Nothing to say, except thanks to all reviewers, and especially Pokefan30648 for reminding me about the Eevee/GlaceonxPikachu pairing. Honestly, I forgot about that one. *nervous chuckle*

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter 4: Discussions

Blaziken's POV

"You should have seen me out there! Nothing could've taken me down!" Grotle remarked as most of the Pokemon discussed the final few battles of the Sinnoh League.

"Yeah, until that Hitmonchan took you out with a single Sky Uppercut." Staraptor remarked. Everyone laughed, but Grotle's was more of a nervous chuckle than one of merriment.

"Hey, how's Pikachu doing? He took a few bad hits in that final battle." Ash's, formerly Paul's, Monferno asked.

"Well enough to be stopping a fight between those two frosty ladies." I said, pointing with one hand to a tree, where Glaceon and Buneary were busy staring daggers at each other.

"If you've got two girls fighting over you, you're either really unlucky or lucky." Sudowoodo remarked. "What Brock would give to have girls chasing after him…"

"Fortunately, we have Crogaunk." Buizel pointed out, referring to the Poison Frog Pokemon whose personal mission was to ensure that the said breeder stayed unattached.

"BACK OFF! HE'S MINE!"

"I MET HIM FIRST, FLUFFY!"

"SO WHAT, LAZE-EON!"

"Calm down, the two of you!" Pikachu shouted. Beside him, Piplup was trying her best to ensure that the two didn't come to blows, Ice-Type or otherwise.

"The truth is, I like someone already!"

"REALLY? WHO?!" Both Glaceon and Buneary exclaimed simultaneously.

"Her." Pikachu gave Piplup a quick kiss on the cheek, before dragging the Penguin Pokemon away.

Everyone stared. I shivered as the wind decided to blow through the fields behind Professor Oak's lab, ignoring the whistling sound it made.

"That was unexpected." Quilava remarked.

Sceptile's POV

"Thanks for posing as my girlfriend, Piplup." I heard Pikachu say.

"Yeah, no problem. Besides, that'll probably keep Buneary focused on Contests. You'd better uphold your end of the deal, otherwise I'll tell them both the truth."

"Don't worry, I'll keep the fact that you and Kenny's Prinplup are seeing each other a secret." The Electric Mouse Pokemon replied.

"I can hear you both, you know." I called, wanting to see their reactions. As expected, the duo nearly jumped into the air.

"What the hell are you doing stalking us, Sceptile?!" Pikachu hissed.

"One, I was here the whole evening. You two just walked here, so get that straight. And two, I have no interest whatsoever in your little 'love triangle', so I'm not going to tell anyone about what I just heard."

As if. If the price was right, then I suppose a little slip of my tongue wouldn't hurt, I thought to myself.

"You'd better not!" Both the Penguin and the Electric Mouse Pokemon said. "Otherwise, we'll-"

"Type match-up, battle experience, and numbers don't guarantee victory in battle." I said.

Piplup opened her beak to reply, but Pikachu covered it with his paw. Even as she shoved his paw aside, he whispered something to her that I couldn't hear.

"So, how's your relationship with May's Blaziken?"

I nearly fell out of the tree on hearing that. Pikachu, consider yourself lucky that you're a key part of Ash's team…

"We've broken up."

"On speaking terms?"

"No."

"You should go talk to her."

"Get Darkrai to cause dreams and Cresselia to cause nightmares." For once, the stories that I heard from the tribe's elder growing up came in handy.

"Truth is, you still love her, even after all that's happened, don't you?" Pikachu asked.

I didn't respond.

"She still loves you, you know." Piplup added. "She'd talk about you the most every time everyone met back up to catch up with each other."

"That doesn't matter anymore. We've broken up, and I don't want to see or talk to her. End of story. Period." I said. "Just leave me alone."

Piplup looked as though she wanted to push the point, but Pikachu placed a paw on her shoulder and shook his head. I ignored the two as they left, trying to shove thoughts about Blaziken out of my mind.

I also ignored the tear that was forming at the corner of my left eye.

Blaziken's POV

"So, are you intending to ask Pidgeot out yet, Swellow?" I heard Quilava ask. Even though it was already quite late at night, most of the Pokemon were still wide awake. I couldn't say the same for our trainers, though. They most probably were fast asleep, dreaming about Gym Badges or Contest Ribbons.

"What?! What makes you think I would want to do that?!" The Swallow Pokemon shouted, his face turning a slightly darker shade of red.

"Well, you spend more time with her than anyone else when she comes to visit every now and then, you once flew back with her to where her flock lives and Arceus-knows-what you two did there while you-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Speaking about love, Quilava," I said. "When did you become the resident love expert? Ever since you started dating Bayleef?"

"Wa-Wait a minute! We've only been going out for less than a month! Don't get any ideas!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you so flustered? It's common knowledge that you two are dating, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then there's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. After all, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be with the one you love." I said.

"And where did you get that from?" Quilava asked. Only then did I realize why that line sounded so familiar. Sceptile had said that to me once, a long time ago, and it was possible that he'd told other Pokemon the same thing.

"A friend." I quickly said, hoping he wouldn't push the subject.

"Would this friend of yours happen to be five-foot seven, green in color, loves to be alone, always with a twig in his mouth and have Leaf Blades on his forearms?"

Thanks a lot, Arceus.

I kept silent.

"Great. You two are more alike than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Swellow asked, interested in where the conversation was going.

"They both gave me the silent treatment when I mentioned the other starter. Well, Sceptile's one came with a free branch that nearly dropped onto my head."

"He still hasn't change one bit over the years." Swellow remarked. I had to admit that the Swallow Pokemon was correct, even though I didn't say anything out loud.

"You know, Blaziken, he still loves you. A lot." Quilava said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, although my tone made it sound more like a demand than a question.

"Well, I hear him mutter your name every now and then in his sleep. He sometimes cries himself to sleep, though. Sceptile still hasn't completely gotten over, um, you know what I mean."

"He's not lying." Swellow added. "I've seen it myself, one or two times."

I paused, taking in both his and the Volcano Pokemon's words. Now, without the pressure of any upcoming Contests, I could think more freely. Come to think of it, Sceptile never did tell me exactly why he wanted to break up with me that day, and I never did get a chance to tell him what I had to say to him.

But still, telling him now might now do any good.

At least I'll get it off my chest. It's been bugging me for over two years.

Still, he had to know. He had the right to know. I stood up, startling the others.

"Where are you going, Blaziken?" Quilava asked.

"To do something I should have done a long time ago." With that, I began heading for the forests where I knew that a certain starter would be most at home.

I know it's a bit short. It was meant to be a filler chapter.