Note: Pikachu is a female in this story because I prefer to write her that way. I am aware of the tail differences, this is just personal preference.

-x- The Light Ball -x-

"Ash? Are you sure you want to do this? …Again?"

Ash had lost track of how many times he'd heard that question today. Instead of answering, he glanced over at his best friend, who was currently encased in a high-tech bell jar with electrodes taped to her cheeks. "Pikachu? You wanna go ahead with this, buddy?"

"Pika!" she agreed, flashing a peace sign. Ash held her eyes for a long moment, but he couldn't detect any hint of hesitation.

"I'm sure, Professor. We're ready."

"And I suppose you know what to expect by now?" Oak continued with obvious reluctance. "I would hope so, since you have already done it twice before."

Ash didn't miss the disapproval there, but he tried to ignore it. "The machine will conduct Pikachu's electricity out of her body and store it in a special container," he summarized. "When it's done she'll be about as strong as the starter pokemon that you give out to new trainers, only she'll still remember all her old attacks."

"Superficially correct, as usual. I suppose that will do." Oak sighed and shook his head, as if he couldn't believe he was going along with this. Ash couldn't quite believe it either. When Ash had first asked the Professor if there was a way to temporarily weaken a pokemon, the Professor had been intrigued, simply because it was a problem he'd never encountered before. The question had sent him into a flurry of research, at the end of which he'd proudly presented Ash with the bell jar and a lot of scientific explanations that sailed right over the simple trainer's head. This was back before Ash had started his journey in Hoenn, and then, like now, he'd wanted a fresh start in a new region. Oak had been happy to help that first time, in the name of science. The second time, before Ash left for Sinnoh, he'd been more wary. And now…

"Watch your eyes," Oak warned, and then he pulled the lever.

Immediately the bell jar lit up with yellow light, so bright that Ash could just barely make out the figure of his partner inside. He listened carefully over the roar of the electric current, but he didn't hear any cries of distress from Pikachu. So he waited, as patiently as he could. Eventually the light began to dim, slowly at first, and then faster, until all that remained was a soft golden glow. Oak hauled the lever back up and the glow disappeared entirely.

"It's done," Oak grumbled as he went to unhook Pikachu, and Ash shifted uncomfortably. He knew the Professor didn't approve of this, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He'd tried to explain his reasons, but the Professor just didn't think like a trainer, and he couldn't understand. Actually, Ash suspected most trainers wouldn't understand either. Pikachu was perhaps the only one who did, but that was okay, because she was also the only one who really mattered.

"Oh, not this again. Seriously, Ashy-boy; refusing to evolve your pokemon is one thing, but this? You do know that a pokemon trainer's job is to train their pokemon, don't you?"

Ash turned towards the sneering new arrival and opened his mouth to defend himself, but Gary wasn't finished.

"You're unbelievable. You finally get to a point where you're not a complete loser and maybe I could even admit to knowing you – maybe – and then you go and do this. Every time. One would think you actually enjoy being pummelled by upstart trainers and their pidgeys."

Ash sighed. Gary couldn't understand either, but for some reason he seemed to take it a lot more personally than his grandfather did. From experience, Ash knew trying to explain was useless, but he had to say something. "The Unova region doesn't have pidgeys."

Gary threw his hands up into the air. "Well whatever ridiculously weak fluffballs they do have, then! It's stupid, Ash. You're being stupid."

"I'm not."

"You are," Gary growled back. The argument probably could have continued in this vein for quite a while – Ash was convinced that he was the only one who could bring out this level of (im)maturity in Gary these days, and vice versa – but thankfully Pikachu intervened. Oak had finally freed her, and she made a beeline for her usual perch on Ash's shoulder.

Ash grinned and ruffled her fur. "How are you feeling, buddy?"

Pikachu's cheeks sparked in response, and Ash braced himself. The shock, when it came, made Ash's hair stand on end, but otherwise he hardly felt it.

"Perfect," he told Pikachu, who grinned back at him and began poking at his frazzled hair.

"Insane," Gary muttered, seemingly to himself. "Insane, ridiculous, idiotic, don't know why I bother…"

"He has a point, you know," Oak commented from the bell jar, where he was fiddling with a smaller attached container. "You're never going to become even vaguely well known, never mind a 'master', if you keep insisting on this charade. You are not a beginner anymore, Ash, and it's degrading to both you and your pokemon to keep pretending that you are."

Ash had heard this speech before, and he took a deep breath to steady himself before answering. "And I won't get stronger by just storming through the world with a team of super-powered pokemon, either. I know what I'm doing, Professor. Trust me."

"I trust that you're missing the point," Gary grumbled. "I can see why you always leave your old team behind…almost. You want to experience the new region's pokemon, yadda yadda, and your old ones do need the rest. But Pikachu? How is it going to get any stronger by jumping backwards like this?"

"It helps her remember the basics, and we don't get too overconfident," Ash explained stubbornly. "It's not like it's wasted time. What we learn here can easily be applied at higher levels, especially when all the pokemon are unfamiliar. If anything, she learns more this way since the battles stay challenging."

"Pika!"

"If you say so," Gary scoffed. "I can't imagine that losing to a ten year old will teach you much, but whatever. Your reputation, your loss."

Ash shrugged. "If my reputation's lost, I'll just build a new one."

Gary's jaw clenched at this. "Not overconfident, right," he sneered, and turned to leave. "Don't bother to say goodbye, since I don't know you!" And he was gone, the lab door slamming behind him.

Ash winced and turned to Pikachu. "Why does he always take this so badly?"

His partner shook her head, ears drooping. "Chu…"

"My grandson has always been too concerned with his reputation," Oak offered, still fiddling with equipment. "You should know that better than anyone, Ash."

Ash rubbed his neck. "Yeah, but…what does that have to do with me?"

Oak's expression seemed to soften, some of the disapproval draining away. "Gary sees your reputation as tied to his own, whether or not anyone else does. In destroying your own name this way, Gary feels like you're damaging his as well…and since that has always been so important to him, you'll see why he…reacts badly."

"What, so he just doesn't want to be friends with a loser? Is that it?"

"…Essentially, yes."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"Yes, well, no one's perfect."

Ash snorted at that blatant understatement. At least Oak seemed to be finished with the various electronics, which meant that Ash could leave soon. Sure enough, the Professor soon turned away from the bell jar and beckoned him over, something small and shining cradled in his hands.

"Now Ash, remember: Pikachu needs to swallow this for her full powers to return. If she's just holding it, she'll have access to them temporarily, but her powers will still be limited and will fade as soon as she drops it. Don't let anyone else touch it, and don't lose it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor. You've only told me this about a hundred times."

Oak glared. "And as you've yet to use it at all outside of this lab, I'm not convinced that any of those hundred repetitions did any good."

Ash sighed. "Yes, Professor, I understand."

Oak narrowed his eyes, but seemed to give up on arguing as well. "Fine. Take it, and off with you." He dropped a little ball into Ash's hands and left, though at least he didn't slam the door.

Ash, however, was more interested in the tiny ball. It was about the size of a peach pit, but the glow it gave off made it seem as large as the entire peach. Looking at it was like peering into the heart of a yellow storm, a maelstrom of rolling whorls of energy and bright slashes of light. The outside felt like glass but wasn't; Professor Oak had explained it once, but Ash hadn't really been paying attention. The inside was pure electrical energy.

He offered it to Pikachu, who seemed transfixed. She reached out a paw to touch it, and the glow immediately spread to her as well, coating pokemon and ball in shimmering golden light. Ash withdrew the ball and the glow receded.

"Very cool," he whispered. Pikachu agreed with a soft 'chu', but still seemed far too mesmerized by the ball. Ash tucked it away in his jacket, and Pikachu seemed to come back to herself with a snap, though her gaze still lingered.

"Do you miss it?"

Pikachu was quiet for a long moment, staring at the pocket where the ball had disappeared. Finally she gave a tiny nod, followed almost immediately by a violent shake. "Pi pika kachu, piiii pikachu!"

Ash smiled wryly. "I know buddy, it's okay. I don't blame you for missing it. It's hard for me too. But this is the right thing to do, I know it is. It's not easy, but it'll make us stronger."

"Pika-chu!"

Ash knew he could leave now, should leave – he still needed to pack, after all – but for some reason he hesitated. Slowly, he withdrew the little ball of light out of his jacket pocket. Within this tiny not-glass ball rested ten years' worth of work. Ten years of hardships, of never giving up even when it seemed hopeless, of believing in himself and his pokemon even when no one else did. Ten years' worth of friendship and laughter, of setbacks and tears, of learning and life. What if…what if Gary and the Professor were right? What if he wasn't doing the right thing by starting over? What if he really was demeaning all he'd accomplished by lowering himself to a beginner level, yet again?

Ash sighed, and knocked on the door that Oak had left through. "Professor?"

There was no reply, but Ash could hear the tapping of keys, so he went in anyway. Sure enough, Professor Oak was seated at one of his many computers, working on something that looked very complicated. He didn't even look up when Ash entered.

"Professor, I…" Ash stopped. That wasn't what he wanted to say. He took a deep breath and tried again, this time very slowly, trying to test out the words as he said them.

"Extraordinary people don't do things in the ordinary way. They make their own way, a different way. If I want to be extraordinary, then I can't do things like everyone else. I have to be different too. You should know that better than anyone, Professor." The typing slowed, then stopped, and Ash swallowed. He had to keep going. "I know this is the right thing to do. For me, right now. And maybe it's crazy, but maybe it's also just different. Either way, believing in myself has gotten me this far, so I'm not going to stop now. And someday…someday I'll be ready. And I'll be someone you and Gary can be proud of."

Finally, the Professor turned to face him. And finally, Ash saw the beginnings of understanding there, and acceptance.

"Good luck, Ash."

Ash gave a half-bow. "Thank you, Professor."

And Ash Ketchum tucked the light ball back inside his jacket pocket and went to pack, with Pikachu at his side. Tomorrow, his journey in Unova would begin.

::END::

I was going through some old files, found this, and figured that with Different done I might as well post this too. It's from back when I'd just started watching the Unova series and was fed up with how Pikachu kept losing to stupid things like water types. It's such a persistent plot hole that I needed to explain it somehow to stay sane, so this was born. Hopefully it works for some of you too!