Author's note: Hey! It's been a while, huh? But Shallow Waters is back in business!
FUN NOTE: I combed through the entirety of the fic, making fixes to it. I polished up personalities! I added all-new scenes! I included details that weren't there before!
I highly recommend that you lovely people read through the fic again. Not only to remind yourself of the plot details, but also to check out the new stuff! One new thing even gets referenced in this chapter, so that should be good incentive!
Best mistakes of the day:
"(Yeah, why are they go!)"
(Why are the English go?!)
"If you ask me, though... I think he's kinda terrified."
(Harley's pikachu is more terrified of you than you are of him. You can trust me. XP)
"I should probably get out of the waiting arena"
(Ah, yes. For a place on stage, you must partake in Mortal Kombat. Fatalities get you extra points!)
Chapter Twenty-Four: Perplexing Problem
Pikachu stared at the screen in shock.
"No way..." Ash said, sounding just as shocked, "Dawn lost?!"
Dawn pulled out Buneary's pokéball. The red light from it stretched all the way into the pool, then retracted back into the pokeball. She looked down at it with a sad expression.
"I won!" Harley cried out, dancing around. "I won! But of course I did~!" He held out his arms. "Come here for a hug, my darling Pikachu~!"
His pikachu glared at him. "(I told you...)" he snarled, "(no... hugs!)"
Harley pouted. "Oh, poo. You're so serious all the time." He smirked. "Well, it's useful, so I can't complain!"
His pikachu huffed and turned away. "(Whatever!)"
Pikachu watched in a daze as Dawn left the arena. Harley celebrated for a little while longer, before recalling his pikachu and skipping out the other door.
"Wh... What the heck happened?!" Iris cried. "Where did Buneary's moves go?!"
"(Yeah, they went poof again!)" Axew agreed, sounding a bit distressed.
"Hmm..." Cynthia said. "Last round, they worked just fine. What changed, exactly?"
"Most perplexing..." Jervis replied.
"Well, there was Harley, I guess..." Ash suggested, "though I dunno why he'd make her lose her moves... Does she even know him?"
"Probably not, from what you've told us," Iris replied. "You know, about Dawn being in Hoenn, while the others were... somewhere else. Probably Sinnoh, or something."
Ash shrugged. "Guess so."
"If that's the case," Jervis said curiously, "then was there anything else different about this match?"
"Hmm..." Cilan replied, his hand to his chin in deep thought, "let's see... the last course-" He shook his head. "I mean, the last round was a granbull... and this one was a pikachu..."
Pikachu's spine stiffened. Uh oh. This wasn't going to swing around to him, was it? He hadn't even done anything this time!
"That's true..." Iris replied. Her tone turned angry. "And it was an awfully grouchy pikachu, too! Was it because he said some really horrible things to her, do you think?"
Axew nodded. "(Yeah, he was pretty mean...)" he said.
"See?" Iris pointed to Axew. "He did! Axew said so!"
"Huh..." Ash replied. "Still, it doesn't seem like Buneary to lose her cool over a guy she doesn't even know..."
Cynthia hummed in thought, but said nothing.
"... Heh," Ash continued, "thinking about it, that pikachu had a lot of similar moves to you, huh, buddy?"
"(H-Huh?)" Pikachu asked, jolting and looking up at him.
"Yeah. He had Shock Wave, which is kinda like Thunderbolt... Feint, which is kinda like Quick Attack... Brick Break, which is kinda like Iron Tail... and Electroweb, which is kinda like Electro Ball!"
... Wow. Now that he put it that way, the resemblance was a little uncanny.
"Hey, you're right!" Iris replied. "How strange..."
"Quite the coincidence!" Cilan agreed. "Two herbs with completely different textures, yet very similar flavours!"
"Indeed..." Cynthia replied, still contemplative.
"One's tastier than the other, though..." Iris grumbled, glancing at Pikachu. After a moment, her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, didn't Buneary have a crush on Pikachu?"
Pikachu's spine stiffened again. Uh oh.
"Ah yes!" Cilan replied. "That one didn't require any evaluation time. It was as plain as the icing on a cake!"
Ash shrugged. "It's what Dawn and Brock kept saying, yeah," he replied.
"Brock..." Iris muttered in thought. "He was that... pokémon doctor guy you mentioned, right?"
"That's the one! Though he's still in training."
"It'd be nice to meet him, one day!" Cilan said. "Especially since he, too, is a cook! Maybe we can even compare recipes!"
Ash chuckled. "Sounds neat!" He smiled dreamily. "Aww, man, you two cooking together would be a dream..."
"Back on topic..." Iris groaned, though she shot a small smile at Cilan, "Buneary likes Pikachu, and was fighting a pikachu, right? Did it have something to do with that?"
Ash looked confused. "Losing her moves? Why would her crush or whatever make her lose her moves?"
Pikachu's insides grew cold at the remembrance.
Iris threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know! I'm spitballing here! You're the one who knows why pokémon lose their moves!"
"What was it you said, again?" Cilan asked. "That your pokémon... got jealous over another pokémon?"
"Something like that, yeah..." Ash replied. He crossed his arms in thought. "Hmmmm... what was it Nurse Joy said, again?" He closed his eyes. The room was completely silent for an agonisingly long amount of time, as he thought it through. Eventually, his eyes snapped open. "A broken heart! That was what she said!"
The entire room jolted.
"A... broken heart?!" Iris cried.
"Yeah! And I thought evolution would fix it, but it didn't... but then his moves came back a couple of days later, so it was fine!" He scratched his head. "It was nowhere near as long as Buneary, though..."
Pikachu stared. They weren't seriously going to figure this out now, were they?! When it didn't matter anymore?! After all, she'd already... well, gotten over him, so...
It had been just like Sceptile. That was just how it was. The pokémon would go through a bit of heartbreak, then move on. Just like Totodile, and Piplup, and Oshawott... and especially Brock.
It was... no different at all.
"What a sour dish to digest..." Cilan murmured.
Cynthia looked up at Ash. "Is heartbreak the only thing that makes a pokémon lose its moves?" she asked.
Ash shrugged. "Beats me," he replied. "It only happened the once."
"Then could there be another reason?" Jervis asked.
"Dunno."
"That makes no sense!" Iris cried. "Why would she have a broken heart?! She looked so happy with Pikachu!"
"(Well, he did reject her before, but...)" Axew said sadly, "(I dunno about now...)"
... Pikachu was very glad that the humans couldn't understand pokémon language...
"Maybe it's due to being away from Pikachu?" Cilan suggested. "Like, she's missing the vital ingredient for a perfect recipe?"
"Maybe..." Iris replied. "... Wait, no, that doesn't make any sense, either! Her moves were gone long before they parted ways!"
"Hmm..." Cynthia said, glancing down at Pikachu. She held her gaze.
Pikachu felt a block of ice drop into his stomach. Thinking quickly, he forced on a puzzled tilt of the head to throw the champion off. She continued to hold her gaze for a moment, then eventually relented.
He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
... Seriously, though, what was wrong with Buneary? It... couldn't still be heartbreak, right? So what was it?
He hoped she was alright...
Buneary slumped inside her pokéball, as best as a mass of digital energy could. She'd failed. She'd failed Dawn, she'd failed her teammates, and she'd failed herself. All because she'd seen too much of one pikachu in another.
It hadn't been the same one, she knew that, and yet... the words he'd said, and the way he'd glared at her...
"(Dawn, what happened?!)" she heard Piplup cry.
May yelped. There was a light thump, and Dawn let out a grunt, as if she'd caught something.
Ah. Well, since the penguin had been left with May, he must have jumped from one pair of arms to the other.
"We... saw everything on the monitor," May said slowly. "What happened out there, Dawn?"
"I'm... not really sure..." Dawn replied quietly.
"Hmph," Drew said. "Did Harley pull some dirty trick we didn't see? 'Cause, if he did..."
"I didn't need to, hon~!" Harley's voice cut in. "Which is a grand shame, really, as I had so many up my sleeve!" He huffed in a pouty way. "But I guess they'll have to wait 'til later matches! Either way, a win's a win, right~?"
"I guess so," May replied rather amicably.
"Don't agree with him, May," Drew scolded.
"My little gingerbread cookie knows where it's at!" Harley said. He put on a babying tone. "Yes, she does~"
"Stop pinching her cheek."
Harley's tone darkened. "Maybe now you'll start seeing me as more than the cacturne man, right, Dawn?"
"Huh?" Dawn asked, sounding distracted. "Oh, uh, yeah! Sure."
Harley's tone lightened again. "That's what I like to hear!" Buneary heard footsteps leaving the area. "Well, later, kiddies! I'll be back to crush the rest of you later~! Tata~!"
"... Man, I hate that guy..." Drew grumbled.
"Aww, he's not so bad!" May said cheerfully.
"We're not having this argument again."
The announcer suddenly called out two coordinators' names, neither of which were May or Drew. There was a slight bustle as the two unknowns prepared to go on-stage.
"... I just don't understand..." Dawn said slowly. "Why did Buneary just... lock up like that?"
Inside her pokéball, Buneary slumped in dismay.
"It definitely had nothing to do with Harley?" Drew asked cautiously.
"No. Surprisingly, he didn't really try anything. Just like he said."
"Hmm..." May said, "maybe it had something to do with Harley's pikachu?" Buneary flinched. "Um... should we have told you about him beforehand?"
"Huh?" Dawn asked.
"See, Harley caught him in Sinnoh. He said he was..." She tried to imitate Harley's voice. "Like Ash's, but far more fabulous~!" She dropped the voice, then laughed awkwardly. "If you ask me, though... I think he's kinda terrifying."
"Eh, he's all hot air, mostly," Drew said.
"Hey, you never know! Seriously, he's been like that even before Harley caught him. No one has any idea what his deal is."
"Maybe dumped by his girlfriend, or something?"
"Drew, be serious! Someone that angry won't have just been 'dumped by his girlfriend'!
"Hey, 'you never know'."
Heh. Buneary could almost feel the smirk on that one. The image managed to cheer her up the slightest bit.
"Urgh. But yeah, he takes battles way too seriously. Gets way too angry if the battle takes too long. Just... all around impatient, angry and scary, and... I've no idea why Harley caught him."
"Says he's 'useful'. But what good is a pokémon you can't get along with?"
"Ha. You wouldn't have said that back in Hoenn and Kanto."
"... Hmph."
"... Anyway, Dawn, I hope Buneary gets better."
"Me too..." Dawn replied. "I can't believe she lost her moves again. I thought she was getting better."
Nope, Buneary's mood had dipped again...
"Wait, this has happened before?"
Suddenly, the announcer's voice rang out, calling for the two unknown coordinators to battle.
"I'll... explain later. I should probably get out of the waiting area, and up in the stands. I'll see you two afterwards. Good luck with your matches!"
"Thanks, Dawn!"
"Yeah, thanks," Drew added.
Pikachu continued watching the Wallace Cup. As did the humans, who'd finally taken a break from speculating.
Currently, a guy with dark green hair down to his neck - and a stern gaze on his face - was battling a girl with long, white hair, decorated with purple ribbons. At one point, when the camera zoomed in on the girl, Iris shivered, saying how piercing her pale purple eyes were. Like they were staring through your very soul. Calculating your every move. Pikachu hadn't really noticed, but he supposed he could see what she meant.
Before he knew it, the girl's bisharp had managed to take down the green-haired guy's bastiodon, winning her the round. Pikachu blinked. Wait... had he even been following that match?
He frowned slightly. Argh. No. No, he hadn't. Not really. His mind was still caught up on how Buneary was doing. After all, she'd lost her moves again, losing her the match and losing Dawn the aqua ribbon.
Just what was wrong with her?
It was... usually as Ash had said. That pokémon lost their moves over heartbreak. At least, that was what had happened to Sceptile. Though he'd gotten over it easily enough. They always did.
... Right?
He blinked, then quickly shook his head. What was that invasive thought just now? No. Bad!
It was, and always would be, the same! No matter what! Plenty of time had passed, so obviously, Buneary had gotten over him!
The image of her teary-eyed face entered his mind, with the sun, sea and sand as a backdrop.
... She'd gotten over him... right?
Yeah. Yeah, she must have! She couldn't still be suffering heartbreak after over two weeks of them being apart!
... So then... why were her moves not working?
That was... obviously because something had gone wrong in the battle! It had nothing to do with him! Nothing at all!
... Did it?
Argh! He shook his head harder, giving his cheeks a quick slap. No! He had to stop thinking those bad thoughts!
"You okay, buddy?" Ash asked from next to him on the couch.
He jolted in shock, looking up at his trainer's concerned face. "(U-Uh...)" he replied. He forced on an awkward smile. "(Y-Yeah! Just fine, Ash!)"
"Hmm." Ash smiled. "Well, okay!" He went back to watching the television.
Pikachu sighed in relief. A quick glance in Iris' direction, though, allowed him to see the sad face Axew was giving him, before the dragon turned back to the television.
Argh... that rabbit was going to be the death of him...
The next two matches went by in a blur. May fought some guy with messy black hair and tanned skin, with an earring on one side and a braid on the other. The whole match, he was smiling and joking, though Cilan made a comment about how the guy's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Pikachu didn't really see it, to be honest.
The guy did, however, pull off many dirty tricks that would have probably made Harley proud, so maybe the connoisseur had been onto something. His mawile came very, very close to beating May's wortortle, but - at the very last second - May managed to pull off her own trick that won her the match. The girl was visibly sweating afterwards.
In the next match, Drew was up against an equally handsome guy with equally floppy hair. Except he was blond, with striking blue eyes. The fangirls in the crowd went wild, causing Drew to cockily flip his fringe, and the other guy to look a bit sheepish and awkward.
While Drew's masquerain was locked in majestic, sparkly combat with the blond guy's gengar, Cynthia made a comment about how the blond guy seemed to have darkness behind his eyes.
Pikachu really wasn't sure what gave her that idea - since the guy seemed really nice, polite and well-spoken - but whatever. Though, looking at him, he did have awfully messy hair. Had the guy never heard of a comb? At first glance, it looked neat and tidy, but his parting was all over the place.
Well, whatever.
Eventually, Drew managed to win, securing himself a place in the next round.
... It was only then, when the announcer stepped on stage to tell everyone to tune in again tomorrow, did Pikachu realise that the day's matches were over.
He blinked. Wow, he was really out of it today, wasn't he? Had he really been watching on auto-pilot?
He shook his head again, trying not to think about it. Instead, he'd try to think about tomorrow's matches. May, Drew and Harley had all gotten through to the next round, so there was a chance that one of them would take home the aqua ribbon.
He wished it could've been Dawn, instead, but because of Buneary losing her moves...
Argh, he was doing it again! He gave his cheeks another quick slap.
Urgh, he really needed to stop thinking about that...