As the morning sun slowly rose over the quiet pallet town, it's peaceful serenity was shattered by the bellow of a wild animal.

"PIKACHU! What the hell!"

An evil snicker erupted from the electric mouse Pokemon. "Come on, sleepyhead. Its time to train," Pikachu giggled in its native tongue as he stood proudly over his downed friend. Who laid dazed face down on the wooden floor of his room.

Regaining his senses, Ash eventually sat up and shook Pikachu off his back. Sending a mean look at the smiling pokemon in front of him. However, the glare did little to deter the electric Pokemon, whose smirk only grew bigger, much to the raven head's disappointment.  

Being as annoyed as a Snorlax who had just awoken from its slumber, Ash began to bark a reply before he was suddenly cut off by the voice of his mother.

"Ash, is everything alright? Why did you scream 'Pikachu'?" She yelled with a sleepy voice.

The duo in Ash's room turned and looked each other in the eye before a mass panic erupted like a Volcano. Pikachu then glared and slapped the back of Ash's head. Pikachu was signalling the raven head to say something back before they get caught out.

Snapping back into gear, Ash managed to reply, "Uhhhh. Everything's fine, mum. Sorry for waking you. Just a rough awakening after I was having such a great dream." He finishes glaring at his yellow companion, who sent a cheeky smirk in return.  

"This has been happening a lot recently. Are you sure everything is fine?" Delia asked with a concerned tone

Ash let out annoyed mumbles under his breath. Why does she have to act so motherly now? Ash thought. "Yes. I'm a fine mum."

Instead of a reply, the duo began to here footsteps growing ever so louder. Not wanting to become a deer stuck in headlights, Ash snapped to Pikachu and ordered him to hide.

The electric Pokemon instantly obeyed and tried to dive underneath Ash's bed. The only problem, Pikachu -more like fat Pikachu- became wedged between the low hanging bed frame and the ground. Seeing Pikachu's backside hanging out, Ash let out an angry huff and attempted to shove the pokemon under the bed.

"You need to stop stealing my lunch, Pikachu! You've gotten fat!" Ash complained.

"Hey. I can't help it that your mum's cooking is sooooo good. You need to protect your food better." Pikachu strained as he tried to wiggle further in.

Suddenly, a knock at the door froze the two like they were in quicksand. "I'm coming in," Delia announced with the knob of Ash's door begin to turn.

Ash's eyes widen as his heart started to beat out of his chest. Like a pokemon using extreme speed, Ash dashed away from the fat Pikachu and slammed his body against the door, closing the door on his mum. A yelp of shock came from the other side of the door. Banging on the door, Delia called out her son's name, asking if everything was fine.

Letting out laboured breaths, Ash managed to reply. "Yep. Totally fine over here. Don't worry."

"Then why won't you let me in?" Her muffled voice quizzed.

Racking his brain, Ash tried to think of any kind of excuse to make his mum get off his back. "Er. Ummmm. I'm naked right now. Yeah." Ash immediately slapped himself right after. That's the best he could think of?

Delia chuckled at her son. "O, Ash. You say that like I haven't seen you naked before. I'm your mum. I've seen what's underneath plenty of times."

A vivid blush soon spread across the raven heads cheeks as he let out a groan of displeasure. He then heard a chuckle erupt from Pikachu, who tried his hardest to escape from being jammed between the bed and the ground.

"Mum!" Ash boomed, banging on the door as hands shot up to cover his blush.

Ash and Pikachu could hear another giggle from behind the door. "Ok, dear. But if you need anything, I'll be around." Thankfully for the flustered teenager, he heard his mother begin to walk away. When he heard this, he let out a relieved sigh and slid down the door.

That was way too close, the boy thought as he rested his eyes. Opening them again when he heard Pikachu finally escape the confines of his bed, in which Ash glared at his Pokemon friend. 

Pikachu put his hands up in surrender and nervously chuckled. "What you told me to wake you up early," Pikachu tried to reason to his friend that had horrible bed hair.

"I didn't mean by a thunderbolt. We almost got caught out if you didn't notice," Ash hissed.

"Well, you didn't specify how I should wake you. I'll be sure to iron tail you next time then," Pikachu shot back with a sassy tone.

The raven head let out a groan; it was way too early to be dealing with a wild, sassy, and fat Pikachu. So he smartly decided to drop the argument and get dressed for the day.

This situation has become a common occurrence in Ash's life over the past week. Not yelling that he was naked, but Pikachu waking him up, of course.

Ash ordered his friend to wake him up after all. And then the said raven head would proceed to complain whenever it did happen. But Pikachu didn't mind. He was having too much fun electrocuting his partner whenever he got the chance. The Pokemon has also been settling in nicely to the normal world. He has gained an interested (borderline addiction) in playing Pokemon games -with himself being his favourite, of course-, watching shows and just hanging out with Ash (even if he may deny that). Ash was glad the electric type was adjusting well.

Delia was, of course, shocked when she saw Ash awake before her. She was questioning if it was actually her son or some imposter.  When she interrogated Ash about it, he declared that he was going on early morning runs. Now, she knew her child who liked to move. But this was a whole new level, waking up early just to take care of his health. Her boy is growing up! How amazing! 

"See ya, mum. I'm going for my run!" Ash exclaimed as he finished tieing the knots on his shoes.

Unable to stop the grin from forming on her face, Delia beamed, "Ok, Ash. Are you sure you are warm enough? It's only going to get colder as time goes along."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yes, mum. I'll be fine." He was not some little kid anymore.

Letting an innocent smile break on her face, Delia brought her son into a warm hug. "Ok, Ash. Stay safe, and don't get too distracted by other girls. I know how you boys are," she joked, her smile suddenly looking less innocent.

A blush blossomed on Ash's face as he let out an annoyed groan. "Mum!" Ash screamed, breaking out of the warm embrace. And soon after, the sound of the front door slamming soon echoed around the house.

"Rude. I was just giving him advice."

***

Him running? Yeah, right. The raven head thought as he reopened his eyes.

Ash Ketchum loved to move; there was no doubt about it. So running would be right up his street, yeah? Not when it is early morning, or when he was forced to run laps (even when he is fit enough to do them). He had so many better and more exciting things to accomplish, like sleeping, eating, and aura training. The latter being the thing he was doing instead.

Its been a week since the session with Lucario, and Ash was gunning to improve before the next session with the aura pokemon. Pikachu and Ash would quickly head to a secluded part of the forest near his house and start training on his' run'.

Not very successfully, however.

The mind-reading technique was still a large speed bump that hindered Ash's journey to becoming an Aura guardian by puncturing his tires. The boy just couldn't quite grasp the technique, and it irritated him a lot.

Getting his breath back after his latest botched attempt at mind-reading, he announced, "Come on. One more attempt, then we will head back."

Pikachu gave Ash a thumbs-up. The electric pokemon didn't mind the repetitive attempts of this aura ability. He was having the time of his life just relaxing on his tree branch while watching Ash whine like a 12-year-old when the raven head fails to read his mind. But Pikachu couldn't knock his persistence, admitting that he would have given up a long time ago if he was in Ash's position.

"Are you ready, Pikachu?" Ash questioned as he stretched his arms.

Pikachu nodded. "It is a different phrase from last time," Pikachu explained with a cheeky grin that only grew larger after Ash closed his eyes.

After Ash's vision was plunged into darkness, he immediately saw his pokemon partner's yellow aura. Quickly, he sent his aura out and around the area, checking for any intruders that managed to stumble into their training space. Aside from a couple of aura specks, presumably from birds, bugs or other native wildlife, no other auras were sensed.

No one was around. Good.

Concluding his search, he refocused on the yellow blob in front of him and sent out his aura -in the form of a blue beam- to connect with it.

The moment the two colours collided, Ash felt a wave of relaxation come upon him, his muscles lost their tense stature, and his shoulder's slumped. The raven head even felt a yawn bubbling at the tip of his tongue.

"At least someone is having a pleasant time," Ash scoffed.

Ash felt Pikachu jolt in shock right after he sent the message. The boy almost chuckled as he imagined Pikachu's confused face and then maybe an eye roll and glare right after. Pikachu always hated when Ash spoke to him through the aura. It feels weird to hear a voice from nowhere, his reasoning.

However, this was no time to pick on the yellow mouse Pokemon. So he quickly returned to the task at hand and began focusing on reading the pokemon's thoughts. Straining his mind, Ash put his focus onto Pikachu's aura, removing all other thoughts he was having beforehand. Suddenly, the raven head started hearing little murmurs echo in his mind. But he couldn't hear or understand what they were. It was like someone was trying to speak through a radio with a heavy layer of static in the background.

He was so close to hearing Pikachu's thoughts but, at the same time, so far. This annoyance of being a fingertip away has plagued Ash over the past week. It was like being a centimetre too short of reaching for an item on the top of a shelf in a supermarket. And he hated being that centimetre too short.

Eventually, Ash drew his attention away from Pikachu's thoughts, not to give up but to regroup and compose himself. According to Lucario, persistence is vital. And luckily for him, he had plenty stored within him. It didn't matter if the past week reaped the rewards he desperately wanted, but there was something. Hearing murmurs slowly become more common to hear, and a couple of times, he could decipher two exact words from Pikachu's thoughts.

Admittedly, not the most helpful words in trying to read minds, but at least it was something, right?

"Come on, Ash. We don't have all day, you know." Pikachu voice echoed.

Ash scoffed but agreed with Pikachu. He had to get moving. Taking one final breath to compose himself, he focused his aura back to the yellow aura of Pikachu. Like a month attracted to fire, he put all his energy into reading Pikachu's thoughts.

A few seconds later, the raven head started to hear those static murmurs again. It was the quickest that has happened. Hearing the muffled voices, the raven head pushed harder and harder, putting as much effort and energy into making the words clear.

They

One word.

Look

A second.

This equalled his personal best but in record time. An average person would be happy would this and stop trying. But Ash wasn't your average kid. He was far from being satisfied.

As the seconds slowly dragged on, which felt like an eternity for Ash, the few remaining voices started to become transparent. The static background lifted ever so slightly. Sensing this, Ash let out a grunt and doubled his efforts; he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip from his grasp like a slippery Goomy.

Suddenly, he felt a burst of energy erupted from within him. It was like a very late second wind for the teenager. He had never felt this kind of power before, but at the same time, his mind screamed familiarity and forwardness to the new foreign energy. Wherever and whoever the energy came from, Ash didn't care. If it helped him read these last few words, he will abuse them and face the repercussions later.

Heavily straining, Ash channelled this energy. A faint red beam suddenly appeared from within him and travelled along his blue aura bridge. Before smashed into the yellow mess, he had been reading.

The next few moments, seconds even, felt like heaven for the boy. The elusive two words that were like heavyweights hanging over him were finally lifted.

Cute

Together

Right after hearing these words, everything went silent. The haunting static disappeared, and the voices stopped.

That was his phrase.

Ash let out a squeal as he opened his eyes, startling the resting Pikachu from his slumber. The boy was overcome with excitement that he began fist-pumping the air and jumping around like an overly excited little kid.

Suddenly, as quickly as this excitement came, a new feeling overtook him. Exhaustion. A side affects with this ability. Ash collapsed in a heap, his body falling like an application being force-quitted. Even if his body ached from head to toe, that didn't wipe the delightful smile off of Ash Ketchum's face.

After letting the tired body rest, Ash eventually sat up and was met with a curious look from Pikachu, his head slightly tilted as he waited for Ash to explain.

"I think... I know phrase Pikachu," Ash managed while he was attempting to get his breathing in order.

Unknown to Ash, a smirk streaked across the electric type's face. "Was it four words?" He questioned.

The raven head nodded. "Yeah. Was the phrase: They look cute-." Ash's chocolate brown eyes widen as a lightbulb suddenly turned on in his head. His eyes then locked onto the yellow electric type rat. Who still had a devious grin plastered on his face.

"Pikachu," Ash growled, his eyes narrowing into slits like he was trying to activate the ability intimidate. This miserably failed since Pikachu giggled at the sight, as Ash didn't possess the scary ability.

"Yesss~," Pikachu cooed with a cheeky smile.

"Shut up."

"Don't deny it, Ash. I've seen Serena sneaking looks at you all the time over the past week. And they why you to talk when working on the assignment it's so cute! Almost like a couple!" He replied cheekily with a wink.

Ash's face then lit up like a lamp as a blush ran across his cheeks. "Awww. You are as red as a Jigglypuff. How cute!" Pikachu teased as he caught the vivid blush.

The raven head quickly looked away from Pikachu, hiding his pink littered cheeks from the teasing Pokemon. Before hurriedly checking the time on his phone and saying, "O will you look at that! We gotta go get ready for school. Time goes so fast right?" As quick as a pokemon using extreme speed, Ash was up on his feet and quickly walking away from the electric type, not even glancing at the giggling Pokemon behind him.

Even with the unending amount of teasing from Pikachu about a certain blonde-haired girl, Ash had the biggest grin on his face as the duo walked back to his house. Nothing could wipe that cocky smile off his face. It was like he just benched pressed a personal best at the gym. "Next time we practice. 10 words easy," he beamed as he was flexing his muscle, which he had none in Pikachu's eyes.

Pikachu chuckled and shook his head. "Woah, slow down there, hotshot. It looked like you were having trouble reading my four words."

Ash give Pikachu a curious look when he heard this. "How did I look during that? Did I look inconspicuous while mind reading?"

Without any hesitation, Pikachu shook his head. "No, the complete opposite. You look like you were about to poop-"

"Okkkkk Pikachu. You could have just said I looked weird."

"But you were about to poo-"

Ash suddenly clapped, putting a pause to Pikachu's 'brilliant description. "O, what a pity. We are at home," he said hurriedly before power-walking away from the yellow rat.

The Pokemon let out an annoyed huff as he saw Ash's home come above the horizon. What luck! Pikachu thought. "Don't think you are safe. We will continue this later," He warned ominously.

Ash dismissively waved off his partner and promptly walked through the front door. When Ash closed the door, he heard voices echoing from the kitchen. One of them he could recognise as his mum, while the other, a more rough and deep voice, sounded familiar to Ash. Curious to see who it was, Ash walked towards the voices. Probably one of his mum's friends, he imagined. It won't hurt to say hi.

As he turned into the kitchen, he immediately regretted it as he realised that he was dead wrong. His body froze when he saw a pale man in a suit talking and drinking a coffee with his mum, the last person he ever wanted to see.

His stepfather.

What a day to be alive, Ash internally groaned.

The past week for him has been like heaven for the boy. Weights lifted off his shoulders. Ash much preferred this then having to bicker and occasionally fight with the pale devil constantly. It felt almost normal, like life before Red disappeared. Of course, without his father, it wasn't the same as it was years ago. But it was nice for Ash to experience the remanence of his old life again, especially without Giovanni constant snapping at him like a school of Carvanhas. But sadly, what comes up must come down, and all goods things eventually come to an end. Falling from the grace of heaven, Ash knew that he would land back into the cold cell housed by the devil. 

Delia eventually noticed her son in the doorway and sent a smile towards him, greeting, "Ash, you're back."

Immediately, the boy felt the dark eyes of Giovanni snap towards him. The pale man's face was frozen like a stone; not an ounce of emotion ran from it. A look Ash saw too many times in his life.

"Hello, Ash," Giovanni greeted, starring at the boy like he was a window. Ash nodded in return, not wanting to even speak with the pale man. An eerie fog of silence wafted between the table. Nothing more was said. Not that there was much needed to be told in the first place. Their ever-intensifying glares told the story as clear as crystal. They despise each other.

Seeing the atmosphere drop as quickly as Ash eating food, Delia's face formed a sad frown. The caring mother then got up from her chair and walked up to her son, whispering, "Ash. I know you hate Giovanni. But please try to get along with him. He is my husband, and he isn't going to go anywhere any time soon, Ash?"

Shaking his head, Ash despised the idea to the point where he would rather swim in shark-infested waters then be nice to his stepfather. Why does he have to be nice when Giovanni isn't?  "But mum-"

"Ash." Delia raised her voice, freezing Ash's mouth like an angry blizzard. "Please, I don't want to see you hurt."

Internally scoffing, Ash tore his eyes away from Delia, not seeing the devious grin from a certain pale man in the room. Giovanni enjoyed this, one of the best presents the principle could have ever wished for over a shooting star. Not that Ash would have cared anyway. As long as his mum was safe, the boy didn't care about being hurt or how Giovanni would treat him. With no hesitation, he would take on the world to protect his mum.

But clearly, Delia didn't want that. She never wants to see her child hurt. No parent would. "For me, Ash. Please?" She pleaded, grabbing his hand.

Her eyes, filled with sorrow and worry, pleaded with Ash. When the raven head saw this, he cringed. He hated seeing his mum like this instead of the cheerful self she usually was. So, reluctantly, ash let out a sigh and nodded his head. The grin only grew larger on Giovanni's face, unnoticed by the other two in the room but seen by a specific yellow creature peering through the window. Electricity began sparking from its red sacks,  bubbling with hatred and anger just at the mere sight of the principle he loathed.

Delia let out a smile before quickly leaving the room, saying she had something to attend to quickly, leaving the two males alone with no one around. A great pairing, one may think if they were crazy or stupid.

"Hello, Ash." Giovanni began, breaking the silence that was building. "It's unusual to see you up so early."

Ash scowled; he hated this fake 'caring dad' persona Giovanni created. "Don't start treating me like I am your son," Ash hissed, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.

An evil snicker erupted from Giovanni's lungs. "Please stop flattering your self Ash. You don't deserve that title."

"You don't deserve the title of being a father-"

"Now now Ash," Giovanni interrupted with a smug look, making Ash's blood boil, boiling as hot as a Magmortor using flamethrower. "Let's not get too hostile. You don't want to go against your mum's word, do you?

Ash scowled but eventually gave in and sighed as he recalled the sad Delia wore earlier. As much as he hated Giovanni, he realised the older man was right. He was breaking his promise to his mum. And he hated breaking promises.

"So, how was your business trip?" Ash sighed, trying to sound as pleasant as possible to the man he hated the most in the world.

The pale man chuckled, seeing Ash suppress his whirling hatred of him. Before explaining, "It was... refreshing. But it's not done yet."

Ash tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusion. What the hell is he talking about? Seeing this confused look, Giovanni let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Count, you're lucky stars, boy. I've just come to check on you. Make sure you haven't blown up the house and all," He explained.

Ash's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he heard this. When his mind finally decided to click back into gear, a wave of relief immediately rushed around his body. Maybe this grace period hasn't ended yet.

However, this wave of relief also brought little ripples of cockiness to the raven head. "Are your bones getting sore already, old man?"

"What are you inferring, boy?" Giovanni hissed through his clenched teeth.

"We haven't even gotten past half the school year, and you are already on extended leave? Guess you are getting old. Either that or I'm getting better at annoying you." The raven head smugly replied with a foxy grin on his face.

Unable to hold back his hatred, Giovanni shoot to his feet, his hand in a fist, ready to let loose onto the boy. But, before he threw the punch, he looked towards the doorway. Suddenly, as quick as a pokemon using extreme speed, Giovanni's face of hatred quickly flipped back to its composed and calm expression.

Ash swore he could see a cocky grin behind the curtain of calmness Giovanni put forward. But before he could quiz about it, Giovanni spoke ominously,  "You don't realise what's about to come." As he readjusted his tie to regain his professionalism, his phone began to ring.

"Yes," Giovanni answered. Ash looked on with intrigue. It was one of the few times Giovanni didn't violently react to his teasing. What was his plan? Suddenly, Giovanni's dark eyes lit up like a light bulb. "Are you sure?" After a squeak of a muffled voice, Giovanni's emotionless face turned into a grin, "Ok, I'll check now." Before ending the call and turning back to his confused stepson.

Now with a large grin on his face, Giovanni warned, "I would watch where you step, boy. Next time I won't be so lenient."

After he said, Giovanni left the dining room and smoothly walked into his office, a cocky grin on his face as he closed the door. He left an extremely confused Ash and a fuming Pikachu (who had to restrain himself from breaking the window and electrocuting Giovanni) alone.

Ash stood there for a couple of moments, his mind going through the recent events that just unfolded in the past couple of minutes. Once, twice and then a third time. The more Ash pondered over it, a feeling of dread crept over him like dark clouds on the horizon. It was as if Giovanni was goating him. That cocky smile at the end made it seem like it all planned. But Ash was doing the teasing, not the other way round, right?

Before he could think more about it, his mum suddenly rushed into the room and placed her hands on his shoulder. The hold on his shoulder was tight; it felt angry. When Ash looked up, he saw an angry frown directed at him from his mother. What the hell did he do? Ash thought. It was rare to see her so angry, especially at him.

"What the hell are you thinking!" Delia boomed, the squeezing of her hands intensified, which almost drew a wince of pain from the raven head. "I heard what you said to Giovanni."

Immediately, Delia put Ash on the defensive. To say he hated this was a big understatement. Delia hasn't berated him like this since he was a young annoying kid years ago. Before he was cut off, he tried to reason, "Mum please-"

"No. I told you to be nice to him. What the hell are you doing trying to anger him," She ridiculed. Using that parenting tone that could make the nasties of kids silent. 

"But-"

"No buts Ash Ketchum," She hissed, making Ash gulp nervously. Delia only ever used his full name when she is outraged. He could probably count on his two hands the number of times she has used his full name. And he despised it every single time.

Ash opened his mouth to speak but was shut down by Delia raising her hand. "Let me speak. You've been acting strange lately. For hours calls won't go thought, and text won't deliver messages. No explanation." Ash stiffened, remembering all the notification popping on his phone when he came from the reverse world. "And you seem to always anger Giovanni! I get so worried about you!"

Still shocked, Ash opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn't muster any words to come forth. Shocked, scared, angry. That was the emotions flowing through the boy as his mum, one of the few people he believes he could trust, stabbed his already cracked heart over and over again. There was no point in defending himself. He might as well take it on the chin. It seems like the only thing he does these days become a punching bag.

Seeing Ash's shoulder slump and eyes darken, Delia let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Ash," she exclaimed while rubbing the bridge of her nose. "But you need to be nicer to him. He is my husband, and he isn't going to go any time soon."

Standing there in disbelief, the boy stared at the wooden floor, his lips seal shut like a Cloyster. Unable to comprehend the situation and muster any sort of reply to his mum. He felt tears beginning to form behind his eyes.

"Please. This isn't you, Ash. Where is my sweet, caring boy I grew up with?" Ash stiffened and shook her hand off his shoulder. His eyes were full of disbelief.

I'm right here. Why couldn't she see it anymore?

Ash wanted to say many things to defend himself and accuse her of changing. He craved to point out all the things his mum had done in the past week that was strange or all the things Giovanni did when she wasn't around. His mind screamed, kicked and flailed at him to say it.

But in the end, an echo of the promise to his father entered his mind.

Take care of your mum Ash. Make her happy when I'm not around.

Taking a deep breath, Ash turned away, muttering a half-assed apology to his mum. Before dashing up to his room. Tears flowing from his eyes like a waterfall as he slammed the door. Leaving an eerie reverberation around the house that could bring shivers to anyone.

Ash slowly lowered himself to the floor, his back leaning against the door. His knees were tucked tightly into his chest with his head d in between them, quietly letting out tears that he could bottle in front of his mum.

His body shook like a leaf on a windy day as his brain pondered over what just happened. It was the first time in the 3 years that they lived together that his mum defended Giovanni. It was a shock to his system. After all, the dominos called friends and family fell she was the only one left standing. But now, she is looking shaky, about to topple over just like the other dominoes have done.

Maybe... Maybe he was the problem. Everyone he cares or cared for has left him one way or another. And the common factor was him being around.

Protect your mum when I'm not around, Ash.

A promise he had been trying his hardest to keep. A promise to his father years ago. 

"I'm sorry, dad," He wept as he vividly recalled the moment he made the promise. One of the last times he saw his father.  The last promise he made with him. And he desperately wanted to keep it.

Suddenly, he felt a warm body reassuring rubbing his shoulder. "It's ok. I'm here for you. I'll always be with you, along with everyone else back in the reverse world." When the raven head looked up, he saw Pikachu next to him, patting his shoulder.

Ash nodded his head, and a small smile slowly grew on his face. His face brightening a tiny bit as he heard those words. But as quickly as the smile came, it disappeared, quicker than a flash of light. Pikachu then lept off his shoulder as Ash got up from the ground, explaining he had to get ready for school. His face carrying a slight frown as he quickly dashed around his room to get prepared for school.

As Ash was about to leave, Pikachu began walking to the window. But a voice from the door cut him off, "thanks, Pikachu." Swiftly Pikachu turned back to see Ash standing in the doorway.,

Pikachu gave Ash a confused look. What did he do? He thought as he slightly tilted his head as his eyes flopped. Seeing the confused look, Ash let out a smile."For being there for me when no one else was," He explained.

Now understanding, the biggest smile streaked across Pikachu's face as he shot a thumbs up at the raven head. Making the said raven head shake his head at his partner's actions, thoe with a smile on his face.

"Come on. Let's go, Pikachu." Ash commanded.

Pikachu immediately regained his composure and lept out of the window as Ash left the room. Rushing down the stairs, Ash saw his mum sitting on the couch in the living room.

"See you later, mum," Ash called out. Delia's eyes met Ash's brown ones, but she didn't say anything, just an unnerving stare along with a side of an eerie fog of silence. Ash felt his heartthrob as she turned away from him. It was the first time she had done that. She always said goodbye to him.

Just give it time, Ash, he tried to reassure himself. With a frown, Ash let out a sigh and walked out of the house. Just after the closed and locked the door behind, Ash saw Pikachu's head poking out of the tree.

Are you ok? Was the message from Pikachu's concerned face. No words were needed to be said. 

When he saw this, Ash let out a tired sigh and shook his head. His cap was covering his face as his shoulders slumped. Pikachu hated Ash acting this way, plucking his heartstrings like it was some instrument. So the pokemon took a quick look at his surroundings and leapt from the tree to Ash's shoulder.

The raven head couldn't explain why, but he loved the feeling of Pikachu on his shoulder. Maybe it could be from Ash watching the Pokemon anime excessively and wanting to experience the same thing. Or that the warmth he felt from Pikachu on his shoulder was like a reassuring pat on the shoulder saying, I got your back.

In a matter of weeks, they knew each other inside out, their tendencies, thoughts, hobbies, annoying past times, etc. It was like 'this' was meant to happen. That they were destined to be partners, it was like the universe (or Arceus) created it for them to be together.  Ash always joked with Pikachu when they watched Pokemon that maybe in some alternate dimension, the pair was on a Pokemon adventure and that Pikachu was his starter. Of course, the pair would start laughing at the thought of them adventuring around and getting into sticky situations.

So when Pikachu is on his shoulder, he feels complete. Like the final piece of a puzzle had finally been found and placed in its rightful spot. Even with everything being thrown at him, Serena, school, abandonment, love,  Giovanni, even the kitchen sink, it was as if nothing could separate the two.  Again he wouldn't explain 'why' for the life of him but, to simply put it. It just felt... right. And that was enough to satisfy Ash.

So when he turned to look at Pikachu, he couldn't help but flip the frown upside down and into a beaming smile. 

"Sooooo, I saw the news about the new Pokemon games. You wanna get them for me?"

Ash snorted and shook his head, any remanence of being sad gone like a leaf on a windy day. "Shut up, Pikachu. I'm playing them first," He replied with a huff before starting his trek to school.

"Pshhh. You will be too busy hanging out with your girlfriend to play" Pikachu cooed. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out who this 'girlfriend' was.

Ash blushed heavily. "Sh-shut up. Even she- I mean even if I HAD a girlfriend it would be Pokemon all day you know," He snapped back still blushing.

"Dam right, Pokemon over girls... If you want to be single... Maybe not the best values you can have," Pikachu sighed.

"Nah. Get yourself one that is into Pokemon. Win-win you see," Ash explained as he began walking to school. Letting Pikachu hide in the trees.

"Ah, so Serena is a good choice yeah?" The mouse called out.

The raven head froze as the blush returned. Snapping back to Pikachu he angrily exclaimed, "Sh-shut up Pikachu!" Before dashing off to school.

Even if the duo annoyed each other like a married couple or rudely used electricity when a particular mouse didn't get what he wants, they knew they could rely on each other. If one was down and out the other would pick them back up no matter the cost. They believed that they could do anything, as long as they were together. And nothing was going to get in the way of their bond... Hopefully.

***

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a vote if you did. Before you may ask, I have no idea when the next chapter will be done there has been a lot happening lately so I've been a bit busy. But know that I will be working on the chapter. I'm not giving up any time soon. I'll be online at least once a day so if you want to talk to me, send me a message. I will also be doing occasional updates on my profile so follow me if you want to see them. If not, then as I said earlier send me a private message.

I hope all is well with you and that you have a great day! Until next time!