Author's note: Heya, peeps!
This chapter, I bring to you your daily reminder that Cilan shares a voice actor with Sonic the Hedgehog! Specifically, the one from Sonic X, Shadow the Hedgehog (the game), Sonic 06, Sonic and the Secret Rings, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Sonic and the Black Knight and Sonic Unleashed! If you listen closely, Cilan kinda sounds like a slower, deeper-pitched Sonic. Mach speed!
Now that you've had your fact of the day, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
P.S. I changed Buneary's ribbons from pink to orange, because I thought orange would suit her better. Just as a heads up.
Chapter Nine: Curious Conversations
The following day, Dawn's team were sitting around outside the pokémon centre, watching their trainer practice with Quilava.
Buneary had donned her orange vest with white frills, which she hadn't worn in a while. On each of her ears were the orange ribbons that Dawn had bought for her, which perfectly matched the vest.
She also had pink inside her ears, which perfectly matched the pink heart on the vest, though Dawn hadn't bought those. They were a natural accessory!
Earlier, she'd gotten so many compliments from her friends about how good she looked that her ego was flying higher than a staraptor in a hot balloon on the wing of an airplane!
Life was good right now!
... Well, she supposed it wasn't perfect, like it could've been, but... No! She wasn't going to think about that now.
Positive thoughts. Positive thoughts! Like how they were going to win the Wallace Cup! And how she looked great in this outfit! Yeah. Yeah, that's what she needed! Some positivity!
... She couldn't help wondering what Pikachu was up to back in Unova, though...
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called out.
Sending energy to his tail, Pikachu swung his body around with a battle cry. His tail crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand.
"Now Electro Ball!" Ash continued.
Charging electricity to his tail, Pikachu crafted it into a ball, then flung it through the cloud of sand. It created a gaping hole.
"Thunderbolt!"
Charging electricity in his cheeks, Pikachu released it in a stream of lightning, which perfectly passed through the hole. The cloud of sand dissipated soon after.
Pikachu landed on the ground with a proud huff.
"Nice job, Ash!" Iris said.
"And you too, Pikachu!" Cilan agreed. "A fine recipe, cooked to perfection through trial and error!"
Ash chuckled. "Actually, I just made it up on the spot, but thanks!" he replied.
Iris and Cilan almost fell over in disbelief. Pikachu, though, couldn't say he was surprised.
After a moment, Iris growled angrily. "You are such a kid!" she cried.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, only sounding slightly offended. Recovering, he continued. "Anyway, guys, I've been thinking."
"Hmm?" Cilan asked.
"Maybe we should start training in the woods for a while! You know, the ones round the back of Cynthia's place!"
Pikachu blinked. The woods?
"Huh?" Iris asked. "What brought this on?"
"Well, remember yesterday, when we got lost in the woods?"
"When you got lost in the woods!"
"Well, it got me thinking... I should use other environments to train for the Unova League! And I haven't trained in a forest for a while, so..."
"Urgh. Ash, you've been training in nothing but forests this entire journey! I thought it would be nice to train on the beach for once!"
"And I did. But now I wanna go back to the forest."
Cilan shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Well, they do say to change up your diet once in a while..." he said.
"Urgh, fine," Iris replied. She gave Ash a sardonic smile. "If it makes the little kid happy."
Ash huffed. "Enough," he grumbled, "I'm going to the pokémon centre..." He lightly stormed off.
Pikachu sighed. Well, it'd been nice training on the beach while it'd lasted, he supposed. Ah well.
"(No!)" Oshawott cried dramatically, gripping Ash's leg. "(Don't rotate me!)"
Ash yelped, hopping up and down to try and get the otter off his leg.
Pikachu sighed to himself. Of course Oshawott wouldn't want to leave yet...
Sure, it'd been quite a while since he'd last been rotated, but that was only because the otter refused to leave. Even though Piplup was no longer here. As long as Meloetta was still around, he wasn't budging, it seemed.
"Alright, alright, I'll rotate out Scraggy, instead!" Ash cried. "Just get off my leg, Oshawott! Come on!"
After rotating out Scraggy for Unfezant, the group headed to the woods behind Cynthia's villa. Once they reached it, they let all of their pokémon out of their pokéballs.
"Alright!" Ash said. "Unfezant, we're doing some training! Everyone else, do... whatever!"
"(Okay!)" all the pokémon replied.
As the group dispersed, everyone heading off to do their own thing, Pikachu saw Oshawott race past Unfezant, Snivy and Emolga to flirt with Meloetta. The legendary gave an exasperated smile in response.
Pikachu sighed, shaking his head at the otter, and decided to hang out with Krookodile and Pignite.
"(So then I said...)" Pignite said, "(that'll put some fire in your belly!)" He howled in laughter at his own joke.
Sitting next to him on the grass, Pikachu sighed.
Krookodile shook his head with a slight smirk. "(Your jokes are awful, man,)" he said.
Pignite stopped laughing to huff amusedly. "(My jokes are amazing!)"
Pikachu laughed awkwardly. "(They're certainly something!)" he said.
"(See? Pikachu knows where it's at!)"
"(Sure he does,)" Krookodile replied sarcastically.
"(Hmph! Yeah, well...)" Pignite snatched Krookodile's sunglasses straight off his face.
Krookodile's eyes widened in panic. "(Hey!)"
Pignite put them over his own eyes. Smirking, he folded his arms. "(Now I'm red-hot!)"
"(G... Give those back...)" Krookodile made feeble attempts to grab the sunglasses, but Pignite kept dodging out of the way. "(Come on, this isn't funny, man...)"
"(But I'm on fire today!)"
Pikachu sighed again. "(You sure are...)" he replied.
Glancing up, he looked elsewhere at his other friends. Dragonite and Excadrill were lounging near one another, yet not too close and without conversation. Snivy was chilling on the grass, while chatting to a smiling Pansage and Stunfisk. Axew and Emolga were riding on top of Crustle's giant rock home while the crab walked along. Unfezant was still training with Ash.
Oshawott, however, had a pile of berries in his arms and was offering them to Meloetta. Smiling politely, she took one and went back to watching Unfezant's training. Oshawott's bright smile never faltered from her for a second.
Pikachu huffed, looking away again.
A while later, the group was eating lunch. The humans were having some sort of cream cheese pasta dish, while the pokémon had their usual pellets.
Pikachu nibbled on one, then cringed. Urgh, dry. He hated dry food. It always got stuck in his throat and made him really thirsty.
Sighing in disappointment to himself, he continued eating. Slowly, so that he wouldn't choke.
After Pikachu was done eating his horrible dry pellets, he went back to chatting with his friends, playing games with them and watching Ash train Snivy. The snake was doing rather well, creating leaves with Leaf Storm, then slicing them apart with perfect accuracy, using Leaf Blade.
It didn't escape Pikachu's notice that Oshawott was continuing to spend time around Meloetta, but he was doing his level best to ignore it.
The day progressed. Eventually, Pikachu began to get hungry again.
"Hey, Cilan, when's food?" Ash called out.
Apparently, Ash was hungry, too, though that wasn't much of a surprise. He was always hungry.
"I'm about to get started on it, Ash!" Cilan replied happily, pulling a few ingredients from his backpack. "A surprise, fit for the eyes! And the stomach!"
Ash grinned. "Awesome!" he replied.
Pikachu wandered closer, curious as to what was for dinner. Not that he'd be eating any, of course, since he had his pellets. Hopefully, they'd taste better than the ones he'd had at lunch...
"So, what's for dinner?" Iris asked curiously.
"A delightful dish of chili!" Cilan replied, waving a ladle around. He paused, then chuckled. "Which... has nothing to do with my brother, Chili... though I must admit, there's no one spicier than him!"
"Wow, chili?!" Ash exclaimed. "I can't wait!"
Aww, chili? That sounded spicy. Hopefully, the pellets would be spicy to make up for him missing out.
Iris pulled a face. "Urgh..." she replied, "chili?"
Cilan blinked. "Do you... not like chili?" he asked.
"No... I can't stand the stuff."
Cilan deflated. "Oh... well... I was... hoping to show off my new chili recipe, but... perhaps I should... cook something else, instead..."
Iris gave him a pitying look. She heaved a sigh. "I mean, feel free to try and impress me! Change my mind, if you can! Your cooking is amazing, after all!"
He blinked at her.
She continued, looking defeated. "Though I doubt even you could make a chili I would like..."
Cilan gripped the ladle in his hand tighter. "A challenge, is it? A challenge to make a chili so delectable... so delightfully delicious... that even your taste buds dance?!" He got a strange fire in his eyes. "To blend the ingredients so perfectly... so precisely... that you can't help but fall in love with it?! To make a dish that even an S-class connoisseur would say is your ideal match in evaluation time?!" His voice suddenly got much louder. "Well, I say bring it on!"
There was a deathly silence as everyone in the area stared at Cilan in disbelief.
After a few moments, Cilan blinked. Then blinked again. Then he blushed slightly. "Um, that is, uh... it's... cooking time?" He smiled sheepishly.
"... Uh... yeah, sure..." a stunned Iris replied.
Jeez. Pikachu had no idea Cilan could get so hot-blooded...
Never question the guy's cooking prowess, he supposed.
Sometime later, a delightfully spicy smell was wafting across the area. It tantalised Pikachu's nostrils and make him a bit salty that he wouldn't be eating any, himself.
"That chili smells amazing!" Ash remarked.
"Why, thank you, Ash!" Cilan replied.
Iris looked at the pot uncertainly. "... Well, I guess it does smell good..." she said.
"In that case, I'd better speed up and get this on your plates!" Cilan dramatically began to stir it faster, a beaming smile on his face and a strange vigour to his body. "Woo! Feeling good!"
Iris smiled teasingly. "You're such a dweeb, Cilan."
He stopped, looking at her in shock. "I... I am not a dweeb!"
Ash chuckled. "You kind of are, Cilan," he replied.
Pouting, Cilan got back to stirring.
Eventually, food was ready. Thankfully for Pikachu, the pellets had a spicy tinge to them, which made his taste buds dance in joy. Ohhh, this was so much better than lunch had been.
Over at the table, Iris seemed in awe of Cilan's chili, so it seemed he'd done a good job with it. The chef looked incredibly smug as he watched her eat it.
Suddenly, Cynthia and Jervis emerged from the trees and approached the table.
"I thought I smelled something coming from these woods," Cynthia said. "Is that chili?"
"It sure is!" Cilan replied. "Would you two like some?"
"I would love some." Cynthia looked sideways at her butler. "And Jervis here loves chili. Don't you, Jervis?"
"Indeed I do, madam."
"Then pull up a seat!" Ash said. "This chili's amazing!"
"... Yeah, it... kind of is," Iris agreed, still in shock.
As Jervis and Cynthia settled into seats - and Cynthia let out her pokémon - Pikachu heard footsteps approaching him. Looking up, he saw Oshawott, bowl in his paws.
"(Hey,)" the otter said, smiling. "(Mind if I sit here?)"
"(No, go ahead,)" Pikachu replied, indicating the empty space.
"(Thanks!)" Oshawott sat down, then started devouring his food. "(Mmm! Shome good perrets today, huh?)"
"(Don't talk with your mouth full.)"
"(Shorry.)" Oshawott gulped it down. "(The ones at lunch were way better, but these are still pretty good!)"
"(Hmph. I disagree.)" Pikachu nibbled on one, savouring the lovely taste. A thought came to him as he swallowed. "(Not eating with Meloetta?)"
Oshawott pouted. "(I wanted to, but she's over there with Ash.)" He pointed.
Pikachu looked to see that Meloetta was sitting on the table, giggling as Ash devoured his chili.
"(Ah.)"
Oshawott smiled. "(So I thought, why not come sit next to you? My ol' buddy, Pikachu!)"
Pikachu paused at the comment. He glanced around. Unfezant was eating with Krookodile and Pignite, while laughing at Pignite's awful humour. Snivy was eating with Excadrill and Axew, while the dragon talked animatedly. Emolga was eating with Crustle and Stunfisk, the three of them laughing about something. Garchomp, Gastrodon and Glaceon were all eating together, one smiling brighter than the other two.
Pikachu looked back at Oshawott. As he watched the otter stuff his face some more, he couldn't help remember the conversation he'd had with Snivy the previous day.
"(What about the other girls?)"
Oshawott turned to him with a full mouth. "(Hrm?)"
"(You not gonna sit with them?)"
Swallowing, Oshawott blinked at him. "(Huh? Why?)" He pouted. "(Do you not wanna sit with me?)"
"(No, that's not it. I just...)" Pikachu studied his friend's confused face for a moment. "(... Hey. Oshawott.)"
"(Yeah?)"
"(Why are you not flirting with the other girls?)"
Oshawott blinked at him again. "(Huh?)"
Pikachu turned to indicate the six other female pokémon in the group. "(Well, there's plenty here... and we know what you're like, so...)"
Turning back, he saw Oshawott looking mildly offended. "(Wh... What do you mean 'what I'm like'?!)"
Pikachu gave him a deadpan stare. "(I think you know as well as I do.)"
"(Yeah, well...! This is different!)"
"(Sure it is. So why are you only flirting with Meloetta?)"
A third time, Oshawott blinked at him. "(Huh?)"
"(Well, you have plenty of choice now, so...)"
Oshawott took on a look of realisation. "(Oh! Well, see... that's the thing!)" He scooted closer, lowering his voice. His eyes sparkled. "(I think... I think Meloetta's the one, man!)"
Pikachu stared at him. "(... Huh?)"
"(You know... the one! I think she's it!)"
Pikachu continued to stare at him, something deep inside him stirring. He forcefully squashed it back down, giving Oshawott another deadpan stare.
"(... Seriously?)"
Oshawott squealed excitedly. "(Yes!)"
He really couldn't believe he was hearing this. Oshawott finding 'the one'? Not freaking likely.
He frowned. "(What about Togekiss? And Buneary?)" His insides squirmed at the name, but he ignored it.
Oshawott blinked at him again. "(Huh?)"
"(You flirted with them the second you met them... and that was after you fell for Meloetta.)"
"(Oh! Well, yeah, but, back then, any lady was good, you know?)"
"(And now?)"
Oshawott clenched a paw. "(Fighting with Piplup for so long made me realise that Meloetta is the one.)"
... Okay. So fighting over her had made him obsessed with her. Not to mention delusional. Good to know.
"(Uh huh...)"
"(I don't want anyone else! Just Meloetta~)"
"(... Right...)
Considering the otter's track record, he'd believe that when he saw it.
... Although it was strange that he'd use that wording. He couldn't recall Oshawott ever saying someone was 'the one' before...
Shaking his head, he decided to ignore it as a delusional fantasy. The otter would change his mind soon enough.