Chapter 25: Dreams
"(Let's go Pikachu, let's go~!)" Buneary cheered as she waved her pom-poms in the air.
It had been a few days since the couple had snuck out to see that quaint little town. Since then, the gang had spent nearly all of their time traveling with downtime being a luxury at this point.
Despite his conviction on getting his next gym badge, it was only a matter of time before Ash felt that too much time had passed since they had a good battle. As soon as a friendly trainer offered a match, he immediately took it.
"Alright Blaziken, Focus Punch!" The young trainer commanded as Blaziken charged forward.
"Pikachu dodge it!" Ash yelled.
Pikachu quickly jumped into the air and gracefully avoided the attack before landing a safe distance away. Without looking in her direction, he could hear Buneary's squeals of support.
"Flamethrower, now!" The trainer shouted as Blaziken began to unleash a column of fire from his mouth.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash exclaimed to which Pikachu immediately straightened his posture and with a battle cry, unleashed a powerful streak of electricity at the approaching Flamethrower. The two attacks collided, causing a powerfully loud explosion.
The two sides waited for the dust to settle before they coordinated their next move.
"Okay Pikachu, let's make short work of this, got it?" Ash said with a confident smile.
"(You got it!)" Pikachu replied as he crouched into attack-mode.
As they waited to get a glimpse of their opponent, they heard the other trainer give a command.
"Use Hyper Beam!" He shouted.
"(Huh?)" Pikachu muttered as he blankly looked at the dust cloud. Suddenly, he saw something moving behind it: a silhouette of his opponent clearly charging something up. Before he could think of anything else, he saw the figure lean forward about to use its attack.
"Pikachu dodge it with Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu heard his trainer's commands yet for some strange reason he couldn't move. He just stared at his opponent, watching the dust being violently pushed out of the way as the beam of energy broke through it and headed towards him. It was strangely reminiscent of...that day...
And for a brief moment...he could see that beast's face instead of Blaziken's.
"Pikachu?" Ash asked, his voice sounding far away.
He continued staring as the beam of energy began to close the distance. Though it was still a good ways away, it wouldn't be long until it reached him.
Yet...it was as if all of the sound around had just disappeared and all he could hear was his own painfully slow heartbeat.
"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, the obvious desperation in his voice breaking the mouse out of his trance.
Blinking, Pikachu could see the Hyper Beam no less than a few feet in front of him! Without even thinking, he jumped to the side just as the attack made contact with the ground that he was standing on mere moments ago and just barely nicking him, causing the fur on his side to billow smoke.
He grit his teeth as he felt the sting of the attack as he landed on all fours. He briefly glanced at Ash, the boy looking quite perplexed. Pikachu looked over at the rest of their group and they too seemed just as confused by what happened, Buneary in particular was intensely staring at him in concern.
"Er, alright Pikachu, use Quick Attack and then Iron Tail!" Ash said, bouncing back from Pikachu's fault.
Quickly shaking his head, Pikachu regained his composure and rushed forward, picking up speed with each passing moment.
"Double Kick!" The trainer shouted as Blaziken got ready.
Pikachu's tail began to glow an iridescent white and the added weight began to slow him down. Channeling his strength into his left side, he twisted his body and made contact with Blaziken's leg. As he did, electricity began to suddenly appear around the Fire-type's body.
"Alright! Way to use your Static buddy!" Ash cheered from behind.
Pikachu smirked as he propelled himself off his opponent's leg and landed safely away.
"Blaziken!" The trainer cried out in horror as the Fire-type struggled to move.
"Now, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
Smirking, Pikachu began to channel electricity when suddenly the trainer spoke up.
"Close Combat!" He fiercely shouted. Blaziken suddenly stopped struggling and – to both Ash and Pikachu's shock – rushed forward! Pikachu didn't even have time to react before the Fire-type landed a kick into his chest, causing him to become momentarily airborne.
Pikachu closed his eyes and let out a gasp of both surprise and pain as the electricity around his body dissipated. From down below, he could hear all of his friends' shocked reactions including that from a certain brown bunny. He slightly opened one of his eyes and down below he could see the sparks of electricity appear around Blaziken's body again, causing him to stay paralyzed in place.
"Iron Tail!" Ash cried out from below. Grimacing through the pain, the mouse regained his composure and steadied himself in the air.
With a look of pure determination, Pikachu solidified his tail again and began to spin his body forwards. Using expert-level precision, he slammed his Iron Tail right between Blaziken's shoulder blades, causing him to crash into the ground with such force that it broke the surface with a mighty roar.
Pikachu jumped back as he waited for the dust to settle again. When it did, everyone could see that Blaziken was out cold.
"Blaziken is unable to battle! The winners are Ash and Pikachu!" Brock declared as he extended his arm towards them.
"Yeah that's what I'm talking about! Way to go!" Ash cheered with a fist pump.
"(Yeah he did it!)" Piplup cheered, waving his pom-poms.
"(You showed him you amazing mouse!)" Buneary exclaimed, ruffling her own pom-poms with gusto. Pikachu turned to her and gave her a wave of reassurance which only made her cheers come out louder. He felt his heartbeat begin to quicken upon seeing her bright smile.
A few minutes later, Pikachu was being treated by Brock for his slightly singed fur and some already-developing bruises. The other trainer respectfully shook Ash's hand, gave him and Pikachu some kind words of encouragement and departed.
"You were awesome buddy! Your Iron Tail is getting super powerful!" Ash beamed as he watched Brock rummage through his bag for a potion.
"(I'll say!)" Buneary said from the side with a wave of reassurance.
"(Heh, well you know...)" Pikachu said with a sheepish smile although it was clear that the mouse was feeling rather prideful.
"Yeah, keep up this progress and you'll win that league in no time!" Brock replied as he inspected the potion in his hands before turning back to Pikachu.
"You know it! Isn't that right Pikachu?" Ash exclaimed.
"(Right!)" Pikachu replied with equal enthusiasm.
"Yeah you guys will do great!" Dawn beamed. "Just like how we'll do great in ours! Right everyone?!"
All of Dawn's team emphatically cheered although Buizel merely looked away with a near-silent scoff. His response went unnoticed by nearly everyone except for a certain brown bunny whose exceptional hearing picked it up.
Buneary looked at him and then between their trainers, their words seemingly fading out a little as she continued to watch Brock inspect Pikachu's body to see where to spray the potion.
Huh...
A few days later, the group continued their journey across Sinnoh as per usual. After going over some directions, they had no choice but to trek through a forest. While Brock did a good job of keeping track of where they were so far, once the dirt path turned into mindless grass and everywhere they looked was nothing but a sea of trees, they had no other option but to stop and get their bearings. Soon, the confidence of where exactly they were turned into slight doubt, then into confusion and finally one of mild panic, mainly from Dawn.
By the time they were even remotely sure of where they were, a good amount of time had already passed and in a few hours the sun would be going down. No reason to just keep going only to remain lost in the dark right? And so, they decided to camp where they were but not before giving one last look at the map. It was there on Ash's shoulder that Pikachu peered over, his gaze tracing where Brock's finger was. On the map was a large splotch of green representing the forest yet there was something else that was catching the mouse's eye. In that homogeneity of green was a tiny speck of blue with the words "Arabella Falls" underneath it and it seemed to be located right behind a lake not too far from here.
He looked over and saw Buneary sitting and chatting with Pachirisu and Aipom.
Hmmm...
As the group started setting up camp, Pikachu paid extra special attention to the humans. Well...they certainly looked busy...and knowing how long it can take to get camp settled, he figured now was a great time! Quickly he walked over to Buneary who by now was listening to Piplup's typical overexaggerated bragging.
"(Hi!)" He brightly said to her.
She looked up at him and smiled. "(Hi yourself!)"
"(Sooo everyone's busy right now and we're not gonna travel anymore for the rest of the day. Do you want to...go on another date?)"
"(Woah, asking her in front of others? Getting pretty bold are ya?)" Aipom teased. Pikachu felt his cheeks heating up a little from that. She wasn't exactly wrong...
Buneary's smile widened even more. "(Of course!)" She said as she got up and briefly hugged him. "(Where to?)"
Pikachu put on a confident face and pointed away from camp. "(To the lake!)" He declared to which Buneary giggled.
"(Hee~! Lead the way oh fearless leader!)" She laughed as he took her paw and walked away from camp, not at all caring that he heard their friends snickering from behind.
A few minutes later, the two were standing at a quaint little lake, its depth not looking too deep but its width far too great to walk around in a reasonable amount of time.
"(It's beautiful Pikachu.)" Buneary softly said as she continued to hold his paw.
"(Yeah, I figured you'd like it.)" He said, a tone of confidence still lingering in his voice. "(Actually, you know there's supposed to be some waterfalls on the other side of this lake. I saw it on the map)"
"(Really? Huh, wish we could see it.)"
"(Me too, but I don't think you'd be up for walking or swimming right now.)"
"(Nah, this is just fine for me.)" She said with a gentle smile.
"(Yeah it's really-)" He said before pausing as his gaze noticed something off to the side. He looked over and saw a couple of row boats on the shore, one of which was rather small, perhaps designed for children or even for Pokémon their size. Buneary soon followed to where he was staring at. She looked back at him, putting two and two together before a daring smile crept on her face.
"(Well...)"
Pikachu continued to row the little boat across the lake, its still waters being broken up only by the vessel making its way to the shore on the other side. As the mouse worked, Buneary listened carefully to hear if they were getting closer to their destination. Indeed, she could hear the very faint and muffled sound of rushing water. Judging by how they were in the middle of the lake and that she could hear it from where they were, it's likely that these falls were rather large or numerous.
As she carefully listened, she occasionally stole glances at the mouse who was hard at work rowing. She took notice at him rowing in a perfectly-timed rhythmic motion, letting out an occasional exhale, his focus never faltering, his muscles prominently showing and all the while he never even appeared to be tiring out whatsoever. She could feel her cheeks warm up a little at seeing him with such...physical capability. This guy...her friend...her boyfriend. If she was being honest with herself, she found herself just a tad aroused by him in that moment.
"(So...a potato huh?)" Pikachu asked in-between rowing, still not taking his focus off his task.
"(Huh?)" Buneary muttered, suddenly jolted out thoughts that she'd rather not repeat aloud.
"(You know...I caught it, then what happened?)" He asked, briefly looking up at her as he continued rowing.
"(O-Oh! Right...)" Buneary nearly exclaimed, trying to compose her thoughts again. Doing her best to stave off the heat in her cheeks from flaring up again, she tried focusing on the topic at hand and cleared her throat. "(And then I was in absolute awe! At that point, I had never really seen something like that before! You looked like some kind of crazy acrobat, jumping effortlessly and catching it and then doing three triple front flips before landing perfectly on your feet. It was just...wow.)" She declared; her paws raised in the air for dramatic effect before coming to rest on her cheeks in sheer satisfaction.
He looked up again and saw that her eyes were sparkling...more than usual anyway. The unbridled look of admiration actually caught him off guard and he lost his rowing pace, the boat's progress quickly slowing down.
"(Er, I...well thanks!)" He beamed, genuinely flattered by her words.
"(Hee~! Well anyway, it was then and there for me!)" She said with a smile, her paws still pressed up against her cheeks as she went into her own little world.
Pikachu merely looked at here and nervously rubbed the back of his head. Gosh, it's not like he'd never received compliments or even praise before...but it was nothing like this! The way she talked about him...it was like he was some kind of super-cool celebrity or something! Clearly it was quite exaggerated as all he did was just catch a potato in the air, a feat that he honestly doesn't even remember too well but regardless, it was obviously impressive enough to make this quirky rabbit fall pretty hard for him.
He paused rubbing the back of his head as a proud little smile crept across his face, despite his attempts to stop it.
"(Umm...all in a day's work!)" He laughed. A moment passed before he realized something else. "(Wait...so all this time then?)"
Her smile only grew. "(Yup!)"
Huh, guess that explains what the humans were talking about that day, especially Dawn and Brock. Still though...she'd been smitten since before they'd even met?
Before he could say something, Buneary looked past him and her expression changed into one of mild surprise.
"(Looks like we're here.)" She announced, causing Pikachu to look behind and saw that indeed, they had come upon the shore. Just like how it was at camp, this location was heavily wooded.
Satisfied, Pikachu turned to her with his smile returning. He held out his paw and gave a wink. "(Shall we?)"
Buneary smiled back at him as she gently grabbed his paw. "(Let's!)"
It didn't take long for the couple to make their way through the forest, Buneary instructing where to go thanks to her superb hearing. Soon, the sound of rushing water became so apparent that both of them heard it without having to listen so intently. After a few more minutes, the sounds became loud enough for them to determine that it was just behind some thick bushes.
As they walked up to the foliage, Pikachu took a moment to part the bush and peer through it. Another moment passed and he quickly stepped back, a funny look on his face. His expression was one of barely restrained excitement and wonder.
"(Something tells me we're here.)" He said, clearly trying to stay calm and not show a smile.
"(Oh? What makes you say that?)" Buneary asked, getting excited enough to play along.
Pikachu didn't say anything back. Instead, he quickly took her paw again and led them through the bush, the light shining through it making it appear as though they were stepping through a door into another realm.
Buneary let her eyes adjust to the light and when she did, they only widened in shock at the sight.
The first thing she noticed was how unbelievably bright green everything was. The foliage surrounding them was lush and full of life. Then her mind registered the waterfall. Or rather waterfalls. Indeed, there were three rather large ones and several skinnier waterfalls in between them, their water cascading down in perfect unison, giving the surreal auditory illusion that it was all just one massive descending body of water. The waterfalls themselves must have been at least thirty feet tall, the water itself seemingly appearing out of the lush forest above and gathering down into a natural basin below which fed into a river. In fact, there was so much water that it actually pooled and created a makeshift little island between them and the falls.
Buneary didn't say a word. She only held a paw up to her mouth in awe. Pikachu couldn't take his eyes off it. It truly was a marvel of nature!
They both wanted to get closer but alas, if they were to do so, they'd have to shout just to talk. And so, they immediately decided to stay where they were and admire the scene.
Standing there for a while, neither of them wanted to break the sereness of it all. Eventually, Buneary made a motion to turn towards Pikachu who responded by turning to her. Smiling, she grabbed both of his paws in hers.
"(Pikachu...this is the most beautiful place I've ever been to!)" She beamed.
"(Me too, I'm...I'm glad to be sharing it with you right now.)" He said with a bashful smile, his face starting to redden.
"(Well, that makes two of us!)" She said before she leaned in to hug him. He made a slightly-surprised gasp before he could feel her arms tightly wrap around his back. In that moment, he could feel her heart beating against his chest. Oh lord, he could only hope that she wasn't feeling his own heart beginning to quicken. Regardless, he felt quite content and he wrapped his arms around her too, the cascading water making everything feel more otherworldly.
After a few moments, she made a loud gasp and practically jumped back, her paws over her mouth.
"(Oh jeez! Sorry, sorry! Your battle wounds!)" She cried out, eyes widened in horror.
Taken aback, he looked at her before registering what she was referring to too. Quickly, he shook his paws in front of himself. "(N-No it's okay! I feel fine!)"
"(You sure?)" She asked, her paws sliding off her face.
"(Yeah, Brock did a great job taking care of me! I promise I don't feel a thing!)" He said with a comforting smile. He looked at her unconvinced face and paused before lightly pinching his side. "(See? No problems!)" He said, motioning to what he was doing. After a few more pinches, she seemed to ease up a little.
"(O-Okay...good.)" Buneary finally said, clearly relieved before clearing her throat. "(Actually...I meant to tell you earlier, but you were pretty fantastic out there today!)" She declared, her enthusiasm returning in full force. "(The way you used your Static ability and how you just slammed him into the ground so hard that you shattered the ground!)"
"(Heh, I guess, but I got dinged. Don't know what happened because I should've been able to dodge that Hyper Beam.)" Pikachu muttered, a wave of shame washing over him.
"(Hey, that's okay! You only got nicked after all. And he was pretty fast too!)" She replied, her voice brighter than ever.
"(Yeah I guess, I'll just need to be better in the future. Can't get very far in the leagues if I don't think on my feet right?)" He laughed, easing up a little himself/
Buneary blinked as another thought came to her. "(Hey that reminds me...)" She said as he turned his attention back to her. "(I've been thinking.)"
"(About what?)"
"(Well you mentioned being in Hoenn before coming here and before that, you were in Kanto and Johto right?)"
"(Right?)"
"(So you and Ash have travelled pretty far and wide.)"
"(Yeah?)"
"(Well it just got me thinking...was it all for Ash's dream?)"
"(Huh?)" Pikachu wondered aloud as his ears pricked up, genuinely not expecting that.
"(I mean...all that traveling was for Ash to achieve his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master right?)"
"(Er...yeah that's right.)"
"(So everything you've done was for him...to live out his dream I mean.)"
Pikachu once again rubbed the back of his head. "(I mean...I guess so. I'm not sure what you're getting at Bun.)"
Buneary nodded as she looked at him. "(What I mean is that you've given your blood, sweat and tears for him. For his dream. But...what about you? What is your dream Pikachu?)"
He looked at her, the question not really getting through to him for a moment. "(My dream?)"
"(Yeah! You know, what do you want to do with your life? What does Pikachu – the incredible hunky mouse from Pallet Town – want in the future?)" She asked, a look of intrigue on her face.
Trying to ignore how the compliment made his heart flutter a little, Pikachu looked away. Wow...nobody really ever asked him that before, at least not to his recollection. Do Pokémon even have their own individual aspirations? Nearly every Pokémon he came across with a human were in good sync with them, not really complaining about being dissatisfied with what they were doing or wanting something more for themselves.
His paw still rested behind his head as he looked back at her, clear curiosity on her face.
"(Huh...guess I never really thought about it.)" He finally said despite feeling quite embarrassed to say it aloud.
"(That's kind of surprising if you ask me.)" She replied.
"(Why's that?)" He asked as he lowered his paw down to his side.
"(Well I mean...look at you! You're funny, you're smart, you're clearly talented when it comes to battling, you can do impressions...you have so much potential that the world is practically at your fingertips! Someone like you should have some sort of ambition or goals!)"
He blinked at her. Gosh...funny, smart, talented? And coming from her...he could tell that she wasn't just being nice for the sake of it either.
"(W-Well...I've always been happy being with Ash and traveling the world and getting stronger. Most Pokémon I know are perfectly happy doing what their trainers want to do.)" He said as he turned towards the waterfalls.
"(Not all the time. I mean, look at Buizel.)" She said, causing the mouse to glance over at her.
"(Hmm? Buizel?)" He repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"(Yeah. I mean Dawn, bless her heart and all, is really trying to get things going with him and contests. But the truth is...I don't think he's really into any of that. He actually reminds me of you and Ash.)" She said with a smirk.
"(Really?)" Pikachu asked. If he was being honest, this was coming as a bit of surprise to him. Sure the Water-type was having a bit of trouble getting some techniques down but was he simply just not invested like he is with battling?
"(Yeah, I've seen him react to training for contests. It's just not there y'know? It's not like you and Ash when it comes to battling.)" She replied, turning her gaze onto the waterfalls.
Huh, guess that was true. After all, Buizel certainly seemed more than willing to stay and fight that Aerodactyl when that whole incident happened.
"(Oh...)" Pikachu muttered as he looked at the ground. Still, what he had said before was pretty true, Pokémon are usually in sync with their trainers. He looked up and saw Buneary studying him rather carefully, clearly waiting for his answer. Silently responding, Pikachu looked away. "(My dream...) He managed to say. Neither of them knew it but in that moment, it was as if the sounds of the cascading water faded out, almost as if the waterfalls too waited for his response.
A few moments passed as he continued to look down at the ground. Quickly, he looked back up at her, a big smile dominating his face.
"(My dream is to be the strongest Pokémon out there! To become as strong as I possibly can!)" He declared, his voice brighter than ever.
Buneary smiled and shook her head. "(Heh, doesn't surprise me. I've seen how you and Ash are. You two are one and the same.)"
Pikachu curiously looked at her. "(Well...then why did you ask me if you already knew?)"
"(I guess...)" Buneary started to say as she gently held his paw in hers. "(I guess I was just curious is all.)"
He looked at her before giving a little smile and nod. "(Well, that's my dream.)" Pikachu contently said as he suddenly felt a rush arising from his very being. The excitement getting to him, he let go of her paw and fully turned towards the waterfalls and extended his arms outward. "(I love battling! I love traveling the world and going on adventures with my friends! It's a life that I love to live and I wouldn't have it any other way!)" He proclaimed to the heavens.
Buneary giggled. "(So you'll be doing that in the foreseeable future then I take it?)"
Pikachu turned to her, his smile not faltering for a moment. "(Yup! And hey, I may be a different guy than when I first met Ash but if I didn't enjoy doing what I'm doing now, I'd have said something at least.)"
"(Heh, that's true.)" Buneary smirked as the mouse didn't take his gaze off her. He tilted his head a little as he eyed her up and down.
"(Well what about you Bun? What's your dream?)" Pikachu softly asked to which she blinked in response.
"(Me? Well I guess for a while I had to think about it. When you're a wild Pokémon, you're more concerned about day-to-day stuff like finding food. But after joining Dawn, I can definitely say that my dream is to keep being in contests! The lights, the fashion, the techniques! Oh...! It's just so amazing!)" She gushed, her paws returning to her cheeks.
Now it was Pikachu's turn to chuckle and shake his head. "(Heh, now that's not surprising!)"
"(Teehee~! Oh hush! What can I say?)" She laughed before lightly slapping him on his arm. "(Well anyway, I'm glad we're happy doing what we're doing now.)"
"(Yeah, we're sure lucky.)" He contently said with a shrug.
"(We sure are.)" Buneary smiled as she leaned into his side. Feeling a slight rush, Pikachu seized the opportunity and nuzzled her cheek. After a moment had passed, he stopped to speak into her ear.
"(Wanna sit down?)" He asked.
"(Sure~)" She beamed as they sat on the soft grass and leaned against each other, marveling at the cascading water. Satisfied, they held each other for a little while longer before Buneary turned to give him a side-glance. "(For the foreseeable future then huh?)" She practically whispered.
"(Yeah.)"
"(So does that mean...after the league...you'll move on to the next region?)"
"(Yeah...I guess.)"
"(And your other traveling friends?)"
"(Hmm?)" He asked as she leaned away. She briefly paused to look into his eyes.
"(Your other friends, you know, May and Max and, and that girl uhhh...)" She said, twirling her wrist.
"(Misty?)" He finished for her.
"(Yeah Misty. What about them?)" She asked, her voice clearly becoming softer.
"(Oh.)" He muttered as he looked back at the waterfalls, clearly knowing where this was going. "(They went their own ways. They had other things they wanted to do that made them go elsewhere.)"
"(But what about Brock?)"
"(He keeps coming back...but usually they go off on their own.)"
"(So then...if Dawn...?)" She squeaked, her voice noticeably getting weaker.
"(Yeah...I guess so.)" He whispered back, still staring at the waterfalls.
Another moment passed with neither saying another word. Swallowing hard, Pikachu held her paw in his again. She looked up at him, her eyes growing wide, a faint glimmer of hope behind them. He turned to her, hoping to not let his sorrow appear obvious on his face.
"(We'll figure it out. I promise.)" He said, a sad yet confident smile on his face.
She looked at him for a beat before silently nodding as her grip in his tightened a little before she leaned over and rested her cheek on his chest. In that moment, he honestly didn't care if she could hear his heart thumping against his ribcage...he just wanted her to feel better. Seeing his opportunity, Pikachu gently rubbed her back and nuzzled his cheek against her head.
A few more minutes passed before Buneary spoke up. "(C'mon, it's getting late, we should be heading back.)"
Sighing, Pikachu slowly started to get up with her doing the same. "(Okay.)" He replied as he led them, paw-in-paw, back to the rowboat.
Pikachu continued to hold on for dear life, the Aerodactyl's tail swinging him in random directions. He opened his eyes and realized that he was upside down, the ground below lacking texture and details from where he was. He could briefly make out the dirt path, the river on one side and the mountain and trees on the other. He blinked as he saw a familiar brown figure making its way down the dirt path, its fast movements implying some sort of desperation.
As if his situation wasn't horrific enough, the surrealness of what happened next only made it worse.
Suddenly, his perspective shifted and instead of being in the air, he was down on the ground watching Buneary dash down the dirt path. All the while, he could see himself high up in in the sky, being flung to and fro. The river to Buneary's left suddenly began to rise and spread, the once idyllic stream transforming into a literal ocean that went on forever. On Buneary's other side, the trees and mountains began to grow and shrink, almost as if they were erratically breathing. Eventually, the scenery stabilized and had shrunk to the point where Buneary's figure towered over them, appearing akin to a giant.
All the while, he couldn't see her face which could have brought a much-needed sense of comfort to him right now. He could only hear her heavy breathing as she continually rushed down the road yet seemingly making no progress whatsoever.
His perspective shifted back to being in the air with the beast. The water was below him, its bright blue hue calling out and somehow from where he was, it looked as deep as it was wide.
In an instant, his paws lost their grip and he felt himself twirling in the open air. Then, almost as if he was floating in slow motion, he could see the Aerodactyl menacingly stare at him as it remained steady in the sky, its great wings flapping in place. It opened its maw and a bright light emerged that suddenly shot towards him faster than the speed of light.
His vision was enveloped by the flash.
Pikachu jolted from his sleeping position. Surprisingly, he didn't make a sound as he realized that he was still lying down, albeit leaning up a bit. Another dream? Was this going to be a routine thing now? And it was worse than the last one too!
He groaned as he leaned back and glanced at Ash who was once again sleeping like a rock. Pikachu grimaced as all of this began to remind him of when he was sick in Oreburgh and he had that fever dream. Except, this felt...different...like he was being filled with a sense of dread even after waking up and realizing that he was okay.
If he was being honest, it made him a bit afraid to go back to sleep.
Author's Notes:
Getting heavy with the discussions here huh? Well, they had to confront it at some point, best get it out of the way sooner than later right? Anyways, things are surely going to get a little lighter...right? Only one way to find out!
Stay tuned!