Chapter forty-one: Fun and Happy Times

A few days pass, but with very little change since then: all of us are still in the hotel room since the authorities haven't been letting us go anywhere far.

I'm kind of getting desperate to leave; staying in the same place for too long just brings back bad memories...memories of the cages...the torture...and the pain…

But, today is different: today they're letting us out. It isn't long before I figure out why:

According to some sources, Team Rocket has ceased operations throughout the region...it seems as though they had disappeared. From what I've heard from George, he was told that there hasn't been a sighting or incident involving the gang for days now.

I guess this is it then, Team Rocket is finished?

Can it even be true? I wanted to believe it, but how could I...the group really knew how to hide away and tread lightly with the authorities. It seems foolish to think they had all gone away somehow...even if Giovanni is on the run and Bartoli is in prison. But, maybe they're right?

Despite this news, we are still under protective custody, but the good news is that it seems as though the family can rest easier now with the good news from the government. Rigel's father decides to try and talk to officials. I think he, like everyone else in the room, is getting tired of being in here. George and his wife, May, figured we would all need some fresh air...especially Rigel.

The fourteen-year old had basically recovered by this point. The teen no longer required medication, and his throat had healed considerably since being in the hospital a week, or so, ago. Energy is quickly returning to him and now Rigel could finally be more active again.

It turns out, around noon, that the cops allow us to leave! Everyone is excited, especially Orion, who's basically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

George gives the all clear and we all get ready to go outside. I get dressed in my Pikachu-sized clothes and Rigel grooms Orion before we all meet in the parent's room. The teen is dressed in blue winter gear, tall black boots, and a black messenger bag to along with the outfit: but in reality he keeps the idle Charmeleon and Mankey inside. I haven't seen the boy like this in a good while, and Orion can't keep his excitement, his sheer joy from seeing his trainer, his human brother, back on his feet again after so long!

The boy notices this and stoops down to Orion's level to scratch him behind the ears. The Pikachu, in kind, responds with a cute squeak and a big smile.

"Come on buddy" Rigel says; his voice still is a little bit hoarse, but one can tell it's much better than it was before. Orion, in kind, jumps up: resting on Rigel's shoulder for the first time in a long time before the teen stands up with him.

"Everyone ready?" George says as we all nod, "let's go."

Viridian City is usually cloudy during the winter, but today was not a usual day. Instead, the sun is out and the sky is almost clear. But despite this, it's still cold and we can all see our breaths as we walk to a nearby park in downtown. There hasn't been snow in a while, thankfully, and the trees are still showing their usual greenish color all around us.

The city park is quite big: there's a few paths that diverge from each other with trees surrounding us in every direction. There's a pond at the center of the area, with a walkway running through the body of water. There's some well-kept flowers all over the ground to our sides and I can swear I can sense some small Pokémon hidden in the grass. What I CAN KNOW for sure is that Pidgey are nested in the trees and in some areas on the ground, but it seems as though they're non-aggressive: seeing as how they're used to humans.

The walk to the center of the park only takes a few minutes, and we're all bunched up together from the cold, but none of us really complain. After all, this is the first time we're outside in days.

Now one might ask: why are we able to do this, especially if we might have a target on our heads? Well...not too far behind us: two Viridian agents are following us, both tasked with protecting us...should anything happen, so I guess that puts our minds to ease. The others don't seem very worried about it at the moment.

Without warning, something, or somebody, lands on my head! I can soon tell it was none other than Orion, who jumped off from Rigel and bounced off my head to get my attention!

"Race ya to the pond Lucas!" he exclaims happily as I give a low smile. I immediately give chase right afterwards. Realistically, I am going to lose the race since the other mouse is much faster than me; however, Orion unexpectedly stops and proceeds to fake nap...I guess it's his way of rubbing it in my face. I narrow my eyebrows in response as I give a low growl of frustration. It's taken a long time but by this point I can run on all fours with pretty much no problem. Nevertheless, it still comes as a surprise somewhat when I pass Orion and make it to the finish line first before him. The Pikachu seemed to notice this at the last minute and tried to catch up, but he failed. To me it seems like the classic story of the Turtle and the Hare...or was it a tortoise...ah who cares…

I look behind me to see Orion just a few feet away, and by now I realize he is playing the part of a shocked and disappointed person, "oh man! I lost, how are you faster than me..." he says as the humans arrive behind him.

"Why do I get the feeling you let me win?" I ask him while he pretends to be offended by this, "Lucas, what do you mean? You won fair and square!"

Suddenly, he uses quick-attack: heading back to his trainer's shoulder in a blink of an eye, "let's do that again later!" Orion gives a smug look as I roll my eyes to him, smiling back.

We all circle around the large body of water, even going as far as walking across the bridge running through it. From the bridge we can see regular fish of all kind, including fish of various Pokémon species such as Goldeen and Magikarp. Some city-folk are fishing by the edge of the pond while others are fishing on the bridge beside us. Others sit by some benches and enjoy the view from various parts of the park, and some feed their pet Pokémon or stray Pidgeys to pass the time.

"I heard they have some great coffee here. They said it'd be around here," George says as we look around for the Coffee stand. It's not long until May spots it on the other side of the pond from us, "there it is!"

And so, we make our way there and gather by the stand. It's actually quite impressive how it looks from the inside...almost looks like a bar where they have all the selection of drinks to choose from...gosh I miss bars..."

George orders coffee for May and himself, and then looks down at his son, "do you want anything Rigel?"

The boy shrugs then nods at his father, "maybe some hot chocolate for me."

"What size you want, buddy?" George adds.

"I guess medium" Rigel adds as well.

"Gotcha" his father finishes. I quickly tug his pants to get his attention and he looks down to me.

"Coffee...for me...too..." I request before he nods, "alright Lucas." Gosh...my ability to speak to them in English is getting much better I just realized. Before I know it, I'll be able to speak to humans as a Pikachu without any much difficulty.

"Anything in particular" he asks me as I shrug to him, "cappu...ccino?"

"okay" George finishes as he turns away from me to speak to the barista. Everyone tries their best to not make it look awkward, and even I tried my best to keep my voice down so the employee or other bystanders find out that I can speak. It must have been weird ordering such a drink for a Pokémon, especially a Pikachu, but I didn't care…I've been kinda craving coffee for a while now, REAL coffee...not the stuff they have in the hotel.

It takes a few minutes but the lady over the counter, along with her Pokémon: Vulpix, heat up the beverages for us as we wait. Finally, the barista hands us our drinks, "have a good day!" she says as her Vulpix barks at us happily.

Soon afterwards, we carry our drinks to a wooden bench beside a tree not too far from the pond. The coffee tasted really good, much better than the coffee from Sinnoh! Then I thought: what about Orion?

And that's when Rigel called out Charmeleon and Mankey from their Pokéballs. The boy takes out several drinks he bought from a PokéStop a while back. He gives each of them a bottle, including Orion, who happily takes it with his small stubby fingers.

We all hang out at the bench, enjoying our beverages while trying to stay warm from the cold. The teen looks like he's in heaven drinking his hot chocolate and Orion just giggles at him. Yet when the Pikachu drinks his oran-berry flavored smoothe he too acts up like Rigel: who returns the laugh. Charmeleon and Mankey across from us, meanwhile, just have their beverages in complete silence. I can tell they're not the loquacious type, but it's fine: they seem to be having a good time also, even if they're not willing to show it.

Both Rigel and Orion finish their drinks first, and the boy pulls out what appears to be a toy ball, "hey buddy, wanna play catch" he asks as the mouse squeaks and nods his head with approval. They break away from the bench and start to play nearby as we watch them.

It's nice and refreshing to see the family at ease, and at peace, once again...especially after all that has happened in recent times. George and his wife smile and talk, embracing one another as lovers usually do. I talked with them every once in a while between drinking my coffee and watching Rigel and Orion play.

"So Lucas" my ears turn towards George, "you said a while ago you were from Pallet Town, correct?"

I nod simply to his question.

"I hear it's a nice and quiet town over there, but there's also a brilliant professor who resides there. Do you know them?" the man adds.

I honestly wouldn't know...it's been years since I've been in Pallet Town, and I don't recall a professor ever being from there. I wonder how much has changed. Heck, come to think about it, I've only been around Viridian so far, nowhere else. I shake my head to him.

"Oh...I ask because maybe they could help you" George says as I think to myself about the possibility.

"Maybe we'll take you around there when we can" May says as George nods to her, "we want to try and help the best way we can. So far, Bill seems to be the most willing and most able to help you. I've been in contact with him, and he is still waiting for us near Cerulean City. I've been trying to get the authorities to let us go, at least in their company. I think they might let us go very soon" George explains as I close my eyes and sigh, "hopefully...my family...can't see me...like this" I say back. He and May seem to understand. Safety is definitely an issue. Right now we have two guards watching us, making sure Team Rocket does not strike again, but what happens if that safety net is inevitably removed? I mean...there's enough good reason to have the cops around us still, especially for the long road ahead. But, like I told Orion...the first thing I'm doing when I'm human again is to get me and my family out of Kanto.

"Hey Lucas!" We suddenly hear Rigel call out from nearby, "wanna play catch with us?" I look back towards the parents to get their permission...wait what? I keep forgetting I'm a damn adult...why do I need their permission? Oh forget it!

"Go ahead, go have fun" May says as George hums in agreement.

"We'll talk more later" George finishes as I gulp the rest of my coffee, setting it down. I make my way towards the teen and his Pokémon, which includes Charmeleon and Mankey: all grouped together in one spot.

"Alright Lucas! Okay, so, I'll be the first to throw. Just make sure the ball doesn't touch the ground!" Rigel explains to me as he calmly moves the ball up and down his hand, "okay, ready everyone?"

His team prepare themselves, narrowing their eyebrows in focus before the trainer throws the spherical object into the air, "go!"

Orion, Charm, and Mankey speed off for it right away as I try to keep up. Dang...they're already almost to it…

Charmeleon gets there first, using his head to get the ball bouncing high before its able to even touch the ground. Orion jumps on Charmeleon and uses his body to send the ball back towards Rigel's direction. Mankey quickly uses his foot to direct the ball towards me as I'm running towards them on all fours. All three Pokémon yell at me:

"get it!"

"Go!"

"Come on Lucas!"

I can see the projectile speeding towards me at high speeds, so there isn't enough time to think strategy. Instead, I use instinct. I jump into the air and use my head to balance the ball above me, and it...works? Orion was already rushing to me using quick-attack, and he finishes by smacking the falling ball toward Rigel, who finally catches it. Phew...all that work for one catch!

Meanwhile, the parents talk among each other as they watch the game end. George whispers to his wife, "for a human trapped in the body of a Pokémon, he sure knows how to run and be athletic like one" he says as she nods, "well, apparently Orion has been teaching him"

"That's amazing" George nods back, "Rigel should take it easier though..." he adds.

"he is" May retorts at her husband, "he's fine honey."

Orion comes up to me as I wipe sweat off my head.

"Great job pal" the smaller Pikachu pats me on the back, giving off a smile as I turn to him. I put an arm behind my back, smiling back, "thanks" I tell him.

We continue the game for a few rounds, which is accompanied by the cheering of the parents for all of us, until Rigel finally gets tired.

"That was fun you guys, I miss this!" Rigel says before retiring to the bench, rejoining his parents' side, but not before taking out an inhaler to use it.

The toy ball is left behind, and Charmeleon picks it up. Very soon after, smoke escapes from his nostrils as he gives a sinister-like, and toothy, grin to himself. He whispers to Mankey, who's next to him. The pig-monkey nods silently, also giving a similar expression as the reptile. They both walk up to us before we turn around to meet them.

The fire-type Pokémon is twirling the ball up and down his paw as he gives a prideful smirk, "Mankey and I wish to challenge you both" he declared while Orion and I look at each other. The rodent next to me, almost immediately, barks back with the same, if not more, confidence, "you're on!" he says as I gulp in nervousness.

"Here are the rules: one Pokémon is a goalkeeper while the other attacks. The first to get a goal wins!" Charmeleon explains.

"Sooo...it's like soccer then?" I whisper to the other mouse before he nods, "pretty much."

"Mankey will be defending and I'll be the attacker" the lizard adds to his conditions further.

Orion stepped forward, "alright then...it's you and me then, scaly!" Orion exclaims loudly as Charmeleon gives back an intimidating look of bumptiousness, "actually, you'll be defending like Mankey" the reptile hisses back at the Pikachu. I give a shocked and worried expression from this revelation. M...me, against Charmeleon...toe to toe...one on one? A drop of sweat rolls down the side of my head.

"Alright then, let's go!" Orion retorted, going to his start position down the field while Charmeleon and I stood in the middle of the playing field. The fire lizard looms over me. He is two-feet taller and easily dwarfs me in comparison; his hands are on his hips while his lit tail moves behind him rather aggressively. It's like he's hunting me or something…

"You can do it Lucas!" Orion shouts from behind me.

Damn it Orion...why did you agree to this!?

With no warning from Charmeleon, the latter throws the ball high up in the air, and suddenly launches himself into the sky to smack it. I have almost no time to do the same: I watch the sphere travel toward Orion at very high speeds! The crimson-colored reptile races past me before I follow closely behind. He looks back at me, giving off that annoying smirk of his, before using his head to send the ball further towards Orion; however, the Pokémon's reflexes are lightning-quick...excuse the pun there…

He deflects the projectile away easily while Charm and I look up to see the toy falling down toward us. The dragon-like monster pushes me away, and places his paws on me to block my attempts to catch the ball.

"H-hey!" I shout back as the spherical object is close to hitting the ground.

The mouse, on the other side of the field, cups his paws together by his mouth, "Lucas, use speed to your advantage!" Orion thundered...sorry: another pun...

I waste no more time, I use quick-attack to slip away from the reptile, but not before jumping on his head. I make contact with the ball in mid-air very soon after, kicking it and sending it towards Mankey who is ready for me.

The primate pig hastily slaps the ball away back towards me. I try again, but Charmeleon gets in the way as I land on the ground, snarling at me as he does. He uses his long tail to redirect the ball to Orion, who barely manages to deflect the sphere away, with the tip of his paw, in time.

The fire-type and I dash for the ball that is bouncing on the ground.

"Outta my way, shrimp!"

The former's constant prideful and cocky nature is really starting to get to me. Okay...no more Mr. nice guy then…

I breathe deeply, suddenly giving myself more focus, and I suddenly zip past Charm, who gives a sudden look of surprise, and a snort of frustration in the process. I bounce the toy with my yellow knee, and when the lizard tries to take possession of the ball: I dance it around him at high speeds to dodge his attempts to steal it. He's struggling to focus on the ball as I dribble my way across the field and towards the goalie: Mankey. Charmeleon is just a few inches behind, but he is really having a hard time!

"Go Lucas, go!" Orion exclaims with praise. The parents and Rigel watch the game from the benches, all appear to be enjoying the game.

I use all my remaining energy on Mankey. He expects me to take a shot from ground level, but I kick the ball up in the air in a hastily fashion with a foot paw. I quickly then jump up before Charmeleon does the same from behind, but my foot stops him before he can come any closer.

Still in midair, I yell as I flip and use my lightning-shaped tail to send the ball down past Mankey at incredibly high-speed! I land back on the ground on my feet while Charmeleon falls flat on his stomach in defeat!

Did we just score? Yes! We did!

Orion jumps up and down with uncontrollable excitement, cheering loudly as he rushes toward me. He picks me up and carries me around in circles. We both close our eyes and smile in celebration. Mankey, meanwhile, picks up the ball and reunites with Charmeleon before the two Pokémon meet up with us. At first, I expect a fight to break out between us, but instead the lizard seems quite impressed for the first time since I've met him. He gives a slight bow as a sign of respect, "I underestimated you, but I won't do it again next round" he smirks again as Orion steps up to him: both just inches away from one another.

"Best two out of three then?" Orion asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You bet"

...

And so, we continue playing the game, but we're unable to finish because Rigel's parents decide it's time to leave. So, we just end the game with an unfortunate tie. We quitted the park and made our way through Viridian City for the time being: with the parents buying some merchandise and what not for the kid and the rest of us.

Later in the day at around 3pm however we stop to eat at a small cafe lounge close to a shopping arcade. The humans order udon and among other things while we're fed food made for Pokémon. As night falls we are finally escorted back to the hotel. Once we return to room 713 we all unwind and rest until it's dinnertime.

George decided to order pizza for all of us tonight, and once it had arrived all our eyes light up from how majestic and delicious the Viridian pie appears to us. It dosn't take very long for the pizza to be devoured completely. Charmeleon, Mankey, Orion, the humans and I are all stuffed by this point and decided to watch a movie to pass some time by.

As bedtime approaches, Rigel and Orion get ready for bed while I undress and lay on my bed with my blue goggles next to me. It's a shame I didn't wear them today, it probably would have been bad-ass to see me wearing them while playing soccer.

Anyways, I just stare up at the ceiling, and it doesn't take long for me to start thinking about stuff again. Yea...I'm that kind of person who when they don't have anything to do they just stare and think…

I think about Pallet Town...I think about this professor George was talking about at the park. Who is this professor exactly? Where are they from anyways, and can they even be trusted is the most important question. Heck...can BILL HIMSELF even be trusted? What if it's all a trap?

"Hey Lucas" I open my eyes and look to my left to see Orion sitting on the bed next to me, "watcha thinking about?" he asks.

"Oh...nothing" I retort, closing my eyes again.

"Why do I find that very hard to believe, especially with you" The Pikachu chuckles to me, "so um...I heard from dad...he says they might let us go see Bill tomorrow!"

I reopen my eyes quickly, turning towards the mouse with great interest, my ears perked all the way up, "r-really!?"

"Yup! It's a...kind of a shame tho. I mean...don't get me wrong...I DO want to see you happy, and wanting to become human again is natural and all...and you obviously need your life back...but...I mean" he gives a soft sigh, "forget it."

"No, go ahead, tell me" I insist.

"the other guys might not show it, Charmeleon and Mankey, but they do like your company, as much as I do. And well...when you're human again...I don't think things will be the same...I don't know...I...listen, when you're a Pokémon and you become attached to somebody, the bond is almost unbreakable...you feel as though you can't live without them..."

"It has to happen Orion, I can't stay like this," I stand up and walk over to him, "I beg you...when I'm human again...come with me...bring Rigel...bring your family…come with mine. We can all leave Kanto...I...I know a place where we can all escape this hell and be safe again...the Sinnoh Region."

"Sinnoh?" He gives a look of shock.

"As far as I know they'll never find us there. And, well...despite the fact I accidentally sold contraband while I worked there…it's safer there...I've lived in Sinnoh for years...it's colder, sure, but it's a happy place once you come to enjoy it" I explain.

Orion shakes his head slowly, "Lucas...I'm not sure my family would be willing to do it"

I look down toward the ground, "well...if that's the case...our journey may be ending then Orion. I've lived on this earth for twenty-eight years...and I've come to learn over time that some things may have to end...no matter how hard it may be to hold on...you have to...you have to keep forward and move on" I say as a small tear travels down the other Pikachu's eye.

"If we do say our goodbyes, I'll never forget the time we've had, however short it actually was" I add.

"Orion" Rigel calls to his Pokémon before the Pikachu turns back to me.

"Let's just talk later, it's been a long day" I tell him.

"And you were fantastic today by the way, I'm proud to call you my buddy" Orion says, wiping the tear off his face, "goodnight Lucas" he turns away to join Rigel in bed.

"Goodnight Lucas!" Rigel exclaims before turning off the lights.

I lie back down, staring back at the ceiling in silence.

"Goodnight, my friends..."

...

This was a nice chapter for me to write!

If you folks are interested, there is now more fan art of 50,000 Volts, mainly involving Lucas and Orion, which is also the art cover for the story on fanfiction!

Click this link to be redirected to the fan art: fefe46/art/Lucas-and-Orion-50-000-Volts-By-Mysticalpha-862834040

Special thanks to Mysticalpha for making this art commission for me!