Updated: 10/27/2024

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

'Telepathy'

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Piplup POV:

The sun had climbed over the horizon, dispelling the chilly night air. The sea shimmered in the young light.

I was nestled on Mom's neck, her crest feathers acting like a wind screen. We had been flying and communicating through telepathy ever since we left the Pokémon Center, that way the wind noise did not cause a problem.

Her knowledge and stories were amazing! The fact she could control those Mightyena by freezing and thawing the water in their body was awestriking; she had the power to make anyone do anything!

As much as I was enjoying our time together, I knew I had to rejoin the others soon. I missed all of them, even Buneary and her perverted antics.

But most of all, I missed my boyfriend, Oshawott.

Still, how could I go back after all that I did? Even though Pikachu wasn't injured at all, however mysteriously, I still attacked him ruthlessly, severely injuring him. Nobody would understand why I had lost control of myself. Buneary would hate me for attacking her 'mate'; the only question was for how long.

And what about Oshawott? Does he hate me now? Does he think I would attack him like that? Would he leave me like everyone eventually did?

I shuddered at the possibility.

'What's wrong, Sweetie?'

'I was just thinking about what will happen when I rejoin Dawn and the others. I don't want to be bombarded with endless questions; I will already be stressed enough. And more importantly, how do I go back? I can't just walk up and pretend like nothing happened, right?'

'Don't worry, I already have a plan. We'll go back together, you and me. My presence, a legendary Pokémon that Ash knows, will be a distraction.' That's right, she told me about Snowtop Mountain. 'Not to mention me being an ice-type.'

'Why is an ice-type a big deal?' The memory of the Beartic and Iris' reaction came to mind. 'Do you mean for Iris and her fear of ice?'

'Iris isn't afraid of ice. Dragons are weak to ice, and as an aspiring dragon master, she hates ice. Of course, she's wrong that all dragons dislike ice.'

'Are you saying some Dragons like ice?'

'I am. I know several dragons with ice-type mates.' She paused. 'Type advantages are an illusion that don't matter as much as humans believe it does. For example, Ice is just cold Water, whereas Water is nothing more than warm Ice.'

'Wow, I never thought of it like that. Is that why water-types can learn Ice Beam?'

'That's right, but there's more. Even two opposites, like Fire and Water, can make powerful moves, like Scald.'

'Is that why Scald can burn opponents?'

'Exactly, you're catching on.' I smiled in pride. 'Reality is not always what it seems, Sweetie. The more you understand it, the stronger and more creative you become. I was amazed with your use of Steel Wing on Emolga's Discharge and Pikachu's Thunderbolt. You were able to absorb, control, and redirect their electric attacks. That is something you invented on your own; I never considered anything beyond redirecting it. You're already proving how wonderful and strong you truly are.' That hit me; I realized the most powerful Pokémon in the world called me wonderful and strong. 'We have some time to ourselves. Would you like to fly yourself?'

'Flying? But I'm a penguin, and penguins can't fly.'

'Of course you can, Sweetie; you need to believe in yourself. Remember what I said, reality is not always what it seems. Jump into the sky and spread your flippers out wide. Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you.'

Taking a deep breath and placing my complete trust in Mom again, I took the leap of faith and jumped off her back and into the open sky. I felt myself plummeting down towards the ground, naturally feeling very scared. With a gulp, I steeled my nerves and spread my flippers out wide, just like she told me to.

Suddenly, I felt the wind flowing over my flippers as I sharply ascended. I panicked slightly at the foreign feeling, angling my flippers downwards and resumed descending, albeit at a slower pace. Sensing I had some control, I angled my flippers up slightly and began a much more controlled ascent.

I looked to my side and saw the tip of my flipper surrounded by a light-blue aura. I turned to the other side and saw the same thing on my other flipper. Mom was flying next to me, her red eyes lit up. I realized she was using her psychic powers to keep me airborne while giving me complete control!

I was flying! I was really flying!

"THIS IS AWESOME!" I yelled in exhilaration.

I spotted an airplane flying low overhead, seemingly preparing to land. I smirked to myself as an idea came to my mind.

Angling my flippers once again, I ascended to it. Leveling out, I flew alongside the fuselage, flying along it until I found an uncovered window. Inside was a small boy, no more than four years old. He turned to look out, a bored and weary expression on his face. I winked at him, grinning as well. Instantly, his expression turned excited as he pointed at me, jumping in his seat. His mother turned to him, then looked out the window. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw me flying outside.

"A flying Piplup?!" she mouthed, looking stunned. I grinned to myself; they thought what I was doing was impossible, and I loved it.

With a final nod to them, I descended away from the plane and out of their sight.

Soon afterwards, I felt the joints in my shoulders begin to ache. It became increasingly difficult to control my flippers, causing me to wobble in flight.

'Are you tired, Sweetie? Do you want me to get you?'

'Yeah, my muscles are starting to hurt.'

'Okay then, I'll get you.' She then swooped under me and out of sight. I felt her psychic grip on my flippers spread around my entire body, the wind no longer freely flowing around me. I felt myself being slowly lowered, ending up on her back. I climbed up her neck, sitting behind her crest feathers as before.

'That was amazing.' I hugged her neck loosely and buried my face in her feathers. I was no longer alone; no matter what happened, my mom would be there for me. My amazing, powerful mom; something my brother never would have.

"A useless runt, an embarrassment to all Pokémon."

My brother. Instantly, happy thoughts were replaced with dark memories of him torturing me. Even though we had different mothers, we still had the same father. I DESPISED having a relation to any of those four. However, one of them was my father, and I knew it. That was how genetics worked, after all.

The thought of Buneary and that episode I had with her came to mind. All I could think about at the time was like what that one Empoleon had said. That made me just as bad as him. Maybe he was my father; it would make sense, after all.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Mom asked out loud, startling me. I hadn't even realized we landed on a small, bare island. "You're quiet and tense; you seem very upset." I was confused until I felt my body shaking. I hadn't realized that I was physically reacting to the sudden emotions flooding my mind, something she must have felt.

"I'm not sure I can say it, Mom" I admitted sadly. "It hurts too much." Even though this was my mother, and she knew about my brother, talking about him, or the R-word, was painful and difficult to do.

"I understand" she replied, a sad, empathetic smile on her face. "All of us have topics and memories too painful to even think about, let alone speak. I have many of those myself."

"But I want to!" I declared. "I want you to know; maybe you can help me. It's something I've struggled with my whole life!" She didn't immediately respond, seemingly deep in thought.

"You don't have to say a word" she spoke, smiling at me. "We can use telepathy. Whatever you want me to know, you can think at me." I was shocked for a moment, but quickly remembered all the telepathy we had throughout the morning.

At this point, I really shouldn't be surprised at anything she could do. Mom was an incredibly powerful Pokémon.

I shared the memories of my brother and his cruelty, questions about my father, and most importantly, being an R-word.

I felt so much better having shared everything when I finally finished. I looked up and was surprised to see deep sorrow on Mom's face. "Mom, are you alright?"

"Hop on" she spoke, lowering a wing for me. I climbed up without hesitation, nestling on her neck once again. "It's time to get you some answers. We're taking a trip."

/

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