Author's note: Yo, guys and gals!
Not much to say this time, so I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Peace!
Chapter Nineteen: Flavourful Feast
Pikachu began making his way towards the clearing in the woods. He couldn't deny that this berry picnic he'd been invited to sounded interesting. He wondered what berries would be on offer. Hopefully, some good ones.
It didn't matter that he was leaving Ash to his training, because the boy wouldn't notice he was gone, anyway. Not unless he was gone for a particularly long time, and he seriously doubted that would be the case.
He could afford to enjoy a few berries with his friends before dinner time.
... Friends. Well, although he did consider them friends, he didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with two of them. Their lifestyles were not something he approved of. At all.
They did tend to come through for him in a pinch, though. Especially Oshawott. So he couldn't exactly refuse a peace offering. Especially not such a tasty-sounding one.
When Pikachu eventually reached the clearing, he saw Oshawott, Snivy and Emolga carrying a small pile of berries each. They dumped them one after another onto a pile on the ground.
"(Hey, guys,)" Pikachu said as he approached.
They all looked up. Snivy smiled, Oshawott beamed and Emolga grinned.
"(Heeeey!)" Oshawott replied. "(Glad you could make it!)"
Pikachu stopped beside the otter and looked down at the pile of berries. "(You find some good ones?)"
"(You bet we did~!)" Emolga replied. "(Some really fancy ones around here~!)"
"(No idea what some of them taste like...)" Snivy said, "(so just try 'em and see, I guess.)"
"(Sure,)" Pikachu replied. He looked up at them. "(But let's not eat too many, alright? We need room for dinner.)"
Emolga groaned. "(Man, you're such a killjoy...)" she said.
Snivy rolled her eyes. "(We'll be fine, Pikachu,)" she replied.
"(Yeah, totally fine!)" Oshawott agreed. "(Now let's dig in!)" He paused, then gasped. "(Oh, right!)" He ran between Snivy and Emolga, holding out his arms in curved handle shapes. "(Ladies~?)"
Pikachu gave him a deadpan stare.
Emolga giggled heavily. "(Aw, thank you~!)" she replied, hooking a paw around his arm.
Snivy sighed, rolling her eyes again. "(I can sit myself down, you know...)" she said.
"(I know,)" Oshawott replied, "(but I'm being a gentleman.)"
Rolling her eyes yet again, she complied, hooking a hand around his arm. Grinning wider, he helped them both sit down, then plopped himself in-between them.
Pikachu refrained from groaning. It was very tempting, but, like he'd told himself, they were still his friends. Even if their life choices really got on his nerves, sometimes...
No. He was going to have a fun picnic today and nothing would ruin it.
He looked around the pile, wondering which berry to try first. When a pinkish purple one that was gourd-shaped caught his eye, he reached towards it. That was when his eye caught a different berry. One that was round, blue and covered in yellow leaves.
He stared at it. After a few moments, he slowly picked it up, still staring at it.
... Huh. This was the berry he used to float down the river as a kid, wasn't it? Because it had air bubbles or something inside it. It tasted horrible, so he'd watch it float, instead.
Scowling deeply at it, he tossed it back on the pile. Grabbing the gourd-shaped berry, he sunk his teeth into its soft skin, tore off a chunk and chewed it.
He was going to enjoy himself today. No matter what.
... Hmm. Now that he was eating it, the berry didn't actually taste all that bad. It was sweet, with a sour kick to it. He quite liked it.
Looking up, he saw Oshawott trying his best to bite into a blue, almost circular-shaped berry, but its skin seemed to be too hard for him.
Emolga seemed to be enjoying her red, almost bell pepper-shaped berry. Then she suddenly pulled a disgusted face and started making gagging noises.
"(Urgh!)" she cried out. "(Yuck! That is nasty!)"
Snivy bit into her own yellow and green, candle-shaped berry. After a moment of chewing, she pulled a disgusted face.
She placed a hand over her mouth. "(Oh...)" she said, "(yuck.)"
Oshawott was still trying to bite through the hard skin on his berry. He growled. "(How do you open this thing?!)" he cried.
Cringing, Snivy shook off the apparently nasty flavour. "(Try smashing it with your scalchop, or something.)"
He looked at her in horror. "(And ruin my beautiful scalchop?!)"
She sighed. "(Alright, just use a rock, instead, then.)"
His face lit up. "(Hey, good idea!)" Getting up, Oshawott dropped the blue berry and ran off to get a rock.
"(Bleh...)" Emolga said, dropping her red berry. She looked at Snivy. "(Yours nasty, too?)"
"(Yeah...)" Snivy replied, dropping the yellow and green berry.
"(What flavour was it?)"
"(A bit sweet and really sour.)"
Emolga perked up in intrigue. "(Ooh! Sounds better than mine!)" She picked up the red berry. "(Spicy... but so bitter!)"
Snivy looked interested. "(Bitter, huh?)"
Emolga grinned cheekily. "(Wanna trade?)"
Snivy blinked, contemplating this. She shrugged. "(Sure.)" Picking up the yellow and green berry, she held it out.
"(Sweet!)" Emolga held the red berry out and they swapped over.
Biting into their new berries, they chewed. After a moment, they looked much happier and much more satisfied.
Snivy glanced in Pikachu's direction. "(How's yours, Pikachu?)"
He gave a light smile back. "(It's nice, thanks,)" he replied.
"(Cool,)" Emolga added with a grin.
"(Alright, I got one!)" Oshawott cried, running back.
Sitting back down, he positioned the rock above the blue berry. With a war cy, he started hammering away at it, trying to crack it open.
Vaguely amused, Pikachu finished his pinkish purple berry. He reached for another one. This one was green and peapod-shaped. Shrugging, he took a bite and chewed.
Hmm. Quite bitter, but had a hint of spiciness. It was okay. He wasn't the biggest fan of food with a strong 'green' flavour, but it was alright.
"(Finally!)" Oshawott cried. "(I got it open!)" Throwing the rock to one side, he picked up the blue berry and buried his face in it. Disgusting slurping noises came from his mouth. Then the otter sighed in content. "(Aww, man, that is goooood! That was so worth the effort!)"
"(Heh,)" Pikachu said, vaguely amused, "(glad you think so.)"
Oshawott continued eating. "(Mrrm-hrrm!)"
"(So, Mr. Grumpy Pants!)" Emolga said, looking at Pikachu with a grin. "(You cheered up now?)"
Pikachu blinked at her. He frowned slightly. "(Hey, I wasn't even all that grumpy today...)" he replied.
"(Truuuue... but we're just making sure~!)"
"(Think of this as making amends,)" Snivy explained. "(Getting back on good terms.)"
Pikachu relaxed his frown. "(Yeah, I know,)" he replied. "(And thanks. The berries are good.)"
Emolga shrugged. "(Well, sometimes they are,)" she said. "(Sometimes, they're garbage.)"
"(Depends on your taste, I guess,)" Snivy added.
"(True that!)" Oshawott agreed. He suddenly gave Pikachu a comforting gaze. "(Seriously, though, man... you've been on edge ever since your girlfriend left.)" He smiled. "(Hope you're feeling better now!)"
Pikachu blinked at him. "(... Girlfriend?)" he asked.
"(Yeah! That cute bunny girl, obviously!)"
Pikachu tensed, the green berry halting halfway to his mouth. "(... She's not my girlfriend.)"
"(... Huh?)"
"(What are you talking about?)" Emolga asked, amused. "(We all saw how she snuggled up to you.)"
"(Completely ignoring the rest of us...)" Snivy added, nodding.
"(Yeah!)" Oshawott added, looking mildly offended. "(When I was holding my arms out for a hug and everything!)" He folded his arms and nodded. "(There's no way she's not your girlfriend. Dunno why you're hiding it.)"
Pikachu's grip on his green berry tightened. "(... She's not my girlfriend,)" he repeated.
They all blinked at him, looking stupefied.
"(... Really?)" Emolga asked.
"(Yes.)"
"(But...)" Osahwott said, looking confused, "(but... what?)"
Snivy rolled her eyes. "(Oh, don't tell me you didn't notice she liked you...)" she said.
Something squirmed in the pit of Pikachu's stomach. "(No, I...)" he replied. He found he couldn't continue.
"(Then why aren't you dating?!)" Oshawott asked in disbelief.
Emolga grinned. "(Maybe he's too shy~)" she said teasingly. She smirked at Pikachu. "(Am I right?)"
Pikachu paused a long moment, gathering himself. Eventually, he heaved a sigh through his nostrils in annoyance.
"(... No,)" he replied.
"(Then what's wrong?)" Snivy asked.
"(I say you call her!)" Oshawott said enthusiastically. Pikachu clenched his teeth together angrily. Not noticing, the otter continued. "(Call her up and ask her out! Don't let a cutie like that get away! If it'd been me, I would've snatched her up the second she started nuzzling me!)" Pikachu clenched his teeth harder. "(But she didn't want me, she wanted you! And, as a total bro, I say go for it before someone else-)"
"(I already turned her down!)" Pikachu yelled in anger.
They all stared at him in shock.
"(... What?)" Oshawott asked in a quiet voice.
Pikachu huffed air from his nose. "(I already turned her down. She asked me out, I turned her down. End of story.)" He shoved the berry in his mouth, bit down on it and chewed.
"(... Whaaaaaat?! What do you mean you turned her down?!)"
Emolga snorted slightly in amusement. "(... What?)" she asked. "(Seriously?)"
Snivy just stared silently at him.
"(Mmm,)" Pikachu replied, sharply nodding his head. He wanted this conversation to end. Now.
Knowing these guys, though...
"(What?!)" Oshawott cried. "(So a pretty girl waltzes up to you, throws herself at you... and you reject her?!)"
Pikachu harshly swallowed his berry. "(Yes,)" he replied.
Emolga burst out laughing. "(Aw, man, no way!)" she cried.
"(... Why?)" Snivy asked.
"(Because I didn't wanna date her,)" Pikachu replied simply.
"(Not wanna date her?!)" Oshawott cried. "(How could you not wanna date her?! She was beautiful! I would have never allowed such beauty to get away!)"
Pikachu turned to glare at him. "(Yeah, well, I'm not you, am I?)"
"(What's that supposed to mean?)"
"(Oh, don't go down this road again...)" Snivy groaned.
Emolga wouldn't stop laughing. "(Oh, you screwed up baaaad!)" she said.
Pikachu turned his glare on her, instead.
"(... Though I guess that explains her mood, doesn't it?)" Snivy continued.
"(... Wait,)" Oshawott said. "(You're the one who put her in that funk?!)" Pikachu turned his glare back to Oshawott. The otter was glaring back at him. "(She couldn't use her moves for ages, and it was because of you?!)"
"(Oh, man, you're right...)" Emolga said, finally calming down. "(His one chance to get lucky and he blew it big time.)"
Snivy shook her head sympathetically. "(Did you just not like her that way?)" she asked.
Pikachu huffed, choosing to look away. "(... What does it matter?)" he asked. He quickly finished off the remains of his mediocre berry. "(It's over now, anyway...)"
"(I don't get it!)" Oshawott cried. "(Why would you turn her down?!)"
"(Guess he just ain't into her,)" Emolga replied. She smirked. "(Heck, maybe girls aren't what he's into...)"
Pikachu turned back to glare at her.
Snivy gave a light sigh. "(Either that, or he just didn't like her that way,)" she reasoned.
"(Man...)" Oshawott said with a sigh, "(what a waste... I coulda had her!)"
"(Pity,)" Emolga said, grinning at Pikachu. "(Getting lucky with a girl might've loosened the stick up your butt!)"
Pikachu's frown deepened. "(... I don't need to get lucky with any girl,)" he replied slowly.
She shrugged, turning away to pull a duck face. "(Could've fooled me...)"
"(... I don't get you at all...)" Oshawott muttered.
Hmph. Yeah, of course he wouldn't.
Pikachu turned his glare on the pile of berries, searching for a different one to eat. As he did, he was vaguely reminded of when Meloetta had been around. She and Oshawott had been searching for her favourite berry, hadn't they? What had it been again?
... Oh yeah. Magost berries. He glanced around the pile, looking for them.
Hmm. It didn't look like there were any here. Not that Oshawott would have cared, anyway. He'd said he didn't like the taste of them, right? So, if he bit into one, he'd probably just toss it aside without a second thought.
Randomly grabbing a red berry shaped like a cocoa bean, Pikachu bit into it.
His teeth didn't even make it through the skin.
He growled. Darn it. It was one of those stupid, rock-hard berries that you needed to smash open to eat. He hated those.
In annoyance, he tossed it back onto the pile.
"(... Well, whatever your reason was,)" Snivy said, "(you're free to turn down any girl you like.)"
Pikachu relaxed his frown slightly.
"(I guess...)" Oshawott mumbled, "(though it makes no sense to me.)" He paused, then continued in a pouty voice. "(You coulda let me have her...)"
"(Pfft,)" Pikachu replied, still in mild annoyance. "(Yeah, right...)"
As if he'd hand any girl over to Oshawott when he could barely stay loyal to any of them...
"(Well, it's too late now, I guess!)" Emolga teased. "(Maybe she's moved on and found someone else by now!)"
"(Someone that could've been me...)" Oshawott grumbled.
"(Them's the breaks, I guess! Now, back to the food!)" Emolga picked up the same berry that Pikachu had failed to bite through earlier. She nibbled on it, then pulled a face. "(Man... where's that rock?)"
"(Here, milady~!)" Oshawott cried happily, springing into action.
Taking the berry from her, he placed it in front of him, then picked up his rock. With a grunt, he started smashing it against the berry.
"(Oh, thank you~!)" Emolga said in her simpering manner that ground Pikachu's gears.
Wanting to distract himself, he picked up a yellow and green berry that wasn't quite circular and bit into it. He chewed.
... Hmm. It was actually pretty tasty. Really sweet, with a nice spicy kick. Not bad at all! It was actually helping to improve his mood a bit.
... Still. It was missing something. Maybe a bit more spice?
After a short while, Oshawott finally managed to crack the red berry open. He passed it to Emolga with what was probably supposed to be a gentlemanly bow.
"(Milady~)"
With a beaming smile, Emolga took a bite of the berry. She chewed it quite happily for a few moments, then her eyes widened.
She breathed out. "(Whoo... spicy... Really tasty, but a biiiit too spicy.)" She glanced at Pikachu and smiled. "(Hey, you like spicy food, too, right?)" She held it out. "(Wanna trade?)"
Hmm. Spicy, huh? Despite their differences, Pikachu and Emolga did have similar tastes in food.
He shrugged. "(Sure,)" he replied, deciding it was worth the risk.
They swapped berries.
Meanwhile, Oshawott had picked up a green, oval-shaped berry. Snivy had picked up a blue, seed-shaped berry.
... Huh. Now that Pikachu looked at the blue berry, that was the one he used to kick around the forest as a kid, wasn't it? Because it tasted nasty. Almost as nasty as the bubble-filled one...
As Snivy asked for the rock, only for Oshawott to offer to smash the berry for her, Pikachu felt his mood sour again. Though not because of Oshawott this time...
Shaking it off, he tried to focus on the red berry in his own paws. The one shaped like a cocoa bean.
He bit into it.
After a few moments of chewing, his eyes widened. The most delicious taste imaginable washed over his tongue. It was sweet, but not too sweet, with an intense spicy kick.
Oh, good lord, it was heaven! He swooned as he continued eating it.
"(Oh, that is goooood!)" Emolga said happily. "(Way better than the other one~!)"
"(Wow...)" Snivy muttered, sounding shocked. "(This blue's one's... delicious.)"
There was a loud crunch from Oshawott. He chewed his berry for a few moments, then his eyes lit up in pure joy.
He made a gaspy noise of pleasure. "(... I have found heaven~!)" he said, flopping over onto his back.
Heh. Well, it seemed they'd all found a berry they really liked. That was nice. It had certainly helped lift the gloomy mood.
... If Buneary had been here, he was sure she'd have been happy to eat all of these berries. With her, there was no such thing as a bad flavour, so she'd never kick them around, or float them down the river. She'd probably say it was a waste of good food...
He shook his head again, harder this time. He didn't want to think about that anymore...
Though it was getting more and more difficult each day...