Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Piplup POV:

I walked over to Dawn and the others, who were beginning to eat their lunch. I was intent on getting Buneary out of her Pokéball to talk with me. She was my best friend and knew all my secrets. As weird and crazy as she was at times, she was calm and dependable whenever I needed help.

"Piplup (Hey Dawn)" I called out in greeting as I stood below her. She turned from her meal to look down at me.

"There you are Piplup. Where have you been?" she asked, looking concerned. That concern quickly turned to irritation after a second. "Where's your life ring?"

I growled to myself at the reminder of my recent terrifying experience. 'More like death ring' I thought, before deciding to ignore the question and focus on my mission. "Piplup, Piplup? (I need to talk with Buneary, could you let her out?)" I asked, pointing to her Pokéball on Dawn's waist.

"Huh? You want to go in your Pokéball, Piplup?" Dawn interpreted, completely wrong. I groaned in frustration; stupid language barrier. Well I wasn't in the mood to continue trying to get my question across, so I decided to bypass the whole process. Something I rarely did.

"PIPLUP PIPLUP! (HEY BUNEARY GET OUT HERE!)" I yelled, causing Dawn to jump in surprise. She then let out a small gasp as a white light shot off her belt and stopped in front of me, reveling a surprised and concerned looking Buneary.

"Buneary? (What's wrong Piplup?)" she asked me in a concerned tone, knowing it must be really important.

"Piplup, Pip. (I need to talk to you, now.)" I told her seriously. She nodded, and I took her paw in my flipper. I turned to Dawn and with my other flipper pointed to myself, then to Buneary, then off in the distance. Dawn's face softened.

"You want to talk with Buneary in private?" she asked me, to which I nodded. At least she got that one right! "Okay, just don't be long."

I was a bit irked at this. 'I'll take however long I want!' I thought in annoyance. I turned away and began walking with Buneary, paw in flipper, along the beach and away from everyone else.

Once the group was out of sight, I stopped and turned to Buneary, sighing sadly. Her expression turned even more concerned. "I need help. I think I have feelings for someone."

"It's Oshawott, isn't it?" she asked, much to my surprise. How did she know?

"Yeah, it is" I relented. "I think I have a crush on him, and I don't know what to do!" She didn't look surprised.

"I figured you would realize you have a crush on him at some point" she said. I guess she knew before I did.

"I know I like him and want to date him, but I don't know if I can because he's a guy, not a girl" I stated, knowing she would catch on.

"And you believe a guy is not your destiny because you were told that no girl would ever love someone like yourself?" she finished. I nodded to her; grateful I didn't have to say that last part.

"Exactly" I confirmed. "I have to have a girl as my mate, not a guy. I must prove him wrong. I can't let him win." I felt tears begin to well up at the mention of the terrible memory. Buneary shook her head, looking down and sighing sadly.

"I had a feeling this would happen" she muttered before looking back up at me. "Piplup, if you like him, then date him. It doesn't matter if he's a guy. Don't let your past dictate your future."

I felt a few tears trickle down my face. The awful memories I had finally buried were coming back up now, along with the emotions they caused. "That's assuming he likes a weakling like me" I choked out, my head falling in shame.

"You're not a weakling, Piplup. You know that" she scolded. "So stop belittling yourself. Besides, I'm pretty sure he likes you too."

I felt my confidence return with her encouragement but was curious why she believed he liked me. "Why do you think so?" I questioned.

"Remember when you were unconscious in the hospital after being knocked out by that Thunder attack?" she asked, and I nodded. "Well, he never left your side, literally. He said he felt responsible because he called you a name, and he had to make sure you were okay." She lightly smiled as she continued. "He stayed there for hours, sitting next to you on your bed and watching over you."

I felt that Butterfree fluttering around in me again. "But he wasn't there when I woke up, why?" I questioned her.

"Because he left to tell Pikachu you were conscious, which is why he came in so quickly" she answered. "He told me he felt ashamed he caused you to get hurt. That's why he never came back in; that's also why I was so upset with you."

So that's why she had been so emotional. "Wow, I had no idea. And you really think he likes me?" I asked.

"Ask him" she stated. "That's the only way to know for sure."

'She's right. Ask him' my mind urged. 'Trust your heart on this one.'

"I guess there's no harm in asking" I said, looking at her gratefully. "Thanks for listening and for the advice. You're a great friend." With that, I started walking back to the group.

"Hey Piplup?" I heard Buneary say. I turned and saw she wasn't walking back with me. "Can you do a great friend a favor?" She started grinning Misdreavusly. "Tell Pikachu to come over here and distract Dawn for at least 30 minutes, okay?" I grimaced; I probably did not want to know what she was planning. Especially if it involved Pikachu.

"Sure thing, Fun-Bun" I affirmed, using the nickname I gave her. She smiled at me.

"Thanks, Pipsi."

/

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