A/N: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, c38 - write a fic that starts and ends with the same word. A different form in this case, but same word when you nibble at the roots. :D Takes place in the episode: "A Scare to Remember" - just twists the pre-ending a tad. Enjoy!

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Slow Memory Flood

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"Remember me, Pikachu?"

They hit the river, the boy first and stiffening so when Pikachu plunges into the cold, it's with less force and a slight warmth as well.

And he remembered. A day they'd similarly fallen into the river. A day they'd been fished out. A day he'd developed a fever and bruises from the fall and the boy had borrowed - or stolen - a girl's bicycle to get him help. How a flock of Spearow had followed them. How the boy, the human, had tried to defend him with nothing but a stick and the clothes on his back. And how he'd cried out - that boy's name, finally: Pikapi, Ash - and unleashed a thundershock more powerful than he'd managed till then.

And they'd made a promise that day, and a bond.

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He woke on the riverbank. Pikapi, Ash, was stretched out, unconscious and soaking wet. Only his head and shoulders were out of the water. Pikachu inched closer - his body hurt a little and would probably bruise, but he could move almost normally because Ash had held him safely.

Ash... How could he have forgotten that boy? His dearest friend...

He nuzzled his face. The boy breathed, but didn't stir. He nuzzled him again, then dragged himself, belly down, upon a shoulder.

Yes, this felt right. How could he have believed the other two? How could he have thought that James' shoulder was real when it felt so uncomfortale, he'd jumped right off and preferenced the ground instead.

Ash... How could he have forgotten?

'Ash!'

His ears twitched. Those voices sounded only vaguely familiar and he understood when the voices came closer, still calling. They were the two boys and one girl who'd been with Ash. He didn't remember them though.

And they hadn't been close. They hadn't touched him. Helped him. Stood in front of him to defend him. Called out a pokemon and given it orders to fight, to protect. Maybe they weren't supposed to have done any of that. Maybe it was a sign of friendship, of trust, of belief, that they'd let Ash stand there and take those thunderbolts - because they'd known that Pikachu could never hurt him.

But Pikachu had, because he hadn't remembered at all and he'd unleashed three brutal thunderbolts which would have seen a Swellow twice his strength fall from the sky and Ash was just a boy, a human. It wasn't the same as those thundershocks back when they were still getting to know each other, the thundershocks which only tingled the nerves and left a bit of a twitch behind. Thunderbolts hurt more. They were stronger, more damaging... and Ash had hit the water full force as well.

'Oh, Pikachu!' They noticed him and paused. The tallest of them stepped forward, just a little bit. 'Do you remember us?'

Pikachu let a little electricity spark his cheeks. No, he didn't, and he'd done enough damage to his friend as it was. No-one else was adding to it.

The girl gave a little cry. 'Ash! Are you okay?'

Ash didn't move.

'He's unconscious.' The boy crouched down, to Pikachu's level. 'I'm Brock,' he said softly. 'And this is May and Max. We travel together.'

'Chuu...' Pikachu growled. The smaller boy was starting to inch around. His cheeks sparked again.

'It's okay.' The larger boy continued to talk in that soft tone. 'We're friends. We've been friends for a long time. Do you remember my Onix?'

No, he didn't.

'Do you remember when you battled in my gym?'

No, he didn't.

'You were one gutsy Pikachu. And Ash - he was gutsy too, sending an electric type out in a rock gym. I thought he was a total amateur but you fried my Geodude.' His voice was still calm...and maybe vaguely familiar, or was that the lull of his voice? At least the other two humans were listening too, not going anywhere.

Pikachu nudged Ash with his tail. Ash mumbled a little. Yep, he was still there, and still alive, and still unconscious.

'And your thunderbolt was so strong, you set off the sprinklers in my gym. But you and Ash decided it wouldn't be fair to win because of that so the two of you left. Gutsy and kind, I thought. Both of you, because Ash said to stop and you obeyed him without hesitation. So I decide to travel around with the both of you. Do you remember that?'

No, he didn't.

No, wait. He sort of did. Maybe because of the mentions of Ash. He could see water, fine droplets unlike the river they'd fallen through, or the river here. There were little kids crying too. Those kids had made Ash yell "stop", had made Pikachu stop without a pause in between. Those kids - and there'd been a girl too. A different girl. With orange hair.

'And do you remember Misty? You and Ash met her before you met me. She fished you two out of a river apparently, and Ash stole her bike. Then you fried it.'

There was a quick burst of laughter from the brown-haired girl. 'You fried mine, too,' she explained.

Bicycles. He remembered that. The flock of Spearow. Ash standing there with a stick in hand as if that was going to be enough. And Ho-oh on the horizon afterwards. And an angry orange-haired girl following them. The same girl who'd been at the gym. The girl with water pokemon: Staryu and Starmie and Goldeen and Horsea and Togepi.

Misty. Yes, that was her name. 'Pikachupi.'

'And you met me at Professor Birch's.' The brown haired girl crouched down too. 'Team Rocket had been trying to steal you, as usual.' Then she covered her mouth as though she'd said something wrong.

Pikachu knew why. But she also knew they'd been lying, so it was okay.

'Yeah, anyway.' The girl continued. 'You'd been sick with a fever. Your thunderbolts were going all over the place. You fried my bike and Team Rocket's machine and almost went down a cliff, but Ash saved you - even though he almost went over too, that idiot. But that's Ash.'

Yes, that was Ash. And she was the girl with the Torchic, the girl who'd been scared of Pokemon, who hadn't wanted to battle, who fell in love with Contests. She was May, and half hidden behind her was her brother, Max. Ash's friends. His friends too.

'Pikachu!'

Something in his face must have shown, before May beamed and Brock sighed in relief. 'You remember!' Max cried, and picked him up - before pausing. There was no thunderbolt forthcoming. Max was a friend. Max was okay. And Brock was checking on Ash, who was starting to wake up. Ash was okay too.

'Geeze Ash, you slept through our trip down memory lane,' May scolded.

Ash blinked owlishly, then bolted upright. 'Pikachu!'

'Pikachu's fine.' Brock grinned. 'And he remembers.'