A/N - You're welcome to suggest pairings for me to write a scene about.
I don't plan on doing anything explicit.
(ForêtMeleeShipping - Serena's Pancham/Clemont's Chespin)
"You doing alright?"
Pancham jerked back in surprise from his food as Chespin sat down beside him. Swiftly moving it out of the glutton's reach, the Fighting-type stared at the Grass-type warily.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"You seem to be down," Chespin said.
"I'm fine!"
"Even though you lost the Master Class Showcase?" Chespin asked, raising his brows.
Pancham winced and ground the food in his paws to a fine powder before letting it blow away.
"What's it to you?" he growled.
"I just want you to know I'm here for you," Chespin said.
"Kinda hard for you not to be, what with our trainers traveling together," Pancham said dryly.
"That's not what I mean," Chespin said, staring into his eyes. Pancham's ears warmed and he looked away.
"It doesn't matter. We'll be parting ways soon and then I'll be able to eat my food in peace."
"Indeed you will," Chespin said, getting to his feet. "Meanwhile, my own food bowl beckons, so I'll leave you to yours."
"Thank you," Pancham said, turning to his bowl.
Which was empty.
"You little piece of-!"
(Yveltal/Ash – one-sided)
Yveltal perched high on the cliffside, looking down at the group of humans below.
There were four of them, two boys and two girls, but the Destruction Pokémon only had eyes for one of them.
The dark-haired boy with the pikachu on his shoulder was a fountain of light in Yveltal's vision and it wished that it could do more for him to make the boy's life easier.
Unfortunately, the times Yveltal had helped, obliterating the troublemakers that constantly plagued the boy and his friends had resulted in the boy screaming angrily at the Legendary.
Yveltal had then crawled to Xerneas and begged the Life Pokémon to restore the troublemakers to normal. Yveltal had hoped it could use the resurrection to get closer to the boy, but every time it had showed itself, it was met with a barrage of lightning.
Yveltal knew it would never be able to have what it wanted, so it resigned itself to forever loving the boy at a distance.
(Boy/Adventure)
Outside the Indigo League, a boy was sitting on a bench, elbows on his knees as he rolled a poké ball in his hands.
Gritting his teeth, he blinked back tears as he leaned up, turning his face to the sky.
"Hey, you alright?"
He jerked in surprise, almost dropping his poké ball. Looking forward, he saw a young girl standing in front of him.
Her hair was the color of a sunset, her eyes the color of the ocean. Her skin was bronzed from what he guessed was a lifetime of travel and she gave him a bright smile.
Rubbing at his eyes, he looked away. "I'm fine," he mumbled.
"You don't look fine," the girl said gently. The boy scowled at her, but she didn't seem fazed.
"What's it to you?" he snapped. "You don't know what it's like to spend months getting ready to challenge the League, only to have your dream crumble before your eyes."
The girl tilted her head before nodding. "I do know what that's like," she said. "But I use what I learned to make myself stronger. Learn from your mistakes so that you don't repeat them."
"And how would I do that?" the boy asked bitterly. "Go fight all the gyms again? Bad enough that it took me several tries to get some of my badges, but to do it again for the next League? No thanks."
"Then go somewhere else. Somewhere you have never been before," the girl said with another smile. "A place where you can learn anew and bring your past experiences with you to show others."
"And where would I go?"
The girl offered her hand. "You can come with me. I can teach you what I know and I can learn what you've done. It'll be fun!"
The boy stared at her hand for a moment, then at the poké ball he was holding.
"We'll do it this time," he murmured, tucking it away. Taking the girl's hand, he asked.
"What's your name?"
The girl giggled. "Most people just call me Adventure, because I am always raring to go on them."
The boy blinked slowly before he grinned. "That's a nice name. I hope we have many adventures...wherever it is we're going."
"I'm sure we'll have plenty," the girl said, tugging him off the bench. "But we're not getting anywhere until you clean yourself up. Starting an adventure dirty isn't any fun, after all."
The boy had to shake his head at the girl's odd logic, but her demeanor was infectious and he followed after her.
(Familial Swapshipping)
Ash considered himself a fairly active child.
He had raised several rambunctious pokémon into powerhouses even regional champions acknowledged as being a cut above the rest of their species.
Yet babysitting Manaphy was proving to be an exceptionally difficult task.
He had been startled when Lugia had asked him if he would look after the young prince of the sea - mostly because the Guardian of the Sea had poked his head out a puddle of water left over after a storm to ask.
His mother hadn't even batted an eye when he told her he was off to babysit royalty and had simply ordered Lugia to have him back at a reasonable time, an offer the Diving Pokémon had accepted.
Taking Ash to the Temple, Lugia had told him what Manaphy liked and disliked - a list Ash was amused to find had several similarities with his own - and then had cautioned Ash about Manaphy's energy.
Ash had dismissed it with a wave of his hand, telling Lugia not to worry.
He was starting to regret his hasty decision.
"Hey Manaphy, can we take a break?" he asked, sliding down against the wall of the temple.
Manaphy hovered in front of him. "Oh, sorry," the little pokémon said sheepishly.
"No worries," Ash said with a grin. "I remember doing the same when I was your age. Always tiring out my mom and her pokémon."
He smiled, lost in memories and Manaphy stared at him for a moment before settling beside him. Ash glanced at him before rubbing the pokémon's head with a smile.
Manaphy blinked before yawning widely, causing Ash to chuckle.
"The other drawback of spending all your energy," he said teasingly.
"I-I'm not tired!" Manaphy insisted, before an even bigger yawn escaped his mouth.
"Come on," Ash said, getting to his feet, cradling the Seafaring Pokémon to his chest.
Manaphy sighed in defeat and snuggled against Ash's chest.
The duo made their way through the halls of the Temple, Manaphy guiding Ash with twitches from his tendrils. Reaching a large room filled with toys, Manaphy flew from Ash's arms to a pillow. Settling down on it, Manaphy blinked sleepily and smiled at Ash, who knelt by its side and placed a blanket around the pokémon.
"Love you...papa," he said, before promptly falling asleep.
Ash froze, eyes wide. He hadn't ever considered the possibility that the little pokémon considered him a parent figure. He had thought May would've been Manaphy's first pick for a babysitter, but hadn't ever found time to ask.
Stroking Manaphy's head once more, Ash stood up and left the room.
"Nicely done," said a voice. Ash leaped back in surprise as Lugia melted through the wall of the temple, manipulating the water with ease. "Not a lot of people or pokémon can keep up with the young prince. I don't suppose you'd be willing to come by again if the need arises, do you?"
"Of course not" Ash said instantly. "And if I may offer a recommendation, there's also May Maple of Hoenn to consider. She's the one who hatched him, after all."
Lugia frowned. "But is she not doing contests?"
Ash chuckled softly. "I dare you to tell her she's able to visit Manaphy, but only if she's not busy. She'll move the sky and earth to make time for Manaphy, just you watch."
Lugia nodded. "Thank you, truly. I shall go prepare some dinner then. I'd like for you to stay...?"
"Of course," Ash said. "I wouldn't dream of leaving without saying goodbye to Manaphy."
Lugia nodded and departed.
(Groudon/Pikachu)
Groudon wasn't entirely sure how it had ended up on a date with Pikachu, but here they were, looking at menus in a restaurant in Slateport.
The owner had firmly insisted they eat outside, as Groudon's natural heat was making the other guests uncomfortable.
"Lovely weather we're having," Pikachu said.
Groudon blinked and glanced up at the blazing sun.
"Erm..." it said awkwardly. "Look, while I appreciate the thought, I've never been good on dates. Usually because I inadvertently almost bring about the end of the world-"
"There you are!"
Groudon yelped as a green clawed hand pinched one of its frills, forcibly dragging the Continent Pokémon into the air.
"How many times do I have to tell you to have your dates underground?!" Rayquaza said sternly. Turning to Pikachu, the Sky High pokémon blinked apologetically. "So sorry to cut your date short. Perhaps once Groudon is ungrounded, you can come visit us at Sky Pillar."
Pikachu watched the duo go before he sighed and scowled into his glass of water.
"Every one of my dates goes like this," he complained.
(PikaTheftShipping - Hunter J/Ash Ketchum)
Ash stared at the note, then at the Salamance that had brought it.
"Hunter J wants to meet and talk?" he said slowly.
The dragon-type nodded and Ash turned the note over to see two boxes, one marked "Y" and the other "N."
"Just talk? No tricks or traps?"
The dragon rolled its eyes and Ash glanced at Dawn and Brock.
"What do you think?" he asked. "Should I go? It says to come alone."
"Hm..." Brock said, stroking his chin. "J is a professional, and they know not to mix business and pleasure, so..."
"Pleasure?" Dawn asked, raising her eyebrows. "You mean J does things other than hunt down and steal pokemon?"
"Everyone has hobbies and things they like to do when they're not doing the thing they're passionate about," Brock pointed out. "I want to be a Pokémon Doctor, yet I know how to cook and have wilderness survival training. And you, Dawn, what do you like to do when you're not in the middle of preparing for a contest?"
Dawn blinked, then frowned. "Even if we agree and let Ash go, we're not letting him go alone."
"Of course not," Brock said. "Staraptor will keep an eye on things and notify us if we're needed. Right, Ash?" he asked, turning to the boy.
"Of course," Ash said, pulling out the Flying-type's poké ball and releasing the pokémon.
He glanced at the card again and then looked at Salamance. "Can you take me to J directly?"
The dragon-type nodded and crouched low, lowering a wing for him to use as a ramp. Climbing onto the pokemon's back, Ash took a seat and with a blast of wind, the dragon took off.
Brock watched them go. "Looks like they're headed to Hearthome City. May as well start making our way in that general direction."
Ash watched the scenery zoom by as Salamance flew towards a city.
Pikachu had moved from his shoulder to his backpack to avoid the chill of the air.
"That's Hearthome," Ash murmured as they started descending. "Why here?"
Salamance landed beside an outdoor cafe and suddenly vanished in a haze of red light, causing Ash to fall to the ground with a grunt.
"Well, I can honestly say I'm surprised you decided to accept," came the familiar voice of Hunter J. Ash scrambled to his feet, turning to face her.
And did a double-take.
Gone were the duster coat and visor. In their place was a blouse and slacks. Her hair had been brushed and hang loosely around her face and she wore a slightly amused smile.
"What?" she asked.
Ash shrugged. "Not...what I was expecting."
J gestured to a chair. "Have a seat."
Ash stared at the chair warily. "And get shocked or bound? No thanks."
He pulled over a chair from another table and sat down far enough away from the table in case he needed to jump away or call out his pokémon. Pikachu perched on his shoulder, cheeks sparking now and again.
"So why did you call me here?" Ash asked, crossing his arms.
J reached down to a bag at her side and Ash tensed. She pulled out a box and set it on the table.
"Do you like sweets?" J asked.
"My mom said never to take them from strangers," Ash growled.
"I'm hardly a stranger," J said with a smirk. "We've known each other for a while now, haven't we?"
"You kidnapped me and my pokémon, as well as those of many others," Ash pointed out. "I don't like you."
"I'm not asking you to like me," J said. "I'm asking if you like sweets."
"Who doesn't?"
"Help yourself."
Ash looked at the sealed packaging before taking it and examining it.
"Would you like one of my pokémon to eat it to prove it's not poisoned or tampered with?" J asked dryly.
Ash's ears heated up and he stared at the woman sitting across from him.
"Why did you want to meet with me?" he asked, placing the box down.
J leaned on the table, lacing her fingers together and rested her chin on them, staring at him intently. "Because you fascinate me."
Ash gaped at her. "What?"
J chuckled. "Most people I meet have little to no backbone and don't put up a fight when I take their pokémon. You, on the other hand, stood up and fought back tooth and nail for your pokémon. Usually it's the pokémon that's loyal to the trainer, but with you, it goes both ways. I find things like that fascinating."
Ash looked at Salamance, who was happily sunbathing in the middle of the street. "What about your pokémon?"
"They're pokémon," J said with a wave of her hand. "They know what they need to do and do it. Nothing more. Anything less sees them sold off."
Ash grit his teeth, but he bit back his retort and breathed out, relaxing. Pikachu had calmed down somewhat and was eyeing the box of sweets.
"So..." Ash said awkwardly. "What...do you do besides poaching?"
"I like challenging the Battle Frontier," J said. "Good place to see the potential of pokémon that people might want to buy and prepare accordingly."
"So you're always looking for pokémon to steal," Ash said.
"Not from the Frontier. That's just to see the types. Then I go out and hunt them down elsewhere. And," J added, "They're not all stolen from trainers. Sometimes I get lucky and find one in the wild. It's how I got my bagon, and look at it now."
"Forgive me if I find that suspect," Ash said.
"You're not that stupid," J said. "Just stupid enough to tackle an entire enemy organization by yourself with no thoughts to your safety or preservation."
"I've had a lot of practice," Ash said.
"How so?" J said, perking up.
"Well...there's this group named Team Rocket..."
"I don't believe it," Dawn said, peering through binoculars at Ash and J. "They're...talking and laughing."
"You learn a lot about people by sitting down and having a chat with them," Brock said, lowering his own ocular device. "And J's kinda cute dressed like that."
He waited, then blinked in his own unique way when the poison jab never came. He turned to see Croagunk sitting and staring at him. "Really?"
The pokémon shrugged before snickering.
"Maybe he likes the thought of you and her together," Dawn said.
"No thanks. I'm not that desperate."