Pikachu sighed heavily. There was that scratchy voice again. The one that always had him on guard. The one that made his ears pin back, occasionally.
The unmistakable voice of Dawn's Zorua.
Now, it wasn't that he disliked Rura – not at all! He was one of the group, and he meant well. If anything, Pikachu felt like an extra parent to the little fox.
But, that was just the problem; he was stuck playing the role of a guardian.
To a rebellious teenager. One who couldn't keep his mouth clean if his life depended on it. And, there he went again, spouting a variety of colorful words while boasting to a half-interested Empoleon.
What if his little sister wandered into the room!? Meema would have their heads if Mirage came in spouting bad language.
The mouse rubbed his temple he supposed it was up to him. So, he shouted the fox's name.
"Rura!"
The fox's tirade stopped. He hesitated, slowly turning towards Pikachu."…What."
"If you're gonna have a sailor's mouth, at least watch where you use it?" Pikachu pleaded. "It's going to get you into trouble."
Rura looked to Pikachu for a moment. He sat down. He lifted his little neatly manicured paw, looking over each pristine nail. Dawn sure was handy with a nail file and clippers. "Hey, Pikachu?" He looked the other square in the eye. "Fuck you."
Pikachu's cheeks puffed out. That was totally rude! And, so, he said so. "Rude."
But, he took a deep breath. He was the adult, here. Rura was a rebellious teenager. And, he was fully capable of challenging Rura's gaze. "Real funny, I know. But, I'm grown and I can handle it. You might drop one of those when there are kids around!" Pikachu waved his arms for emphasis. "They won't know any better!"
The fox snickered through a devilish grin. "That's one hundred percent not my problem" He said that, but there was a certain air about Pikachu's look that made him lean back.
"If you do it, it is one hundred percent your problem." Pikachu could lecture Rura on, about the importance of watching your mouth and using prudence.
But, Rura just wouldn't give a shit, to use his own vocabulary.
So, what would Pikachu do, when he still had his attention…?
Lead by example, he guessed. He looked left, and right. Mirage was nowhere to be seen. No babies to be influenced.
And, Pikachu opened his mouth.
"Fuck."
He'd give the fox a moment to absorb that, yeah, Pikachu did have it in him.
"See? If you watch where you say it, no harm done."
The fox's blue eyes widened. "… No way." He pointed a stubby paw. "YOU DON'T CUSS! YOU NEVER CUSS!"
A smile spread from one of Pikachu's cheeks to the next. Great; he'd left an impression!
"How do you know?" He teased, looking quite smug. Not for what he'd said, at all; rather that he'd mystified Rura. "I watch myself as an example. Just because you've never heard it, doesn't mean I never do it."
He was, at least in part, bluffing. He rarely felt the need. But, Rura didn't need to know how often he did or didn't let a bad word slip.
Rura's ear twitched. "… Hm. It was a lot more shocking when you said it. I guess I might knock it off a little." He looked around.
No kids.
"Bitch, I just might."
With that, he'd walk off, musing about what Pikachu had said.
"Good to hear it," Pikachu simply replied. He kept his cool.
At least, until Rura left.
Then, he pumped his fists above his head. "Score one for Pikachu!"
Parenting done right, indeed.