"Lopunny!"
Reiji awoke to find himself being shaken by Sharlotte, his Lopunny. Groggily he sat up and looked at her. "What is it?"
"Punny!" She pointed with her paw to the window of their room at a Pokémon Center. He stared at the window for a minute before he remembered.
"That's right!" he said. "I promised I'd take you to the festival didn't I?"
Sharlotte nodded her head eagerly. She grabbed his hand in between her paws and pulled him out of bed, and threw him the clothes he wore earlier today. They had arrived in Jubilife city 4 days ago and planned to stay for festival they held every year. Sharlotte was very excited about it; they passed through the Jubilife last year but didn't get a chance to go to the festival. So Reiji promised her he would take her next year. Now it was the day of the festival and Reiji had almost forgotten about it.
Not wanting to make Sharlotte any more impatient than she already was, he hastily put on his clothes. They had taken a nap earlier that day so they would be well rested, but Reiji likes to sleep so he had slept later than planned, which upset Sharlotte. After his speed change he grabbed his wallet and put it in his back pocket. He turned to his Pokémon.
"Well," he asked, "Shall we?"
"Punny!"
/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/
The festival was magnificent. There were booths everywhere, selling everything from food to Pokémon masks. The festival itself took up the whole city, Jubilife might be big, but where they found the resources to fund this, he didn't know.
There were a lot of games to play; the first thing they did was a test of strength. Reiji slammed the mallet down as hard as he could but the ball went up only a little over halfway. Sharlotte thought it looked fun so she tried it out; she didn't even bother with the mallet. She punched the pressure plate with one of her long ears, causing the ball to shot up and hit the bell so hard that everybody around them had to cover their ears. Needless to say, she got first prize. They tried every game there; Reiji's favorite was the rock climbing, while Sharlotte's remained the test of strength.
Reiji felt Sharlotte pull on his shirt.
"What is it Sharlotte?" he asked.
She pointed at the far end of the street they were on. He followed her paw and saw that fireworks were being set up. "It's around that time isn't it?"
He looked around for a good viewing because being on the street wasn't going to get them a good view, and since he didn't take Sharlotte last year he wanted to make it up to her. He then noticed a fire escape going up one of the taller buildings. 'Perfect,' he thought.
He grabbed her paw and led her to the fire escape. He turned to her.
"We can get a great view from the top of this building, come on." Reiji started climbing the stairs, when he noticed that Sharlotte wasn't following him. "What's wrong?" he asked. Sharlotte just looked down and shook her head. Then it hit him.
'She's afraid of heights,' he thought. He looked down for a minute then started towards her. Before Sharlotte could make a sound, Reiji lifted her up bridal style; she looked up at him with surprise written all over her face.
Reiji smiled, "You won't be afraid if I carry you up there will you?"
Sharlotte looked down and blushed, but she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. Reiji smiled again and began his ascent. As soon as he got up past the first staircase he felt Sharlotte grip him tighter and burry her head in his chest. He held her tighter.
"Don't worry, I wont let anything happen to you," he said reassuringly. This caused Sharlotte to blush again and smile slightly.
They got to the top without any problems. Reiji walked to the edge of the building and looked around. Their view wouldn't be obstructed. He backed away from the edge slightly and set Sharlotte down, and then he set himself down next to her.
He looked to her and saw how the moon lit up her eyes and made her shine. He blushed slightly and turned away. It was getting harder and harder each day to fight his feelings for her. Ever since he had met her as a Buneary she had instantly grown on him, she was just so cute. Then she evolved and cute became an understatement. He knew it was morally wrong to have a relationship with a Pokémon but he couldn't help it. He really wanted one with her, but he resigned to just thinking about. It didn't satisfy him long.
"Pun?"
Reiji was brought out of his thoughts by Sharlotte who had a worried expression on her face. He started rubbing her head, eliciting a hum from her.
"I'm fine, just thinking." he said.
"Ny?" she asked.
It was at this time that the first of the fireworks was shot off, it lit the night sky with beautiful colors. Reiji didn't know if he just decided he might as well tell her or if that the fireworks had given him the courage but it was now or never.
"I was thinking about you Sharlotte." he turned his head to look at her the embarrassment.
Sharlotte's face contorted to a face of even more confusion. 'Might as well go all the way' Reiji thought. With that in mind he stood and faced Sharlotte.
"Sharlotte," he began, "Ever since that day in Eterna Forest where we became partners, I've had feelings for you. At first I was confused, I didn't know what to think about the feelings I had for you. I never thought I would feel this way for a Pokémon. Then since that day I've been sorting out my feelings, my doubts and my fears, and I came to a conclusion."
Sharlotte's face was one of utter surprise. She hadn't expected him to have feelings for her. Of course she had feelings for him. He had saved her life. If it hadn't been for him, she would have died when those swarms of Combee attacked her for taking some of their honey. Ever since that day she had fallen in love with her Trainer. Of course she had the same fears and doubts that he had, and had also resigned herself to her thoughts. Now here he was confessing his love for her, it made her eyes water.
After a second he looked her right in the eyes and said, "I love you Sharlotte."
The fireworks again lit up the pair revealing their features for a time. Reiji's face was as red as a Growlithe's fur. Sharlotte's fur under her eyes was slightly matted from where the tears were flowing freely. In a split second their life's changed, as Sharlotte jumped into Reiji's arms and gave him a kiss so passionate it surprised her. Reiji for one was just as surprised as she was but quickly succumbed to the kiss. It felt like forever to the two but it was only a few seconds. They pulled away from each other's embrace and stared at each other. Reiji felt like he was in heaven he had been dreaming of this for the 3 years they had been together. Sharlotte was ecstatic. Her trainer loved her back and that kiss couldn't have been better. Sharlotte buried her head in his stomach and hummed. Reiji smiled and pulled her as close as he could into him.
"I love you Sharlotte."
"Punny."