Author's note: Howdy hey!

Now the plot's really rolling, huh? I can hardly believe this fic's hit twenty chapters now! And it's not over yet! Not by a long shot! There are many loose ends still dangling, after all.

So please, enjoy the latest chapter!

Chapter Twenty: Dramatic Displays

The next day, Pikachu had found himself another red berry shaped like a cocoa bean. Sitting atop Cilan's table, he savoured the deliciously spicy taste on his tongue as he watched Ash train.

Near Pikachu, Cilan and Iris were poring over a cookbook, as the former tried to teach the latter how to cook. She was nodding along enthusiastically, taking in every word.

Ash was so intensely focused on his training that he hadn't even noticed.

"... Man..." Iris suddenly said in a disgruntled tone, "doesn't Ash ever get sick of training? The little kid's obsessed..."

Cilan chuckled. "Indeed," he replied. "Training does often appear to be the Ash special of the day."

Iris heaved a sigh. "I swear, if it was food, it'd be his favourite food..."

Cilan's eyes lit up at this. He looked awfully proud of her.

Well, Pikachu supposed the chef didn't often find someone to trade food-related similes and metaphors with, so it made sense. Most people had trouble understanding what the heck Cilan was even saying.

As for their comment about Ash, though... Huh. Well, he supposed he'd never thought about it. It was true, though, that Ash had been training a lot more in recent years than he had in the past. Somewhere along the line, he'd picked up a passion for it. So much so that everything else had perhaps played second fiddle to it.

Not that Pikachu could complain, really. Whenever he was training, the mouse gave it his all. Every thought, every action, was about training and nothing else. It gave him focus. It cleared his mind.

It also stopped him from thinking about anything unsavoury.

Silently, he bit into his berry. Speaking of training, maybe he should offer to go next...

Sitting comfortably on the grass, Buneary smiled up at Absol, who was sitting beside her.

"(And then we bumped into a travelling circus guy!)" she said happily. "(He had this tall hat and a really cool bowtie! Plus, a really funny moustache! It was, like, all thin and long and curly at the ends!)" She laughed. "(Had to glance around for a set of train tracks!)"

Absol chuckled in amusement. "(He sounded fun...)" he replied.

"(Turned out he was! All of his pokémon could do the coolest tricks! Like, there was a manectric who could juggle balls... a whismur who could jump through flaming hoops... All sorts of things!)"

"(Wow. Sounded pretty cool. I've never been to Hoenn, myself. I wish I could've seen it.)"

She gave him a look of surprise. "(Really? Didn't Drew catch you there?)"

"(Nah. I come from Kanto.)"

"(Ah.)"

She watched briefly as Pachirisu ran past, happily chasing Skitty. The squirrel didn't seem to be going at top speed, which was probably for the best. Skitty would have stood no chance of getting away, otherwise.

She smiled at how cute they looked.

"Heh," Drew suddenly said, "it seems Absol made a new friend."

"You're right!" May replied excitedly. "Aww, how cute!" She paused a moment, then gasped. "Oh yeah! Dawn, wasn't your buneary the one who liked Ash's pikachu?"

Oof. Right in the chest cavity.

"Yeah!" Dawn replied. "Like I said the first time, Buneary's a big fan. In fact... she's liked him pretty much ever since they first met!"

Ouch.

"Really? That's so sweet! Has he returned the feelings yet?"

Dawn chuckled awkwardly. "You know, I'm not entirely sure! He gets really embarrassed, so it's hard to tell!" Her voice turned serious. "But get this! The last time they met up, when I was over in Unova, she nuzzled him and he was smiling!"

"Oh, no way!"

"Yeah! So I'd say no need to worry! Give him time and he's sure to come around!"

... Yep, that was some nice salt in the wound. It hadn't even healed over properly yet.

"(You like Ash's pikachu?)" Absol asked.

Buneary heaved a sigh. "(Yeah...)" she replied, "(though that doesn't matter. Ignore what Dawn says, 'cause it's not happening.)"

Absol's expression turned tender. "(Oh, I'm sorry. Does he not return the feelings?)"

She shook her head. "(Uh-uh...)"

"(Oh. I'm sorry to hear that...)"

"(It's okay. I'll just... have to get over it and move on.)"

"(Well... good luck to you.)"

She gave him a small smile of gratitude. "(Thanks.)"

"Oh, you know..." Dawn suddenly said, "I never thought to ask! Do you dress up for Johto contests?"

"Nah," Drew replied. "It's only Sinnoh that does that."

"Oh. Well, okay then, thanks!" Dawn giggled. "It was so strange, going to Hoenn and not wearing my dress for contests! It's like an unspoken rule in Sinnoh that you dress up for contests! They really don't do it anywhere else?"

"Nope!" May replied. She paused. "Oh, except for Kalos, maybe? Though what they have isn't quite contests, from what I heard."

"Huh. Maybe I should check them out someday. Either way! It's very strange not dressing up."

May giggled. "Yeah, well, it was very weird for me, going to Sinnoh! I had to rush out and buy an outfit when I heard you were supposed to dress up!"

"Oh! That outfit you were wearing! Have you been wearing that in the Sinnoh contests? I haven't been keeping up with the princess of Hoenn since starting my journey."

May laughed. "Well, at first I was wearing it... but then my mom got me a different outfit..." She chuckled awkwardly. "It's really pink and frilly and kinda looks like a tutu. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first..."

"Oh, it sounds adorable!"

"I guess I got used to it after a little while, but it's still a bit weird."

"Well, I think it suits you," Drew said with a smarmy tone.

He yelped in discomfort. Buneary spun her head around to see that May was lightly pinching his nose in annoyance.

Dawn giggled in amusement at the sight. After a few moments, May let go of his nose and turned back to Dawn. Buneary rested back on her arms and decided to watch.

"Say, Dawn..." May said, "will we see your friend from the last Wallace Cup? Uhhhh... Zoey, was it?"

"Yeah," Dawn replied, "and nope. Zoey already has all five ribbons, so I don't think we'll be seeing her there."

"Aww, that's a pity."

"We'll certainly see one of our 'friends', though..." Drew said in distaste.

"Yeah, you said," Dawn replied. "Harley, was it?"

"Yeah."

"Should be fun..." May said, looking exasperated. Then she gave a determined smile. "Either way, let's all do our best in the Wallace Cup, okay?"

"Sure," Drew replied. He flipped his fringe. "Though I'll be the one taking home the aqua ribbon."

"Not if I get to it first, you won't!"

Dawn smirked. "You're both wrong, 'cause it's gonna be mine!" she declared. She smiled in Buneary's direction. "Right, Buneary?"

Buneary beamed back and nodded. "(Yep~!)" she replied.

The following day went by in a blur. Training, chatting and playing. Buneary was rather excited, as tomorrow would be the day of the Wallace Cup!

Since last year's Wallace Cup had gone so well for them, she was sure it would go just as well this year! Heck, it might be just the boost she needed to be over a certain someone once and for all!

Maybe, anyway. It would certainly help.

Regardless, Dawn seemed to have decided exactly who to use in which round. Buneary wasn't sure when she'd be up, but that didn't matter. She'd leave little details like that to Dawn. She trusted that her trainer knew what she was doing. After all, she'd gotten them through one Wallace Cup, and had almost gotten through a Grand Festival! Their first Grand Festival, at that! Dawn was clearly a natural at following her mother's footsteps.

Johanna should be proud of her daughter.

Finally, it was the day of the Wallace Cup. Their big chance to get the aqua ribbon, which - combined with Dawn's other four ribbons - would grant them entry into the Hoenn Grand Festival. They just had to survive three days of elimination rounds and, then, the prize would be theirs.

Inside her ball, Buneary was psyched. She was so ready for this!

Outside, she could hear the three humans conversing as they stood around in the waiting room.

"I hope Kenny's watching..." Dawn said.

"(Yeah, he better be!)" Piplup replied.

"Hmm?" May asked. "Who's Kenny?"

"He's one of my contest rivals, 'cause I have, like, a million," Dawn replied, chuckling. "He promised he'd watch me on TV and cheer me on, so I hope he does..."

"I'm sure he will! Are you two close?"

"Yeah. We've been friends since we were kids. Kinda sad he's not here with me, but he got all his ribbons already." She laughed awkwardly. "Me? I failed at one too many contests, so now I'm here."

Unfortunately, Buneary had to agree. Their luck hadn't been the best in Hoenn. Whereas, in Sinnoh, they'd gotten all five ribbons in plenty of time for the Grand Festival.

"Aww. Well, that's alright! There's still time to make it back before the Grand Festival!"

"Yeah! And I'm gonna make sure I do it!" Dawn paused. "Though, now that I think about it... why are you two here? It's strange that the prince and princess of Hoenn wouldn't have all five ribbons by now." She chuckled sheepishly. "Not to mean any offence, or anything..."

Buneary had to agree there, too. Especially since this year's Wallace Cup was starting much, much later than last year's had.

Honestly, it had come as a lucky lifeline for Dawn's team. Though only if they managed to beat Drew and May, of course. If they didn't, they'd have to trek all the way back to Hoenn and try to win another ribbon.

Not impossible, but not ideal, either.

"Well..." May replied awkwardly, "we got a bit... distracted near the end of Sinnoh."

"Distracted?"

"Yeah..."

"By what?"

"Um..." There was a long pause. "... Maybe now's not the best time for that. I'll explain later, okay? After the appeal round."

"Huh? Well, okay..."

Intriguing! Buneary would be sure to eavesdrop on that later.

"Why, if it isn't May Doll and her boy toy!" a voice suddenly said. It sounded feminine, but oddly masculine at the same time.

"Oh, hey, Harley!" May replied.

"... Hi," Drew replied haughtily.

"Oh, Drew," Harley replied, "are you still mad about me tricking May out of her ribbon in that last contest? To be fair, I needed it more than she did!"

"That's hardly the point..."

"Oh, pshaw! Points only go as far as you make 'em!"

"What does that even mean?"

"Ooh, hello there! Are you a friend of May Doll?"

"Yeah, I'm Dawn!" Dawn replied. "Nice to meet..." She gasped. "Wait, I know you! You're the cacturne man!"

"(... The cacturne man?)" Piplup asked, sounding perplexed.

"Oh, you know me~?" the 'cacturne man' asked.

"Yeah!" Dawn replied. "I've seen you in contests on TV! You own a cacturne and dress like a cacturne, so you're the cacturne man!"

"Oh my, I'm famous~! Though I'd hope I'm famous for a bit more than that...!"

... Was it Buneary's imagination, or was that a hint of annoyance in his voice?

"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Dawn, honey," he continued, "but let's get one thing straight. Don't think you're getting that aqua ribbon, 'cause it's all mine!"

"Yeah?" Dawn replied, suddenly sounding confident. "Well, we'll just see about that."

Harley's tone suddenly darkened. "Oh, we will..." After a moment, it went back to normal. "Well, I'm off to powder my nose before the appeal round! Tata for now~!"

"Bye, Harley!" May replied.

"Uh, yeah..." Dawn replied, sounding shocked, "bye..." Once Harley's footsteps faded away, she continued in a sheepish tone. "Um... is it me, or did he look really scary just now?"

May chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, he... does that," she replied.

Drew sighed. "That guy, I swear..." he grumbled.

From inside her pokéball, Buneary did some equivalent of stupefied blinking. Hoo boy...

Pikachu heaved a sigh as he sat back against the wall. For the past day, he'd been hounded by a good number of his teammates, all demanding to know the same thing. Had he really rejected Buneary? Why had he rejected Buneary? Did he not like Buneary? It'd been such a pain fending them all off.

None of them had been aggressive, thankfully, but still.

"(Can't believe you told them...)" he grumbled.

"(Hey, it was an accident!)" Oshawott replied, fretting. "(I was talking and it just slipped out! Then word got around and... I'm really sorry.)"

Pikachu heaved another sigh. "(It's alright...)"

He still remembered the face Axew had given him. The little guy had looked so upset that he'd turned down a chance at romance...

It almost reminded him of Pachirisu. Back in Sinnoh, the squirrel used to frown sadly at him whenever he wouldn't flirt back with Buneary. Well, until he'd started pouting and huffing at him in annoyance, instead, anyway...

Glancing elsewhere, he caught sight of Snivy and Emolga fighting in the distance. Again. It had actually been nice when they'd gotten along for once, but maybe that had been for his benefit.

Who knew what they were fighting over. Something trivial, he was sure.

Shifting his gaze, he saw Ash doing more training, while Cilan and Iris were off to the side, chatting and laughing.

Suddenly, some movement caught Pikachu's attention. Looking up, he saw Cynthia exiting her villa, looking rather excited about something. She wandered over to where Ash was training nearby.

"Hey!" she called out. Everyone in the vicinity looked up at her. "I found something on TV you might be interested in."

"Huh?" Iris asked. "What's that?"

"Whatever it is," Ash replied, "it can wait, 'cause I've got training to do!"

Cilan smiled sheepishly. "Perhaps a new herb every now and then would spice up your dish..." he said.

"Yeah, the one called life..." Iris grumbled.

Cynthia chuckled. "Well, feel free not to watch it, I guess..." she said, "though your friend, Dawn, will be in it."

Pikachu's ears perked up.

"Dawn?" Iris asked, her eyes widening.

"Yep. I was channel-flipping and just happened to find the Wallace Cup on television. They're about halfway through the appeal round, if you're interested."

Iris stood up. "Heck yes, I am!" she replied.

"It sounds delightful!" Cilan replied, also standing up.

"Hmm..." Ash replied, thinking about it, "well, I guess it is Dawn. I did ask her to tell me how the Wallace Cup went..."

"Well, you can see it for yourself," Cynthia said, indicating inside the villa with a sweep of her hand.

Ash paused for thought for a few moments, then smiled. "Aww, what the heck. Sure." He looked in Pikachu's direction. "You coming, buddy?"

Pikachu didn't even need to think about his answer. He could feel a burning curiosity flaring up inside him.

He nodded. "(Yeah!)" he replied. Getting up onto all fours, he bolted for the villa.

"Hey, wait up, Pikachu!"

With everyone sitting comfortably around the television, they began to watch the appeal round for the Johto Wallace Cup.

Just like last time, many different coordinators had entered, though only sixteen would make it to the next round. Also like last time, they had to show off their skills by using the indoor pool that had been provided. It was a feature unique to Wallace Cups, so not using it would immediately get points deducted.

Since the group were a bit late with watching the appeal round, there was no way to tell if Dawn had already taken her turn or not. Pikachu really hoped that wasn't the case. He kept his eyes glued to the screen, waiting.

As he watched coordinator after coordinator perform, he began to grow antsy. Had they missed it?

His mind began to drift towards Buneary. Had she gotten her moves back? It'd been four weeks since then, so she must have done, right?

Would she be performing in the appeal round? Dawn had often preferred to use Buneary for that, and he could easily see why. Her Ice Beam was perfectly suited to appeal rounds. It was much rarer for Dawn to use her in battle rounds.

"Next up..." the announcer said, "May from Petalburg City in Hoenn!"

Oh? May had entered, too? Well, it wasn't all that surprising, since she'd entered last year's Wallace Cup, too. Back then, she'd been wearing some sort of Arabian Nights-inspired outfit.

When the curtain pulled back to reveal the girl, he barely recognised her for a moment. Her new outfit looked similar to her Hoenn one, but more... girly, he supposed?

She ran onto the stage, tightening the large red ribbon on her head. Letting go of it, and causing it to spring back into place, she threw a pokéball.

"Beautifly!" she called out. "Take the stage!"

Popping out of her pokéball, the butterfly materialised in front of her trainer, flapping her wings to stay airborne.

May continued. "Aerial Ace!"

Surrounding herself in a white glow, Beautifly folded back her wings and shot up towards the ceiling. Arcing back around, she shot downwards, straight into the water surrounding the stage.

Huh. A gutsy move, since flying bugs usually had problems underwater.

The camera altered to show an underwater view, with Beautifly now shooting forwards, leaving a white streak behind her. Perhaps she was going just fast enough for the water not to damage her wings.

"Now, use Psychic!"

Beautifly's eyes glowed light blue. Then the water swirled around her, forming a protective bubble.

Huh. Clever.

"Now, finish it up with Morning Sun!"

Shooting upwards and out of the water with a splash, Beautifly began to glow a faint white. The beams of light shone outside of the bubble, creating rainbows on the water's surface.

Very beautiful.

Pikachu kept watching as more coordinators took their turns. Each one aiming to impress Hoenn champion, top coordinator, and former Sootopolis gym leader Wallace, who was on the judges' panel. The man looked a bit... different this time around, though. His outfit was much tighter and skimpier than the last time Pikachu had seen him...

"Next up..." the announcer said, "Drew from LaRousse City in Hoenn!"

Pikachu's ears perked up. Drew? Huh. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of that guy for a while.

As soon as his name had been spoken, the crowd roared in joy. The camera panned around to show hordes of fangirls, a lot of which were holding up signs like 'We love you, Drew!', 'You're an ace trainer, Drew!' and 'Marry me, Drew!'

Pikachu even spotted one banner that read 'Mothers for Pokémon'. They were cheering just as loudly as the rest.

Pikachu huffed. He was just as popular as ever, apparently.

Then the curtain pulled back and Drew walked on-stage. The outfit he was wearing looked nothing like the purple, black and green one he used to wear. Now, it was red, white and black.

Flicking his fringe, he threw a pokéball. "Roserade, show 'em what you're made of!" he said.

The three-rosed plant popped out, materialising on the stage. Oh, so she'd evolved? Neat.

Drew continued. "Use Petal Dance!"

Roserade leapt up, until she was above the water. Then she spun around at a rapid speed, releasing a tornado of pink petals that gradually grew outwards, increasing in height and width. Each billowing petal glowed a faint pink.

Eventually, the tornado began to sweep up some of the water, swirling it around with the petals in a spiral pattern.

Huh. An impressive display.

Slowly, Roserade began drifting down towards the water, the tornado of petals and water still swirling around her.

"Grassy Terrain!"

Hmm? Pikachu had never heard of that move.

Roserade began to glow a faint green. Before her feet even touched the water, a green ring shot outwards, creating a grassy platform for her to land on.

"Now, use Stun Spore!"

Landing on the platform, yet still spinning, she lifted up her arms and shot sparkly orange smoke out of her roses. It rose high into the air, enveloping the watery tornado and turning all the pink petals orange. Even their glow turned orange.

"AAAAnd hold!"

Roserade skidded to a stop and posed. The tornado instantly burst apart, showering water, orange petals and sparkles everywhere. The crowd roared.

... Hmph. Show-off.

More coordinators took their turns. Pikachu was beginning to wonder if maybe he really had missed Dawn's performance, after all...

"Next up..." the announcer said, "Harley from Slateport City in Hoenn!"

Pikachu's eyes widened. Harley? Oh, good lord. It'd been a while since he'd seen that guy, too.

When the curtain opened, there he was, in all his fabulous glory, as he blew kisses to the crowd. Much like the Hoenn days, he was wearing an outfit inspired by his favourite pokémon, Cacturne. Except... this one looked a lot tighter and skimpier than the one Pikachu remembered...

It was rather similar to Wallace's new outfit, actually... Was this a new trend?

"Come on out, my darling Ariados!" Harley called out, throwing a pokéball.

The spider burst out of it in a flash of light, materialising on the stage.

Harley continued. "Start us off with Double-Edge!"

Ariados set off running, straight towards the water. Building up speed and momentum, he managed to run perfectly across its surface, almost like a surskit.

Huh. Not bad.

"Now, dazzle the crowd with Shadow Sneak!"

Becoming enshrouded in darkness, Ariados slipped under the water. Some distance away from where he'd entered, back near the stage where Harley was, a pillar of dark energy emerged with a colossal splash.

"Give us a Scary Face, hon!"

Instead of the darkness disappearing, a face appeared on it. Glowing red eyes and a fanged mouth leered directly into the camera.

Pikachu had to suppress a shudder. It looked kind of creepy.

Eventually, the pillar of dark energy rose higher, arcing around and landing on the stage. When it disappeared, Ariados was visible again. Harley waved and blew more kisses at the crowd.

... Well, Pikachu had to give Harley points for creativity.

He continued watching, as more and more coordinators showed off their talents. Eventually, he heaved a sigh. Yep, he must have missed it...

He was considering just giving up and going outside. Maybe doing some training by himself to take his mind off things. Yeah, that sounded good. He stood up from the couch, ready to leave.

"Next up..." the announcer said, "Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh!"

He froze, his ears springing up. He hadn't missed it?! He hurriedly sat back down again.

The curtain pulled back to reveal the girl in question. She ran forward, throwing a pokéball. "Togekiss, spooootlight!" she called out.

Pikachu's mood deflated. Oh. So she wasn't using Buneary. Well... that was fine. Maybe he'd see Buneary in a future round. The last Wallace Cup had taken place over three days, after all.

When the bird appeared in flash of light, she posed majestically.

Dawn continued. "Okay! Use Air Slash!"

Flying above the water, Togekiss lifted her wing, causing a ball of air to spin at the tip of it. With a graceful twirl, she flung it into the water.

The camera switched to the underwater view, where the ball of air split off into several, smaller balls of air. Arcing around, they began to fly back up.

"Now, use Sky Attack!"

The camera shifted back above water as a white glow surrounded Togekiss. She flew forward at top speed. At the same time, the smaller balls of air had broken through the water's surface, creating pillars of water in a perfect circle. Togekiss weaved in and out of the pillars, expertly avoiding each one.

"Now! Safeguard!"

As Togekiss twirled into the middle of the circle, a large green orb expanded outwards from her body, surrounding her. It continued expanding outwards, until it hit all of the pillars. They dissipated in a shower of sparkles, which rolled down the Safeguard and made it twinkle in the light.

Very pretty, indeed.

It was no surprise to Pikachu that Dawn, May, Drew and Harley had all gotten through to the next round. Their appeals had been pretty spectacular, after all.

Of course he'd be back on the couch tomorrow to watch the next round. Not to mention, the round after that. He really wanted to see how Dawn would do.

... He couldn't help but wonder, even as he went to bed later that night, if Buneary would be competing.