Little surprise for everyone here. I've checked out other fics and found that I support Ash's Pikachu being with Dawn's Buneary, even if their owners aren't together. So, I added that as a 12th couple in my story, even through Buneary's a Lopunny now. Speech in parentheses indicates Pokemon talking to each other, and in that dialogue, I will use "he" or "she" for them. Any other times, I will use "it." This Chapter has content owned by GalacticFTW, but I might have unintentionally altered some details. At any rate, enjoy!


A True Blackheart

Chapter 9

Dawn and Paul returned to the lobby alongside the defeated Kenny and Zoey, happy for their victory. The rest of the group approached them.

"Great job, all of you." Brock commented.

"Eh, it was nothing." Paul said, earning an elbow from Kenny.

"Hey, Dawn, did you happen to catch Lopunny's little 'stunt?'" Ash asked.

Dawn was confused. "Huh?"

"Lopunny flashed a wink at Pikachu before the battle." The raven-haired trainer explained. "It looks like she still has a thing for him."

"Is that so?" The blunette replied. She grabbed a Pokeball. "In that case, come on out, Lopunny!" She opened the Pokeball, letting the brown rabbit back out. Lopunny was confused, so it faced its trainer. "I heard you winked at Pikachu during the match?" She asked it sarcastically. The rabbit smirked, and then turned to the yellow mouse and winked at it again, causing Pikachu's cheeks to become even redder than normal, as well as gain a slightly embarrassed smile on its face. Lopunny began walking off, but it quickly looked back and motioned for Pikachu to follow it. The still blushing mouse hopped off of Ash's head to follow the smitten bunny.

"Go get her, buddy." Ash whispered to it.

"Pika. (Right.)" It said in a low pitch. Pikachu walked in the direction of Lopunny. Ash turned to his girlfriend.

"Don't think Pikachu being with Lopunny will change what's happening between us." He told her.

"Same with us." Dawn relayed to Paul. Both Misty and Paul couldn't help but chuckle.

Meanwhile, Pikachu had made it to the bunny that still had a thing for him.

"(Glad you followed.)" Lopunny told him.

"(I can't believe you still have a crush on me after three long years.)" Pikachu said with slight surprise. "(I remember when you were a shy, blushing Buneary.)" This caused Lopunny to blush, just like she always had before. She turned around.

"(Actually, I don't know if it's a crush anymore…)" The bunny breathed.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu was confused. Lopunny turned back around to face him.

"(Pikachu, I have to know.)" She stated. "(Am I… just a friend to you?)"

Pikachu just blushed intensely and turned around. Though nobody knew it, Pikachu actually had feelings for Lopunny dating back to when she was a Buneary. He was too shy to admit it, so he never showed them.

"(Guess I should let the cat out of the bag.)" He said, turning back to face Lopunny. "(Truth be told, you aren't just a friend. I've actually had feelings for you since you were a Buneary, but I never told you because I was shy.)" Lopunny gasped, and her eyes lit up; she never knew Pikachu had feelings for her. Pikachu continued. "(Also, I wasn't sure at first if the feelings were real. After we parted ways when Ash and I left Sinnoh, I felt depressed for a reason I didn't know. As the time went by, I tried to figure out why, and I came to a conclusion: I missed you. That was when I knew my feelings were real. Now I can say it. Lopunny, I-)" He was cut off suddenly by the rabbit's soft lips on his own.

Ash and Dawn smiled at the sight of their Pokemon kissing, but an interruption soon occurred.

"Lux…" A voice growled. Pikachu and Lopunny broke apart to see a four-legged Pokemon with blue skin and black fur approaching them. The front legs had yellow bands, and it had a tail with a yellow X shape on the end. It had piercing yellow eyes and an angry look on its face.

"What's with that Luxray?" Dawn asked.

"(What do you two think you are doing?)" Luxray growled angrily at the mouse and rabbit.

"(We're just expressing our love for each other.)" Pikachu explained. "(Is there some kind of law against that?)"

"(If you value your lives, you will cease those actions.)" The blue Pokemon said.

"(Jeez, jealous, are we?)" Lopunny asked smugly. "(You can't make us stop.)" She took Pikachu's paw in defiance, causing him to smile as well. Luxray got mad.

"(I don't make idle threats.)" He told them darkly, baring his teeth. Then, two of his fangs glowed bright blue.

"What's it doing?" Paul wondered.

"LUX-RAY!" It shouted. Jagged blue streams of energy shot out from its teeth; an attack better known as Ice Fang. Both Pokemon quickly jumped to dodge as the streams struck and froze the ground. All of a sudden, Luxray jumped toward Pikachu. "(Eat this!)" It yelled to the mouse. Its left front claw turned lime green and extended; Fury Cutter. It slashed Pikachu in the back, but it didn't do much. The claw returned to normal, but Luxray wasn't done yet. It extended its claw again and went after Pikachu again, but it was punched out of the way by a purple frog-like Pokemon, a Toxicroak. It was quickly joined by a grey cat Pokemon, Purugly.

"(What is wrong with you?)" Purugly asked Luxray, annoyed.

"(What did these two ever do to you?)" Toxicroak added, though in a more civil tone.

"(Don't get in my way!)" The gleam eyes Pokemon roared. He began charging energy for a Thunderbolt attack, but he was stopped by a voice.

"Enough, Luxray. Save your strength for a real battle." Luxray growled and lowered its energy. The trainers rushed to the scene.

"Pikachu, you OK?" Ash asked, worried.

"Lopunny, what about you?" Dawn inquired.

Both Pokemon nodded and returned to each other's side. Both trainers looked to see who stopped Luxray and saw none other than Blackheart approaching them. He took his hand and began scratching Luxray's head.

"Wait, that's YOUR Luxray?" Ash asked. Blackheart merely nodded.

"Why did you have it attack Pikachu and Lopunny?" Dawn demanded to know.

"I didn't." The white-haired teen told them. "Luxray acted on its own decision. My Pokemon despise love just like I do, so they will try to destroy it if they see it, with or without an order from me. Count yourself lucky they even lived. Luxray will fight a Pokemon to the death to crush its bonds." Blackheart recalled Luxray to its Pokeball and walked off. Pikachu and Lopunny were shocked at those last words.

"(It would fight a Pokemon to the death…)" Pikachu breathed. He looked at Lopunny. She looked scared, so he took her paw in his own. When she felt his paw, she relaxed a bit.

"Good thing we stepped in to help." A somewhat familiar male voice said. Everyone turned to see two people approaching them. One was a man, about 25 years old, with long black hair in a mullet. He was wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes. With him was a woman, about age 23, with scarlet hair in a ponytail. She was dressed in a tank top that matched her hair, orange shorts, and yellow sandals.

"Thanks for helping us, but who are you?" Ash asked.

"My name is Stanford, Stan for short, and this is my love, Marie." The man introduced them both, causing Marie to blush. "We're in this tournament as well."

"Oh, yeah, I've seen you two." Wes said. "You're up against me and Rui in the fourth match!"

Paul spoke up. "Your voice sounds familiar. Have we met before?"

"Should we tell them, Stan?" Marie asked him with a sad look. Her voice was familiar as well.

"I suppose." Stan replied. He gave a quick whistle, and Toxicroak and Purugly ran to them. Toxicroak stood by Stan, and Purugly stood by Marie. "Actually, we have met, just not like this." Stan explained. "You knew us as Saturn and Mars, Commanders of Team Galactic." Everyone gasped.

"Wait, wait, hear us out!" Marie pleaded, throwing her hands up. "You see, Cyrus returned sometime you defeated us, and reformed Team Galactic. However, he imposed new strict rules that we, as well as Jupiter, whose real name is Jade, didn't agree with. One of the rules prohibited romance between members, and Stan and I had actually been in love even before we joined. We couldn't stand Cyrus anymore, so we quit. We actually helped with Cyrus's capture, and so we were pardoned from our past. Ever since then, we've been together happily, our Galactic days a fading memory." She linked her arm with Stan's as she spoke the last part.

"That's great to hear." Rui commented.

"Attention, everyone," someone said over the intercom, "the fourth match of the first round is about to start. Participants, report to the field; spectators, head for the stands."

"Well, I guess it's showtime." Wes remarked, cracking his neck. "Ready Rui?"

"Yep, let's go!" The orange-haired girl chirped. Wes took her hand as they headed for the field.

"See you two on the battlefield!" Wes called to Stan and Marie.

"Let's hurry, Stan." Marie said to the black-haired man.

"Indeed." He replied suavely. Marie delinked their arms and took his hand as they headed for their side. All of the others (Lopunny stayed out of its Pokeball to be near Pikachu) headed for the stands. Blackheart went as well, but he pulled out his list again.

'What was that woman's name again?' He asked himself mentally. Looking up at the matchups for the round, he saw Marie's name under her picture. He looked back to his list. 'Marie… Marie… aha. There you are.' Marie's name was on the piece of paper. 'Now I just have to see who loses.' Blackheart put his list back in his pocket as he trudged to the stands.


Like trainer, like Pokemon. Blackheart's some influence, isn't he? Chapter 10 is Battle 4: Wes and Rui VS Stan and Marie! Stay tuned!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.