Chapter 8: Hunting For Fruit
Making his way back to the campsite, in order to grab a bag or something to carry the apples in, Pikachu heard some pokémon milling about near Ash's tent. The tent that Dawn had bugged Ash to carry along, ever since the incident where he'd woken up soaked and bogged down with a cold because of rain.
Walking around the tents, Pikachu saw that the pokémon who'd been having a pleasant discussion together were Pachirisu, Axew and Scraggy. Well, as much of a pleasant discussion as having Pachirisu excitedly ramble for ages could be, anyway. Axew seemed intrigued, while Scraggy looked slightly annoyed.
Pikachu considered leaving them to it, but he had to squeeze past anyway, so why not go over and talk? He moved closer.
When he was close enough, he heard Pachirisu continue to speak. "[So! So! That's why I've gotta gotta gotta talk to Snivy some more!]" she said, buzzing with energy. "[If I can get her to say her phrase, it'll be juuust like my show! Girly Problems!]"
"[Wow, awesome!]" Axew replied, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "[Now I wanna hear it, too!]"
She giggled. "[Me too and more!]"
"[Oh brother…]" Scraggy mumbled, rolling his eyes. "[You know she'll never say it, right?]"
"[Aww, c'mon, Scraggy…]" Axew replied. "[She might do! And it'll be cool!]"
"[Pfft. In your dreams, maybe,]" Scraggy retorted.
Pachirisu giggled again. "[Wow, you're a big ol' grouchy guts of grouchy proportions, ya know that?]"
The lizard frowned. "[Am not!]"
"[Am yes!]"
Pikachu sighed and took that moment to step in. "[Hey, kids!]"
Pachirisu gasped excitedly. "[Ahaaa, Pikachu! Hello!]"
"[Hiya, Pikachu!]" Axew said just as excitedly.
"[Oh, it's you. Hey,]" Scraggy said, not quite so excitedly. "[Please save me from the dumb conversation.]"
"[Please add to the dumb conversation!]" Pachirisu pleaded.
"[I think it's great, not dumb,]" Axew said, looking slightly exasperated.
She blinked. "[Oh… well… please add to the conversation that's more great than dumb, then, please, Pikachu! Please!]"
Axew smiled again. "[Yeah, what she said! Please!]"
"[What neither of them said…]" Scraggy snarked. "[Please, for the love of Arceus.]"
Chuckling, Pikachu shook his paws dismissively. "['Fraid I can't do any of those things, kids. I have to go and get apples for Emolga. Once I find a bag for 'em, anyway.]"
While Pachirisu and Scraggy made disappointed noises, Axew just looked confused. "[Huh? Getting Emolga apples? But you don't look Attracted,]" he said, head tilted. His eyes widened. "[Oh! Unless you're in love with Emolga, like, without Attract.]"
"[Oooh, don't tell Buneary that, then,]" Pachirisu said, looking a little worried. "[She'll get sad… and a sad Bun is not a good Bun. No siree.]"
Pikachu sighed slightly. "[Don't tell me that you think Buneary's into me, too.]"
"[Why wouldn't I? Her crush on you is super duper big!]"
Scraggy chuckled. "[Huh, really? Explains what I heard from Crustle, with the nuzzling…]"
She nodded rapidly. "[Yup! She wants Pikachu reaaaal bad! Like, more than I want Dawn's delicious, tasty poffins down my little throat real bad!]"
"[That's real, real bad!]" Axew interjected in surprise. He paused. "[… In a good way, real bad.]"
Pikachu resisted the urge to groan. Why did everyone think this? Someone as affectionate as Buneary would've told him about her feelings long ago if she'd had any, wouldn't she? "[Well… believe what you want to believe, you guys…]" He shook his head. "[Anyway, no, I'm getting apples so that Emolga will go help me find Buneary. She's gone missing recently, so I wanna go find her.]"
Pachirisu inhaled sharply. "[What? Missing!?]"
"[That doesn't sound good!]" Axew added worriedly. "[Where'd she go?]"
"[Heh, if I knew that, I wouldn't be searching…]" Pikachu muttered amusedly. "[Don't worry, though, I'll find her. Still, if you spot her at all, lemmie know, alright?]"
"[You got it, Pikachuuu!]" Pachirisu exclaimed.
"[Okay then! Yeah, you got it!]" Axew chimed in.
"[It's not like I'm paying attention to the rambling, so sure…]" Scraggy said with a shrug.
Axew frowned. "[Hey, Pachirisu's stories are cool and aren't rambling. Don't be mean, Scraggy!]"
Scraggy crossed his arms and huffed. "[Oh, whatever, Axew. You have weird tastes.]"
"[Teehee, he has the greatest of great, great tastes if you ask me!]" Pachirisu chimed, beaming brightly.
Axew smiled at her. "[That's great!]"
Pikachu also smiled. "[Sure is. Thanks, you guys!]" He moved passed them and went into Ash's tent. Finding his backpack, he rummaged around in it until he found a big plastic bag. Satisfied, he left the tent and walked past everyone. He turned around, preparing himself to say goodbye… though he stalled when something came to mind. "[Oh, hey, do, er… any of you know somewhere I can find an apple tree?]"
"[Oh, yeah, there's a place over there,]" Scraggy said, pointing in a general direction. Looking towards it, Pikachu saw a forest in the distance. "[I was picking some earlier, before Emolga could eat them all, or something.]"
Pachirisu looked very confused. "[Ehhhh!? But you said you wanted to pick some for Emolga-]"
"[Sh-Shut up, squirrel! I ate them!]" Scraggy shouted, face reddening.
"[Sh-Shutting up,]" she squeaked. Axew only snickered lightly at the reptile.
Pikachu sighed lightly. How subtle… "[Yeah, um… fair enough. Thanks, Scraggy. And thanks, guys!]"
They gave their replies before saying some farewells, which Pikachu returned. Happy with that, he turned on his heel and started towards the forest.
"[So, Pachirisu… d'you have any more stories?]" Axew asked, sounding excited.
"[Oh, do I ever!]" she replied just as excitedly. "[Let's talk about Pikachu and Buneary and how they wanna PikaBun the very best like no one ever did!]"
"[Yay!]"
"[Oh no…]" Scraggy moaned.
Face slowly warming, Pikachu seconded that thought. Everyone was so obsessed…
He shrugged as he left the camp, going out of earshot. Well, there were worse things they could be obsessed with, he supposed.
Still carrying the plastic bag, Pikachu stopped to scan the trees surrounding him.
… He sighed. Still nothing. Man, he was starting to think that there wasn't a single useful thing in this place. He couldn't even find any berries that were apple-like.
Of course, as he searched for apples, he kept an eye out for Buneary, too. Unfortunately, he wasn't having any luck there, either. All in all, this little expedition was proving to be a waste of time.
Deciding to take a break for a minute, he propped himself against a rock. From where he was, the view of the woods was quite nice. Bright, warm sunshine illuminated the area, showing off the vibrant colors of the forest.
Buneary would've loved it here. She greatly enjoyed pretty things, and it didn't get much prettier than this. Not counting her prettiness, of course. There was no topping that.
… Pikachu's face instantly broke out into a flush. Oh man, where the heck had that thought come from?
Well… he'd not been wrong. He… actually did find her attractive, which was weird. He'd almost never cared about a girl's appearance before. He just wasn't into that sort of stuff. Not unless someone had hit him with an Attract attack recently, anyway, like Axew had suggested. Though that could hardly count.
It was different for Buneary, though. The mouse couldn't explain it, but there was something about her looks that he really liked. Did he like her shiny fur? The bouncy fluff that surrounded her? Her bubbly, feminine demeanor? He didn't know at all. Either way, it was embarrassing. Looking at her always made his insides feel funny… which always made his cheeks shine way brighter than what could be considered natural. Something that only made everyone tease him more.
Things hadn't always been that way, though. He'd only come to realize this in Sinnoh, a short while before Dawn had stopped being a part of the team. It'd made it very hard for him to handle the bunny's nuzzles and hugs without mentally breaking down…
He sighed. Why did she have to be so obsessed with hugging him, anyway? Maybe it was just a 'Team Dawn' thing. Piplup wasn't shy about hugging him every once in a while, and neither was Pachirisu or Togekiss. Heck, even Dawn herself was the type to hand out hugs! And Quilava, as cool as he tried to act, wasn't unfamiliar to doing them, either.
Yup… it was totally something about Dawn's team. Pikachu wouldn't be surprised if Mamoswine started cuddling everything in sight, too. Something that sounded terrifying, honestly.
It was still strange, though… Buneary had even gotten touchy-feely with the mouse before she'd joined Dawn's team, so… Ugh, he just didn't get it.
"[So, are you gonna say hi, or what?]" a feminine voice from behind said suddenly.
Pikachu nearly jumped a foot into the air. "[Wah! H-Holy moly!]" he yelled, heart beating out of his chest. Turning around and looking up, he came face to face with a familiar green snake, who was lying on top of the rock and glaring down at him. "[Oh, er, haha! Snivy, it's just you,]" he greeted sheepishly.
She rolled her eyes. "[Nice to see you, too...]"
Calming his breathing, he rubbed the back of his head. "[Sorry... my mind was somewhere completely different, there.]"
She shook her head and whispered, "[Hopeless…]" under her breath, just loudly enough for him to hear.
Not knowing what else to say, he just awkwardly stood there for a while. "[So, er… how're you?]"
"[I was fine until someone decided to disturb my nap.]"
"[Oh, s-sorry…]" Man, he could almost get goose bumps from the ice in her attitude.
"[What brings you so far out here, anyway?]" she continued. "[Aren't you usually hanging around our trainer, or whatever?]"
"[Yeah, but not today,]" he replied. "[I'm looking for my friend, Buneary.]" His ears drooped. "[I'm not having much luck, though…]"
"[… Oh, right. Well, I'm afraid I haven't seen her. I doubt I'd miss someone that overly cheerful.]"
"[Alright. Well, thanks anyway…]" He turned away. Before he could leave, though, something else came to mind, making him face her again. "[Oh, actually, I had something else I wanted to ask.]"
She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "[Hm?]"
"[Have you seen any apple trees around here? I've been looking for a while, but I haven't found a single one.]"
"[Let me guess. Emolga?]"
He chuckled sheepishly. "[Yeah. Emolga. She said she'd help me find Buneary if I brought some apples.]"
She groaned. "[Stupid squirrel. She's always doing this…]" After a pause, she shrugged. "[Well, at least she didn't use Attract for once, I guess. Though you do know that she's still playing you for a fool, right?]"
"[Probably… but if it means I have a chance of seeing Buneary again, then I'll still do it. She's my friend, and I'll do whatever it takes to spend time with her.]"
Her normally hard look softened for a second. Afterwards she slid off the rock and started walking somewhere. "[Alright, fine, I know a place. Follow me.]"
He gave her a surprised look. "[Really? Are you sure?]"
She turned to look at him. "[If I wasn't, I would've gone back to sleep.]" She turned away again. "[… I hate helping Emolga. Even indirectly. But I suppose I can. Just this once.]"
He smiled. "[Thanks, Snivy.]"
She huffed softly. "[You owe me for this, you know.]"
His shoulders drooped slightly. "[Yeah… I know.]"
Pikachu wiped some sweat off his brow as he continued to drag his big bag of apples along. He'd picked plenty, so he was having a hard time carrying the thing out of the forest.
After all the work he'd been through, he really hoped that Emolga had some news for him. If she didn't, then oh well… she'd tried, at least. That is, unless she'd decided to just take a nap somewhere and then lie to him when he got back. If she tried that trick, then he'd make sure to 'accidentally' give her cooked apples instead…
As he continued to drag the bag past a bush, he heard something. Straining his ears, he recognized what it was immediately.
"[Meloetta's my girl! Go get your own!]" a boyish voice rang out.
"[No way! She's miiiine!]" a much more feminine voice replied loudly.
Sighing, Pikachu exasperatedly shook his head. Were Oshawott and Piplup still going at it? Peeking around the bush, he saw exactly what he'd expected to see: both of them smacking at each other with their paws and flippers. Yep, they were…
Floating above them was Meloetta, who had a bemused look on her face. If they hadn't been impressing her before, then they certainly weren't now.
Rolling his eyes, Pikachu got ready to continue dragging the bag to its destination. However, he paused as Meloetta smiled and said something unexpected. "[Who wants a hug~?]" she asked, spreading her arms.
Immediately, they both dropped their fight and snapped to attention.
"[I do! I do!]" Oshawott exclaimed with a dreamy look in his eyes.
Piplup shoved into him, his eyes just as star-filled. "[I do even more~!]"
Frowning, Oshawott began pushing back. "[I do way more!]"
Scowling, Piplup pushed even harder. "[I do the most!]"
"[I d-!]"
Before the otter could respond, Meloetta moved forwards and wrapped her arms around the both of them. "[You can both have one!]"
After a small pause, they both made extremely contented noises before hugging her right back.
She gave a small giggle. "[There we go. No need for any more fighting, right? We're all friends~]"
Both rivals vigorously agreed with her, though the mouse didn't buy it for a second. It was pretty obvious that they were never going to stop fighting that easily. This was just a temporary truce to get on her good side and earn a free hug while they were at it.
While chuckling at the fact that Oshawott and Piplup were hugging her in a way that made them link arms accidentally, Pikachu went back to dragging his bag along.
After a small while, he slowed as he realized something. It was very similar to how Buneary acted around him, wasn't it? In fact, the whole thing was reminiscent of stuff she'd often do. The enthusiastic hugging, the contented noises whenever they were close, the constant praise, reacting to his compliments as if he'd given her the Holy Grail… and a lot more, too.
Yeah, she was very much like Oshawott and Piplup. Unlike the Meloetta-obsessed duo, though, she never seemed to do these things just to inflate her own ego, or to find a rival to bash. She seemed pretty sincere about it. It really was like she had a crush on the mouse...
... Pikachu chuckled awkwardly to himself. Gosh, everyone's comments must have really been getting to him, lately. If he wasn't careful, he'd probably end up proposing to her, next.
Either way, he was happy having her as a friend… and he didn't want to ruin that by jumping the gun and asking questions that would creep her out. He'd never be able to live with that, and not just because it would be embarrassing. If she never wanted to speak to him again, he would miss her quirkiness so much. Even if she did have a strange habit of getting dreamy-eyed over little things.
Heh. That was something about her that'd never changed, he supposed. She'd calmed down a lot over the time he'd known her, but his compliments still made her squeal in delight. At least, since the last time he'd been able to give her one. She was incredibly odd that way. Still… it was one of the things he liked the most about her. That strange, yet fun, starry-eyed eagerness had brought a fun element to his days. An element that he'd really missed during his adventures in Unova.
How she'd managed to skip his mind throughout the week was anyone's guess. Especially since, if he had to be honest… she'd been the one that he'd missed the most out of all his Sinnoh friends. Perhaps even more so than Piplup, in some ways. The penguin was a great pal. One of his best, even… but the bunny still managed to warm Pikachu's spirits more than Piplup ever could.
Wait… Piplup… Yeah, that'd been it, hadn't it? Piplup and Oshawott's Meloetta-inspired antics had been incredibly distracting. So much so that the mouse hadn't had time to even notice the bunny's absence, let alone worry about it. Maybe… that was another reason she'd gone missing? Thinking that he wasn't interested in spending time with her, anymore? Maybe… but… she had plenty of friends already, so what would make him special?
Then again, it was like he'd thought, before, he supposed. She made him feel like a million poffins, so maybe… he made her feel the same way? If that were the case, then… poor Buneary…
He closed his eyes and gave a long breath. Opening them again, he nodded determinedly. He'd slacked off on their friendship, sure, but he was going to make up for it. The next time they met, he was going to do his best to spend as much time with her as he could, no matter how much he was teased for it. And no matter how many shenanigans happened. That was a promise!
A grin plastered on his face, he continued his journey back to Emolga. As he went along, he decided to remember times he'd spent with his dear friend. Like the time they'd explored the plains together to find their friends, before eating some bluk berries and getting lost in a dark cave… or the time they'd wandered through that one maze together, along with Happiny, before having a flower picnic… or the time they'd gone for a swim together, and had gotten completely drenched because of Piplup and Pachirisu's shenanigans… or the time they'd been chased by a rotom during their visit to the Old Chateau, and they'd comforted each other whenever they'd not been running away… and so much more.
As the memories flowed by… the heavy bag behind him somehow didn't feel so tiring to carry anymore. In fact, he even had a spring to his step. He just couldn't explain this feeling…
… but he liked it.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished:
Older stuff: 03/04 (April)/2015
Newer stuff: 07/01 (January)/2018
Word count: 3,039
VGS2's pointless notes: Pikachu's the real fruit here! Haha...
... Yeah, I don't have any real comments today. XP I guess I should mention that the section with Pachirisu and her lads is totally new. So make sure you read that, if nothin' else!
Shameless promotion: Today, I'm-a givin' a shout out to ChristianDragon! He's the first ever person to post a serious lagomorphshipping story, don't'cha know? Well... the first anime-based one, anyway..
Other than that, he's got a good reboot of his OC story going on, right now. you should go and give it a review, or something, because he's running dry on 'em for it. On that note, go and read/review everything else of his you like, too! Should be fun times for ya! :P
Fun mistake/s of the day: #1: "Like, more than I want Dawn's delicious, tasty poffins don't my throat!]"
(Oh, lord, what are they doing to your throat, Pachirisu!? O,o)
#2: 'He turned around, preparing himself to say goodbye… though he stalled when something came to mine.'
(What, are Pikachu's friends playing Minecraft, or something?)
Tata for now! c:
Next up: Hearing some juicy secrets!
