Chapter Text
One day, Delia Ketchum was out on a walk in the forest, taking a break after a long shift running her restaurant. Sometimes, she'd come out here just to be around nature. With how busy today had been, though, she'd decided to go deeper into the woods than she usually did.
At some point, though, she heard a sound that gave her pause. It was a Pokémon, definitely, but it sounded weak, and also much closer than any of the Pokémon she'd seen. After a moment of searching, she managed to spot the source of the sound: a Pichu hiding in the roots of the ash tree, cheeks faintly sparking as it glared at her. Its left ear had three spikes on the end instead of coming to a point, and the little thing was doing its best to place itself in between her and…
A Pokémon egg?
Delia's mind started racing a bit as she looked closer. The Pichu was far too thin, it was breathing heavily, its face was flushed, and its fur was messy, but not once did it take its eyes off of her, determined to protect the egg behind it with its life.
Some might call what she did next foolish, and they might have a point, but she wasn't one to back down when she felt that someone needed her help. Delia stepped forward and knelt down to greet the Pichu with a "Hello, Pichu."
"Chu!" The Pichu sparked again, but it fizzled out immediately.
"Is that egg your younger sibling?" Delia asked. "It's so brave of you to keep an eye on it all by yourself!"
Pichu puffed up a little and gave a nod.
"But, Pichu… Where are your parents? How long have you been here by yourself?"
Pichu turned away, tears welling up in its eyes.
"Oh, Pichu…" Delia reached her hand forward.
"Chu!" Pichu reacted immediately, zapping her with electricity. She flinched backwards – it had only been a little shock, but it still stung.
When she went to apologize to the little mouse, though, she saw that it was unconscious. She touched it, trying to rouse it, and found that the tiny thing was burning up.
It didn't take long to decide what to do from there: she grabbed both the Pichu and the egg it had been protecting into her arms, and made her way to Professor Oak's Lab as fast as she could.
The instant Professor Oak saw the shape the Pichu was in, he snatched it away from her and told her to put the egg in one of the incubators. Thankfully, she did know where those were – she had helped him around the lab in her high school years quite a bit – and by the time she had the egg all settled Oak had Pichu laying down on a cushion on a table, an IV drip going.
"Is Pichu going to be okay?" Delia asked.
"I think so," Professor Oak said with a smile. "You did good bringing it here, Delia. Pichu was severely dehydrated and feverish, I suspect it's been guarding that egg by itself without food or water for several days now. But Pokémon are hardy, so long as we care for it it should make a full recovery."
Delia breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good." She looked at the little Pokémon, it already seemed to be improving. "Poor little dear… Can you tell me anything else about it, Samuel?"
"Well, its left ear has an unusual shape," Oak said, indicating the three spikes. "I haven't seen another Pichu with that, I assumed they were just tufts of fur until I looked closer. If you look, you can see that it has the coloration of a Pikachu, meaning it's a shiny Pokémon. The only other thing I can say for sure is that this Pichu is about four years old."
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Delia asked.
"The only way to know for sure is to ask it when it wakes up," Professor Oak stated simply.
Eventually, the Pichu did wake up, and while it did freak out a little bit, Professor Oak was able to calm it down, showing it its sibling and explaining what had happened. Now that Pichu was feeling a bit better and calmer, it was easier to get some answers out of it, though with the language barrier Pichu's answers were limited to 'yes', 'no', and small numbers. Firstly, they learned that Pichu was a boy, and that the Professor's estimate of his age was correct, they were even able to learn that Pichu had turned four only ten days beforehand.
(Also, apparently wild Pokémon celebrating birthdays wasn't all that strange, according to Professor Oak).
Piecing together why he was alone took a lot longer. The amount of time he'd been alone was easy enough, five days, but they had to rely on him confirming or denying their guesses for anything else. All they managed to gather was that his mother had left him and his unborn sibling there in the roots of the tree, and that Pichu was very sure that she wasn't coming back and didn't want to talk about it.
Delia hadn't even thought about it before offering Pichu a place with her. Why would she? He was a Pokémon in need, and a child who was thrust into something that he really shouldn't have been. Pichu had been hesitant for a moment, but accepted it.
"Wonderful!" Professor Oak had said. "Now… Well, Delia, it's very likely that we'll have a second Pichu on our hands very soon. So… have you considered giving a nickname to this one?"
"Hm…" Delia considered Pichu for a moment. "How do you feel about Peachy?"
Pichu shook his head immediately.
"Perhaps something else," Professor Oak said. "I'm quite partial to tree names myself," he said with a chuckle.
Oh, that was an idea. She'd found him under an ash tree, which was perfect! "How about Fraxinus?"
Pichu tilted his head in confusion.
"Why not just Ash?" Professor Oak prompted.
Delia considered. "I like it. What about you, Pichu?"
Pichu gave a nod. "Pichu! Pichu Pichupi!" The newly-named Ash gave her a grin and a thumbs-up.
In the time he spent in Professor Oak's laboratory, Ash the Pichu grew to like Delia a lot. She was always really kind to him, and kept asking him how he was feeling even though she couldn't understand him. Every time she visited, she checked up on the egg to make sure that it was healthy. Before long, it was time for Delia to take him home for real.
Ash had ended up needing to walk because Delia needed to carry the egg in the incubator, but he didn't mind! Pallet Town was so interesting. His mother had never wanted to come close, she'd been nervous about humans, so Ash had never really seen what it was like before. There were so many humans everywhere!
Delia's house was white with a red roof, and it was huge! Well, compared to Ash, anyway. Even at their tallest Pichu weren't particularly big. Once he got inside, he walked around the room, marveling at all of the human things.
This was going to be his new home! It was so amazing!
"I have a spare room that you can have," Delia said. "It's a bit large for you, but once your little sibling hatches you can share with them. Would you like to see it?"
Ash quickly nodded, and bounded up the stairs past Delia.
The room she showed him didn't have much in it, but Ash didn't really know a lot of human things yet anyway, just the stuff he'd seen at Professor Oak's lab. There was a table and chair that were too big for him and a bookshelf with a few books on it, but that was about it for furniture.
Delia placed the incubator with Ash's little sibling in it on top of the table, and then smiled down at Ash. "Why don't you make yourself familiar with it while I get some pillows and blankets for you?"
"Pichu!" Ash said with a nod, and once Delia was gone immediately went to look at the only thing he could reach without climbing: the books on the lower part of the bookshelf. The first one he picked out only had words that he didn't actually know how to read in it. And so did the second… and the third.
"Ash, I'm back!" Delia said as she walked through the door, holding several pillows and blankets. "I thought maybe you could use these for a little nest! Oh!" Delia dropped the bed things into a pile and walked over to crouch down next to Ash. "You're looking at the books?"
Ash nodded.
"Can you read?"
Ash shook his head.
"Well, I'll find something to read to you," Delia said. "I'm sure I've got some of the books my parents read to me when I was a kid somewhere… Why don't you make yourself comfortable while I look for one?"
Ash got to work with the blankets and pillows to make a comfortable nest for himself, and twenty minutes later he was in Delia's lap while she read a story to him. It was about some Pokémon going on an adventure together, with plenty of pictures.
He liked it a lot, but he felt… bad about it. It reminded him of his mother, and how she'd tell him stories that she made up. Stories of grand adventures, good friends, and amazing Pokémon.
"Chu…" Ash said sadly once the story was over. He wiped the tears out of his eyes.
"Ash?" Delia asked. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't think the story would be sad for you."
Ash shook his head.
"Not the story… Is it about your mother?" Delia asked.
Ash nodded. He missed her, and… he knew he'd probably never see Meema again. But he didn't want to replace her with Delia! Even if he knew that she'd have wanted him to have someone new to watch over him.
"Oh, Ash…" Delia said, as she pulled the Pichu into a hug. "I know I'm not her, but… I hope I can be here for you, too."
As time went on, Ash did grow to see Delia as 'Mom', but he still never forgot 'Meema'. About a month after moving in with Delia, the egg hatched into his little brother! He was the smallest Pichu Ash had ever seen, and he was adorable. Delia had tried to give him a nickname, too, but after the first three attempts Pichu had decided he didn't like nicknames and refused to hear any more suggestions.
Slowly, Pichu grew bigger. He shared Ash's room, which slowly gained more and more toys and things for them to play with.
When Pichu was three months old, Ash managed to catch a glimpse of something on the television in the living room while Delia was cooking some dinner that ended up changing his life: a Pokémon battle. Ash couldn't take his eyes off it – the Pokémon were super-strong, and the trainers were so amazing with the way they directed the battle and helped their teams!
Ash decided right there and then that he was going to go on a Pokémon Journey and be the very best, like no one ever was, and no one was going to stop him!
Pichu called him crazy, and he was probably right, but Ash… When Ash got a crazy idea into his head, he'd push the limits to make it happen!
So he learned to speak, which had been quite a shock to Delia. Eventually she'd decided to send him to school with the human kids his age when he'd mentioned he also wanted to learn to read. Pichu had joined him for that, though he wasn't interested in learning to talk himself and just stuck to learning to read and write.
Ash picked up a few other hobbies over time, like skateboarding and boxing, but he never lost sight of his goal of going on a journey. Pichu evolved into Pikachu at the age of two, and Ash continued learning as much as he could. He'd already decided that he didn't really want to evolve himself, but eventually his goal evolved – he wasn't just going to go on a journey, he was going to be a Pokémon Trainer!
Pikachu still thought he was crazy, but he eventually relented and said he'd come along.
Once Ash told Delia of his plans, she was surprised, but had commented that it seemed fun and had said something about Pikachu being able to keep Ash out of trouble (Pikachu had taken advantage of the fact that Delia couldn't understand him to comment that, no, he was going to increase the amount of trouble).
Gary thought he was crazy too, and seemed determined to prove that a Pokémon being a trainer just wouldn't work, but Professor Oak seemed thrilled at the idea and promised to help Ash achieve his dreams no matter how far-fetched or silly they might seem.
Eventually, on the very same day that Gary set out on his own journey, so did Ash and Pikachu.
"Hello!"
Misty jumped at the voice, accidentally flinging her lure out of the water.
She sighed. Okay, that was her own fault for getting too invested in the fishing and not listening.
She got up and began looking for the source of the voice.
"Down here!"
Misty looked to find what had to be the shortest kid she'd ever seen looking up at her. They had rosy cheeks and were wearing a red-and-white hat that was way too big, with only a little bit of black hair poking out at each side, ending in three distinct spikes on their left and one on their right. Apart from that, the kid was wearing a short-sleeved blue jacket, a green backpack that was way too big, and… an oversized black-and-yellow sweater with a weird pattern underneath the jacket? Fuzzy yellow mittens and slippers? You know what, she wasn't going to question it.
Next to the kid was a Pikachu, and the kid was so short that she could swear that the Pikachu was actually taller.
"Do you know the way to the next town? We're kind of lost…"
"Pikapi, Pi-Pikachu, Pika!"
"You were supposed to have the map!"
"Uh, it's that way," Misty pointed. "… Aren't you a little young to be a Pokémon Trainer, though?"
"I'm ten years old!"
"… Right." Well, she guessed it was possible the kid was telling the truth and was actually just really short, but she wasn't terribly confident. The way they talked to the Pikachu with them and the way it walked without being in a Poké Ball made her suspect that it belonged to one of their parents and the two of them had just sneaked out together to go on a journey early.
… Which made it her duty as a Gym Leader (in training) to take them to the nearest Pokémon Center and try and get in contact with said parents. Looking at them, the kid was so small that they and Pikachu might actually be able to fit in the bike's basket together… Though it would be a tight squeeze. Hopefully she didn't regret this.
Once they got to Viridian City – the kid and the Pikachu greatly enjoying the bike ride – they got stopped by Officer Jenny and asked to identify themselves, since there were Pokémon thieves in the area. The kid pulled out a Pokédex, and it turned out that he wasn't lying at all about being a ten-year-old trainer. She also learned that his name was Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Misty felt a bit embarrassed at how she had jumped to conclusions, but the kid was like a foot tall! How was she supposed to know any better?
She ended up making her way to the Pokémon Center with him, and that probably would've been the end of it… if the Pokémon thieves hadn't shown up. The Pokémon thieves were… very strange. Extremely dramatic and over the top, with a talking Meowth that she hadn't been entirely sure was real. Ash and his Pikachu had managed to drive them off, but ended up destroying her bike in the process.
And also the Pokémon Center, that was a bigger deal but her bike was the reason she decided to follow Ash around until he could pay her back.
They ended up encountering the Pokémon thieves again in Viridian Forest. Twice, in fact. That was enough to convince her that the talking Meowth was actually a real-life talking Pokémon.
"Team Rocket's weird," Misty said as she sat next to a campfire with Ash.
"Super-weird," Ash agreed. "Why do they keep trying to kidnap Pikachu? What's with the dumb motto?"
"And the talking Meowth?" Misty asked. "That's gotta be the weirdest part."
"That's not that weird," Ash disagreed. "I can talk, too!"
"Well, you're not a Meowth," Misty pointed out.
Pikachu began giggling.
"Pikachu, what's so funny?" Ash asked his Pokémon.
"Pikapi, pika Pichu!" Pikachu said, and then his laughter intensified. "Pikachupi pikachu…"
Ash crossed his arms and pouted. "I don't get it…"
Pikachu just began laughing even harder.
… Team Rocket weren't the only weirdos around, Misty decided. Well, she'd just have to be the normal, sane person to counter all the crazy!
Ash Ketchum, in Brock's opinion, was a very interesting trainer to travel with. He had a strange way of understanding Pokémon, even wild ones – he'd been able to translate what the Clefairy were saying easily, and didn't even seem to realize it was unusual when Brock praised him for it. And, as small as the kid was, he had a big heart. He'd tried to defend A.J.'s Sandshrew from his harsh training (only for Sandshrew to defend A.J. and claim credit for the training plan - Brock had still warned A.J. off, but it was difficult to do much in that specific situation), and had done everything he could to help with Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.
The Charmander situation made Brock's blood boil. Damian should not have been able to become a trainer with how he treated Charmander. Maybe he'd learned his lesson after being rejected by Charmander and chased off. Brock certainly hoped so, but he didn't want to ever see Damian again if he could help it. Ash, Pikachu, and Misty all seemed to share the sentiment.
The thing that really seemed to get to Ash, though, was Lt. Surge. Ash had been livid when Surge had called him and Pikachu babies.
"I'm ten years old, I'm not a baby!" Ash had protested. "Pikachu's six, he's not a baby either!"
And when Surge had clarified he was talking about evolution…
"That's stupid! That's not how evolution works!" Ash had argued. "A ten-year-old Pichu isn't a baby!"
Brock had helpfully clarified that Ash was correct, a ten-year-old Pichu (or Pikachu, for that matter) was actually a little more mature than a human the same age despite being classified as a baby Pokémon.
Of course, it didn't stop Surge and Raichu from winning…
Ash was still fuming about Surge while Pikachu was lying in bed in the Pokémon Center to recover. Nurse Joy, the truly amazing person she was, had given Ash a Thunder Stone. Brock had done his best to make sure Ash knew evolution was irreversible before he chose whether or not to evolve Pikachu, and Ash did something that caught him off guard but honestly shouldn't have: he just asked what Pikachu wanted.
And Pikachu had refused the stone. Brock didn't understand what Pikachu said afterwards, but he was certain Ash could understand every word.
"What did he say?" Brock asked once Pikachu was done.
Ash looked up at Brock, startled. "Oh, uh… Pikachu says he likes being a Pikachu and wants to be strong just as he is." Ash paused for a moment. "And also that he doesn't want to get bigger and leave me behind…"
Misty laughed. "If he evolved, you'd be able to ride on his head!"
"Misty," Brock admonished.
Ash grumbled and crossed his arms. "I can't help that I'm small…"
Brock helped Ash and Pikachu train for the rematch – Ash was quite involved, running with Pikachu as best he could while the mouse learned Quick Attack. Despite his stature, he kept up surprisingly well. And, of course, when the rematch came about, Pikachu won it all!
They even got tickets to a cruise ship afterwards, which was sure to be a fun time.
The cruise ship ended up being a lot less fun than Ash and his friends had thought it would be when they accepted the tickets.
At first it had been fine, Ash had gotten to explore the ship a bit with the other Pokémon, though there had been a weird guy that talked about trading (something Ash decided against pretty quickly after thinking about how he'd feel if Delia traded him away).
Then Team Rocket had shown up, and not just Jessie and James. There had been a big battle, the ship sank, and they'd had to work with Team Rocket to escape. Then they'd gotten flung to an island full of giant Pokémon. Ash had ended up spending the night hiding from a giant Zapdos without Pikachu – the first time he'd spent a night away from his brother since he hatched – which also wasn't fun.
They did eventually learn that the giant Pokémon were actually just robots for a theme park, though, and Ash had some opinions about their choices.
"I think it would've been cooler if they had a Pichu," Ash had commented after that little adventure.
"Really?" Misty asked. "They already had a Pikachu."
"Of course! Pichu can be Pikachu's big brother!" Ash argued.
"Wouldn't it be the other way around?" Misty wondered.
Pikachu covered his mouth, trying not to laugh as Ash tilted his head in confusion. He was pretty sure he'd mentioned that Pikachu was younger than him before, right? Why was Misty acting like that was weird?
"Not necessarily," Brock pointed out. "Maybe he just doesn't want to evolve, like our buddy Pikachu!"
Ash nodded. "Yeah!" Maybe being a little bigger would be nice, but there really wasn't that big of a difference between Pichu and Pikachu, and he really didn't like the way the shape of his tail would change if he evolved. Or how he'd turn orange, he liked sharing Pikachu's colors!
"I guess you do have a point," Misty conceded.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Ash asked Brock (who was leading the way.
"Porta Vista!" Brock said with a grin. "Home of beaches, and babes, and babes on beaches…"
Brock's weirdness aside, a beach vacation really did sound like a lot of fun!
The next few days had been interesting. Ash had thought the beach vacation was really fun! They had ended up destroying an old man's boat by accident and helping with his business to make it up to him, which eventually led to a beauty contest that Brock was super excited about (again, he was weird). Instead of paying attention to that, he and Pikachu had built a sandcastle to use as a clubhouse. Judging by how Misty refused to talk about the contest afterwards, Ash was pretty sure that was the right call.
He and Pikachu even got to see Mom again and reassure her that they didn't die on a shipwreck! And also learned that she hadn't known about the shipwreck. She'd fretted over the two of them for a bit but was glad they were okay. She wished them well on their way, and after hearing that Brock was a Pokémon breeder told him to make sure Ash took care of himself.
Which was totally unfair! Okay, so maybe Ash hadn't actually been brushing himself properly… and had been eating nothing but human food… and probably needed a bath… and hadn't been checked out at a Pokémon Center since he left… but it was still unfair!
Brock had just seemed confused, and Pikachu found the whole thing very funny for reasons he didn't want to share with Ash.
At first, Pikachu hadn't been entirely sure about the whole Pokémon Journey thing. Even when he'd decided to come along, it had mostly been because he wanted to be with his older brother. And also because he thought it would be funny. He'd underestimated how much fun it would be, though… And also just how funny it would be, which he was so very glad for. Somehow, none of the humans they met had realized that Ash was a Pichu! Not even Misty and Brock had figured it out! Ash wasn't even trying to hide it! Pikachu had wondered, more than once, just how long it could go on for.
It all came to an end not long after Ash got the Marsh Badge. After… everything that had happened with Sabrina, including him and Ash dying after being crushed by a chandelier (they got better), they'd spent a day hurrying away from Saffron City to put as much distance between themselves and the crazy psychics as possible. The next morning, Brock had declared that today was going to be a day for taking things easy, and that he'd decided that he was going to make a special treat for everyone to enjoy.
It really spoke to Brock's skill as a chef that he could cook jelly doughnuts that looked exactly like rice balls. Pikachu was planning to get Ash to ask for the recipe, replacing all the rice balls at Mom's restaurant with jelly doughnuts sounded like it would be really funny. Ooh, better yet, just add the jelly doughnuts in and mix them all up! No one would know which one they were getting until they took a bite! It would be like a little game of chance.
But for now, he was happy to just sit on a rock with Misty and munch on the doughnuts. They really were good!
"You look kinda down, Ash." Misty's voice snapped Pikachu out of his single-minded focus on the doughnut he was eating, and he looked over to see the hat-wearing Pichu slowly walking along and hanging his head.
"Huh?" Ash looked up.
"You should have a doughnut," Misty said. "That'll cheer you right up!"
"That's a rice ball," Ash deadpanned.
"(No, it's actually a doughnut!)" Pikachu corrected. "(They're really good!)"
That got a little smile out of the Pichu before he went back to frowning. "I guess so…" He scrambled up to sit next to Pikachu, Brock quickly handing him a doughnut while going on about how much he loved them. He was really playing it up for some reason.
"I just learned that Gary's already got five badges," Ash explained, and then took a bite of his doughnut. He paused. "… I thought you guys were just messing with me about them being doughnuts."
"(Never!)" Pikachu claimed. That was a lie, he was definitely going to mess with people about the doughnuts. On that note… "(By the way, ask Brock for the recipe.)"
"So you're down because you're behind," Misty said. "… Didn't you say that Gary had a car?"
"He did," Brock confirmed. "His cheerleaders drove him straight to the gym a few days before we met. With how often we get sidetracked, I'd say you're keeping up pretty well."
"Especially with those tiny legs," As usual, Misty couldn't resist the temptation of teasing Ash.
"Besides, there's a Gym in Celadon City!" Brock said. "They also have an amazing perfume store, and you know what perfume means?"
"… It smells bad there?" Ash guessed.
"No!" Brock said. "It means there's tons of pretty girls to profess my undying love to!"
Ash made a face. "You're kinda weird, Brock."
"Ash, you don't understand," Brock struck a pose that Pikachu was sure he thought was very manly. "My path may be long and hard, but to stray from it would betray my honor as a hopeless romantic!"
"Why are you proud of that?" Misty wondered.
Predictably, Brock didn't have an answer for that. Though part of that was because he'd noticed a Mankey hiding behind a rock and was offering them a doughnut.
What followed was a comedic series of events where Ash attempted to catch the Mankey, only to somehow catch a doughnut instead. Both Ash and Mankey got worked up and started fighting, obscured by a dust cloud.
The battle ended about how Pikachu expected a fight between a wild Mankey and a Pichu with no experience actually being in a battle would: with Mankey stealing Ash's hat and climbing a tree to laugh at him, while Ash lay on the ground.
"Oww…" Ash groaned as he sat up.
"(You okay, Ash?)" Pikachu asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash said, as he stood up. He rubbed the top of his head. "Wait! My hat, what happened to my hat?"
Ash looked around wildly before spotting Mankey. "You! That's my official Pokémon League Expo hat, I had to send in a lot of postcards for it! Give it back!" Ash ran over to the tree, and jumped onto the trunk to begin climbing up.
"Brock, Misty, Pikachu!" Ash called back to the three of them. "Help me catch that hat thief!"
"Ash, you're a…" Misty began.
"Is that really you?" Brock asked.
Ash looked back at them. "What? Why are you looking at me like I've got two heads or something?"
"Well, there's just the one, but…" Misty said.
"Ash, how long have you been a Pichu?" Brock asked.
"My whole life!" Ash paused. "Wait… You guys didn't know?"
"Uh…"
"Well…"
"How?!" Ash asked incredulously.
Pikachu couldn't hold it in anymore and began laughing, and he could hear the Mankey also laughing at the entire situation.
It would've been even funnier if it could've gone on longer, but it was still priceless.
Ash sighed as he returned the newly-caught Primeape to his Poké Ball. That whole debacle was finally over, they'd been chased all across the countryside, and Team Rocket was dealt with.
Pikachu walked over to Ash, hat in his paws, and placed it on top of his brother's head.
"Thanks, buddy," Ash said.
"(Anytime!)" Pikachu gave Ash a thumbs-up.
"Well, that got us a lot closer to Celadon City," Misty said, pointing out over the cliff edge to a skyline towering over the trees.
"We made great time thanks to being chased by Primeape," Brock agreed. "Which leaves plenty of time for some other important matters!" Brock's gaze locked on to Ash.
"That's right!" Misty said. "Ash, when were you going to tell us you were a Pokémon?"
"I thought it was obvious!" Ash argued.
"He does have a point," Brock conceded. "He didn't exactly try to hide it at all, we just made assumptions. We might be a little bit face-blind."
Pikachu giggled. "(Maybe that's how Team Rocket keeps tricking you!)"
"You fall for their disguises, too," Ash whispered to him.
"(No I don't,)" Pikachu lied.
"I suppose you're right," Misty sighed in response to Brock. "… So what are those important matters, then?"
"Well, I am a Pokémon breeder," Brock said. "And there's a Pokémon here whose care could use some work. I'll have to work out a whole diet plan and make plenty of tasty Pokémon food to feed two electric mice."
Ash perked up. "Yeah?"
"Yep, my own custom-made recipes," Brock promised. "Sure to be a huge hit with any Pichu or Pikachu around!"
"(Put ketchup in it!)" Pikachu cheered.
Ash chose to ignore that.
"Of course, that's not all there is to taking care of a Pokémon," Brock said. "Electric rodent Pokémon like you convert excess nutrients into electricity and store it in their cheeks, and it can make you very sick if you don't discharge it regularly."
Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Okay, he had actually forgotten about that part…
"I haven't seen you releasing any electricity, so… Pikachu, I'm trusting you to make sure he does that."
Pikachu grinned and gave Brock a victory sign.
"… Wait, I just realized, are you two siblings?" Misty asked.
"Pikachu's my younger brother," Ash confirmed. "He's the coolest, most adorable Pikachu in the world!"
"(Of course!)" Pikachu said, pointing his thumb to his chest with a smile.
"That does explain a lot," Brock said. "Now… There's one more thing I want to do, and this one I can take care of now."
Brock held up a hairbrush, a glint in his narrow eyes.
"… Where did you get that?" Ash asked.
"I always carry proper supplies for grooming Pokémon," Brock said. "I want to make sure my Pokémon friends are feeling their best at all times. Now, either I can do it, or you can take care of it yourself, but it's going to happen before we go to Celadon City one way or another!"
Pikachu began laughing again, and Ash shot him a halfhearted glare.
"That goes for you too, Pikachu," Brock said.
Pikachu stopped laughing.
Well, Ash guessed that Brock and Misty were taking finding out that their friend was secretly a Pokémon pretty well.
… Even though it was never supposed to be a secret.