Chapter 10: Listening To Wisdom


Pikachu stumbled onwards, barely registering the environment around him. His senses were numb and his mind was utterly buzzing with thoughts.

So… Buneary liked him after all? If what Emolga had said was true, then… everyone had been right all this time.

… His already buzzing mind buzzed twice as hard. Oh man, how was he going to deal with this!? He didn't know the first thing about romance! Heck, up until he'd met Brock a few years ago, he hadn't even really known anything about it… and now he was being thrust into a frigging lion's den, here!

He stopped in his tracks, his breathing growing heavier. Oh no… he was going to mess this up, wasn't he? For a start, he didn't even know how he felt about Buneary… Like, how do you feel when you have a crush? And when he felt it, would he start acting like Brock? Second… what would he do about it? Would he have to start acting like Brock? Aghh…

"[Oh dear, sweetie, what's up?]" someone said all of a sudden.

Pikachu yelped loudly and twisted around on the spot, coming face to face with Togekiss. She seemed quite concerned. "[T-Togekiss! How long have you been standing there!?]" he exclaimed.

Slightly startled, she smiled awkwardly. "[U-Um… a little while. I was surprised you didn't spot me in the sky… and even more surprised when you walked right past me. Sorry for the… um, surprise.]"

Pikachu stared blankly for a few seconds before chuckling sheepishly. "[Ah, th-that's alright, sorry. I was, er…]" He angled his head off to the side, "[… pretty distracted.]"

She giggled. "[Yes, I can see that, dear.]" She tilted her head slightly, a friendly smile on her face. "[Is everything okay?]"

He paused for a short while. Should he tell her? Normally, he would keep this sort of stuff to himself, out of embarrassment, but… "[… Well… I'm… worried about something.]"

Her smile turned sympathetic. "[I guessed as much… Whatever's on your mind? If you don't mind me asking. Is it about Buneary, still?]"

"[… You could say that…]" He looked her in the eyes. "[… I… don't know if…]" He gave a sharp inhale, cheeks warming rapidly. "[… If-I-like-her-or-not.]"

She stared at him for a long time. "[… B-Buh?]"

He angled his head away again. "[Y-Yeah… I… something makes me think I do, but… I-I don't know.]"

With a couple of blinks, she eventually gasped, wings going to her mouth. "[A-Are you serious!?]"

He swallowed hard. "[… Yeah.]"

She continued to stare at him, eyes going wider by the second. Eventually, she started to uncharacteristically giggle like a schoolgirl. "[Oh, wonderful, wonderful! Teeheehee! Buneary's going to be so amazingly thrilled~!]"

It was his turn to stare. Jeez, he was used to her being so prim and proper for the most part, so this was a surprise. Perhaps not the biggest surprise of the day, but still… "[… Um… glad you're excited,]" he said, smiling sheepishly.

Humming happily, she continued to beam brightly for a short while, until her gaze met his. Blushing furiously, she cleared her throat and went back to a delicate stance. "[U-Um, yes, well… yes. Yes, sweetie.]"

"[Yes, indeed…]"

They stood in a vaguely awkward silence.

With another clearing of the throat, the bird offered a gentle smile again. "[S-So! My dear, what convinced you after so long? That you like Buneary? Um, might like Buneary.]"

Pikachu bashfully rubbed his arm. "[Um… well… I asked Emolga to go searching for her, just like you… and she found her. And you. And she listened in, too…]"

She tilted her head. She gasped as the realization seemed to kick in. "[Oh no, we were being spied on!? Th-That was supposed to be secret!]"

"[S-Sorry. I didn't ask her to do that, but she's a sucker for gossip, y'see…]"

She began to sweat. "[Oh… Um… what exactly did she tell you, then?]"

"[About how Buneary likes me, and wants to be with me, but is afraid of me not liking her, and… that sort of stuff.]" His ears dipped slightly. "[Oh yeah… and how I upset her by not accepting her nuzzle, and stuff…]"

Listening intently, Togekiss exhaled slowly and nodded. "[Okay then. Well… I wasn't supposed to talk about it, but… well, you know about it, so why not? Yes, she does like you, dear. Quite a lot, in fact.]"

He took a sharp breath. "[O-Okay… For how long?]"

"[She never said. But the way she words it makes me imagine that it's been a thing for quite a while. Dear Piplup always talks about 'how obvious it's been from the start', but I don't know how true that is. His stories, no matter how delightfully fun and impressive they are, often tend to be a mite exaggerated.]"

Pikachu exhaled. "[That so...?]" That made sense… Piplup had been making comments about it for a long time…

"[Yes, sweetie. And it's true. That one time you didn't repay her affection kind of stuck with her.]"

"[But… why? We got along so well in Sinnoh… so why would she just lose all hope because of that?]"

"[Well, that's not all… She's told me about other times she's nuzzled you, too. Times when you'd act awkward, or even displeased, or what have you. Those sorts of reactions sort of… stick with a girl, you know?]"

He gave a distressed groan. He'd never even considered those times. Ohh, he'd completely screwed up, hadn't he?

Hearing him, she smiled gently again. "[But it's okay. She hasn't completely given up on hope just yet. It's not like you've ever showed interest in other girls, too. Now that would've made her feel lost.]"

He huffed amusedly. "[Yeah, I guess… I can only imagine how things would've gone if I'd chased after Meloetta like 'you know who'.]"

Her smile twitched. "[Heh… yeah…]"

He mulled the thought over for a while. "[You know… I guess… I don't think I've ever even considered other girls before…]"

Togekiss perked up. "[But Buneary's the exception, right?]"

"[Yeah… Well, I think so, anyway. I don't know… this stuff's so foreign to me.]"

"[… Pikachu… when you picture Buneary in your head… what do you feel in your heart?]"

He raised an eyebrow. "[Huh?]"

"[Try it. Close your eyes…]"

He raised his eyebrow even more. Regardless, he followed her instruction and closed his eyes.

"[Now…]" she continued, "[imagine you're staring deep into her eyes.]"

He did as she said and pictured the bunny's face. He saw her chocolate-colored fur, her delicate pink nose, her expressive, cream-colored eyebrows, her bright beaming smile… and most importantly, her clear, brown eyes. The clear brown eyes that always gazed into his with such happiness and warmth. Happiness and warmth that always spread to him, filling him with the same feeling every time.

"[Oho, it seems we have progress!]" Togekiss chimed. "[Your cheeks already look more red than usual.]"

His eyes jolting open, he tried to feel his cheeks. They felt like they were burning, though not out of embarrassment, strangely enough. Well, until Togekiss had pointed them out, anyway… "[Oh, er… I-I guess so. Eheh.]"

Huffing amusedly, she gave him a curious look. "[So… what did you feel in your heart when you imagined her?]"

He gazed at the floor in thought. "[Um…]"

"[Did it feel warm and fuzzy?]"

"[… Yeah, I… think so.]"

"[Did you feel happier?]"

"[Y-… Yeah. I think so!]"

She nodded and beamed. "[Confirmed. It's a crush, dear!]"

He looked at her in surprise. "[R-Really!?]"

"[Absolutely! I'd recognize that feeling anywhere! The feeling of always wanting to spend time with someone… wanting to laugh, and joke, and play with them… and all that lovely stuff. It sounds like you've got it!]"

Pikachu held a paw to his heart. Wow… she might have been onto something. He'd only ever felt this way around her, hadn't he? The cozy feeling from whenever they'd played together, whenever they'd laughed together, whenever they'd nuzzled together…

Of course, he still felt the heavy confliction from before… however, despite all of the confusing feelings, and despite all of the insane things his heart was going through… it didn't feel bad. It felt kind of… nice, in one of the strangest, most unexplainable ways the mouse had ever known.

Wait, come to think of it… he actually recognized this mysterious feeling. It'd been around since a while ago, in his later Sinnoh days, whenever he'd been around Buneary. It had been one he hadn't understood for the longest time. But now…

… The realization hit him like a sack of bricks. Togekiss was right. There was no more confliction. He knew exactly what this feeling was, now…

"[… You're right. You're right, Togekiss!]" Pikachu exclaimed, bubbling with excitement. "[I do! I like Buneary!]" He began laughing from pure joy.

Togekiss began to smile sheepishly. "[Um… th-that's wonderful, sweetie, but please try not to look like a nutcase at the same time…]"

He immediately belted up. "[Oh, legends, um… s-sorry. I-I don't know what came over me,]" he replied, feeling a furious blush begin to develop on his face.

She giggled. "[That's quite alright. I can tell you're very excited. And I know for sure she's going to be excited, too!]" She began to hop up and down on the spot ever so slightly. "[Ooh, it'll be so lovely to see just how excited she'll get! I can hardly contain my own excitement~!]"

He couldn't help but smile at the sight. The flying-type must have really loosened up during her time away with Dawn in Hoenn. Then again, he remembered Piplup once mentioning something like that during the week… though, naturally, the penguin had given himself the credit for helping her come out of her shell more, much to no one's surprise.

His smile went wider as he considered what these feelings of his meant. If he liked Buneary… and she liked him… then the rest of his day was looking bright. Really bright.

He prepared himself to say goodbye and head off to find her, but then something occurred to him. "[Hey, how did you get to know so much about having a crush?]" he asked, giving Togekiss a curious gaze.

She stopped bouncing on her toes to give him a half surprised, half sheepish look, as if he'd caught her off guard with the question. "[O-Oh, um… you know, I, um…]" She tapped the tips of her wings together. "[… Well, I may have… had one myself at some non-descript point, darling.]"

Pikachu's ears perked. "[Oh yeah? Anyone I know?]"

She blushed, wings covering her cheeks. "[Ohhh, I can't tell you that! It's a secreeet!]"

"[Ah. S-Sorry, I'll drop it, then.]"

She took a deep calming breath. "[… That's quite okay.]"

He tried not to give her an odd look. Man… it must be someone he knows, then, with a reaction like that. But who could it be…?

Wait… she'd been hanging out with Leavanny earlier, laughing, joking and telling stories with him… Plus, they did both enjoy doing the same activities, so… Heh, how cute. "[Well… whoever it is, I wish ya luck, Togekiss!]" he said, winking and giving her a thumbs up.

"[Th-Thanks, sweetie!]" she stuttered. "[Um, you too!]"

His smile went warm. "[Yeah, thanks.]" He turned to face the campsite. "[On that note, I'll catch ya later. I'm gonna go and… well… talk with her, I guess. Arceus knows we have a lot to talk about.]"

She beamed. "[Sounds that way, dear. Have fun~]" she sang, taking off into the sky. She headed off in a random direction, most likely towards wherever Leavanny had wandered off to.

After watching her leave, Pikachu headed off towards camp again. He couldn't stop himself from skipping along as he went.


Pikachu slowed as he neared the colorful, flower-coated bushes near camp, where Buneary was supposedly hiding. As he'd gone along, it had quickly become apparent to him that he had no idea how to tackle this subject at all. He knew he liked her, sure, but… how was he going to tell her that he liked her!? He was coming up blank on what he'd say, and the more he thought about it, the more nervous he got.

No… that was an understatement. His nerves were starting to get flipping shot. Just what the heck were people supposed to do in these sorts of situations!? He knew he had to act on his feelings for her, but… oh, Arceus, he'd never done anything like this before.

Sure, he'd spent hundreds of hours together with Buneary before, but never with the knowledge he had right now. The knowledge of what she felt for him and… for what he felt for her. Besides, even if they did get together, how would that even work? He'd never even properly seen a romantic couple before, let alone been in one! So he had almost zero experience to draw from. He was completely lost.

He couldn't stop freaking out. Oh, man, he couldn't go through with this at all, could he? Dang it, if only this had occurred to him earlier, when he could've asked Togekiss…

"[Hello there, Pikachu!]" a female, melodic voice called out suddenly, making him jump.

Turning to see who'd spoken, he saw Meloetta, who was floating over to him. "[O-Oh, Meloetta. Um, hey there,]" he greeted. "[Looking for Oshawott and Piplup? I saw 'em over there, if you are.]" He pointed in the direction he'd come from.

She gave a shake of the head. "[Not quite.]" She exhaled forcefully. "[… Not quite at all.]"

He raised an eyebrow. "[Huh?]"

"[I asked them to go and find me a rare berry, you see. A rinkah berry, as I called it.]"

"[Er… why? You hungry?]"

She giggled. "[Well… not really. It's just that, as nice as receiving endless compliments is… I do have to take a break from them every once in a while.]"

He looked at her in astonishment. "[Huh… that's surprisingly devious of you.]"

"[Heh, true… I don't usually like to be so mean, but goodness… if I have to break up any more fights over me with my songs, today… I'm going to have a sore throat. And a sore head. And maybe even a sore temper. Either way, something would be sore, so it's for the best.]"

He gave a light chuckle. "[Yeah, can't say I blame you, really. They go together like oil and water...]"

She giggled lightly and sighed. "[Yes, which is such a shame. They're both really fun pokémon, so I'd love to hang out with them otherwise…]" She gave a dainty shrug, "[but hey ho, y'know.]"

"[Yeah. Hehe…]" he replied before sighing himself. This only reminded him of his current love problem. Thankfully, it probably wasn't anywhere near as dire as theirs, but still…

Eyeing him up, she frowned in concern. "[Oh dear, Pikachu, are you alright, there?]"

He tilted his head. "[Er… why do you say that?]"

"[Well… either I offended you somehow, or you're not as happy as you're letting on.]" She paused briefly before nervously rubbing her neck. "[Um… i-if it was something I said, actually, I'm sorry.]"

He shook his head and sighed again. "[Nah.]" He looked in the direction of the distant, flowery bushes. "[Something's just… on my mind.]"

She held a hand up to her mouth in worry. "[Oh dear, it is, is it? Well, would you like me to sing a soothing song? I can do that for you if you wish, but please don't ask me to sing too loudly. Like I said, my throat's sore, and I do so value my voice…]"

"[Ehh, no thanks.]"

"[You don't want to be soothed? Well… do you want an energetic song, instead? That'll get you pumped up!]"

He raised an eyebrow. "[Um… is… singing your answer for everything?]"

"[… Yes. I like singing,]" she stated simply, pouting. "[I have a song for every situation, you know! They all sound very similar, but… they're all different. Very different.]" She paused. "[… And they're not just variations of each other.]"

He blinked a few times before chuckling lightly. "[… Uh huh. I'll… take your word on that. But anyway, nah, you're good, thanks.]" He exhaled through his nose. "[I… don't think singing can fix my problem.]"

She gasped, looking very shocked. "[A problem that can't be fixed with singing!? Oh, deary me, it must be serious, then.]" She hovered closer. "[What's the problem, Pikachu?]"

"[I… I dunno…]" He twiddled his fingers as his eyes shifted towards the ground. "[It's a little embarrassing, honestly. You'd probably laugh…]"

She shook her head. "[I reaally doubt it. After hearing Piplup and Oshawott say so many cheesy things to me, I think I'm about ready for anything.]"

He gave a small smile. "[Heh, true… Well, okay then.]" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "[I… I-I think I've… fallen for somebody.]"

Her face immediately lit up. "[Oh, really? That's wonderful~!]" she said, cupping her hands together happily. With a beat, she looked confused. "[Wait a second, how is that a bad thing? That news is almost as good as music!]" She paused. "[… Wait, are you saying that it's me you like? Th-That would be… um…]"

Eyes widening, his head jolted back in shock. "[W-What!? No way! Who do you think I am, Oshawott and Piplup?]"

"[Well, no…]" She glanced off to the side with a light frown, "[… thank goodness…]" She quietly cleared her throat and looked back at him. "[But I dunno… I mean, you did look overly happy to see me, earlier this week. In fact, I'm pretty certain you ignored a lady who was nuzzling you just so you could stare at me instead, didn't you?]"

He blinked. Then, sighing loudly, he nodded. "[Yeah.]" He looked away again. "[I did…]"

Meloetta gave him a concerned look. Instead of asking him what was wrong, though, she just stared at him while rubbing her chin in thought. After a small while, she tapped a fist into her palm, face brightening. "[Aha! Was she your special someone?]"

He gave her a surprised glance. Afterwards, he swallowed as his eyes trailed the ground again. "[… Yeah…]"

She clapped happily. "[Oh, lovely! She looked like a very cute rabbit, so I think she seems perfect for you!]" She gave him a perplexed look. "[Oh, but why did you try to ignore her, Pikachu? I don't mean any offense, but that's not a very nice thing to do to someone you like…]"

"[I-I didn't mean to!]" he replied defensively. "[I just… got embarrassed. Everyone was watching, and my heart was doing weird somersaults, and… Ugh!]" He slapped his paws over his face exasperatedly. "[… Man, I suck, don't I?]"

"[Aww, don't say that, please, Pikachu…]"

"[But I do, though!]" he replied, uncovering his face. "[I'm getting so conflicted over this stupid thing when I shouldn't be.]"

"[You're certainly not wrong about being conflicted… but why are you, though? It sounds like you're very fond of her! And, goodness, with all that nuzzling, I could tell she was very fond of you, too~]"

He sighed. "[I… I dunno. I just suck at this whole romance thing. I want to make Buneary happy, but… jeez, how the heck do I do this!? I don't know the first thing about being romantic!]"

She smiled, seemingly thinking of something. "[Oh, that's okay! I could teach you a thing or two~]"

He gave her a curious look. "[Oh?]"

"[Wellll-]"

"[Wait, you're not going to ask me to sing away my problems, are you?]" he interrupted.

"[… Oh, um, of course not,"] she replied, sweating slightly. "[… That being said, I'm sure she wouldn't mind it if you serenaded her! I know I'd be flattered if someone sang for me.]"

… He pictured the image. It made his face heat up more than he thought it would. "[… Er, we'll… see, I guess. I'd rather something like that waited 'till later, though.]"

"[Aww, okay.]" She tapped her chin. "[Hmm… well, I guess the best way to make a confession is making sure you lead up to it with a hug, or while holding her hand, or something. The last thing you want to do is just blurt it out randomly.]"

"[I-I don't know…]" he replied, twiddling his fingers. "[Wouldn't it be easier to just… you know, get it out of the way quickly, so I don't make things awkward?]"

She shook her head. "[No, no, that won't do at all. That will just make things even more awkward. You have to make her feel the love when you finally tell her about your feelings. Or else you'll just end up pulling an Oshawott.]"

He nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. Thinking about it, though, his eyes suddenly bulged. "[W-Wait, love!? Jeez, I've only found out about my crush on her today! Don't you think it's a bit early for big words like that?]"

She giggled. "[Don't be silly, Pikachu. After all, you love Ash, right?]"

He raised an eyebrow. "[Well… yeah, but-]"

"[And you'd do anything for him, right?]"

"[Yeah, of course!]"

"[And you'd do anything for Buneary, right?]"

He paused. "[I… I think so…?]"

She smiled pleasantly. "[Then what's the difference? Love isn't about how long the relationship has lasted, it's about how long you're willing to make it last~]"

Her words made something stir in his heart. She had a point. Even though he'd only had these feelings for, at least, several months, they still felt... strong. Could it have been something more than just a simple crush...?

… He was totally going to end up being a Brock, wasn't he? Oh no…

"[If you'd rather not use the L-word straight away…]" she continued, "[then you don't need to, I guess. I think it would improve things, but it's all down to you.]"

"[We'll… see,]" he said, sighing. "[… Well, if all goes to plan, what should I do when I'm in the relationship?]"

She rubbed her chin again. "[Hmm… Oh! You know Oshawott, right?]"

He tilted his head. "[Er… yeah?]"

"[Well, I've heard all about his little…]" She looked off to the side with a dry frown, "[… 'confessions' to other pokémon.]"

He cringed. "[Ah… you mean his endless flirting?]"

She nodded at him. "[Yes, exactly! Well, perhaps you should say things like that to her.]"

He had to hold back laughter. "[Pfft! Oh, Arceus, no way! I wanna make her happy, not creep her out!]"

Huffing lightly in amusement, she waved a hand, trying to quieten him. "[No, no, please hear me out. You should say similar things, but… well, you know. Don't go over the top with it.]"

He pulled a puzzled face. "[I… don't get it.]"

She smiled. "[Girls love cheesy compliments! Especially when they're specific ones that only apply to them! Just compliment her on… I don't know, her ears, or on her strength or other things like that. Something that makes her feel one of a kind. Oh, and don't be afraid to flirt, or act playful either. Heck, I'll bet she'll even enjoy some playful teasing! Your girlfriend should be the next step from being your best friend, after all.]"

He rolled the idea around in his mind. He supposed it wasn't different to how the two of them acted right now. They loved doing those things already, so did he just need to do more of that, and better?

Well… almost all of those things, anyway. He wasn't really one for flirting, or being cheesy, but… it couldn't be that hard to learn about doing so, right? After all, he certainly had lots of people to get examples from. Brock, Oshawott, Piplup… Buneary, in retrospect… He just had to take examples from them.

"[Like I said, though, don't be exactly like Oshawott,]" Meloetta warned. "[He does tend to go over the top a lot. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if he's making it all up, or not…]"

He shrugged. "[Well, at least it's better than Piplup talking about himself all the time, right?]"

She giggled. "[Oh, he's not so bad. He can come up with some amusing stories, sometimes. Even if I don't believe half of them.]"

He chuckled. "[You got that right.]" He took a second to go through everything in his head before nodding slowly to himself. "[Alright, I… think I've kind of got an idea of what I'm up against. Anything else?]"

"[Hmm… Oh, yes! By the looks of things, it looks like she enjoys her snuggles. You might want to get used to doing things like hugging her, and holding her hand. Even in public.]"

His stomach did a flip. "[O-Oh, legends, really? In public?]"

"[Of course! It'll show her how comfortable you are with her around. Especially if you're the type to get embarrassed easily.]"

He took a shaky breath. The idea of being snuggly made him feel weird on its own, but oh man, doing it in front of others? Lord, if he didn't die of embarrassment sometime this week, then something was clearly wrong.

Still… he wasn't afraid to admit that he enjoyed her hugs, or her nuzzling. They made him feel… warm and fuzzy. Not that he could ever confess that to anyone without his face scrunching up.

... He wondered if she would feel the same way if he returned the favor. The thought inspired him… "[… Y-Yeah, you're right. But… I don't know, how can I deal with the embarrassment?]" he asked, looking up at Meloetta.

"[You just have to be confident in yourself! It'll feel weird at first, but I'm sure you'll pull through. Then it'll be second nature~]"

Yeah… she was right. He needed to just do it! This wasn't about how he would feel. It was about how Buneary would feel…

Feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he smiled widely. "[Man, thanks, Meloetta! I owe you so much!]"

She beamed back at him. "[No problem, Pikachu~! I'm just happy to spread the love whenever I can. Why do you think I have a song named after love?]"

"[Heh, true enough.]" He tilted his head. "[Seriously, though, how do you know so much about romance? You been hanging around Oshawott and Piplup for too long?]"

She made an amused noise. "[Probably. Being around them certainly has been… insightful. However, I believe that love is something that just comes naturally! You just have to dig deep inside your heart to find it.]"

"[Hm, alright then…]" He smirked. "[Oshawott and Piplup must do a lot of digging, then, huh?]"

She laughed softly. "[Yes, certainly! They're only digging through the surface right now, though. I think they've got a long way to go before they get anywhere special…]"

"[Yeah…]" He had a feeling that those two doing any deeper digging was a bit of a pipedream at the moment. Still, who knew? When he'd woken up that morning, he hadn't known that he was going to be trying his hand at dating, and look where he was now!

On that note, he thought of something to ask. "[Hm. Are you implying that neither of them have a chance with you? It sounds like it.]"

She shrugged. "[To be honest with you, it's not looking good. I think they only like me because of my looks and my singing… but who knows? They still have plenty of time to impress me.]"

"[I've never seen them obsess over anyone as much as they have with you, if it helps.]"

She giggled lightly and grinned. "[Save for each other, you mean?]"

He laughed and agreed. They sure loved to take potshots at each other more than they liked flirting with her, that was for sure…

"[Well, like I said, we'll see,]" she continued. "[I like how suave and confident Piplup is, and how funny and friendly Oshawott is… sometimes… But the more time they spend around each other… the more I sometimes wish I was spending time with Ridley back in the hidden village…]"

He exhaled exasperatedly. "[Yeah, can't argue with any of that…]"

"[But, there is always hope!]" She tapped her hands together. "[I've… always kind of wanted a boyfriend who really likes me, so I'm hopeful.]" She looked up at the sky in a dreamy way. "[Then it can be just like the storybooks Ridley would read me before bedtime~]"

Storybooks before bedtime? Huh… interesting hobby, but whatever worked for her. It explained where her romantic knowledge came from, if nothing else. Heck, it half-reminded Pikachu of the time he'd tried telling a story to Chester…

Not wanting to go into a memory tirade, he gave Meloetta a friendly smile. "[Well, I'll be rooting for you! I hope they 'dig in your heart' in all the right places.]"

She looked back at him and giggled. "[Oh, me too.]"

With a nod, the mouse started towards the bushes. "[Well, I'm off to do my own romantic digging, I guess. See you around, Meloetta!]" he said, waving at her.

She happily waved back. "[Goodbye, Pikachu! Make sure you sing her a lovely song for me once you're done 'digging', won't you?]"

"[Er… we'll see!]" he replied, turning away and rolling his eyes in amusement.

As he got closer to the bushes, he had to try and steady his breathing. It was going to take everything he had not to break down into a boiling puddle of embarrassment… but, for his and Buneary's future, he had to do this. He knew he could do this!

… Would he be able to do this?


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished:

Old stuff - 15/08 (August)/2015

New stuff - 28/01 (January)/2018

Word count: 4,935

VGS2's pointless notes: Such smart prim and proper ladies! I sure hope their advice works, and doesn't ruin Pikachu's love life. Or worse, succeed and actually turn him into a Brock.

Lemmie tell ya, though… because I keep fiddling around with Meloetta's personality, this sections gone through a whole ton of rewrites so many times. I just hope that this fix up is this one. Knowing me though, I'm sure I'll be back… XP

Shameless un-promotion: Today, I wanna take a special second to tell you guys about two very special individuals called Farla and St Elmo's Fire. Noo, I'm not promoting them. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'd recommend blocking their butts.

'Why should I?' you ask? Well, I can't help but notice that they're big jerks, to put it lightly. They haven't gone after any of my fics, as far as I'm aware… but they sure have gone after others. They like to linger around the 'Just In' section, waiting to pounce on a fic and nitpick it to death.

Why do they do it, even though everyone hates it? Well, I dunno for sure… but if I had to guess, it's most likely to boost their egos, if I had to guess. In the same way that a schoolkid may feel pleasure from telling on a fellow student just for swearing… I think they do it for the thrill of being 'in the right', which is a pretty dubious reason at best. Lord knows they don't do it to help, considering how up their own arses they are about things. And if they do do it with good intentions in mind, they may be slightly misguided, in my opinion…

I mean, constructive criticism is always good… but when you criticise in such a harsh manner towards someone who's just writing free stuff for fun, to post online for everyone to read at their leisure, it's very, very mean, to say the least, ain't it? That sort of stuff kills people's ficcing drives. Heck, I've known people whose morale it's killed before. Put 'em right off ficcing, it has! So don't give 'em the time of day, just block them, if ya know what's good for ya.

Of course, if you don't mind their harsh critique, then by all means, ignore what I just said. All the same, please, for the love of God, don't copy their behavior. If you need to criticize, remember that you're talking to someone who has feelings just like you (unless you're a robot, I guess)! Try and say your thoughts nicely, and say stuff you DO like about what you just read, or whatever.

And, most importantly, to respond to something those two buggers say all the time… nobody worth their salt gives a rat's arse if you capitalise pokémon names, or not. As long as you're consistent about it, then it's fine either way, so do whatever ya like! It's not like the games don't do it, themselves. Remember when they said all pokémon names in all caps? "Hey, BROCK, wanna stroke my PIKACHU? It's very friendly, but watch out for when it uses THUNDERBOLT!" You get my drift.

And just so I don't sound tooooo spiteful… outside of bashing everyone's fics blindly, they also write stories, apparently. Never read any of 'em, admittedly, but maybe they're worth checking out. Go ahead, if you're up to it! :P Maybe you could even review 'em, too… though try not to flame them, tempting as it is. Throwing fire onto fire without thinking about it will just get you some killer burns. *Crosses arms in a sagely manner*

Fun mistakes of the day: 1: "[That you like Bubneary?]"

(That's my favourite Bubble Bobble character!)

#2 'So… Buneary liked him after all? If what Emolga had said was true, then… she was right.'

(If what she said was true, then of course she's right, you silly donkey. It can't be true yet untrue! What is this, the news?)

#3: "[T-Togekiss! How long have you been sta-nding there!?]"

(*JizzInMyPants .mp3*)

#4: 'She headed off in a random direction, most likely towards wherever Leavanny had wandered off to. After watching her head off in a random direction - one which Leavanny was probably in - Pikachu headed off towards camp again.'

(I like to imagine that, while in midflight, Togekiss just spun around on the spot and headed towards her destination again.)

#5: 'He chucked. "[You got that right.]"'

(Pikachu apparently learned Fling just in time to throw something at Meloetta. I can't wait until he replaces it with another electrical move.)

#6: 'He gave her a friendly smile. "[Well, I'll be rooting for you! I hope they 'dig in your heat' in all the right places.]"'

(Oh dear.)

Welp, and that's all. Tata for now! c:


Next up: Confessing some feelings!