. Orion's eyes shine as he gives a look of awe. I too am impressed at having seen it: to everyone else we are just two Pikachu staring off in the distance.

"Do you think...there are other places like this somewhere out there?" Orion asks me as I turn to him. He responds in kind by turning to face me as well, "like, other worlds with humans or Pokémon...all of them just...staring into the sky...looking at us...asking the same exact thing?" he adds.

I give a slight laugh, "it's crazy to think, but some people believe you guys came from space or vise versa...perhaps they're right?"

"Maybe..." the other Pikachu mutters softly as we continue watching the lights above us in utter silence.

...

The very next day George gets us all breakfast from the lobby downstairs. Orion and Rigel expect to go outside, but we basically spend the day inside the hotel, as ordered by the police officers outside the hotel room. Just as Orion had said the other night: the weather outside is deteriorating and it's not long before it starts raining, so I guess it would have been a bummer to be outside today anyways...

We don't see Rigel's dad for most of the day because from what I heard...he's helping the authorities in catching the other Team Rocket members. I can't blame him...after what happened to Rigel it only made sense the man is out on some crusade against those people. George practically begged the cops to knock some sense into the grunt who chocked his son. While he's outside the hotel room, his wife just rests on the bed, watching TV while Rigel watches some Pokémon documentary in the other room. The kid hasn't talked much since being discharged, but it's to be expected: he's still healing and the medication must be making him drowsy most of the time. Orion sits next to him, curled up into a ball as if he were a Meowth, watching the same show as I watch from my bed. Orion ultimately loses interest, however, and walks up to me, "can you teach me some more English today?"

I nod and accept his request. It's been a while since our last lesson, so why not? I look around for something to write on, and that's when I remember the desk in the master bedroom: it should have something. And so, I make my way to them, saying hello to Rigel's mother, in human tongue, before obtaining the items needed. Finally, I return to the other Pikachu.

I begin by giving Orion a brief review of what he has learned so far. The Pokémon by this point, from the weeks since being in Bartoli's cage to now, can write simple, albeit rudimentary and broken, sentences by himself. For today I figure I could help him fix some of the mistakes in grammar and spelling he's made in the past, and then we can focus on other things. Orion is still struggling, but he is still determined to learn the human language regardless. As the hour goes by I try to simplify the lessons a bit to help keep him on track, and it seems to be working…

"Just look at how you can change this sentence" I explain as he examines carefully with a finger on his chin.

- Shaun is a doctor -

"This is an example of an affirmative statement. You're basically stating something that is...now watch how you can completely change the statement" I scribble over the word 'is' and write down something else before showing him:

- Shaun is not a doctor -

Orion has his mouth open as he tries to understand, and I can't help but give a slight chuckle before explaining further, "by adding that simple word, the reader understands that Shaun is, in fact, NOT a doctor. And, you can actually simplify and make it informal it by combining the two words together"

- Shaun isn't a doctor -

Orion's eyes are spinning as if a Butterfree just used supersonic on him or something, almost like they have spirals in them, "this is going to take some time to figure out I think" the mouse says to me as I hide my grin. Rigel, in the meantime, gives a thumbs up to us as we laugh all together.

Time passes by and Rigel starts to fall asleep. Before he fully succumbs to it he grabs his Pikachu from behind and jumps into his bed with him. The teen snuggles the thing to death while the latter squeaks, giving a cute smile to the human. Heck, if I was human again, I'd be hearing a loud and adorable "Pika!" from Orion. It's still so weird for me to hear English coming out of him instead of the usual 'Pika-nese' I'm accustomed to.

it's not English, what are you even talking about?

I shake my head after that quiet thought from the back of my head, "what..." I back away slowly, clutching the side of my head with a paw.

What use does a Pikachu have in learning the human language anyways?

Those...aren't my thoughts...oh no...it's the same experience I had in the Viridian Forest...and those other times...it's coming back...I thought they went away for good...why is my mind doing this to me!? It HAS to be a side effect of the formula...otherwise, what could it possibly be? I mean...I'm a human...turned into a Pikachu...but it's not like I took control of anybody like a ghost or something. It has to stop...it has to...stop…

Rigel and Orion notice me making my way to my bed, clutching my head with painful groans in the process. After a few minutes, I pass out.

I am awoken some time later by none other than Orion:

"Hey Lucas, there's thunder outside, wanna get going?"

I am groggy and still half-awake, so Orion starts shaking me; I finally give in and leave the bed to join him. We both make it into the bathroom and quickly, and quietly, enter the vent: eventually making it to the same balcony as yesterday. And just as the rodent predicted, rain is falling down on Viridian City with the roar of thunder echoing in the dark skies above. Once we jump out of the vent we are immediately drenched in rainwater as wind blows at us from the side. Orion doesn't seem to mind this, though, but who can blame him? Pikachu love to gather around storms and this one isn't any different. I myself, however, am bothered by the cold rain hitting us, yet I have no time to groan about it since the mouse grabs me and raises his other paw towards the sky. His tail too raises behind him, seemingly attracted by the flashes of light in the clouds right above us.

"You ready?" He simply asks me. I give a look of uncertainty, if only for a brief moment. We've done this at Rigel's residence before but getting struck by lightning caught me by surprise last time. It's not exactly something i'm used to anyways. But, what if...that other person takes over again? What if this time...I lose my mind and don't come back…

I feel Orion touch my shoulder, interrupting my train of thought, "Lucas?"

I give a soft sigh...I can already feel our yellow fur start to rise up while we both feel electricity building up all around us. It's going to happen now regardless...I just have to trust in myself...I am not a human right now...I am an electric-type...I can do this…

"I'm ready" I say as Orion gives me a light smile.

The first lightning strikes us and we are enveloped in a bright, blinding, light. We both are lifted off the ground as 50,000 volts of electricity surges through our bodies, and just like last time...instead of feeling pain I feel euphoria take over me. My entire body suddenly has more energy than I've ever had before, and just like the last time I had done this: my mood and my health are dramatically improved. I feel powerful, I feel invincible...most importantly, I feel like I belong…

All this happens in just a few seconds and I am left on the ground shaking, but not from being electrocuted but from the overpowering, and exhilarating, experience.

Orion next to me jumps up and down with unsatiable joy, "Yea! That was so awesome!" he exclaims, showing off his little arms as if he were a bodybuilder flexing their muscles. I, in the meantime, can't stop moving around, I'm just bursting with so much energy right now! I feel like I just drank four shots of espresso or something!

"I feel another coming down!" The other Pikachu says, his yellow fur rising again as we are yet again struck by another lightning bolt.

...

After a few minutes the storm passes and we re-enter the ventilation shaft. Water drips from my fur as we leave a trail of it behind us. That's the moment I realize, through my blissful distractions, that we are both returning to the humans drenched from the storm. I call out to Orion who stops and turns back to see me: his ears perked up as he gives a look of confusion.

"We can't go back looking like this, we're all wet..." I tell him. Suddenly, Orion gives a mischievous, almost evil-like, look on his face, "this way."

I have no choice but to follow him closely behind, but as soon as we turn the corner: some fans blow at us at high speeds. They're so fast that I could swear we were both in the air for a few moments. The two of us are almost swept away, but thankfully the fans slow down. I can tell Orion had planned this, he must have known about this and his smug smile confirms this to me. We are both completely dry, but I notice something else as I look down: my fur is fluffy and all over the place. I almost look like a yellow Jigglypuff, and I groan in response.

We finally make it back to the bedroom, and it looks as though Orion was right: Rigel and his parents are still sleeping, unaware that we had left in the first place. The mouse pats me on the back as I turn to him:

"That was great, huh?" He asks as I nod to him, "yea, I think that was better than last time" I respond.

He smiles, "goodnight Lucas, see ya tomorrow" Orion breaks away to join Rigel in bed.

"Goodnight Orion…" I say back before turning away.

I, myself, go back to my bed, pulling up the covers to warm myself. I don't close my eyes right away...I just think about how these past few days have been. Maybe things are starting to look up for us, maybe being a Pikachu isn't so bad for what it is...I might as well enjoy it while I can. Who knows...maybe we'll see Bill in a few days and he'll turn me back to normal. I wonder what will happen afterwards though: how will my relationship with Orion change? I wouldn't be able to actually talk to him like I do now...unless the Pikachu somehow finds a way to talk to humans like I do. If I change back, do I just bid farewell to these people, go my own way after all we've been through? How do I explain everything to my family...to Jen...how do I tell them where I've been these past few weeks? Would they believe me? Would it even matter? So much has changed and I just don't know what I'm going to do? I just hope it all works out in the end...for everybody.