The Ash Connection

Pidgeot – Birds of a Feather

The occupants of Viridian Forest were loud as ever. Kricketot's chirping, Spinarak climbing, Hoothoot's hooting all well into the night, even as the temperature dropped and the moonlight was blocked by trees, casting the forest further into darkness.

The only source of light was a small campfire. Just big enough to generate warmth for a small group but not big enough to spread out of control on a dry night such as this. Even still, the group decided to sleep in shifts; better safe than sorry, as Viridian had been a hotspot recently for fires between unprepared traveling trainers and the usual Pokemon skirmishes.

One such group would not be so irresponsible.

Ash Ketchum sat on a log, staring at the weak fire. He sat a little closer to it than was probably safe, but he always was a sucker for the warmth of a campfire. Nearby, his friends were hunkered down in tents. Dawn and Misty shared Dawn's overly large and pink bubble tent. Between Dawn's flare for a more lavish sleeping arrangement and Misty's fear of the bug-types surrounding them it came as no surprise the two were zipped in tightly.

Brock slept in his own tent, albeit much smaller even taking into consideration it was a tent for one. Ash always preferred to sleep directly under the stars if the weather would allow it, so he had no problem taking the middle shift that would put him awake and outside during the peak hours of the night.

Pikachu, ever loyal, was by his side instead of in Brock's tent or even his own already set up sleeping bag where they were before changing shifts with Brock. The two were mostly content to gaze between the fire and the stars, occasionally reflecting on the previous day.

And what a good day it had been. Dawn had come all the way from Sinnoh to participate in this years Wallace Cup, held in Cerulean City. When he heard about, there was no way he could pass up seeing her again and he was on the first plane to Kanto from Alola. Missing class for a few days was worth it. Of course, they couldn't miss the chance to visit Brock along the way, nor Misty soon after. After Dawn won the cup yet again, making this her third consecutive year, Ash managed to talk them all into visiting Pallet Town, then Alola with him.

The sounds of so many familiar Pokemon in the distance caused Ash and Pikachu to glance at each other, and Ash chuckled.

"Been a great day for memories, huh buddy?" He asked, petting Pikachu as the mouse let out a quiet 'Chaa' in response. "Go ahead and sleep a little pal. I have a few more hours until I need to wake up Misty, I'll be fine by myself."

Pikachu gave him a look that almost literally spelled out 'When are you ever fine by yourself?' but gave in to his own fatigue soon enough. Still, he was stubborn enough that instead he curled up on the log by Ash's thigh rather than return to their sleeping bag. Ash couldn't help but chuckle and lay a hand over him, scratching him lightly. He was so thankful to have such a great best friend.

They had a rocky start, but they made it work. In fact, a large part of their rough start was right around here in Viridian Forest. Come to think of it, Ash had a lot of memories of this forest. Some sad, some amazing, others… somewhere in between.

His release of one of his oldest friends came to mind immediately as the most… in between memory.

On one hand he knew he did the right thing by leaving Pidgeot behind to protect the forest from the angry flock of Fearow and Spearow. On the other, he felt like he messed up drastically by not being able to reconnect with the bird. Not for lack of trying, though. Ash had forgotten to stop by before he left for the Orange Islands and even Johto, but while traveling through Kanto the second time with Brock, May and Max Ash had made it a point to scan every environment for any sign of his old friend.

Since then, every time he was in Kanto, he spent no less than four days in the forest searching for Pidgeot to no avail. There were plenty of Pidgey, some Pidgeotto and even a handful of Pidgeot but none of them were his. He hoped the flock just migrated somewhere else for better living once they felt that the forest could exist in peace without its guardian, but part of him couldn't help but wonder if Pidgeot left because she didn't want to see him again.

Or worse, she tried to find him again on her own because he took to long to fulfill his promise to her about coming back.

He wished he could bring himself to feel as good about her release as he did about others, like Butterfree, Charizard or Goodra's, but this one was different. Pidgeot was always different.

She was the first Pokemon he had that never questioned him or their friendship, that never disobeyed him for any reason or acted out. Pidgeot always had the utmost faith in him (even when she probably shouldn't have) and so did he, that's why he trusted her to stay and protect Viridian Forest. She should've been okay without him. But now, with no trace of her anywhere, he was second guessing himself.

"Pidgeot," Ash sighed out loud. "I miss you, buddy. I wonder where you could be these days. I hope you're not out there looking for me, I'm right here. Just like I said." He paused. "Sorry it took me so long, I got really distracted by a lot of big stuff, but I never forgot about you. I hope that you didn't forget about me either."

A strong breeze rustled the trees. The surrounding woods howled and Pokemon scattered around inside the brush, but Ash paid them no mind as he stared at the fire and absentmindedly pet Pikachu. The already sleeping mouse let out a yawn, causing Ash to mimic him.

All the sudden he felt tired. So tired. He stopped scratching Pikachu to rub his eyes and look up at the sky, trying to gauge the time. How much longer until his shift was over? Did he miss it? Should he have already woken up Misty? The last thing Ash heard before he slumped backwards off the log was the snap of twigs and gusts of wind, and then he was out.

Warm.

Ash woke up very warm. Warmer than when he fell asleep; odd, considering how close to the fire he was.

Wait… fire! He was on watch!

His eyes snapped open, his tired brain finally catching up with the outside world. The fire was put out already, but their tents were still up. He turned to look at Pikachu on his shoulder, only to be met with a face full of yellow and red plumage. Initially, he panicked, until he felt Pikachu's weight on his chest instead. He just couldn't see the mouse under the large wing draped over him.

Now that Ash understood what was happening, he was content to close his eyes again. Wrapped in the wings of one of his oldest friends, Ash lay on the forest floor. For the first time in forever, Ash truly felt like he was someone who kept his promises.

He and Pidgeot were reunited again.