Okay, this is my first attempt at a PikachuXBuneary story. I've heard it's actually called lagomorphshipping, but that name sounds a little weird to me. I'll just leave it at that.
Disclaimer: I do not now, have, or ever will own Pokémon. All I own is this story.
"This" is normal talk. "(This)" is Pokémon talk. "This" and "(This)" are thoughts.
And now on with the story.
You'll Always Be A Winner To Me
Pikachu's POV
Well, here we are in the Jubilife City Pokémon Center. The contest is over and I must say it was a lot of fun to watch, especially considering this was both Dawn and Ash's first contest. You know, for someone who hasn't been in a contest before Ash and Aipom really put on a show out there. Too bad they went out in the first round. But I was still proud of him. He is my trainer after all. And besides, with Ash in the crowd that was one more person cheering Dawn on. Too bad she still lost, though. She was really down after that, but Ash and Brock were there to help cheer her up. Despite that I was still worried. Not for Dawn. My concern was for Buneary. I saw how down she was after Zoey's Glameow defeated her in the second round. She looked devastated. I kind of knew how she felt. Dawn was counting on her and she felt as though she let her down, even though Buneary gave it everything she had. Well, I wasn't going to let things stay that way. While Ash and Brock cheered up Dawn I was going to do the same for Buneary.
It was a bit later in the day. Ash had just picked me and the rest of his Pokémon up from the front desk of the Pokémon Center. Even though I enjoy the special treatment I get from Nurse Joy there's nothing like riding on Ash's shoulder.
"Well, buddy, you ready to go?" Ash asked me. After I gave him a quick "Pika" in response we left to go meet up Brock and Dawn. They were waiting for us at the entrance to the Pokémon Center. Fortunately Dawn looked like she was in better spirits than she was earlier. Despite that I had a feeling things weren't the same with Buneary.
"Okay, guys! Next stop, Oreburgh City!" Ash said. That didn't really surprise me any. One of Ash's top priorities was his Pokémon journey and his desire to be the best. And with that in mind I knew we'd only stop when it was time for a training session. I knew that, unless I was a part of that training session, that would be my chance to talk to Buneary one-on-one.
You know, sometimes I think I know Ash too well. A few hours after leaving Jubilife City we stopped in a large clearing for one of Ash's training sessions, just as I thought. Fortunately, Ash decided to train Starly and Turtwig. Perfect. Just the opportunity I need to talk with Buneary. I made my way over to where Dawn had her Poké balls. She had Piplup out and was practicing a new contest routine. That made finding Buneary's Poké ball a lot easier. I picked it up and took off towards some woods near where we were. I wanted to talk to her in privacy, something I wouldn't have if we had stayed there.
A short while after leaving our temporary camp site I came across a small clearing among the trees. I figured this was as good a place as any. I set Buneary's Poké ball down and pressed the button on front, releasing her. She came out and looked around, obviously looking for Dawn.
"(Hey, where am I? Where is everyone?)"
"(They're all back at the campsite,)" I said. "(It's just you and me.)" She turned around. Once she noticed it was just me and her she started acting all shy, hiding her face in her fur. That was the same thing she did when we first met. I thought she looked cute when she first did that, but now... hold it! Stay focused, Pikachu. Remember why you're out here.
"(So, how are you doing?)" I asked. She took her face out of her fur and looked at me.
"(How am I doing?)" she repeated. "(Um... alright, I guess.)" That's what she said, but I didn't believe that.
"(Come on, Buneary. You and I both know that's not true,)" I said. She was about to reply, but changed her mind. I guess she knew she couldn't hide her problems from me.
"(You're right, Pikachu,)" she said. "(I guess I'm still feeling down about that contest back in Jubilife City.)"
"(Just as I figured,)" I said to myself. Well, time to work that Pika-magic.
"(Listen to me, Buneary... you can't start thinking like that,)" I told her. "(I may not know Dawn that well, but I do know she wouldn't want you here thinking you let her down.)"
"(But I did, Pikachu!)" she replied. "(Dawn was counting on me to win and I failed her!)" At this point I placed my paws on her shoulders.
"(Listen... you did not let her down,)" I said. "(You tried your hardest, didn't you?)"
"(Of course I did!)" Buneary replied.
"(Then you didn't let her down,)" I said. "(As long as you fought your hardest then Dawn will be proud of you, win or lose.)"
"(But... how can you be so sure?)" she asked.
"(Believe it or not there have been times where Ash counted on me to win battles for him that I lost,)" I told her. "(I felt the same way you do now, but Ash always told me that he was proud of me whether I won or lost, all because I gave it everything I had.)"
"(Really?)" Buneary asked. Apparently what I was saying was getting through to her.
"(Really,)" I said. Buneary looked at me, a smile on her face. As I looked at her I began to feel something. For some reason seeing her smile at me like that made me feel good on the inside. At that point I thought back to when I first met Buneary. She appeared to have a crush on me, but I didn't feel the same way. But now...
"(Have I developed feelings for Buneary? Do I like her as more than a friend now?)" As these thoughts danced through my head I almost didn't notice Buneary was speaking to me.
"(Hey... you okay, Pikachu?)" she asked.
"(Huh? Oh... I'm fine,)" I replied. "(I was... just thinking.)" Buneary looked me in the eye. I soon found it was very easy to get lost in her eyes.
"(What were you thinking about?)" she asked. At first I found it difficult to reply, but I quickly found my voice.
"(I was... thinking... a... about...)" Before I could finish a large metal claw came out of nowhere, clamped around Buneary's waist and snatched her into the air.
"(What the?! What's going on?!)"
"(Pikachu! Help me!)" Buneary cried.
"(Hang on! I'm coming!)" Before I could make a move I heard the sound of laughter. I recognized those voices immediately.
"(You've got to be kidding me! Not those three!)" Right then they went into their ridiculously long and very annoying motto:
"Listen... is that a voice I hear.
It speaks to me loud and clear.
Past the stars!
On the winds!
In your ears!
Bringing chaos at a break-neck pace!
Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!
A rose by any other name is still just as sweet!
When everything's worse our work is complete!
Jessie!
James!
Meowth, now there's a name!
Putting the do-gooders in their place!
Team Rocket!
In your face!
Wobba! Wobba!
Mime! Mime!
"(Team Rocket!)" Of all the times for these guys to show up why in the world did it have to be now? I looked up and saw that the claw holding Buneary was attached to the bottom of their balloon.
"(Let her go!)" I demanded.
"Not a chance, Pikachu!" Meowth replied.
"What did he say, Meowth?" Jessie asked.
"Just the usual request of letting our newly acquired Pokémon go," Meowth replied. Right then a smirk started forming on Jessie's lips, indicating that she had just come up with a particularly evil plan.
"You know, we may be inclined to release your friend here," Jessie said. I was inclined to listen to what she had to say, but something told me I wasn't going to like what came next. And I didn't.
"But before we do that you have to agree to come with us," she said. Somehow I knew that line was coming. They tried this same thing once before. Do they really think I'm so stupid that I'd fall for the same trick again.
"(Why should I believe you?! What makes you think I'd trust you this time?!)" I replied.
"Do you really have a choice?" Meowth asked. Darn it! I hate it when they're right. Even though I knew they were lying and wouldn't release Buneary if I did surrender to them I couldn't risk that.
"Well, Pikachu... what's your decision?" Jessie asked. Man, I wanted so badly to just hit them with a Thunder attack and send them blasting off to somewhere, but I didn't want to hurt Buneary in the process. There was no way I could have lived with myself if she got hurt because of me.
"Hurry up, we don't have all day!" Meowth said. My paws were tied. I didn't want to let Team Rocket capture me, but I couldn't leave Buneary in their hands.
"(What do I do?)" I asked myself.
"Starly! Use Whirlwind!" The next thing I knew Ash's Starly flew in and proceeded to blow Team Rocket's balloon around with his Whirlwind. While this was going on my eyes never left Buneary. Her eyes were tightly shut and I could tell she was scared out of her mind.
"(Be strong, Buneary!)" I called out to her. I wasn't sure if she heard me over the Whirlwind, but she appeared to calm down a bit.
"Alright, Starly! That's enough!" Starly stopped his attack and flew back towards the source of the voice, which turned out to be Ash. I figured he, Brock and Dawn heard the commotion and came to see what was going on.
"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled.
"Not the twerps!" all three Rocket members yelled. Right then Dawn caught sight of Buneary being held captive.
"Let Buneary go!" she demanded.
"Not until we get Pikachu!" Jessie replied.
"That's not going to happen!" Ash said. "Starly, use..." Sorry, Ash. If anyone's going to save Buneary it's going to be me. Before he could finish giving Starly his attack order I sprung into action, charging Team Rocket with my Quick Attack. Buneary saw me charging.
"(Pikachu!)" she cried.
"(Don't worry! I'll save you!)" As soon as I was close enough I jumped into the air and grabbed on to the claw holding Buneary. I took one look at her and noticed she was crying. I gave her my best smile.
"(It's okay. I'm getting you out of here,)" I told her. I took a look at the claw, more specifically the joint where the claw and the arm met.
"(Let's see how this thing holds up to my Iron Tail!)" I said. I charged my tail with energy and swung it as hard as I could. The impact instantly shattered the claw, releasing Buneary. With nothing holding her up anymore Buneary started falling towards the ground. Well, I wasn't about to let her get hurt in the fall. I kicked in Quick Attack again and dove down towards her. I quickly caught up to her and took her in my paws. By now the ground was growing close, very close. With only one option open to me at the moment I turned my body so that I would break her fall.
"(What are you doing?!)" she asked me.
"(Saving your life,)" I replied. With the ground only a few feet away I closed my eyes and braced for impact. However, something happened that I didn't expect. I felt my body shift. Opening my eyes I saw that Buneary had positioned us to where she would land before me.
"(What are you doing?!)" I asked. Funny, she asked me the same thing a few seconds ago.
"(Saving your life.)" And that was the same thing I told her. I didn't see how she'd do that, but it was too lat to do anything about it. The ground was too close now. What happened next, though, was something I didn't see coming. As soon as we hit the ground we shot back up again. This happened a few more times until we landed back where our trainers were.
"(What the?!)"
"(Did you forget about my Bounce attack?)" Buneary asked me. I slapped my forehead. How in the world could I have forgotten that? Of course that was the least of our worries at the moment. Team Rocket was ready to continue their attack.
"Seviper! Get out there!" Jessie said, sending out her Pokémon.
"Carnevine! Let's go!" James yelled, sending his out as well. However, Carnevine was more interested in biting James's head than battle against us.
"Not me! Attack them!" he said, throwing his Pokémon down at us.
"If it's a battle you want then it's a battle you'll get!" Ash said. He was about to send out one of his Pokémon when Buneary and I stepped forward.
"Huh? What's going on with those two?" Ash asked.
"I think they want to handle this on their own," Brock said. Leave it to Brock to figure these things out. I took a look at Seviper and Carnevine in front of me, then I looked at Buneary by my side.
"(You ready to do this?)" I asked.
"(Let's send them on their way!)" she replied. And with that the battle was on.
"Seviper! Use Poison Tail!" Jessie called.
"Carnevine! Use Bullet Seed!" James ordered. Jessie's serpent Pokémon charged me, his sword-like tail glowing purple, while James's Carnevine fired his seed-like projectiles in Buneary's direction. In other words, nothing we haven't already seen and know we can counter.
"(Time to go to work!)" I said. I decided to see how Seviper's Poison Tail would hold up against my Iron Tail. As the two attacks clashed it became quite clear that Seviper was no match for me. I easily pushed him back with my initial attack. Of course I wasn't done. Spinning my body around I came back with a second Iron Tail, slamming it into Seviper's face and sending the serpent back up into Team Rocket's balloon. With my work done I turned back in time to see Buneary's Ice Beam tear through Carnevine's Bullet Seed and strike the flytrap Pokémon, freezing him.
"(Now that's what I call giving someone the cold shoulder,)" I said, laughing at my own pun.
"(Oh, that was bad,)" Buneary said. I scratched my head, realizing just how bad that pun really was. After that Buneary sent the still frozen Carnevine back up into the balloon with a well-placed Dizzy Punch. With Team Rocket dealing with their now unconscious Pokémon Buneary and I decided to bring this to an end.
"(You ready, Buneary?)" I asked.
"(You bet I am,)" she replied. I could see her gathering energy for her Ice Beam. At the same time I started energizing my body in preparation for a Thunderbolt. As a way to add terror to injury we made sure Team Rocket knew these attacks were coming.
"Um, guys," Meowth said. Both Jessie and James looked down at us.
"I think we should prepare for trouble!" Jessie yelled.
"Make it double!" James added. With our audience looking on we fired our two attacks. Upon impact their balloon exploded, sending the three of them on their way. However, we still were able to hear their exiting line.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Ah, I never get tired of hearing that line. I turned around and saw that Ash and the others were staring at us in amazement.
"Well, it doesn't look like we were needed," Brock said.
"Yeah. Pikachu and Buneary took care of everything," Dawn added.
"You two were awesome out there," Ash said. I gave them my 'V for victory' pose. Then, out of nowhere, Buneary tackled me to the ground.
"(You were amazing, Pika!)" she said. Whoa. When did I get a pet name? Although I have to admit I do like the sound of it.
"(So were you, Bun,)" I said. Huh?! Now where in in the name of Raikou did that come from? Apparently Buneary was a bit shocked by that as well.
"(Did... did you just call me 'Bun'?)" she asked. Oh man, what do I tell her? Do I deny it, or do I take a chance and say yes?
"(... yeah, I did,)" I told her. Buneary looked a bit surprised, but at the same time there was another emotion clear on her face. Hope. I wonder, could she still feel the same way about me?
"(Pikachu... what do you think of me?)" Buneary asked. Okay, this is it. Time to lay it all on the table and find out if there is a chance.
"(I... I think you're amazing... and really cute, no, beautiful,)" I said. I saw Buneary looking at me, amazed. It was almost as if she wasn't believing what I was saying to her.
"(You... you mean that?)" she asked.
"(Every word,)" I said. "(When Team Rocket captured you earlier I... I was paralyzed. I couldn't do anything out of fear that you'd be hurt in the process, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me.)" Buneary gasped and brought her paws up to her mouth. Behind me I could hear Ash and the others walking away, obviously realizing this was a private moment between us.
"(Pikachu... I had no idea,)" Buneary said. Okay, time to bring it home. I walked over to her and took her paws in mine.
"(It would have killed me if something had happened to you,)" I said. "(I care about you too much.)" Buneary's eyes lit up when I said I cared about her. That all but confirmed what I thought.
"(Pika... d-do you...)"
"(Yes, Buneary... I love you.)" There. My feelings were out in the open now. Buneary knows, and it felt good to tell her. What happened next, though unexpected, felt even better. Buneary threw herself at me, hugging me with all the love she could.
"(Oh Pikachu! I love you too!)" she cried, tears of pure happiness pouring from her eyes. She surprised me at first, but after a while I returned her hug. You know, I hadn't noticed before but her fur was very soft... and so warm... just like her. However, I soon felt her pull away. I looked at her and saw that she looked concerned about something.
"(What's wrong?)" I asked.
"(I hadn't thought of this, but what will our trainers say?)" she asked. So that's what she was worried about.
"(They'll be okay with it,)" I told her.
"(But what if they're not?)"
"(If they're not... I'll convince them,)" I said, a few sparks coming from my cheeks. That got a nice chuckle out of her. I was glad I was able to dismiss her fears. Then, she walked over to me and grabbed my paw.
"(Come on. Let's head back before they send Starly to fetch us,)" she said.
"(Whatever you want,)" I told her. With that Buneary and I, paw in paw, walked back to the campsite.
When we finally got back, and once Ash and everyone else saw how we came back (along with a little scene-translating from Brock), they couldn't have been happier for us. Well, Brock was upset at the fact that I got a girlfriend before he did, but I'm sure he'll get over it. Ash congratulated me and Dawn wouldn't stop going on about how cute we looked together. Of course all of our Pokémon friends were happy for us as well, though it was difficult to tell when it came to Croagunk. That evening, while Ash and the others were eating, Buneary and I sat in a nearby tree watching the sunset. It was normally something I did alone, but it was much more enjoyable with Buneary by my side to enjoy it with.
"(I'm so glad you love me like I love you, Pikachu,)" Buneary said.
"(So am I,)" I replied.
"(You know, I was thinking,)" Buneary started. I listened closely, curious to know what was on her mind.
"(What do you think about getting those two together?)" She pointed down toward Ash and Dawn, who appeared to be discussing something. No doubt battle or contest tactics. I smiled at the thought of them as a couple.
"(Why not. After all, it worked for us,)" I said. "(Knowing them this may help them both in their upcoming challenges, whether it be gym battles or contests.)"
"( Do you... do you think you could help me be a winner in my next contest?)" Buneary asked. I looked at her and gave her my best smile.
"(I'll do whatever I have to,)" I told her. "(Just know that whatever happens you'll always be a winner to me.)" Buneary smiled and leaned on my shoulder. As we sat there looking at the final moments of the sunset I knew that this was the beginning of something beautiful.
And that is that. I must say this turned out pretty good.
Please review.