12 Special: Memories

There was once a Pichu who hatched from an egg, all alone.

No, there were other newly hatched Pokémon in the area. But it didn't see them as companions, because they were separated in cages.

There were three humans who were taking care of them, which was quite comfortable. They didn't have to look for their own food or risk anything, but it was quite boring to not have anything to do.

The only time all the Pokémon were let out of their cages was when a bunch of humans would come by. They came to see them and would sometimes bring away one of the Pokémon.

For the first few months, Pichu really disliked the climate. It was always cold. Sometimes ice would fall from the sky, and those days were the coldest.

But gradually, he got used to it. It was still cold as usual, but he learned to endure.

It was four months after Pichu hatched when suddenly, he could attract and absorb electricity. When they humans saw this, they were very happy.

Every time he performed this ability, they would praise him and give it more delicious food.

Pichu then knew he was special. The other Pokémon could not do what he did nor ate as much and as delicious food as he had been given.

Another two months passed, and all the Pokémon had significantly grown. The time finally came when they were told to battle.

They were born in cages and had never been into nor taught how to fight, but they were Pokémon. And as Pokémon, they knew it by instinct.

When Pichu was up against a blue Nidoran, he tried to use its electricity. And he could!

But it virtually had no effect. Pichu was surprised! He did its best, but it could only do nothing.

The humans also thought that it was quite weak, even for a Pichu. They told him to try again.

Pichu did but the results were still the same.

The humans thought that he was still too young and decided they would try again in the future.

But for the next few weeks, not only did his electricity not grow stronger, it got even weaker!

When the humans finally took action, it was too late. Pichu's electricity was gone.

The humans brought the Pichu to the Pokémon Center, and it was found out that its Plasma channels were blocked.

Pokémon Doctors could indeed cure it, but it would cost a fortune.

The humans were disappointed. An extremely rare Pichu with the Lightning Rod Ability, but it couldn't use electricity. Who would buy it? If they cured it, they would be making a loss.

Pichu didn't quite understand what was going on, but he knew that the humans didn't like him anymore.

He stopped receiving good food, and it was even worse than what the other Pokémon had.

As Pichu grew, he also became smarter. He now knew that these humans didn't really care for him before, and now even more.

He became even lonelier and just kept to himself.

Loneliness hurt. He hated the fact that nobody needed him. He wanted to be with someone who would accompany him. It hurts to be without purpose.

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It was cloudy that day when the three humans carried them onto a big metal bird. It didn't flap its wings, but it could fly very high.

The humans brought many new Pokémon in cages, but they were already big and strong. They constantly tried to break the cage, but it was too sturdy.

As they flew in the air, one of the three humans passed by the Pichu.

Pichu decided to try one last time, to seek their favor and to be given more delicious food.

Also, it didn't want to be alone.

So, he raised up its tail and concentrated.

He could feel it, the enormous amount of electricity just above the metal bird.

He wanted to give the humans a great show. So that they would want him and need him.

And a great show it was.

BOOOM! CRAACKLE!

Lightning struck down the plane as it came crashing down into the wilderness.

The pilot hurriedly tried to gain altitude but only managed to soften their landing.

CRASH!!

It was softened, not safe.

Pichu didn't know anything that happened after he attracted the electricity from the sky because he had already fainted.

Lightning was really too much for a Pichu.

When he came to, his cage had burst open and was far away from the metal bird.

He had many bruises, but he was more bothered by the heat from its body.

Something was stuck within his chest, and he couldn't get it out no matter how hard he tried.

Pichu hadn't eaten for a long time, and he was really hungry.

So he went out of the cage to search for food.

He had never done this before. Both going out of the cage by himself and foraging.

After a few minutes of searching, he saw a bush filled with blue berries.

He knew what it was. Those berries could help him recover and was very delicious.

But while he was walking over to the bush, a Pokémon stopped him from moving.

It was a Pikachu. Someone of his kind.

This Pikachu was a little bit bigger than other Pikachu.

Pichu was wondering why he was stopped when suddenly, an Ekans jumped out towards him from the bushes.

While Pichu was petrified in fear, Big Pikachu intercepted it with an Iron Tail.

Pichu watched with admiration as Big Pikachu defeated the Ekans within a few moments and crushed its skull.

He wasn't scared. A Pokémon that was scared of a fight was not a Pokémon anymore.

Pichu wanted to learn how to fight. Then maybe someone would admire him like how he admired Big Pikachu.

He wanted to be strong, so that someone would want him, and he would give them his strength.

He then decided to follow the Pikachu and started calling him Boss.

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Three years passed by and Pichu had long evolved into a Pikachu.

All this time they lived in many different places. The forests, the plains, by the lake and rivers, everywhere really.

And not because they wanted to travel. It was because they were chased out by stronger Pokémon.

Almost every day in the wilderness, they were fighting, whether the liked it or not.

At first it was just Boss who fought, but after Pichu evolved into Pikachu, he would join in on the battle.

It was because territories kept changing as Pokémon competed for resources.

One day, an area of trees could be a nest of Beedrills, and the next day it had became a den of Slakoth and Vigoroth. Such things were occurring quite frequently in the wilderness.

A balanced ecosystem has yet to be achieved as Pokémon come and go.

The two Pikachu couldn't compete with entire groups of Pokémon, so they had to take on those who were alone. But in the wilderness, being able to survive alone was proof that it was strong.

In statistics, the number of battles they lost and where they had to run away was 15 times more than all the battles they had won.

Pikachu and Boss had many close encounters with death, where they were sitting on the boundaries of life.

Pikachu still couldn't use electric attacks, but he trained his body and close combat prowess.

Speed and agility were the aspect that Pikachu mostly trained in, followed up with tactics.

Almost all of Pikachu's opponents were stronger than him but he could win because he was smarter.

They lived a dangerous life, but Pikachu enjoyed it. Battling made it feel alive. Sometimes, they had to fight unnecessary battles because Pikachu started it.

The only problem was the occasional collapse of Pikachu as he took severe damage from electric attacks. It would take at least a few days to recover from even a Thundershock.

And as his stored-up electricity grew, thunderstorms were also frequently brewing.

And then one fateful day, they came across this giant wall. There were some humans guarding the gate on the wall, but they allowed small and weak Pokémon to enter and exit as they please.

If big and strong Pokémon tried to enter, they would quickly defeat it and scare it away. Sometimes, even going for the kill.

They went to check out what was behind those walls, and behold, it was heaven.

There was not as many Pokémon around, food and water were bountiful, and fights didn't break out as much.

When they went even deeper, they even found many Pikachu like them!

Boss Pikachu fell in love with this place. He was tired of living on the edge all his life. He liked the peace and quiet here.

Pikachu felt restless and bored here, he wanted to battle but the Pokémon here were too weak. But since Boss liked this place, he was willing to settle down.

But not everything remained peaceful. It was because they brought thunderstorms with them, especially Pikachu, and the other Pokémon weren't too happy about it.

Pikachu proposed to fight all of them off. It may be hard but there was a chance.

But Boss Pikachu didn't agree. He wanted to keep the peace here intact and they were the ones who disturbed it.

Pikachu couldn't recognize Boss Pikachu anymore. Boss had changed. Where was the strong and valiant Pikachu he had admired?

So, Pikachu challenged Boss according to the rules of this place. Every three months, all the Pikachu could challenge the leader.

The leader could then decide for all the Pikachu. No matter what they were, except breaching their survival, everyone should follow orders.

Then...

Pikachu lost. Miserably.

Boss Pikachu's rule was that all Pikachu would divide into groups that wouldn't cause a lightning storm.

So, they were all divided into three groups. Boss Pikachu's group, Punk Pikachu's group and Pikachu.

Yes. Pikachu had no group. It was because his electricity and ability would cause thunderstorms wherever it went.

Pikachu was suddenly all alone again. It never felt this scared for years.

He watched Boss Pikachu playing happily with the others. He wanted that too.

But he couldn't stay with them. It was by orders of the leader.

Pikachu challenged Boss through the rules and when he lost, he also had to abide by the rules.

So, he had to become stronger and become the leader next time.

With determination, he marched to the wilderness.

For the next three months he would become stronger ang stronger until he could defeat Boss.

But it wasn't easy.

Now that he was alone and Boss wasn't there, Pikachu had a hard time dealing with the opponents they had easily defeated before.

Everything had become more difficult than usual. Foraging, finding water, securing a place to rest, they all taxed on him.

Every night, he couldn't sleep. There was no sound of Boss' breathing and the silence was deafening. The cold climate became even colder as Pikachu shivered until morning.

All this became fuel for him to grow even stronger.

He fought opponents he knew he couldn't beat and only escaped when he really couldn't take it anymore.

Wounds and bruises scarred his body, and his illness would occasionally act up and brought him immense pain.

But he endured these altogether and fought even harder.

He would get Boss back even if he didn't want to.

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Three months passed and it was time. He trained day and night for almost a hundred days to prepare for this fateful day.

Pikachu marched towards where Boss was.

When he declared that he would bring Boss back, Boss didn't even react.

It felt like all his suffering didn't even bother him.

So, he began his attack.

Pikachu was now faster, smarter and more agile than ever, more than even Boss.

His battle instincts and experience were unlike any other as he could figure out the best angle and maximize his attack.

His Quick Attacks minimized stamina consumption and his Iron Tails were heavier and stronger.

Pikachu was winning!

He can finally be together with Boss and the others.

That thought only lasted until Boss began attacking him with his electricity.

The attacks were weak, but even so, it would deal critical or even fatal damage to him.

If I get hit by any one of them, I will lose.

Pikachu dodged, twisted and turned, dashed side to side and tumbled, but there was no end to the electric attacks.

It was inevitable, and he got struck.

They pain he felt could never compare to mere cuts and bruises.

Every heartbeat would cause a sharp pain and he felt like his heart was going to explode.

His life really was now the perfect example of living in hell.

As he laid flat on the ground, he just stared at the sky.

Ah, yes. This was why I was always alone. Because I'm a burden.

He could not use his electricity, and it would try to kill him from the inside.

He brought storms nobody wanted, and he now had no one to call his friend.

He was cursed, ever since he was born. What was the use in trying?

I'm really all alone in this world.

Then out of nowhere, a human stood in front of him. He saw it earlier while he was fighting Boss, but Pikachu didn't know what it was after.

It was holding onto something.

Ah. Isn't that what they use to capture us Pokémon?

Am I going back into a cage again?

But I'm dying.

It should've seen me lose and that I couldn't use electricity.

What could he want from me?

Didn���t humans only care for the winner?

Pikachu just stared at the human and it stared back at him.

What are you gonna do? I don't care. I'm dying anyway.

Suddenly, a drop of rain fell onto his eye.

Ouch. He wanted to wipe it off, but he couldn't move.

Rain started to fall, and the cold wind chilled him to the bones.

The human crouched and carried him in its arms and started to run.

The rain fell even harder and both he and the human were soaking wet.

While the human was running, it said something.

Pikachu didn't fully understand what it said but it could understand 'Don't give up'.

This was what the humans had said to him to make him try again.

Try again what?

I don't know what you mean, but I'll try.

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The human stopped running and seems to have arrived at its nest.

Once it had cleaned itself, the human began to clean and dry his fur.

Pikachu just stayed still as he let the human clean him.

Although it sometimes accidentally touched his wounds, he endured it.

What was this tiny pain compared to all the things he'd been through?

The human took out something and began applying it to his wounds.

Pikachu observed the human carefully.

Why are you so good to me?

Do you want my strength? But I'm dying and am useless.

If I could, I'd go with you.

But I can't. Not anymore. You were too late.

Pikachu could feel his body getting worse.

While he was resting, the human called out to him.

He didn't have the energy to reply.

The human tried again and again and again.

The human was noisy.

"Pii…" What?

It sounded like he was asking something.

When he didn't answer, the human went back to being noisy.

"Pi." Do whatever the hell you want.

Pikachu just closed his eyes.

The human carried him to its lap and kept touching his cheeks.

He felt annoyed, but when he looked at the human, he saw that it was very happy.

This. This was what he wanted.

To make others happy.

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Raiden watched the entire life of Pikachu flashing before his eyes.

Something was wrong with that sentence.

It should have been his life story that he sees before his death, but it wasn't.

That's because his journey doesn't end here.

Oh, no. It was just getting started.