Chapter 3: Meeting Some Pals
Outside the villa and standing in a crowd of his friends - including the ones from Dawn's team - Pikachu smiled. Right now, while everyone else was talking amongst themselves, he had taken to talking to Quilava. The last time he'd spoken to the stoat, he'd been a little cyndaquil, so it was thrilling to hear his evolution tale. Even Oshawott, who was to their side, seemed enthralled.
"[So you really burned every single one of those ariados!?]" the young otter asked in awe.
"[Sure did. It was the single proudest moment of my life,]" Quilava responded, grinning happily.
"[I'm not surprised at all. Great job, Quilava!]" Pikachu praised, smiling at him. "[Guess Dawn won't be having problems with any ariados anymore, that's for sure.]"
"[Heh, yeah. At long last,]" the young stoat responded.
"[So freaking cool…]" Oshawott said, looking starry eyed. "[It almost makes me wanna evolve.]"
"[… Then why don't ya?]" Quilava responded, looking confused.
"[Are you kidding!? I'm way more likely to get a girlfriend when I look cute and innocent like this.]"
While the stoat gave him a curious look, Pikachu sighed and rolled his eyes. Half in amusement and half in exasperation. "[I'm not sure if that's how it goes…]" he said.
"[Yeah,]" Quilava added. "[If you evolved, you'd be cooler… and girls like cool guys more than cute guys, don't they?]"
Oshawott huffed. "[Well, I am cool, too! So I don't need to evolve, anyway.]"
The stoat snorted. "[Suit yourself.]"
Chuckling lightly, Pikachu glanced off to the side. As he did, he spotted some movement behind Mamoswine's leg. Looking carefully, he spotted a dear friend that made the edges of his mouth curl upwards all the more. Seeing her, he knew he just had to talk to her. "[Hey, Buneary! Come join the fun!]" he called out, beckoning over.
He could faintly see the brown fluffy bunny's already red face going even redder. Most likely out of bashfulness. After a short pause, she beamed brightly and slowly made her way over, much to the mouse's delight.
As she came closer, he felt his heart do some weird flips. It was to be expected, though. He loved hanging around her! She was easily the most entertaining of his friends to hang around. She was very strange sometimes, sure, but it was that oddness that gave her such charm! Something that he'd missed in the few months they'd been away from each other.
To his side, he noticed Oshawott's face also brighten up as a big blush developed. Knowing the otter's obsession with pretty ladies, though, Pikachu was hardly surprised. "[Oh my scalchop, she's gorgeous!]" Oshawott said, holding his arms out as if expecting a hug from the bunny. "[Heehee, heyyyy, lovely lady~]"
Pikachu had to hold back a frown as some annoyance surged through him. His feelings changed to surprise, however, when Buneary obliviously walked past and nuzzled Pikachu instead.
Caught off-guard, he gasped lightly. When his brain caught up with him, and he realized that she was nuzzling him, he chuckled sheepishly. Oh, he'd forgotten about that. She was extremely affectionate, and prone to fits of getting touchy-feely out of nowhere.
"[Heyyy, Pikachuuuu…~]" she said, in a tone that sounded more happy and tender than he'd heard from anyone in a long time.
"[Um, h-hey, there!]" Pikachu responded, voice cracking. His sheepish chuckles returned with a vengeance when he realized that everyone was staring at them. At the same time, his face was starting to match the color of his cheeks. Oh no… she always chose the worst times…
Oshawott became incredibly shocked after noticing that she'd chosen to nuzzle Pikachu instead of him. So much so that his scalchop had even fallen off his stomach. Any other time, the mouse would've chuckled… but now, he felt far too embarrassed for that.
"Oh, so this little one likes Pikachu!" Ash's friend, Iris, said, gazing at the two of them, along with everyone else.
"What a dish made in heaven!" Ash's other friend, Cilan, sang happily. "Isn't that sweet?"
Ash laughed. "Yup! They're good friends, alright!" he said.
Dawn pulled an exasperated face. "Ash, don't tell me you still don't get it," she said with a sigh.
He blinked blankly.
Iris groaned in annoyance. "Ash, you are such a kid! It's love, not friendship!" she said.
Pikachu's cheeks somehow warmed even further. Love? Good lord… why did everyone always assume things like that? She was just his affectionate friend and nothing else!
Ash continued to stare at Iris blankly. "… Hey, Quilava, you evolved!" he chimed, noticing Quilava to his side. The stoat in question was busy laughing at the show Pikachu and Buneary were putting on.
As Iris groaned again, Pikachu quickly glanced at the nuzzling bunny. He expected her to start lightening up on the nuzzling sometime soon… but, much to his surprise, she was still going! Oh, man, it didn't usually go on for this long! "[U-U-Umm… I-]" he started, his heart thumping scarily in his chest.
"[Aww maaaan! Why can't I get some nuzzling action from the pretty lady!?]" Oshawott huffed in annoyance. A small melodramatic stream of tears began to pour down his face, as they often did. "[No faiiirrr!]"
Buneary didn't even seem to register him, instead choosing to nuzzle the mouse even deeper.
With a sigh of exasperation, Piplup wandered closer to the otter. "[Don't take it personally, man. Against Pikachu, you have no chance with her,]" he said. He sighed again. "[… Even if he's really dumb about it.]"
Pikachu wanted to reply irritably, but he was really at a loss for words for many reasons.
Oshawott's tears immediately went away, though his annoyed look remained. "[Dang it all…]"
Noticing the look, Piplup smiled pleasantly and picked up the scalchop on the ground nearby. He stuck it onto his forehead. "[Hey, look at me, kid!]" He proudly put his flippers to his hips. "[I'm as cool as the ocean!]" With a brief pause, the scalchop indignantly slipped off and fell to the floor, much to his chagrin.
Oshawott laughed at the sight for a short while. "[Shame the ol' scalchop doesn't agree, buddy,]" he said, slowly bending over to pick it up. "[I'll bet you're still pretty cool, th-]"
"[Keepy uppy! Whooo!]" Pachirisu screamed from the side. Running in on two legs, she kicked it as hard as possible, sending it flying into the distance.
Oshawott screeched and ran after it. "[Scalchop, nooo!]"
The hyperactive squirrel hopped up and down excitedly. "[Wooow, that went flying! How many points is that worth? A hundred? A thousand!?]"
"[Pachirisu!]" Piplup exclaimed, looking annoyed. "[Why'd you go and do that, ya jerk? That poor guy really didn't need that!]"
She glanced at him innocently."[What? It's just a seashell. He can just get another one from the beach! I'll even help him, if he wants!]"
Piplup frowned in exasperation. "[That's not the point, woman…]"
Axew, who was nearby, giggled. "[Wow, you're a good kicker, Pachirisu!]"
She gasped happily and beamed at the dragon. "[I know, right? I can kick and run and hop good, too! Anything leg-related, I can do it forever and a day!]"
He looked at her in awe. "[Oooh… So cool!]"
"[Good lord, my freaking ears…]" Snivy muttered grumpily from a short distance away.
Pachirisu confusedly turned to face the snake. "[Huh? But you don't look like you have any-]" Her paws flew to her face. "[Oh my gosh, it's a grass snake! Hi, hi, hiiiii!]" she sang, running over to her.
"[Ugh, oh no…]" Snivy grumbled, turning and slipping away elsewhere.
Pachirisu had begun to follow closely behind, but gave up in disappointment when she couldn't spot the snake in the crowd. "[I'll find you, Snivy snake! I'll find youuu!]"
Pikachu exhaled through his nose. Still, he didn't say anything. Either about the squirrel annoying Oshawott or her pestering Snivy. While he'd usually disapprove of his friends acting really mischievous… he couldn't deny that he appreciated the distraction.
… Except… it hadn't been one at all! Everyone else was still hung up on Buneary nuzzling him! He could tell, because everyone was gazing at the two of them. Angling his ears ever so slightly… he also heard some more laughs, giggles, and cooing coming from various people in the crowd around them. He even heard a wolf whistle and some amused mumbles from somewhere in the crowd. Ughh… it was like Sinnoh all over again. Not that Buneary seemed to mind or care. She seemed to be in her own little world, ignoring everything around her.
Noticing the incredibly coy look Emolga was giving them from nearby, Pikachu forcefully exhaled. Oh, great… he just knew she was going to gossip about this to everyone who didn't know already. Joy…
Inhaling deeply, he smiled widely while pretending to listen to the humans' conversation about… battling in a tournament, or something. Perhaps this way he could escape melting into an embarrassed puddle. "[Y-Yeah, battling! Awesome! We'll do great and win!]" he chimed.
Pikachu suddenly felt the area where Buneary's warm fur had been pressing against his own go cold. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he confirmed that she'd finally detached her face from his, and had begun looking up at the humans in intrigue. Part of Pikachu felt greatly relieved… though the part of his face that she'd been nuzzling felt… colder than he'd expected.
… Well, it made sense. He couldn't see his face, but he suspected that it was hard to tell his cheeks apart from his features right now.
"[Battling, huh? Heehee, awesome!]" Buneary chimed. She put a paw against Pikachu's shoulder and winked at him. "[I'll get to show ya my moves! And yours'll be so freaking cool to watch, too~!]"
He could only take a brief glance at her beaming smile before the warmth in his face came back, forcing him to look away. "[Y-Yeah, s-sure! Um, anyway, yeah! Battling!]"
Buneary paused. "[Er… yeah.]" Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw her energetically hold her free paw up. "[Battling!]"
Swallowing, he forced out a chuckle. "[Y-Yeah…]" He stalled when he noticed something behind Ash, all of a sudden. Something that was bending light, as if hidden away by an unknown force.
He beamed brightly. This was his chance! "[O-Oh, Meloetta! It's you! Welcome back!]" he called out, pointing towards her.
Jolting slightly at the outburst, Buneary looked over towards where Pikachu was pointing. Both her ears extended when she saw it, too. "[Huh? Melo-what-now?]" she asked in confusion.
"[The heck?]" Piplup said, also looking over.
"[She's a friend of ours! A legendary, even! She's real cool!]" Pikachu explained as Ash began to call her out from hiding.
Seconds later, the humanoid pokémon in question appeared in front of Dawn, who yelped in surprise. Recovering, the coordinator moved closer in intrigue, startling Meloetta into flying away to cower timidly behind Ash.
After some reassurances from Ash and Cilan - as well as a friendly wave from Dawn - the small legendary finally poked her head out and gave a friendly wave of her own.
"[Hey, Meloetta, how're ya doing?]" Pikachu called out, catching her attention.
Looking over at him and the others, she smiled awkwardly, though also brightly. "[Oh, um… hello, there, Pikachu and friends! N-Nice to meet you all!]" she said.
Pikachu returned the smile, doing his best to look as interested as possible.
"[Ohhhh, the pleasure's-all-mine…]" Piplup quickly mumbled out, looking wildly interested in the mythical pokémon. Remembering that look from back when the penguin had had an interest in a marill… Oh dear. Pikachu sincerely hoped that Oshawott didn't notice at all.
"[Um, yeah. H-Hey!]" Buneary greeted, apparently not noticing Piplup's attraction.
Pikachu heard footsteps from behind. "[Hey, guys!]" Oshawott said from nearby.
Hearing his voice immediately set alarm bells ringing in Pikachu's head. Oh dear, oh dear.
"[I found my scalchop and I'm back in ac... tion...]" the otter continued, petering into a mumble. Some light, rough-sounding growl from him followed soon after.
Fearing the worst, Pikachu began to glance in his direction, expecting to see a very angry otter. However, his train of thought completely derailed when he noticed that Buneary's paw had somehow found itself wrapped around his.
Scared that someone might notice, he snatched it away and began towards Meloetta. "[H-H-Hey, girl, c'mon down and greet everyone! We're all excited to see ya!]" he called towards her.
Humming happily, she floated down to Pikachu and the others. "[Well, I can't ignore a request like that, can I?]"
Grinning, Pikachu glanced backwards towards his friends to see their reactions. Everyone, Piplup especially, seemed excited to meet her. Everyone except for Togekiss and Snivy - who were giving Piplup a perturbed look - and Buneary, who was glancing at Oshawott blankly as he returned to the scene. Not that he could blame any of them, considering both water-types' strange behavior.
Turning back towards Meloetta, the mouse began to talk all about Dawn and her team for a while. Of course, with many interruptions from Piplup for him to stroke his ego.
That kept going until Oshawott took a deep, calming breath and tapped Piplup's shoulder to grab his attention. "[Hey, er...]" the otter started, "[I don't blame ya for enjoying Meloetta's absolutely gorgeous, one-of-a-kind beauty... but she's kind of my girl, y'see, so-]"
Ignoring him, Piplup brushed his paw away. "[Yeah, yeah, cool, kid. I'm busy,]" he chided. He went back to boasting about himself to Meloetta, who reacted to Oshawott's comment with surprise.
Oshawott began to scowl, though he seemed to just about keep his temper. "[N-No, seriously.]" He tapped Piplup on the shoulder again. "[I really, really wanna be with Meloetta forever as pure sweethearts, so if you could just-]"
Ignoring him, Piplup shoved his paw away again, with a little more force. "[Whatever, go play with your toys, kiddy, I'm working my A-game.]" He went back to talking to Meloetta.
Meloetta gave him a bit of a disapproving look, though she stayed quiet.
Oshawott looked utterly shocked. A look that was soon replaced with sheer lividness. "[Ah! You! I! You! FFFFJFFJJGAHHHHH!]" He enveloped himself in a torrent of water and then flew into the air. Swerving into a loop, he shot towards Piplup like a watery missile. "[Screw youuuu!]"
Pikachu yelped and stepped back, along with the others nearby. He was just in time to dodge the otter's attack, though Piplup wasn't so lucky. Oshawott smashed into him, knocking him squealing across the field.
While he lay groaning on the dirt, Oshawott landed near him. "[How's that for an A-game, you jerk?]" he snapped. "[Don't touch other guys' utterly beautiful babes, or I'mma wreck you!]"
"[Y-You jerk...!]" Piplup growled. He pounded the floor with his flipper in anger. "[How dare youuu!?]"
As the humans came over to break them up, Pikachu gave a very deep sigh. Huffing out a chuckle, he turned to Buneary. "[As you can see, things are still as hectic as...]" he started, stopping as he realized something. Huh? Where was she?
He looked around, but he didn't see her. Just the others staring at the scene Oshawott and Piplup were making. Man, where the heck had she gone?
Ears dipping a little, he huffed disappointedly. Well, he couldn't blame her for running... but he'd still hoped to talk to her just a little more.
Oh well. She'd probably just gone away to meet and greet everyone. Out of all his friends, she was easily the biggest social butterfly. It was admirable, really.
Looking back at the others - who had all gathered around to watch the chaos unfolding - Pikachu smiled, despite everything. He was so happy to have his friends back…
Pikachu yawned loudly, taking in the crisp, salty air of the night sky. Man, what a day… He and the rest of the team had been training and playing all day. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but, considering how many people were currently staying at this villa… it had been a lot of training and playing, to say the least. Still, he wasn't complaining. Heck, quite the opposite, really!
Peering over the edge of the villa's biggest balcony, he gazed out into the sea with a contented sigh. It turned into a slightly exasperated one when he remembered all of the bickering that had taken place between Piplup and Oshawott. After their initial fight, not long after Meloetta had shown herself, the two had violently become love rivals with each other. No… love nemeses. That was the only word for it.
While he disapproved of it, he could just about forgive Oshawott for it, considering how young the otter was. Being two years older, though, Pikachu expected better from his buddy, Piplup.
Still… it wasn't the first time the penguin had fallen out with a little kid. Before, he'd fought with an elekid over his old crush, Marill… and there was his old rivalry with Cyndaquil… which had started randomly because the former-mouse hadn't gotten along well with Piplup at first, for… some reason.
The penguin just couldn't stop picking fights with kids, it seemed. Plus, he couldn't stop ultimately losing said fights, either. Depressing, really…
Looking around, he spotted someone in the window above him, also glancing out across the sea. Looking carefully, his eyes widened when he saw that it was Buneary.
Smile growing, he waved towards her, secretly hoping she would come down and join him. After all, he hadn't seen her since morning!
When she spotted him, however, she just waved meekly and then went back inside, out of view.
He frowned disappointedly. Tsk… guess she must've been more tired than he was. Not that he could really blame her. It'd been one heck of a crazy day, after all. Still, he wished he could've seen a bit more of her.
Oh well. He stayed optimistic. He was sure she'd show more of herself throughout the week, after things calmed down. If they calmed down.
Yawning again, he shrugged to himself. He didn't really have anything better to do, and he was excited to see what tomorrow would bring… so he decided to call it a night. Hopping off the ledge of the balcony, he started towards the open door of the villa. When he went inside, he noticed something that made him groan aloud.
Lying on the ground, Oshawott lazily slapped Piplup, who was lying next to him. "[Stupid penguin…]" the otter mumbled.
"[Dumb otter…]" the penguin replied, lazily slapping him back.
Pikachu smacked a palm to his face. He couldn't believe it… they were still at it…
Well, if nothing else, Oshawott would have somebody to keep him company, tonight. The otter got terribly lonely at night, from what Pikachu had heard, so it would do him good to have a sleeping buddy. Even if he hated his sleeping buddy more than having water in his eyes for too long.
Shrugging to himself, Pikachu set off for bed. He was going to sleep well tonight, for sure. He just knew it…
Adjusting his monocle, Dr. Zager walked down the dimly-lit hallway that led to his destination. Giovanni's office.
Trying not to be distracted by the colorful windows in the cathedral-like hallway, he mentally went over what he would say to his boss. Lately, they had been tasked with capturing Meloetta in what they called 'Operation Tempest'… but with new information gathered from the manuscripts he'd had stolen from the Nacrene Museum, plans had changed.
As it had been known for centuries, the mythical pokémon and her legendary song were key to unlocking the secrets of the temple. As such, they would be able to harness the power of Unova's very forces of nature, themselves. Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus.
They had been using this info to fuel their plans for a while, now… but as it turned out, Meloetta needed to be at peace while singing. If it was even slightly stressed, then its song simply wouldn't work.
Naturally, this had messed everything up. Not only were their current recordings useless, but capturing it would no doubt displease it. What a hassle...
Honestly, it was tempting to just grab the meloetta and run, like he'd planned from the beginning. After all, it was still needed for his own master plan…
However, he would stay patient. After Giovanni had finished screwing around with those strange, bearded freaks Meloetta would summon, he would seize the opportunity then.
For now… it was time to pay a visit to the boss. Things needed to be said before Giovanni departed back to Kanto tomorrow.
Reaching the end of the hallway, Dr. Zager prepared to knock on the door. However, he found that it was slightly ajar. He prepared to call inside, instead, but… he could hear something from within.
It... sounded like the horrified screams of a rattata? What was going on in there?
"Yes, Persian, that's right...!" Giovanni murmured darkly from within. "It's dinnertime...!"
The persian in question meowed cheerfully. An attack was sounded afterwards, followed by the rattata's screams being abruptly cut off.
Giovanni snickered. "Excellent...!"
... Dr. Zager had come at a bad time, it seemed.
Deathly curious, he peeked through the crack in the door, expecting to see a gory sight. Instead, however, he saw Giovanni sitting in his chair, dangling a torn rattata toy from a fishing line. His persian was on its back, batting at it and chewing it.
... Huh?
His persian kept on attacking it for a while. Eventually, the cat looked bored and blasted it away with a beam of energy from its head gem.
"Ahhh, so you've become grouchy, it seems..." Giovanni responded, tossing the fishing line away. "There is only one solution for this. Come, Persian!" He got off his chair and kneeled down next to the large cat. "There are belly rubs to be had!"
The cat rolled its eyes and showed off its underside. Giovanni responded by vigorously rubbing the cat's stomach, his dark grin never leaving his face.
... Dr. Zager turned on his heel and walked back down the corridor. He hadn't been wrong, apparently. He had come at a bad time.
... When he got back to his lab, it was time to break out the wine.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished: 17/12 (December)/2017
Word count: 3,718
VGS2's pointless notes: It's probably obvious by now (considering the last two chapters' shenanigans), but I won't be copying the scenes that appear in the anime itself word for word. Not unless you wanna hear eighty-plus paragraphs of "Hello, I'm Dawn!" "Wow, it's Dawn! Hi, Dawn!" "Cool, what do you do, Dawn?" "I'm a Dawn coordinator, Dawn." "Dawn coordinator! Awesome, Dawn!" "Dawn's a Dawn, Dawn?" "What's the difference between a Dawn Dawn, and a Dawn?" "Well a Dawn Dawn does a Dawn Dawn and a Dawn does Dawn Dawn Dawns, Dawn!" "Dawn Dawn, Dawn!?" "Dawn Dawn's Dawn, Dawn!" "Daaaawn~!" and etc.)
In fact, I guess one could call this an AU of sorts, couldn't you? Well, I guess to be fair, every fic's AU to some degree, so it ain't saying much... but heyho, may as well be straight up about it, eh? XP
Shameless promotion: Hey! Have you read ravengal's stuff, yet? Well, you should! Her fics are amazingly fluffy, and full of charm and character. Not to mention, she's the reason we're all writing these things in the first place, being that she's the one who made it popular to begin with (along with someone else I'll be talking about soon enough).
She's made many fics, most of which are lagomorph stories! And, considering you're here, I'll assume that you're somewhat into 'em! XP She's made fics such as A Gracious Gift, which involves Pikachu hearing about Buneary's feelings for him, inspiring him to try a casual date with her (leading to much shenanigans and fluff)... and Shallow Waters, where Buneary's confession to Pikachu leads to much drama and angst, no thanks to the mouse's stubborn attitude. (Though as everyone knows, even the sturdiest of walls can break...!)
So yeah, we owe her some views! And, more importantly, reviews! I believe in you, guys! :P
Fun mistakes of the day: #1: 'Pikachu returned the smile, doing his best to look as interested as possible. "[Ohhhh, the pleasure's-all-mine…]"'
(Huh? Is Pikachu really interested in Meloetta, too? Who'da thunk it? XD)
#2: "[No, seriously, I really, really wanna Meloetta]"
(Who doesn't wanna Meloetta? XP *Notices that nobody else but ravengal ever puts Meloetta into their fics* Ah... never mind. XD)
#3: I really, really wanna be with Meloetta forever as we become destiny]"
(Whoops, I meant destined. XD Guess he wants to merge with Meloetta and become that evil alakazam from ChristianDragon's fic, Zack's Adventurous Life.)
#4: 'After Giovanni had finished screwing around with those strange, beaded freaks'
(They're covered in beads? Sounds exotic.)
#5: 'dangling a tattered rattata toy from a fishing line.'
(Not really a mistake, but try saying it out loud. Ten times fast, if you want. XD)
Alrighty, you guys, thanks for the read! :D Tata for now! c:
Next up: Having a nice sleep!
