Arc V: A Different Week
Chapter 25: Bringing The Bacon
"Alright, everyone, it's breakfast time!" Cilan cried out, catching everyone's attention. "I hope you're ready for a delectable morning with something I've been working on all week!" He pulled out some strips of what looked to be some colorful meat. "My vegetarian berry bacon!"
Pikachu and everyone else who was awake cheered. Iris and Dawn - who were sitting at the table Cilan had set up - looked confused, however.
"Berry bacon?" Dawn asked.
"That's right!" Cilan agreed.
"… Why not just use bacon bacon?" Iris asked.
"Because that would be just too easy! A piece of cake, even!" the chef explained. He pulled a flamboyant pose. "By making a replica of meat without any meat, I've shown that I've got the skills to step it up in the cooking business for both meat lovers and vegetarians! And I'll bet those lil' piggies we didn't eat as a result are feelin' good, too~!"
"… I would've preferred some regular bacon," Iris snarked, shrugging exaggeratedly.
Cilan slumped over in depression. "… And just like that, all of my hard work just went down the drain…!"
"[Is he always that… eccentric?]" Buneary mumbled next to Pikachu.
"[You should see him when he's near some trains,]" he responded, smiling exasperatedly.
"[Huh…]"
Dawn sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Now c'mon, Iris… I think it's pretty neat!" she said. "It sounds exotic, even~"
Iris gave out a breath. "Well… knowing Cilan, I'm sure it'll taste the part, if nothing else. So let's dig in and find out!" she said reassuringly.
"Well, thanks! … I think," Cilan replied sheepishly.
Everyone cheered again and went for a helping. Apparently, there seemed to be enough for everyone, so it meant no pellets! Not that Pikachu was complaining. It was a nice change of pace.
While walking closer to get a helping, something occurred to him when he saw Oshawott greedily rushing over to get some food. Huh… why wasn't Ash rushing over just as much? Was he not hungry today? How concerning.
… Wait, on that note… where was Ash?
"[Oh? What's up, hon?]" Buneary asked. "[You look worried.]"
"[Yeah, I'm just wondering where Ash-…]" Pikachu started, pausing when he realized something. "[… Oh, snap! I forgot to wake Ash up! No wonder he's not here!]"
She looked surprised. "[Ohh, that explains that! Yeah, with us sleeping in Dawn's tent, I'll bet you forgot, huh?]"
"[Yep. Better fix that!]" He ran over to Ash's poorly built tent. He looked behind himself when he heard light thuds following him. Unsurprisingly, he saw Buneary hopping right behind him. "[Hey, don't worry about me. You go get some food, if ya want,]" he reassured her.
"[That can wait! I don't mind helping out,]" she replied, catching up.
"[Well, alright,]" he replied, smiling.
Once they made their way to Ash's tent, they slowly went inside. They were extra careful while inside to avoid agitating the tent, in case it ended up like Iris' poor mess.
When he saw Ash, Pikachu had to try and hold back a groan, though Buneary giggled instead. He was completely splayed across the floor on his front outside his sleeping bag. The sleeping bag was also covering his face. Clearly, he hadn't had a good night's sleep.
"[Someone partied hard last night, huh?]" Buneary joked.
"[No kidding…]" Pikachu replied. He sighed. "[Drat. He mustn't have slept very well. That means he'll take ages to wake up. Even if I zapped him.]"
"[Oh, no kidding? Oh dear…]" she replied. She moved over and prodded Ash's cheek.
"Mmm, no way…" he mumbled in his sleep, jostling about. "I know I beat the league… but you can't keep me here, c'mon…!"
Pikachu groaned again. "[Oh crud… not another 'I beat the league, so now I can't travel anymore' dream. No wonder he slept so bad…]"
"[… What?]" Buneary asked, giving him an odd look.
"[Apparently, ages ago, Gary teased him by telling him that 'anyone who wins the league becomes a champion, and has to stay in the champion's seat forever'. It's something he's still a bit scared of.]"
"[… But… he's still trying to win a league…?]"
"[When he does, he'll bolt, I guarantee it.]" He scratched his ear. "[… Just like when he won the Orange League, actually. He didn't stay around long for that.]"
She blinked several times. "[… Huh…]" She huffed and put her paws on her hips. "[Tsk! So irresponsible! Throwing away all the fame and fortune and all that just for more travelling.]"
He looked at her in surprise. "[You think? Well… yeah, I guess so. Still, he doesn't need any fortune, 'cos his dad's apparently rich… and Ash's 'famous' enough to have, like, a thousand celebrity friends, I guess. Like Cynthia, and… pretty much all the gym leaders. But yeah, I guess it's a bit naughty to not take it seriously, huh?]"
"[Yup!]" She shrugged. "[Guess I can't get too mad, though. If he did have to give up on travelling, I don't think he'd survive a week.]"
He chuckled and nodded. "[Got that right.]"
"[Besides, there's far… far worse things to not be responsible about, that's for sure.]"
He sighed. "[… Got that right, too.]" He moved over to Ash to get a good look at him. "[Hmm…]" He touched Ash's arm and let a tiny bit of electricity pass through his fingers. His trainer did nothing but grumble and roll over towards Pikachu, pushing the sleeping bag away from his face.
Yelping, the mouse jumped over Ash before he was rolled over. He noticed Buneary hopping backwards to avoid the same thing.
"I'll never sit on that champion throne, Cynthia! You can't… make me…!" Ash grumbled.
Pikachu huffed in amusement before crossing his arms and tapping his foot. "[Ohhh, what to do…]" he mumbled. "[If we don't wake up Sleeping Beauty soon, we'll end up missing breakfast.]"
Buneary giggled and nodded. "[Mm-hmm…]" she mumbled in response. Her face lit up. "[Oh, hey, I know how to get him up!]"
He tilted his head. "[You do?]"
She nodded before heading out of the tent. "[Yup! Be right back~]"
"[Er… alright then,]" he replied, staying put.
He waited for a short while until she returned with something in her paws. Getting a good look at it, he raised an eyebrow. "[Err… is that Cilan's berry bacon?]"
She grinned. "[Uh-huh!]" She moved closer to Ash and waved it above his face.
Pikachu blinked. He grinned as he caught onto her little plan, though. Of course, why hadn't he thought of that? Food was basically an Ash magnet! Such a smart bunny.
"[C'mon, sleepy Ash~]" she cooed. "[It's time to wake-]"
Ash's hand shot straight up and grabbed the berry bacon right out of her paws. She screamed in response.
"Oh, man, is that breakfast?!" he shouted excitedly before wolfing the bacon down.
Buneary quickly slipped behind Pikachu in fear. He couldn't say he blamed her. Good lord… he was starting to remember why he never brought Ash breakfast in bed.
Swallowing the bacon, Ash sighed in content. He sat up and yawned before looking down at the couple. "Oh! Hey, buddy! Hey, Buneary!" he greeted cheerfully.
"[H-Hey, Ash!]" Pikachu responded, giving him a wave.
"[Don't kill us, please…!]" Buneary squeaked, also waving lightly.
"You two ready for another great day?" Ash continued, slipping his cap on. "I know I am!"
They gave him an awkward motivating cheer.
The trainer pumped a fist. "Awesome! Well, let's go and get some breakfast, then. I'm starved!" He fumbled his way out of the tent, somehow tearing off the tent flap in the process. Not that he seemed to care much.
Pikachu exasperatedly shook his head. "[Well… it worked, I guess,]" he mumbled.
"[N-No kidding,]" Buneary muttered.
He gave a long drawn out breath before shrugging. "[Oh well…]" He turned to her and offered her an arm. "[Shall we…?]"
"[Heehee, oh, absolutely, my little cherry tomato~]" she replied, linking her arm with his.
Chuckling along, he led her outside. When they got out, he noticed that Ash was already right next to Cilan, demanding to be fed. Oh, that boy…
He made a move to go over in their direction with Buneary in tow. He stopped when he noticed Meloetta sitting on a tree nearby, all alone. She seemed to be eating a little bit of Cilan's berry bacon.
Smiling, Pikachu waved her over. When Buneary noticed her, she joined in.
Smiling back, Meloetta floated over to them. "[Hello, you two~]" she chimed.
The two of them greeted her back.
"[What're you doing out here all by your lonesome?]" Buneary asked.
"[Just eating some of Cilan's lovely food~]" Meloetta replied. "[It's a lot nicer than the breakfasts I was used to, back in… um… yes.]" She awkwardly rubbed her neck.
"[Fair enough, but c'mon, honey…]" Buneary said, "[you don't have to be all by yourself. Come join in with everyone!]"
"[Nobody'll bite!]" Pikachu added.
Meloetta giggled softly before fidgeting with her strip of bacon. "[Um, yes, but… o-oh, I dunno… I don't really know everyone very well, so I get awfully nervous…]" She frowned dryly, "[… especially when Piplup and Oshawott do their, er… 'thing'.]"
"[Heehee, well, can't argue with that, I guess.]" Buneary held her paw out towards Meloetta. "[Don't be shy, though. You can sit next to me, if you want! We can talk about anything you want, and I'll make sure you won't get bothered by any needy boys. How's about that?]"
The singer's face lit up excitedly. "[Oh! Um… okay, sure, yes, please~]"
Buneary beamed. "[Great!]"
Meloetta giggled lightly. When she looked at Pikachu, though, she seemed like she'd realized something. "[Oh, um… Pikachu?]"
"[Ah, yeah?]" he asked, surprised at being addressed.
"[Um… are we still doing the, um… training thing? If that's okay?]"
His eyes widened. "[Oh, right! Drat, I'd almost forgotten, so good job you reminded me.]"
"[Tsk! Your mind is like a sieve, I swear…!]" Buneary chided, nudging him with her arm.
"[S-Sorry…!]" he replied sheepishly. "[Er, but yeah! I'm always happy to train ya, Meloetta! With me, you'll learn Thunderbolt in no time flat!]"
Meloetta excitedly, though delicately, clapped her hands together. "[Oh, wonderful~! I can't wait!]"
"[Hehe, great! First, though, let's go eat. Y'know… before Ash and Oshawott scarf everything down.]"
She giggled and nodded. "[Okay~]"
The three of them moved over to where the others were, ready for their share of bacon goodness.
As they went along, Buneary reached up to grip Meloetta's free hand. Though surprised at first, the singer happily accepted the friendly gesture and floated closer to hold hands with her.
Pikachu smiled warmly at them. How cute. The two of them were going to be best friends, at this rate. Unsurprising, really, considering how friendly that rabbit was to everyone.
The trio happily continued onwards.
Sitting on the grass near Oshawott, Pikachu sighed in content. Good lord, that berry bacon stuff was to die for! It was amazing how Cilan had managed to make it taste exactly like bacon using just berries. The texture was slightly odd, and the aftertaste was missing the same kick as meat… but hey, not bad for a self-made recipe!
He could tell that Oshawott was enjoying himself, too. He'd gone back for quite a few 'second' helpings - of which there were many, because Cilan had gone a bit mad on making bacon - so the mouse had decided to sit here to keep an eye on him. Didn't want the otter to get too chubby, after all. Especially if he wanted to keep on trying to impress ladies.
From where he was, he could hear the humans talking, though he couldn't see them. He decided to listen for a bit while he savored the next piece of bacon he'd started working on.
"Man, after last night, I don't think I ever wanna see another tent again…" Ash mumbled with a big yawn.
"With ya there," Iris responded. "Barely feels like I've slept…"
"Oh, do you hate tents like Ash, too?" Dawn asked.
"You got that right. They're a pain to set up, and I can't even feel the night air on my face when I'm trying to sleep."
Ash chuckled. "Yeah. Cynthia sure is good with pokémon, but she's got loads to learn about camping," he said.
"No way, no how," Dawn replied. "I may have tried sleeping out and about, once or twice… but heck no. Give me a nice, warm, hair-protecting tent any day!"
"I'd agree with that dish of yours, Dawn. But hey, different tastes for different… um… mates?"
Silence followed his statement, except for Ash, who sounded like he was chuckling with his mouth full.
"… What?" Dawn asked.
"Ughh, Cilan, that was pretty bad," Iris said.
"H-Hey, gimmie a break…" Cilan muttered awkwardly. "My main flavor is food phrases, not rhyming…"
"Yeah… maybe you should stick to your day job."
"Yeah. Guess I'll hold back for now…"
Pikachu gave a drawn out sigh, though with a light smirk. It was like he was travelling with a circus, sometimes, he swore. Not that he was complaining, of course. Made his days more interesting, if nothing else.
Swallowing his bacon, he looked across the eating area to take note of where Piplup was. Something he'd been doing quite a lot this morning, just in case the penguin got any Meloetta-related ideas. Thankfully, he was in Pachirisu's, Axew's and Scraggy's group, being reasonably distracted.
While turning back, he saw Buneary and Meloetta eating and talking together. He also saw that they were looking over Dawn's 'Poké Chic' magazine. The one Buneary had posed for once. Pikachu had honestly forgotten about it until now, but he'd been lucky enough to get a copy, thanks to Iris' love of cute things. Maybe later today, he'd go and take another look at the bunny's photos, just to remind himself of how pretty she'd looked in her dresses.
"[I wun'er wha' 'hey're 'ookin' ah',]" Oshawott mumbled, also looking at them, his cheeks puffing out with food.
Pikachu rolled his eyes and wiped the otter's messy mouth with his tail. "[Don't talk with your mouth full, man,]" he chided.
"[Shorry…!]" the otter responded before swallowing it all down at once. He sighed in satisfaction before trying again. "[I wonder what they're looking at.]"
Pikachu sighed before smiling. "[If I had to guess, Buneary's probably showing off the time she modeled for a magazine.]"
Oshawott slapped his paws to his face in surprise. "[W-What!? You're telling me she's a model!?]"
Pikachu lightly shook his head. "[Eheh, um… not quite. She only did it once, and it was mostly just to show off different kinds of pokémon clothing.]"
"[Hey, in my eyes, that still counts!]" Oshawott pouted heavily. "[Why did Zekrom bless you with such a cute, funny, intelligent girlfriend who's also a model!?]" He clenched his paw into a fist while gritting his teeth, eyes watering heavily. "[What do I have to do to be so gosh darn lucky…!?]"
Sighing again, Pikachu rubbed Oshawott's back comfortingly. "[Er, chin up, Oshawott. Besides, you're saying that when you're trying to date a near-legendary pokémon. I barely compare!]"
Oshawott grumbled before letting out a puff of air. "[Yeah, I guess…]" he replied, wiping his tears away with his arm. He paused for a short while, a confused look coming over him. "[… Wait, there's clothing for pokémon? Really?]"
"[Huh? 'Course! Didn't you see Buneary in her vest, yesterday?]"
He blinked. "[… Huh, I guess, yeah. But… it still doesn't make sense! We're already covered in clothing, kinda! That's real pointless, ain't it?]"
"[Heh, well… some mons like it because it looks good on 'em, y'know? Mixing different color combos, and all that.]"
Oshawott gave out a puff of air and pulled a duck face. "[… Hipsters.]"
Pikachu laughed and playfully nudged him on the arm with his tail. "[Careful, man. Meloetta's starting to look interested in that mag, so you might wanna rethink that…!]"
Oshawott's eyes widened. "[Oh, she is!? W-Well, um…]" He smiled brightly, "[in that case, sign me up! Where can I get some clothes?]"
The mouse laughed again before clicking his tongue. "[… Ask me again tonight and maybe I'll hook you up with something.]"
"[Sweet! Thanks, man!]"
"[No problem…]" Pikachu sighed, going back to his bowl of bacon. This kid, seriously…
As Oshawott took the opportunity to gorge on his bacon again, Pikachu decided to eavesdrop on the conversation happening on the table next to him again to pass the time.
"Hey, y'know," Iris started. "I heard they're releasing another Dirty Herdier movie, next week."
Ash swallowed his food and gasped in surprise. "Oh, cool! I've been waitin' for another one since forever!" he replied excitedly.
"I know, right? Let's go watch it sometime."
"Awesome, sure!" He chuckled. "Talk about 'feelin' lucky, punk'." He laughed again.
She giggled before huffing. "Ash, that was so forced, it hurts."
"I tried…"
"And yet you still found it tastier than my Chili joke from yesterday…" Cilan mumbled in a pouty voice.
"… Umm…" Iris awkwardly started after a pause.
"Are you and Ash even old enough for that sorta stuff?" Dawn interrupted. "Those movies are rated R for a reason."
"Huh? Hey, we're not little kids. We can handle it," Iris replied before huffing in amusement. "Well… I'm not a kid, anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash replied. "I can totally handle that sorta stuff, too."
"Barely…" she replied, much to Dawn's amusement. "How about you, Dawn? Wanna watch it with us?"
"Um… I'll pass," Dawn replied. "It's not really my kind of movie."
"Not a fan of the more mature dishes, I take it?" Cilan asked.
"Nope! My tastes for movies are purely sweet. I like 'em nice and cute!"
"Aww, but what about all the action?" Ash asked.
"I like cute stuff as much as the next girl…" Iris started, "but he's right! It gets your heart racing!"
"It's not the action I'm worried about…" Dawn replied exasperatedly. "I'm fine with a healthy amount of it in a movie… if it's not all bloody and awful."
Pikachu noticed Pachirisu and Axew - who were eating together nearby - perk up at that comment. He also noticed Snivy grouchily roll her eyes at the duo.
"Well, in that case…" Cilan started, "maybe some time soon, you could watch one of the movies me, Ash and Iris made together with Luke!"
"… Huh? Luke?"
"Um, that is, a movie buff we made friends with, a little while back."
"Ohh, okay."
Pikachu huffed in amusement and looked over at Buneary to see if she'd caught that. The bunny looked somewhat surprised, though only at whatever was in the magazine she was reading with Meloetta. Tsk, pity. It would've been amusing seeing her reaction to hearing about a Luke with no context.
"But yeah," Cilan continued, "if it's sweet and spicy you want, then our movies have got ya covered!" His voice took on a mock-evil tone. "Especially when I, the most grand of villains, show up!"
"You? A villain? Really?" Dawn asked, sounding amazed.
"Yep! I don't mind playing the bad guy every once in a while. Especially since I made quite the delectable one, at that~!"
"If not a little strange…!" Iris snarked.
"'Strange', she says…" he mumbled, sounding like he'd slumped to his table in depression.
"… But yeah, our movies were awesome!" Ash chimed in, ignoring him.
"Haha, cool! Well, sure thing, I'll watch them! I can hardly wait!" Dawn replied, sounding excited.
"Awesome! It'll be way better than any Dirty Herdier movie, which is really sayin' something!"
"Hah! You got that right!" Iris agreed happily.
Pikachu chuckled. Such egos for such short films! He was starting to realize where he'd picked that up from.
Oh well. It was looking like it was movie night later on, back at Cynthia's place. Not that he was complaining. It was pretty exciting, actually! He could show off his acting prowess on the big screen to Buneary!
… Heh. It was funny, actually. He'd never really worried about looking impressive to someone, before. Not romantically, anyway. Yet here he was, actually putting serious thought into it. It was really strange, but pretty exciting, too.
That said, though, it was also vaguely worrying. No thanks to his talk with Snivy yesterday, he couldn't stop remembering her advice about 'keeping the relationship fueled,' or whatever it was she'd said. Did that include keeping up his impressive stunts in order to keep her interested? Hmm…
… Agh, romance was complicated. There were so many things to keep track of, and he was only on day two!
Well, whatever. If nothing else, his performance in the movies would hopefully be enough to keep her 'impressed meter' high on fuel for a good long while. After all, he'd considered his acting skills in their movies to be pretty top notch, if he did say so himself! Maybe even enough for him to consider getting a movie career-!
He felt something drip onto his head. Raising an eyebrow, he looked up- Wah!
He dodged to the side to avoid some berry bacon, which had fallen off the table. He took a deep breath when he realized that he was safe. Phew…
"[Wow! Um… close call!]" he heard Oshawott say.
"[H-Heh, yeah…]" Pikachu replied, turning to look at him. "[No kidding-]" He saw something behind the otter that made him yelp and nearly leap a foot in the air. O-Oh dear, lord, what the heck!? "[O-Oshawott, behind you!]"
"[Eh?]" the otter asked, turning around. When he saw the ghostly figure behind himself, he shrieked, too. "[Oh, lord, it's a ghost!]"
The ghost behind him only tilted its head. In fact… looking at it, Pikachu could tell that it was a lampent. A fiery ghost that was shaped like a creepy lamp, appropriately enough.
Even though it was a pokémon, Pikachu immediately felt on edge. Ever since that dream involving the drifloon - not to mention that one time where a rotom had threatened to shear his and Buneary's faces off as a lawnmower - he'd found it hard to trust ghosts.
The lampent continued staring at them.
Pikachu instinctively made a move to stand in front of Oshawott. However, the otter's face suddenly lit up unexpectedly.
"[Wait, scratch that… are you a lady?]" he asked.
The lampent stared at him before nodding lightly.
"[Well, in that case…!]" Cheeks reddening, he sidled up to the ghost, looking very delighted, indeed. "[Heehee, hey there, cutie! Hiii~! We should go out!]"
She just continued to stare at him. It was hard to tell if she was confused or legitimately intrigued.
Sweating, Pikachu looked around at the others. He began to sweat even more when he saw many of the others watching the scene unfolding. Especially when he saw Meloetta's disapproving look and Piplup's smug look. He also saw Togekiss worriedly looking between him and Oshawott, for some reason. Probably knowing the trouble that was about to ensue.
Oh, freaking Hell… this was starting to get so awkward to watch, it hurt.
Gulping, Pikachu tapped Oshawott on the shoulder. "[Um… e-eheh, er… Oshawott, you're, um… c-causing a scene. Please stop,]" he asked.
"[Causing a…?]" Oshawott started, turning around. His eyes went wide when he saw Meloetta. Freaking out, he spun to face the lampent. "[N-No, just kidding! I'd never flirt with you!]" he shouted. He blinked before freaking out some more. "[N-Not because of you, though! You're very beautiful and pretty! I j-just… y'know!]" He gasped and glanced behind himself briefly, most likely at Meloetta.
Feeling some horrible second-hand embarrassment, Pikachu decided not to look, too. Screw that…! "[O-Oshawott, c'mon, watch what you say…]" he mumbled.
The otter briefly looked at him in horror before looking back at the lampent. He shook his head harder than before. "[N-No, but you're not the most beautiful! Y-You're just…! I-I mean…!]" He continued to ramble awkwardly.
Groaning, Pikachu turned away and tuned the otter out. If this kept up, he was going to cringe hard enough to damage his face.
The mouse jumped when he saw somebody else a short distance in front of him. He calmed down when he recognized the pokémon, however. Huh, was that…?
"[Lampent, my dear, what are you doing out here?]" a servine said, looking at the ghost. And not just any servine at that, but… "[Are you bothering other trainers again? Even after Trip's asked you not to a thousand times?]" he continued.
"[… This guy's weird,]" the ghost replied, pointing at Oshawott.
The snake raised an eyebrow. "[Hm? Who's-?]" When he looked at the otter, he gasped, eyes widening.
Oshawott's eyes also widened. "[Um… uh oh,]" he mumbled.
Servine continued to stare at him as a big beaming smile worked its way onto his face. "[Oooooh, if it isn't my little Oshy~!]" he chimed, moving closer to the otter. Producing some vines, he playfully pinched his cheeks with them. "[It feels like it's been absolutely aaaages since we last talked~! Oh, how I've missed our get-togethers~]"
"[Ughh, Shervine, you're embarrasshing meeee…!]" Oshawott replied, struggling.
The snake only chuckled in response.
Pikachu could only awkwardly stand nearby, feeling rather embarrassed for Oshawott. Good lord, even Buneary wasn't this affectionate. He'd known that the two starters had been friends, once upon a time, but still…
Looking around, he saw everyone observing the scene with varying reactions. The humans were looking at the scene with intrigue, with Dawn even scrambling to scan the two newcomers with her pokédex. Most of the pokémon were reacting with either amusement or bemusement. Except for Buneary, anyway, who seemed to be finding the scene rather cute.
Servine suddenly stopped pinching Oshawott's cheeks to look at Lampent excitedly. "[Oh, Lampent, my dear! I've just got to tell you about my little Oshy-poo, here~]"
The ghost tilted her head in intrigue.
"[He's my oldest friend, don't you know?]" Servine continued. "[We met when he just showed up at the daycare center out of the blue, one day.]" He chuckled. "[The poor boy was such a sensitive soul back then. He just wouldn't stop crying. Couldn't get a word out of him, no matter how much I tried.]"
"[H-Hey, no, I didn't cry!]" Oshawott shouted, his face going bright red. "[… That much!]"
"[Ohoho, you could've fooled me~]" the snake replied, using a vine to rub him on the head affectionately.
"[Y-Yeah, I could've! And easily, at that!]" Oshawott replied, pouting.
"[Oh, such confidence! There's a reason I've always looked up to you so much, Oshy!]"
"[… This is strange,]" Lampent remarked.
"[… Y-Yeah,]" Pikachu mumbled. Honestly, he was just glad that the snake didn't seem to be paying attention to him. He always brought up their first battle, whenever he did. And not even mockingly, either…
"Lampent? Are you out here?" a voice from nearby called out. Trip's, from the sounds of things.
Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the trainer in question come out from behind a nearby tree. The boy's face lit up when he saw his pokémon. "Oh, Servine, you found Lampent! Good work," he praised.
"[Oh, it was no problem for me~]" Servine responded.
"Oh, Trip! Hey!" Ash called out excitedly.
Walking over, Trip looked surprised before frowning at him. "Oh… it's you," he remarked.
Ash chuckled. "Yep!"
"Oh! So, these two belong to you, huh?" Dawn asked. She offered him a wave. "I'm Dawn! Nice to meet'cha!"
Trip looked at her, seeming somewhat perplexed. "… Trip." He put a hand on his hip. "Don't remember seeing you with these guys before."
"I'm visiting all the way from Sinnoh! Well… technically Hoenn, this time, but still!"
"Yep!" Cilan piped in. "She's a contest connoisseur! A coordinator, in other words!"
"Not that you care, probably. Knowing you…" Iris mumbled.
Pikachu expected Trip to look as aloof as ever. Surprisingly, however, his eyes noticeably widened. He held the look briefly before huffing cockily and looking elsewhere. "… That so? Well… good for you," he replied, ignoring Iris and looking at Dawn.
"[Contests?]" Servine asked, looking interested. "[Ooh, my Trip is in luck, then! He utterly adores contests! Won't stop watching them when he's near a television~]"
Pikachu blinked. "[Huh… talk about a guilty pleasure,]" he replied.
Servine huffed in amusement. He murmured in confusion afterwards and turned to face Pikachu, reacting to him with slight surprise. "[Oh, it's you! The mouse I easily beat at the start of my journey! Hello~]"
Pikachu slapped a paw to his face. "[… Hi… ]" he mumbled. For frick's sake, his poor ego…
"Hey, Trip, come eat with us!" Ash said. "We've got enough berry bacon to last for days!"
"You've… got what?" Trip asked.
"My latest creation!" Cilan boasted. "It's vegetarian, but still as meaty as they come!"
"… Oh." Trip shrugged. "Ehh, I'll pass."
"Oh, please?" Dawn asked. "If you stay, I'll talk all about contesting, if you're interested!"
"Pfft. He's sure to stay now, I'm sure," Iris snarked.
Apparently ignoring her sass again, Trip looked at Dawn in what seemed to be contemplation. Eventually, he shrugged again, though more aloofedly. "… Alright. Fine. Guess I've got time to spare."
"Oh, awesome!" Ash said happily.
"Huh, well, what do you know…" Iris mumbled.
"Um… but first…" Trip said, bringing his camera up.
Dawn flusteredly held a defensive stance. "Gah! W-What're you doing?" she shrieked.
"… Documenting my journey? I've never met a coordinator in person, before, so..."
"Not until I've fixed my hair up, you aren't!" she replied, pulling off her beanie and hair clips and producing a mirror and a brush. She carefully started messing with her hair quickly after.
Trip stood in place, seeming dumbfounded.
Ash laughed. "Some things never change. Just like her hair, even when she tidies it up."
"What was that, you little kid!?" Dawn growled, having had a button of hers pushed.
"Ahh, w-what's that supposed to mean!?" Ash cried, falling off his seat in shock and having lots of bacon fall onto his face.
"… Um… that's my line, but okay…" Iris said, looking somewhat shocked herself.
Trip stared at the scene in disbelief. He then huffed loudly, looking like he was trying to hold back a laugh.
Pikachu felt his face heat up in second-hand embarrassment. Jeez, Ash wasn't kidding when he'd said that some things never change. He and all of his pals were as bizarre as ever.
The mouse glanced off to the side again. As expected, he saw Piplup looking somewhat exasperated at Dawn's antics. Poor guy. He knew the pain of 'trainer cringe' all too well.
While turning back to look at the humans, he caught sight of Meloetta looking somewhat anxious. Probably because of all the sudden newcomers.
He shrugged and moved over to her and Buneary. Well, he'd already eaten enough bacon for one morning, so now was time to start that training! If only to put Meloetta at ease… and because if he ate any more of that tasty bacon, he was going to get chubby again. Something Buneary wouldn't appreciate, he was sure.
… Ack, he just realized! He had to keep his weight down to stay impressive to her, too, didn't he?
Still moving, he inconspicuously poked at his stomach. To his relief, it felt firm to the touch. Somewhat muscular, even! … Maybe save for a slight bulge. No thanks to the bacon, probably.
… He had to make sure he worked up a sweat with this training.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished:
Older stuff - 15/08 (August)/2015
Newer stuff - 01/09 (September)/2018
Word count: 5,253
VGS2's pointless notes: Y'know, I totally didn't know that Trip actually has a catchphrase. Not until ravengal pointed it out, anyway. Gosh darn it… now I'm gonna have to go and shoehorn it into an earlier chapter, somewhere. Basic stuff. XP
Oh well… at least we have the glorious return of Cilan's berry bacon! Huzzah! :D Now all we need is that 'certain scene' from later on, and then all of the older 'A Game-Changing Day' stuff will be here! Sans whatever was hinting towards the 'twist' that I was gonna do at the time. And also sans the Dr. Mario thing I did in hopes of getting people to read my Smash Brothers fic (Which didn't work, by the way, even though that fic even has pokémon in it. Bawl!)
Shameless promotion: For today's shout-out, I'mm-a gonna talk about someone called Mezamun!
He's a writer who seems to have an affinity for Ash-focused fics… though unlike most of them - which usually make the boy eighty-million times more edgy than he actually is in canon (even compared to his Kanto days, where he was more like a well-meaning delinquent than anything, but that's another story) - Mezamun makes it a priority to keep his goofy personality intact enough for you to believe it's him! It's a goddamn miracle, I'll tell ya hwhat. 'Specially with all these betrayal fics floating about, by golly…
His most popular story, Another Road, even has some PikaBun in it! Though with a bit of a twist, which may or may not be amusing in hindsight, considered what I did in a recent chapter. XP Seems fun enough despite that, though!
So yeah, it goes without saying that you should go and drop him some reviews! And please don't gripe about how he already has hundreds of reviews. Even if someone has loads, it's always nice to drop them some for their latest chappie, so that they have a reason to continue. 'Tis what a kewl person does! :P
Fun mistake/s of the day: #1: *In chapter 7* "He usually just complains about Serperior, so that's news to me!"
(Whoops. We had a bit of a change of fic canon, so I might have to go back and fix this. XD Thankfully, it's the only case of it happening, so that was lucky. Sorry if I confused you guys when he showed up in this chappie as a result, though! We'll say he… devolved, or something. He hit reverse snake puberty, as one does. XP)
#2: '"[… Is he always that… eccentric?]" Buneary mumbled next to Pikachu?'
(What's with the indecisiveness? Is Pikachu questioning her mumblings?)
#3: 'He looked behind himself when he heard heavy thuds following him.'
(Buneary, lose some weight! :O Though maybe it'll make Pikachu'd nostalgic, everything considered.)
#4: 'He was outside his sleeping bah,'
(Ash caught himself a mareep during the night, apparently. Better hope that his charizard graces him with a charmander to go with it, eh?)
#5: 'Clearly, he hadn't had a good night's sleep.' *Shortly later* "[Drat. He must've slept very well.]"
(Which is it, Pikachu? You can't sleep well and not very well in one night. XD)
#6: "I'll never sit on that champion throne, Professor! You can't… made me…!"
(Professor Oak confirmed for Ash's father. Considering I changed the person in his dream to Cynthia, though… maybe I should joke about her being his mother, instead. Hell, why not both? XP Oak x Cynthia, lez goe!)
#7: 'He stopped when he noticed Meloetta hanging in a tree nearby.'
(Welp. :/ Sorry, Oshawott and Piplup. Guess neither of you won!)
#8: 'Sitting on the grass near Oshawott, Pikachu sighed in extreme content.'
(I might've played up his love for bacon a little too much, here… XD *Insert joke about Spiritual Successor shenanigans here*)
#9: 'He had to keep yup'
(Reminds me of Ducky from Land Before Time, for some reason. XP "Yup, yup, yup, let's break out into song randomly and make everyone who watched our first movie cringe! Yup, yup, eeyup!")
#10: "[i ghost!]"
(Whoops. While trying to use italics, I killed Oshawott. Rip In Pisces)
#11: 'Probably knowing the trouble that was about to ensure.'
(Whoops... I meant ensue. Unless someone's trying to make sure it happens. Probably Piplup, that smug little bugger. XP)
#12: 'Freaking out, he spun to face Lanturn'
(Congratulations! Your lampent evolved into a fish. XD)
#13: 'Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the trainer in question come out from behind a nearby tree. His face lit up when he saw his pokémon.'
(Who's face lit up when Trips mons were spotted? Pikachu's? XD Servine x Pikachu time!)
#14: ''Ahh, w-what's that supposed to men!?" Ash cried, falling off his seat and having lots of bacon fall onto his face.'
(Not only has Ash apparently become SJW and now hates men, but he also fell off his chair for… no obvious reason. The frick. XD)
#15: 'Save for a slight bulgy bit lower down, maybe no thanks to the bacon.'
(I only noticed what I wrote after ravengal pointed it out. My, what fun we had. XD Guess Pikachu finds bacon hotter than Buneary.)
#16: 'Guess Pikachu finds bacon hotter than Pikachu'
(Oh my god, I've gotta stop writing at six in the morning… XD Certainly suits Pikachu'd, though, considering his little ego problem. XP "Man, I'm way hotter than this bacon! Feels good, man-" *Gets hit on the head by shenanigans* )
Alrighty, and with that, I'm off to actually research more episodes of Unova for once in my life! (Shock and horror! O,o) Tata for now! c:
Next up: Training up a sweat!