Author's note: Hey again, peeps!
Time for the second instalment of this delightful fic. XP Yay!
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Two: Concerning Change
Pikachu climbed the stairs, one after another. With every step, he resisted the urge to look back towards the beach. Back towards Buneary.
... No. He knew he'd done the right thing. Of course he had. He just had to believe in his decision and keep pushing forward. He couldn't afford to be second-guessing himself. Not now. Not ever.
He had to admit, though, it was impressive that she'd kept her crush on him for so long. He'd thought for sure she'd have gotten over him during her time in Hoenn. Heck, he'd been banking on it.
He sighed to himself as he reached the top of the stairs. She was certainly determined, that was for sure...
Oh well. He was sure she'd get over him, in due time. Resisting one last look behind him, he headed towards where his friends were training.
Buneary sat on the beach, staring out across the ocean. The tears continued to run down her cheeks in steady streams, though at least the sobs had finally stopped. Her face was probably as salty as the ocean right now...
... She'd really thought that Pikachu liked her back. No, she'd almost been sure of it! Almost...
He clearly didn't, though, did he? But why? What had she done?
They got along well, didn't they? He enjoyed her company, didn't he?
... Didn't he?
Or... did he think she was weird?
Sure, she'd often ramble and say strange things sometimes - well, all the time, really - but she thought he didn't mind that. She thought he liked it, even! Found it cute. Or amusing.
... Perhaps he'd always found it annoying, instead.
Her ear flopped dejectedly. While she'd been in Hoenn, had he missed her much? Or even at all? Had he been glad to see her?
... Or did he wish she was still in Hoenn?
Perhaps his heart had grown yonder, instead of fonder. Or, perhaps, he'd never liked her to begin with.
She just didn't know anymore...
After around an hour of training, Pignite, Krokorok, Pachirisu, Quilava, Excadrill and Pansage were all beginning to show signs of fatigue.
It hadn't escaped Pikachu's notice that Buneary still wasn't back. Most of the other pokémon hadn't really noticed, but he could see Togekiss glancing around in concern. When she caught his eye, she threw him a questioning look.
Of course he'd be the prime suspect...
He quickly turned away, focusing his attention back on the humans.
Dawn stretched. "Well!" she said happily. "I think we all got some good training in! What do you guys say to a bit of a break?"
"I think that's a splendid idea!" Cilan replied. "Perhaps the pokémon would enjoy it, as well!"
"Aww..." Ash grumbled, "but there's so much training left to do..."
"Urgh, Ash!" Iris griped. "There's plenty of time before the tournament, so don't be such a little kid!"
Ash frowned lightly at her. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Humans and pokémon need rest or they'll burn themselves out! You should know this!" She flailed her arms angrily. "Do you want me to get a sore throat from shouting out moves all day?!"
"I agree," Cilan said. "Time in the oven is essential for a meal to taste delicious... though overcooking can have disastrous results."
Ash heaved a sigh, slumping his shoulders. "Yeah, I know you're right..." he replied. Straightening, he smiled. "Alright, guys, take a break. We'll switch over after everyone's rested up!"
"(Okay!)" all seventeen pokémon of theirs replied at once.
As Pignite, Krokorok, Pachirisu, Quilava, Excadrill and Pansage lounged on the grass, and the six humans sat on Cynthia's balcony to chat, some of the other pokémon discussed playing a game of tag. Cynthia's garchomp and gastrodon had opted to relax near their trainer, but her glaceon looked interested in playing.
Piplup and Oshawott were too busy squabbling over Meloetta to join in the discussion, though no one was paying them any mind, anyway.
Togekiss, however, had decided to bypass the group entirely and walk towards Pikachu. He felt his back stiffen in anticipation. Oh no...
He was almost sure he'd stopped breathing. He knew what she was going to say. He knew what she was going to ask. He needed to prepare an answer, and fast.
She was halfway to him, a concerned look on her face, when something unexpected happened. Buneary suddenly appeared by her side, cheerful smile back in place. Togekiss stopped walking, mouth open in surprise.
"(Oh, there you are, dear!)" she said.
"(Yep!)" Buneary replied. "(Here I am!)"
Pikachu breathed a heavy sigh of relief, both at the interruption and the chipper look on the rabbit's face.
Yep, it was just as he'd thought. She was getting over it already. Soon, they'd go back to being friends and put this whole crush thing behind them.
"(Alright, let's play!)" Axew cried excitedly. He paused, blinking. "(So... who's 'it'?)"
Emolga held up her hands defensively. "(Not it,)" she replied.
Snivy rolled her eyes. "(Not it,)" she replied.
"(Ooh, can I play?)" Meloetta asked. "(It sounds like fun!)"
"(In that case, I'm gonna be 'it'!)" Piplup announced loudly.
"(No!)" Oshawott cried, pushing past Piplup. "(I'm gonna be 'it'!)"
Pikachu sighed in exasperation. His teammates sometimes had no sense of harmony. It often drove him crazy.
Even worse was the reason for the lack of harmony...
Shaking his head, he made his way over to Buneary. "(Hey, Buneary,)" he said with a smile. She turned to him with a slight jolt. "(Gonna play tag with us?)"
After a moment, the smile returned, wider than before. "(Yeah!)" she replied. "(Of course!)"
"(Great.)"
Togekiss looked between them unsurely, but said nothing. Pikachu was honestly glad of that.
Eventually, after a few games of tag and some relaxation on the grass, Cilan had called them all over to have lunch. Pikachu accepted his bowl of pellets with much gusto, eager to finish eating, so that he could take his turn in training.
There was so much to be done - strength training, speed training, accuracy training, endurance training - and he knew it couldn't all be done in a one-hour session, but he'd certainly try his best. He was going to help Ash win the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, for sure!
Plus, it would also help benefit him whenever the Unova League rolled around. He really wanted to make up for the Sinnoh League, where their team had been obliterated by Tobias and his legendaries...
Shaking his head, he picked up a pellet and nibbled on it. Hmm. Today's lunch tasted green, healthy and bitter. Not that he minded it, really. It was okay. Nibbling on it some more, he glanced to the side of him to see who was sitting nearby.
He paused at the lack of Buneary.
Huh. Normally, she'd be only too happy to sit near him. Where the heck was she? Twisting his head around, he tried to find her.
His eyes scanned across the many shapes and colours around him, all strewn along the grass. There was much chatting and laughing - and even some squabbling, which he made sure to ignore - but where was that shade of brown he'd come to know?
After a few more moments, he finally spotted her. His face lit up for a split second, until he realised how far away from him she was sitting. Why was she all the way over there?
There were many pokémon in-between them and she seemed to be chatting to Togekiss and Pachirisu. Both the bird and squirrel had strange looks on their faces, but they were hard to see properly from where Pikachu was.
Feeling slightly disappointed, he turned back to his pellets.
Once everyone had finished lunch and cleared away the bowls and plates, the humans got back into position for more training.
"Alright!" Ash said. "Pikachu and Scraggy, let's go!"
"(Bring it on!)" Scraggy replied, lifting up his loose skin aggressively.
Pikachu gave a determined nod. "(Yeah!)" he replied.
"Piplup and Mamoswine," Dawn said, "you're up!"
"(Let's go!)" Mamoswine replied, lifting his forelegs for a moment. When they crashed back down, the floor shook slightly.
"(Prepare to be amazed, Meloetta,)" Piplup said. "(Just watch this pro work his magic.)"
"(Okay~!)" Meloetta replied.
Oshawott ground his teeth in annoyance.
"Emolga!" Iris said. "Ready to go?"
Emolga groaned. "(Do I have to?)" she asked.
"And Crustle!" Cilan said. "Let's prepare a feast for the eyes!"
"(I can't wait!)" Crustle replied.
Smiling, Pikachu turned in Buneary's direction. He expected her to hop over any moment now and wish him good luck, as she always did when he was about to train. He paused, however, as he noticed that she wasn't even looking at him. Instead, she was smiling in the direction of the humans.
He blinked. Once he realised he'd been staring, however, he quickly turned away, looking back at Ash. After all, he had work to do...
As per Ash's instruction, Pikachu was trying to shoot off faster and faster Electro Balls. Beside him, his teammate, Scraggy, was trying to shoot off faster and faster Focus Blasts. It was going rather well, but it was tiring work.
As he landed on the grass after another Electro Ball, he exhaled slowly, then couldn't help a quick glance at the spectators. His eyes immediately found Buneary. She looked impressed for a second, but then quickly looked elsewhere.
... Oh right. She'd never seen his Electro Ball before, had she? Well, that explained the reaction.
He couldn't deny that he felt a spark of pride over his newest move. At the same time, though, she was looking somewhere else rather intently. Curious, he followed her line of vision, until he noticed that she was watching Piplup and Mamoswine's training session. The latter of the duo was taking his training very seriously, but the former was performing many spins and flips, in an attempt to look impressive for his crush, Meloetta.
Pikachu frowned at the penguin's annoying behaviour, then turned away to get back to work.
About an hour later, Pikachu felt exhausted. Not that he minded, though, really. He loved a good workout! It made him feel satisfied. Accomplished. Happy.
If only his old man could see him now, he'd be so pleased!
Grinning to himself, he flopped into a seated position on the grass.
"Awesome!" Ash said. "Great work, guys!"
"Yeah, nice job!" Dawn agreed.
"You know," Iris said, "it's kinda fun to train so much!"
Heh, that was a point. Usually, they didn't train this much, because they'd be too busy travelling. With them staying in one place, though - and the surprising lack of Team Rocket this region - they had more time to focus on training.
"I agree!" Cilan replied. "To sharpen the mind, one must also sharpen the palate!"
Iris gave him a dry smile. "What does that even mean, Cilan?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Well... just that it's good to try new recipes every now and then..."
Dawn giggled. "Wow," she said, "you sure do talk about food a lot!"
Ash laughed. "Yeah, no kidding!" he replied. "It's, like, his favourite thing to talk about!"
Cilan smiled awkwardly, blushing. "Yes, well..." he said.
Iris shrugged. "One could even say he finds food to be..." She struck a Cilan-ish pose mockingly. "Utterly delectable~!"
Cilan choked on the air in shock, while Ash and Dawn burst out laughing.
Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle along. Turning sideways, though, he caught sight of the other pokémon discussing playing a game of hide-and-seek. He would have loved to join in, but alas, he was far too tired.
Eventually, after another long break, full of rest and games, Pikachu was back to standing on the sidelines, ready to watch his teammates train.
"Alright!" Ash said. "Oshawott and Snivy, you're up!"
Snivy puffed out her chest. "(Ready to go,)" she replied.
"(Yeah!)" Oshawott cried in determination. He glanced at Meloetta. "(Just watch me be awesome, okay?)"
"(If, by awesome,)" Piplup said, "(you mean terrible, then sure.)"
Meloetta giggled and Oshawott ground his teeth in anger.
"Axew," Iris said, "you're next, okay?"
"(Yeah!)" Axew cried happily. "(Let's go!)"
"And Stunfisk," Cilan said, "you're next on the menu!"
"(Not literally, I hope!)" Stunfisk replied with a smile.
"And Togekiss and Buneary," Dawn said, "it's your turn!"
"(I shall do my best,)" Togekiss replied, bowing slightly.
"(Y-Yeah!)" Buneary replied. "(Let's go!)"
As all six pokémon got into position in front of their trainers, Pikachu waved to Buneary. She blinked in surprise for a moment, then gently waved back.
He paused. Normally, she'd be much more enthusiastic than that.
... Then again, could she still be upset?
He cringed, turning away from her. Given time, he knew she'd stop being upset. He hoped it would be soon, though, because the air was oddly awkward between them right now...
Amongst the calls of the trainers, Pikachu picked up a command from Dawn.
"Alright," she said. "Togekiss, Air Slash! And Buneary, Bounce!"
He looked up to see a swirling wind form above Togekiss' wing as she twirled it around gracefully. Creating a rotating ball of air, she flung it at the ground.
Buneary bent down slightly, then sprung into the air. Pikachu watched her, but was confused when she didn't bounce as high as she normally did.
"And again!"
Togekiss formed another spinning ball of air, this time twirling as she did. Buneary landed on the ground, stumbling slightly, before bouncing into the air again.
Dawn looked as perplexed as Pikachu felt. "Huh?" she asked. After a moment, she shook it off. "Buneary, Ice Beam!"
Landing just as the Air Slash struck the ground next to her, Buneary opened her mouth. The familiar pale blue glow of her Ice Beam appeared, but, after a moment, it faded away again. The rabbit blinked in surprise.
"... Buneary?"
"Hmm?" Iris asked. "Something wrong, Dawn?"
"What's up?" Ash asked.
"Buneary, Ice Beam!" Dawn cried again.
Again, Buneary opened her mouth, concentrating hard. The pale blue glow, once again, appeared before fading away.
Pikachu blinked. "(... Buneary?)" he asked.
"Hmm..." Cilan said, "it appears her meal is a little undercooked..."
"... What's wrong, Buneary?" Dawn asked.
Buneary turned to her trainer with a bright smile. "(Nothing's wrong, Dawn!)" she replied. "(I'm handy and dandy and raring to go!)" Dawn looked as unconvinced as Pikachu felt. "(As raring as a... well... a raring thing!)" There was an awkward pause. "(Yeah.)"
"(... Are you alright, dear?)" Togekiss asked in concern.
"(Y-Yeah!)" Buneary replied, turning to her. "(Never better!)"
"(... Are you sure?)"
"(Yeah!)"
Pikachu's ears drooped, and his lips tightened slightly. Ah. Yeah, it was just as he'd thought. She was still upset, and horribly put-off right now.
"Uhhh..." Dawn said, trying to think. She gasped. "Oh! How about we try out that new move of yours?"
... A new move? Pikachu looked at Buneary in intrigue. The moment she met his gaze, she winced and looked away, back to Dawn. She shook her head.
"... No? You're not feeling up to it?"
Buneary shook her head again.
"Oh..." Dawn paused. After a moment, she smiled. "Well, no need to worry! Maybe you'll be feeling better tomorrow!"
Buneary gave her a light smile. "(Yeah, maybe!)"
"Feel free to take a break today, though, okay?"
"(Okay. Thanks, Dawn!)"
Making her way off the battlefield, Buneary moved onto the sidelines to stand near Pachirisu and Quilava. They seemed to be talking to her, but Pikachu couldn't hear what they were saying.
He sighed heavily to himself, turning back to watch the training.
As Oshawott, Snivy, Axew, Stunfisk and Togekiss continued on with their training, Buneary remained on the sidelines, near Pachirisu and Quilava. Unable to talk to her from this distance, Pikachu instead watched Oshawott's performance, brooding about the otter's annoying behaviour. After every move, he'd keep glancing back at Meloetta, desperate to impress her. Sometimes, he'd manage it and she'd smile and clap. Other times, she'd be too focused on Piplup to pay attention. The otter's teammate, Snivy, kept rolling her eyes at him, but he never seemed to notice.
Pikachu glanced past Emolga, who was pouting slightly, and towards Buneary. When he couldn't catch the rabbit's attention, he sighed and turned away again.
Eventually, the day's training had come to an end. After dinner, all of the pokémon - who weren't Pikachu, Piplup and Axew - were returned to their pokéballs. While Meloetta stared out at the ocean, as she often did, the humans were enjoying a cup of tea on Cynthia's balcony.
"I hope Buneary feels better tomorrow..." Dawn muttered, sipping her tea.
Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's lap, winced slightly.
Piplup, who was sitting on Dawn's lap, blinked up at his trainer. "(Huh?)" he asked.
Clearly, he'd been too focused on Meloetta earlier to know what was going on.
"I'm sure she'll be one hundred percent before you know it, Dawn!" Ash replied confidently. "Today was just an off day!"
"I dunno..." Iris said, looking concerned. "There was something odd about it..."
"(Yeah...)" Axew said solemnly from her lap.
"Agreed," Cilan said. "Her dish was lacking a certain ingredient." He folded his arms in thought. "Though what that ingredient was, I'm not sure..."
"Aw, you guys worry too much!" Ash replied. "She'll be fine tomorrow, I'm sure of it!"
Yeah. Yeah, Ash was right. Of course he was. All Buneary needed was a good night's rest and she'd be fine in the morning.
"(Yeah!)" Pikachu added, nodding.
"Well, if you guys say so..." Dawn replied.
"Whatever the issue is," Cynthia said, "I'm sure you and Buneary can work your way through it."
"As do I, Miss Dawn," Jervis added.
"Thanks," Dawn replied with a smile.
Turning away, Pikachu stared up at the clouds overhead. As he watched them slowly drift along the horizon, he thought about many things. About the training, the tournament and about Buneary.
... He, too, hoped that she'd be okay soon. For both of their sakes.