0|1 : More Than He Seems

Thunder roared in the distance, lighting up the night sky. "Looks like a storm's coming, huh, Pikachu?" A young teen with messy black hair and chestnut brown eyes inquired absently as he looked at the cloudy grey sky above. At his feet, a small yellow mouse the size of his head stood, its lightning bolt shaped tail sparking occasionally.

"Kachu?" The mouse followed its trainer's gaze to the mountains. It too could hear the thunder far into the distance. Still, its trainer's ability to hear what others of its kind, the humans, could not would always bring up questions. It nodded in understanding as its cheeks sparked along with its tail. "Pikachu."

"We should leave town before the storm hits, but—" he yawned abruptly.

"Pika?" His partner pulled on his pants in concern.

He merely smiled, "I'm fine bud, just a bit tired is all. I promise I'll get some rest once I've completed the mission. Now come on, Pallet isn't much further." As he walked down the path, his partner looked concerned at his back.

"Pikapi." The small mouse looked at his partner with sadness. Asherite Satoshi Red Ketchum. Son of two travellers, his trainer was never willing to stay in one place for too long. The constant jumping between regions they did was a manifestation of this desire to move around. Pikachu's trainer was a brilliant teen. He had to be after coming in as the Runner Up of Kalos, the battling Capital. Not to mention the 'lesser' feats of knowing over seven languages, surviving various encounters with Legendaries, and being the youngest agent of the Pokemon League. Despite all of this, his trainer was tragic.

Exhaustion and overwork were constantly following him as he forced himself to learn everything he could to help his Pokemon reach their goals. Likewise, as the Chosen One of Arceus he was forced to constantly halt his travels to awaken, protect, or battle Legendaries, risking and on occasions even losing his life. He was also roped in by the League to investigate numerous 'evil' teams on his travels.

His trainer would always keep his promises as well, but he never kept that promise, the promise to rest, because his mission was never ending. Only when he fainted from complete exhaustion, would he get any rest. His once carefree trainer that had been forced to change to cope with new circumstances. A casualty in the silent war the Legendaries waged, one that was forced into the center of it all.

It was something that filled Pikachu with resentment. Why did the world place everything on the shoulders of a boy who had his own dreams. Dreams that had never involved being the strongest, or being a hero. The connection that had formed between them through the years allowed Pikachu to feel the festering anger and resentment in his trainer as well, the exhaustion the only thing keeping it at bay. It made him wonder sometimes if Arceus knew that and was constantly throwing work at his trainer to prevent its eruption.

"Hey, Pikachu! Are you going to stand there all day?" The mouse jumped a bit at the shout, waking from its thoughts. Its trainer smiled softly at it from up the hill.

"Pika Pi!" It sprinted towards its trainer, tackling him as it set aside its thoughts.

Ash laughed, a carefree lightheartedness to it as he spun around with Pikachu in his arms. He faced the horizon over the town, excitement blazing in his eyes as they watched the moon rise over it. "Isn't it beautiful, buddy. If only we could explore the beauty of the world."

Pikachu's eyes sparkled as it saw the beautiful view of the moon peaking mysteriously through the clouds. Through their travels they had seen many sights like these, but it never lost its beauty. "Pikachu!"

Within the night, they watched the moon disappear behind the clouds once again, leaving them in the darkness's cover. The lights of the lamps not reaching their spot on the hill. A cool breeze grazing them, the lights of Pallet Town lighting up the beautiful darkness marring it with its trace of humanity.

A sigh escaped Ash at the sight of his home town. "Looks like we're home…"

"Pikachu…." The rodent's sigh was identical to his own.

"Well, let's stop by the Professor's place first. I'd like to leave immediately after giving mom the news." Ash said resigned. "She will not be happy about it."

Without waiting for a response, he drifted towards the Professor's Lab. His eyelids felt heavy as he blinked. Before he could react, however, he ran into the door of the lab.

Bam!

"Pika pi! Pika pika pi!" He rubbed his nose at the pain as the yellow rodent that had been on his shoulder had jumped off in time to avoid collision, and laughed at him. A small smile made its way to his lips at the carefree laugh of his friend. Before he knew it, he was laughing as well.

"That hurt, you know! You could've warned me." He attempted a scowl, but his face refused to cooperate as he smiled and laughed. "Pika—"

"Hello is someone there?" Ash was interrupted as the door opened to reveal an old man, "Oh, Ash, my boy, I didn't expect to see you out so late. I thought you weren't due to arrive until tomorrow night?"

Like a bucket of ice water had been doused on them, their laughter ended. Ash's genuine smile replaced with his naïve and carefree face once again. However, his exhaustion showed through his eyes as they strangely remained droopy and the light bags under his eyes just became more pronounced.

"Sorry it's so late, Professor Oak! You're right, I wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow, but the plane landed sooner than I thought. I was wondering if I could come say hello to my Pokemon before heading home, may I?"

"Haha, of course you may! Make yourself right at home. If you could sit down on the couch for a moment I have something for you." The Professor laughed as he moved out of the way of the door, inviting his guests inside. He frowned as the two passed, noting the glazed eyes emitting exhaustion. He sighed, his grandson had been telling the truth about it all this time then.

He had watched the last League battle together with Gary, who had pointed out how exhausted Ash looked. Throughout the years Gary had always told him about how chill and monotone Ash was, but he could never believe him. From the letter he just received to the look in Ash's eyes, it seemed it was all true.

Looking at the boy fighting sleep on the couch, the Professor immediately changed his plan.

Sitting in an armchair in front of Ash, the Professor looked at him with a serious face.

"My boy, you can't continue like this. Just drop the act and rest for a bit. Your Pokémon are worried about you as well. They won't be going anywhere."

The boy tensed, alert despite his drowsiness, but the Professor could see it was still affecting him as his mask cracked, when he scowled. "I can't rest knowing that I have been constantly wasting time helping others achieve their dreams while delaying my own Pokémons."

The Professor sighed. The boy still insisted on lying to himself, "I understand my boy, I really do, but you need to rest a bit. You weren't supposed to get back until tomorrow night. It's not good to overwork yourself. You won't be able to lead them if you're exhausted." It was the truth. The boy struggled to win the League and sometimes even simple fights because of the forgetfulness caused by his exhaustion.

Listening to that, Ash froze. He understood the underlying meaning behind the Professor's words. Turning away, his eyes met with Pikachu's and pain flashed through him at the look in his partner's eyes. Concern and honesty.

"I-... I'll rest just for a few minutes but then I'm going to go check up on everyone."

"Good! They aren't going anywhere, so get some sleep." He didn't have to say more, for the moment Ash's eyes closed and his head rested on a pillow, he fell asleep.

The Professor smiled, grabbing a blanket for the boy as Pikachu snuggled into the arms of his trainer. He'd tell them about the League letter tomorrow.