106When Ash woke that morning, he felt… odd. His mother called for him, but all he could think about was the weird dream he had. Or was it even a dream? His whole adventure with his Pokemon till now, was it all just a dream? Or was he back here because he got hit by Dialga's and Palkia's moves? It wouldn't be the first time he'd been thrown into the past. But this time it felt different.
Maybe he had dreamt it all since it was so different this time.
The door to his room slammed open and Ash jumped in surprise. His mother stood at the door frame, not looking too happy.
"I've been calling for you for so long!" she snapped, less angry and more annoyed. "You're late, you should have been at Professor Oak's Lab by now."
Ash's brows furrowed in confusion. Why would he-
And then he remembered why.
He was out of his bed and out of his house in no time, going as fast as his ten-year-old body could take him. It felt so weird, he could have sworn he could go faster. Guess it only adds to the theory that he had dreamt it all.
There was a crowd gathered in front of the lab, Ash pushed through it. He climbed up the steps and slammed the door to the lab open, only to bump into someone.
All of this felt very familiar to the boy…
"Would you look where you're going?!" Gary snapped, only to smirk once he saw who had bumped into him. "Well if it isn't Ashy boy" the boy teased, "late as always."
"You got your Pokemon," Ash said.
Gary smirked, spinning a Pokeball on the tip of his finger.
"I'm not telling you what I got," Gary said singly.
"Squirtle" Ash stood, "you got Squirtle."
With those words, he left Gary behind very shocked and confused.
Professor Oak was about to climb the steps when Ash had climbed halfway. The two shared a look before the Professor sighed.
"You were supposed to be here earlier" he reprimanded the boy.
"Sorry, I overslept" Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
The Professor sighed again, climbing back up the steps with Ash following behind.
"As you know, I offer a choice between three starter Pokemon. You have the Grass-type Bulbasaur, the Fire-type Charmander, and the Water-type Squirtle."
"Gary took Squirtle and the other two were taken before Gary came," Ash said.
The Professor blinked at him slowly, not hiding his surprise.
"Well, yes. But how did you know?" the Professor asked.
Ash shrugged. He wasn't about to tell this man that he dreamt it and make him think Ash was some crazy person.
"You have another one right? Another Pokemon for me to take?" Ash asked instead.
The Professor frowned. He'd known Ash for a long time and knew well enough that the boy had his quirks. But this… this was freaking him out slightly.
"Yes. But this one is very unusual."
"I'll take him!" Ash exclaimed.
The Professor nods. The pedestal holding the three Pokeballs split in the middle and a fourth Pokeball slowly rose from the gap.
Ash knew well what this unusual Pokemon was. It was his partner, the one he'd dreamt about. Too many things were aligning with his dreams for this to not be Pikachu. His very unusual partner and best friend was going to hate him at first but they'll bond soon enough. Ash was a naïve trainer in his dreams, so Pikachu and he had gotten off on the wrong foot. He won't make the same mistake this time.
The Pokeball split open and from inside it came out Pikachu. The Pokemon yawned, his ear twitching.
Then it looked at Ash.
Something passed between the two that Ash couldn't quite explain. It felt as if he was reuniting with an old friend. But that made little sense considering he'd only seen Pikachu in his dreams.
Yet Pikachu was looking at Ash the same way.
The Electric Mouse Pokemon jumped at Ash and by instinct, the boy held out his elbow. Pikachu landed on it gracefully, walking up to sit on his shoulder and gently nuzzling Ash on the cheek with a soft cry.
"Very unusual" Professor Oak mused. That Pikachu was a troublemaker. It did not get along with any of the Pokemon at the Lab and hated any human interactions. The Professor had to insulate himself to not get shocked. Yet, the Pokemon had taken to Ash immediately. Almost as if the two have been friends for years.
Very curious… Ash Ketchum was certainly a Pokemon trainer to look out for.
-x-
"I thought it was all a dream. But if you remember everything from my dream, then this isn't a dream and the two of us have been sent back in the past. But it's different from before. I've de-aged and you don't have the same power or moves as you did."
Sat under a tree outside Pallet Town, Ash, and Pikachu stared at the sky while Ash relayed what had happened till they reunited.
"I don't think we can return to where we came from like we did the last time we were sent to the past. It's a total reset!" Ash exclaimed. "Maybe a second chance? Maybe we can win the Indigo League this time, and then the Johot Hoenn, Sinnoh, and all the rest! I'm not the same trainer as I was. We both have the confidence and the experience. Maybe we were given a second chance by accident. To do better than how I did."
Pikachu hit him in the face with his tail and made a noise as if to say, 'To do better than how we did.'
Ash chuckled.
"We're gonna sweep through all the Pokemon Leagues this time with our friends," Ash said with a grin.
The grass rustled and Ash looked over to see a Rattata peek out from the grass, looking very interested in Ash's backpack.
"And maybe add a few more friends," he said with a grin.
Pikachu shared the grin and in the next moment was launching a Thundershock at the Rattata. The move hit and knocked the Pokemon out. Ash threw a Pokeball and caught the Pokemon after three shakes of the Pokeball.
Ash plucked the Pokeball from the ground and held it out to Pikachu. The Pokeball shrunk and Ash's hand curled into a fist.
"We're gonna be the very best. That no one ever was."
Pikachu let out a cry and bumped fists with Ash.
I know I started a Unova redo version but this idea had been plaguing me longer than the Unova one and I knew I had to finally write and post it. I don't know what this will lead into, but I'm gonna give it my all. Yes the Unova one is deleted cause I'm gonna cover it here anyways. So, happy reading?