Another Electrifying Encounter

"Nature is like a runaway dump truck: hot, fast, and full of garbage." - Star vs the Forces of Evil

Gardevoir

It's been two days since the whole mess with Tyrogue, and Ash has been making good on his promise. For the most part, anyway. He's been smiling and laughing more, though there are times when it seems a little too genuine.

I've been thinking a lot about that Pikachu who told me about Ash in the first place. I wonder if he was the same one Ash is missing. It seems like too much of a coincidence.

I ponder this as I sit at the dining table with Ash and munch on pokemon food. Ash is spooning cereal into his mouth like he hasn't eaten in weeks. He eats like this sometimes. At first, I thought it was a coping mechanism. Then, I heard his aunt muttering about "Ketchum men," and I realized that he always eats fast when he's excited. A sharp contrast to Evan, who has to be reminded to eat when he's excited.

Arceus, when am I going to stop comparing the two?

Vivian sits down with her own cereal and coffee cup, shakes her head at Ash's enthusiasm, and asks, "So, what are you up to today? Something fun, I take it?"

Ash tells her about our plans with our friends. At least, I assume that's what he's saying through a mouthful of cereal. Vivian gives him a stern look. He mumbles what sounds like an apology then swallows and tries again. "There's been a Zapdos sighting, so the guys and I are gonna check it out."

Vivian's spoon hangs midway between the bowl and her mouth, her eyes wide. "Zapdos? As in, Legendary Pokemon, ridiculously strong, possibly murderous?"

Ash snorts into his coffee. "Murderous?"

Vivian shrugs incredulously. Humans and pokemon alike tend to fear and respect Legendaries due to their sheer, unrivaled power. But, murderous?

Uh, actually, I'm not sure. I've never met a Legendary before. Dammit, now I'm nervous!

"Zapdos isn't murderous, Aunt V," Ash continues. "I've met him before, and he seemed pretty chill after the planet stopped collapsing."

He doesn't elaborate. Vivian and I look at each other, equally confused. Two things I've learned while living here: Vivian Ketchum has no verbal filter whatsoever, and Ash Ketchum doesn't always make sense.

Ash gets up and brings his empty cereal bowl and coffee mug to the kitchen. The phone rings, and I hear him pick it up. "Hello? Oh, hey! Any news?"

Must be someone Ash knows. Apparently, he has a whole gaggle of buddies on the look-out for his Pikachu. The kitchen is silent for a while, so I assume Ash is listening to the person on the other end.

But then, Ash speaks, sounding as if he's coming out of a trance. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. Sorry."

He no longer sounds like a goofy teenager who's eager to see a Legendary Pokemon. Now, he sounds…older. We in the Ralts-line are sensitive to the emotions of our trainers, and I can feel his anxiety stirring up my insides. I look at Vivian. She may not be able to feel Ash's emotions, but it's clear from her furrowed brow and crooked frown that she hears the change in her nephew's tone.

"But-but, how did- How?"

Vivian and I look at each other, both of us thinking the same thing. I'm not crazy about Vivian. I can't sense her emotions, but sometimes I feel like she only lets me live here because I'm her nephew's pokemon. But, she does genuinely care about him, so I can put up with it.

We both jump out of our seats and peer into the kitchen. Ash is facing away from us, one hand holding the phone and the other raking through his perpetually messy black hair. "No, no, it's-it's not your fault," he says to the person on the other line. "No, I-I'm glad you told me. I'd be much more upset if you hadn't."

What's going on? Who's he talking to?

"I-I'm okay. Don't worry. Well, do worry, but-but don't worry?" He huffs and smacks his forehead. "You know what I mean." His hand drops to his side. "Yeah, yeah, I, yeah. And-and, again, it's not your fault. You know how he is."

He?

Ash hangs up the phone and stands there staring at it for a moment. Then, he sucks in a sharp breath, runs his hands through his hair, tilts his head up to the ceiling, and releases a slow, shaky breath. He freezes for a long time, sniffing occasionally. Bad news, then. Very bad.

Who's "he?" Could it be something with Pikachu? What else could make him react this way?

Eventually, Ash starts to turn around, and Vivian and I practically leap back into our seats. We duck into our breakfast, trying not to look guilty when Ash comes back into the small dining room. He stands listlessly in the doorway, looking at nothing in particular. I don't think he was crying, but his eyes are a little red, like maybe he was trying not to. Now, I'm really worried.

"You were in there a while," Vivian says with faux nonchalance. "Everything okay?"

"Huh?" Ash blinks at her, a little more aware now. "Oh, yeah, uh, wrong number. Telemarketers, you know?"

"Was it a wrong number or a telemarketer?" Vivian asks with a raised eyebrow. This is the first time she and I have been on the same wavelength. It's both refreshing and a little unnerving.

Unprepared for the question, Ash rubs the back of his neck. "I, uh, well, I-I need to get dressed."

"You are dressed."

Ash starts patting his hands over his clothes - dark gray pants, white tank, and the usual unbuttoned denim jacket - as if checking that everything's there. "Well, uh, I need my hat."

I pick his ball cap - red back and bill, white front with a black half-circle, resembling a pokeball - up off the table and hold it out for him. He just stares at it. I place it backwards on my own head and give him a little smirk, remembering that this amused him before. It doesn't this time. He still only seems half-here. My food feels too heavy in my stomach.

"Ash, what's going on?" Vivian finally asks.

Ash looks between us then blurts, "Teeth! I have to brush my teeth. Yes, because…hygiene. Yes."

"Ash-"

"I'm fine!" he snaps suddenly. "Stop asking!"

I just learned something else about Ash: he's a terrible liar.

Fear is radiating off Ash in waves, and I don't think it's because of Zapdos. He hasn't let go of my hand once since we left Vivian's house, as if I'm some kind of lifeline. He also periodically looks up at the sky, which is even weirder. Despite this, he was all smiles when we met up with Lorette, Korou, and Sarge. Lorette claimed that Voltorb was sick with pokerus and staying at the Pokemon Center.

We believed her until we tried to leave town. Now, a cry of "Wait for meeeeee!" is getting closer and closer. We all turn around to find a perfectly healthy Voltorb bowling after us. They make a hard stop in front of us. "Oh, man! I almost missed you guys!"

The first Lorette grins in a hard, frustrated way. "Voltorb," she says through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here?"

"Lorette," Korou says curiously, "didn't you say Voltorb was sick? It looks fine to me."

Voltorb stares up at him in confusion. "I'm not sick."

With her ruse now useless, Lorette laughs awkwardly as the rest of us frown at her. "Poor thing," she says. "It's so sick, it doesn't even know it's sick!" She grits her teeth at Voltorb and snaps, "Now, go. Home."

Voltorb blinks pathetically at her. "But…I love you."

"Why don't you want Voltorb to come?" Ash asks.

"I do want Voltorb to come," she says. She glares back down at Voltorb, who shrinks back. "But, it can't. Because, it's sick."

"But…I love you."

"Voltorb." She kneels down in front of them, much more gentle now. "What if you see those bullies again? I don't wanna see you get picked on. That's all it is."

"But…I love you."

"Bullies?" Korou asks. "What's going on, Lorette?"

Lorette sighs heavily and rises. "The short version is that when I met Voltorb, it was getting picked on by some other Voltorb. I don't know if they live in the area, and I don't care to find out."

"They live in the old human den," Voltorb explains. "That's where I'm from."

"You mean the power plant?" I ask. "Isn't that where we're going?"

Sarge crosses her upper arms, puts her lower hands on her hips, and nods. "They're called Electrode Hoard. Let's just say, they're only friendly if you're an electric-type. And, not our pal, here," she adds with a nod at Voltorb.

"I have to go!" Voltorb begs, despite the humans lack of understanding. "What if the meanies hurt Lorette? Who's gonna protect her?"

Sarge taps her chin in mock-thought. "Let's see, I'm strong enough to roll a Snorlax up a steep hill, Gardevoir can disintegrate a huge machine with his mind, Ash is built like a fighting-type, and Korou…is also here."

I shrug at her. "I still don't see why Voltorb can't come. They're not helpless. If nothing else, they can just blow everything up."

"Exactly!" Voltorb chirps.

During our exchange, Ash and Korou were trying to convince Lorette to let Voltorb tag along. "If anything goes wrong," Korou says, "you can always put Voltorb back in its pokeball."

"A trainer should look after their pokemon," Ash adds with a slight edge to his voice. Hm.

Finally, Lorette blows out a defeated breath. "Alright. I give. You can come, Voltorb."

"Yay!" Voltorb circles her legs and chants, "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!" over and over until Lorette stops them by stepping on them.

"But, if those bullies show up," Lorette says, "You're going in your pokeball. Deal?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Lorette steps off, and Voltorb resumes their circle.

Ash is still holding my hand, still periodically checking the sky for…something, still a general bundle of nerves. What really worries me is that he barely even acknowledged Breloom, whom we met shortly after leaving. Korou delivered the news that Tyrogue had been attempting/failing to do push-ups which is probably a good sign? Breloom had chuckled at that. Apparently, the two had grown up together, and he was used to Tyrogue overworking himself. Breloom also mentioned that he'd been spreading the word about Poke-X, talking to all of us as if the humans could understand him. Then, his pride was forgotten when he saw Ash's lack of interest. "What's with him?" he'd asked. No one who could understand Breloom had an answer.

After Breloom leaves, Korou turns to Ash and says, "Ash, is everything alright?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Ash responds, a little harsher than necessary.

Korou flinches a bit. "Well, for one thing, you've been holding Gardevoir's hand this whole time."

Ash looks down at our joined hands with a dumb expression on his face. "When did that happen?" He still doesn't let go. Of course, I'm not exactly trying to escape.

"Not to mention," Korou continues, "you keep looking at the sky like there's-"

Ash huffs and shakes his head. "Why are we still standing here? Zapdos isn't gonna wait around for us."

His tone is so sharp that we all stare at him like he's another person. Lorette is the first to recover. "Right. Well, come on, y'all." She turns around and starts back on the path. "Ash is being weirder than usual, so let's just-" She stops suddenly and looks around with an increasingly nervous expression. "Where's Voltorb?"

We all scan the area, but it's true; Voltorb is nowhere to be found. With that virus around, the last thing we should be doing is losing each other! Another spike in adrenaline shoots into me from Ash, so I know he's thinking the same thing. As is everyone else from the look of it.

Lorette claws at her thick curls and curses. "I knew it would do this. This is exactly why it should have stayed home!"

Ash roughly grabs her arm and snarls at her, "I told you a trainer should look after their pokemon!"

Lorette opens and closes her mouth like a beached Magikarp, and I can't say I blame her. I may not have known Ash long, but I know he's a gentle soul. Now, his alpha human (assuming those exist) stature is in full force as he attempts to use Mean Look on Lorette, who is basically a Wurmple compared to him.

What was that phone call about?

Sarge pulls the two apart, and her trainer moves to stand between them. "Calm down. Voltorb couldn't have gotten far. Let's split up and search-"

Boom!

"And, we've found it," Korou quips.

We follow the sound of the explosion to a small, recently singed clearing. Voltorb is turned away from us and facing a human about Ash's age (though her high pigtails and oversized glasses make her look younger) and a small pokemon I've never seen before, both of whom are covered in soot. The human is tall enough - only a few inches shorter than Ash, by the look of it - that only her lower half is charred, but her poor partner is quite small and completely covered.

"That was such a great explosion!" the human praises.

"If you like that sort of thing," her partner adds, less than amused.

Lorette stomps over to them. "Voltorb! Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Scanning the area for meanies," Voltorb states, as if they're a general reporting back to base. "No meanies here, but I did find these nice ladies. They're not meanies."

"You can't just go rolling off to who-knows-where!" Lorette scolds. "Do you know how freaked I was?"

"But…" Voltorb drawls sheepishly, "I love you."

"Uh, so, Voltorb is your pokemon?" the human confirms. "That's too bad." She puts her hands on her chin and grins. "It's so cute, I was hoping to catch it!"

"Yes," her pokemon drawls. "What a shame."

As the pokemon grooms her soot-coated fur, beginning with her large, fluffy tail, Ash pulls out his pokedex. I sneak a peek at the screen. The picture reveals that she is supposed to be white with yellow cheeks, light blue ears, and a matching blue stripe that seems to run from her forehead to the end of her tail.

'Pachirisu: the elesquirrel pokemon. An electric-type. Pachirisu releases electricity through the spikes on the end of its tail. Its young rub their cheeks into the mother's fur in order to build up electricity.'

"I thought so," Ash says, putting his pokedex back in his pocket. "Pachirisu, huh? That's not something you see in Kanto."

The human brushes off her clothes and smiles. "That's because we're not from Kanto. We're from the Orre region. My name's Ella, and this is Patches."

Patches takes a break from grooming to say to us, "Nice to meet you."

Korou nods at them and says, "A pleasure. My name's Korou, and this is my partner, Sarge."

Sarge gives the newcomers a wink, a big grin, and a thumbs-up. "What's up?"

"My name's Ash," my own trainer greets. He raises my hand which is still connected to his. "And, this is Gardevoir." I nod in response.

Ella brings her hands to her chest and I swear I can see cartoon hearts behind her glasses. "You hold your pokemon's hand! That's so sweet!"

Ash looks down at our joined hands, blushes, and finally lets go.

Lorette bends down, picks up Voltorb, and regards the rest of us with impatience. "I'm Lorette. This is Voltorb. Everybody knows each other? Great! Let's get a move on. We got a Legendary to find."

"You guys are looking for Zapdos, too?" Ella chirps.

Korou rubs the back of his neck. "Well, Lorette kind of roped us into it, but yeah."

Ash chuckles. "Didn't have to rope me into anything-"

Suddenly, he is gaping down at Patches, who has mostly cleaned herself up at this point. And, I can see why he's staring. The pokedex showed that Pachirisu have blue stripes and ears. Patches has pink ones.

"You've got a shiny pokemon!" Ash exclaims, confirming my suspicions. "That's awesome!"

Patches looks away shyly, and Ella giggles as Ash pulls his pokedex back out and shows our friends what a Pachirisu normally looks like.

Shiny pokemon - pokemon with a different coloration and a, well, shinier pelt than normal - are exceedingly rare. I've been around the block even before Evan caught me, yet Patches is the first shiny I've seen. So, yeah, this is pretty awesome.

But, what's even more awesome is that Ash's nerves are starting to settle. He's a pretty friendly guy, so maybe he's just happy to meet new people and pokemon. Or, maybe it's simply the presence of a shiny. I'll take anything if it means he keeps smiling like that.

"Wow!" Korou chimes, gazing awestruck at Patches, who climbs up her trainer and rests on her shoulder (which, for some reason, prompts a flash of sadness from Ash and causes him to rub his own shoulder). "I've always wanted to see a shiny pokemon!"

"Yeah?" Ash says. "Remind me to introduce you to my Noctowl."

While Korou excitedly questions Ash on that, Sarge grins and rubs two fingers between Patches's ears. "I'm with Ash. This is awesome!"

"It is pretty remarkable," I agree, marveling at the way the shiny's fur almost seems to shimmer in the sunlight.

Patches makes a sound that's somewhere between a laugh and a groan and covers her face with her tail. Ella chuckles at her pokemon's antics.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is all very cool," Lorette says impatiently, Voltorb now perched under one of her arms. "We can admire the cool thing later, but there's another cool thing we're supposed to be checking out."

Ella claps her hands together. "Of course!" She grins at her partner, who uncovers her face. "A Legendary Pokemon! We can't miss this!"

Patches headbutts her chin. "What are we still doing here, then?"

"By the way, Lorette," Ella goes on, "I'm impressed with the way you're carrying Voltorb." Lorette frowns in confusion and glances down at Voltorb, who looks up at her with their usual half-comprehending expression. "The average Voltorb weighs between twenty and thirty pounds. You must be really strong."

"Lorette's my friend," Voltorb says.

"This one's on the lighter end," Lorette says flippantly. She spins around on her heels and starts walking. "Now, let's go. We're burning daylight."

Korou nods at Ella. "You may as well come too," he invites. "We're all heading in the same direction."

Ella happily takes up his offer. By which I mean that she grabs his hand and skips ahead, yanking the poor guy forward before realizing that he knows the way better than she does. Meanwhile, Ash takes Lorette's free arm, gently this time, and holds her and Voltorb in the back with me and Sarge.

"Hey, I'm sorry I was rough with you earlier," Ash says. "Everything's just…kind of hitting me at once, you know? But, I shouldn't take it out on you."

Lorette smiles softly. "Thinking about Tyrogue and Pikachu?"

Ash frowns deeper and stares at the ground, the bill of his cap shading his eyes. My chest is tight with his shame. While I can feel my trainer's emotions, I can just as easily tune them out. It's like zoning out during a boring conversation. However, after that phone call this morning, I decided to keep a closer eye on him. From what I can tell, Ash is the type to feel things hard and fast but to never let anyone know if he can help it. I need to be conscious of whether or not he's spiraling.

(I never read Evan's emotions, because he didn't like it. I guess now I know why.)

Lorette goes on. "Well, I do need to keep a better eye on Voltorb. You're not wrong about that." She pauses, a strangely tender look on her face. "Do you know what EDD is, Ash?"

Ash nods, realization crossing his face. "Embryo Development Disorder. My Gliscor has it."

"Then, you see why Voltorb is such a little goober. And, why I can carry it like this. Would you believe Voltorb only weighs five pounds?"

Ash slams to a stop. "What? That's crazy!"

Ella and Korou turn around at his outburst, prompting Lorette to explain what EDD is.

I'd heard about that during my travels with Evan. Embryo Development Disorder is a rare condition that happens when a pokemon doesn't form properly in its egg. Mostly, it affects the brain and how a pokemon thinks and acts, but there can be physical deformities as well. Voltorb makes a little more sense to me now, though now I'm wondering how it affects Ash's Gliscor. (Was he the guy who tried to fly down to the camera but landed in the pond instead? Ash has so many pokemon that it's impossible to keep track after only meeting them once, especially since I'd never seen most of their species before.)

But, Voltorb has their own definition. "It's basically a nice way of saying I'm stupid."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sarge interjects. She steps forward and grabs Voltorb from Ella, who had been holding them with her mouth wide open, clearly shocked at how light they are. Sarge lifts Voltorb to eye level and narrows her eyes. "What's this about you being stupid?"

"Well, that's what Alpha said," Voltorb replies way too casually.

I decide that I don't care for this alpha. "You're not stupid," I say firmly. "Your head's just screwed on differently."

"Just because one pokemon said it doesn't mean it's true," Patches states from her perch on Ella's shoulder. The humans move on at this point, and we follow suit, though Patches leaps off her trainer and on to Sarge's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Voltorb."

"I'm not being hard on myself," Voltorb - ahem - corrects. "I'm just stating a simple fact."

Sarge puts her three free hands on her hips. "And, your fact is a load of-"

We stop abruptly when Voltorb suddenly turns into a red light and disappears. Lorette is standing in front of us with their pokeball in her hand. "Too close for comfort, Voltorb." She looks down at the pokeball with a stern expression. "We'll check for jerks, and I'll let you out if it's all clear."

Ash nods in approval and takes my hand again. He isn't scared out of his mind anymore, thank Arceus, but there is a certain protectiveness that I felt the first time he grabbed my hand today. I decide to shut myself down for a while. Ash seems to be mostly okay now that he has a good distraction, and if we do see Zapdos, I want to have a clear head.

I'm so used to feeling Ash's emotions that it takes a second to realize that it's my own anxiety churning my stomach.

Then Voltorb leaps back out, somehow managing to land in front of our group and just as quickly breaking into a run - er, roll - and calling, "I'll check for meanies!"

Lorette throws her hands in the air. "For God's sake!"

We all chase after Voltorb, but their typing's natural speed makes it impossible to keep up. Luckily, Patches is the same type, so Ella sends her ahead to make sure nothing happens.

Soon, the power plant comes into view. It's a massive building littered with holes and plantlife and has generally seen better days, though it must be structurally sound if a hoard lives there. We find Voltorb and Patches in front of the power plant, being laughed at by another Voltorb and an Electrode.

Patches is in front of Voltorb, and I can see blue sparks skittering over her tail. "I said leave them alone," she threatens.

The Electrode sneers. "So, you're hiding behind your mate, are you?"

"She's not my mate," our Voltorb corrects in earnest confusion.

"Alpha's gonna love this!" the other Voltorb cackles.

Electrode looks up at us. "Ho, there. They're not the only trespassers."

"We can handle these guys," the other Voltorb says before rolling back into the building through an obnoxiously large opening.

Of course, alpha pokemon are pretty big…

Lorette curses and runs to her pokemon, calling their name. But, Electrode leaps over our friends and locks on to her with Rollout. She freezes in panic.

"Gardevoir, Psybeam!" Ash calls as he body slams Lorette out of the way, his hat falling off in the process.

My chest horn heats up, and I launch a dark pink beam of light. It's a direct hit, and Electrode gets knocked back.

"Lorette!" Voltorb screams.

They and Patches rush over to Lorette, who is still laying in the grass with Ash right on top of her. He starts to get up, but Electrode charges at them again, and Ash covers her once more. Every protective instinct in me starts screaming, but Ella beats me to the punch.

"Patches, use Dig!" she calls. "Make a crater!"

At speeds only achievable by an electric-type, Patches leaps in front of Ash and Lorette and spins around and around in the dirt. She jumps out just as Electrode hits her crater. Their momentum sends them swirling and flying out.

That's when Korou jumps in. "Sarge, use Brick Break!"

"Batter up!" Sarge quips. Two of her hands glow white, and she slams Electrode square in the face. The resulting aerial descent leaves them rolling through the grass, unconscious. Sarge puts all four hands on her hips and puffs out her chest. "I'd call that a home run."

I cup my hands over my mouth and breathe out loudly. "The crowd goes wild!" She grins and fist bumps me.

"Is everyone okay?" Korou asks.

"We're fine," Ash confirms.

"I'm crushed," Lorette mutters. Ash sheepishly apologizes, grabs his hat, and climbs to his feet. Lorette pushes herself up on her elbows and glares at Voltorb when they roll in front of her. "Will you stop freaking me out?" Voltorb flinches at her tone. "What if we hadn't found you? What would those assholes have done then?"

But, before she can chastise them any further, we hear a low rumbling. Before we know it, we're surrounded by about a dozen Voltorb and Electrode, joined by the one we knocked out, and none of them look happy.

Lorette hops to her feet, gazing around with barely concealed horror. "Where did they come from?"

"I wonder if they live in the power plant," Korou guesses.

Sarge nods, clenching all four fists. "Yeah, this is the hoard I mentioned."

"The one mentioned an alpha," Patches breathes, cheeks and tail sparking.

Ash steps forward. "Listen, all of you. We don't mean any harm. We just wanted to see Zapdos, but if that's a problem, we'll leave."

"No one needs to fight," Ella adds.

"Guess again," someone says. The crowd parts at the power plant's huge opening, and a massive Electrode, easily twice the size of the others of their kind, rolls into view. "We don't take kindly to trespassers." Their brow is low on their face, and their grin is anything but welcoming.

And yet, Ella squeals, pulls out her phone, and starts snapping pictures. "It's an Alpha Electrode!" She stops just as quickly. "Wait, this is bad, isn't it?"

I'm seriously tempted to smack her.

"So, you wanna see Zapdos, do ya?" Alpha sneers. "That's fine. But, you know, it's not gonna be that easy."

Their hoard titters around us. Ash curses under his breath. "Looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of this."

"Oh, there will be fighting," Alpha says, "but not with you." They, along with the rest of the hoard, lock their gaze on our Voltorb, who makes a small noise and spins around fearfully. "So, you decided to show your face again, eh? That's bold, I'll give you that."

Lorette glowers at the hoard. "I don't like the way they're looking at my buddy."

"Leave them alone!" Sarge snarls.

Alpha chuckles. "Nice to see you've met some folks who can stand you, Voltorb."

Korou spreads out his hands pleadingly. "Look, we'll go in peace. Just leave Voltorb alone!"

"What did they ever do to you?" Patches demands.

Alpha raises their brow at her, and a thin veil of electricity coats their body. At first, I think they're going to attack, but then I notice Patches's cheeks sparking faintly. She's down on all fours and her hackles are raised, but she doesn't appear threatened by whatever's going on.

Then, the electricity dissipates, and Alpha addresses their hoard. "The fluffy one's an electric-type. Leave her be unless she becomes a problem."

Patches hisses, her fur lighting up more harshly this time.

Alpha ignores the implied threat and returns their attention to Voltorb. "Now, as for you-"

"Oh, the hell with this!" Lorette snaps. She grabs Voltorb's pokeball from her belt and holds it out. "Voltorb, return."

"But-" is all Voltorb can get out before they are sucked in.

Lorette holds up the pokeball for all to see. "There. Voltorb's gone. Happy now?"

Then, she jerks back as the pokeball bursts open, and Voltorb shoots back out. "But, I have to keep you safe!" they exclaim.

This leaves the crowd in a new fit of laughter, which Alpha silences with a small explosion. "Now, now, everyone. The 'mon wants to keep their trainer safe. Can't fault them for that. Alright, Voltorb, here's how this is gonna go. You and I are gonna battle." Voltorb yelps at this, generating some giggles. Arceus, I hate these guys. "If you win, you and your friends can see Zapdos, no strings attached. But, I win, and… Well, I'm sure even you can remember what we do to trespassers."

"What's your problem with Voltorb, anyway?" I demand.

"They have the brains of a pile of rocks!" someone taunts, causing a few giggles.

To my surprise, Alpha sends a glare in that direction. "Look who's talking, Voltorb." This results in even louder laughter, and the Voltorb who spoke shimmies back in embarrassment. Then, Alpha returns their attention to me. "If you must know, your pal here is a royal nuisance, though you've probably figured that out already."

"Why you-" Sarge steps forward, but Korou presses a hand against her chest. She settles for growling and death-glaring Alpha Electrode.

But, the oversized asshat ignores her. "We've all got our quirks, and some of us, myself included, have dietary restrictions. None of that is an issue." They leer at our Voltorb. "No, this one's problem is that they're always getting into trouble, shoving their face where it doesn't belong, blowing up pokemon who get pissed off and chase the little freak right back here. It was sort of forgivable when they were a hatchling, even a youngling. But, this guy's full-grown and still has the mental capacity of an infant."

The more they speak, the more power runs through me. Based on the electricity sizzling over Patches and the way Sarge growls louder and clenches all four of her fists, I'm not the only one.

"The last straw was when they blew up right in Lord Zapdos's face! We're lucky the Lord is so tolerant, or who knows what could have happened!"

"Enough!" Lorette snaps and stomps in front of Voltorb. "I don't know what you're saying, but clearly it's not anything good! Nobody insults my friends, especially Voltorb, ya hear?"

"Lorette, stop…" Voltorb whimpers.

Ash nudges me and nods with a fierce look on his face, a gesture I read as "be ready for anything."

Then, Alpha chuckles. "Well, Voltorb, at least your trainer likes you. But, back to business. That battle. You in or out?"

"You don't have to do this, Voltorb," Sarge says. "You have nothing to prove."

"Let's just curbstomp these guys and leave!" I add.

Lorette pulls out Voltorb's pokeball once more. "Forget this! Voltorb, get inside."

But, Voltorb rolls away from the beam of light and hesitantly says to Alpha. "If I battle you, no matter the outcome, you have to leave my friends alone. I don't want them to get hurt. Especially Lorette."

"The brown one?" Alpha confirms. "You have my word that no one will touch her. Or, any of them."

"Then, I accept your challenge."

I hear Patches whisper, "Can Voltorb really beat an alpha?"

Not to underestimate Voltorb, but I don't like their odds. Alpha pokemon are extremely powerful. I don't know how much battling Voltorb does, but my heart races on their behalf.

"I think they're gonna battle," Ella breathes.

"Voltorb can win," Ash says certainly.

"I don't think it has a choice." Korou adds.

Voltorb rolls forward, and Lorette takes the hint. "Alright. If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you're gonna get! Let's do this, Voltorb!"

Voltorb whips around. "No, Lorette! You could get hurt! You gotta stay away!"

Lorette just stares for a moment before nodding. "I get it. There are some things you just have to do on your own." She takes a few steps back and pumps her fist. "Show this jerk what you're made of!"

Satisfied, Voltorb turns back to their opponent. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Should we start placing bets?" someone snickers.

Someone else laughs. "What's the point?"

It takes everything in me not to annihilate whoever said that.

The battle begins. Electricity runs over Voltorb, who blasts a wave of it at Alpha. Shock Wave always hits its target, so I'm not surprised when it hits Alpha Electrode dead on. What does surprise me is that Alpha doesn't move, as if the attack had no effect at all.

"Not bad," Alpha says. "But, it's my turn."

Alpha spins and spins, their body glowing a silvery-white as they come at Voltorb with Gyro Ball. Voltorb tries to dodge but gets grazed and sent rolling into the crowd. Some hoard members get plowed into and sent rolling in various directions, which would be pretty satisfying if Voltorb hadn't gotten hurt in the process.

Voltorb rolls back into the fray with some visible effort then transitions into Rollout. Alpha dodges then hits them with Swift, sending them back and flying in Korou's direction. Sarge jumps in front and catches Voltorb with two hands, holding them upside-down.

"Thanks, Sarge," Korou says.

Sarge nods at him then asks Voltorb, "You alright?"

"Uh-huh," Voltorb pants.

Sarge reluctantly lets go. Harsh volts coat Voltorb's body, giving them a bright yellow glow as they roll Spark at their opponent. Alpha counters with their own Spark, sending Voltorb flying back once more.

This time, Lorette is the one getting smashed into the ground. She sits up, and a tiny red trickle runs down the back of her arm. "Are you okay?" she asks Voltorb, who's panicked gaze is on her.

"Lorette, you're arm!" Ella exclaims.

Lorette reaches over and feels the back of her arm. She pulls her hand back and looks down at the red splotch. Our human friends all comically bump into each other in their mad dash to help. Ash is the first to reach her. While he pulls medical supplies out of his backpack, Voltorb slowly turns back to Alpha Electrode, the look on the pre-evolution's face giving me chills. The hoard seems a little uneasy now.

"You hurt Lorette," they growl.

Alpha blinks, the only indication that they're taken back by this. "I didn't do it on purpose."

Voltorb screams and leaps back into the battle. Their body glows white as they roll at full speed into Alpha. By the time anyone can stop Voltorb, they explode. Self-Destruct is a powerful attack, but it comes with a price: the user takes heavy recoil damage. Combine that with the damage Voltorb has already taken…

To my relief, Voltorb is still conscious, though barely, given their heavy breaths and the way they teeter this way and that. The closest hoard members have also taken damage, and I can't help a little grin at the sight.

Then, my stomach drops. Alpha Electrode is peppered with soot and scuff marks, but they are still grinning and even start laughing. "Of all attacks, you pick that one? Even when it matters, you screw up." They gaze around at the crowd. "Everyone okay after that?" Some affirmative noises, then, "What's say I wrap this up?" Cheers ring out. Harsh bolts run over Alpha. "Last chance to surrender, Voltorb."

"Y-you hurt Lorette…" Voltorb whimpers with whatever strength they have remaining.

Alpha rolls their eyes. "Again, that was an accident. But, I get the message."

One of the Electrode starts chanting, "Thunder! Thunder!" and the rest of the crowd follows suit.

"I've seen enough." The voice is so low and dangerous that I almost don't recognize it as Ash's. He stands and reaches up to turn his cap backwards. There is raw rage in his eyes as he glares at Alpha. I like where he's going, and I'm really glad that look isn't directed at me. "Gardevoir-"

But, he's cut off when Lorette cries out Voltorb's name and sprints into the battlefield. Lorette dives in front of Voltorb just as Thunder hits. We are all frozen, unable to do anything while our friend screams in agony, taking the impact for her pokemon.

"What is she doing?" Ella exclaims.

Ash's response is quiet, solemn. "Exactly what we would do."

No one contradicts him.

Alpha halts their attack and blinks uncomprehendingly. "Uh…oops," they say stupidly.

Mutters of "Is she okay?" and the like ring through the crowd. But, they were all for attacking us on purpose? What hypocrites.

"Lorette," Korou calls in panic, "are you alright? Say something!"

Lorette collapses and visible static runs over her; she's paralyzed, I think in horror. Then, she groans and opens her dazed dark brown eyes. Her face is tight with pain but softens considerably at the trembling pokemon who rolls in front of her. "Aw, don't cry, sweetie." She slowly raises her hand, pauses at a wave of static, and gently runs her palm over Voltorb's head. "Mama's okay. Mama's okay."

It's such a tender moment that I'm not sure I should be watching. Beside me, Ash releases a breath that's just barely reminiscent of a sob. I look up to find all traces of anger gone. His eyes are full of tears, and I know he's thinking of Pikachu. I take his hand once more. He squeezes back.

But, of course, Alpha Asshat over here decides to ruin the moment. "Uh, so, this is awkward." They clear their throat. "Heh. Uh, you wanna just call this a draw, Voltorb? We can, uh, we can get her some herbs. Eh, one of you go get some-"

Voltorb slowly turns around to face Alpha. "You hurt Lorette." Their voice is as low and dangerous as Ash's was a moment ago.

"Voltorb…" Lorette croaks.

But, Voltorb ignores her. "You promised not to hurt her." It's then that I realize it's not anger making their voice lower. Their voice shouldn't be that deep, no matter the emotion.

Then, I find out why.

Voltorb's body glows, encased in a rainbow of swirling, shimmering lights. The clearing echoes with surprised noises as Voltorb's body grows and grows, until they are three times the size of the foot-tall-with-change form they used to have. Then, the light dissipates, revealing a pokemon of the same round shape but with reversed coloring: white on the top-half, red on the bottom.

Voltorb - Electrode - tries to roll Lorette back to us, but Sarge and I rush over and help her to her feet. She hisses as static pauses her movements, but we manage to bring her back to our group and prop her against a tree. Ash and Korou sit on either side of her, keeping her in place as Ella and Patches tend to her.

Satisfied, Electrode turns back to Alpha. Before their opponent can react, Electrode repeats their earlier actions: screaming and rushing in with Self-Destruct. Only, their glow is brighter, beams of light shooting off them.

That's not Self-Destruct.

The detonation is louder, stronger, sending shock waves (not the attack) all over, as if the planet itself has exploded. Once the smoke clears, Ash comments, "I think they just learned Explosion."

And, it looks like it did its job. The closest hoard members have been knocked out by the blast, and Alpha, while still upright, is covered in soot and grimacing in pain. Explosion is the most powerful attack there is, but it causes even greater recoil damage than Self-Destruct. While the sight twists my insides, it doesn't surprise me in the least to see Electrode on their side and dead to the world.

"Well," Alpha pants, "that didn't go like I thought it would."

"Vol- Electrode!" Lorette pushes past Ella and stumbles to her pokemon's side. The paralyze heal Ella used seems to be working, but Lorette still slumps to her knees with a hard grunt. She rolls Electrode upright. They blink themselves awake but still teeter a little. Lorette keeps a hand on their cheek, steadying them. Her voice breaks. "You didn't evolve just for me, did you?"

Electrode just notices that she's there. There is so much love and tenderness in their eyes that I once again question whether I should be watching. "You're my friend," they say simply.

Lorette lets out a sob and throws her arms around Electrode, who closes their eyes and leans into the touch. My chest tightens at the sight. The still-conscious hoard members collectively "aww." Even their alpha seems humbled.

"I think they'll be alright," Patches says before her own trainer picks her up and holds her against her shoulder. Patches snuggles into her neck.

Ella gazes at the furry bundle through misty eyes and gently strokes her fur. "Pokemon are really something."

"I'll say." Korou agrees. He leans over and kisses Sarge on the cheek. She smiles and wraps two arms around him in a side-hug.

My heart full, I look up at Ash and my mood darkens a little. His gaze is locked on to the duo before us. His lip is wobbling, and he blinks too quickly as his eyes threaten to overflow. I don't know how much is Pikachu and how much is that phone call. I don't know if they're one and the same. I don't know if it would be better or worse if they were.

"Ash?" I say.

He releases my hand and pulls me in a tight hug, leaning on me like he's about to fall over. I can't help feeling a little like a stand-in. But, a quick check of his emotions tells me that's not the case. There is the grief and sorrow that I expected, but there's also trust, affection, love directed straight at me. I return his embrace and shut myself off, feeling guilty for doubting him.

Then, someone gasps, cutting the moment short. The knocked out hoard members are slowly regaining consciousness, and one of them is staring with wide, scared eyes at something past Lorette and Electrode, who turn their attention in that direction with the rest of us. A pokemon I've never seen before is standing a short distance away. He is roughly Lorette's height and has large wings covered in jagged yellow feathers; some kind of flying-type?. He has a bright orange beak and sharp talons the same color. He also, quite frankly, looks like he wants to be anywhere else.

He smiles awkwardly at the on-lookers. "I, uh, I can come back later."

"No, no!" Alpha sputters when the new pokemon starts to back away. "No worries. We were just…having a friendly battle." They survey the wide-eyed trainers, who are still holding their pokemon. "And, it took kind of a weird turn. We didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, my nap wasn't all that interesting. Though, it seems I missed all the fun."

The maybe-flying-type walks up to the group, who all stare at him with faces that scream, "Well, we're boned." Perhaps Alpha Electrode isn't the one in charge after all.

So, I say to the newcomer, "I'd hardly call this a friendly battle."

The pokemon stops and raises his brow at me. "Oh?"

Alpha rolls in front of him. Being taller and broader, they are completely blocking the new guy's view of me. "Don't mind him. He showed up late. He doesn't know what's going on."

"Yeah, he does," Sarge defends, crossing her upper arms and planting her lower hands on her hips. "These guys ambushed us!"

The new guy flaps his wings and hops over Alpha. His wings send tiny yellow volts into the air as he lands. An electric- and flying-type, then? Same as Zapdos, if my hunch is correct.

The new guy opens his beak then closes it when a thin layer of static rolls over his feathers just like what happened with Patches. Now, I remember; electric-types can communicate with each other with electro-magnetic-something-something. I don't know how it works, but the nearby crackle of electricity me tells me who's doing the talking. Sarge and I look over at Patches, who still rests in her trainer's arm (Ella is using her free hand to take endless pictures on her phone) and turns her head to give us a shit-eating grin. We don't need to ask what she's telling the new guy, and neither do the hoard, by the way they tremble and whisper to each other.

The new guy's expression is unreadable as the static vanishes, and his voice also reveals nothing. He turns his head over his shoulder at Alpha, who would probably have pissed themself by now if they were human. "It seems we have a lot to discuss."

"Sir, it's my fault," Alpha begs. "Please, don't be mad at these guys. They were just following my orders!"

"I know you, Electrode. You don't make your hoard do things they aren't comfortable with." The new guy's stern gaze rakes over the rest of the hoard. "Everyone here acted of their own accord." And, suddenly, that same everyone has something else to look at. A smirk grazes my mouth.

Then, the new guy's black eyes soften as he approaches Lorette, whose eyes and mouth are wide open, and our Electrode, who stares up at him in awe and…recognition? Of course, I think. Electrode used to live here. This was probably their leader back then. But, if that's the case, why was Alpha allowed to kick them out? Though, now that I think about it, Alpha never specified who kicked out Electrode.

But, it couldn't have been this guy. There's no malice or anything in the way he speaks to our friend. "My apologies on their behalf." He nods at Lorette. "They told me you had a trainer now. Though, they said nothing about your new form. I'm glad you're doing well."

"New form?" Electrode stares down at themself in confusion and shimmies a little. "Did I evolve?"

The new guy laughs. "It's that new, is it? Congratulations!"

Up to this point, the humans have been quiet. But, now Ash speaks up. "Hey, Zapdos?" And, my heart stops as a result. "Zapdos? Over here!"

Zapdos? This guy is Zapdos? The Lord of Lightning himself? No wonder the hoard is so nervous! I check to see if everyone is as freaked as me. Korou has Sarge's arm in a two-handed death grip. The Machamp herself is staring blankly around, as if expecting someone to jump out and say that we've been pranked. Ella continues taking pictures with a dopey grin on her face. Patches is staring at nothing, probably processing the fact that she just casually tattled on someone to a Legendary Pokemon.

And, then, there's Ash who is smiling and waving. He lowers his hand when freaking Zapdos tilts his head at him. "Zapdos, do you remember me? I mean, I guess it's been years." He chuckles and turns his hat the right way and shyly plays with the bill. "I look pretty different, now."

"Yo, Ketchum," Lorette calls. "You know Zapdos?"

Zapdos blinks and stares at Ash in a new…almost reverent way. "Ash Ketchum. Of course."

"Yeah," Ash answers Lorette. "We met when I was…a kid…"

He trails off as the hoard starts whispering excitedly. It's clear that they've at least heard of Ash, but I catch the phrase "Chosen One" more than once, and now I'm really curious. Especially when our Electrode gapes at Ash and asks if he's really "that Ash Ketchum." But, nothing catches my attention like the variations of "Does anyone know where Pikachu is?" making their way around. Then, the whispers turn fearful as it dawns on them that they've been threatening friends of Zapdos's apparent friend. One of them mumbles, "We're dead! We're dead! Zapdos is gonna kill us! And, then we'll be dead!"

"Silence." Zapdos doesn't raise his voice, doesn't even glance at the hoard, but the murmuring stops as quickly as it starts. "None of you knew Ash was here, so I am willing to leave that part out of our discussion." Everyone calms slightly. Zapdos calmly walks up to Ash, and the two gaze at each other, familiar, even friendly. "Ash Ketchum. It has been far too long." He pauses and leans in a little, his brow cocked as if anticipating something. "Pikachu and I had quite the battle."

What? Did he battle Ash's Pikachu? So, Pikachu was here, then. And, he battled Zapdos? I'd love to hear the story behind that.

Ash grins and says to our very confused companions, "Hey, guys. I think Zapdos remembers me!"

Zapdos huffs a laugh and mutters, "Not quite yet," whatever that means. He turns around and dramatically spreads his wings, spreading tiny bolts of lightning that prickle my skin. "The Chosen One is among us. Let us welcome him and his companions with open arms." He pauses, as if remembering that he is speaking to literal balls with faces. "You know what I mean." He folds his wings and looks over his shoulder at the rest of us. "They won't harm you now. Come inside for a spell. Bring your trainers." He smiles wider at Ash. "Especially this one."

"Um, Gardevoir," Sarge says as Zapdos follows the crowd back inside while telling them to take Lorette and Electrode to the infirmary. "What's all this about?"

Patches leaps out of Ella's embrace and latches on to my arm. "Yeah, what's this Chosen One business?"

"First I'm hearing of it," I answer. Though, I do recall Ash mentioning that "the planet stopped collapsing." Could that have something to do with it?

Ash starts to follow Zapdos then stops and turns around. "You guys coming?"

"I-I guess?" Korou says, still clutching Sarge's arm. Sarge shrugs with all of her free arms.

Ella brings her fists to her chest and grins manically at him. "If Zapdos is friends with Ash, then I'm sure it's fine!"

When Korou hesitates, she grabs his arm and pulls him free of his partner, half-dragging his agitated self to the entrance. Patches sighs and shakes her head before hopping off of me and following them.

"Hopefully someone in there can explain all of this," Sarge says before joining the others.

Now, it's just me and Ash, who holds out his hand for me. His smile is broad, and his eyes are bright. It's like that phone call never happened. But, after the way he was this morning, there is no way that whatever it was is completely gone from his mind. But, that's a problem for later, I decide. Right now, my trainer is happy and eager. Determination and a can-do attitude, like he promised. Not to mention whatever Zapdos and Electrode Hoard were talking about, which must be pretty amazing if the Lord of Lightning himself likes Ash so much.

For the umpteenth time today, but this time for a much happier reason, I take my trainer's hand.