Chapter 3: The Mouse That Was Late
Performing some stretches alongside her partner, Pachirisu, Buneary eyed up her opponents, Gliscor and Staraptor. She had to admit, she was much happier to be facing off against them than Grotle, like Ash had been tempted to use, earlier. The tortoise was a cool guy, but that Rock Climb he'd learned the other day looked painful as all Hell, so screw that noise! That said, Staraptor had gotten Close Combat earlier in the week, so… hmm… Never mind, she wanted Grotle to fight, after all, she decided.
… No way, she had to have more faith in herself than this! She could easily beat that Close Combat. For Dawn's sake. And, more importantly, because Pikachu was watching! … And, even more importantly, she didn't want to lose the bet she'd made with Ambipom earlier today. That woman's bets were not to be trifled with, unless you wanted to be embarrassed for life… and that was coming from someone who didn't embarrass easily.
She mentally prepared herself for what she would say for her pre-fight trash talking with her opponents. Ash and Dawn, however, seemed more interested in standing around and debating whether or not they should use items. All while Brock watched. Dawn seemed to be trying extra hard today to convince Ash to try an item or two, despite how utterly fruitless her attempts were going to be. As a result, it looked like Buneary's tough talk had to wait a while. A pity, because she had some good stuff in mind.
Still, she didn't mind too much. It meant she could wink at Pikachu some more! She glanced around at the spectators, keeping a sharp eye out for her favorite hunk.
She kept it up for half a minute before realizing that something was wrong. Not a single flash of her favorite shade of yellow had crossed her vision.
Her unrolled ear dipped slightly. Was he not going to watch? Dang…
Exhaling, she perked up again. Oh well. Maybe he was taking a toilet break, or something. She hoped he didn't take too long, though. Looking at that frown on Dawn's face, it was clear she was on the verge of giving up. Again.
Her opponents were talking amongst themselves and Pachirisu was running around in a circle out of excitement. So she decided to daydream to herself about the amazing show of skill she'd watched mere minutes ago. Good lord… how was nobody else freaking out about how outstandingly cool he'd been!? She could swear she'd creamed herself about eighty times while watching. At least.
She still remembered it vividly. The way he'd weaved in-between all of those stars as if dancing with danger… the way he'd smacked that giant bubble away into the unknown, causing the anguished screams of Team Rocket to ring out along with an explosion… the way he'd rushed through that golden tunnel of stars, defying physics as if he had the powers of Palkia himself. Not to mention him ending things in a glorious display of partnership with Ash, bringing upon one hell of an explosive finish… Yes, needless to say, she had been wetter than Piplup after a long swim.
She'd be sure to praise him endlessly the next time she got a moment alone with him. Anything to make him feel as special as he was to her…
She suddenly felt someone pat her on the arm, bringing her back to reality. Looking over, she saw Pachirisu, who'd stopped running around to nervously nibble on his tail.
"[Hey, Buneary?]" he asked.
She frowned slightly in concern. "[Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?]" she asked. "[You were bouncing up and down a little while back.]"
He quickly glanced at the opposition and then back at her again.
"[Ahh, I get it,]" she continued. She gave him a comforting look. "[Aww, getting antsy?]"
He nodded. "[Y-Yeah… I just thought about how tough they are, and I'm not very good at fighting tough pokémon, yet…]"
She wrapped an arm around him. "[That's total nonsense. You beat up that gabite the other day, remember?]"
He pouted. "[She was a big meanie, though, so I was real mad at her…]" He sighed. "[Anyway, I didn't beat her, really. I winned because time ran out…]"
She couldn't hold back a giggle. "[Yeah, well… I think you won fair and square. You would've gotten her, eventually.]"
He smiled softly for a short while before going back to nibbling on the spikes of his tail. "[I dunno…]"
She gave him a few pats on the back. "[Y'know what? If it makes you feel better, you're not the only nervous one.]"
He looked up at her curiously. "[I'm not…?]"
"[Nope! I'll bet you Gliscor's just as scared as you are. After all, you know what he's like.]"
He stopped nibbling as much to look up at the scorpion in question. He was currently talking to Staraptor, with a somewhat worried expression on his face. "[True…]" Pachirisu replied, looking back at her.
"[And did you see Staraptor eyeing you up cautiously, earlier? He's totally scared you'll zap him something fierce.]"
A smile grew on the squirrel's face. "[Yeah! I guess so…]" He tilted his head. "[How about you? Are you scared?]"
Staraptor's Close Combat flashed across her memory. She forced her smile to stay in place, however. "[Naww, I'm good~]"
Pachirisu's look of uncertainty returned.
Seeing it, she sighed lightly. "[Alright… y'know what? Maybe just a little. Not as nervous as when that weird phione started hitting on me last week, but still.]"
He giggled. "[I remember that! He surprised me, so I runned- r-ran. I ran all the way across the beach and behind a tree.]"
Chuckling, she nodded. "[Wish I could've joined ya. But hey, I think I'm glad I stayed.]"
His head tilted again. "[You are? But why?]"
"[Well, sometimes, you need to face your fears to become the best pokémon you can be. Even if that means being in some situation which makes you nervous.]"
He looked intrigued. "[Really?]"
"[Yup! Besides, ya never know… it might not be all that bad. Like… Phione. If I'd run away, I'd have never known he was a decent guy. Even if he was incredibly hor- U-Um… keen. For a date. Yeah.]"
He giggled for a short while before looking contemplative. "[I… I guess you're right. I need to be more braver.]"
She smiled. "[And you will be more brave! I believe in you, kiddo!]" She gave him a few more pats before moving away. "[And if you ever feel like you need an extra boost of bravery to get you by, we'll all be here for ya.]"
His eyes widened in awe. "[All of you?]"
"[Yup! Me, Pikachu, Dawn… all of us!]"
Beaming, he hopped up and down. "[Hee~! Okay, then! Yeah, I feel like I have lots of bravery already!]"
She beamed just as widely. "[Awesome! Well, let's use that burst of bravery to do some butt kicking!]" she rallied, raising her paw and smirking confidently.
"[Yeah!]" he replied, doing an excited back flip.
As if on cue, a loud sigh could be heard. The sigh that signified Dawn finally giving up on her argument. It was time!
While their trainers got into position, Buneary and Pachirisu followed suit, alongside their opponents.
Once they all took on fighting stances, Gliscor began to speak. "[Hope you're ready for us to beat'cha! Kyee hee!]" he taunted, winking and sticking his tongue out.
"[Yup!]" Staraptor joined in, standing next to him. "[Even with our ice weaknesses, we'll win, easy!]"
The scorpion blinked. He blinked again. With another blink, tears began to well up in his eyes. "[Oh, dear lord, I forgot about her horrible ice attack! Oh nooooo!]"
Looking exasperated, Staraptor pat him on the back with a wing. "[C'mon, man, you're not looking very tough right now…]"
"[But four times the pain…!]" the scorpion replied, tears streaming down his face.
Ignoring the temptation to point out that he had a weakness to water, like the stuff pouring down his face currently, Buneary smiled exasperatedly. "[Hey… don't worry, alright? Just for you, I won't use it at full power,]" she reassured.
"[… Really?]" he asked, his tears drying.
She nodded. "[Yeah. Rabbit's honor.]"
He blinked. Grinning, he then put his pincers to his hips. "[Well, then yeah! We'll beat'cha for sure! Kyee hee hee!]"
Sighing in amusement, she grinned back. "[You wish! We'll crush you so bad, Ash might start begging us to join his team!]"
"[In your dreams…]" Staraptor snarked in amusement.
Smirking, she winked at him. "[Yup! As long as a certain someone's in 'em, they're my favorite ones to have!]"
A short laugh escaped Staraptor's beak, making her smirk grow.
They began to turn towards Pachirisu, eager to hear his. However, the humans started talking, catching their attention.
"So, um… should we start, Ash?" Dawn asked, scratching her beanie.
"C'mon, Dawn," Ash started before pumping a fist. "You know they've gotta do their battle speeches, first! It's what pumps 'em up for an awesome battle!"
"Huh… but you interrupted Pikachu while he was doing his, didn't ya?"
Ash blinked. "… Haha, um… whoops." He looked sheepish. "He's always telling me to cut that out. Guess I've still got things to learn, huh?"
Dawn put her hands to her hips. "Like using items, Ash Ketchum?"
He and Brock, who was still nearby, sighed.
"Oh no… not this again!" Brock said exasperatedly.
"Yeah, c'mon, Dawn…" Ash added.
They continued to banter, so Buneary and the others just shrugged them off, going back to eagerly watching Pachirisu for his turn. When everyone's eyes were on him, she noticed that some sweat was beginning to pool on the squirrel's head.
"[U-Um… er…]" he started, quickly looking off to the side. Noticing his gaze meeting hers, Buneary gave him a big, pleasant smile. With a blink, the squirrel broke his gaze away to stare at the ground, as if thinking something. Nodding with a determined frown, he smirked up at the opposition. "[We're gonna win, because I'm gonna fry you up like today's sausages!]" he remarked, letting his cheeks spark for effect.
Shock spread across Staraptor and Gliscor's faces, as if they hadn't expected such a comeback from the kid. Buneary, however, chuckled lightly. She had to admit, though, she was quite impressed, not to mention proud. Even Pikachu himself would have been intimidated by that! Heh, well, not really, but it was a good start, either way.
Before she could congratulate Pachirisu, Brock called out for the match to start. Quickly after, Ash gave out a couple of commands to his pokémon. Dawn followed suit, asking Buneary and Pachirisu to dodge and use some moves of their own.
Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor swooping in with Brave Bird, Buneary suddenly remembered something important. Looking down at the crowd, she kept an eye out for her favorite mouse.
With several seconds' worth of searching while her upwards momentum came to a stop, she frowned lightly. Still no sign of him. So strange… it was really unlike him to skip any of his friends' battles. Plus… well, it was extra off-putting that he'd chosen hers to miss out on, of all fights.
Flipping sideways to dodge a Steel Wing attack from Gliscor, who'd flown upwards to intercept her, Buneary sighed inwardly. Oh, well… it wasn't like she needed Pikachu to watch, or anything. Still, she wouldn't have complained at all to have him cheering her on.
Twisting herself around and firing an Ice Beam at Gliscor on Dawn's command - albeit a slightly weaker one than usual, which Dawn thankfully didn't notice - the bunny mentally shrugged. Oh well. It gave her an excuse to go on the flirting offense later on!
"[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked aloud, sitting on top of Mamoswine's back.
"[Who, pray tell?]" Piplup asked, sitting next to her.
"[Our little berry gatherer, o' course. He's been gone ages, hasn't he?]"
"[Oh. Yes, 'tis a good point, come to think of it. Where is he?]"
"[Hm. Beats me,]" Buizel responded from the monkey's other side.
"[Dead,]" Mamoswine replied dryly.
Buizel and Piplup actually sniggered at that while Ambipom groaned exasperatedly.
"[You're a natural-born comedian, Mamoswine,]" she said sassily.
The mammoth huffed. "[I try.]"
Buizel's chuckles quietened down. "[Alright, but seriously, you've got a point. He only went to get us berries, right?]"
"[Could've fooled me,]" Ambipom replied. "[He'll miss the start of the battle if he's gone any longer. And you know Buneary won't like that.]"
"[You got that right.]"
"[Perhaps…]" Piplup started, "[we should go and find out for ourselves what happened to the man?]"
"[Better not,]" Buizel replied. "[I don't wanna miss the action. Besides, I'd rather not walk in on him taking a crap, or something.]"
"[Delightful imagery, thank you,]" Piplup mumbled.
"[Heh. Just saying it how it is.]"
Ambipom sniggered. "[If so, then whatever. Can't be more embarrassing than what I made him do for our last bet together.]"
Buizel coughed slightly, as if vaguely flustered. "[When you put it that way…]"
"[Here, look, I'll go after him,]" she replied. There were rustling noises, as if she were getting up. "[Whatever he's up to, I'll find out, lickity split.]" She jumped off Mamoswine's back. Upon landing, she suddenly looked very surprised. "[Oh… hey, I found him!]"
Chuckling, Pikachu stopped leaning against the odd small tree behind the mammoth. "[Hey! Missing me, much?]" he asked, walking past his bag of berries on the floor.
"[You freaking bet! Where were you?]"
"[Indeed!]" Piplup added, peering over the edge of Mamoswine's backside. "[Surely, one doesn't need the same amount of time to pick berries… as it takes for Dawn to give up on asking for the use of items.]"
Pausing for a second to wrap his head around what the penguin meant, Pikachu shrugged. "[Well, that's the thing. I went to go get some, but then I noticed this blowing away.]" He held up the folded piece of paper in his paw, allowing Ambipom to take it. "[… Plus, you guys were totally talking about me while I was gone, so… mayyybe I got a little curious,]" he continued, smirking.
Holding the piece of paper, Ambipom chuckled and rolled her eyes. "[Who knew you were so nosy?]" She looked down at the paper. "[Alright, what've you given me, then?]"
"[Well-]"
"[Hey, it's great you're back and all…]" Buizel called out from where he was seated, "[but hurry up and get up here. They've started fighting, already!]"
Surprised, Piplup quickly turned around, disappearing from view. "[Oh legends, he's right! Buneary's already taken to the air!]" he called out.
Pikachu yelped. "[O-Okay, I'll tell you, later. First, help me get these onto Mamoswine's back, please, won'tcha?]" he said, pointing towards the berries.
"[Oh, yeah, sure,]" Ambipom responded, picking up the bag with one of her tails' hands. Giving his paper back to him, she giggled. "[Anything to let you be a lazy butt.]"
Grinning, Pikachu groaned lightly. "[Hey, if you were as small as me, you wouldn't exactly wanna carry it, either.]"
"[Heh, a good point… but yeah, you're still lazy,]" she replied, clambering up Mamoswine.
Rolling his eyes, Pikachu tucked the paper behind his ear. Once it was in place, he joined her, clinging onto Mamoswine's fur and pulling himself up.
"[Oh goody, more weight,]" the mammoth mumbled dryly.
"[You know you don't really care, so don't complain, you,]" the monkey retorted, getting into position on top of him.
Amused, Pikachu soon climbed to the top of Mamoswine, too. The first thing he noticed were his friends, Piplup, Ambipom and Buizel, sitting while hungrily chowing down on the contents of the bag. While eating, they were watching the battle in front of them, which seemed pretty intense.
Running over, he sat next to Piplup. "[Did I miss anything?]" he asked.
"[Pachirisu just clipped Staraptor with some electricity,]" Buizel replied before biting into a berry.
"[It wasn't enough to ground him, though, alas,]" Piplup replied. "[Perhaps if Pachirisu had the strength of Zhordos, my favorite superhero, things might've taken a different turn.]"
"[Heh, okay, cool,]" Pikachu replied, now watching the raging battle. Zhordos, huh? The electrical superhero who loved to talk grandly? Sure explained a lot.
Speaking of electricity… in the battle, many large bolts of blue lightning were shooting out from the middle of the arena. Some of them smacked Gliscor with little damage, thanks to the scorpion's typing. "[Good lord, it's not gonna take long for him to get that strong, though, from the looks of things,]" Pikachu continued.
"[Little tyke's a tough little bastard,]" Buizel commented. "[Next to you, he's the strongest electric-type I know.]"
"[Give it a year and I'll bet he'll even kick your butt, Pikachu,]" Ambipom quipped.
"[Heh, it'll be fun to see him try!]" Pikachu replied, smirking. He snapped his fingers as something occurred to him. "[Hey, I just remembered… Buizel, I never told you, did I?]"
The weasel leaned backwards. "[Depends. What's up?]"
Pikachu leaned back as well, seeing Buizel's face from behind his other friends. "[The battle we fought in earlier. You did frigging awesome, so great job!]" he said, smiling.
Buizel smirked. "[Oh. Heh, thanks. You too.]" His smirk dropped slightly. "[Still disappointed I got knocked out, though. Won't lie…]"
Piplup gave a proud huff. "[With our powers combined, how could you not get knocked out? Ambipom and I are a dream team not seen for centuries!]" he boasted.
Grinning, the monkey rubbed him on the head with a paw. "[Right on, bro!]"
Buizel clicked his tongue. "[A dream team of nuisances, more like.]"
"[Hah! The levels of salt run high, it seems,]" Piplup retorted.
Buizel rolled his eyes. "[Hmph.]"
"[Gotta give you credit for something, though,]" Ambipom started. "[I've never seen anybody do so good with their tails before. And that's coming from the girl with two arms coming out her butt.]"
"[Haha, yeah. How'd you even do that?]" Pikachu asked.
A proud look grew on Buizel's face. "[Well… can't lie. I learned a lot, being a contest pokémon,]" he said, sitting up again.
"[And that is why us three friends are the most stylish of pokémon!]" Piplup chimed. "[… Oh, and Mamoswine, of course!]"
"[Huh? Didn't hear that, but I disagree with whatever you said,]" Mamoswine snarked dryly.
Piplup pulled an exasperated face. "[… Point still stands, we friends are stylish.]"
Pikachu sat up. "[And me, too, right?]"
Piplup pondered that for a second before shrugging. "[Eh. No.]"
"[All 'do', no 'show',]" Ambipom interjected, also shrugging.
Buizel snorted. "[They've got a point. Your moveset isn't made for contests.]"
Slouching, Pikachu groaned. "[… Thanks for the input, you guys…]" he mumbled with a roll of his eyes, refocusing his attention back on the battle.
After some amused responses, the rest of the gang quietened down to focus on watching the rest of the battle unfold. Thankfully, it hadn't gone too far underway, yet. Currently, Gliscor and Staraptor were attempting to flank Buneary and Pachirisu from the sky. Staraptor was dive-bombing them with Brave Bird, and Gliscor was trying to smash into them with a combination of Steel Wing and X-Scissor.
Pachirisu constantly avoided them by running around at impressive speeds. Buneary hopped over every attempt at knocking her down, jumping in sync to Pachirisu's sprint.
Quickly spinning in mid-air, the rabbit fired a burst of Ice Beam at Gliscor, hitting him dead in the face. On Ash's command, the scorpion's mouth glowed red, warding away the attack with Fire Fang. Hearing Ash's next instruction, he dropped to the ground and drew back his claws. Grabbing some large clumps of soil, he threw them in Buneary's direction, smacking her in the face. Yelping, she stopped to cover her eyes.
Pikachu gasped when he saw Staraptor advancing on her, readying a vicious Close Combat on Ash's command. A heart slammed into the bird's face before he could do it, however, sending him reeling in a random direction in a stupor.
Congratulating Pachirisu on a job well done - something that made the squirrel beam with pride - Dawn shouted an instruction for Buneary. Although she still seemed unable to see, the rabbit fired off her Ice Beam straight forwards, scoring a direct hit on Staraptor and freezing him solid. His block of ice fell to the ground with a thud.
Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. His ear pricked when he heard snickering. Looking to his side, he saw Ambipom and Piplup chuckling lightly.
"[Oh, if only Buneary could hear your worry for her,]" Piplup teased, "[I swear on my life, the philandering would never end.]"
Pikachu blushed. "[Y-Yeah, well… y'know. Action's heating up, ain't it?]"
"[Ain't the only thing heating up, eh?]" Ambipom added cheekily, tapping him on the head with her tail's hand. He could only groan lightly in response.
Chuckling harder, Piplup playfully nudged her in the side. "[Oh, you're so lewd for someone so holy, you know that?]"
She winked at him. "[Lord Mew won't mind the odd little tasteless joke, I'm sure.]"
Pikachu rolled his eyes amusedly. "[Well, that'll make one of us, then, won't it?]" He paused briefly as Buneary barely jumped over Gliscor's Steel Wing. Once she was a safe distance away, thanks to Bouncing off the scorpion's head, he continued. "[Anyway, yeah, I'm rooting for her, sue me.]"
Buizel clicked his tongue. "[Traitor,]" he muttered.
Pikachu blinked. A second later, he waved his paws defensively. "[H-Hey, I'm rooting for the other team, too, don't worry.]"
Buizel snorted. "['The other team', huh?]"
Pikachu blinked again. "[… Um. Our team. Anyway, you're one to talk, you were just praising Pachirisu!]"
"[Right, but at least I was on his team at some point. Where's your excuse?]"
"[He has you there, turncoat…!]" Piplup chimed.
Pikachu huffed exasperatedly. "[Now how can I win with two against one?]"
"[The same way Gliscor's gonna do it,]" Buizel retorted, sounding smug, "[just you watch.]"
"[Heh, we'll see about that,]" Pikachu shot back, smirking.
"[Ooh, sounds like the perfect time to start a bet to me!]" Ambipom started up excitedly. "[Who's interes-]"
"[Pass,]" Buizel and Piplup both retorted.
She looked shocked. "[Oh, what? Not gonna let me finish?]"
"[After what you did to Pikachu last time, not in a million years,]" Buizel said, picking up another berry and biting down on it.
"[I'm afraid I must agree,]" Piplup replied. "[While I do love having all eyes on me… I'd rather that not be because I lost one of your bets.]"
She pouted. "[Hmph. Good to see I'm not the only mon with no balls, here.]"
Huffing amusedly at their exasperated reactions, Pikachu pondered things for a short while. Making another bet with her was a reaaaaally bad idea, without a doubt…
… but screw it, he could never turn down a challenge.
His attention wavered when he saw Buneary taking Gliscor's X-Scissor to the chest, which sent her flying backwards. He barely held back a gasp at the sight.
The scorpion was about to go in for another one, but had to back off when Pachirisu ran in, teeth extended. Tumbling back, Buneary landed on the floor with her ears. Springing them outwards, she soared backwards in a somersault before landing perfectly on her feet. While catching her breath, she caught Pikachu's eye and began to beam widely, almost as if gasping in surprise.
Smiling back at her, Pikachu gave her an encouraging wave. The bunny reacted with glee and a wink before eagerly getting back to business, hopping towards the others with glowing ears to join in the assault.
A spark of warmth went off in his chest, making him smile wider. After making sure things were stable again, Pikachu turned his grin towards Ambipom. "[So, are we still game for that bet?]" he asked.
She beamed at him, though a sudden look of horror fell over Piplup and Buizel. The latter of which was even leaning forwards to get a good look at him.
"[Whoo~! Never mind, we have an actual man in the audience!]" Ambipom cheered.
"[Has your brain stopped working, my friend!?]" Piplup screeched. "[You barely escaped the last brush with embarrassment, and yet you're asking for another bet!?]"
Pikachu pumped a fist. "[You bet! What're the rules this time?]"
Buizel's look of horror changed to an impressed smirk. "[Hah. You just never back down from anything, do ya?]"
"[Nope! I'd go for it, even if Mew-]" Jolting, he quickly glanced at Ambipom. "[… Um, Lord Mew himself gave me a challenge.]"
Ambipom giggled. "[What're you walking on eggshells around me, for? You're gonna make me feel like my strict-ass parents, or something.]"
He rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, sorry.]"
"[S'alright. Anyway… how about the same thing I have going on with Buneary, herself? She loses, you lose, and if she wins, you win.]" She extended one of her tails' hands. "[Deal?]"
Taking hold of a finger tip, he shook it. "[Deal! Prepare to give me more than just ketchup!]"
She smirked evilly. "[We'll see!]"
"[Ohh, worry already fills me…]" Piplup said, looking appropriately fearful.
Buizel sighed in an amused way. "[I wonder if Buneary's nose is gonna bleed again, like the last time you lost a bet…]"
Pikachu's face warmed. "[… Probably.]" He fully turned his attention back to the battle. Buneary and Pachirisu were currently zipping back and forth in an evasive maneuver. Pachirisu ran on his two legs and Buneary hopped around sporadically. Gliscor was looking vastly overwhelmed, but he was following Ash's commands as best as he could. Staying in the air, and randomly swooping down to strike out whenever they were under him.
Eventually, Ash gave a strange order, causing Gliscor to look at the trainer as if he'd grown two heads. Recovering, the scorpion got into position on the ground, standing with his pincers spread out as if he was inviting them to hit him.
Accepting the free shot, Buneary fired off an Ice Beam towards him on Dawn's orders. Just as it was about to hit Gliscor, however… the scorpion twisted around on the spot when Ash gave the order, causing the Ice Beam to hit his now-glowing cape. Unexpectedly, the attack wildly ricocheted off, sending icy lasers in all sorts of different directions. One of them struck Pachirisu's side, sending him sprawling to the ground, partially coated in ice.
With barely enough time for her to guard, another one slammed into Buneary, sending her flying. It hadn't frozen her, but she crashed pretty harshly into the ground, and was sent rolling backwards. Eventually, she came to a stop when she smacked into the block of ice containing Staraptor. Landing on her front, the rabbit lay there, dazed.
Pikachu and his friends all flinched and groaned in sympathetic pain.
"[Oh no…]" Pikachu mumbled, frowning worriedly. His frown deepened when he saw the ice cracking, and Staraptor beginning to stir from within. "[Oh no!]" he said, jolting upright.
Buneary began to push herself upwards, though not in time to escape the ice exploding, knocking her to the floor again. After a victory cry from Ash, he gave the command for the worst possible thing to happen. Close Combat.
He looked to Pachirisu to see if he could help, but it was no use. The squirrel was too far away, still working on freeing himself from the ice. "[Oh… crap,]" Pikachu muttered.
Staraptor scooped Buneary up and flung her, squealing, into the air. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl as she fell back down to earth, towards the waiting bird of prey below.
Pikachu's heart stopped dead in his chest. There was no way she was going to get past this…
With a battle cry, Staraptor flew straight upwards. Twirling quickly, he sent a talon flying towards her. It slammed directly into her fluffy backside, cutting her screams short. He followed up with another twirl and a swipe of his wing. Smacking it into her side, he sent her flying away into the air.
Amongst Buizel's and, more worryingly, Ambipom's cheers, Pikachu inhaled sharply. Shit…
He sighed and began turning towards Ambipom, ready to concede defeat to her. However, he snapped to attention when he noticed Buneary tumbling back down from the sky, out of the corner of his eye…
… towards him.
Squealing, Pikachu scrambled to get out of the way. He barely got to his feet before he was sent sprawling across Mamoswine's back. Groaning, he lay there with his eyes closed, willing his entire body to stop aching. After a short pause, he realized that the aching felt more like a weight was on top of him. Also, his entire face felt very itchy. What the…? Opening his eyes, he jolted slightly. His entire vision was obscured by a cloud of cream cotton.
He absentmindedly tried to move it out of his eyes. Pushing it upwards, the fluff pressed against something that felt strangely soft. A loud yelp rang out soon afterwards.
Catching on, he felt his face begin to warm significantly, and not just because of the warm fluff. Oh dear… he could only wonder what part of Buneary had landed on top of him… and whether she'd somehow engineered this to happen or not.
Recovering from the shock, Buneary chuckled through some pained pants. "[You should've… told me you were… ready for that stage of our… relationship,]" she muttered teasingly.
Judging from the direction of her voice, and the fact he could feel a weight on his crotch… he guessed that the others were probably getting a very amusing show. Hearing their laughter once they realized what was happening all but confirmed it.
"[… Um… eheh, um… y-you wish,]" he stuttered. "[Er… mind getting your face out of my, um… my groin?]"
She wheezed out a giggle. "[Aww… but you're allowed to… put your handsome one into mine? No fair~]"
Despite how flushed his cheeks felt, he couldn't stop the grin on his face from forming. "[H-Har har…]"
Humming in amusement, she slowly slid off him. "[Alright, fine… maybe on our honeymoon, instead, huh?]" she said, winking at him. Notably, her face was just as red as his felt.
Pushing himself up into a seated position, he rolled his eyes. "[Yeah… we'll see about that.]" He faltered when he got a good look at her. She had a nasty bruise on her side, and she was barely holding herself up. "[Oh, wow… you okay?]"
She took a sharp breath and nodded confidently. "[Yeah… never better!]" She slowly turned to face the battlefield and began to walk towards it.
Jumping to his feet, Pikachu ran up to her and gently gripped her shoulder. When she turned to face him, he gave her a worried look. "[C'mon, don't push yourself. You know it won't end well if you go back down there like… this,]" he said, gesturing towards her battered body.
She shook her head. "[I can't just… leave lil' Pachirisu all on his own down there. So it's no good. I'm… I'm going for it.]"
He held his gaze with her for a short while before sighing. "[Well… if you're sure.]" He smiled. "[Stay safe, won't ya?]"
She smiled back. "[Yeah… I will.]" She giggled. "[Look at you, worrying so much about little ol' me, though~]" She winked flirtatiously. "[Does this mean I'm… getting close to a date?]"
He gave her an incredulous look before bursting into laughter. "[You're horribly injured and about to go straight back into the fray… and you're still flirting with me?]"
She giggled again and nuzzled him on the nose with hers. "[Through rain and snow, lover boy~!]"
His chuckles continued. "[C-Clearly…]" His laughter grew a little sheepish when his mind clicked onto her nuzzling him. He felt his already warm face heat up further.
Before too long, she pulled away and faced the battlefield again. He tried not to let his mild disappointment show. "[Bye, everyone!]" she called out, allowing forceful gusts of wind to envelop both her feet with the use of Bounce. After a farewell from everyone, Pikachu included, she leapt into the air. The mouse couldn't see her land because of Mamoswine's head, but the loud squawk from Staraptor that soon followed gave him a good idea of how that'd gone.
Noticing Piplup, Ambipom, and Buizel giving him amused glances - the latter out of the corner of his eye - Pikachu sighed lightly. "[Er… what?]" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"[You two, I swear,]" Ambipom said, holding back her chuckles. "[It's so adorable, I might need some heart medicine, or something.]"
"[Thanks…]" Pikachu mumbled slightly sheepishly. He picked up his piece of paper - which had fallen onto Mamoswine's back because of the collision - and tucked it behind his ear again.
"[Methinks…]" Piplup started between his sniggering, "[the mouse doth protest his feelings too much.]" He gave the mouse a quick look over and sniggered harder. "[… Though perhaps certain parts of said mouse's anatomy disagree…!]"
Ambipom followed the penguin's gaze before pausing, eyes wide. She burst into laughter. "[Um… guess you enjoyed yourself, buddy, didn't ya?]"
Buizel also gave a quick glance. Groaning, he turned back to the battle. "[Arceus alive…]" he muttered, shaking his head.
Face warming, Pikachu faltered out of confusion. What…? His eyes slowly trailed down to wherever they'd been looking. Upon seeing the large yellow lump of fur bulging from lower down, he immediately stiffened, face burning. "[O-Oh! U-U-Um…]" he stuttered, bringing his tail out from behind him and holding it down low. Oh, jeez, how hadn't he noticed that!? "[… Ignore that.]"
"[How could we? It's a fair rival to the length of my beak!]" Piplup joked. "[It falls just short of putting me to shame!]"
Pikachu's face warmed further. "[Ugh… w-why must?]"
With a drawn-out breath, Ambipom wiped a tear away. "[Heh… Bet you're glad us pokémon are always covered in fur, feathers and other stuff that keeps us decent, huh?]" she said. "[A gift from Lord Mew himself, for sure.]"
"[It is almost like the very technology our pokéballs use,]" Piplup added, "[except, of course, for our… special valuables.]"
"[Y-Yeah… and yeah again,]" Pikachu mumbled, facing away. "[Not… sure how it works… but whatever stops Buneary from seeing stuff she's only ever s-seen in her dreams. Eheh…]"
The two jokesters chuckled again.
"[The images I have of the stuff happening on my back…]" Mamoswine said dryly. "[I'm gonna need showers for weeks, aren't I?]"
Pikachu's grip on his tail tightened slightly. "[I-I didn't do anything, though!]"
"[Sure.]"
Having recovered from a startled jump that the mammoth's surprise comment had caused, Ambipom sighed exasperatedly. "[Yo, mind giving me a warning before you surprise the crud outta me?]"
The mammoth huffed. "[More fun this way.]"
Pikachu grumbled to himself. Damn that bunny… he was just lucky that she'd been doubly covered up, with her fluff and her fur, or else he dreaded to imagine what might've happened.
… Not that it was all that bad of an image, admittedly...
Out of nowhere, he noticed some ice-covered hearts floating upwards towards the sky, like balloons. The second he saw them, he started. "[Oh, the fight!]" Dropping his tail, he quickly moved over to the others again and took his seat next to Piplup. Now able to see over Mamoswine's head, he got a glimpse of the action. Buneary and Pachirisu were shooting their Ice Beam and Sweet Kiss attacks towards each other, forming icy hearts that floated upwards in different directions.
The two fliers were keeping their distance high in the air, wondering what was going on. Staraptor accidentally brushed against one of the icy hearts, which exploded, coating the bird in a flurry of blue and pink sparkles. He squawked loudly and began to flap around wildly, obviously dazed and chilled to the bone. Seeing that, Gliscor began to freak out, tears streaming down his face.
The two flying-types calmed somewhat when Ash called out to them. Gaining their attention, he gave the immediate order for them to take evasive action, which they happily obeyed. Unfortunately for them, the skies were becoming much harder to navigate. The cold hearts littered the air like sea mines, and Buneary and Pachirisu just continued to form more, releasing many in the direction of the flying-types.
Pikachu tried to focus on them diving around the deadly hearts, but he kept getting distracted by Piplup's sniggers. When he turned to face him, he saw the penguin stealing glances at his… Oh. Right. He forgot to deal with that.
Blushing and grumbling, he put his hands on his crotch. Piplup only chuckled harder.
"[Friend, I think it would best benefit you to tend to that,]" he said, grinning cheekily.
"[H-How?]" Pikachu responded. "[I'm not going to… um…]" His face heated further, "[… y'know. That, while watching battles.]"
"[Haha, not necessary! Here.]" He held his flippers in front of his beak and began to form a bubble from it. When it was about half his size, he took hold of it and offered it to the mouse. "[Here. An amazing substitute for a cold shower!]"
Sighing, Pikachu took it and held it to his belly. It felt cool to the touch, especially against his little… problem, so it was something. "[Thanks, Piplup…]"
"[Not a problem!]"
Exhaling, Pikachu leaned against it. It was surprisingly comfortable, just like having a pillow. It was transparent, which was slightly worrying, but there was certainly enough action going on to distract everyone.
He went back to focusing on the aerial gymnastics show the two flying-types were putting on. They swerved and dived around the many ice hearts in such a graceful manner, almost like something you would see in an air show. It was a sight for the eyes.
Just as Gliscor used Fire Fang to ward away one that had appeared right in front of him, Pikachu heard a surprised cry from behind Mamoswine. Curious, he angled his unoccupied ear towards it.
"[Um, h-hi! Hello!]" the pokémon hidden behind Mamoswine started. It sounded like his friend, Sudowoodo. "[You're… um… I don't think I've seen you around here before! Hahaha! So… h-how're you?]"
Pikachu tilted his head. Had a wild pokémon shown up to watch the battle, or something? Well, either way, at least Sudowoodo was enjoying himself with his new friend. Or, judging by how amazingly awkward he was acting, his new crush. Pikachu hadn't known him to be much of a flirter, unlike his trainer, Brock, so the girl must've been real special.
He would've continued to listen in, but a sudden order from Ash caught his attention. He was calling to the two flying-types, asking them to go lower, below all of the icy chaos around them. They complied, though Dawn countered with her own instruction. Hearing it, her two pokémon stopped producing icy hearts and instead clung to each other. After a pause, Buneary leapt high into the air with wind-coated feet, carrying Pachirisu with her. Once high above the storm of frosted hearts, Pachirisu leapt from her arms and used Discharge, keeping him in place as Buneary quickly fell back down. His dozens of blue lightning bolts all struck different hearts, before spreading to the surrounding hearts, connecting them all like a giant, electrical web. Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually exploded, releasing a flurry of blue and pink dust. It rained down onto the flying-types below, almost like snowflakes.
As expected, Gliscor began to freak out, until the freezing cold spray of heart matter poured onto him. He cried out and began flying erratically, as if in a daze. Moments later, he went careening towards the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as he crashed violently. He lay there with his tongue sticking out, looking unconscious.
Pikachu and Piplup cheered at the scorpion's defeat. Ambipom almost joined in, but she caught herself and frowned worriedly, most likely realizing that this didn't bode well for her bet. Buizel simply clicked his tongue, looking disappointed.
Pikachu stopped cheering when he noticed that Staraptor wasn't going down so easily. The bird had screeched at the attack hitting him, but he stood his ground, flying in place and resisting the cold spray. On Ash's command, he flew straight upwards, slicing through the attack to go into the safety of the now-clear skies. Once he was out of harm's way, he set his sights on Pachirisu, who had just stopped his Discharge and begun to fall back down. Like a hawk, Staraptor swooped down towards the squirrel, who squeaked loudly in response.
Pikachu gasped, along with Piplup and Ambipom. Oh, that poor kid…
Staraptor closed in on Pachirisu and, on Ash's order, got ready to slam a talon down on the squirrel. He was inches above his head before Pachirisu was pushed out of the way, only to be replaced with Buneary. The talon slammed down onto her face, sending her sailing down to the field below, where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small crater, dazed.
The bubble under Pikachu's paws popped loudly as he squeezed it too hard. He barely registered the stinging sensation it had left behind. No! What!? Dawn hadn't even commanded her to do that, so why had she taken his place!?
Piplup and Buizel both made sounds of surprise. Ambipom's happy chimes, however, were what sent Pikachu's blood draining from his face. Oh no… this meant that Ambipom had won the freaking bet. Shiiiiiit!
"[Looks like I'm taking home the gold and glory this time, mousey boy!]" Ambipom said triumphantly.
"[Oh goody…]" Pikachu sighed. Drat. That didn't bode well for the future.
"[Rest in peace,]" Mamoswine added dryly.
Sighing, Pikachu focused back on the battle. He saw Pachirisu - still falling through the air - striking back with a Discharge, which Dawn hadn't ordered. It struck Staraptor, violently knocking him to the ground, unconscious. From there, Pachirisu took Dawn's order to wrap himself up in his tail and use Sweet Kiss to surround himself in a heart. When he hit the ground, the heart absorbed the impact and burst, cushioning his fall. Now on his feet, he beamed brightly upon realizing that he'd won. He beamed even brighter as everyone cheered for him, including Dawn.
Amongst Piplup and Ambipom's cheers, and Buizel's disappointed groan, Pikachu smiled lightly. Well, if nothing, Buneary's sacrifice had allowed the little tyke to carry on and win the fight. It had meant that the mouse was due for something horrible, but… seeing the little squirrel so happy about his victory made it feel worthwhile, somehow. He made a mental note to praise Buneary for being so selfless, later. Once she recovered, and he was done with whatever Ambipom had in store for him, anyway.
Seeing the monkey turn to face him, grin widening, he gulped. Speaking of which...
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished: 18/08 (August)/2017
Word count: 7,137
VGS2's pointless notes: Man, it's been a while, huh? Guess you could even say that the chapter… was late! Fufufu! xd
Ah well, hope you liked the chapter, all the same! Oh, by the by, are you wondering about Buneary's weird windy Bounce? That's actually an idea I had for Game-Changer, but I liked it so much that I decided to put it in here, too. May as well, right?
Fun mistake of the day #1: 'As everyone's eyes went on him,'
(Everyone threw their eyes at Pachirisu, which stuck to him. That's some Binding of Isaac-tier shiz right there!)
#2: 'She look turned into a concerned one.'
(Sounds painful.)
#3: 'letting his cheeks sparkle for effects.'
(Fabulous as that sounds, who is he think he is? Edward Cullen?)
#4: 'Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor's Brave Bird-powered tackle Brave Bird '
(Brave bird is apparently powered by, get this… Brave Bird. Either that, or his dong's powered by Brave bird and, with bad grammar, I'm congratulating his bravery. You decide.)
#5: "[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked aloud, sitting on top of Mamoswine.
(Didn't specify where on Mamoswine she was. Oh dear. Kinky new shipping away!)
#6: 'towards the waiting bird of pray below.'
(Staraptor becomes a man of God!)
#7: 'Smirking evilly, Staraptor swung at her with a wing as she came .'
(What a rude thing to do to someone who was simply thinking of Pikachu too much…)
#8: 'She took a sharp breath and nodded confidentially.'
(Nobody must know about her nodding…)
#9: 'Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually gave out,'
(It makes it sound like everyone involved had a frigging heart attack.)
#10: 'where she met a similar end to Gliscor.'
(Buneary died, confirmed for canon.)
#11: 'where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small creator'
(I didn't know Pikachu created stuff. Honhonhon! Also, having the words 'fate' and 'Gliscor' in the same sentence will forever remind me of PokeMaster64 and his fic, Sealed Fate.)
Alrighty, with that out the way, 'tis time for me to get some more reviews done. Maybe. I'm falling behind on 'Miracles' and 'Pikachu & Buneary's Unspoken Love' (which are both in my favourites list, wink wink nudge nudge), so I'd better get writing soon… XP
Ah well, either way… tata for now! c:
Next up: Bet!