8 Pikachu
14 Pikachu were facing each other.
These Pokémon were covered in yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on their backs. They have small mouths, long, pointed ears with black tips, and brown eyes. They had short forearms with five fingers on each paw, and their feet each have three toes.
Almost everyone knew what a Pikachu looked like, but it wouldn't hurt to describe it.
Seven on them stood by the pond and the other seven looked like they came from the forest. One could immediately distinguish that they were two different groups.
It was silent but it seems like they were talking to each other, as sparks lit up on their cheeks and their tails were moving. This was the Pikachu and other electric-types' special way of communicating. They expressed their thoughts through electricity.
According the Pokédex, Pikachu were highly intelligent. And judging by their positions, there was a Pikachu leading each group.
"Pika-pi."
In the group by the pond, there was a Pikachu which was a bit larger than the others. It was probably the Boss. It stood on its hind legs and was calmly talking with the leader of the other group.
The Pikachu leading the group from the forest looked younger than the Boss, but he looked sharper than the rest. He looked like a gangster or a punk as it swaggered towards Boss Pikachu.
"Pika-pika-pi."
It swung its tail tauntingly at the Boss. It seemed like it was itching for a battle.
Boss Pikachu slowly went forward and stood face-to-face with Punk Pikachu and they went still in a stand-off.
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Raiden was watching behind a tree in the forest, as he was intently watching the Pikachu. He was trying to guess what they were trying to do.
Were they playing? Was it a fight? Why are they fighting?
Many television dramas came to mind, and many could fit in this situation. Bullying? They're too calm. Fight for territory and food? They can use the other side of the pond.
He wished he was an electric-type Pokémon so the he could understand the situation more.
As he was focusing on them, he was suddenly out of breath and felt faint. His vision spun and his head ached as he hurriedly trying to compose himself.
He was suddenly extremely tired. His eyes hurt and they were twitching in pain.
He quickly thought of anything that might have happened to him, but nothing came to mind.
Was he Poisoned? No. He didn't have any encounter with Pokémon. Even so, he drank an Antidote.
An Antidote could counter poison immediately and would have visible effects. But Raiden didn't feel any better.
His chest hurt, and he felt numb in all parts of his body. He was losing control of his limbs and his muscles, as if he was paralyzed.
He didn't notice that in all his plight, his pendant had been softly glowing the whole time.
As he was gradually feeling worse, he just closed his eyes and his thoughts wandered.
"Ah. Is this how I die? I barely even started on my journey!"
Then, he found all this somehow familiar. Wasn't this how he felt after Rotom possessed him?
As he thought about it, there was a deep hum in his chest, spreading all over his body towards his eyes.
But he was too preoccupied to pay any attention to this faint feeling when he was about to die.
And then, everything was suddenly back to normal.
His breathing became normal, he wasn't feeling faint, he could move his muscles, and his head stopped aching.
The only thing he could use to confirm that it really happened was that he was still tired, and his eyes were still twitching.
Was everything just a joke? Or was I really poisoned?
When he opened his eyes. Raiden was shocked.
He became able to see it. And feel it.
Electricity that was.
Faint golden lines tangled with the leaves in the trees, crawled on the ground and sparked in the air. These lines were like illusions, there but not there.
He knew it was electricity due to its undoubtedly unpredictable path.
He was wondering if it was real or he had gone crazy.
As he saw a faint line of electricity draw close to him, Raiden reached out to touch it. What's more amazing was that it also reached out to him!
He could see it and feel it curling through his fingers, like a baby snake. He felt an almost unnoticeable numb whenever it touched his skin.
He then thought of something as he quickly turned to look at the group of Pikachu.
As he examined them, he could see the invisible aura of electricity within their bodies.
The Pikachu had varying intensities of electrical aura, with most of the Pond Pikachu stronger than the Forest Pikachu. He could also see and feel the behavior and properties of their electricity.
What surprised Raiden was that the leaders had a significantly stronger aura than the others. Their electricity also felt different than normal.
Boss Pikachu's electricity was tame. It wasn't that active, but it was steady and calm. Raiden felt like it was a tiger crouching low, waiting for the order to strike.
Punk Pikachu's aura was stronger than Boss Pikachu's. His electricity was wild and overbearing, always roaring, and was ready to blast away anything in its path.
What was supposed to happen will happen.
After a spark of electricity, the rest of the Pikachu backed away and made space. Enough space for a battle. And a battle it sure was.
"Pi-ka!"
Punk Pikachu suddenly attacked with a Thundershock, but Boss Pikachu calmly dodge to the side as if it had expected it. Without pausing, Boss used Quick Attack to close in. Punk backed away and also used Quick Attack to dash side to side, never letting Boss Pikachu get too close as it used Thundershock repeatedly.
It seems like this wasn't the first time they battled, as they clearly knew of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
After a few more well placed Thundershocks, Punk finally manage to hit Boss Pikachu. Thundershock doesn't do much damage, but it was fast and can be used consecutively. It could also cause a momentary paralysis.
Boss stopped only for a moment, but Punk Pikachu took advantage of it and had already set out a huge and wild Thunderbolt. As soon as Boss Pikachu could move, it was already too late to dodge.
But at the last moment, Boss managed to smash his tail onto the ground and tried to withstand the move.
BOOOM!!
The strong and wild Thunderbolt lit up the entire area as the explosion kicked up a dust cloud.
Before Punk Pikachu managed to catch its breath, Boss Pikachu appeared out of the dust cloud was already upon him with an Iron Tail.
"Pi-kachu!"
BANG!
Punk was flung 10 meters away and crashed into a tree near Raiden. It tried to stand up and fight, but failed.
The battle was over. Boss Pikachu won.
As Boss walked towards Punk Pikachu, it saw Raiden hiding behind a tree.
Raiden shivered. Boss Pikachu was very strong, it defeated Punk Pikachu without even using its electricity. The battle earlier was something out of reach from new and Second Year Trainers. Only Trainers who properly trained for three years could be a match for it.
If it decided to attack, Raiden wouldn't be able to escape.
Boss Pikachu scrutinized the human. Humans were weak, but they were smart. Smarter than them. It understood this clearly. They could make friends with Pokémon and use them to battle. With their wits and strategies, their Pokémon could fight against others stronger than them.
Boss Pikachu saw that Raiden was still young, like a two-year-old Pichu. It quickly determined that he was unable to harm them.
The human was probably going to drink at the pond. So it let him be. After all, nature's bounty was for everyone to share.
Raiden was relieved after Boss Pikachu decided to leave him alone. He was about to leave before it changed its mind, when Boss and Punk Pikachu began communicating, electric-style.
Raiden was still quite near them and he was able to reach into the electricity of their conversation.
He hesitated, but still reached out.
When he touched the sparks, it crawled up to him and he was able to feel what they were trying to convey.
It was in bits and pieces and the feelings were vague. But after feeling for a while, Raiden got the general idea.
He filled the rest with the knowledge he learned when he researched about Pikachu, put two and two together, and finally managed to understand what the fight was all about.
They were indeed fighting for territory. But it wasn't an invasion. Instead, it was a custom.
The Pokédex had mentioned that a group of Pikachu living together can inadvertently cause a lightning storm. This was true, and the Pikachu also knew of it.
They weren't bothered by the lightning storm they caused. They were electric-type Pokémon and they enjoyed it. But all the other Pokémon did not.
Every time they caused a storm, the other Pokémon who were greatly affected would seek them out and cause a bloody fight.
The Pikachu were the overlords of this part of the forests. They were the strongest group who overpowered any other group of Pokémon. But they couldn't do a thing if all the other Pokémon banded together to attack them.
So, the Pikachu lived in two separate groups to avoid causing a storm. One near the pond, and the other in the forests.
Every few months they would get together and decide who would get to live near the pond and in the forest.
The leaders would battle first. The winner would be able to make their own rules. The Pikachu, like most of the Pokémon followed the idea, "Might makes Right".
Boss Pikachu won and he opt to follow the custom. Even if Punk Pikachu won, it would still follow the custom but would trade places with the Boss.
Then the rest would choose an opponent and duke it out. Same rules apply, the winner gets to choose where it wanted to live.
Of course, the winning Pikachu would choose to be near the pond as living there was better.
Raiden was feeling ecstatic. He was able to understand Pokémon! Although it was only through an electric-type, if he made good use of this, he could communicate with his Pokémon and form a strong bond!
As the other Pikachu were about to fight, they felt something and looked at a certain direction.
Boss Pikachu felt it too and its expression became complicated.
Raiden also turned to look, and he was filled with shock.
In his vision, he could see an extremely bright and strong electrical aura approaching, even though it was still far away.
Raiden suddenly felt afraid. This aura was almost five times stronger than Boss Pikachu and nine times stronger than the average Pikachu.
What monster of a Pokemon was coming this way? A legendary? Was it a Raikou?
Raiden silently watched as the aura slowly but surely moved towards the clearing. Many thoughts were churning in his head as he determinedly decided to stay. His heart was thumping, and his back was sweating as he waited for the owner of that terrifying aura to appear.
A few seconds later, it finally came out to the open.
It was… a Pikachu.
