Little Lost Pikachu

by CommanderX5

Ch.3 - The Best Day Ever, Pt.3 - Alternative Version

Little Lost Pikachu

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Chapter 3
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The Best Day Ever, Part 3

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“...and after I unleashed the newest Z-move against the Ultra Beast, we saved Lusamine from the Ultra Space. Don’t ask me how we learned how to perform this new Z-move so quickly because I still have no idea.”

Nica squealed in excitement as her eyes sparkled with pure admiration, her very look making Rainbow Dash’s admiring rush towards the Wonderbolts pale in comparison.

Pikachu giggled, finding his guardian’s expressions to be adorably over the top. While telling her about his adventures, he studied her reactions, seeing happiness, excitement, shock, fear. Nica stared back at him with pure terror whenever he mentioned a life-threatening situation, only to cheer loudly at the part where he and his trainer found a way to escape the danger. He did soften his story a little whenever speaking about his most dangerous moments, afraid they would leave a scar on Nica’s sensitive heart.

He looked up at the bright stars in the cloudless sky, admiring this truly magnificent spectacle once more. Not that he didn’t witness such a view back in his own world, but doing so on the top of this castle in nice company improved the atmosphere. Watching them alongside Nica felt as if watching them together with his trainer. Nica’s enthusiasm, endless energy and determination to help me reminds me of Ash. They both have something in common.

“Still… as amazing your adventures were, something has been bothering me.”

“Yes, what was it?”

Nica took a deep breath before asking, “I was wondering why you haven’t evolved into Raichu yet?”

Pikachu’s eyes shot wide open at the sudden question.

“I mean… you have been traveling with your trainer for more than three years and faced numerous dangers. You gained skills and experience but your opponents became stronger and stronger. Didn’t you consider that you’re ready to evolve to better support your team and keep up with the opposition?” Nica waited for Pikachu to sit up before asking, “You’re planning to evolve in the near future… right?”

Pikachu sighed and his ears drooped. I hoped she wouldn’t raise this topic. I have a bad feeling about this. Upon seeing the eyes of his guardian filled with curiosity, he said, “I will be honest, I am not planning to evolve... ever.”

“You won’t? But why?” Nica asked, her tone of voice now filled with worry.

“Because I’m strong and skilled. I don’t need to evolve to win battles,” Pikachu explained.

“Exactly, which is why you should evolve,” Nica said with returning enthusiasm.

“Huh?” Pikachu tilted his head to the side. “But I told you I can win fights just fine as a Pikachu.”

“And that’s exactly the reason why you should evolve into Raichu,” Nica said.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head while staring back in confusion. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. While being a Pikachu, I defeated legendary pokemon like Regice, mega-evolved pokemon like Mega Lucario, and not long ago I defeated Metagross and Tyranitar in a row. I can handle myself just fine without becoming a Raichu.”

“And that’s precisely why you deserve to become stronger.” Nica raised her forepaw in a lecturing gesture. “Think about it. You can defeat powerful opponents while in a weaker body, which is why you deserve to evolve more than anyone else. You would become a wonderful and powerful Raichu because you didn’t evolve for the sake of power.”

“What?”

Nica chuckled. “Tell me, do you train and fight hard as a Pikachu to keep up with pokemon so much more powerful than you?”

“I do, but what does it have to do with anything?” Pikachu asked.

“If you evolved into Raichu, would you train less? Would you not fight as hard as before just because you gained greater power? Would you abandon your skills or start underestimating your opponents?”

“What? Of course not!” He leaped from the sunbed and stomped. “I would fight and train just as hard. Being stronger is not an excuse to slack off.”

“See, this is what I mean. Because you can win hard battles and don’t need to evolve for the sake of power, it makes you the perfect candidate for an amazing Raichu. You’re not blinded by strength so you’ll be able to make a great use of it,” Nica explained before pointing at herself. “My trainer always told me, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility, and becoming more powerful is worthless if one don’t have skills to back it up.”

Nica took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone, “Those Pikachu who evolve into Raichu because they’re afraid to face stronger opponents don’t deserve evolution because they use it to make the challenges easier.” She pointed at him with pride in her voice. “You faced great dangers and powerful pokemon while being a Pikachu and you have more than three years of experience. I know no pokemon more deserving of evolution than you and I know you would put the power of a Raichu to a greater use.”

Pikachu climbed up onto the sunbed and started staring at the stars, suddenly out of words.

“What’s wrong?”

He took a deep breath and looked at Nica. “It’s not about power and winning battles. I’m fighting for the honor of all Pikachu, showing that we don’t need to evolve to become strong.”

Nica’s ears drooped. “B-but… didn’t you prove it over and over already? You’re a great hero, you made your point, and in a sense you’re fighting for the honor of Pikachu against your own evolution line. It’s no different than a Pichu trying to fight for honor of all youth against you.”

Pikachu lowered his head and tapped his forepaws together. “I… I’m fine the way I am now. I don’t want to change. I don’t want to become someone else.”

“Change? Someone else? Are you afraid that evolving will affect your personality?” Nica asked before shaking her forepaw dismissively. “I know that evolution affects us in some way, but trust me, evolution into Raichu isn’t all that impactful.” She patted her chest. “I’m who I choose to be, no matter if I’m a Pichu, Pikachu or Raichu.” She smiled warmly, approached his sunbed and stood on tips of her rear paws. Stretching her forepaw, she and patted him on the shoulder. “If this is what you’re afraid of, don’t be, I’m certain your personality won’t change if you’re determined enough.”

Pikachu chuckled mirthlessly. “You’ve been following Ash and I for a while, right? Surely you know that while we’ve had our bright moments and great victories, we’ve had plenty of failure too.”

Nica blushed, rubbing the back of her head. “W-well… yeah, I do. Each of your league championships for an example. B-but if you would evolve and become stronger than you wouldn’t have that issue!”

“If I need to become a Raichu to win, then it’s more of a hollow victory,” Pikachu replied, looking out at the starry night.

“Hollow?”

“If I can’t do something as a Pikachu, then why change to a Raichu? Why do I need to change in order to get stronger? Why can’t I become a Pikachu that outclasses any other and goes beyond what a Raichu could do?”

“Everyone has their limits and training can only go so far. Eventually you’ll hit the edge of your abilities as a Pikachu. Even before then, there will be challenges far too tough, no matter how hard you train,” Nica explained. “Evolution is what pokemon use to keep up with each other and surpass their limits, and unlike unnatural mega-evolutions, it is part of who we are, part of our potential. Evolving is our choice, true, but you’re denying yourself something you deserve and could make a great use of, you’re denying yourself your true potential.”

Pikachu grit his teeth, clenching his paws tightly. She has a point. That is what evolution is for. It’s helped many, many of my teammates do things they never could, but... He turned to look at Nica with eyes of determination. “That has some merit, but I want to prove it wrong.”

Nica blinked, pulling back in shock. “E-excuse me?”

“I want to be the best of the best as I am now. I’ll surpass any Raichu, any Pikachu, or Pichu. I’ll face the greatest obstacles time and time again until I surpass it. And if I hit my limit, I’ll surpass it too! I’ll go beyond what Pikachu are capable and reach a new level of strength!” he declared with high-raised fist and a confident smile.

“B-b-but why?!” Nica exclaimed, finding what her hero to be saying absolutely crazy. Evolution was what all pokémon strived for, and was something hard working heroes like him deserved the most. But why not him? Why couldn’t this Pikachu see what was clearly something he had long-overdue earned?

Then it clicked.

Nica’s eyes widened as a possibility crossed her mind. She swallowed, building up the courage to speak again.

“When you told me about your adventures, you focused mostly on important events, so I would like to ask about something...”

“Y-yes?” Pikachu asked, hoping it would shift the direction of this conversation.

“You became Ash’s pokemon in Kanto, correct?” Nica asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. “Was the Raichu that belonged to Lt. Surge the first Raichu you ever met?”

“Yes, it was first time I learned about my evolution and saw a Raichu in action, what about it?” Pikachu asked.

Nica gulped and tapped her forepaws. “Now… I’m just guessing. Did this Raichu happen to challenge or hurt your pride, bully you in battle and hurt you badly in combat?”

Pikachu nodded. “How did you know? Oh, I get it, you faced him as well.” He rubbed his forearm nervously. “It was a tough battle. I fought the best I could, only to end up in the Pokemon Center in a critical condition. This was the first time I was given an option to evolve and I refused.”

“Critical condition… oh…” Nica turned around and lowered her head.

“H-hey… what’s wrong?”

“After defeating this Raichu, did you gain a powerful motivation to train hard and fight to the best of your abilities, a motivation that helped you become who you are now? And have you been seeing other Raichu as rivals and challenge them ever since?”

"Yes, in a sense. Ever since I fought Surge's Raichu, I gained a goal and worked very hard to accomplish it. If not for that fight, I wouldn't be as strong as skilled as I am now. He did me a big favor in a sense."

Nica nodded, listening with full attention. So that day instead of evolving physically, he evolved mentally. Motivation is incredibly important for every pokemon to become strong, and his helped him became as strong as a Raichu. Her ears drooped. At the price of being stuck in a weaker body that holds his amazing talent and determination back. He must have lost many fights despite being more skilled and pushing himself harder than his opponents. Such a sad irony.

Pikachu looked at the sky and rubbed his chin. “As for seeing Raichu as rivals, there was that one Raichu I was about to fight, but we were dragged into making a movie instead. I also faced another Raichu while visiting a vacation spot for pokemon. Oh, and there was a trainer named Shu… or was it Sho, Soe… I can’t remember the name. He had a very strong and big Raichu.” He held his forepaw above Nica’s head from his spot on the sunbed. “He was taller than you.”

“And… what happened?” Nica asked. "Did you win? Or did he beat you? Were you badly injured?" Her tone of voice filled with more panic and worry with each word.

Pikachu looked to the side, staring at the fountain in silence.

Nica ran around the sunbed, facing him face to face. “Did he injure you?” She held her forepaws together in a pleading gesture. “Please, I have to know!”

“Our fight… ended up with him hitting me with a ‘Hyper Beam’... from a point blank range… in the face.” Pikachu sighed. “I nearly died that day.”

Nica lost her balance, now sitting while staring at Pikachu with a pale face.

“B-but… everything turned out alright,” Pikachu said in haste as he waved his paws in panic. “I recovered, trained the use of my tail for a bit and defeated him during our rematch. It was a hard-earned victory.” He laughed nervously, yet Nica didn’t seem to be smiling in the least.

“Any… any other Raichu who challenged you?” Nica asked with a squeaky voice and trembling forepaws.

“Well… aside from fighting a double battle against a rival who taught his Raichu and Wartortle dancing moves, the only one I remember was a Raichu from Alola region. It was about a Pancake race. He bragged how he was unbeatable for years at the race so I challenged him. I tried to show that I can win despite not being able to levitate on my own tail,” Pikachu said before smiling sheepishly. “Now that I think about it, it was a bit immature of me to get provoked so easily. We ended up having a draw while someone else won the race, not my brightest moment.”

“I… see." She gulped. "Two traumatic experiences… and that jealousy… that explains…” Nica murmured to herself quietly.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. “M-maybe we should talk about something else.I do wa-”

“I need to ask something first,” Nica quickly interrupted, her brain on overdrive after just hearing what she did.

Pikachu flinched from her sudden question, pulling back a bit. “O-ok?”

“Didn’t you consider that you would be able to protect Ash and his friends better as a Raichu and help him realize his goals?” She continued in a calmer, serious tone, “There’s always a risk that after evolving, a pokemon wouldn’t have enough skills to make the best use of their greater power, or they would become lazier as everything would no longer be as challenging as before, but I can tell that you’re a pokemon who won’t fall for those traps, so consider, is not evolving worth the risk? Is it worth limiting yourself when you and your friends face peril so many times?”

Nica’s ears dropped as she whispered in a squeaky tone, “I know… from personal experience…that we don't always get a second chance… and small different in power… may decide between life and death...” She could tell that the smaller pokemon didn’t heard her just now, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak louder about about worst day of her life, hoping her hero would never need to experience pain of lose just because his body wasn’t strong enough when it mattered the most.

Pikachu opened his mouth to reply, but his words failed him. He closed his tiny mouth as he began to think. Such a situation had never occurred to him previously, making him wonder why it hadn’t crossed his mind. His trainer had constantly run head first into danger for the sake of others. And everytime, he was right by Ash’s side, ready to fight.

But there was something else, something deep inside that spoke louder than his protective instincts. “If I can’t do it as a Pikachu, I don’t deserve to do it as a Raichu,” Pikachu whispered aloud before realizing something. Was his pride more important to him then safety of his trainer and friends. Was he selfish in what he just said a moment ago? No… it couldn’t be right...

Nica stared at him in stunned silence.

Awkwardly, Pikachu began to rub his paws together, his ears drooping slightly. He cleared his throat and decided that something needed to change. “W-well, enough about me. Wh-what about you, Nica?”

“…”

“Nica?” he repeated, tilting his head at her.

She shook her head, getting out of her stunned stupor. “S-sorry, did you ask something?”

“Y-yeah, I wanted to know about your adventures.” He added with a forced smile after the talk they just had. “I’m all ears.”

“My adventures? What are you talking about?” Nica asked as she took a few slow steps backward.

“About our deal of course. You promised to tell me about the challenges you and your trainer faced together. I’m really curious about your past.”

Nica’s pupils started looking in random directions. “I… I don’t remember promising anything.”

“But… you did. Come on, don’t be shy,” Pikachu encouraged, taking a step forward, which resulted in Nica taking a step backward.

“I’m sure you don’t want to know anything about my past. We didn’t do anything special anyway,” Nica said with a sheepish smile while holding her forepaws behind her back. “Y-yes… nothing interesting about my past.”

Pikachu narrowed his eyes. “What about your time in Equestria? Ponies call you a hero after all.”

“They’re exaggerating. I did very little.” She held forepaw on her chest. “I’m just a regular weak Raichu, nothing special about me.” She turned around and approached the edge of the roof. “I… will be going now… bye…” She jumped down.

Pikachu kept looking ahead for a moment before returning to his sunbed and plopping onto his back, now staring at the stars with a sense of guilt. Well… that went poorly. This was such a wonderful day from morning to night, only to end like this.

From his interaction with his guardian he learned that Nica was very kind, energetic, cheerful and very determined in helping him wherever she could, but at the same time she was very sensitive. A simple praise being enough to make her blush in embarrassment, a small glance of envy being enough for her ears to drop and her warm smile to be replaced with a sad frown. It was obvious that Nica took everything to heart.

I shouldn't have mentioned that I almost died after the fight with Sho's Raichu. It must have really shocked her. he thought before sighing. I hope a good long rest will be enough for her to forget about it. I would hate if she remained sad because of me.

Comments

[CommanderX5]

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[badninja]

I could go either way. I like them both.