Chapter 1: Spring Breeze
With a heave, Pikachu flung a big, red checkered cloth over the grassy, flower-covered ground. Once the cloth settled, he moved around it, straightening any folds he found.
Taking several steps back, he made a box shape with his fingers while holding out his arms. The same thing an artist would do while framing their art, to make sure it was perfect. Or like May often liked to do, for some reason.
He beamed. The entire set-up looked almost perfect! He'd made sure to position the picnic spot right next to a large, blossoming apple tree. The only one in this field of coconut-filled palm trees.
While looking, he spotted the nearby river, which was being streamed in from a waterfall in the distance. It went well with the vast ocean beyond the hills on the horizon, which were beautifully lit up by the radiant afternoon sun.
Yeah, picking Emerald Hill Zone for the picnic had been the absolute best idea he'd had in a long time. In this place, his picnic blanket was at its peak greatness!
… Still, it wouldn't hurt to give it another look-over.
Wasting no time, he began to walk around the cloth again, this time on all fours, to have a closer look at the edges. Everything had to be absolutely spot-on for the upcoming date! He would never forgive himself if anything went even slightly wrong, what with the first impressions he had to make today…
As he suspiciously eyed up what looked to be a small crumple, he suddenly heard some feminine giggling coming from behind him. "[Enjoyin' yerself, there?]" the girl asked, sounding very amused.
Recognizing the voice, he immediately stood up and turned around to face his girlfriend. He saw her lugging around a large picnic basket. "[Ah! Buneary!]" he greeted, scratching his head and chuckling embarrassedly. "[Just… making sure everything's all good to go! Eheh…]"
The bunny giggled again. "[If'n ya say so!]" She set down the picnic basket next to her. "[Howdy, Pikachu~]"
"[Heh, howdy, yourself!]"
Now that she wasn't carrying the basket, Pikachu took a look at what she'd decided to wear. After a good long glance, his eyes widened in wonderment. Wow… it was impossible to stop himself from staring. She was wearing a vibrant green dress, which went over the top of the puffy fluff on her waist. He thought that it really complemented her lovely, chocolate brown fur perfectly...
She also had lots of colorful flowers adorning the bright vanilla fluff on the tips of her ears. It was like a lovely garden that would even make his friend Olimar envious.
He felt his heart beat faster. She almost looked like a goddess of nature… Something that he would never admit out loud. Not unless he wanted some endless teasing from her.
Well… alright, maybe if they were in a sappy enough mood later on.
Noticing him staring in wonder, she gave a spin and a wink. "[Like what'cha see? Dawn helped me fix it up for the date!]" She tapped her paws together. "[Well… more like she asked her mom to make it and I just picked out a color, but… y'know.]"
Blinking, he shook his head to bring himself back to reality. "[O-Oh, yeah. Absolutely!]" He smiled at her as his face warmed. "[I didn't know you could be even prettier than usual, but hey, look how wrong I was!]"
Her cheeks began to redden heavily. "[Naww… you're just sayin' that…]"
"[Not a chance. You're, um…]" He looked down at the ground while tapping his fingers. "[… Y-You're really beautiful, Bunny Bee.]"
Making a very happy noise, she brought her paws up to her cheeks. "[D'aww~! Thank you~]" She moved forwards to give him a big hug, which he returned. While breaking away, she smirked at him. "[You're just a big ol' ball of cheese, y'know that, Honey Pie?]"
… Drat. He'd still let something sappy slip out! Heh… well, it was well deserved, so hey.
Holding back a smirk, he gave her a look of mock annoyance. "[I'm the cheesy one? Tsk! This coming from Mrs. "I love ya more than anythin'".]"
"[Hey… that was ages ago...]" she replied, blushing.
"[Hah, you still said it, though…! Besides, you pretty much said the same thing a few nights back, too.]" He smiled coyly. "[… Remember?]"
She bashfully looked off to the side. "[Hmph, well, y'know…]" She paused a moment before laughing. "[Wait… 'Mrs', huh? Are ya trying to hint at somethin'…?]" she asked, grinning slyly.
He blinked before rubbing the back of his neck. "[Er, eheh, um, I meant 'Miss'. Miss "I love ya more than anythin'".]"
She giggled before playfully nudging her elbow into his arm. "[Suuuure ya did!]"
He exasperatedly shook his head. There was never any winning with her…
The topic finished, she began looking him over. "[Y'know, you're lookin' really, really handsome, yerself!]"
"[Oh, thanks!]" He gave a small twirl of his own, showing off the blue tailcoat he was wearing. "[I used to wear this back in Kanto, during my little jukebox sessions.]"
"[Huh, like in yer show?]"
"[Kinda! It was more like karaoke when me and my friends did it, though… but I still dressed up! Thought it might be good for the date, too! Didn't wear the hat and cane today, though. I would've looked like some kind of ringleader from a circus. … Or a pimp.]"
She giggled for a while before smiling brightly. "[Well, ya certainly weren't wrong! About the "good for a date" part, anyway. It suits ya!]" She stared at him curiously. "[Oh, hold on... Tsk, Pikachuuu! Yer bowtie's all scruffy!]" she scolded, frowning.
"[It is?]" he asked, glancing down at it. He noticed that the red bowtie holding his coat together was unraveling. "[… Oh. So it is.]" He gave an embarrassed laugh. "[Whoops… guess I should've been more careful while crawling about, huh?]"
She clicked her tongue again playfully and moved closer, raising her paws towards it. "[Silly~. C'mere...]" She began to play around with it, fixing it so that it looked neat again. "[There we go! Now, no more crawlin' around, mister, or I'll get mad.]"
He pouted. "[Aw, but our picnic spot's gotta be perfect, y'know? And the only way I can make sure of that is crawling around to get a good look at things.]"
"[Yeah, well, still…]" she responded with a groan. Soon after, she looked at him curiously. "[Hm… actually I'm surprised to see ya actin' like such a perfectionist. I mean, you're usually real careful, but it's like you're in overdrive today.]"
"[Well, I've gotta be! I mean… what if your dad thinks I'm a lousy boyfriend because I screwed everything up?]" His ears dipped slightly. "[I'd never forgive myself…]"
She rolled her eyes. "[Ya worry wayyyy, way too much, y'know that?]"
"[B-But…]"
She placed a paw over his mouth. "[Hey, no more worryin', mister! It looks wonderful, just like you. Okay?]" she reassured, slowly removing her paw.
Blushing slightly, he twiddled his fingers. "[W-Well… if you say so, then… no need to worry, right?]"
Making a noise of amusement, she nodded. "[Right, Dawn! Besides, Daddy's never really cared about cleanliness. He's way too boyish for that.]"
Feeling much calmer, he chuckled as he got to work on getting the food out of the picnic basket. "[Just like Ash, then?]"
She laughed and did the same. "[Yup! Exactly like Ash!]" She rubbed her chin and smirked. "[I'm surprised, though. If you're so worried about first impressions... then why're ya more worked up over the blanket than yer own suit? He'll judge that before he judges the picnic.]"
He blinked. "[... Oh, gods, no, you're right! Ack!]" he screeched, frantically patting down the entirety of his suit.
Buneary sighed. "[Oh no... Now, Pikachu...]"
He tried reaching his back and panicked when he couldn't. "[Oh no! Buneary, is the back all creased!?]" he asked, facing away from her.
"[Nah, it ain't. But, Honey Pie, I was just-]"
He flusteredly got ready to open up a portal. "[Don't worry, Buneary, I'll just go borrow Cilan's clothing iron! Then I can fix-]"
"[Pikachu! I was just kiddin'!]" she snapped.
With a yelp, he spun around on the spot to face her, eyes widened.
She blinked and coughed before smiling. "[Um... y'know? You're fine! Finer than a... a fine from Barry.]"
He paused. Exhaling, he smiled back. "[Yeah... sorry. I'm... y'know. Hah.]"
She moved closer and pat him on the shoulder reassuringly. "[Yeah, a big ol' worrywart.]"
"[Heheh, hey... ya jerk,]" he retorted, calming slightly.
She nuzzled him. "[Yup! Your jerk!]"
Pikachu playfully tapped her on the head. She was so cheeky. She was right, though. The date would go well enough. Maybe. Possibly…
If this date were just for him and Buneary, he wouldn't be anywhere near as nervous. They were at that comfortable stage of their relationship where if either of them messed something up, they would just laugh it off. Well, once Pikachu stopped freaking out about it, anyway. However, this date wasn't a romantic one. Instead, it was a 'family get-together' of sorts, where both his father and Buneary's father were going to join them for a simple picnic. Just so they could all meet up for the first time and get to know each other, more than anything.
He was okay about his father meeting Buneary. However, he was less confident about her father's visit. The only thing he knew about the guy was that he was apparently 'a little weird' and 'rough and gruff', in Buneary's own words. Things which weren't reassuring to hear in the least.
Still, she'd mentioned that he was very nice at heart, too, so maybe things wouldn't be so bad? Pikachu could only hope. No matter what happened, though, he had to keep a cool head. Not just for his sake, but for Buneary's, too. She'd been looking forward to this for a long time, so he couldn't let her down. Besides, he hoped it would cheer her up a bit, after being so unwell the other day.
For the next couple of minutes, the two pokémon got to work on laying all of the food out on the picnic blanket. Despite the small size of the basket, there was plenty of food to be had! It reminded the mouse of Brock's old bag, which could apparently hold an entire table, as well as chairs. Heck, even Cilan's bag had that ability, too, come to think of it. And Ash's. And Dawn's. And… pretty much all the humans in his world.
Man, he'd never thought about it before, but… just what was it with humans and their tiny bags that could hold humongous amounts of stuff? Even Corrin would be impressed by the bottomless pits they apparently possessed!
Either way, Pikachu had to stop himself from drooling as he helped set the picnic. Thanks to Cilan, they had plenty of fruits, berries, pies, cakes and… well, just about anything he could imagine! He could even see a bowl of pasta that was adorned with the green-haired chef's famous berry bacon. If this didn't impress their dads, then nothing would!
… Oh! Speaking of their dads, Pikachu had almost forgotten something important. Very important! "[Oops! S'cuse me, Bunny Bee. I've gotta go back to camp.]"
Setting down a plate of tamato berries, she gave him a curious look. "[Oh? What's the matter?]"
He held out his paw and concentrated. With a brief flash, a golden coin appeared on his palm. On it was the logo of a circle with a four-way cut sliced through the corner. "[I almost forgot something. Something that isn't an iron, anyway,]" he said, flicking his smash coin towards the nearby apple tree.
When it smacked against the tree, a portal appeared. On the other side of the portal's long tunnel, he could see some grassy place in Unova. The region Ash was travelling through, currently. He got ready to run through it, towards the campsite. "[Don't worry, though,]" he continued, "[I'll be back in a flash! You keep up the good work 'till I get back!]"
"[Oh, well, okay then!]" she replied. She frowned as he crouched into a running position on his four paws. "[Heyy, don't do that! Ya might get yer paws and coat all mucky…]"
He paused before getting onto his hind legs again, blushing. "[O-Oh yeah. Eheh, sorry…]" Now upright, he ran through the portal, towards the campsite. Something that he found surprisingly difficult to do.
As soon as he was at the other end of the portal and in Unova - out of her sight - he considered running on all fours again. After some careful consideration, though, he thought better of it and kept on running on his hind legs. Much like a certain famous hedgehog he knew. Seriously, how did humans manage to run on their twos without looking ridiculous? It was a mystery to him.
Still, doing this was better than dirtying his clothes. Not just because of first impressions, but because of Buneary, too. He'd find it hard to forgive himself if he messed up this picnic date and upset her...
Having left the portal a minute ago, Pikachu was quickly jogging back towards the campsite. As he reached it, he looked around. He saw Ash and Iris in a pokémon battle with each other, clearly training. The other pokémon were nearby, watching intently.
He made a move towards the campsite. When he realized how small the others looked, however, he paused. Oh, right! Thanks to his smash coin, he was, like, double his size!
Making sure nobody was looking, he ducked into some tall grass and summoned his smash coin. As he concentrated, he felt his body shrink. He kept it up until he was back to normal size.
Nodding to himself, he dispersed his smash coin and moved over to the others again. As he approached the campsite, he saw Cilan sitting on a chair nearby, enjoying the battle. Near to him was Ash's bag, which had been haphazardly left on the table.
When he jumped onto the table, he caught the green-haired chef's attention.
"Oh, hey, that was quick!" he said in surprise. "Did something not so tasty happen on your lil' date with your girlfriend?"
Pikachu shook his head. "[No, it's still going!]" he replied, knowing full well that he wouldn't understand.
"Huh… then-?" His eyes widened in horror. "Oh no… don't tell me I didn't make enough food!"
Pikachu waved his paws dismissively. "[Uh, n-no, no, that's not-]"
The chef gripped his head in distress. "Gah! I knew I should've prepared a tray of food instead of just some measly basket! Oh, I'm the worst! A dish of pure, rotten ingredients!"
Pikachu groaned. For frick's sake… Cilan sure was the kind to jump to conclusions easily, it had to be said.
This would be so easily resolved if only he could get them all a smash coin, each. Then he could easily communicate with them. However… ever since he'd started going to the Smash World, he really wasn't up for the idea of letting them in on the secret.
Master Hand would surely let them in as guests of honor, even though they weren't in the Smash Brothers games. Much like he had done with Buneary, even though she wasn't even a pokéball pokémon in the games, let alone a smasher. However… screw that! If Ash was in the Smash World, there's no way he wouldn't explore for years on end! Pikachu would lose his 'private resort', as he often thought of that world. Plus, Ash being able to understand him would be awkward, to say the least. Even if he could already get the gist of what Pikachu was saying, usually.
All that said, it would certainly make things convenient. It was annoying trying to work around the fact that Buneary was able to meet up with Pikachu in Unova without Dawn around. He didn't even remember how he'd convinced them that there was nothing strange afoot. Part of him suspected that Ash was already suspicious of some 'magic' involved, or something, but he didn't know for sure.
Oh well, whatever. While Cilan scrambled to get some cooking equipment together, Pikachu got ready to rummage through Ash's bag.
The mid-teen in question suddenly turned to face Cilan. "Hey, Cilan, calm down, what's with all the ruckus?" he called out. "I can't battle when you're freakin' out about-" His eyes widened when he saw Pikachu. "Oh! Pikachu!" He ran over to the table.
"Ash, don't run away from the battle!" Iris called back, sounding annoyed. "I was about to whoop ya!"
"Like heck you were, Iris!" he called back before stopping in front of the table. "So, how'd it go, Pikachu?"
Huffing in amusement at his trainer's over-eagerness, Pikachu shook his head and pointed behind himself at the forest. "[It's, er… still going!]"
Ash deflated slightly. "Oh, so it's not finished yet?"
"[Not yet!]"
"Aww, man. Well… what're you doin' over here, then, buddy? Buneary's waitin', isn't she?"
Pikachu pointed at Ash's bag. "[I, er… forgot something!]"
"Ah, you need somethin', first? Well, better get back to her, before she gives you an earful for bein' late! You don't wanna be like me when I was late on my shopping trip with Misty… back when I promised to take her on one in Johto!"
Pikachu chuckled. Oh yeah… that'd been a day for the books. He'd never seen Ash run so fast before.
"Say, where're you havin' your picnic, anyway?" Ash asked.
Pikachu put his paws on his hips. "[Ohh no, you don't! It's private!]" he replied.
"Aww, but buddy…!" Ash replied, looking dejected.
"[We've been over this!]"
"Ash, it's not a private date unless it's private!" Iris retorted, gripping onto a struggling Cilan to stop him from trying to cook. "Stop acting like a kid!"
Ash frowned and turned to face her. "Hey, butt out, Iris! It's important that Pikachu's love life is a success, so I've gotta make sure everythin' goes good!"
Pikachu smiled warmly at that. "[Oh… thanks, Ash!]" he chimed.
Ash chuckled cheekily. "After all, gotta know when the kids are comin', so I can call 'em before Dawn does!" he joked.
Pikachu groaned, though with a grin. "[You're so lucky I'm in a rush, or I'd zap ya!]"
"Ash, you are so immature!" Iris chided.
"What? I've got my priorities!" Ash replied to the two of them.
Pikachu shook his head in exasperation. "[… I'll tell ya how it went, later,]" he said, making a move for his trainer's bag.
"Oh, I know that look… Alright, if ya say so, buddy…" Ash relented.
After much digging, he found what he'd been looking for. A red pocket TV, small enough for Pikachu to hold with both paws.
Ash looked confused. "Huh? A TV? When did I put that in my bag?" he asked.
"Oh? What do you need it for, Pikachu?" Iris asked, wrestling a frying pan out of Cilan's hand.
"[My secret!]" Pikachu called back, jumping off the table with it. "[Anyways, see ya, guys!]"
"Best of luck, buddy!" Ash called to him.
"[Thanks!]" Pikachu called back, making his way deep into the forest, out of sight.
As he moved along, he sighed. How long could he keep this a secret for? It'd been quite a few years, sure… but as of late, the mouse really had been getting more and more tempted to just spill the beans.
… Maybe eventually. Maybe.
Now back to his bigger size, Pikachu walked back towards Emerald Hill Zone through the portal that he'd created. While he did, he fiddled around with the rather futuristic red handheld television in his paws. It wasn't a very high quality TV, as fancy as it looked, but it would be enough to get the job done.
Speaking of which, he couldn't help but wonder about Buneary's father. How exactly was he going to get to Sonic's world from Sinnoh? And for that matter, how had Buneary been in contact with him, anyway?
Pikachu, Ash and the rest of the team were travelling through Unova right now… and Buneary's trainer, Dawn, was all the way in Hoenn. Both of which were far away from Sinnoh. So Pikachu was impressed Buneary's father had managed to get a hold of her. Well, assuming he was from Sinnoh, anyway. That was where Buneary had come from, so it only made sense, right?
… Well, whatever. Perhaps they'd both used some kind of delibird mail delivery service. After all, those flying-types were known for being expert mailmen. Regardless, Buneary had told Pikachu that everything would be fine, so… he trusted her. Even if he didn't get it.
He continued to fiddle around with the crackling television in his paws, trying to find the right frequency for his own father. While doing that, his thoughts shifted into another direction. Just what was Buneary's father, anyway? He assumed he was a lopunny - and apparently a very burly one at that, according to Buneary - but he didn't know for sure. Apparently, the guy had really long, muscular ears, so it was looking that way.
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts as the television came to life, showing color and making many different noises. Oh, he'd found the frequency! Looking closely into the monitor, he could see… nothing?
He stared hard at the screen, trying to see if there was anything at all. However, save for the flashing blue and red static, he couldn't see anything of interest.
He checked the frequency to make sure he'd gotten the right one. "[Lessie... 07221994... Yeah, this is it,]" he mumbled aloud to himself. "[Dad? You there? Dad?]" he called.
… No response. Drat. This was the correct frequency, so why wasn't he here? This was so confusing… Was it because Pikachu was still inside a smash portal? Was that interfering with it, somehow?
A couple of letters suddenly appeared on the screen, catching his attention. They formed a word that simply read 'IN'.
… He felt tempted, he had to admit. Still, he was worried. It'd been a long time since he'd done this… and the last time hadn't ended well at all. Still… he remembered his dad telling him that this frequency was a 'safe' spot, so…
He took a deep breath and shrugged. Sure. Why not? But first, he had to get out of this portal to somewhere he could do this privately. Smash coins allowed him to go to pretty much any place he wanted, with little limitations. Still, he also wanted to avoid getting into any fights - mostly to keep his suit safe - so he had to avoid dangerous places like Hyrule, or anywhere in Samus' universe. Even if they would give him plenty of privacy.
After racking his brains for a place, he decided upon the calmest location he could think of. One from a game he couldn't stand, because it stressed him out to no end, despite how 'peaceful' everyone said it was. What a load of phooey. There was nothing relaxing about maintaining an entire village in real time, while making sure nothing goes wrong! He didn't understand his friends' taste in games, sometimes.
Oh well, whatever. He summoned his smash coin and concentrated. The portal's colors went weird for a second, indicating a new location.
Wandering forwards until the portal dissipated, he looked around. He was in a big, peaceful village, surrounded by many fruit-filled trees. The grass, which was covered in tiny triangle patterns for some reason, was plentiful, and felt nice under his feet.
He smiled. Man, Smashville really was a swell place. Even if its mayor, Villager, was a little creepy sometimes. What with the way he often silently stared at people while smiling. Not that he ever seemed to mean any harm, or anything, but still.
Pikachu shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn't get distracted, now! He was on a mission!
He carefully looked around. In the distance, he saw a warthog selling turnips to a red duck and a white tiger. However, they were minding their own business, so it was fine.
Grinning lightly, the mouse moved in-between a bunch of trees and placed his pocket TV down.
Surrounding himself in a field of electricity, he took a breath. This was set to get interesting, if nothing else.
Feeling fully charged, he yelled, "[Quick Attack!]" and zipped towards the screen as quick as light. With a bright flash, he traveled through it, as if it were a portal.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished:
Older stuff - 11/11 (November)/2015
'Peaceful village' stuff - 03/10 (October)/2018
Word count: 4,108
VGS2's pointless notes: Oh lord! Pikachu, what are you doing!? Is he initiating another Electric Soldier Porygon!? Is he going to ruin the picnic!? Stay tuned to find out!
As you're probably well aware, this story's set to get far more Nintendo-y than my other ones (Not counting Miracle Murder Cure), so I hope you enjoy it! :P
Major thanks to ravengal, who was kind enough to beta-read this for me (twice), and even provide a cool-ass summary (twice). Thanks, babe!
Character highlight: Cilan (From Pokémon Black and White) - A young chef from Striaton City who, along with his two brothers, owned a pokémon gym. In the games, he was a meek, overly polite man who commanded grass-type pokémon… but in the anime, he's an eccentric train, fishing and food-pun loving chef… who sometimes uses grass-type pokémon. Other than cooking, he is good with many talents by thinking of himself as a 'connoisseur' of those talents. Even if it makes no sense.
Fun mistakes of the day: #1: 'Inn this place'
(Unless you want Sanic as a guest, don't inn this place, please.)
#2: "[Ya bowtie's all scruffy!]" she scolded, frowning.
(It kinda sounds like she's calling him a bowtie. "Oi, mate, ya friggin' bowtie! I'll knock you down, I swear on me mum!")
#3: 'He started towards the campsite.'
(He hadn't even started up a portal, so… is he going to walk all the way from Sonic's world over to Unova? XD He might be a bit late to his picnic.)
#4: 'Things which wasn't reassuring to hear in the least.'
(Innit, mate!)
#5: Smash coins allowed him to go to pretty much any place he wanted, with little imitations.
(Lucky him. He'll never end up in a phony location!)
#6: 'Not that he ever seemed mean to any harm, or anything, but still.'
(He's lying, he's very mean to any harm he comes across.)
Alrighty, thanks for reading, guys! Please make sure you drop me a review, and tata for now! c: