Chapter 20: Learning Some Tidbits
The sun had begun to set when the gang were finally finished traveling. They had been venturing though the Undella Plains all afternoon, and everyone was beginning to show signs of it. Not a single human wasn't yawning as they got to work on pitching their tents, and the pokémon who were out of their balls were quite lethargic, themselves. Perhaps aside from Scraggy and Mamoswine, who seemed to be discussing something. Something that the young lizard found horrifying, apparently, though what, Pikachu had no idea.
Sitting on a log near the campsite, the mouse himself felt like he was going to drop off any second. Especially since Emolga was sitting next to him, ranting about how to properly care for apples. She'd been at it since that battle from earlier had ended. So, naturally, he'd been forced to listen to her rambles, instead of hanging out with Buneary and Oshawott. Tsk...
When his eyes wandered, he spotted the two friends in question, chatting happily from a short distance away. The bright, cheery look plastered on Buneary's face made Pikachu's fatigue fade away into a warm, bubbly feeling. It was sweet to see the two of them getting along. It was almost like the otter had adopted her as an auntie, or something. An auntie he found hot, granted, but one all the same.
"[Hey! Are you even listening!?]" Emolga shouted, catching the mouse's attention.
Yelping, he looked directly at her. She was scowling something fierce.
"[Y-Yeah, of course I was!]" he responded, chuckling nervously.
Her frown turned dry. "[Then what did I say?]"
His heart stopped dead in his chest. "[... Y'know. I've gotta... not... hurt them. And stuff.]"
"[... Why...?]"
"[... Because... if I do, then... that's bad.]"
Emolga glared at him for a long time. The longer she did, the more he felt sweat dribble down his forehead. Oh, if this wasn't getting him a Hidden Power to the face, he didn't know what would.
She kept glaring until, eventually, she just sighed and shrugged exaggeratedly. "[Alright. Fine. I get it. You just don't have the compassion needed to keep my beloved apples safe from harm.]"
"[H-Hey, did you have to phrase it like that?]" he asked.
"[Yes.]"
"[You weren't even gonna eat them, though...]"
"[It's the principle of the matter, Potato Boy. Besides, I might have eaten them. And that's important enough, as far as I care.]"
He groaned. What great reasoning.
She yawned and got off the log. "[Anyway, I'll let'cha off with a warning this time, so watch yourself!]"
"[Yes, miss. Thank you, miss…]" he sassed. Well… half-sassed. He was honestly thankful his butt wasn't gonna get whooped again today.
"[No problem. G'night, you apple hater~]" she said, playfully flicking his nose with her tail.
"[Night, you Pikachu hater,]" he replied, rubbing his nose and rolling his eyes.
He watched Emolga fly away in Iris' direction. Huffing, he turned his attention back to Buneary and Oshawott. He saw them deep in a conversation about something.
Heh. Still really charming. Honestly, though… the sight of those two gave Pikachu a shot of nostalgia. A feeling that was rather pleasant, yet bittersweet. He could only imagine why, though.
With nothing better to do, he kept watching them as they talked. Man, if he were the jealous type, he might've been worried about this. He wasn't, though. Even after Snivy's talk from earlier. If he'd ever found himself getting jealous over the same children that beat him on a daily basis, he would've had to question his life.
All the same, he found himself wishing he had the same kind of sensitive hearing as his girlfriend. If only so he could eavesdrop.
… Just out of curiosity and not to be creepy or anything, of course.
… He was turning into Emolga, wasn't he? Oh, dear legends, no…
"[… And then halfway through the battle, when that silly snivy Trip owns knocked it away…]" Oshawott continued, "[it flew allll the way into a breeder's seashell collection. Can you believe it? It took me hours to dig through the pile and find it again!]"
After giggling, Buneary gave him a sympathetic look. "[Aww... I'll bet you weren't happy with him over that, were you?]"
"[I was very ticked off, yeah! But... he helped me look for it afterwards, so I forgave him. A little.]"
She smiled. "[Well, that's good, then!]"
"[Yeah... and I guess it was worth it to see the seashell that kinda looked like that huge legendary from Hoenn. The blue one.]"
"[Oh, Ky... ogre?]"
He nodded energetically. "[Yeah, yeah! Kyogre! It was so cool.]" He pouted. "[… I tried to replace my scalchop with it, but it wouldn't stick very well.]"
"[Heehee, well, makes sense! Your scalchop has many tiny hooks that're made just for your fur. I don't think any ol' seashell will do.]"
His eyes widened. "[Wow, really? Huh… guess that explains that.]" He huffed. "[Dang it! Pretty and smart. Pikachu's got it all with you, hasn't he?]"
She smiled. "[Well, ain't you a little sweetie?]" She rubbed him on the head with an ear. Amusingly, she noticed his cheeks redden at the contact. "[You'd be a total lady-killer if only you were nothing like I used to be.]"
He huffed. "[Wazzat supposed to mean? I am a lady-killer! I-]" His mouth suddenly opened really wide as a yawn escaped. "[… I am a lady-killer.]"
Giggling again, she ruffled the fur on his head. "[Oh, I'll bet! Anyway… how about we continue this another time, kiddo? I get the feeling it's your bedtime.]"
"[Aww…]" he groaned dejectedly. He tiredly rubbed his eyes. "[… I don't need no stinking bedtime.]"
"[Heehee, suuuure you don't! Now c'mon… or else, you won't have any energy to flirt tomorrow, will ya? Unlike Piplup...!]"
The little otter gasped in panic. "[Oh no, you're right! Gah, time to sleep!]" He used Aqua Jet to cover himself in water and shoot towards Ash like a missile. With her sensitive hearing, she could barely make out a "[Goodnight!]" from him as he swam away.
Beaming, she waved to him. "[Nighty night, honey!]"
She chuckled at Oshawott accidentally smacking into Ash and knocking him over. Man, that kid was so rambunctious. It was... nostalgic, for reasons she didn't really want to think about right now. Or... ever, really.
Exhaling slowly, she decided to focus on something else. She perked up when she remembered something. Looking around, her heart jumped when she noticed him. Her... boyfriend.
When he waved to her, she waved back while giggling excitedly. Wow... she could still hardly believe it. She'd finally managed to win a relationship with the coolest, funniest, nicest mouse alive! Before today, she'd started to think it'd be a pipe dream... but not anymore!
As she walked over to him, she took a moment to appreciate the warm feeling that was bubbling in her chest. Hee... it'd been a long time since she'd felt this way, so she was certainly a happy bunny.
When close enough, she hopped onto the log Pikachu was sitting on. "[Hey, Pikachu~]" she sang, wrapping her arms around him.
After a brief awkward pause, he wrapped an arm around her. "[H-Hey, Buneary! My, um…]" He chuckled sheepishly, a blush forming. "[M-My… little sweet potato.]"
She squealed in glee, feet flailing in excitement. "[Hee, how adorable~! You're such a sweetie…]"
"[Haha, well… I-I try!]" he replied so adorably awkwardly that it made her heart utterly melt.
… Oh! Aha! She'd found the perfect time to use… it!
Grinning, she got off him and sat herself down next to him. She placed a paw on his. "[In fact, I'd say you're more than just a sweetie…]" She winked at him. "[… You're my little cherry tomato~]"
He blinked, blush growing. Soon after, he broke out into laughter. "[Ch-Cherry tomato? Huh… I like it. How long have you been thinking about that one?]"
"[Heeheehee, er… most of the day,]" she admitted, earning some more laughter. "[I thought it would be fitting, 'cos you love yourself some ketchup, so I hear.]" She smirked. "[… and because of how often your face lights up like a tomato~]"
He rubbed the back of his head. "[… You know me way too well.]"
"[Clearly~]"
Once their laughter died down, the two of them sat in comfortable silence, watching the humans pitch their tents. Especially as Ash tried to put his up with huge amounts of difficulty, amusingly.
After enough time passed, Buneary decided to break the comfortable silence. "[Y'know… that Oshawott's such a swell kid.]"
Pikachu smiled at her. "[Ain't he?]"
"[For sure! I don't think I've ever met a kid so full of… I dunno, life before. Not even Happiny- er, Chansey, or Quilava, or… well, maybe not Pachirisu, but y'know.]"
"[Heh, yeah, she's a little too alive.]" He blinked, looking mildly surprised. "[… Oh yeah, Quilava's younger than everyone here, isn't he? I honestly forgot.]"
"[I know what'cha mean. He's so mature for his age.]"
"[You got that right… What with that sass of his.]" He blinked again. "[… Oh yeah. Scraggy's even younger, and yet even sassier.]"
She giggled. "[Kids these days, huh?]"
"[Hm. Need better parents, clearly! Well… I mean, I guess Scraggy didn't have any he knows. And Quilava didn't either, but… well, y'know.]"
"[Hah. Yeah…]"
Pikachu awkwardly cleared his throat. "[Um, anyway, yeah. Oshawott really is something else, for sure.]" He looked off to the side. Looking in the same direction, Buneary saw him looking at Ash, who was currently being shown how to pitch a tent by Cilan. Again.
The mouse turned back to look at her. "[You'd never believe it, but the kid used to be pretty naughty, too,]" he continued.
She rose an eyebrow at him. "[Really?]"
"[Yeah. He'd steal food and constantly wander away from us… and make me fight instead of him, during battles, and… that sort of stuff.]"
"[Jeez…]" she replied. She wasn't entirely surprised, considering how rough around the edges Oshawott was… but man, he'd sure grown up, to say the least. Though… Piplup had complained that his food had gone missing the other day, so… hm…
"[Oh! And he used to knock me off Ash's shoulder, too. Like, out of jealousy, or something.]"
"[You mean like Ambipom used to? When she was an aipom?]"
"[Yeah. Heck, I think that's how we met, too, me and Oshawott. He knocked me off and… um… I…]"
"[Hmm?]"
"[… I… may have gotten a bit ticked and tried zapping him.]"
"[Ah! Really?]" she asked, covering her mouth in surprise.
His cheeks began to glow. "[L-Like I said, I was ticked off! Besides, it didn't mean much. With expert reflexes, he accidentally bounced it away into Ash with his scalchop… that is, his shell.]"
"[Gosh, with Razor Shell?]"
He briefly looked surprised. "[Er… um, nah. He just hid behind his scalchop, and it bounced off.]"
"[Oh, alright then. Well, still pretty impressive.]" She gave him a slight dirty look. "[Still, trying to zap a kid for a little mischief? Who's water-type, at that?]"
He began to sweat. "[W-Well, er… I didn't… I-I mean wasn't…]"
She winked at him. "[Shame on you~]"
Seeing that she was mostly joking, he seemed to calm slightly. Some sheepishness remained, though. "[… Shame taken.]"
She stuck her tongue out at him, earning herself a chuckle. After that, they paused again to watch the campsite shenanigans. This time, Iris and Dawn had joined in to help with Ash's tent. Or what was left of it, anyway. How he'd managed to screw up that badly was anyone's guess, but hey ho.
"[So… you and Oshawott enjoy yourselves?]" Pikachu started, breaking the silence.
"[Absolutely~]" Buneary chimed. "[He introduced me to all of his friends and told me a bunch of his stories, too. We had fun~]"
"[Heh, how cute,]" he replied with a smile.
"[He even told me an old 'life in Juniper's lab' story, too.]"
"[Oh?]"
"[Yeah. Y'see…]"
She went on to describe Oshawott's little scalchop debacle. The one involving the kyogre shell.
As she finished, Pikachu chuckled heartily. "[Huh, don't think I've heard that one. He usually just complains about Servine, so that's news to me!]"
Assuming he meant Trip's snivy, she giggled along with him. "[Huh, alright. Guess they're bigger friends than you thought.]"
"[Guess so!]"
Their laughter continued for a little while. Eventually, he breathed out a happy sigh. "[Oh, that Oshawott… maybe I should tell him about my kyogre and groudon adventures, someday.]"
"[Your kyogre and groudon adventures? When did you meet them?]"
"[Heh… it's kind of a long story.]"
"[Hehe, well, we have a long time to wait 'till Ash gets his act together, so… wanna tell?]"
"[Oh, well… if you're sure, then… sure!]"
"[I certainly am!]" She nuzzled up against him. "[After all, I wanna learn everything I can about my super awesome new boyfriend~]"
"[Eheh, um… cool! Well, um… yeah, so, that day, we went to some place called… Muscle Island? No idea why, but that's where we went.]"
"[Heehee, because you're such a beefy hunk, right?]"
His face suddenly felt warmer against hers. "[… P-Pretty sure that wasn't it. Um, thanks, though.]"
"[No, probs~. So, what happened at Muscle Island, babe?]"
"[Heh, well, after some shenanigans I don't remember… we took a boat to a place called Mossdeep…]"
Pikachu made a grabbing motion with his paw. "[… So then I grabbed the blue orb right out of Maxie's hand!]" he said.
"[Wow… that was so brave of you, Pikachu!]" Buneary praised, staring at the dreamy mouse in awe. Wow, he was so great! If only she'd been there to see it for herself…
"[Heh, thanks. I'm sure you would've done the same, though.]"
"[Nahh… Well, maybe if my friends were in danger… maybe. Especially if you were one of 'em…]"
He blushed, scratching the back of his head. "[Hey, likewise.]"
She smiled at him. "[So, did that save the day? Getting that blue sphere?]" she asked, continuing the topic.
"[I wish… After I grabbed it, the thing flew into my chest!]"
"[Oh dear. Did it slip out of your paws and hit you?]"
He shook his head. "[Nope. It actually flew into me. Almost like I was a sponge sucking up some water, or something.]"
She did a double-take. "[Wait, what? How the heck did that happen!?]"
He shrugged. "[I dunno… magic?]"
"[Wow. Certainly sounds like it...]" She shot him a concerned glance. "[Did it hurt? I hope not.]"
"[Not at all, actually.]" He paused. "[… Well, not until it started possessing me, anyway. That stung a bit.]"
She blinked. "[… What.]"
"[Eheh, yeah. Groudon wanted something from me, so he kind of… used the orb to take over my body. Apparently.]"
… She had no idea how to respond to that. "[Oh, jeez… What did he even want with you?]"
"[To save him from some kind of prison, apparently. I dunno, I wasn't awake for most of it.]" He clicked his tongue. "[Their adventure sounded fun, too, so I'm still annoyed. It just felt like I was in a weird fever dream for most of it.]"
"[Gosh… How did you get your, er, body back?]" Her eyes brightened. "[Oh, did Ash bring you back with the power of love and friendship~?]"
He shook his head. "[Er, not really. Not sure how they did it, but it wasn't that.]"
Her bright look faded instantly. "[Aww, shame. Would've been the first thing I tried...]"
"[Thanks! I wouldn't've recommended it, though. I was so out of it that I even zapped Ash! Apparently, anyway.]"
She gasped. "[You zapped him!? Oh man, now I know you were possessed. 'Normal you' would've never done that in a million years!]"
After a seemingly hesitant pause, he suddenly looked very sheepish. "[… Ehehe. Actually, about that...]"
She tilted her head. "[Huh? What's the matter? You make it sound like you actually did used to…]" Her eyes widened. "[… Wait. Nooo... you don't mean…?]"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "[Um, yeah. Let's just… say I haven't always been a nice little mouse. In fact, I used to be a bit of a… massive jerk, actually.]"
She blinked at him. She blinked again. Hunching over, she laughed fiercely. "[Oh… Oh man…]" She wiped some tears away as she sat upright again. "[That's a good one, Pikachu. You? A massive jerk? I couldn't picture it for the life of me.]"
She glanced at him, looking for an amused response. However, she paused as she noticed him looking away from her, kicking his feet against the log they were sitting on.
… Oh, lord, he was totally being serious, wasn't he?
"[… Errr… ]" He awkwardly cleared his throat. "[… It's been a long two or so years with Ash. That's all I can say about that...]"
"[… Um, oh,]" she mumbled awkwardly. "[Sorry. It's just… you? Being a naughty jerk? It's such a weird image.]"
He kept his eyes trained on the grassy ground beneath him. "[Eheh, yeah… It's not exactly something I'm proud of…]"
"[What… made you naughty? What kind of stuff did you…?]" She gasped. "[Wait, you weren't one of those rare predators, were you!?]"
He held back a chuckle. "[Pfft, no way! That's a bit of a jump to make, ain't it?]"
She breathed a sigh of relief. "[Well… when you take out the extremes, then everything afterwards isn't so bad, is it?]"
"[Heh, well, I guess so. Anyways, I'm a bit small for that, aren't I?]"
"[Well, true… I dunno. I guess I just figured you'd be tough enough to bring down any pokémon you wanted to eat, no matter how big.]"
"[Heh. You make me sound like I ran around stabbing everything with a spear, like someone from the Stone Age.]"
"[Heehee! Well, you know what I mean…]" she replied, lightly poking him in the rib.
He grinned amusedly in response. Soon after, his eyes trailed away again. "[Anyway, nah, I didn't do anything evil. I was just… well, bratty, I guess. I had an extremely short temper, so I loved to zap first and ask questions later. Even with Ash.]" He paused. "[… Especially with Ash.]"
She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Gosh… she was at a loss for words. She'd always assumed that someone as amazing as Pikachu would have a squeaky-clean record. Hearing this confession was… well, weird. Not 'slap in the face' weird, just… weird.
"[Er, I've changed since, though!]" he added quickly, seeing her frown. "[After staying around Ash for so long, I learned that being aggressive did nothing but hurt my friends. So I just… changed. These days, the thought of zapping someone outside of battle doesn't even cross my mind.]" He paused again before chuckling awkwardly. "[… The incident with Oshawott notwithstanding…]"
She gave an amused huff, as well as a mock-stern look, making him look even more sheepish. Soon after, something came to mind. "[… Do you think you would've zapped me back in the day?]"
"[I-I dunno, um… to be honest, maybe… People who annoyed me back then usually ended up getting shocked silly. And you sure did like to act very… touchy-feely in Sinnoh, so…]"
"[Oh…]" she said, grimacing. Well, thank goodness they'd met when they had, then.
It was so strange, though… What could make a guy so perfect nowadays so apparently mean, only a few years back?
"[B-But don't worry!]" he quickly added, flusteredly shaking his paws. "[I wouldn't dream of doing that now. Old me was a total doofus, but I'm better, now!]"
"[… What if we were battling?]"
He stopped shaking his paws. "[… Well, it'd be dumb of me not to fight back, obviously,]" he replied, grinning sassily. "[What else am I supposed to do? Be your punching bag?]"
She paused a while before laughing. "[Um, yeah. Well, ask a stupid question, I guess…]"
"[Haha, well, don't worry, though. I'll never shock ya for no reason outside of a good fight, let's put it that way.]"
She considered his words for a little while. Soon after, she shrugged and smiled. "[Yeah, well, fair enough!]"
He gave her a surprised glance. "[You… don't mind?]"
She reached for his paw and grasped it. "[Nah. It's all about how you are now, not how you used to be. You're the nicest pokémon I know and that's good enough for me~]"
He gave a comforted smile. "[Oh, well, thanks, Sweet. I'm… surprised you're taking it so well.]"
Humming in pleasure at the apparent nickname, Buneary offered him a cheery look. "[Hey, everyone has their little secrets, right? Heck, I'm sure I've got plenty you'd probably think were weird.]"
His smile melted into a smirk. "[Oh yeah? What like?]"
She paused. "[… Ah, well, you know… like… my crush on you, for instance! Not much of a secret now, I guess, but still. Eheh…]"
He shrugged. "[Heh, true enough. I don't think it's all that weird, though. I certainly enjoyed finding out!]"
With a small breath, she smiled and nuzzled his arm affectionately. "[I'm not complaining either~]"
He made a noise of content. "[I'll bet you ain't.]"
Spirits raised, the two of them went back to watching the campsite scene. Cilan and Dawn had fallen asleep amongst the rubble of Ash's tent. Ash himself and Iris, however, were still fruitlessly doing their best to pitch it.
Eventually, something came to Buneary's mind. "[Why were you so naughty in the first place? It must've been from something if you don't have it in your blood!]"
He paused, as if taking the question into deep thought. He began to knit his brows for some reason. It was hard to decide if he was having trouble deciding, or if the answer itself was troubling him.
Before she could ask, he just laughed it off. "[Not a clue! Guess I just went through some development for the better, eh?]"
"[… Well… yeah, I'll say!]" she replied, deciding not to dig deeper.
"[Ooh, y'know, speaking of tales…]" he said suddenly, "[do you have any interesting ones to tell?]"
She shook her head. "[Nahh, not at all! The only one with any great tales here is you, I'll bet!]" she praised.
He grinned amusedly. "[Heh… nice as that is to hear, c'mon, Buneary. I'm sure you've got something!]"
"[Ah, okay. Well, err…]" She paused for a while, contemplating what to tell him. She supposed that she had a few huge stories she could tell… but would telling them be a good idea right now?
Contemplatively tilting her head back and forth for a while, she eventually shrugged. "[… Nah, not really. I'm too much of an average Jane…]"
"[Aww, that's not true,]" he replied. "[I'll bet you've got loads! Heck, you've still got a trainer tale to tell, haven't ya?]"
Buneary exhaled slowly. Dang it all, why'd she have to let slip that one time? "[I… guess so. Um…]" She considered whether to talk about them, or not. Pausing for a while, she shrugged. Oh well… no harm in talking about it a bit, she guessed. "[… Well, there's not much to tell, really. I was… owned by a really fabulous guy called Luke. We travelled around… well, you'll never believe it, but… Unova!]"
His eyes widened. "[What? Really?]"
"[Yup! He caught me in some enclosed place in Castelia City, where I was born.]"
He stared in surprise for a little while. "[Huh… I was wondering why you knew so much about Unova, too. Guess I was right to get suspicious, huh?]"
"[You sure were! I'm Unovan, born and bred~]"
"[Hah, neat!]" He paused, as if remembering something. "[Wait… we met a Luke sometime in Unova.]"
Her eyes widened. "[Wait, what!? You did?]"
"[Yeah. He hung out with us for a while, and he had a camera and… um, honestly, I don't remember much about him.]"
"[Huh… doesn't sound like him. He wasn't 'fabulous' at all, was he?]"
"[Not really. Just your average Joe. A bit dweebish maybe, but…]"
Buneary let out a breath. "[Yeah… doesn't sound like him, then. My Luke had orange, flowing hair.]"
"[Huh, 'kay. Not often I see anything like that… so I guess it's a case of 'name's the same'.]"
"[Heehee, guess so!]" Thankfully… It'd just be awkward if she ever saw that guy and the others again.
"[So, what was your old team like, anyway?]"
"[Well, I didn't like it at first… but then I saw all the, er… the cute boys on his team, and then… well, I loved it. A little. Eheh…!]"
Pikachu rolled his eyes and groaned in a playful manner. "[That so…?]"
"[Well… y'know…]" She cleared her throat and continued. "[But yeah, we went through the whole of Unova, and then we fought the league… and then we were gonna start on another one, but things fell flat for…]" She inhaled slowly, "[… a few different reasons.]"
Pikachu's eyes lit up in glee. "[Wow, a whole journey? And the league, even!]" He huffed. "[And you call yourself boring…]"
Her face warmed up a storm. "[Hee, th-thank you~. It's not much, though. We didn't even get past the first round, even though it was pretty close.]"
"[Ah… Well, you must've been up against some tough competition.]"
"[Yeah, we sure were. We might've even gotten further if we'd known anybody electrical. The pokémon that knocked us outta the tourney was a mandibuzz.]"
"[Huh, no Ice Beam?]"
"[Nope. I was out of the round by then.]"
"[Ah, drat. Bet you wish you'd met me a bit earlier, then, huh?]"
"[Heehee, for quite a few reasons, sure~]" she said with a wink.
Pikachu chuckled bashfully. "[Man, I swear you've never been half this flirtatious before.]"
"[The floodgates are open, now that I have your approval~]"
He smiled. "[Well… neat.]"
"Hey, guys! I finally got the tent set up!" Ash's voice suddenly called out.
Buneary and Pikachu both looked in the trainer's direction. Just like he'd said, the tent was finally up. Buneary wasn't entirely sure if it was supposed to have so many poles sticking out of it, but it was up all the same!
As Dawn jolted awake from Ash's loud cry - but not Cilan, strangely - Pikachu shrugged. "[Welp, guess it's bedtime, then,]" he said.
"[Yeah…]" Buneary replied. She grinned widely. "[That was real fun, though. It was even like a date, almost, wasn't it~?]"
"[… Oh yeah, you're right! Huh…]" He started mulling something over.
"[What's up?]"
"[Oh, n-nothing! It's just… when I hear 'date', I picture stuff like… eating at a restaurant, or sitting by a lake, or… something romantic like that. Was that… really a date?]"
"[Well, I certainly feel dated! Ah, unless… you didn't like it enough?]"
He gasped and shook his paws defensively. "[Th-That's not what I meant! I… I dunno, I guess part of me was worried I'd have to do something grander.]"
Catching on, she nuzzled up against him. "[I don't need anything grand. I'm just happy that I got to sit under the stars with my favorite mouse~]"
He calmed at that. "[Oh, well, g-great! I really enjoyed myself, too, so… date one's a success!]"
"[Heehee, hooray~!]" She moved away to beam at him. "[Hope the next one's just as good~]"
"[You bet it will be! Hey, maybe we could even talk about ourselves again! I'd love to learn more about you and your adventuring days.]"
She nodded energetically. "[Okay, then! And right back at'cha! You've been on way more than I ever have, so you've got a lot to tell me!]" She smirked. "[Then… maybe I can find out just how 'naughty' you really were~]"
"[Eheh… maybe!]" He yawned all of a sudden.
Before she could coo over how cute he looked, a yawn took her by surprise, too. As they finished, they both chuckled.
"[Infectious, eh?]" he said, smirking.
"[Yeah. Time for some forty winks, methinks,]" she replied.
"[I'm with ya there,]" he replied, rubbing his eyes.
They both slipped off the log they'd been sitting on and made their way over to the humans. Iris seemed to be scolding Ash over waking Dawn, while the coordinator in question sleepily wandered back to her own tent. Cilan just slept peacefully while Pansage tried to drag him back to his tent.
Before Buneary could make it very far, she felt a paw grab her own. Turning around, she saw Pikachu lightly holding her paw. Her heart started beating faster. Especially when she saw the cute blush covering his bashful face.
"[Um… may I walk you home, madam?]" he said with a quick clumsy bow.
Her free paw flew up to her heated cheek. After blinking a few times, she squealed happily. "[Y-Yes, please~!]"
"[Cool!]" he replied, moving next to her.
Happy as can be, she started to skip along. "[Such a gentleman~]"
"[Only for you… Sweet,]" he replied, trying to sound suave and succeeding.
"[Heeee~! Thanks, 'Cherry'!]"
His suaveness immediately caved into cute awkwardness. "[Eheh… n-no problem!]"
Full of endlessly happy feelings, the new couple slowly made their way back to the camp. Buneary never stopped beaming, even as she left Pikachu alone for the night to get into her pokéball.
Life was so good~!
TO BE CONTINUED~!
Finished: 25/06 (June)/2018
Word count: 4,857
VGS2's pointless notes: Y'know, quite a lot of the dialogue was written up with the intention of posting it up as the old chapter 4 all the way back in 2015. (Specifically the section where Pikachu talks about being taken over by Groudon (which actually happened in the show, by the way. Look it up!), the 'naughty' talks, and a lot of the stuff after that). Methinks it's better here in this vaguely fluffy chappie, though!
Also, credit to ravengal for the 'Buneary comes from Unova' idea! Guess it makes sense she'd be the one to think of it, what with Shallow Waters being a big focus of hers at the moment. XP
… Also, I just realised that I gave chapter 18 a placeholder chapter name. And I forgot to state that we're in a new arc, too. Nuuuu! D:
Shameless promotion: Today, I shall give a shoutout to some guy I noticed while browsing the 'just in' section a while back. Someone called Umbrelievable.
The person has only just started out with writing, so obviously his(?) stuff's gonna be a bit rough… but hey, for someone starting out, he's pretty neat! He has two fics so far, and they both have everyone's favourite black, dark-type fox (that usually ships with that weird, purple psychic fox in most fics)… an umbreon (hence his name)! Both fics have just started, but they seem interesting enough so far! Go give 'em a read and review!
In the future, I'll probably highlight other newcomers to the writing scene every now and again, too. Just to give 'em a kickstart, lest their motivation gets killed by a wandering Farla copycat, or what have you. XP
Fun mistake/s of the day: #1: 'and most of them couldn't get through a sentence without yarning.'
(Who do they think they are, Bubsy Bobcat?)
#2: 'However, when he looked up and saw the bright, cherry smile plastered on Buneary's face,'
(What, is she wearing red lipstick, or something? I'll bet Pikachu's hoping so.)
#3: "Now c'mon, now."
(NOW!)
#4: "[Hah, yeah… Um, anyway, yeah. But yeah.]"
(Oh, Pikachu, you awkward feck… XD)
#5: '"[Ah! Really?]" she asked, covering how mouth in surprise.'
(How now, brown… mouth!)
#6: 'He looked over at Ash, who was currently being shown how to pitch a tent by Cilan. Again.'
(Because I said 'he saw it' and didn't mention that Buneary might've seen it, too, it kinda looks like I shifted POVs. Screw Buneary, it's Pikachu time!)
#7: 'She went on toe'
(Ouch! Get off me toe, Buneary!)
#8: 'He kept his eyes trained on the sand beneath him.'
(Um… oops. Guess they're in a sandy forest straight outta a Sonic game, now, or something. XD I guess to explain it, the dialogue that I ripped from beta Game-Changer took place on the beach in that scene, so… oops. That's what I get for cheating! XP)
#9: '"[What else am I supposed to do? Be your punching bag?]" She paused a while before laughing. "[Um, yeah. 'Course.]"'
(That bit of trivia from before explains this oddity, too. Oh dear… XD Buneary's reasons for dating Pikachu confirmed! She just wanted to beat him on a daily basis. 2real.)
#10: "[Haha, don't worrybut…]"
(Pikachu sure wants to worry Buneary's butt, I'll tell ya that. Honhonhon!)
#11: 'Heck, you've still got a trainer tail to tell, haven't ya?]"'
(Buneary's old trainer has a tail? What a twist!)
#12: 'A memory flashed by his mind and he paused.'
(Buneary can read Pikachu's mind, now apparently. XD That'll teach me for working on different chapters with different POVs.)
#13: "[Oh, n-nothing! It's just… when I head 'date', I picture.]"
(Pikachu likes to 'head' in dates, apparently. Hawt.)
Alrighty, and with that, I'm off to write more pocket monster-related shenanigans. Tata for now! c:
Next up: Having some sweet dreams!
