#rip pichu he went out like a champ

[thcnderslam-a]

   The breeze was cool against her unkempt fur, the Pikachu leaning her head out just so she could catch as much of it as possible. Granted, it wasn’t of the natural sort, having come from the traffic below but beggars couldn’t be choosers now. This was always her favorite part of her day. When she could just kick back and take in all of the authentic Neos City atmosphere, watching neon signs flash a rainbow of colors that lit up the night, listening to the mass clicking of human shoes as they went about their business, and breathing in the mixed scent of restaurant cooking and freshly fallen rain. Something bothered her though, she couldn’t put her finger on it but something was missing from the picture...

  “Yo ‘Chu! You tryin’ t’ bail on me now? You can ‘fically count these feelins as hurt!”

  Ah now she remembered, she was missing her loudmouthed dipstick also known as Raichu. Turning around she greeted the scarred up Pokemon with a smirk. “Maybe I was, I dunno.” 

  “Yeah well too bad ‘cause ya’ stuck with me.” He sat down at her side, scratching his ripped ear with a dirt-covered hand. “Seriously tho’, I was shoutin’ for ya’ for a hot minute an’ I didn’t hear nothin’ from ya’. What’s that about?”

  Yellow ears shot up into the air. He was what now? “Sorry, I musta been out of it...” It had only now come to her realization, she didn’t have the slightest clue how long she had been standing here. Odd. However, she wouldn’t dwell upon the thought for very long as another had entered her mind, one she was far happier to entertain. “Awww!! Was Waichu worried that poor widdle Pikachu was gonna get hurt out dere in da big bad city?” She laid herself across his lap, rubbing her red cheeks together in an attempt to push his buttons, a tactic that was sure to work like a charm.

  “Y’know what? Next time one of do’s trash trucks come by I chuckin’ ya’ in it. Won’t look back, not even a little, gonna be straight up cold-blooded ‘bout it...”

 Yep, just like a charm. Sitting up, she playfully nudged his arm. He was always such a softie and quite frankly she loved that about him, both for the fact it gave her a good friend to huddle with when the times really got rough and somebody to toy with when she was bored. “Ah c’mon ya’ Pichu y’know I’m messin’ with ya’...”

 “Yeah, yeah whatevah... Speakin’ of trash tho’ I found a pretty nice spot we could hit up not too far from here, didn’t see no one takin’ it as turf either, what do ya’ think?”

  The wild rodent tapped her chin for a moment before she formed a response. “Like could I say no t’ some free grub? Lead the way.” And with the speed of lightning, they were off, their run across the city’s rooftops full of wisecracks and laughter. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so invigorated to be scavenging. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had scavenged at all, it... it felt so long ago...   A lingering feeling of dread slithered into her gut and it only sunk its fangs deeper into her the closer they got to their destination. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t make any sense of it, she was with her friend, she was should’ve been happy! Everything was okay now! Then why wasn’t it okay? Why did this feel so wrong? Just as they were standing above the dumpster, she grabbed her friend’s arm tightly, her face with filled fear and her hand trembling. “Raichu I’m gettin’ a bad feelin’ about this spot. Let’s find somewhere else to grab a bite, there’s gotta be tons of cans to hit in this city right?”

  “What are you talkin’ about Libre, I already told ya’ nobody wanted it. It’s as safe as can be!”

  At that moment, her grip loosened. “What did you call me?”

  “Libre. That’s your name now                                                     ain’t it?”

From behind her, she could hear the sound of neon signs and billboards shattering one by one, the buildings she had once happily run across fell over as they were merely cardboard props, any noise she heard from the streets had disappeared entirely as did any scent in the air. Soon all that was left was her and Raichu in the light of a single flickering sign. “I-I don’t know what’s happening...”

   “You’re not stupid girl, you know full well what you’re doin’. You’re the champ now, not some street rat.” Any warmth she once found in his voice was long gone, replaced with indifference and apathy. “Congrats. I hope it’s everything you wanted.” Giving her a wink, the light’s fickleness would cause him to be shrouded in darkness only to be gone without a trace when it turned back on. 

  “No... No, I can’t...” Her heart raced as she looked around for somebody, anybody, but there was nothing to be found but a pure black abyss. She fell to her knees, tears clouding her vision to near blindness. She couldn’t stand. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. She could do nothing but hold herself tight and continue to sob. “I- can’t do this again! Raichu! Raichu please don’t leave me here! Raichu?! RAICHU!!” Her screams were met with no response. She was alone and she had no other choice but to face that fact.

 Or so she thought. 

“Libre!” 

  It was faint and she couldn’t make out who it was but she knew she heard it, somebody was calling her name! “H- Hello?” Her sight was still impaired but she looked around and again there was nothing. “Who’s there?”

  “LIBRE!” It was closer this time and it was no longer one voice but a group. All shouting for her.

  “W- What do you want? What do you want from me?!” She backed up, letting out a couple sparks from her cheeks as a warning. These voices, they weren’t here to help her. 

  They wanted a show.

  “LIBRE!!! LIBRE!!! LIBRE!!!”

  Suddenly, bright spotlights shone down on the Pikachu and many more around the crowd of people that packed the stadium they were in. Their cries were ear-splitting, their faces distorted and twisted, the flash of their cameras stinging her eyes. She wanted to do nothing more than to run but when she tried her body wouldn’t move, nothing would, not of her will anyway. She stood up, her Lucha Libre mask now constricted tightly over her head, she would have tried to remove it but she was not the one in control anymore. They wanted Libre and they would only get Libre. “Pikachu...” Her grin was fixed to her face, unmoving and unshakeable despite her eardrums feeling like they were going to burst at any moment.

   “Pikachu~!!”

    “PIKA!!!” Kicking and screaming she awoke, her body drenched in sweat and gaze shooting across the room. There was no lights, no crowd, just her and a tiny bed in a room.  Her room. As she sat up breathing heavily, only one thought ran through her mind. Who else had drank that water?

#( ɪᴄ | ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴛᴏ ʀᴜᴍʙʟᴇ ) #headcanon tag tba. #Long Post. #// :) #//Ya'll didn't think I was going to let her off the hook did you? Because I'm not #//Buckle up kids because this one is loooooong #//and she's not happy with herself #//this fountain business is on her