Chapter 17: Judging A Performance


Pikachu continued to look up at Meloetta in anticipation, along with Buneary. The singer was still thinking hard on who the winner of the mini contest show was, and it was exciting to see who her pick would be!

"[I... choose... um...]" Meloetta murmured, looking back and forth between them. "[Hmm... ohh... Buneary's act was so pretty and beautiful, but Pikachu's was so cool... Then again, there was the apple squashing and the failed attack... but then she made it work anyway, so... hmm... And I don't know if I should count Pikachu being hit on the head, so... hmm, hmm, hmmmmmm...]"

"[Having trouble?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Yes…]" Meloetta replied. "[I've never judged anything before, and you were both very good.]"

Buneary gave her a sympathetic look. "[Guess it doesn't help that we both went for completely different acts, huh? Pretty versus cool,]" she said.

"[Ohh, yes, that doesn't help.]" The singer sighed. "[I'm half-tempted to say that you're both winners, I won't lie.]"

"[Heh… well, why not, I guess?]" Pikachu replied. "[A draw it is!]"

"[Draw!?]" both of the girls cried.

"[Yup. No winners, no losers… just a draw,]" he said, grinning.

"[Aww… boring!]" Buneary responded, pulling quite the duckface.

Meloetta paused before beaming brightly. "[Ooh, yes, yes! This means… you both get to do a romantic thing!]"

Pikachu blinked. Taking this in, his face warmed significantly. Oh dear, he hadn't thought about that.

"[Heehee, um… I guess you're right…!]" Buneary said, sounding half-amused and half-bashful about the idea. "[Er... sh-should we, then?]"

"[Eheh, um, y-yeah… sure,]" Pikachu said. He faced his girlfriend and swallowed deeply. Super sappy and cute, eh? Umm… "[Buneary…]" He gripped both of her paws and looked into her eyes. "[… Umm, I, er…]" The temperature in his face flared up. "[We… I… um… ]"

"[Pikachu, I…]" Buneary also started, completely red in the face. She looked like she wanted to pull her fluff up. "[I… really… um…]"

"[Y-Yeah, we're… um…]" He briefly glanced to the side. He saw Meloetta gazing at them with the same adoration Ash had for a plate of burgers in front of him. It only made the mouse's face go hotter.

He and Buneary, after some more awkward stammering, eventually paused. At once, taking a deep breath, they nodded and stared each other in the eyes.

"[Pikachu…]" she said.

"[Buneary…]" he said.

"[I…]"

"[I…]"

"[really…]"

"[really…]"

"[want to…]"

"[think that…]"

"[give you…]"

"[you're the absolute…]"

"[a… um…]"

"[cutest bunny in the wor- Mmm!?]"

Without warning, Buneary had moved forwards and given him a quick kiss on the lips. She quickly pulled away and covered her face with her fluff.

He stared at her in shock, heart racing and face going white hot. Had that just…? Had she really just…?

"[… a big, wet kiss for being so great and amazing…!]" she finally finished.

He continued to stare. He pretty much melted into bashful chuckles and stammerings afterwards. His chest felt oddly warm, too... though not as much as his cheeks, j-jeez...

It hadn't escaped his notice that Meloetta was nearly having a sugar-induced heart attack while watching them. It only made his stammering worse.

"[… You likey?]" Buneary asked, peeking over her fluff at Pikachu.

He gulped. "[… I likey,]" he said, failing to avoid a giddy smile.

Meloetta was gleefully clapping, while energetically twirling around in midair. "[Teeheeheehaha~! Oh that is so utterly adorable~! I…]" She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening. Blushing madly, she calmed significantly, "[… um… l-liked it.]"

"[A-Apparently…!]" Pikachu mumbled, suddenly feeling more embarrassed. Well, over the top cooing was better than endless ribbing, he guessed… even though he was starting to get worried that he was going to pass out. With a smile on his face, granted, but still…

Glancing at her, he saw Buneary grin at the singer in amusement. Her fluff was down, but judging by how red her face was, he guessed that that could change at any time. "[Um... enjoyed the show that much?]" the rabbit asked.

Now partially invisible, Meloetta began to fidget madly with her hair. "[Oh no... I-I'm s-sorry... I, um... I got excited, and, um... s-sorry...]"

Pikachu waved his paws reassuringly. "[H-Hey, it's alright. I'm really embarrassed now... but you can enjoy yourself, if you want.]"

"[Y-Yeah, it's all alright,]" Buneary added. She grinned. "[Especially since it embarrasses Pikachu.]"

He gave her a look of mock annoyance. "[H-Hey...!]"

Meloetta giggled very lightly and stopped being invisible. However, she still seemed a bit on edge. "[Oh, but... it's very, very... naughty for someone like me to be so unladylike. It'll upset people, and then they might get...]" she said timidly, petering off into mumbling.

"[Well, I'm not upset,]" Pikachu replied, smiling comfortingly. "[Even if you went full on fangirl, you'd still never be half the weirdo that me and my friends are.]"

"[Not including me, I hope...?]" Buneary said, giving him a look of mock annoyance.

He tapped his fingers together. "[... Welllll...]"

She huffed and gave him a few taps on the head with her ear. "[I didn't know you wanted to be dumped already, mister~]"

Covering his head, he chuckled. "[Yeah, I'll be quiet.]"

She giggled and stopped her assault. "[Good~]" She also smiled up at Meloetta, who was giggling lightly. "[He's right, though. You can relax around me and Pikachu and... well, all of us! I mean, I guess I don't know about anyone who isn't on my team... but if they're friends with Pikachu, then they've gotta be decent.]"

Seeming significantly calmer than before, Meloetta smiled back faintly. "[Y-Yes, I guess you're right. Well... that was... certainly very adorable. Thanks for the fluffy-wuffy show~]"

"[Eheh, no problem,]" Pikachu replied, cheeks as warm as ever.

"[Now, how's about a show for us, honey?]" Buneary asked, seeming a little excited. "[I wanna see what Relic Song's like!]"

The mouse's eyes widened. "[Oh yeah! You ready to show us what you can do?]"

Meloetta's face lit up. "[Oh, of course! Yes, right away~]" she chimed, floating away into position. "[Okay, um… Oh!]" She turned to face them. "[I should probably mention… when I use my move, I tend to get a bit, um… 'carried away'.]"

"[Carried away?]" Buneary asked.

"[... Just a bit.]"

Pikachu shrugged. "[As long as you don't blow up the forest, then it's fine with me,]" he said. He paused, remembering moves that other mythical pokémon had used in the past. "[… Um… actually, is it gonna-?]" he started, worriedly.

"[Okay then, here I go!]" the singer interrupted before clearing her throat. Pikachu hoped that she'd simply not heard him and wasn't ignoring him on purpose.

She took a deep breath, then began to sing. However, it was unlike any song Pikachu had ever heard. Like most of her songs, it had a mystical element about it as it echoed through his ears… but at the same time, it was such a spunky, upbeat tune. It was like she were singing for a concert.

It was such a treat for the ears that Pikachu felt really relaxed, yet invigorated. Almost as if someone were giving him a massage while he were being pumped full of chesto berries.

He glanced to the side and saw Buneary having just as good a time as he was. She even had both ears extended, which, if he remembered, really pumped up the volume for her. He'd be lying if he ever said he wasn't even a little jealous.

A big rainbow veil suddenly coated Meloetta, obscuring her from view. He could hear her continuing her song, though, so it was clearly intended.

The song continued on for a little while longer. When it eventually ended, the veil suddenly fizzled out. Meloetta floated in place with a pose, though she was... different. Very different. For one thing, she was smiling a lot more confidently than before... but that barely compared to everything else.

Her once green and long flowing hair had drastically changed. It was now twirled around itself and bright orange. The same shade of orange as the once green band that was around her waist. Her eyes and the jewel on her head had gone from a calm blue to a fiery red and zesty orange, respectively. On top of that, instead of trailing off like before, her skirt was now puffing out. She looked more like a dancer, instead of a singer, right now!

"[It's shoooowtiiiiiime~!]" Meloetta sang, sounding far, far less reserved than usual. "[Prepare your eyes for beauty~]"

"[M-Meloetta?]" Buneary said, clearly startled.

"[I guess carried away was an understatement...]" Pikachu mumbled, to which Buneary made a noise of realization.

"[... Uh oh.]"

Suddenly, Meloetta lunged towards a tree and, with a graceful twirl, gave it a hearty kick. The leaves above shook for a short while, before dozens of apples suddenly plummeted down.

The singer performed a graceful tippy-toe dance before glowing blue. What the...?

"[Aerial Ace...?]" Buneary mumbled.

Huh... that made sense. Though... what? That meant Meloetta clearly had more than just one move. Strange...

"[Bring it on, apple scum! Hyaagh~!]" the singer - or perhaps dancer - chimed aggressively. She ascended while pirouetting. When close enough to an apple, she aggressively kicked it. It was sent flying like a rocket through the air, destroying any other apples that were unfortunate enough to get in the way. It eventually hit a tree and was smushed into paste.

The dancer did a strange aerial flip to zip across the field fast enough to leave afterimages. Reaching an apple, she slammed her foot down onto it. It flew downwards with enough force to smash a small crater into the ground.

Pikachu stared in awe. Oh, dear, sweet Lugia. So much for not enjoying fighting. She was a beast!

He jolted when he felt someone grab onto his waist. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Buneary. She hid behind him in a mix of fright and awe, an ear rolled up again.

"[H-Holy Victini, she's gone nuclear,]" Buneary mumbled, still watching from behind him.

He felt his heart pick up in speed, as well as... his pride? Man... had having Buneary hide behind him always filled him with such a feeling of manliness? It was nice, he wouldn't lie.

"[Um... don't worry, Buneary,]" he said comfortingly. "[Meloetta knows what she's doing.]"

"[Hope so...]" she replied.

Nodding reassuringly, he turned back to the action. He saw Meloetta rapidly punching upwards, destroying any apples that dared to come near her. She occasionally threw a stylish kick or two into the mix as well. The whole thing reminded Pikachu of his old friend Staraptor's attack, Close Combat.

... In fact... it was Close Combat! He could tell that Buneary had sensed this, too... because she was gripping onto his back slightly tighter. Good legends... such a powerful move for such a dainty girl.

She kept up her attacks for a while, until falling downwards with a ballerina-esque twirl. Landing, she took a deep breath. She paused before letting loose a loud, echoing screech. It sent visible soundwaves flying towards all the remaining apples in the air.

Though not caught in the blast radius, Pikachu cringed slightly at the noise. Man, one of the only songs he didn't like hearing from her. He never thought he'd see the day.

Hearing a light whimper from behind, he glanced at Buneary. She seemed to be taking the noise a lot worse than him. It was understandable, considering her sensitive hearing. Before he could ask how she was doing, she rolled up her unrolled ear. She paused and sighed in relief, now looking okay.

Huh... well, whatever worked, he guessed. Again, he was so jealous of her ears.

Huffing amusedly, he turned back to face Meloetta as she kept screaming. The apples that had been caught in her vocal blast were being held in place by the force of the sound, shaking violently. They soon exploded into a humongous shower of apple gunk. It sprayed everywhere. Including in Pikachu's direction.

"[Oh no...]" he sighed. Accepting his fate, he closed his eyes and spread his arms out to, hopefully, shield his girlfriend from most of it. This was gonna suck...

He felt something go under his arms and then... lift him away? Opening his eyes, he saw himself flying backwards through the air, Buneary's paws wrapped around him.

Seeing what she was doing, he smiled in appreciation. Despite her efforts, unfortunately, the apple gunk was getting closer.

Frowning determinedly, he twirled away from the mass of gunk, making her yelp in surprise. Charging up a Quick Attack, he bundled into a ball and performed a forward somersault with her in tow. They were both sent rapidly tumbling away from the gunk, with Buneary squealing all the way down.

When he landed, he ran up a tree as fast as he could, hoping to go high enough to escape getting apple gunked. Continuing up, he glanced behind himself, noticing the gunk getting dangerously close. Oh no, he wasn't going to make it!

He braced for impact. Buneary, however, held onto him tighter and leaped off the tree with a back-flip, bringing him along. He noticed the apple explosion barely miss her back as they flew over the debris. When she corrected herself, he was happy to see that they'd survived the apple apocalypse.

"[Yeahhh, awesome work!]" Pikachu called to her, facing the ground as they fell towards it. "[We're the bes-!]"

He landed face down inside a deep pile of apple mush. Frick.

"[Ah! Pikachu, no!]" he heard Buneary cry while getting off his back. He felt her lift him to his feet.

He couldn't see anything, but he could feel vast amounts of thick fruity gunk clinging to his fur. It was very unpleasant.

He tried to ask Buneary if she was alright, but could only splutter when he got a mouthful of apple matter. Ick...

His girlfriend sighed in relief. Shortly after, she seemed to be holding back some sniggering. "[Oh dear. Um... s-sorry, Pikachu...!]" she said.

He gave a guttural grumble.

"[Yeaaaah! How was-?]" he heard Meloetta chime, seemingly finishing another routine. She stopped suddenly with a gasp. "[O-Oh no, I'm sorry!]" she said panickingly, sounding closer.

"[Um... it's okay, he'll be fine,]" Buneary said. "[We just... need to wash him off a little.]"

"[Ohhhh, maybe this was a bad idea after all...]" Meloetta said. A sparkling noise came from her direction. The sound of her transforming back to normal, maybe?

Pikachu shook his head, making sure not to fling apple gunk at anyone. "[Noppth...!]" he spluttered.

"[Pikachu's right,]" Buneary added. "[It wasn't your fault. You just got very... into it.]"

There was a strangely long pause before Meloetta responded. "[Oh no... how much into it?]"

"[Npthoo pbthuchh,]" Pikachu replied ineffectively. He wiped a load of gunk off his mouth. "[... Not too much.]"

"[Yeah, you were just a bit... energetic,]" Buneary reassured. "[It was really fun to see! You're really strong. Terrifyingly strong.]"

"[Oh, um... y-you think?]" Meloetta asked.

"[Yeah, she's right, jeez...]" Pikachu responded. "[I thought you said you only had one move, and yet you're like a war machine!]"

"[Teehee, well... I guess I do kinda have a few moves... but... only when I'm in 'pirouette forme', as Ridley called it.]"

"[So that's what that was all about?]" Buneary asked. "[Another forme?]"

"[Yes! I sing my 'Song Of Lovely Dancing' as it's known... then, of course, I do my lovely dancing... and then I can transform!]" She hummed sheepishly. "[Um, but then another side of me comes out that I'm... not very good at controlling.]"

"[Huh, that explains a lot. And you get to use more moves when that happens, right?]"

"[Right! Though... I suppose I do have one move that isn't Relic Song...]"

"[Oh yeah?]"

"[Umm...]"

Pikachu suddenly felt something strange on his front. A weird pulling sensation. Shortly after, most of the gunk on his body was lifted off him. It hovered in a messy ball in front of him, glowing with a faint pink energy.

"[Huh, thanks, Meloetta!]" Pikachu said, happy to be able to see again.

"[Hnnggg... no... problem...!]" Meloetta grunted, visibly straining with her hands to her head.

Pikachu looked at her in concern. Gosh... he hadn't thought that gunk had been all that heavy.

The pink glow around the apple gunk flickered. It disappeared completely, causing the apple mush to fall to the floor with a splat.

The singer drifted to a vaguely clean part of the floor and sat down, breathing heavily.

"[Wow... you okay, honey?]" Buneary asked in concern, putting a paw on her back.

"[Y-Yes... thank you... Hooo...!]" Meloetta replied, looking about ready to pass out. If it hadn't been for Buneary, she might've flopped onto her back.

"[Gosh,]" Pikachu said, "[that must've been a very powerful Psychic, huh?]"

"[C-Confusion...]"

"[... That too, yeah.]" Wow... clearly, all of her energy went into her pirouette forme, then.

"[I wish I could... use my other forme a lot more, but... it's a few times an hour or less, alas...]"

"[Aww...]" Buneary said. "[Well, I'll bet you can get better in this forme, too.]"

"[Yeah,]" Pikachu added. He hummed in thought when something occurred to him. "[Hey, in fact... I've known a lot of mons who can use Thunderbolt... and, in this form at least, you look like you could learn it, too...]" He smiled at her. "[I'll try and help ya learn it, if you want!]"

Meloetta gasped. "[Th-Thunderbolt!? Like yours? Oh, um... I don't know...]"

"[You don't need to fight with it, of course... but you were chased by some humans that one time, weren't you?]"

"[You were?]" Buneary asked.

"[Oh, yes,]" Meloetta replied. "[There were some very scary humans who took me away from my Hidden- Um... from where I came from. I escaped, but...]" She shivered slightly. "[They hit me with an electric net and made me feel very poorly...]"

"[Yeah,]" Pikachu said, "[we found her with a fever after nearly running her over.]"

"[Aww, poor you...]" Buneary said, giving her a look of pity. "[Well, maybe you should learn something from Pikachu, then. Even if you don't like hurting people... it's a lot better than getting cornered by collectors, believe me...]"

"[Here, here...]" Pikachu agreed, knowing that feel all too well. Even if it hadn't happened to him in a while.

"[And hey, who knows? While training, maybe your Confusion will get really strong, too!]"

Meloetta seemed to think things over, as if interested. "[Hmm... maybe... you're right. It's not good of me to depend on others to keep me safe all the time, so... yes please~]"

Pikachu happily nodded. "[Great! Then we'll start tomorrow morning. A little bit of zapping training, before I have to wear myself ragged with Ash's training.]"

She clapped her hands together and nodded back eagerly. "[Okay, then~! Ooh, it's a little exciting, actually. It's like having my very own coach!]"

"[Heh, and I've been told I'm a pretty good one, too!]" he boasted. "[Like the time I got Ash and Oshawott doing push-ups with rocks on their backs and-]"

He felt a sharp pain in his head. Oof...! Yelping, he flopped onto his front, getting covered in gunk again. Oh, come on! Even with that teeny tiny boast!?

Strangely, the weight on his head lingered. Huh...?

"[P-Pachirisu!?]" Buneary cried. "[What the heck, girl!? Don't jump on Pikachu! You know you're getting too big, now!]"

"[Oh, sorry!]" the squirrel apologized, hopping off him. "[I was wondering why you did that belly flop into that strange, delicious-lookin' white stuff!]"

Pikachu sighed, too weakened by exasperation to move. He really hoped she wouldn't phrase it that way to the others, when she inevitably told them about it.

"[You're impossible, I swear...]" Buneary groaned.

"[Thanks!]" Pachirisu chimed. "[So, what'chya all doing out here, huh? And how much can I join in, huh?]"

"[I could ask the same thing, missy,]" Buneary said. "[About why you're here, anyway.]"

"[U-Um...]" Meloetta said, sounding a little on edge, "[we were just... having a picnic.]"

Pachirisu gasped. "[A picnic!? I love picnics! I wanna-]" She paused. "[... Oh wait, actually, I forgot. I came to fetch you guys, 'cos we're leaving reaaal soon. Oh well! Next time~]"

"[We're going soon? W-What?]" Buneary asked, sounding shocked.

"[Yup! They're almost done with their training, so they sent me away to come find you!]"

Buneary gave a relieved breath. "[Ahhh, okay... so just back to Cynthia's?]"

"[Yup! Straight back! Well... stops for helping other trainers with their problems, like we did in Sinnoh all the time, notwithstanding.]"

"[Heehee, well, knowing Ash...]"

Meloetta giggled lightly. "[You're quite the talker, aren't you?]" she said to Pachirisu, sounding amused.

"[Oh, you'd better believe it!]" the squirrel replied. "[I love talking! Especially to people who listen to me and my crazy rambles.]"

"[She's not wrong...]" Buneary mumbled exasperatedly.

Meloetta giggled again. "[So I see~]"

Still on the ground, Pikachu grumbled something to them. The apple gunk made it kinda hard to speak, though.

Buneary gasped. "[O-Oh, right! Um... Pachirisu, why don'tcha go and tell them we'll be over there, soon? We've just gotta go and give Pikachu a good clean up.]"

"[Eheh... sorry again, Pikachu,]" Pachirisu said sheepishly. "[I'm too plump for piggybacks, now, as I keep forgetting!]"

"[Cleabthhly...]" Pikachu mumbled.

"[AAAAnyway, catch ya, guys! I'll let 'em know you're getting Pikachu's goo outta his system!]"

Pikachu pushed himself up and spat apple gunk out of his mouth. "[N-No, wait-!]" he cried.

He heard Pachirisu's footsteps rapidly leave the scene. Oh, great. Too late...

Face warming heavily at knowing what to expect when he got back, he flopped back into the gunk. "[... Kbill me...]" he mumbled.

Buneary chuckled sheepishly. "[Hey, er... let's go to the river, alright?]" she said, helping him up.

He wiped his mouth again. "[Y-Yeah, thanks...]"

"[It's all my fault you got covered in apple sauce...]" Meloetta said, "[so I'll help out, too, if you want. I'll even do it with a song~]"

"[Heh... sounds good, thanks,]" Pikachu said.

Buneary and Meloetta helped him shamble towards a river, somewhere. While they moved along, he saw the perfect opportunity to do something when he looked at Buneary... so he decided to do it. "[Hey, Buneary?]" he asked.

She turned to face him. "[Yeah, Pika- Mmm?]"

While she'd been speaking, Pikachu had moved forwards and given her a quick kiss on the lips. She stared at him in disbelief, her face going as red as his felt.

"[R-Revenge~]" Pikachu chimed, voice cracking more than he'd wanted it to.

She continued staring for a little while, even as Meloetta made a noise of delight.

Breaking into a fit of giggles, his girlfriend nuzzled him. She got messy as a result, but she didn't seem to care. "[Oh, youuu~!]" she said in a bubbly manner.

Pikachu happily chuckled along... though he really hoped he could get some water on him, soon. How the apple gunk covering him wasn't turning to steam was anyone's guess.


"And you're absolutely certain that it's the correct one this time?" Dr. Zager asked the three colorful numbskulls on the screen.

They all grinned evilly in response.

"Absolutely certain," Jessie said, sitting on a tree branch.

"We've been tracking it all morning," James continued, on a different branch.

Their meowth - who could talk for reasons the doctor didn't care about - nodded. "And it's certainly more than a little suspicious that Meloetta would go into solitude before singing to its little buddies," he said, clinging onto yet another branch.

Dr. Zager sighed. Somehow, he had a hunch that they were being idiotic, as per usual. There was no way the meloetta would sing its sacred song so soon after meeting complete strangers. Even if its caretakers had been treating it like a goddess the whole time.

... Plus, this was likely the eighth irrelevant audio sample they'd sent over to him in just a few days. One of which was just of the meloetta blowing its nose. He was starting to get a bit fed up, to put it lightly.

All the same, Dr. Zager nodded, if only to have them leave him alone. "Alright, well, good. Bring it to my lab later on, and I shall give it a thorough study."

"We should also mention a special power connected to this song..." Jessie continued.

"Special power?" Dr. Zager asked.

"It seems that when this song is sung..." James replied.

"Meloetta transforms into a battle hardened warrior," Meowth finished.

... Oh, for God's sake, that meant they'd recorded Relic Song. Again.

Oh well... at least the doctor had guaranteed target practice for his garbage compactor later, if nothing else. Throwing their useless tapes into it had been the most use he'd gotten out of the bumbling trio this entire mission. "... Interesting," he said to them, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. He made sure they could see it. "I shall make notes the second the call ends."

The three idiots beamed to themselves even more evilly than before.

... However, the call remained.

"... So... bye?" Dr. Zager said, hoping they would finally take the hint.

They looked at him in confusion. Finally getting it, they yelped and scrambled around for a button on their radio. The screen on his radio went black soon after.

Dr. Zager sighed in relief, dropping the paper and pen. Finally, they were-

"S-So... do you think we kept our cool alright?" James' voice rang out of the radio.

"Cooler dan ice, baby!" Meowth's voice also rang out. "Dat was de best act we've done yet!"

"Ohh, it's so nice to be evil and respected for once~" Jessie's voice rang out. "I wouldn't be surprised if a promotion with our names on it was waiting in the boss' office right now!"

"Yeah, just wait 'til de boss hears about our efforts! If only we'd tried dis 'actin' cool and evil' t'ing, earlier!"

Dr. Zager pinched the bridge of his nose. "... You only turned the screen off," he grumbled. "I can hear everything you're saying."

There was a very awkward pause. Several squeals poured through the radio at once. Seconds later, there was a whooshing of noise, as if the radio had been thrown wildly. There was a loud clunk and a pikachu's yelp of pain. Like their radio had hit an unfortunate member of the local wildlife.

Its apparent friends asked it some concerned questions. A buneary and... the meloetta? Hm, must've been some of the friends that the meloetta had apparently picked up recently. Since starting their espionage mission, the three idiots had mentioned as such.

The pokémon conversed for a while, exchanging some curious mumblings. Angry noises and a timid squeal followed, as if they'd found something. Energy attacks were being fired out, followed by the loud screaming of the idiots.

... Dr. Zager chuckled. Actually, that was pretty funny. If only those three goons had been clowns instead of his lackeys, he might've actually enjoyed this whole thing. But alas...

Shutting off his radio, he turned to face some of his inventions that lined the wall. Eyeing one up in particular, he took a calming breath. Soon... Soon that meloetta would be in his grasp. Then all of the desperate clinging onto his patience would pay off.

He would have another shot at performing his experiment. Then the world would know his name.

He wanted to snicker evilly... but his head was hurting too much. Moving over to the sink, he just poured himself a glass of water instead. He swore, if he had any more annoyances today...

His radio began to bleep out a tune. The ringtone he'd specifically set for it told him immediately who was on the other end of the line. Giovanni.

He exhaled through his nose and picked up the radio. Well, if nothing else, this would be interesting. He wondered what sort of task his boss would put him through.

He pressed a button on his radio. "Hello, sir," he said as its screen flickered on. "What can I do for... you?"

His boss became fully visible. For whatever reason, he was laying awkwardly on a messy bed in nothing but his shirt and underwear. "Hello? Is this Rocket Pizza?" he grumbled.

"... Um..."

Giovanni tiredly rubbed his eyes. He wasn't looking at the screen at all, as if he didn't even know it was on. "I hope you're open. I can't be arsed making breakfast, today, so I'm taking an order..."

"... Okay?"

"I'll have the family-sized cheeseburger pizza with a stuffed crust, and... whatever fizzy drinks you have on offer, I don't care. Maybe some fries, too."

There was a tired meow from behind him. It was only then that Dr. Zager realized Giovanni was half-lying on top of his pet persian.

"Oh, of course..." Giovanni continued. "Er... if you could sprinkle some anchovies on a slice or two, I'll give you a bigger tip."

"... Sir, you know it's me, right?" Dr. Zager said.

His boss' eyes opened wide and he stared into the screen, as if realizing it was on. "D-Dr. Zager?"

"... Yes. It's me."

"... Since when did you work at Rocket Pizza?"

"... No, you called the wrong number."

"... Oh." Giovanni blinked a few times. "... Will I still get my pizza?"

"... I'm... hanging up now, sir." Dr. Zager hung up the radio. After a long, long, long pause, he poured himself a bigger glass of water. He stared at it for a while. He poured it back into the sink and pulled out a bottle of whisky instead.

"... I knew I should've worked for Team Galactic," he said, pouring himself a large glass.


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished: 21/04 (April)/2018

Word count: 4,952

VGS2's pointless notes: The villains are serious, this time! Heck, Giovanni himself is more hardcore than PokeMaster64's, Ri2's and scarcrow151's versions combined! D: The heroes don't stand a chance. Unless they're good at making pizza. Holy Hell, I'm hungry.

Either way, hope you liked the results of the little showcase! No idea who you guys would've considered the winner, but I'm sure a draw wouldn't have been the answer, eh? XP

Shameless self-promotion: Today I'm promoting that silly ficcer, VGS2 The Sexy Sausage. He's a ficcer who literally writes nothing but mice copulating with rabbits. Except for when he posts comedic fics, like Sonic The Fidgeters and Miracle Murder Cure, both of which have no reviews. D:

His laggymorph related stories, however, are vaguely decent. Like Game-Changer, which features a girly mouse who embarrasses easily, getting the romantic attention of an overly eccentric rabbit... Spiritual Successor, which is a vaguely lewd fic with an amnesiac mouse, who wants to date an overly flirty rabbit, before the plot happens... Lifted Spirits, which is a parody of the anime, with a plot involving a mouse dying and becoming a pranking spirit... Getting An Earful, which features a mouse in the Smash Brothers universe, who wants to meet the father of the rabbit he's currently dating... and some other garba- stories, which you might love! Go give him a few reviews, why don'tcha? :D

... This was so shameless it hurts. XD

Fun mistakes of the day: #1: "[Pikachu…]" he said.

(He? Oh dear. Time for a nasty surprise! I swear I've made this joke before in this fic. XD)

#2: 'it's very, very... naughty for someone like me to be ladylike.'

(And so she picked her nose, engaged in flatulence, and... became an SJW. XP)

#3: 'Pikachu mumbled, to which Buneary made a nose'

(Mumbling inspires Buneary to create noses, I guess. Maybe she should be called... Bunosey! *AshKetchumLaughter .mp3*)

#4: 'meleoota She rushed'

(Sounds like an obscure villain from Crash Bandicoot.)

#5: 'she slammed her foot down onto another apple. It flew downwards, slamming into the ground with enough force to smash a small crater into it.'

(Slamming a small crater into an apple? That's not very impressive... XP)

#6: 'She hid behind him in a mix of fright and awe, and ear rolled up again.'

(Now there's a Sonic technique, if ever I've seen one. Ear rolling up something.)

#7: 'He felt his heartrace increase.'

(Pikachu enjoys watching the heart race. It's his favourite sport.)

#8: His girlfriend made a sound of relief.

(It's not necessarily wrong... but it's still a bit odd sounding, I'd imagine. Makes it sound like she's making Pikachu even muckier, if you catch my drift. XD)

#9: 'Pikachu suddenly felt his front felt'

(There's felt on his front.)

#10: 'It's not good of me to depending on others to keep me safe all the time,'

(This fic is having the bestings of English.)

#11: "[Heh, and I've been told I'm a pretty good one, too!]" he boatsed.

(And a boat was Pikachu.)

#12: 'She continued taring for a little while, even as Meloetta made a nose of delight.'

(Not even Meloetta's ability to create delightful noses will save her from a good tarring!)

#13: "S-So... do you think we kept out"

(I wish Team Rocket would keep out, gawd.)

#14: "I hope you're pen."

(Giovanni's evil plan of turning everyone into writing implements is coming along swimmingly!)

#15: 'Giovanni himself is more serious than PokeMater'

(Oh dear... is this how Buneary in his Forest Of No Light fic fell pregnant? Because of the dreaded PokeMater? XD No wonder Pikachu didn't remember 'making that'.)

Ah well, that's that for now! Tata! For now! c:


-'ravengal writes something while I'm distracted' bonus hour!-

"[Ooh! Ooh!]" Meloetta called out, floating high. "[Let me do it! Please?]"

"[Sure thing!]"

"[Great!]"

She began to sing. The song was unfamiliar, but lovely. Pikachu was about to ask why she was singing, but then he saw it. She was... transforming?!

Her green hair was twirling around itself and turning orange... the band around her waist was also turning orange... and her skirt was puffing out!

When she was finished, she posed. Then she lunged at the tree and punched it several times with all her might. Wow, she was strong! The bark was shaking violently with each hit!

As she stopped, there was a pause. Then hundreds upon hundreds of apples cascaded down from the tree like a waterfall. Pikachu and Buneary were buried alive underneath them.

Pikachu never got to show some skill, and he and his girlfriend were never seen or heard from again.

"[Oh, whoops...]" Meloetta mumbled with a sheepish smile, "[that always happens when I use Close Combat...]"

*Laugh track*


Next up: Getting on with the journey!