To-do list: SoulSilverShipping, FranticShipping, GracefulShipping, KantoContestShipping, PreciousMetalShipping, Ash's PikachuxPaul's Electabuzz, TickleShipping, CemetaryShipping, EphemeralShipping, BayShipping, ShoppingShipping, LazyPervertShipping, LucarioxDelcatty, EgyptianFurShipping, SpecialJewelShipping, ColosseumShipping, NostalgiaShipping, RangerShipping, RepairShipping, IpanemaShipping, SylphShipping, ElegantShipping, NidoranMxNidoranF, StreetShipping, PokeShipping, LuxioxEspeon, LightrockShipping, ClapShipping, FireredShipping, GinsuishouShipping, EmpiplupShipping, ContuckyFriedShipping, RafexMay, MahouShipping, LilBlueShipping, BlenderShipping, AuraSightShipping, JackiexRui, JackiexEmok, AccordShipping, PenguinShipping, ChoosenShipping, QuestShipping, TurtwigxCyndaquil, RubusShipping, LunarEclipseShipping, TorterraxSnorlax, Who'sOnTopTonightShipping, IronWillShipping
PiketShipping – Pikachu & a bottle of Ketchup (K+)
"My master's eyes are nothing like the sun;
In fact, I find him on the whole quite dim,
For though he is a kind and loving one
He chases after danger on a whim.
Now, if I may adhere to something else
Of shape so sleek and liquid sweet and pure,
Then I would gladly sigh as my heart melts
Rather than roll my eyes while I endure.
Oh ketchup! I am sky and you are sun,
For you provide my life with joy and light,
And I give you a place to sleep, in turn,
Within my belly as day turns to night.
How do I love you! Sugars nutritious
With redness forms into what's delicious!"
Pikachu looked up from her sonnet, bowing as the other Pokemon clapped politely. A sense of pride swelled within her. It hadn't been easy for her to write, that was for sure. Getting the rhythm and rhyming right was hard. But if it meant honoring her beloved ketchup, it was worth it.
"Oh, Pikachu!" Togekiss gushed, her sweet voice piping over the fading applause. "Your happiness and adoration is wondrous indeed … I can truly tell your love for ketchup is strong and sincere." She wiped a joyful tear from her eye with a quivering white wing.
"It was pretty cool," Buizel agreed, nodding. "I especially liked the first part. Ash is a cool guy and all, but he can be a real idiot sometimes."
"Meh," Croagunk said, shrugging. "Who am I to know good poetry? Still, the part about the sleek shape and sweet liquid made me feel all tingly." His face stretched into a creepy grin.
"Well, hey," Pikachu said, spreading her arms. "The point is that it wasn't terrible, right?"
"B-but … b-b-but …" Buneary stammered, her eyes wide and bright as she stared up at her not-so-secret crush, "b-but it wouldn't be serious, w-would it? I mean …" She blushed furiously. "You're not really in love with ketchup, are you?"
"Well …" Pikachu began, shifting slightly.
"Oh, get real, peasant," Piplup scoffed, folding his flippers. "Even you should know that Pikachu's not weird enough for that sort of thing. Or does your head have more fluff in it than the rest of your puny little body?"
Buneary's eyes welled up with shining tears. Before Pikachu could compose herself enough to assure her with an adequate lie, the bunny dashed away, sobbing obnoxiously.
"… But Buneary's as tall as you are," Happiny put in matter-of-factly, completely missing the point.
"Pluppy-kun," Pachirisu said just a little sharply, "why can't you be a little less of a weirdo and start accepting people for who they are? It isn't Pikachu-san's fault that she's romantically involved with bottles of ketchup. Love in any form is love, so stop being intolerant. OR I WILL KILL YOU."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Hi," Pachirisu added, grinning cheekily.
Everyone aside from the loudly snoring Mamoswine turned towards Pikachu.
"Is this true?" Buizel asked quietly, so that he was almost unheard over Mamoswine's next snore.
Pikachu's mind worked rapidly. What was she supposed to tell them? That she relished every lick of ketchup she'd ever had? That she sometimes snuck a bottle from a restaurant and murmured things to it while everyone else was asleep? That she sometimes pictured herself mothering little half-Pichus dripping with ketchup and even worried that she might eat them? Of course not. Why would they be able to take it? Heck, it even freaked her out a little.
"Of course not," she managed to laugh. "It's ketchup. It's, like, the least romantic thing on the planet." Unless her passion for it was channeled through a sonnet, of course. But she kept that little gem of an addition to herself.
"Yeah, but you're still in love with it, Pikachu-san," Pachirisu insisted, still grinning.
Piplup snorted. "I guess Buneary's not the only bubblehead in the kingdom. Keep saying that, squirrely, you might get yourself to believe it."
"Kingdom, huh? And whose kingdom would that be again?" Buizel asked sharply, bristling.
Pikachu couldn't help but sigh in relief as everyone's attention turned toward the two feuding water-types, who had begun to exchange blows again. They'd almost found her out. She'd need to be more careful about concealing her passion for ketchup in the future. If only Pachirisu hadn't put the idea out there …
Guess I shouldn't have written the silly sonnet in the first place, she thought sheepishly, wincing along with everyone else as Buizel smashed Piplup's face with a nasty Ice Punch. Bringing it up like that, and in public, too. Must be my own fault.
Still, she couldn't help hoping for night to come quickly, so she could smother her dinner with the delicious condiment. And maybe even mutter sweet nothings into the cap afterwards, before falling asleep. She couldn't help but smile a little in anticipation. When it came to love ...
What fools we mortals be.