"A Chance at Love"
Author: Robert Brown

Disclaimer: This story uses characters created and copyrighted by Nintendo,
            Game Freak, and/or 4 Kids Inc. (except where noted, in which case 
            they were created and copyrighted by me or by another and I have
            permission to use them).  The author hereby gives permission for 
            this story to be downloaded and/or printed at 1 copy per user as 
            long as (1) no changes to the story are made without my express 
            written(not e-mailed) permission and (2) no attempt is made to 
            profit from this story.  If either or both rules are violated, it 
            will be considered a violation of copyright law.

Author's Note:  OK, I know I'm definitely going AU here, especially with some
of the explanations in this fic.  But breaking with tradition, the real 
author's note is going to be at the bottom.  But this is important: please 
read it, or certain things may be misconstrued and/or misused.
                One thing I do have to mention up here though.  I know things
have slowed down instead of picking up as promised, but I started a new job
on October 7 of this year (2002).  It was full time and looked like a job I 
could make a career out of...until they let me go on November 1 of the same
year.  They said they didn't have enough work to justify keeping me on the
payroll, but even with that "explanation" my self-esteem has taken a major
hit.  Getting these stories back on track will be a help, as well as hearing
from whatever fans are out there.   Come on guys, let me hear from you!  Till
next time, Happy Reading!

#4

	Misty and Brock sat in a field, setting up dinner while Ash and Pikachu
trained nearby.  Neither one of them knew what to make of what had occurred
just that afternoon.  The hand that Ash had damaged when the Thunder Stone
exploded had healed unexpectedly, except for a large scar that went from the
heel of his palm to the tip of his middle finger.  Not only that, but the
hand seemed to be charged with electric energy, like one of Pikachu's cheeks.
	Ash's rage at Misty being shoved had brought about a Thunder Punch, but
he seemed unable to recreate the attack at will.  Pikachu was now trying to 
train Ash, a reversal that they all had to laugh at, in how to use electric
attacks using his hand as the focus.  It had taken most of the afternoon, but
Ash was finally able to produce a Thundershock at will.  He was absolutely
marveled at the ability and was determined to perfect it.
	Pikachu was ecstatic as well.  Other than being able to train Ash in 
something, a secret dream of hers for a while now, this seemed to be bringing 
them closer together.  Her heart had skipped a few beats when Ash placed his 
hat on her, saying that if she was doing the training, she should look the 
part.
	"Ash, Pikachu," Misty called, walking over to them and trying not to
stare at the electricity coming from Ash's hand, "dinner's ready."
	"Coming Misty," Ash said, wiping some sweat from his forehead.  "I feel
like...."
	"Ash!"  Misty screamed, running to catch him as he fell to the ground,
unconscious.  Pikachu tried to help Misty get him back to the campsite, but 
was just too weak to do it.  Sighing softly, she ran along beside them, 
searching her trainer's face for any sign that he might be waking up.
	But Ash didn't wake up that night.  Misty and Pikachu stood vigil at his
side, ignoring Brock's pleas for them to get some sleep.  And in the case of 
Pikachu, quite shockingly so.  After one too many Thunderbolts, Brock gave up
and went to sleep, with the understanding that they were to wake him should 
Ash awaken.
	Brock awoke with the sun the next morning, blinking the sleep from his
eyes.  He looked over and noticed neither Misty's nor Pikachu's bedrolls had
been slept in.  "Misty!  Pikachu!"  he called, sighing under his breath.  
	"We're here Brock," Misty said quietly from her spot near Ash.  "He 
hasn't woken up yet....Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
	"I don't know," Brock said, getting dressed quickly.  "We've got to get
him to the Pokémon Center.  We can get help for him there."
	"But we can't carry him all the way there," Misty protested.
	"Go Onix!"  Brock said, calling out his giant rock pokémon.  "Misty, 
help me get him on."
	"Brilliant Brock," Misty said, getting unsteadily to her feet as Pikachu
"chu"ed in agreement.  It was a little tricky with Misty being so weak from
sleep deprivation, but they were finally able to get him safely onto Onix.
"Let's get going," she said, picking Togepi up and clambering up next to Ash's
prone form.
	"Are you sure you can hang on?"  Brock asked, worried.
	"Yes I'm sure!"  Misty snarled, her famous temper coming to the front 
before she slumped forward.
	Brock quickly climbed up behind her and steadied her as Pikachu hopped 
up on Ash's chest.  "Onix, get us to the Pokémon Center down this road as 
fast as you can," he called after making sure Misty was secure.  Onix roared
in understanding and took off at all speed.
	Misty was only semi-aware of the ride starting through the stupor she 
was in.  The easy rhythm of Onix slithering down the road was lulling her to
sleep despite her desire to stay awake for Ash.  She held on as best she 
could, but her eyes closed of their own accord as her body claimed the rest it
had been denied.
	Misty came awake with a start some time later.  She didn't know how long
she'd been out, but she didn't really care.  "Ash," she whispered, pushing off
the sheet someone had covered her with and getting wobbily to her feet.  She
barely even noticed that she was inside a Pokémon Center, or that she had 
picked up Togepi in her arms from habit, as she staggered into the main room.
	"Misty!"  Brock said, jumping up from his seat and catching her as she 
was about to fall.  "You shouldn't be up yet."
	"Ash," she murmured, blinking her eyes to clear her swimming vision,
"where's Ash?"
	Brock helped her over to a table and sat her down.  "Ash is all right,"
he said, placing a bowl of soup down in front of her.  "He's resting in the
recharger now."
	Misty had automatically started to eat when the soup was set in front of
her, but that quickly got spat from her mouth in surprise and shock.  "The
recharger?"  she demanded, strength born of desperation lending her strength.
	"Misty, sit down and eat," Brock said, using his best "big brother" 
voice that had always gotten his siblings to obey.  "Now."
	Misty sat down and began eating again, mostly from the shock of Brock
speaking to her in such a manner.  "Please Brock, you have to tell me what's
going on with Ash," she begged in a soft voice.
	Brock sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers to
ward off the building headache.  "Let me start at the beginning," he said,
sitting down across from her.
      *                                *                               	*
	Onix pulled up to the Pokémon Center, just barely stopping from making
his own entryway.  Brock jumped down, carrying both Ash and Misty over his 
shoulders, and ran inside with Pikachu and Togepi running at his ankles.  
"Nurse Joy!"  he yelled frantically, his voice cracking with the effort to 
stay upright himself.
	"What happened here?"  the resident Nurse Joy asked, hurrying around the
desk and up to Brock.
	"My friend won't wake up," he said, looking at Ash.  "We can't figure
out what's wrong with him."
	"Well, you know we're not really equipped to handle humans here," Nurse
Joy started before Brock cut her off.
	"That's the thing.  My friend, something happened to him.  Don't ask me
how or why, but he's able to use electric attacks like Pikachu here."
	"Young man, if this is some sort of prank," Nurse Joy said, her voice
stern.
	"It's not, I swear it," Brock said, looking Nurse Joy in the eyes with
such intensity and worry, she had no choice but to believe him.
	"I...I'm not sure what we can do," she said, helping him put Ash and
Misty down on the couch.
	"There has to be...wait!  Professor Oak, he might be able to help us."
	"You can use the phone over there.  In the meantime, what's wrong with 
your other friend?"
	"She stayed up all night watching him," Brock said as he dialed the 
number.  "Both her and Pikachu."
	"They must really love him," Nurse Joy remarked as she carried Misty 
into a bedroom.
	"More than you know," Brock murmured, waiting for Professor Oak to pick
up the phone.  "Hello, Professor Oak?"  he said into the receiver as he heard
the other end click.
	"Yes, who's this?"  Professor Oak asked, his face appearing on the view
screen.
	"It's me Professor, Brock."
	"Oh yes, Brock.  You're travelling with Ash, that's right.  So, how's 
everything?  Has he earned his next badge yet?"
	"Actually, there's been a bit of an accident," Brock said.  He then 
related the events of the past few days, starting from when Pikachu had been
forcibly evolved by Butch and Cassidy until Ash passed out the night before.
"I couldn't think of who else to call," he admitted finally.  "Can you help
us out here?"
	"I don't know," Professor Oak said, rubbing his chin.  "I've never heard
of a human being able to use a pokémon's special attacks like this before.  
Are you absolutely sure about all of this?"
	"I swear by my family that it's all true," Brock said forcefully.
	Professor Oak nodded solemnly.  "Very well then.  Tell Nurse Joy to put 
Ash in her recharger, the one used for the larger electric types like 
electabuzz."
	"The recharger?  Are you sure?"
	"If you were talking about any pokémon, I'd have to say that it was
exhausted and low on energy.  Since normal rest and food didn't help Ash, I 
can only assume that he needs to recharge his electrical powers.  Tell her
to connect one of the electrodes to his hand since that seems to be the main
focus of his powers."
	"Maybe you'd better tell her," Brock said, looking over his shoulder.
"I don't think she'd believe me." 
	*                                *                                 *
	"And she didn't believe me, or Professor Oak for that matter," Brock
said, leaning back in his chair as he finished his tale.  "She knew any normal
human would be severely hurt with all that electricity flowing through them.  
But when she put Ash in, his body started absorbing the power immediately.  
She's still watching him to make sure nothing goes wrong."
	Misty put her spoon down in the now empty bowl in front of her, her
whole body trembling from the shock of what she'd just heard.  "Oh Brock, what
have they done to him?"
	"I don't know Misty, but that's still Ash in there.  He's going to need
us now more than ever."
	A fire came to Misty's eyes as she glared at Brock.  "If you think for
even one moment that I'm going to abandon him now," she began, her voice low
and dark.
	"Whoa, easy!"  Brock said, throwing his hands up in front of his face.
"I never meant to imply otherwise.  I just wanted to remind you, that's all."
	"Hmmph.  I need to be reminded of that as much as you need to be 
reminded how Nurse Joy looks."
	"OK, OK, settle down.  Nurse Joy doesn't know how long this will take, 
seeing as she's never treated a human before.  But she doesn't expect him to
be out much before morning."
	"Morning?  How long have I been out?"  Misty asked, looking outside a
nearby window.
	"It's about three in the afternoon now," Brock said slowly, which made
Misty flinch.  "Now I know you want to go to Ash right away, but you need to
get your own strength back."
	"All right," she said, unconsciously hugging Togepi closer to her.  "I
guess me and Pikachu needed our rest, huh?"
	"Isn't she with you?"  Brock asked, looking around.
	"No, she wasn't there when I woke up.  I hope she didn't get lost or 
anything."
	"I wouldn't worry.  She's probably in with Ash getting herself recharged
or something."
	But Brock couldn't be more wrong.  Pikachu had indeed woken up a few 
hours before Misty and was now wandering the woods near the Pokémon Center
where Ash had been brought to recover.  What had started out as such a 
promising day for her had ended so badly.  Ash was in the recharger now, from
what she had overheard Brock and Nurse Joy say, but it was Misty who got him
there, and it was Pikachu who put him there.
	She knew it was stupid to feel that way, that Ash had been pushing 
himself to master his new powers more than she was, but she should have known
his limits.  This wasn't Ash her trainer, this was Ash....the pokémon she
supposed would be the best way to describe him now, and he had as much 
experience in being a pokémon as a newborn.
	"Chu!"  she yelled, launching a thunderbolt into the nearby trees in her 
frustration, scaring or fainting most of the nearby pokémon.  
	"Rrowr!"  a pokémon hissed, causing Pikachu to jump back and fire off
another thunderbolt in that direction.  A charred and singed persian jumped
out from a nearby bush and ran off, using its agility to get as far away as
possible.
	"I thought I recognized that thunderbolt," Meowth said, stepping out
looking a bit worse for wear.  
	"Pi...ka...."  Pikachu started, charging up a thunder.
	"Whoa easy!"  Meowth said, backing up, waving his paws frantically in
front of him.  "I ain't here to fight.  In fact, you just saved me from that
persian, so I owe ya one."
	"Pi?"  Pikachu asked, letting her electricity dissipate.
	"That was Butch and Cassidy's persian," Meowth explained.  "When we 
reported what they did to you, they got thrown out of Team Rocket.  They
didn't seem all that upset to leave though.  Well still, I owe ya one, and 
this meowth always pays his debts."
	"Kachu, pi pika pichuka," Pikachu said, waving it off.  She glanced back
in the direction of the Pokémon Center and sighed.  "Pikapi," she whispered.
	"Hey, something wrong with the twerp?"
	"Pika," Pikachu said darkly, charging up again.
	"Hey sorry, I didn't mean nothin' by it, honest!"
	Pikachu sighed again, letting the attack drop.  She briefly told Meowth 
what had happened with Ash and the state he was in now.  It wasn't that she 
trusted him though; she just needed to let it out.
	"Meowth!  Some turn of events you got there," he said, rubbing his chin.
"Like we said before, we never meant for any harm to come to that tw--I mean
to come to Ash.  Wish there was something I could do to help you."  Meowth
paused as a faraway look came into his eyes.  "It's that time already?"  he
asked no one in particular.  "Hmm, who'd have thought it?"
	"Pikaa?"  Pikachu asked, confused by the turn of events the conversation
had taken.
	"Hmm, I might have something to help you out after all.  I do owe ya 
after all.  Ever hear of something called the Gem of Enchanted Dreams?"
Pikachu shook her head in the negative, even more confused now.  "It's simple
really," Meowth continued.  "Every few years or so, this gem shows up at 
different locations to grant a wish to whoever's able to find it.  As the last
one to use it, I know where it is.  Interested?"
	"Pika?  Pi chaa pika?"
	"Yup, any wish you can think of, so long as it involves only you and is 
on the selfish side.  You also can't wish for something that would already
happen on its own.  Now I can't tell you what you're going to go through 
exactly, but you will be tested, more than once.  Now then, if you want to
go, head straight that way till you see a tunnel leading underground," Meowth
said, pointing directly into the forest.  "You make it through there, you get
your wish."
	"Pika!"  Pikachu exclaimed, feeling really happy.  She knew exactly
what she wanted to wish for, a wish that would make sure she'd never have to
worry about helping Ash ever again....she would wish to become human.  She
sprinted off in the direction Meowth pointed before stopping a few feet later.
"Pi pichaa pikachu kachaa?"  she asked over her shoulder.
	"My wish?  I thought you figured it out by now.  I wished to be able to
talk with humans."
	Pikachu slapped her own forehead as if to say "I should've known" before
running off again.
	Meowth watched her go until she was out of sight.  "I hope you get more
out of your wish than I did," he thought, looking down for a bit.  "Oh well, 
might as well find Jessie and James before they get into some trouble without
me there."
	Pikachu ran as fast as her legs and arms could carry her.  "If Meowth is
lying about this," she thought, dodging trees and bushes as best she could, 
and plowing through what she couldn't, "I'll shock him so hard he'll never get
his fur to lay flat again."  But as soon as that thought finished, she came 
upon the tunnel entrance just as Meowth had promised.  Pikachu sniffed 
carefully around the entrance, but found no hint of any scent, pokémon or 
human.  Emboldened by this, Pikachu strode confidently into the tunnel.  
	She had been walking for a few minutes, on the lookout for the tests
Meowth had warned her about.  "This seems easy enough," she thought.  "Almost
too easy."
	A rumbling overhead caught her attention.  She glanced at the cave's 
ceiling, a ceiling that was now crumbling down on top of her!  "Pika!"  she
squealed in fright, using her agility to get through the cave to the safety of 
the archway at the far end.  But she was simply too far away and was very
quickly buried under one foot of loose earth.
	"CHU!"  she screamed as best she could, releasing powerful thunderbolts
in her blind fright.  But her electric attacks were as useless on the ground
that covered her as they would be against a ground-type pokémon like cubone.
	After three of those thunderbolts, Pikachu laid still, whimpering in 
fear.  The earth covering her wasn't enough to crush her or even be that 
uncomfortable; it was even loose enough that she was in no danger of dying 
from suffocation.  But her fear, her absolute greatest fear of being buried
alive, kept her paralyzed.
	It took some time, but Pikachu slowly gathered her wits about her.  The 
only thought on her mind was getting out of there, but she forced herself to 
go slowly, keeping her fear at bay.  It worked well, until she broke the 
surface.  Then her fear took over and she tore herself the rest of the way 
out, running in a random direction until she felt hard rock underneath her.
	Pikachu shook the dirt off her fur and slumped against the wall.  "That
was the most horrible...."  she thought before looking around and doing a 
double take.  Somehow she had picked the right direction and was now past the
collapse and deeper into the underground tunnel.  "I came this far," she 
thought, calling on whatever courage she had left, "let's keep it going."
	She walked slowly through the cavern before her, keeping every sense
attuned to what was going on around her.  She knew that there was at least one 
more test from what Meowth had said, and quite possibly more than that.  She 
would not be taken off guard again.
	A faint sound reached her ears.  Pikachu pricked her ears forward to
listen more carefully.  After a moment, she realized the sound was of running
water.  She hurried toward it but stopped in surprise at what she saw.  A 
large pool of water was rushing about the cavern floor, swallowing everything
in its path.  "Pi!"  she squeaked.
	The water stopped and seemed to turn toward her somehow.  With the speed
of a tidal wave, it rushed her.  Pikachu desperately scrambled out of the way,
but it turned to follow her.  "No way!"  she thought, dodging again and 
watching as the water sought her out.  "Oh enough of this!"
	Pikachu turned and dashed through the water head-on with a quick attack.
The water splashed all over the walls from the force of her attack.  "That
takes care of...."  she started to think, but stopped as she saw the water
drawing itself together.  "Uh oh," she thought as the water came after her 
again, faster than before.  "Only one thing left to do."
	"Pi...ka...CHU!"  she yelled, launching a thunder at the water.  The 
pool seemed to writhe in agony as the electricity coursed through it.  Steam
rose from it as Pikachu kept pouring on the power, shrinking it until it was
completely dried up.  
	Pikachu finally let the attack die away and nearly fell to the ground in
exhaustion.  "I don't know how much more I have left," she thought, getting up
to her feet and walking through the door in front of her, not even realizing 
that it hadn't been there a moment before.  
	As soon as she passed through it, a gate crashed down behind her.  At 
the same time, a gate cut off the only other exit from the room.  Through the
gate, Pikachu could see the Gem sitting on a pedestal of rock, waiting for 
her.  "Finally," she thought, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.  "Now,
how do I get to it?"
	She looked around the room carefully, looking for someway to open the 
gates.  It didn't take long to spot the lever sticking out from the far wall.
Now the only thing was to figure out how to get to it; it was over five feet
off the floor.  "I could open it easy if I was a human," she thought bitterly
as she carefully walked toward it, alert for any kind of traps.
	But no traps sprung as she reached the wall.  She jumped up, trying to
reach the handle, but she didn't even come close.  She tried an agility to
climb up the wall, but it was made of the same loose earth that had covered
her before so she couldn't get a proper foothold.  "Dammit!"  she thought, 
firing a weak thundershock at the lever.
	To her surprise, the wall seemed to firm up for a moment when the shock 
hit the lever.  Closing her eyes, she reached down deep inside her for what
reserves of energy she had left, which wasn't much, and sent it into the 
lever.  Trusting in it to work, she scrambled up the wall until she felt it
slipping beneath her feet again and jumped up, grasping wildly.
	At the height of her jump, her arms wrapped around the lever and she
held on tight.  Ever so slowly, she felt the lever grind downward until it
hit the bottom.  The sound of metal on metal told her that the gates were 
rising.  She had done it.
	Pikachu fell to the ground, grunting softly from the impact.  She 
opened her eyes and saw that her ears had not deceived her; the way to the
Gem was clear.  She got to her feet, breathing heavily, and slowly stumbled
into the Gem's chamber.
	Pikachu found herself in front of a ten-faced, green gem that was large 
enough to be held with both hands.  It was flawless, and seemed to glow with 
its own light.  *You have passed my three challenges,* the Gem said, pulsating 
with light as each word was spoken.  *To earn your wish, you must now answer 
my riddle.*
	"Riddle!"  she thought indignantly.  "Haven't I been through enough?"
	*Do you accept the challenge?*  the Gem intoned patiently.
	"Pika," she said after a moment, agreeing to it.
	*I have no arms and yet I grasp so tight
	 I love darkness; my enemy is light
	 Both the bravest and the wisest know me well
	 Beware, for in the hearts of men do I dwell
	 What am I?*
	Pikachu stared at the Gem for a moment in confusion.  "What the...what 
is this thing talking about?  Grasps without arms, hates the light....it makes
no sense!"
	She resisted the urge to quick attack the Gem and instead made herself
think about it.  "OK, it loves the dark, whatever it is," she reasoned.  "But
there's nothing I can think of, except maybe an arbok, but that doesn't live
inside anyone's heart."
	She rubbed her head, brushing out some more of the dirt from her earlier
cave-in experience.  She shivered involuntarily, remembering the fear she had
felt tighten around her heart as she lay trapped in the darkness.  Tighten...
darkness....  Could it be?
	"Kachaa!"  she said, which when translated into English means, "Fear!"
	Apparently the Gem spoke pokétalk because it understood everything 
Pikachu had said.  A thunderclap sounded, shaking the ground she stood upon.  
*Correct.  Now you can make your wish.*
	Pikachu stepped up and took the Gem in her hands and held it close.  
The wish to become human was on the tip of her tongue, but she paused.  Back 
in the second challenge, no human could have passed it safely, only her 
electricity had been enough to pull her through.  Well, Ash might have done
it with his new abilities, but no ordinary human could.
	And then there was something else she hadn't wanted to consider.  What
if she turned human, and he didn't choose her?  She'd have nowhere to go, no 
one to turn to.  She wanted to give it a try, no matter what, but she was so
afraid of not having something to fall back on if it all blew up in her face.
"Pi chaa pika chu ka pi pichupi pikachaa chaa pikachu pichuka pi ka kapika," 
she whispered.  Translated, it means, "If only I could wish to be either human 
or pikachu whenever I wanted to be."
	*Your wish is granted,* it said, floating from her hands
back to the pedestal.
	"Pi?"  Pikachu asked, scratching her ear in confusion.  But she had no
more time to think about it as the cave began collapsing, for real this time.
As tired as she had been earlier, she somehow felt rejuvenated and easily
dodged the falling rocks as she headed for the entrance.  In no time at all,
she had made it and burst out into the night air.
	Pikachu looked back at the tunnel she had emerged from, only to find it
gone.  She stared for a moment before shaking her head.  "It doesn't matter, I
guess," she thought, shrugging.  "Now then, how do I do this?"
	She thought of what it might be like to be human.  To be as tall as one, 
to be shaped like one, to talk as one, to love as one.  Her entire body began 
to tingle, not like before when she had been forced to evolve, this feeling was
warm and comforting.  She could feel her body growing and reshaping itself to 
her desires.  In only moments, the feeling faded like the warmth of the sun 
fleeing the air after it set.  
	Pikachu looked down at her body and gasped in delight.  She stood about
as tall as Misty as near as she could figure, and her body was unmistakably
feminine.  From her pert breasts, to her slender waist, to her slightly 
rounded hips, she knew she looked good.  A breeze blew from behind her, 
blowing her waist-length honey brown hair over her shoulders.  She ran her 
hands over her face, delighting at the feel of it, and at the sight of her 
long, delicate fingers.  
	"Ash," she whispered, smiling as it came out as "Ash" instead of 
"Pikapi".  "Hmm, I wonder.  Thundershock!"  she called.  But nothing happened.
No surge of electricity, no release of power, nothing.  At that instant, 
Pikachu felt a sense of extreme loss down deep in her soul.  Without realizing
it, that sense of loss was changing her back into her pokémon form.
	Blinking away the tears that threatened, a look of determination grew on
her face.  As she hurried back to the Pokémon Center where Ash still rested 
and recovered, she knew only one thing.  She had what she wanted, and now all 
she needed to do was find the right time to tell and show Ash how she felt.


Author's Note #2:  OK, I know what you're thinking.  What the hell is the Gem
of Enchanted Dreams doing in a Pokémon story?  The answer is simple really: 
where do you think it goes when it's not on Mobius?  It dimension hops as it 
is used, turning up in a set pattern of dimensions from time to time.  That's 
why we're using a separate Author's Note here, to tell everyone that the Gem
is free for anyone to use in their storylines.  Just let us know you want to,
and give us credit for creating it, and we'll give you the details on how to
use it, what challenges to use, and how the wish could be twisted.  Have fun
with it everyone!