//------------------------------// // Ch.4 - Search Party - Pt.6 // Story: A Little Adventure in Alola // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// A Little Adventure in Alola - Chapter 4 - Search Party - Pt.6 Looking at Pikachu’s wary expression, Astra quickly began to backtrack. “There’s no need to panic,” she explained, pointing at the stone resting in her hand. “In order to improve your odds of survival, you’ll need to evolve into a Raichu. You have a lot of raw power, strong durability and impressive skills, but your true potential is held back by your fragile form.” Pikachu took a step back, wary of Astra’s movements.  “I believe that once you evolve, you’ll become one of our strongest fighters. Actually, considering all pokemon that are with us at the moment, you’ll become the strongest. It may be just enough to tip the odds in our favor. Against Ultra Beasts, even the smallest advantage matters.” Pikachu gulped. “B-but… I…” “Is something wrong?” Astra asked in confusion. She stood up and stretched out her hand, the stone still resting in her palm, only for the little pokemon to step backward again. “While I managed to take two powerful blows for you back then, I can’t help but fear for your life. The increase in speed, raw power and durability thanks to evolution may decide between life and death in the middle of the battlefield.” She smiled. “Furthermore, someone as talented and skilled as you deserves to evolve. Your trainer should have given you this option a long time ago.” Pikachu closed his jaw, now staring at the stone with growing curiosity. If he was in this scenario before meeting Nica, he would’ve slapped the ‘Thunderstone’ away without hesitation, but now… “Why are you hesitating? Don’t you want to evolve?”  Pikachu took a deep breath before walking forward with hesitant steps, looking at the stone with growing interest. Astra’s hand was stretched towards him, holding it. Just a few steps forward and a small reach of his forepaw was all he needed to evolve. He closed his eyes, considering his options carefully. I… I wanted to prove… to prove that I can become strong without evolving, but… Haven't you already proved it over and over again? Nica’s words echoed in his mind. Pikachu clenched his forepaws and grit his teeth. He had already overcome the legendary pokemon Regice in a duel. He bested Tyranitar and Metagross during the tournament and still had enough strength to leave some lasting damage on the Charizard. Again and again he bested stronger opponents. What was there left to prove? “Was it your choice not to evolve?” Astra asked. “But why? The chance that you, your friends and your trainer would die when facing legendary pokemon would’ve only increased if you stayed as a Pikachu. What can be so important to take such a risk?” Pikachu opened his eyes, once again looking at the presented stone.  I will evolve one day, but not yet. This is a big change that I want to consider carefully. Pikachu reminded himself of his promise to Nica.  He closed his eyes as his forepaws started to tremble. A war waged in his mind. He did promise that he’ll give evolving a chance one day, and now he needed the power of a Raichu more than ever. If I become a Raichu, I won’t know how to take advantage of the longer tail for combat, but Nica promised she would teach me…  An image of Nica wrapping the black part of her tail around her belly flashed in his mind. The superior Raichu kept her tail close to her back, fencing with her tail as if she were still a Pikachu. If he did the same, he could still rely on the fighting style he had mastered already rather than be forced to learn a new one from scratch. His ‘Iron Tail’ technique wouldn’t change, while the greater durability and raw power would come in handy for sure. If I was a Raichu, even tired, I would’ve still had enough power to overpower that ‘Body Slam.’ Maybe I should… Pikachu shook his head, thinking about the cons. Would becoming a Raichu slow him down? Nica is way, way faster and more agile than me, and she told me that her speed increased after becoming a Raichu. I don’t think being slower and less agile is something to worry about. He thought about Charizard who in the past rebelled against Ash, shifting his personality. Nica told me that if I was determined to keep my personality, I would stay the same even after evolving. I may change on the outside, but I will fight to stay the same on the inside. He grit his teeth. That’s it, I have made my decision. No regrets. With a determined jump and swing of his forepaw, he pressed forward, trying to touch the ‘Thunderstone’, yet nothing happened. Wait… When poison joke changed me between Pichu and Raichu, I felt my limbs shrink and grow. What’s going on? Shouldn’t something be happening right now? He opened his eyes and blinked in confusion. The ‘Thunderstone’ was no longer held before him. “It seems a change of plan is in order,” Astra said as she tied together the bag, safeguarding the ‘Thunderstone.’ “H-hey… why did you hide it?” Pikachu asked, his attention now on the little bag in trainer’s hand. “You were hesitating for too long. It’s obvious that you don’t want to evolve for some reason, maybe out of fear of becoming a Raichu, or you had bad experiences with them and don’t want to change.” “W-what? I don’t dislike my evolution… I want to evolve…” Pikachu weakly stated. “You’re forcing yourself now. I don’t want to evolve you against your will, even if it puts us at a big disadvantage,” Astra said as she rubbed her chin. “I originally planned for us to fight our way towards the city while searching for Nica on our way. Maybe try to catch Giovanni off guard and hopefully arrest him. Now that I know a bit more about his fighting style and how he leads the beasts, I have prepared a strategy to overcome him.” She stood up, carefully stepping down the roof. “But it is a risky move. As a Pikachu, you’re too fragile and such a fight would put your life in danger. I can’t take that risk.” “H-hey, what do you mean by that?” “What I mean is that I can’t make someone else’s pokemon face deadly risk without improving our odds of victory.” Astra stopped at the edge of the roof and gave Pikachu a stern look. “I always balance the risks I take with the strength of my team and available resources. Not to mention that you’re incredibly important to Ash and your life holds a large value.“ She jumped from the roof, Pikachu landing a moment later atop her shoulder. “Giovanni uses ground type pokemon and as an electric pokemon with weak defenses, your life would be at risk when facing them. Escorting you safely to Ash takes priority. We can look for Nica together as a bigger group after that.”  She walked inside, recalling her two sleeping pokemon into her pokeballs. “We’ll walk near the shore towards the city. It is very close to water where we can throw Giovanni’s pokemon if they attack us and it is a lot easier to spot an ambush with no trees on all sides. We’ll avoid fighting no matter what.” Pikachu grit his teeth, his face growing red. “B-but… but I want to evolve!” “No, you don’t, you’re forcing yourself for Nica’s sake,” Astra stated as she approached Emily, shaking her arm in an attempt to wake her up. “Give me that ‘Thunderstone!’” Pikachu shouted as he climbed down Astra’s arm, trying to reach for the bag in her hand. “I said no!” Astra answered, waking up the sleeping pokemon and the injured pegasus. Her hand started wrestling against Pikachu’s forepaws for the ownership of the bag with the evolution stone, resulting in them losing balance and an accidental, quick electric shock followed the fall. Astra pushed herself to the side, quickly placing the little bag inside her backpack. “I’ll not allow you to evolve yourself against your will. This is a discussion you need to have with Ash.” A few, small burns decorated her face as she turned away from the disgruntled Pikachu. “But I want to evolve. How is it against my will?!” Pikachu complained before lowering his head, sighing in defeat. To think that I would live to see the day where I chased after a ‘Thunderstone’ instead of avoiding it. Nica, what did you do to me? “I know you’re worried about Nica, but if Giovanni found her or knew she was here, he would have bragged about it,” Astra reassured, yet it did little to calm Pikachu’s growing anxiety. She stood up and wiped the dust from her clothes, now addressing the group. “Get ready everyone, we’re moving out. Our goal is to reach the city and regroup with Ash. After that we’ll prepare a counterattack and look for my partner.” The group nodded while Rainbow Dash did her best to hide her pain behind her determined stare.  Twenty minutes later, two trainers, one pegasus and an annoyed Pikachu on Astra’s shoulder made their way towards Tapu Town, taking quick steps on the sand near the body of water, ready to face whatever trap or ambush Giovanni had in store for them.