As a reader, I have always hated cliffhangers, so I apologize for the ridiculously long wait to see what happened to Pikachu. But now that it's here, I hope you enjoy it!

The formatting for telepathy last chapter was screwed up on posting. Sorry about that, it's since been changed and (hopefully) fixed. Anyway, now that this won't spoil it, here's the different speech types:

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

'Telepathy'

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Piplup POV:

Empty streets below glowed softly in the bright moonlight. The cool night air slipped past, my feathers insulating me from its harsh nip.

I had always enjoyed flying, especially with Togekiss or Ash's Staraptor. But this was different; this time my mom was flying me. It was so much better and felt natural. So right.

'Hey Mom?' I thought, hoping she could hear me.

'Yes, Sweetie?'

'I'm worried about Emolga and if she's okay. What happened to her, and what if the Mightyena attack?'

'Don't worry about her, she's fine. One of my friends is keeping an eye on her. He'll step in if anything happens.'

'Do I know him?'

'Not really, although he did give you quite the shock.'

'He shocked me?'

'Yes, before Onix Island. I'm sure you'll meet him soon. Hold on tight, we're here.' I grabbed her neck feathers as she began descending. I looked down and saw the Pokémon Center rapidly approaching below us. Anxiety filled my chest as the thought of confronting Pikachu filled my mind.

We landed beside a familiar window. Looking at it, I realized this was the exact same window to the room I stayed in. "Give me a moment, there's something I must do first" she informed me, her red irises lighting up as she activated her psychic powers. She glanced around randomly, making me wonder what she was doing. After a minute or so, her eyes returned to normal, and her attention returned to me. "I had to disable the security cameras first, as well as seal off the room from the Audino."

"Why?" I asked, feeling curious. What was she planning?

"What's about to happen should not be seen by anyone" she answered, her eyes lighting up again. A light-blue psychic aura surrounded the window. Slowly, it floated out of its socket in one piece and floated out of the way, not making a sound. Looking at the now-empty hole in the wall, I felt dread creep up and fill my nerves; I did not want to do this.

"I can't do this, Mom" I told her, seemingly frozen on the spot. "He's going to yell and insult me again, I know it."

"You can do this, Sweetie" she encouraged in a gentle tone. "You're much stronger than you know. Pikachu had good intentions; you'll see. Besides, he still hasn't woke, and won't for several hours; we'll be long gone by then. Trust me, nothing bad will happen." She nudged me forward with her beak. "Go ahead, I'll be right behind you." After a moment, I decided to trust her again. With an affirming nod to myself, I climbed through the window-less hole.

Shock, horror and guilt; the emotions flooded my system as I saw the figure on the bed. It was big, brown and had a long, whip-like tail. Pikachu was now a Raichu.

A thousand questions flooded my mind, all demanding an immediate answer. Most prevalent among them, was this really Pikachu? The Raichu had no visible injuries and I had slashed the heck out of Pikachu.

"Yes, he's a Raichu" she confirmed to my horror. "Evolution can heal many injuries, even critical and life-threatening ones." Anger quickly filled my body, growing by the second.

"How could Nurse Joy do this?!" I seethed, my rage growing to the point I was shaking. "Pikachu never wanted to evolve!"

"This was not Nurse Joy's fault; she does not even know about this" Mom answered. "Unlike Chansey and Blissey, Audino are not natural caretakers. They decided to evolve Pikachu by themselves. It was the easy way out." She let out a long sigh. "Long before I was born, the first official 'Pokémon League' was founded. It was a very different time as there were no referees for the fights. Because the victors were often seriously injured, humans constructed Pokémon Centers to heal them. Unlike the other regions, Unova lacks a wild Chansey population. Instead, the local Audino were enslaved and forced into the role instead. They do their best, but as I said, they are not natural caretakers. This situation is a product of that." She shook her head sadly. "I feel bad for everyone involved; this should never have happened."

"That's…quite the story, Mom" I muttered, feeling my head spinning from the information overload. "Still, it's my fault he's been evolved; he'll never forgive me for this."

"This was never your fault, Sweetie" she soothed. "Things like this have been happening for a long time. Don't worry, though, I can fix this."

"You can?" I asked, feeling doubtful. "But isn't evolution a permanent thing? He's a Raichu, so they had to have used a Thunderstone. That means it's fused to him, right? So, how can you fix this?" I bowed my head in sadness.

"Whether or not he knows he evolved again is up to you, Sweetie" she stated, utterly confusing me.

"He evolved before?" I asked, to which Mom nodded.

"Yes, a long time ago" she explained. "You should ask him about it. You'd be surprised at the similarities of your early-life stories." She paused. "Anyways, like I said earlier, he has not been awake since your fight, so only you and I know he evolved into a Raichu." She stretched up high, exuding confidence and radiating strength. "I am the Avatar, messenger of Arceus and caretaker of the world. If there is a wrong, I have the power to make it right." She slowly reached towards him with her wings, placing the tip of one on Raichu's forehead and the other on his upper chest, giggling as she did. "Several Audino are about to be absolutely shocked. I wish I could see the looks on their faces."

The feathers on her wings began to bristle slightly. She closed her eyes in apparent concentration. Suddenly her eyes snapped back open, but to my shock they were glowing bright white, as was the three-prong crest on her forehead!

Just like it had in that dream.

Her wingtips emitted a bright-white light, spreading across Raichu's head and chest. The light shone brighter and brighter, and suddenly Raichu turned into a bright, silvery liquid, wobbling and shifting at random. I recognized it as what happens with evolution. The white glow faded from Mom's wingtips, as well as her eyes and crest. She stepped back, folding her wings back to her sides.

The silvery form on the bed started to settle, shrinking in size. A familiar, smaller shape formed on the bed. The light surrounding him faded, revealing a smaller, uninjured, recognizable electric mouse, peacefully sleeping.

It was Pikachu; Mom had somehow devolved him.

"Pikachu" I muttered in shock. I looked up at Mom, seeing her gazing at Pikachu with a satisfied expression. Her gaze then shifted to me.

"I told you nothing bad would happen" she said, grinning at me. "Now you know why nobody could see us. He will wake up later this morning; a little sore and tired, but otherwise completely healed." She looked around the room while I absorbed the information. "We should leave now, before the Audino come to check up on him." I nodded, taking one last glance at Pikachu before walking over to the window.

"He won't know what happened, right?" I asked.

"Nothing at all" she confirmed. "But you can tell him, if you want to."

"What should I tell him?" I asked, climbing back out the absent window's hole.

"That's up to you, Sweetie" she responded, exiting behind me. "We are the only ones who know everything that happened. You can tell him as much or as little as you want. Maybe it will help you both move past this fight." Her eyes lit up again and the window glass rose and re-secured itself in place, just like before.

/

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