Ash had woken up before me (he seemed to be the type that would wake up early) and was fiddling with a little, rectangular, red device when I began to stir from my slumber. The blanket was curled up around me again, while the rest of it was on Ash's lower legs.

I watched him silently for a few moments until he took notice.

"Oh, hey, Pikachu!" He put the device away. It looked vaguely familiar and I realized that it might have been that "Pokedex" of his. "I was just waiting for you to wake up. I, uh, let it go last night, but we have to get you checked up by Nurse Joy today." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I know you're not comfortable with that, but all she's doing is making sure that you're not any more injured than you already are..."

"It's fine," I said curtly and sat on my hind legs. Subconsciously, I pinned both my ears back and looked out the window. The sky outside was dark grey and water was pouring down the window in a cascade. I could just barely make out small silhouettes of humans going about their day, frantically covering themselves with their hands to shield themselves from the rain or casually strolling with a circular cloth on top of stick to protect them... I spotted the occasional pokemon ducking for cover under building signs as well.

"Looks like we got a good view of the city with this room." Ash said. "I was looking outside of it earlier and could see all the way to the bakery way down the street."

I flicked my ear. "Bakery?"

That also sounded familiar...

...wasn't that party I went to in Pallet Town hosted by some human family that ran a bakery?

"Yeah, they sell pastries and stuff there. There's a bakery in Pallet Town, actually, run by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan. I'm actually pretty close friends with their daughter, Ritchie." Ash looked thoughtful for a moment. "When the weather clears, I can see if that bakery is still open and we can try and buy some muffins or something. You did say you wanted to try some new foods, right?"

I did say that. I didn't have enough energy to deny it. But I still wasn't exactly keen on admitting it either.

I settled for a half shrug, not providing a verbal response to Ash's questions. But he seemed satisfied enough, so he didn't press for a more clear answer from me.

"What's it called?" I blurted out.

"Huh?" Ash said dumbly. "What's what called?"

I stared at him for a moment, trying to process whether or not I was asking a stupid question or not.

'Oh, screw it.' I scowled internally. 'Ash has already asked me plenty of stupid questions already, the least he can do is try and answer mine.'

"Those things," I said, then tried my best to point at the strange sticks that the humans were using to...have a portable shelter from the rain. "The...the sticks with round cloths on them."

"The sticks with..." Ash's eyes lit up. "Oh. Oh! Those are umbrellas."

I wasn't really sure what I was expecting.

"...sounds stupid."

"Well, it's definitely better than calling it a 'portable rain shelter', that's for sure." Ash said and it must have been our conversation from last night, but this time I was definitely able to ascertain that Ash was joking here.

I fiddled with my paws for a moment, then hesitantly let out a shaky laugh. I winced. Forced. Fake. Why did I even try?

But Ash was not one to dissuade me from trying, since the kid seemed practically incapable of ever giving up. This habit of his was irritating and it was a surefire way to get himself killed. At the very least, following him around was going to get me killed.

"Hey, there's that smile of yours! It's a great way to start the day, yeah?" Ash grinned, beaming at me with innocent eyes.

...then again, it's not like I've had a particular desire to keep living anyway.

In the deepest confines of my mind, I silently admitted to myself that maybe...

Just maybe...

Maybe staying with Ash wouldn't be as horrible as I first thought.

True to his word, after some unnecessary poking and prodding from that horrible pink haired woman, who then deemed me "all fit to go" (I could have literally told her that before she started violating my personal space, but sure, whatever these stupid humans want from me, I guess...); the first thing that came out of Ash's mouth when we sat down on some couches in the Poke Center lobby was: "Alright, now, let's go make some friends!"

I stared at him incredulously. "...you want more friends?"

Ash snickered. "I told you I like making friends, remember? And I actually wasn't talking about myself...although, I'd still love to meet some new people here too, as a bonus..."

"...so..."

"You, Pikachu!" Ash said cheerily. Of course. Saw that coming. "C'mon, you seemed to be getting along with those other pokemon from Mt. Moon pretty well yesterday. While Nurse Joy was checking up on you, I asked her wigglytuff when we would be able to see how those Pokemon are doing. We can see them, but apparently they're still sleeping, so we have to wait a bit... I think Misty is still sleeping, too."

"So..." I repeated, dumbly.

Ash gestured around us. There were very few trainers and pokemon in the lobby, on account of it being early in the morning, and I even noticed a few that were slumbering away on some of the couches and chairs around the large room. "There are people and pokemon here we can talk to. So, let's go talk to them!"

"Ash."

"Yeah?"

The words 'this is stupid' died on my tongue before I could say it aloud. Instead, it was replaced with: "Do we have to do this right now?"

Ash gave me a puzzled look. "Well, what else are we going to do?"

"Sleep," I muttered. "We could go back to sleep. Or we can just sit and watch these...people and pokemon. Don't you like learning about people and pokemon or whatever?"

Ash's face fell slightly. "I mean, yeah, but...I want you to learn about others too..."

"I can learn by watching."

I could tell by the way Ash bit his lip that he still disagreed with my line of thinking. It frustrated me, that way he was unintentionally manipulating my feelings like this. I wanted to avoid the internal conflict I held when faced with Ash's ideology of (apparently) unconditionally loving everyone he meets, people and pokemon alike.

I recalled the way he put the Clefairy Clan and the other pokemon under a trance when he delivered his speech at Mt. Moon. I recalled the way it stirred up emotions inside of me that I couldn't quite name. I recalled the way the tears fell and how I couldn't stop it, even if I desperately wanted to.

Ash Ketchum scared me. In so many ways.

But he was also intriguing. A puzzle that I needed to solve.

He got himself in danger far too easily. Maybe he didn't intend for it, but I felt as if I was really here to ensure this idiot's safety.

...for some reason, that line of thinking didn't feel like it hurt in any way to think about. It felt natural, almost like...almost like my relationship with the Kanga from the forest before it all went to hell.

It was weird, but in the rare instances I protected others, it felt almost natural. Like I was meant to...

'No.' My vision blurred as I instantly tried to shut down my thoughts. 'No, no, no. I hate humans, I hate pokemon, I hate myself, I hate them all!'

"Pikachu? Pikachu, are you listening to me?"

I looked at Ash through my blurry eyes and tried to blink the tears away. As if by magic, I suddenly felt a surge of guilt for my internal bout of hatred. But that was normal for me. It was comforting. I found solace in doing it for as long as I have, it kept me going, it...

...did it really keep me going?

...did it really?

...did it...?

Ash pursed his lips, looked off to the side, before his eyes lit up. "C'mon, I know what'll cheer you up. How about we just borrow someone's umbrella and go visit that bakery I mentioned?"

I wanted to avoid questioning myself any further. Maybe it was for the best that I just shut up and follow Ash's orders.

"Sure," I said simply and Ash practically leaped to his feet.

"Okay, great! I'm gonna go ask Nurse Joy to tell Misty where we went, because she really wants me to check in with her for some reason before I go anywhere," Ash added, once I shot him a questioning look. "And I'll also have to ask her for an umbrella, but once I do, we can just head out! Wait for me here, okay?"

"I..." Don't question it. "Okay."

Okay.

Yeah.

It'll be okay...right...?

Ash offered me a ride on his shoulder on the way to the bakery. I initially refused, but after getting myself wet by stepping into a sixth puddle, I gave in. It was awkward and his movements were far stiffer than I think he wanted it to be. He got curious about why he could hold me earlier but me deliberately initiating contact was difficult and asked why that was the case. I wasn't sure how to answer him, but I came up with an answer that seemed satisfying enough. It was just a simple matter of whether I was actively thinking about it that was the problem. I compared it to pain - which seemed like an easy metric, given how fragile humans seemed to be - in how the more someone thinks about said pain or injury, the worse it seems to hurt. The less someone thinks about the pain, the less it hurts.

Ash had seemed thoughtful and remained quiet for the rest of our walk to the bakery. The rain was coming down hard and it felt unusual to be as dry as I was in such weather. But, as Ash explained, the umbrella he had gotten was there for that exact purpose: to keep us dry.

The moment Ash stepped into the shop, I felt as if my senses were under attack. In sharp contrast to the freezing cold rain outside, the shop was warm and toasty. The air smelled clean, sweet, and...like wheat? I couldn't quite place what that smell was. Was it the bread? I noticed various treats inside a large glass cabinet next to the counter up front. Ash and I were the only ones in the well-lit store, but some shuffling noises I heard from the back room told me otherwise.

Ash folded up the umbrella and walked up to the counter. There was a small bell on it, which he tapped lightly, making a sharp ringing sound. I flinched slightly at the sharp sound and jumped off of Ash's shoulder to the ground.

"Ah...just one second!" A voice called out from the back, along with a second voice in Syllabus.

"We'll be right there!"

"Okay!" Ash replied back and rocked back and forth on his feet. "Pikachu, you wanna see if there's anything you'd wanna try? I can buy you whatever you'd like."

I glanced at the treats in the glass cabinet, then vaguely pointed at them. "Any...of those things?"

"Yeah, those are the different types of pastries and breads for sale. Want me to tell you which ones are which?"

"Um..." I glanced up at the glass cabinet hesitantly. The pastries were all different from each other, true. Each treat on display consisted of different shapes, sizes, colors, and I was willing to bet composition too. There were too many to even focus on, but I bet Ash was having no problem whatsoever figuring out what he wanted. Why did he even feel the need to ask me? Why even take me here? Sure, I said I wanted to try new food, but it was only because of the stupid dry food I had at the professor's that ticked me off so badly in the first place. "I..."

Ash hummed and crouched down next to me. "How about we start small?" He pointed to the bottom shelf of the glass cabinet. I counted six baskets of different goods. "Choose something from these six, or even multiple."

I still felt completely lost. Then I felt like crying.

Hell no. I was not going to cry over something this stupid again-

"H-hey, it's okay!" Ash sounded panicked. Dammit. I suddenly felt a strong urge to blast the stupid glass cabinet in front of me to pieces. Ash must've noticed my cheeks sparks, because he frantically waved his hands in front of me in a terrible attempt to placate me. "L-look, try and breathe, okay? Here." He pointed to the first basket on the bottom shelf. "These round, brown, disc things? These are dorayaki. My mom makes these all the time at home, they're pretty amazing. It's like a sandwich, but like...with honey and bean paste on the inside."

"...bean paste?"

"Uh, yeah. Have you had beans before, in the forest?"

I only vaguely recalled what beans tasted like, as I had tried some when I was younger. A couple of bean plants grew near the Ol' Bellsprout's den in my younger years, of which I would occasionally take a few beans from. Of course, the plants didn't last very long and neither did that stupid den.

"No," I said quietly. I made the mistake of bringing up the Ol' Bellsprout to Ash before. I needed to stop thinking about that stupid grass type...

Ash smiled at me. "Well, bean paste is basically just like...beans, but like somebody smashed it to make it into a paste."

I stared at him, which turned into a glare rather quickly.

"...sorry, I just realized that wasn't a very helpful description-"

"It's fine." I said curtly. "...we can get it."

Ash grinned widely. "Wanna see if this other stuff interests you too?"

At my tentative nod, Ash immediately went on to explain what was in the basket next to the...dorayaki. "Alright, these things are called manju... Inside of it is a red bean paste, just like what's inside of dorayaki. They're kind of like little cakes...very chewy and sweet. Next to the manju is...ooh, an actual cheesecake! So cheesecakes are actually something that we got from Unova like a really, really, long time ago and Kantoneans developed a more fluffy version of it. That's what's in here...and hey, look, there's a few slices left! And I'm sure there's probably more in the back..."

Dorayaki, manju, cheesecake...

"Next to the cheesecake is another kind of cake...it's called a castella cake! This one's just made of four ingredients, I made it a lot with my mom back in Pallet...eggs, flour, honey, and sugar. It's pretty amazing! Next to the castella is...uh...hold on, wait, I know this one...monaka, I think? It's like a crispy wafer with red bean paste inside of it..." Confused, I mouthed 'wafer' repeatedly to myself until he trailed off and laughed a little. I tried not to let my frustrations at his reaction show and instead listened to his, honestly, rather terrible explanation of what a 'wafer' was like. "Wafers are really...crunchy, I guess? They're usually pretty thin and light; it kinda melts in your mouth a little once you eat it..."

"I...see..." I said slowly, trying to keep up with the influx of information Ash just dumped on me with no mercy whatsoever. He was damn lucky he wasn't that stupid bulbasaur or that stupid girl's clefairy, because otherwise this show-offish attitude would've pissed me off enough to send sparks flying.

I hated how Ash somehow became an exception to things in my life. It bothered me, way more than I cared to admit. I somehow felt a bit more at ease in his presence with each interaction, but I still refused to let my guard down. I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't...

"Last thing... melonpan!" I stared at him, startled. I actually had some idea of what that word sounded like and while I tried a melon only once before, it did not seem wise to pair it together with...a...pan, of all things. It was a human object made of steel, for crying out loud! Ash grinned, seeming to guess my thoughts - curse this boy - and pointed at the treats in the last basket on the bottom shelf. "These things. See how they look like little melons? It's actually a kind of bread; a sweet bun!"

"O-oh..." I pressed my hand against the glass in wonder. My line of thought involving the creation of the melonpan felt much more interesting to me, but maybe that was just to ensure people were interested in the treat itself? It certainly grabbed my interest. "C-can..." The words almost died on my tongue, but I pushed through. "Can we...can we get some?"

Ash's face brightened. I don't even know how he managed doing that continuously. "Of course we can! Want any of the other stuff I mentioned?"

I mentally went through the descriptions of each of the treats on the bottom shelf of the glass cabinet. Ash apparently had made a castella cake before... Tentatively, I pointed toward the castella cakes and looked up at him, trying to ignore the heat rushing to my face. "The...the castella cakes..."

Ash grinned and held up his fist.

I stared at it for a moment, before lightly tapping it with my own.

For once, I didn't find myself distracted by thoughts of the gnawing emptiness I constantly felt, nor the sheer overload of emotions that served to only trouble and distract me. For once, in that brief moment, I felt...almost at peace.

"You...bought sweets?"

The orange haired girl was already waiting for us when Ash and I had come through the Poke Center doors. The umbrella had flown away briefly while Ash was trying to hold on to that and the cake boxes at the same time, so we were unfortunately quite soaked once we got inside.

I shivered and shook out my fur on the floor, splashing water everywhere, then sat back and watched as the orange haired girl lectured Ash about getting himself (and me, for some reason) completely soaked. As...nice...as Ash seemed to act towards me, he didn't show the same attitude toward the girl, whom he traded insults back and forth with regularly. I didn't entirely understand it, but it was so strange to watch.

So, I expected her question about our bakery trip to be followed up with her lecturing Ash about being reckless or something like that, similar to how she reacted over the Poke Center in Viridian City.

"Yeah? So what if I brought sweets?" Ash was defensive.

"...from the bakery down the street?"

"...y-yeah?" Now Ash was confused. "What about it?"

The orange haired girl pursed her lips and walked toward us. "I've heard it's a really good place to get sweets from in Pewter City...I was actually planning on going, later today...is it, uh, any good?"

Now I was confused.

"Oh! Well, we haven't actually tried anything there yet..." Ash held up the two boxes he was holding. "I bought some castella cakes and some melonpan! Pikachu was the one who picked these two, actually. It'll go well with some green tea, which I think should be in the Poke Center cafe...?"

Poke Centers have cafes now?

...wait, what's a cafe...?

"We can get some from there, yeah." The orange haired girl said absentmindedly, still eyeing the boxes that Ash was carrying. "Um, hey, listen...Ash...could you...if you don't mind, of course...would you mind sharing your treats...with me? I, uh, was going to eat breakfast here, but..." Her face was turning red at this point and for a small moment, I almost saw myself in her position, asking Ash a similar question, one that I felt was stupid and worth stumbling over my words for. In that small moment, I think...I almost sympathized with her. "...you wrecked my bike! S-so, this can...this can be your payment! For the bike!"

Ash frowned pointedly. "...payment for the bike?"

The orange haired girl huffed and crossed her arms. "Exactly! Payment for my bike! Which you wrecked, along with Pikachu!"

"We were trying to fight Team Rocket, are you still on that?!"

"Any plan, any other plan would probably have worked better than trying to use a BIKE on solid GROUND to help Pikachu direct his electricity toward a bunch of psychotic snakes and crazy Rocket grunts!"

She was probably right, but I couldn't help disagreeing with her. The hell that I unleashed against those Team Rocket members and their stupid pokemon was...incredibly satisfying for me. The more I thought about it, the more I also realized that I had never released such powerful amounts of electricity on anyone before. That was probably the reason those members were sent flying to...who knows where.

"Look, I got caught up in the moment, okay?" Ash groaned. "It won't happen again, I promise."

That was slightly disappointing, but something told me that Ash's statement was said a bit more half-hearted than he might have intended it to.

The orange haired girl crossed her arms. "Well, as long as you understand..."

We made our way to the Poke Center's cafe, which was in a large glass box for some reason. It was attached to the back of the Poke Center and multiple rectangular tables and chairs were organized all around the large room. On the side of the room, there was a line of people at an incredibly long rectangular table that stretched all the way to the other end of the room. I noticed that people seemed to be reaching inside of the table itself with ladles and spoons to...put food on their plates. I questioned what that was all about and Ash told me that this was the self-serve cafe, where trainers could get food for themselves and their pokemon during their stay at the Poke Centers.

The orange haired girl nodded in approval at Ash's explanation. "Yeah, that's one of the benefits of being a trainer. Food is pretty much paid for by the NPA." She paused and looked at me. "Wait...do...do you know what the NPA is, Pikachu?"

I hesitated, then shook my head. "No..."

So, what if I didn't?

"I can explain it for you while we eat, if you'd like." She offered. She looked awkward while doing so, which I assumed had something to do with talking to me as if she would actually be able to converse back and forth with me, when she and I both knew she couldn't do that. Being able to understand pokemon seemed to be something in Ash's skill set, but not many other humans.

I frowned, even while Ash already answered for me. "I'm sure Pikachu wouldn't mind! There's an open table over there, let's go sit down first!" Then, with that said, he ran off.

I watched him incredulously and without looking, I could tell the orange haired girl wore the same - or at least, similar - expression as I was. "That guy really is something else, huh?" She muttered in wonder. "Seriously, who has that much energy in the morning?"

"No clue." I hummed in agreement, then cursed myself internally as the girl tossed me a curious glance. Dammit. Just because I was starting to think one human was okay-ish doesn't mean I should engage positively with another! I had barely talked to her, she can't even understand me, and she probably would sacrifice me in a heartbeat in a life-or-death situation, I just knew it-

"Say..." She began cautiously and I instantly tensed up. "You've been hurt before, haven't you?"

...that was unexpected.

"I...what?" I muttered.

She stared at me, her green colored eyes boring into mine, as I felt my breath catch. "Just from the way you act...around humans and pokemon, it seems. I've met lots of pokemon like you, ones that have been hurt horribly by humans. Sometimes, even by other pokemon. The people around you can be pretty terrible sometimes, you know?"

I did know.

I knew so well that it was almost funny how accurate her descriptions were.

She turned to face me with a determined expression. Oh, hell no. No. Nuh uh. Not another one.

Dammit!

"I don't think you have anything to worry about with that trainer of yours. I haven't known Ash very long, but I have a pretty good intuition for these things... He doesn't give off any weird or untrustworthy vibes. He seems a bit reckless, sure, but he's got a lot of heart. In all the conversations I've had with him, I haven't heard him not prioritize other pokemon even once." Then she chuckled. "Even back in Mt. Moon, the two of us were captured, and Ash had been arguing for them to release me...and that he would be willing to stay. Can you believe that?"

I could.

I believed it completely, in fact. Wholeheartedly.

I knew she was right. I wasn't completely stupid. I wasn't completely oblivious. I wasn't completely inept.

And if I hadn't met Ash, I don't think I would've expressed doubt on those negative feelings I've harbored toward myself for so long either.

"Yeah." I replied and my voice cracked. Thankfully, I didn't cry this time, though it was beginning to feel frustrating how many times I'd have to prevent myself from doing so. I wasn't used to having to showcase this many emotions to anyone, ever. "I can believe that."

The orange haired girl smiled at me and raised her hand toward me. I flinched, but she moved gently and with purpose. Similar to how Ash had moved last night, during our conversation. She curled her hand into a fist and gave me a grin.

"I was gonna give you a handshake, but I just realized your paws might be a little too small for that... How about a fist bump instead? I saw you doing it with Ash earlier."

I stared at her hand, not sure what to do.

In the very back of my mind, I heard a small voice tell me: pretend that it's a berry.

I gently grabbed her fist with my paw and held it for a moment. I stared intently at her hand, trying to figure out what exactly I was doing, why I was doing it, and why-

The orange haired girl looked taken aback, but then she grinned. "Awww, thanks. I'm glad we're on the same page... And, hey, I know I don't have Ash here to translate for me, but I can figure stuff out on my own too, ya know. How's about a more proper one-on-one introduction? My name is Misty, nice to meet ya!"

Misty, huh?

I took a deep breath, glanced down at where Ash was waiting for us in the corner of my eye (he was smiling at our exchange, because of course that idiot boy was), then forced a small smile. It was completely and utterly stupid, but I found myself saying: "I'm Pikachu." Then, hesitantly, I added. "It's...nice to meet you too..."

She beamed at me and I quickly released my paw from her hand, then ran down to where Ash was. He had the castella cakes out on some plates already, but left the melonpan in the box.

Ash grinned at me when I jumped onto the table. "I see you and Misty are getting along. She might be nicer to you than she is to me, that's for sure!"

I shrugged and avoided looking directly at Ash. "...I guess not all humans are completely terrible."

Ash winked. "I'll hold you to that." Just as...Misty took her seat at our table, Ash placed one of the plates with the castella cakes in front of me. He reached into the box of melonpan and set one on my plate. "Now...how about we start eating?"

"Ooh, yes." Misty groaned. "I'm starving."

"Same." Ash laughed.

I didn't say anything, but I watched.

The corners of my mouth twitched upward as the two humans I was stuck with continued chatting.

Ash.

Misty.

I took a bite out of the melonpan.

Then, I almost laughed out loud.

That might have been the best thing I ever tasted and my FIRST thought was...

'I'm SO glad Ash decided to take me to that damn bakery...'

I tried my best with this chapter and I'm a bit more proud of this one than my previous one. I hope that y'all enjoyed reading this chapter! There's more to come soon, on June 22nd!

Let me know your thoughts! It'd be much appreciated. :3

~Jewel