Chapter 6: Remembering A Rabbit


Pikachu didn't get it. For several minutes, now, he'd been looking all over the campsite for that quirky rabbit, and yet he still couldn't find a single trace of her. How hard could it be to find Buneary, anyway? Her bright, pleasant fluff usually stood out so well, even from a distance. Plus, she was quite obsessed with sticking to him like glue. Especially in an affectionate sort of way...

Just where could that bunny be? He was starting to worry about her.

Tsk, it was just perfect, wasn't it? He'd been really looking forward to seeing more of her since Dawn had shown up, and yet the total time they'd spent together barely added up to a minute. The time he'd recently been spending with the rest of Dawn's team had been fun, certainly, but… well, it just didn't feel right without her around. The constant hugs and extreme compliments were a little embarrassing, sure… but only in public. When they were alone, he actually liked it. Not like that ever stopped him from blushing, of course…

Heh… it had always been that way really, hadn't it? Ever since the day they'd met, basically. Though it wasn't until later that he'd come to appreciate it properly, even if just a little…

His memory was generally terrible, and those times may have happened a year or so ago... but he still remembered those days like they'd happened hours ago…


"[Get back here, Aipom!]" Pikachu shouted, using Quick Attack to run after the thieving monkey in question. Seriously, what was with her and Ash's hat!? Who was she? Primeape?

Aipom just snickered cheekily and kept on running, Ash's hat on her head.

Frowning determinedly, Pikachu upped the ante on his speed. Crying out, he shot forwards, lunging for the hat on the monkey. He grabbed its brim in his teeth.

He grinned proudly. Heck yeah! This was almost as awesome as that potato catch he'd done earlier! His grin grew. He was so awesome with-

The hat slipped out of his teeth and flopped onto his head, covering his eyes. Agh! Bad time to grin!

He made a quick landing before he could crash and embarrass himself. He grinned again, realizing that he'd pulled it off. Ha! Not even partial blindness could stop-

The sound of screeching made him jolt. He snapped his head in its direction to find a motorbike coming right towards him!

He had no time to react, so he braced himself for horrible pain.

Fur suddenly brushed against his as something grabbed him. "[I'll save you, hold on!]" a female voice cried.

Pikachu suddenly soared through the air, inches away from being hit. W-What the heck? Had he been saved? And that voice... was that a buneary?

Landing on the ground along with his random savior, he lifted Ash's hat to look at her. Sure enough, she was a buneary. They looked very distinct, so it was easy to tell. "[Um... hey,]" he said to her.

"[Hey...]" she replied, taking a deep breath. "[Whew... close call...]"

"[Heh, you're telling me.]"

"Pikachu!" Ash said in concern, kneeling down next to him. "You okay?"

Pikachu smiled brightly. "[Thanks to my buddy here, yeah!]" he said, indicating the rabbit, who had begun hiding behind him for some reason. Perhaps not trusting Ash.

"[Buddy...?]" she murmured.

Ash beamed. "That was great, Buneary, thank you!" He picked his hat up off Pikachu's head. "Now we won't have to turn back to head on over to a pokémon center!"

Pikachu held back a groan. Such great priorities, as always.

Coming out of hiding, Buneary looked up at him curiously. "[Um, no problem?]" she replied.

Dawn excitedly came over, pokédex in hand. "Hey, it's a buneary!" she said, scanning her with it.

Tsk, the coordinator's memory was almost as bad as Pikachu's. She'd already scanned one of those a few days ago, according to Piplup, so lord only knew why she was doing it again.

He glanced over at the buneary, who was looking at the coordinator in surprise. "[Huh, her again...]" she mumbled.

Again? What did that mean? Unless... Oh, even better. Dawn was scanning the same buneary from a few days ago.

Confirmed. Awful memory.

Done with scanning the rabbit, Dawn beamed at her. "Wow, that was awesome! The way you scooped up Pikachu like that!"

"Hey, that's my line, Dawn..." Ash said.

Pikachu turned to the buneary and beamed really brightly. "[I owe you so much, girl! Thanks!]" he praised.

She stared at him in... some positive emotion or other. It was hard to tell.

He kept going. "[Hey, in fact, why not? We should hang out. I certainly owe ya that much!]" He held a paw out for her. "[What do ya say?]"

"[H-Hang out?]" she responded, going very red in the face for some reason. She turned away, pulling her fluff up to her face. "[With such a... friendly, cu...]" she continued, becoming too muffled for him to hear because of her fluff.

... Huh. Not the reaction he expected. Was she the bashful sort?

As Dawn made a comment about Buneary's cuteness, Pikachu smiled gently. "[Well, why not, right? After all, you're probably the bravest, coolest rabbit I've met in ages!]"

"[Ohhh...~!]" the buneary chimed dreamily, fluff still to her face. "[... Nope. I've reached my limit. Heeheehee~!]"

"[... You have?]" Pikachu asked, head tilted.

Before he could get an answer from her, the rabbit quickly hopped away in a random direction. She was still holding her fluff to her face, so Pikachu wondered if she could see where she was-

... And as soon as the thought came to mind, she slammed into a tree. While she slid down it, he couldn't hold back a laugh. How quirky.

Blushing, she bounced off elsewhere into the forest, much to Dawn's disappointment.

Laughter dying down, Pikachu sighed. He could already tell he was going to like that girl. That is, if she showed up again. Something that he hoped would happen.

Leaping up to Ash's head, he saw the owner of the motorbike approaching them. An Officer Jenny. And she looked like she was ready for a lecture.

Oh dear...


Pikachu gasped along with the humans. Good lord, that buneary was something else! For whatever reason, she knew freaking Ice Beam! She'd used it to freeze Piplup's bubbles before knocking him silly with Dizzy Punch. To top it off, she was now high in the air, coming tumbling down towards the now-confused penguin like a rolling missile.

The mouse watched on, bracing himself for the empathetic pain. The rabbit was coming down closer... and closer... and... yep, there it was. The cringe that followed after witnessing Piplup being smashed into next century by the buneary's foot. Jeez...

The penguin flew into Dawn's face, knocking the coordinator down. Recovering, she sadly withdrew Piplup's unconscious body into his pokéball.

While the humans talked, Pikachu could only look at the rabbit in surprise. Now on the ground, the buneary seemed to notice that he was staring. Grinning, she rapidly spun around in place like a ballerina, before posing and winking at him.

Huh... clearly, she was one for putting on a show. Well, he certainly knew where she was coming from. He himself loved it when all eyes were on him.

"Okay, Ash!" Dawn started, making a 'go ahead' gesture. "Go and give it your best shot!"

"Alright," Ash replied with a grin. He looked at Pikachu. "Ready, Pikachu?"

Oh, and speaking of getting the spotlight...! "[Hah, you bet, Ash!]" he said, jumping to the ground and getting into a battle stance. He was excited already! It'd been a while since he'd fought a really tough opponent... and this one was really freaking tough. He couldn't wait to get started! "[Thanks for the save, lady, but it's time for a wrecking!]" he boasted.

She stared at him. Blushing in a really bashful way, she turned away and began to go somewhat giddy. Especially when she pulled her fluff up to her face and shuffled around, all embarrassed.

... Huh?

The humans talked amongst themselves for a little while, though Pikachu didn't really pay attention. He was just too confused. He didn't even know what to say. Was this some kind of strange Buneary-jutsu technique passed down for generations, or something? She was certainly strong and skilled enough to be some kind of ninja, so...

"[Oh, I just can't staaaand it! Heeheehee~!]" she sang.

"[... Too tough for ya?]" he asked in a half-joking manner, partly hoping it was true. If only for his ego.

The buneary peeked at him over her fluff. She went even more crazy afterwards, legs flailing in giddiness.

... Was that a yes? He couldn't tell.

He was about to ask, when he heard his name being spoken by Dawn. He turned to face her, intrigued. Disappointingly, however, she'd stopped saying whatever she'd been speaking about.

"Aww man, how're we supposed to battle with this going on?" Ash said, sounding dejected.

"This is such a big moment, and that's all you care about?" Dawn asked, amused. "That's so kiddy of you, Ash."

"Huh!? What's that supposed to mean?" Ash retorted. "I'm just thinking the important stuff. So what if she wants to use Crush Claw on Pikachu?"

... Crush Claw? Just how powerful was this woman!?

Dawn scratched her head. "What? No, not Crush Claw, Ash! A crush!"

... Huh!?

As if to answer her, Buneary moved closer and, after a cautious peek at Pikachu, nuzzled into him. "[Nice to meet you~! For real, anyway~! Heehee~]" she chimed.

... Oh dear. Maybe they had a point.

Feeling uncomfortable, he held her at bay with his arm. "[Er... l-likewise?]" he replied, his face feeling rather warm all of a sudden. He was getting reminded of May's skitty. Especially since she didn't seem to be paying attention to a single word anyone was saying!

"Hm. maybe Buneary likes electric-types," Dawn remarked.

No kidding. Why the frick would a random pokémon in the forest get a crush on him so... randomly!? Who was she, Brock!?

... Wait, was she a Brock?

Before he could ask, the breeder in question growled, as if filled with testosterone. "You can't rationalize love...!" he mumbled dramatically.

"You think this is love?"Dawn responded, sounding rather perplexed.

L-L-Love!? Alright, now Pikachu knew they were speaking silly talk.

His face flared up in heat. Especially as Starly, Turtwig and Aipom - all of whom were nearby - began chuckling at him. For flip's sake... it wasn't often he got horribly embarrassed, but this was certainly one of those times. He was gonna get some lovely remarks from the others back at camp, wasn't he?

"Whatever!" Ash called out, pulling out a pokéball. "Love or not, I'm catching that buneary!" He threw it at the buneary.

A frown crossed the buneary's face. She spun out of the way of the ball and charged an attack. "[Not so fast, buster! Ahaaaa!]" she exclaimed, firing off a bolt of freezing energy.

Everyone screamed. Pikachu spun around on the spot. He was greeted with the sight of everyone being frozen solid in a block of ice.

"[... Ohhhh lord,]" he muttered. Whatever happened next was probably gonna suck.

Smirking, the rabbit gave a satisfied huff. "[Wow, close call! But I did it!]" She giggled and grabbed his paws. "[Heehee! I was so cool, wasn't I?]"

"[... That's one way of putting it,]" he replied. "[Um... can we tal-?]" He yelped when she started spinning him around, pure joy written on her face. She kept going and going until she went fast enough to lift them both into the air. Or... was she hopping along while spinning? He couldn't tell. His vision was just a blur of colors at this point. Nothing but motion and that rabbit's beaming face. Gahhh!

"[Heehee, you praised me, you praised me~!]" she sang, spinning faster and faster. "[Woooooooooooooooo~!]"

They carried on for what felt like a minute, before Pikachu managed to steel himself enough to speak without vomiting. "[U-Uncle! Uncleee!]" he squealed.

Getting the hint, maybe, the rabbit slowed down her assault until they were both on the floor.

Panting, he slowly looked around. Oh, great. Where'd they ended up? They were in a completely different neck of the woods, now!

He looked at her. He felt a spark of annoyance at the fact that she was still smiling brightly, despite all of her shenanigans. He wasn't angry, exactly, but still... not even a little bit of regret?

"[A-Alright... crush, friendliness or whatever...]" Pikachu started, frowning, "[it was nice of you to save me from that bike, but c'mon, girl! Did you have to abduct me, too? For crying out loud, woman.]"

Her beaming smile was replaced with a look of shock. "[A-Abduct...? But... n-no...]" she mumbled.

He sighed and looked elsewhere. "[It's alright... it's not like you ruined my day, or anything, so don't worry.]" He looked back at her. "[Hey, d'you know how I can get back to my...?]"

She had tears in her eyes and her lip was quivering heavily.

He freaked out immediately. "[O-Oh no! S-Sorry! Don't cry!]" he stammered.

Her face strained even more, as if she was going to burst into tears any second.

He reached forwards to pat her shoulder as comfortingly as he could manage. "[Th-There, there, buddy?]" he said, trying not to sound awkward.

She faced away and began to bawl, tears basically gushing out of her eyes. "[I-I'm sorryyyy…!]" she wailed.

Paw going slack, he felt his heart go cold in his chest. Oh crud... what had he done, now!? He hadn't wanted to make her cry...

"[Oh, man, what did ya do?]" Starly's voice rang out from above.

Pikachu looked up to see the bird flying closer. "[H-Hey, it ain't like that, Starly!]" the mouse called out to him.

Starly landed on the ground nearby before looking the rabbit over. "[Oh lordy... how could you do this to your girlfriend, Pikachu?]"

Ugh. And there was the teasing comment...! "[C'mon, now...]" Pikachu said, awkwardly rubbing his head. "[Why would I date someone I don't even know, yet?]"

The buneary's tears grew more noisy, making Pikachu's heart sink all the more. Dang it all…!

She kept crying and crying. All of a sudden, she stopped, surprising Pikachu. "[W-Wait a mo'...]" she said, extending her unrolled ear. She looked around, as if looking for something. "[... Something's wrong.]"

"[You got that right,]" Starly replied. "[This guy here makes a terrible boyfriend.]"

"[... I'll zap you,]" Pikachu replied, frowning sassily.

"[For saying the truth?]"

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu looked back at the buneary in concern. "[Er, what's the matter, lady?]"

She paused for a while, as if concentrating. Eventually, she turned around on the spot. She squealed when some claws closed around her, forming a glass orb, trapping her inside. It took her away, after.

Pikachu snapped to attention, crying out in alarm. What the hell!? He looked in the direction of the long arm the orb was attached to and saw a huge mecha hiding behind some trees. It had a huge red R painted onto it.

He scowled. Of course... Team Rocket! What were they up to now!?

The orb holding Buneary snapped into position on top of the mecha. Clearly, whatever they had in mind, it involved ticking him off.

He got onto all fours and turned to Starly. "[Hey, without calling her my girlfriend, tell the others to get over here and help out!]" he ordered. "[... Please!]"

"[Only 'cos you asked nicely!]" the bird replied, taking off into the air.

The buneary futilely banged her paws against the glass. "[Ohhhhhh, why me...? I only wanted to meet up with someone cuuuute!]" she cried from within her prison.

Pikachu's face warmed, despite the inappropriate timing. What did she mean cute? Well, whatever. Priorities!

"Hahahaaa!" Jessie, James and Meowth all cackled at once. They were sitting in a cockpit, behind a glass window. "A buneary with a view~!"

... What? Hmph, again, whatever. He charged up some energy in his cheeks. "[Save it!]" He fired a huge load of electricity at the mecha. Enough to make it explode, hopefully.

His electricity flew towards the mecha. It randomly changed course, going towards a metal rod. To his utter horror, it began zapping the buneary, instead.

She squealed in pain. Impressively, though, she held strong.

He cut his attack off immediately. Damn! His attack hadn't done anything but injure the buneary! As if upsetting her hadn't been enough, already!

"Brilliant! Go ahead and zap us!" Meowth taunted. "Just remember yer zappin' yer buddy, too~"

He glanced at her. She looked like she was still suffering from some lingering static inside the orb. Aghhh, damn it!

"And this puffball does not cotton to electricity~" Jessie added. Well... something like that, anyway. Everything she ever said in life was an enigma.

"... What does dat mean!?" Meowth retorted, sounding utterly confused.

She scowled at him. "Oh, what? Isn't it obvious? Cotton doesn't conduct electricity, and the buneary looks like it's made of the stuff! Ergo, she doesn't cotton to electricity!"

"... We've really gotta rehoise our lines before goin' on our rampages."

"Um... anyway...!" James interrupted before Jessie could get angry enough to whack the cat. "Behold our Sinnoh Region Robotic Rabble Rouser Mk. III!"

"So, how about it?" Meowth asked Pikachu. "You become a Team Rocket pokémon, and da buneary gets bail!"

Unamused, Pikachu bared his teeth. Well, great! How was he supposed to deal with this mess!? The others could still be frozen for all he knew! And by the time Starly broke them out and brought them over here, anything could've happened!

He checked on the buneary, hoping she was doing alright. Listening carefully, he heard her speak through her pain. "[F-Forget about me...]" she mumbled. "[I'll... join Team Rocket. Y-You get outta here!]"

... Really? She was being so selfless, even after what he'd done? Even after he'd made her so upset for such a minor problem?

"[... Fine,]" he growled, gritting his teeth. "[... Guess I'm game.]"

"[N-No! Stop!]" the buneary called out. He ignored her.

"Okay..." Meowth started, "now dat yer little yellow paws are tied, ya gonna play nice?"

Pikachu nodded. "[Like I have a choice...?]"

Jessie and James rambled out some taunts while sending out another arm. Its claw closed around Pikachu, trapping him in a glass orb. A feeling he was sadly used to at this point.

It brought him away, connecting to a part of the mecha opposite to the buneary. Glancing at her, his heart warmed slightly to see her giving him a somewhat touched look. If nothing else, he was glad he'd made a small, happy difference in her life.

Turning to glare at Team Rocket, he banged his paws against the glass. "[You got me, now let her go!]" he yelled.

"Pikachu's sayin' to keep our part of da bargain and let Buneary go!" Meowth translated, as if it weren't obvious.

"That's what that Pikachump gets for bargaining with us!" Jessie taunted.

"We negotiate in bad faith...!" James added.

"[Bad faiiiith!]" Wobbuffet chimed.

Pikachu gasped in dismay. Blood boiling, he aggressively banged his paws against the glass. "[Ohhhh, no you freaking don't!]" he shouted. "[Let me and this girl go right now, or I'm so sending you to space when I get outta here!]" He banged even harder. "[I frigging mean it-]"

"Pikachuuuuu!" Ash's voice called out all of a sudden.

Pure joy swelling in his chest, Pikachu turned to face him. Oh, thank legends! "[Ash! You're here!]" he called back.

Team Rocket began their motto immediately, as if they'd planned for this to happen. Or, more accurately, hoped for this to happen.

Tuning them out, he turned to face the buneary. She had a huge look of happiness and hope in her eyes at the surprise rescue.

Pikachu beamed. After all of this was over, he had to hang out with her. Someway, somehow.


"[Heyy, Pikachu~!]" a somewhat girly voice from behind Pikachu cried out. Buneary's from the sound of things.

Before he could turn to see her, he was suddenly tackled into a hug from behind, making him yelp.

"[Guess who~? Heeheehee!]" Buneary continued.

"[Oh... hey, Buneary,]" he greeted awkwardly, face warming.

Man, it'd been a few days since she'd been caught, and she was still so overly affectionate. Well, he couldn't complain about some friendliness... but it was still a strange new situation, so he'd had some trouble getting used to it.

"[That's me!]" she murmured back happily, huggling him up a storm.

He looked around to make sure nobody was watching. Thankfully, save for the big river and the forest scenery to their sides, he didn't see anything of interest.

It wasn't as if he disliked this, or anything... but it was honestly embarrassing enough without having everyone stare at the spectacle, too. Especially if it was someone like Dawn, Piplup, or, worse, Brock. They seemed to think she had a crush on him… or was in love with him, or something. This girl barely even knew him, so why would it be anything like that of all things?

He would admit... he had entertained the thought for the rest of the day. How could he not? However, he'd changed his mind when he'd seen saw how affectionate she'd been to Dawn and Piplup.

Yeah, she was just an affectionate pokémon. Much like Bayleef, or… well, probably some other pokémon he'd met along the way. He didn't know. His memory wasn't exactly the best when it came to other people, or his old adventures.

Eventually, Buneary let go. Turning to face the strange, fluffy rabbit, he saw that she was smiling widely.

"[So, er… anything you wanted from me?]" he asked.

She smiled pleasantly, swaying from one foot to another. "[Nothin' really, honey! Just thought I'd say hi!]"

He exhaled, trying not to show too much exasperation. 'Honey', huh? Well, he certainly could imagine why people thought she had a crush on him. Any stronger wording than that, and even he might've been suspicious. As things were, however, he was still a bit skeptical. The thing with affectionate flirters is that they always confessed. Always. So why wouldn't she, even when asked directly!? Just... no way.

She suddenly looked rather anxious. "[What's… the matter, Pikachu?]" she asked.

Eyes widening, he strained a smile. "[Nah, n-nothing, Buneary!]" he stuttered out. Oh, jeez, he'd forgotten. He had to be careful around her, because she had a tendency to cry at the drop of a hat. Especially after some harsh criticism, as he'd learned the hard way the day he'd met her.

Affectionate and a big wet blanket. Two dangerous things when mixed together, for sure. Charming in a weird way, he wouldn't lie... but still dangerous.

"[Um… really?]" she asked.

"[Yeah, sorry, I'm just, er… tired! Y'know, after all we've been through this week. Heck, I'm still drained from that watch adventure from a few days back. It was pretty wacky.]"

She made an 'O' shape with her mouth before giving a small giggle. "[Yeah, I know how ya feel. It was flippin' crazy the way those guys from Team Rocket used a psyduck… and those fake pokey-watch things to hypnotize pokémon.]"

"[… You mean pokétches?]"

She rubbed the side of her head sheepishly. "[Hey, I was close…! It's a weird name to remember.]"

He chuckled, his smile relaxing. "[Don't worry. It sure does sound a bit weird…]"

She huffed amusedly. "[Yeah… they should just call it a 'Super Watch', or something. Oh, then they could use 'Supe-watch' for short!]"

His chuckle evolved into full on laughter. "[Soup-watch? Hahaha, er, I dunno... I think that would just make people hungry for some soup.]"

After a pause, she laughed along. "[Yeah, I guess so… Heehee, alright, pokétch it is, then.]"

His laughter died down. "[Alright, sounds good to me. Either way, yeah, what those guys did was pretty annoying…]" He shrugged in an aloof way. "[But hey, we're all used to Team Rocket's antics by now. They pull stuff like this all the time. Their plans aren't usually so smart, though, so that was a bit worrying.]"

"[Huh... you make it sound like you run into them, often.]"

"[Oh, you have no idea. I swear, they're, like, my shadow, sometimes.]"

Her eyes widened. "[Wait… so you do get into these sorts of adventures often?]"

He blinked, not expecting that sort of question. "[Uh, well… yeah, I guess. Like… at least once every other day. Though with those guys, sometimes more.]"

Her eyes widened a little more. "[… And you fight those guys off every time? No kidding?]"

"[No kidding! ... Buuuut usually with a little help from my friends. Usually.]"

"[Wow…]" she muttered, holding a paw up to her mouth in… shock? Surprise? Pikachu couldn't tell. "[That… is… so….]" Her face flew into a big, beaming smile as her feet flailed around in some happy, excited dance, "[… cool~!]"

His head jolted back in surprise. "[Er… it is?]"

She gave him a wonderment-filled look. "[Yeah! You have to fight off those knuckleheads and their evil schemes and their giant robots on an almost daily basis! And yet you're acting as if it's nothing! Just… wow. What a hero!]"

He scratched the back of his neck. "[Well, thanks… but like I said, I do get a lot of help from my friends. If it wasn't for them, I'd be a member of Team Rocket right now, whether I liked it or not. And trust me, I don't.]"

She huffed. "[Yeah, well, that's only because those guys are cheap with their robots and dirty tactics. If they fought you fair and square, you'd frigging destroy them! Just like you did before, remember?]"

He blushed slightly, the praise getting to him. "[Eheh, well, y'know…]"

"[Yup, I do! I know that you're one awesome guy, that's for sure~]" she remarked, winking.

He hummed in amusement, despite his growing bashfulness... and growing ego. "[Gosh, um… thanks, Bun! Oh, can I call you that?]"

She gasped lightly. "[You mean like… a nickname!?]" She began dancing around excitedly again, her paws flying up towards her chin. "[Heee, yes, please~!]"

"[Oh, well, alright then…]" he replied, failing to hide the confused amusement in his voice. "[I can't take all the credit this time, though, Bun. You did real great yourself, the other day!]"

She tilted her head. "[Wait… I did?]" She made a face of dawning comprehension. "[Ohh, you mean the contest from yesterday, right?]"

"[Nope. Well, actually, that too. You did so awesome for your first contest! I was real shocked when you didn't win. Sad, too...]"

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she blushed. "[Hee, oh, well... thanks~]" She went back to looking puzzled. "[Er, but what did I do if it wasn't that?]"

"[Don't you remember? That real strong Ice Beam of yours was a lifesaver! It's the only reason me and Piplup got away from Team Rocket's balloon. I mean, the big fall afterwards hurt, but I'll blame Ash for that.]" He rolled his eyes. "[Honestly, thinking Starly was big enough to catch us both. Ugh...]" He shook his head in irritation, turning his attention back to Buneary. "[... But whatever. We owe ya, Bun! You're awesome!]"

Sounding giddy, she began to shyly trail a foot along the ground. "[Oh, well, it was nothing, really... I just wanted to make sure my friends were safe.]"

He smiled warmly at that. "[Man, Bun. You barely know us, and yet you're still giving it your all to save our hides on a daily basis. Anyone ever tell you how much of a cool girl you are?]"

She gave him an adoring look. "[Really? You think I'm a cool girl?]"

He smiled. "[Totally! In fact... huh, I never said it, did I?]"

"[Huh? 'It'?]"

"[Yeah. I, um... thanks for being so selfless, too.]"

"[Selfless...? I was?]"

"[Remember when Team Rocket offered to let you go, as long as I let myself get caught?]"

"[Oh, oh, yeah, for sure! But... what did I do?]" Her ear dipped slightly. "[All I did was annoy you and nearly get you caught...]"

He huffed. "[I'd say ya made up for it with your pleas of 'Pikachu, no, run away'! Or whatever it was ya said.]" He grinned. "[Anyone else would be begging to be saved!]"

Her eyes widened, as if not expecting that at all. "[Wow, you really liked that? Really?]" She went even more bashful than before. "[Oh, gosh… I just… didn't want to ruin things for you more than I already did.]"

His grin went gentle. "[Ruin what? If you mean that time when I was a little mad, it wasn't nothin', really.]" He gave her a thumbs up. "[You've more than made up for it by now. You're more reliable, sturdy and sharp than a scalchop!]" He paused. Wait, would she even know what that was?

She continued to stare at him, almost unblinkingly. Her look of adoration was replaced by a look of… sheepishness? He couldn't entirely tell, though he got the feeling he'd touched her bashful side. "[… O-O-Oh, um, goodness. Well… th-thank you…!]" she mumbled, grabbing the fluff around her waist and lifting it upwards, using it to cover her mouth. "[That's... really nice! H-Heehee…!]"

Getting somewhat used to her quirkiness, he gave a soft chuckle. "[Hey, no problem, Bun. I'm glad you're on our side.]"

"[Oh, hee, me too,]" she replied happily. Then, after making a small, presumably excited noise, she quickly turned and began hopping away, fluff still around her face. "[U-Um, I think I need to head off and, er, check if everyone else is doing good, too. Buh-bye, Pikachu!]"

"[Oh, well, alright then. See ya later, Buneary!]" Pikachu replied, waving her off.

He looked at the strange bunny in confusion as she hopped away. Jeez, that girl was beyond bizarre, wasn't she? All it took was one innocent compliment to completely fluster her! Nobody else he'd ever praised had acted as bashful as that...

That said, it certainly made sense. She was very easy to impress, and she seemed eager to leave her own impressions on people, too. Him especially, for whatever reason. So for her to react so strongly to his compliment… well, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise, to be fair.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Buneary trip up and accidentally land into a shallow part of the river. Before he could get concerned, she hopped back onto dry land and shook herself off. She continued onwards, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

Laughing, he gave an exasperated shake of the head at her antics. She was such a goofy pokémon. Still, as strange and overly affectionate as that rabbit was, he couldn't help but hope to see more of her. Despite everything, she seemed like a real fun friend…

… He hoped that she'd maybe lighten up on the weird affection, though. Especially if anyone was watching…


Pikachu smiled to himself at the memories. Heh... even back then, he'd been quick to befriend that rabbit, hadn't he? Back in the days when he'd still called her Bun... until he'd stopped, because he'd realized that it was stoking Piplup's 'she has crush on you' argument that embarrassed the mouse so much.

It was funny to imagine that Buneary had stayed so quirky, even to this day. Still, his opinion of her hadn't changed one bit. The girl was a real fun friend, and he loved spending time with her… so he couldn't wait to see more of her.

That is… if he could get a chance to, anyway.

On that note, he quickened his pace.


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished:

Old stuff - 15/08 (August)/2015

New stuff - 17/12 (December)/2017

Old name: Remembering A Time

Word count: 5,296

VGS2's pointless notes: Here we go! The first thing to appear that came from the older version of Game-Changer! The not-a-lake-anymore flashback! Though I've fixed it up a fair bit, so it should hopefully feel a bit different. Plus, it's not a part of a mega long chapter, either, which helps out a ton. XP

Shameless promotion: Today, I shall talk about scarcrow151 and his fics! He's a writer who's quite fond of adventure stories, with slice of life elements and many twists and turns. They can have wackiness, but they often have quite a few serious moments, too. Especially when one of the humans brings their gun out. O,o

He has a similar style to MewLover54, aside from that, so if you like ML's stories, you'll be in for a treat! :P Review as much as you can!

Fun mistakes of the day: #1: 'Pikachu felt himself in the air,'

(The return of Spiritual Successor Pikachu, but now in the air! Hooray. XD)

#2: 'Dawn excitedly came over, pokédex in hand. "Hey, it's a buneary!" He began to scan her.'

(Dawn's secret is revealed. XD How did she manage to hide it so well, though, considering how short her skirt is?)

#3: "[Hey, without calling her my girlfriend, tell the others to get over him]"

(Who's 'him', and why should they get over him? Is Buneary secretly everyone's ex-boyfriend?)

#4: 'The last thing he wanted to do was make her a cry again.'

(And a cry was Buneary. I wonder if he meant the verb, or the popular let's player.)

#5: Cotton doesn't electricity,'

(Jessie doesn't braincell, either, apparently.)

#6: 'His chuckle evolved into full on laughter.'

(Without the hyphen, it makes it sound like he ate too much laughter. He'd better not hear a funny joke, then, or he may end up eating to death.)

#7: He huffed. "[I'd say ya made up for it with your little please

(Pikachu is aroused by good manners! Take note, Buneary!)

#8: 'Heh... even back then, he'd been quick to befriend that rabbit, hadn't it?'

(Calling his future girlfriend an 'it'… truly, he is a pure pokémon character at heart. XP)

#9: 'Here we go! The first thin to appear in the older version of Game-Changer!'

(Apparently, everyone's fat in this fic. Everyone except for one person, whoever that is. Most likely not Pikachu or Ash.)

Alrighty, mates! Don't forget to review, now, y'hear? If you do, I'll love ya forever. :P Either way, tata for now! c:


Next up: Continuing to search for that friend!