Chapter 26: Training All Morning
"[Alright, third time's the charm!]" Pikachu cried enthusiastically. "[Just try and gather as much electrical energy as you can, and I'm sure you'll get it done!]"
"[O-Okay…]" Meloetta replied, wiping some sweat away from her forehead.
"[We believe in you, honey~]" Buneary praised from next to Pikachu.
Meloetta gazed at her in mild awe for a short while. She nodded determinedly. "[Yes! You're right, I'll get it done this time!]" She held her hands together and began to concentrate again.
Buneary cheered while Pikachu smiled to himself. He wouldn't lie about how precious watching those two interact was. Especially over the past twenty minutes, or so. In that time, Meloetta had been trying her absolute hardest to use Thunderbolt, or at least something electrical. All with Pikachu and Buneary's encouragement.
So far, the singer had been mostly unsuccessful... but they hadn't given up on her! He just knew she had it in her! He could feel it in his bones! And hey, even if she didn't learn anything, at least she was getting into the mindset of improving herself.
He and Buneary kept on cheering for the singer as she tried her hardest to harness her energy.
For the next several minutes, Meloetta had tried several more poses a nd techniques. Eventually, however, she slowly stopped floating to flop to the floor, looking utterly dazed with exhaustion. "[N-No... it's not... going... very... good... I-I mean well,]" she panted, sitting down.
Pikachu breathed out through his nose, but offered her a small smile. "[Hey, it's all good. No pain, no gain, right?]" he reassured.
"[Yep!]" Buneary agreed, patting her on the shoulder comfortingly. "[After all, when I was new to my team, it took me ages to learn anything good!]"
"[Really...?]" Meloetta asked after taking a deep breath and getting into a more comfortable position on the grass.
Buneary sat down next to her. "[Yep! I was a pretty bad battler. I only had Copycat from my dad and a pretty bad Ice Beam from Mama.]"
Pikachu sat down in front of them while listening. He noticed Ash and Trip having a pokémon battle in the distance, though he didn't pay it too much attention. Hm, so Buneary used to be weak, huh? He wondered if she'd tried getting stronger to go on a boy-impressing spree, or something.
"[Oh... then what changed?]" Meloetta asked Buneary.
The bunny lingered for a second before shrugging. "[I... hm... well, let's just say I ran into some bad company at some point.]"
Meloetta gasped. "[Oh no, really?]"
"[Yeah… I got away, thankfully, but it was a really scary time. Soon after, I decided there was no way around it. I needed to start getting me some fighting experience, lickity split.]"
The singer continued to give her a look of surprise. Pikachu also gave her a surprised look, though one that was more perturbed than anything. Jeez, that was his first time hearing this. Now he was insanely curious.
He considered asking about it, but he decided to wait until they were alone together. Instead, he just nodded at Meloetta. "[Yeah, so anything can change, Meloetta! Heck, I was pretty weak to start out with, too, 'till I met Ash.]"
Meloetta gave him a look of surprise next. "[You were? But... how did Ash change that?]"
"[Did his training help with that?]" Buneary asked.
"[Well, yeah, 'course. Heh, I mean, he certainly makes us all do it enough, doesn't he?]" Pikachu responded, making them chuckle. "[But no, really... I didn't start seriously getting good until I got motivated enough to care about improving.]"
"[Oh yes, and that's because of Ash's dream of being a pokémon master, right?]" Meloetta asked.
"[Eheh, not really. To be perfectly honest... I don't even really care about the dream.]"
"[You don't!?]" Buneary replied, sounding shocked.
"[W-Well, don't get me wrong! I love battling and travelling. It's just... well, it's not the thing that's gotten me fired up to improve myself these past two years. I'm only into battling for Ash's sake at the end of the day."
She put her paw to her mouth in surprise. "[Gosh, r-really?]"
"[Yep! Heck, if Ash had wanted to be something that wasn't a 'pokémon master'... then I'd be following him to the ends of the planet helping with that, instead. Like... if he wanted to be a coordinator, or a professor, or... hey, if he wanted to be a ballerina, I'd still help him out with whatever it took!]"
"[Wow... that's... really responsible of you,]" she replied with a smile.
Meloetta giggled. "[I think you would look, um... very cute as a ballerina,]" she teased.
Face warming, he chuckled and rolled his eyes at her. "[... Knew I should've gone with something cooler-sounding,]" he said.
Meloetta stopped giggling to sheepishly pat her hands together. "[Oh, s-sorry... was that too teasing?]"
"[Heehee, naww!]" Buneary reassured. She winked at her. "[I'm sure he would look good in a tutu, after all~]"
Pikachu pouted as his face warmed even more. "[... Would not,]" he argued.
She giggled and cheekily stuck her tongue out at him, making him huff in amusement.
Seeming more reassured, Meloetta grinned lightly. "[... Would,]" she replied.
Pikachu blinked. He tried to hide the smile that was forming on his lips at her coming out of her shell a little more. "[Eheh, alright, well... I guess I can't win with two against one, can I?]"
"[Got that right~]" Buneary responded, seeming just as gleeful.
He clicked his tongue at her playfully. He gave a light shake of the head to clear his thoughts. "[Anyways, yeah... the thing that motivated me to start getting better... Well, I guess it all started on the day I met Ash. The day when he motivated me to be my very best...]"
She suddenly seemed curious. "[Wait a sec... you were that close to him on the first day? I thought you were a bit mean to him back then, though. Did you really become best friends that quickly?]"
"[You were mean to him?]" Meloetta asked, seeming very surprised.
Pikachu felt himself sweat. "[O-Oh, well... m-maybe a bit...]" he said before clearing his throat. "[Um, honestly, it took us a... long time to get really close to each other. So the shocks kind of... kept on going for a while...]" He started awkwardly trailing off into mumbling.
The singer stared at him. "[... Shocks? Wha-?]"
He forced a wide smile. "[B-But yeah! On that first day, Ash was having trouble with catching some bird pokémon... so he, um... Drat, what happened again...?]"
"[He threw a rock at a spearow, right?]" Buneary asked. "[I remember you saying that sometime.]"
"[Right, right, yeah!]" He chuckled. "[To be fair, it was probably super-effective as heck, having a rock to the back of the head...]"
She giggled. "[The spearow's friends all ganging up on him at once was a bit more effective, though.]"
"[True that...]"
"[Oh dear...]" Meloetta mumbled, "[why didn't you use your Thunderbolt on them?]"
"[That's the thing, Meloetta. I kind of didn't have it at the time.]" He stalled for a second. "[... Plus, the thought of fighting an army of deadly birds kind of made me wanna... run away rather than get pecked into a coma, y'know? Umm, eheh...]"
Buneary - who he'd told that part of the story to in the past - chuckled along awkwardly. Meloetta just blinked.
"[... Oh,]" she mumbled. "[... So you would've just... abandoned Ash? Did you really not like him that much?]"
He shook his head rapidly. "[H-Hey, I'd never ditch him! I was gonna run away with him! Promise!]"
The singer brightened up. "[Ahh, I see, then. Well, okay~]" she said. She gave a light shiver. "[Ooh, to be honest... if I was being chased by lots and lots of angry birds, I think I would've hidden away, too...]"
"[I hear ya...]" he replied, relieved that she'd bought it. Well... maybe. Honestly, he'd kind of panicked at the time, so he didn't know what he would've done.
"[No matter what, though...]" Buneary interjected happily, "[what happened next was very heart-warming!]"
"[Heart-warming?]" Meloetta asked, sounding very intrigued.
"[Yep! Ash grabbed Pikachu while he was getting pecked to shreds and ran away with him in his arms! And then, after lots of running and cycling - um, because he borrowed someone else's bike to get away - he offered himself up as a sacrifice to save Pikachu! He was barely saved when Pikachu found some inner power and zapped them all at the last second.]"
Meloetta stared at her in true awe. "[Woooow, really?]"
"[Heehee, yep~! That's how the story goes!]"
Meloetta applauded daintily. "[Oh, how lovely~! Ash is such a saint!]" She put a hand to her lip and gasped. "[That must be what you meant, then, Pikachu! Ash's kindness touched your heart and made you want to protect him forever! But to do that, you needed to train hard to become strong, right?]"
"[... Y-Yeah! Right!]" Pikachu replied, forcing another big smile. That was... half-right. He had wanted to get stronger to protect Ash after that point, but... well, it was less of a case of 'my icy heart has been melted, I am forever in his debt' and more of an 'oh lord, if I leave this kid be, he's gonna kill himself by accident' sort of deal. Of course, the gratitude he'd felt for Ash had helped, too, but all the same…
That said, there was something else, too. Something that had made Pikachu want to stay by Ash's side, but... he honestly didn't remember what that was very well. As always, his memory wasn't the best...
He lightly shook his head before continuing. "[So... to keep him safe, I vowed to stop being garbage.]" He rubbed the back of his head. "[... Took me a long while, but it happened eventually. Eheh...]"
The others giggled at his remark.
"[I'll bet it didn't take that long,]" Meloetta replied.
He stopped rubbing the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly again. "[You say that when it took me, like, a month to win a single battle. Without cheating, anyway...]"
"[Um... oh.]"
Buneary gave him a somewhat amused look. "['Without cheating', huh?]" she asked.
Pikachu's eyes widened. He blinked a few times before grinning sheepishly. "[... Ash was a lot craftier back in the day. Eheh...]"
She giggled. "[I'll bet he wasn't the only crafty one~]"
He sighed exasperatedly. "[Well... I wasn't complaining about being a part of his strategies.]"
Meloetta pulled a face. "[Cheating? How naughty...]" she mumbled.
"[Heehee, yup! Natural dirty fighter over here~]" Buneary teased.
Pikachu's face went warm again. "[Um... s-so anyway, yeah!]" Trying to turn his smile into a less awkward one, he pumped a fist. "[If wanting to get stronger isn't motivating you enough... be like me, and try getting stronger for someone else! The results'll surprise ya!]"
"[Someone else…]" Meloetta mused, looking deep in thought. She gently batted a hand into her other one while looking inspired. "[I suppose… I really want to keep Ridley, Ash and all of my other friends safe. Oh, and you two, of course!]"
"[D'aww, really?]" Buneary asked, looking rather charmed.
"[Yes! Nothing would make me happier~]"
Buneary hummed in delight. Pikachu just smiled warmly at the singer.
"[Yeah, okay… nice answer!]" he said. "[A bit corny, but...]"
A faint blush dusted Meloetta's cheeks. "[Y-Yes, well… I still mean it,]" she said with a small pout.
He chuckled and grinned. "[Heh, cool! Seriously, I'm glad to hear ya say that. After all, who knows? Maybe you'll be the next one to save me from some villains, eh?]"
She delicately clapped her hands together in delight. "[Ooh, maybe! I hope so.]" She paused. She blushed again. "[Um… n-not that I want any villains to, um… get you, or anything.]"
"[Yeah, I get'cha…]" he responded, pulling an exasperated face.
"[Heehee, don't worry,]" Buneary reassured. "[Back in Sinnoh, we'd consider it a great honor to be the one to rescue Pikachu if he ever got himself captured.]"
Meloetta giggled lightly. "[Oh, well… I'll bet that didn't happen very often, did it?]" she said, amused.
Grinning, Buneary looked like she was about to respond. She stalled when she looked at Pikachu, who was trying his very best not to grimace. "[… U-Um… yeah,]" she murmured after a pause that was slightly too long for his liking.
"[… Everyone made it a competition after a while…]" Pikachu mumbled awkwardly. "['Who can save Pikachu the most in the month.']"
"[… Staraptor had the highscore,]" Buneary finished.
"[... Um... what was the highscore?]" Meloetta asked.
"[Seventeen times.]"
Meloetta's eyes widened. "[S-Seventeen!? Good gumdrops, that's a high number!]" she cried out in surprise.
Pikachu and Buneary stared at her in mild shock as she blinked blankly. When she slapped her hands over her mouth, Buneary giggled in a cooing manner, while Pikachu just cringed and turned his gaze away out of embarrassment. Jeez, it wasn't that surprising was it? Oh, his poor, poor ego...
"[Ohh, I didn't mean to shout that,]" Meloetta mumbled, looking mortified. She rubbed her neck. "[Oh no, how embarrassing, I'm sorry…!]"
If it were anyone else, Pikachu might've made a quip like 'you think you're embarrassed'? Seeing how legitimately troubled she looked, though, he just smiled sheepishly at her. "[D-Don't sweat it. Um… I've seen, er… stronger reactions,]" he fibbed.
Buneary smirked. "[Heehee, and with the amount of times he's gotten himself into trouble… that's not very surprising, is it?]" she teased.
"[H-Hey…!]"
"[… I'm saying nothing,]" Meloetta said with a light smile.
Pikachu rolled his eyes and gave her an exasperated smile in return.
After a giggle, Buneary also offered a smile of her own, though hers was quite gentle. "[Seriously, though…]" she started, "[no need to worry, alright, Meloetta? We like it when you're being all genki and happy, so feel free around us, alright?]"
"[Oh, I… I-I dunno…]" Meloetta mumbled.
"[Hey, Buneary's right, alright?]" Pikachu added. He wondered if there was something he could say to put her more at ease. Pausing for a bit, he thought of something embarrassing that would help. He took a deep breath to swallow down the oncoming humiliation he was about to feel and got to his feet. "[After all...]" He did a back flip, landed on one foot, and posed in the jolliest way he could manage, "[... cheering leads to winning~!]"
They stared at him as he held that pose. Buneary barely lasted a few seconds before bursting out into giggles. Meloetta also looked like she was about to crack up. With a hand over her mouth, though, she somehow stopped herself.
His face started to feel red hot. Oh, he was never living this down, he could tell... "[Um... s-so yeah! Gimmie your best cheers!]"
Still giggling, Buneary thrust a paw into the air. "[W-Woooooo!]" she cheered loudly, despite her amusement.
Calming down from her near-laugh, Meloetta raised her arms into the air. "[Um, woo!]" she cheered.
Pikachu did half of a cartwheel to stand on his paws. "[Louder, you two!]" he cried.
Buneary finally stopped giggling and got to her feet. "[Wooooooo!]" she cheered even louder, hopping up and down.
Meloetta paused briefly to glance at them both. Beaming, she threw her arms in the air and kicked her legs excitedly. "[Woooooo!]" she cheered.
"[Haha, much better!]" Pikachu said, winking at her.
"[Heck yeah, you go, girl~]" Buneary chimed.
Pikachu smiled proudly, despite how embarrassed he felt. Yeah, his little plan had worked! It was like he'd kind of noticed before... she tended to be way less demure when everyone around her was acting goofy. It was a much better look for her!
When their cheers died down, Meloetta blushed lightly, but she seemed really happy. She seemed happier still as something seemed to occur to her. "[Oooh, okay. That super duper cute performance just then has convinced me,]" she started.
Pikachu jumped back onto his feet and faced her. "[To express yourself more, y'mean?]" he asked.
"[Um... well, yes. A-A little bit. But what I meant, was... it's convinced me that you just must be the model from the magazine Buneary showed me.]"
He blinked. "[... C-... Come again?]"
Buneary giggled and shook her head at the singer. "[I told you, Meloetta... that's totally impossible,]" she retorted. "[He would've had to come all the way back over the sea from Kanto... and then travel to the photo shoot in Hearthome City, which is, like... in the middle of the whole region, or something. He's pretty great, but he's not a god.]"
Meloetta looked unsure. "[I suppose, but... what if there was a second shoot, or something? Maybe in Kanto?]"
"[Somehow I doubt it, honey.]"
Pikachu scratched his head. "[... Are we still talking about me?]" he asked.
Meloetta clapped her hands together. "[Ah, yes! If anybody can clear up this doozy of a mystery, I'm sure you can, Pikachu~]"
"[I'll... try?]" Something clicked in his head when he remembered the magazine they'd been reading earlier. "[Ah, wait. Lemmie guess. Did you see another pikachu model in Poké Chic? If you did, that definitely wasn't me.]"
"[But it must've been!]" Meloetta responded. She got up and quickly flew over to the campsite. She picked up the magazine in question and brought it back to Pikachu and Buneary. "[Look! Um, if you please,]" she asked, holding it open on a specific page.
He looked at it carefully. As he'd expected, he saw a pikachu. She was dressed up in a cutesy sailor-themed pop girl outfit. In fact, she had multiple photos on the two pages, which featured her in different outfits, but always with a microphone in her paw. Oddly, in one of them, they'd decided to allow a weird shot of her tripping over a rug and having a set piece fall on her head.
He huffed in amusement. Well, this was an easy mystery to answer. Save for him never going for a photo shoot, and the fact that he wouldn't be caught dead wearing this sort of stuff… this model had a heart-shaped tail. The sign of a lady pikachu. Last time he checked, he was certainly a guy.
He pointed at it, ready to rebuke it. However, he noticed something... "[Huh... y'know, I guess she... kind of looks a bit like I do, huh?]" he said, tilting his head. "[Same facial structure and stuff like that.]"
"[Yeah, that's what I thought, too,]" Buneary agreed. "[If I'd seen her there, I might've thought it was you in drag because of Ash's shenanigans, or something. Saved myself some embarrassment by missing her. I might've been tempted to go in for a good nuzzle~]"
Pikachu chuckled sheepishly. "[That so?]"
She moved closer to him and nuzzled her cheek against him. "[Yup~]"
He felt his heart go quite warm at that. His cheeks soon followed suit when Meloetta made a cooing noise.
When Buneary finished, Meloetta huffed lightly. "[Still, though... are you absolutely, one-hundred percent sure about the shoot...?]" she asked.
"[Sorry...]" Pikachu said apologetically. "[Even if I had been there for a gig… I think I'd rather dress up in something a bit more manly than the stuff Buneary modeled for.]"
She pouted slightly. "[Aww…]"
He chuckled. Murmuring in thought, he flipped through a few pages. "[Speaking of which, how did you look again…?]" He kept on going through it. "[This is the right issue, right?]"
"[Yup!]" Buneary replied. She posed in a delicate, girly manner. "[Issue number four hundred and twenty seven~]"
He chuckled again. "[Your new favorite number, I'll bet.]" He caught sight of something brown in the magazine, so he stopped flipping through the pages. Turning back a page or two, he was greeted with a photo of Buneary in a pretty white dress. One which was very similar to the one she'd worn for the competition that'd gotten her a photo shoot in the first place. Amusingly, she was posing in the exact same way that she was doing so right now, in front of him.
He couldn't help but chuckle harder than before. "[Looking gorgeous!]" he praised. "[It's no wonder you won that Hearthome Collection!]"
She beamed more brightly than her radiant dress in the photo. "[Heeheehee, d'aww, thanks~!]"
Meloetta quietly clasped her hands together and cooed at the couple. Pikachu just smiled warmly, both at the support and at his girlfriend. Heh, the only thing more pleasing to the eye than her in a dress was her beautiful smile. It really had to be said.
Man… what did he do to deserve such a great girlfriend? Playful, kind and utterly attractive. If this wasn't for all of his great work helping Ash throughout the regions, he didn't know what it was for!
Realizing that he was staring at her, rather than the magazine, he awkwardly cleared his throat and closed the magazine. "[So, um… yeah. Good stuff,]" he said, raising his voice a bit, because of some loud sounds coming from Ash and Trip's battle in the distance.
She stopped posing to giggle giddily at him. "[Apparently~! You'll have to pay me back with a show of your own, sometime!]"
"[Heh, um… I'll think about-]" He blinked when he saw something above. "[… Wait, what's that in the air-?]"
Something crashed into his front, sending him flying backwards. Crying in surprise, he tumbled across the grass for a while until stopping. He lay in a dazed heap, groaning in pain. Owww, what the…?
Feeling a weight on top of his belly, he opened his eyes. He was surprised to see Oshawott's equally dazed face staring right back at him, covered in scuff marks.
"[… Er…]" Pikachu started, "[… hi?]"
The young otter rapidly shook his head, as if to bring himself back to reality. "[Ah! S-Sorry!]" he shouted, looking a bit flustered. He hopped off Pikachu and enveloped himself in water. He fired off in the opposite direction like a missile. "[Still fighting! Talk later…!]"
Pikachu slowly picked himself up. He felt a furry arm behind his back, which helped him get up. Looking to his side, he saw Buneary looking at him in concern.
"[Oh dear, oh dear… that looked so bad…]" Meloetta added, floating close behind Buneary.
"[Yeah, are you okay?]" Buneary asked him as she lifted him to his feet. "[He just flew in from nowhere like a missile!]"
"[Yes, thanks… I've been hit by worse…]" Pikachu responded. He glanced in the direction that Oshawott had 'swum' away to. He saw the otter rushing back towards his battlefield, where Servine was waiting for him. "[Man, if he could get launched over here from that kind of distance, it must be a pretty crazy battle.]"
"[No kidding…]" Buneary responded. She smirked. "[Heehee, I'll bet you wanna go see how it plays out, don't'cha?]"
"[Yeah, of course,]" Pikachu responded, rubbing the back of his head. "[But I promised I'd be a good coach, so I'll leave them to it.]"
"[Oh no, no, it's okay,]" Meloetta responded, shaking her hands dismissively at him. "[By all means, feel free~. I wouldn't mind having a bit more break time, anyway.]"
Pikachu stalled, wondering if he should take her up on that offer. "[Hmm, well…]" He paused for a little while longer before shrugging and nodding happily. "[Alright, sure. Oshawott and Ash could use the support, so I'll go watch!]"
"[Count me in!]" Buneary added eagerly. She turned to Meloetta. "[You coming, sweetie?]"
The singer tapped the tips of her hands together. "[Um… yes, but I think I might be discreet about it, if that's okay,]" she responded.
"[Um… fair enough, I guess,]" Pikachu replied.
"[Naww, c'mon, Meloetta,]" Buneary retorted, going over to grip Meloetta's hand. "[You'll never get your confidence going by hiding in the shadows all the time!]"
Meloetta looked surprised at the response. "[Huh!? B-But… lots of new people make me n-nervous…]" she stammered.
"[I know that, sweetheart, but don't worry. You can sit next to me! Won't that make you feel a lot better?]"
"[I, um… I guess… so…]" Meloetta replied, still seeming unsure. She pouted lightly. "[… I really hope Piplup and Oshawott behave themselves, though…]"
Buneary gave her a hug. "[Don't worry~. This bunny's got your back!]"
Meloetta smiled lightly. "[… Okay.]"
Pikachu smiled at the two of them. While going to pick up the magazine to put it away, though, he breathed out through his nose. Ah, had he been a bad influence just then? Just leaving her to her bad habits? Tsk… clearly, he needed to get better at this.
Oh well, at least Buneary was here to pick up the pieces. Though… would this make him look bad to her? Letting her take care of things while he just relented?
… N-Nah, he was just worrying about nothing. It wasn't like she'd minded giving Meloetta that push to try her best, right?
Remembering Snivy's little talk from yesterday about keeping romantic fires lit… he really hoped so.
After a short while of walking, Pikachu, Buneary and Meloetta stopped in front of the battlefield where Oshawott and Servine were fighting it out.
Oshawott was currently trying to ram into Servine with Aqua Jet, but he was having a lot of difficulty. After missing a tackle, the young otter kept making u-turns to correct himself and attempt another ram. However, the snake kept dodging and weaving around each attack, keeping things at a stalemate.
Eager to watch how this would unfold, Pikachu sat down on the grass near some of the other pokémon, who were also watching. Buneary sat to his right and Meloetta followed suit, sitting next to her. Thankfully, a quick check confirmed that Piplup was somewhere else in the small crowd, sitting near Axew, Togekiss and Pachirisu. So that meant no pestering Meloetta for attention. For now, anyway.
"Now, Servine…" Trip started, "retaliate with Leaf Tornado!"
"[Gladly~]" Servine replied. He jumped into the air, flipped around and started to spin rapidly while upside down. He kept on going until he produced the familiar green tornado of death that made Pikachu's skin crawl.
"Uh oh…" Ash started, looking panicked. "Quickly, Oshawott, stop, bef-"
Oshawott plunged into the tornado with a yelp before the trainer could finish.
Pikachu thought that would be the end for Oshawott. Surprisingly, however, he held fast by spinning around the outer edge of the tornado, still enveloped in water. He spun around it so fast that he'd begun to form a blurry blue ring around the tornado.
"Servine, don't let it stay in there!" Trip shouted out. "Twist around and shake it loose!"
Servine's tornado began to twist about, as instructed. It seemed like he was intending to fling Oshawott away. "[Don't plan on staying there toooo long, my little Oshy!]" he taunted. "[I'm going to get youuu~]"
Oshawott moved around the tornado in rhythm to its convulsions. "[Not again, you woooon't!]" he shouted, probably referring to whatever had caused him to fly into Pikachu earlier.
Ash gasped, as if realizing something. "Yeah, I know what to do! Oshawott, use Water Gun on Servine as ya go!" he commanded.
Pikachu couldn't see what was going on inside the tornado, but after a short while, he could hear rushing water and Servine's spluttering. The tornado wobbled dangerously until it went out of control and toppled over.
Trip looked shocked. "Agh, Servine!" he cried out.
Still enveloped in Aqua Jet's water, Oshawott flew out of the top of the tornado before it crashed to the ground and dispersed. He changed course and flew back down to Earth. Cutting off Aqua Jet, he landed across the field from Servine, who was awkwardly clambering back to his feet while in a daze.
The otter briefly stumbled around on his feet, as if dizzy, but he looked happy with himself.
"Alright, way to go, Oshawott!" Ash cried out.
"Excellent, Ash!" Iris called out. "I would've never thought to get Oshawott to squirt Servine, until it fell over and brought that tornado down with it!"
"Truly a delectable dish made in heaven!" Cilan agreed.
"Hmph. Not bad, I guess," Trip conceded, giving off a side-glance.
"Huh, wait, that's what happened?" Ash responded to Iris. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, lucky me! I just wanted Oshawott to attack, but I guess that works, too!"
The humans all paused before groaning. Some more loudly than others.
"Sounds about right…" Dawn said exasperatedly with a shrug.
"Ughh, and to think I was impressed for a second, there," Iris grumbled loudly. "But nope. Such a kid, as always."
While Ash asked what she meant by that, Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. Oh, his trainer…
He glanced at Buneary to see if she was amused. He was surprised to see her blankly staring at the scene, as if deep in thought over something. Her expression was somewhat unreadable, so he wondered what was on her mind. Maybe she was wishing that she was battling, instead? It had probably been a while since her last battle, after all.
"Now, here we go, follow up with Razor Shell!" Ash continued suddenly, jolting him out of his thoughts.
"[Yeah, at last!]" Oshawott yelled excitedly. He surrounded himself in water again and, in an interesting move, fired himself out of it. He flew towards Servine, the blade of water on his scalchop extended.
"Servine, block it and retaliate with Solar Beam!" Trip shouted.
Servine shook the last of his dizziness away and produced some vines from his collar. At the same time, he seemed to be charging a bright yellow glow in his mouth.
"Alright, Oshawott! Keep on slicing and don't stop!" Ash called out.
When close enough, Oshawott swung downwards at Servine with his blade, though it was blocked with a vine. Undeterred, the otter flipped backwards, landed and swung again, striking Servine in the belly.
The snake was knocked off his feet, but Oshawott didn't stop there. He continued knocking Servine backwards with repeated swings, eventually cutting off the snake's Solar Beam before it could charge properly.
When Servine staggered harshly, Oshawott smiled excitedly, as if seeing an opportunity, and spun around on the spot. Using the momentum, he sliced upwards with all his might, knocking the snake high into the air.
"[Heehee, yeah, and…]" Oshawott started. He spun around once more and hurled his scalchop straight up, blade extended, "[… one more for good measure!]"
His scalchop flew through the air like a bladed Frisbee into Servine. It hit him in mid air, knocking him spinning. "[O-Ouch! You're still… so strong…!]" Servine muttered loudly while falling.
"Servine!" Trip called out helplessly.
Oshawott reached upwards to grab his scalchop as it came back to him. He slapped it back onto his chest and proudly put his paws to his hips.
Cheers rang out from the crowd, especially from Ash. Even Meloetta seemed to be doing a little applauding of her own, though only lightly, as always. It was enough to catch Oshawott's eye, though, making him wink at her. She went awkward at that, especially when Piplup noticed and booed, even as Togekiss tried to calm him.
Pikachu himself was pretty surprised. Wow… that kid's training was certainly coming along. Countering a block and comboing Servine into submission. Not bad!
… Oh, for crying out loud. Pikachu just realized… he was being shown up by a frigging kid again! Had he tried fighting Servine, he just knew he'd muck it up and get himself beaten. Again.
As Servine crashed to the ground, Pikachu breathed out through his nose and looked to his side at Buneary, about to comment on Oshawott's performance. He stopped short when he saw her still staring blankly at the fight, though with a nostalgic smile, now.
Huh… maybe instead of wishing that she was the one fighting, it was something more along the lines of remembering the old days. Maybe her days of watching fights in Sinnoh, or some other time he didn't know of. Oh, like her days of being on her old team, perhaps?
He was very curious, so he decided to ask her. "[Hey, there,]" he asked, catching her attention, "[what's with that nostalgic lo-?]"
Several gasps from the crowd interrupted him. When he turned his head back to see what was going on, he also gasped when he saw Servine becoming enveloped in a bright light.
Uh oh… was that…?
"[We're not… done… yet, Oshy~!]" Servine chimed, getting to his feet as his glowing form grew. When he continued, his voice changed radically. "[Why… I'd say we're just getting started!]"
Trip gave a cry of surprise before scrambling for his camera. "It's happening!" he said in awe, taking a few snaps.
"[Oh… crud, you've gotta be kidding me!]" Oshawott cried out, looking panicked.
Between gasps, everyone gave off various comments. Almost all of them about evolution.
"Awesome, an in-battle evolution!" Ash cried out excitedly. He blinked. "… Wait… uh oh."
Wow… cool! Pikachu could only imagine what Servine would evolve into! He watched on with extreme interest.
The glowing continued for a good while until it stopped, revealing a long, slender snake. One that looked incredibly regal, dignified and, of course, smug as all heck.
It was pretty cool, but he didn't seem to have any arms or legs anymore. Just like a proper snake. Pikachu scratched his head. What an upgrade...?
"[Well, would you look at that, Oshy-boy! I'm all grown up, at long last~]" the snake boasted. His language revealed that his new species name was serperior. Oh, lord, as if his ego wasn't bad enough as it was.
"[Y-Yeah...]" Oshawott mumbled back.
"[Uh oh...]" Pikachu heard Buneary say. "[Oshawott might be in a bit of trouble, now. Serperiors are tough nuts.]"
"[Seeing how strong he was as a snivy, I'll believe that...]" Pikachu mumbled.
"[Oh dear...]" Meloetta murmured from Buneary's side. "[After Oshawott tried so hard, too...]"
Trip smiled proudly after taking one final picture. "Excellent, Serv-... Serperior! Do you have it in you to keep going?" he asked.
Servine - or Serperior, now - turned to face his trainer and nodded. "[Oho, absolutely~!]" he chimed. "[In fact, on that note...]" He turned back to face Oshawott, "[back to business~!]"
Pikachu saw Oshawott visibly gulp as he hesitantly took up a fighting stance. "[Y-Yeah. Give it your all, man!]" he responded, sounding like he'd barely held back a voice crack.
"[Haha, gladly!]"
"If that's the case... Serperior!" Trip called out, still holding his camera as if he planned to take more pictures. "If you have any new moves from evolving, why don't you give us all a demonstration?"
"[Absolutely, dear Trip!]" Serperior called back to him while allowing his tail to glow. He harshly stabbed it into the floor, causing a low rumble from underground. A second or two passed until many humongous, spiky-looking roots erupted from the earth in front of him, one after another. They came out in waves towards Oshawott, all as thick as tree trunks.
Oshawott shrieked and ran in the opposite direction. When a root shot up in front of him, he dodged around it and kept on running. When another root rose up to his side and lunged for him, he screamed and jumped over it. The next one shot upwards right as he landed, launching him skywards.
"Ah, Oshawott!" Ash yelled. He grit his teeth. "Quick, er… use Aqua Jet!"
Water enveloped the otter, as if he was trying to use the move. However, it flickered briefly before just disappearing, as if he was too weakened to do it properly. From there he came down tumbling, until he crashed into the ground hard enough to kick up a dust cloud.
Pikachu cringed. Ouch… that poor kid was going to be feeling that one for a while. The mouse almost wanted to run onto the field to check if he was okay, but he decided not to. It was just a friendly battle, after all, so he'd be alright.
Speaking of which, to Pikachu's surprise, Oshawott managed to stagger back to his feet. He shakily held his scalchop towards Serperior. "[Th-This… ain't over, Servine!]" he called out. He paused and shook his head. "[I-I mean… whatever!]"
"[Oooh, but I think it is~!]" Serperior retorted. He stabbed his glowing tail into the ground again.
Another giant spiky root shot out of the earth near Oshawott's side. Several more followed, shooting up around Oshawott until he was completely surrounded. Pikachu could barely see him through a gap in them.
"[Do you give up, Oshy-poo~? Or am I going to have to win by knockout?]" Serperior called out while grinning smugly.
Oshawott stared forwards, a very blank look on his face. A few seconds went by until he dropped his scalchop and threw his arms in the air. "[Nope, you got me! I'm done!]" he said a little too eagerly.
Another root came out of the ground near him, albeit a much, much smaller one. It reached forwards to tenderly pat him on the head. "[Good boy! That's why you were always the clever one back home~. Either way, excellent fight!]"
Allowing his arms to fall to his sides, Oshawott sighed loudly. "[Thanks… and yeah, yeah, good game…]"
Pikachu groaned. Especially when he heard Piplup cheering in a juvenile manner. Tsk… well, it was better the otter lost this way than have a root jammed through his skull, that was for sure.
"[Aww, poor Oshawott…]" Buneary said.
"[Yeah…]" Pikachu replied. "[Still, he did a good job. Way better than I ever did against Snivy.]" As much as it hurt to say that…
"[Heehee, I guess so. Tough little tyke.]"
"Aww, c'mon, Oshawott! You've still got this!" Ash cried out towards Oshawott.
As some of the roots surrounding him began to sink back into the earth, Oshawott shook his head. After having stuck his tongue out at Piplup, anyway. "[Nope, I'm-a backing out!]" he called back.
"Face it, Ash," Trip started, smiling just as smugly as his pokémon, "your Oshawott might be as decent as ever, I won't deny that… but even it knows when it's had enough. It's basic stuff."
"No way, forget that! Time out for a sec!" Ash cried out. He ran onto the battlefield. "C'mon, Oshawott, don't let it end like this! Giving up is never-!" He fell into a giant hole left behind by one of the roots.
While everyone gave out cries of surprise or concern, Pikachu just sighed to himself as he cringed in second-hand embarrassment. Oh, that trainer of his… he was always getting into pokémon-related scrapes. Like yesterday, when he'd been run over by Quilava's Flame Wheel, for instance.
Once upon a time, Pikachu would've been very concerned… but after two and a half years of these sorts of shenanigans, he was starting to get very used to it, indeed.
To his side, Buneary also sighed before giggling lightly. "[It reminds me of when he fell down the stairs rushing to get breakfast that one time,]" she said.
Pikachu chuckled and nodded. "[Yeah…]"
After a short while, she stopped giggling to tilt her head at him. "[Oh, by the way… did you wanna ask me something, earlier? You sounded like you did.]"
He stalled. Oh, crud, there had been something, hadn't there? He strained his brain trying to remember what it was. When he realized he was coming up entirely blank, he shrugged. "[Um, I did, but… well, I totally forgot.]" He grinned sheepishly. "[Mustn't have been important!]"
She giggled again and playfully tapped him on the head with her ear. "[You have such a sieve brain, sometimes, Pikachu~]"
His grin grew more sheepish. "[You know me…]"
"[Heehee, yeah, I sure do,]" she replied, nuzzling her head against his.
He gave out a happy breath at the contact. After a short while, his smile faltered. Hm… that was another unimpressive thing about him, wasn't it? Being bad at remembering stuff. He wondered if she found that… unattractive.
He felt a shiver go through his spine at that word. Unattractive…
… He clenched his eyes shut to will the thought away. Good lord, what was making him so paranoid, lately? Did he really think Buneary was going to lose interest that quickly, just because he had a few bad traits about him? Like being worse at battling than some of the others, and having a shoddy memory?
No way. He shouldn't believe that, even if he had listened to Snivy's story about her old trainer being a cheating jerk. Buneary was a much purer soul, despite her questionable boy-chasing past, so there was no way she would do the same. At the very least, she would probably dump him before finding someone else, first.
… He opened his eyes to clench them shut again. He did it harder than before. For frick's sake, this whole thing was turning him into such a worrywart. He couldn't say he was fond of that feeling. Was this a part of getting a girlfriend, too? Constant worrying?
Ah, screw it. He was worrying for nothing, so whatever. He had no doubt in his mind that he would find something else to worry about, though. That much was for certain. It was more than enough of a payoff for having such a great girlfriend, so he wouldn't complain.
He opened his eyes. He saw Emolga staring back at him while sniggering.
He stared back for a short while before becoming a bit self-conscious. "[Um… can I help you?]" he asked.
"[Naww, naww…]" Emolga responded, smirking mischievously. "[I'm just wondering if that's the same face you pulled this morning while you were in the tent with Buneary.]"
Pikachu blinked. Where the heck was she going with this? "[Er… maybe? I dunno, why's that funny?]"
Emolga's giggles grew louder for some unexplained reason.
"[Are you trying to dig for dirt again…?]" Buneary asked, sounding suspicious.
"[D-… Don't need to…!]" Emolga responded. She took a deep breath to calm herself, though she seemed to be barely holding her composure. "[Good to know that you two are doing that sort of stuff right in front of Dawn. It's no wonder she and Piplup woke up, eh? I was right outside the tent, and you two are puh-rit-ty noisy~]"
Pikachu immediately felt his face go red hot. W-What the frick!? It was obvious that she was talking about some lewd thing or another, but what the heck would bring that to mind? Just because they'd slept in the same tent!?
He eyed up Buneary, who looked just as surprised, and had a face just as red as his felt. When he looked at her, he realized what the problem was. Oh crud… all the tickling and messing around they'd done… and with Piplup's comments, too… plus Dawn's excitement… It must've all come together to sound like…
… Frick! "[N-No! No way!]" he said, barely holding back the urge to scream it out. "[We didn't do anything like that!]"
"[He's right! We just slept tog-]" Buneary started. She paused with a blank expression. "[… Er… we just went to sleep. And when we woke up, we were… um… tickling, and…]"
… Nope. It was too late. Emolga was already laughing up a storm, ignoring the explanation. He shared a look with Buneary and groaned along with her. For legends' sake…
"[Whoops…]" Buneary muttered.
"[Heh, it's okay…]" Pikachu mumbled. "[It's gonna be one fun walk back to Cynthia's place, though.]"
"[I… don't understand,]" Meloetta mumbled, looking at Emolga in confusion. "[What's so funny about cute bedtime snuggles?]"
"[… Don't worry about it, honey,]" Buneary said to her.
"[Y-Yeah, best not!]" Pikachu added. "[It's… an apple-lover thing.]" As Meloetta gave him a curious look, he jumped to his feet and grinned. "[Anyway, while they're packing up shop, let's get some more training done! What do ya say?]"
Meloetta excitedly, if not delicately, clapped her hands together. "[Ooh, yes, let's~. Watching that battle has given me just the boost I needed to keep going!]" she chimed, floating upwards to hover close by.
"[Great!]"
"[Can't wait~]" Buneary added, hopping to her feet and visibly trying to avoiding cringing at Emolga's continued sniggering.
Doing the exact same thing, Pikachu led them away from the crowd, happy to have something to take his mind off things.
Pikachu gave out a long breath. Man, what a day… Three hours had passed since morning, after all of the training-related shenanigans. After Oshawott's battle, Pikachu and Buneary had helped Meloetta train for a while. They'd stopped when Trip had apparently finished listening to Dawn's stories, and left with his pokémon to train for the upcoming… tournament thing with a complicated name that was coming up.
With that, Ash and the others had finally set off on their travels back to Cynthia's villa. On the way, Pikachu had hung out with Buneary some more… complimented Oshawott on his awesome battle… body-tackled Emolga when he'd noticed her attempting to spread gossip about the 'tent' incident… desperately tried to convince everyone - Mamoswine especially - that he and Buneary weren't doing anything child-unfriendly… and shared some berries with Buneary, Piplup and Togekiss. All in all, it'd been pretty eventful.
He yawned. After all the morning's shenanigans, though, he was happy to get as much rest as he possibly could…
… Naturally, though, that wasn't going to happen at all. Ash was making him and Oshawott do some accuracy and power training, by shooting stuff at a target attached to a buoy in the sea nearby. They had to hit it both accurately and with enough power to knock it off balance. At least, that's what Pikachu assumed. Ash hadn't actually specified what he wanted out of this training, yet. Still, it was taking a little effort, what with it bobbing around in the water, so it must've been working!
Glancing behind himself, he noticed Iris a short distance away. She was doing some training of her own, ordering Axew and Excadrill to trade aggressive blows with each other. Pachirisu was nearby, watching with very keen interest.
Cilan and Pansage also seemed to be getting geared up for a good training session of their own. So basically, today was going to be a day of non-stop training.
He noticed Meloetta high above, watching all of the training with keen interest. Deciding not to wave at her - just in case Oshawott got distracted by her presence - Pikachu turned his attention elsewhere. His heart gave a pleasant thump when he caught sight of Buneary, who was lounging with Snivy on a cliff overlooking the beach. They were probably talking about something, though he had no idea what.
Smiling inwardly, Pikachu turned back to his own training. He tried not to yawn again while giving Ash an energetic response to a motivational speech he'd just delivered, while Pikachu had been distracted. Man... as much as he loved a good workout, there was a limit on how much was way too much. If this kept up, he was sure he was going to fall asleep on his feet.
He heard a loud sigh from behind him. Turning around, he saw Dawn coming down the stairs that led up the cliff to Cynthia's villa. She was with Piplup, who was in an inner tube for whatever reason.
"Man, training all day every day like this is such a bore, sometimes..." Dawn said tiredly, catching everyone's attention. She posed excitedly. "So how's about we get ourselves some R&R?"
"R and... R?" Iris asked.
Dawn immediately rushed over to her. "I'm glad you asked! I heard there's a deserted island near here... so I say we all go check it out!" she replied enthusiastically. It was a bit too obvious that she'd rehearsed everything that she was saying.
"[Yeah, it'll be great!]" Piplup agreed, jumping off the stairs. He accidentally bumped into Axew in mid-air, knocking him to the ground with his inner tube. When he landed, he looked apologetic. "[Whoops! S-Sorry!]"
"[Gah, Axew!]" Pachirisu yelled, running over to him worriedly. "[Don't get hurt! ... By anything that isn't battle injuries!]"
The dragon giggled while getting back to his feet. "[It's okay! I'm a tough ol' dragon, so I'll take any bumps and bruises and battle injuries!]" he reassured.
She gave him a look of awe. "[Wooow... you're so tough and masculine!]"
Axew beamed brightly at her. "[Wow, really?]"
She beamed back. "[Really, really!]"
He held his hands to his cheeks in a flattered manner. "[Yay~!]"
"[... Um... I... guess I'm forgiven, then,]" Piplup said, rubbing the back of his head.
"[What the hell is going on...]" Excadrill mumbled loudly.
Deciding not to comment on the shenanigans from the pokémon, Iris gave Dawn a surprised look. "So a deserted island, huh?" she asked.
"You mean it's a pure dish with no added preservatives?" Cilan asked.
Dawn gave him a slightly weird look before smiling energetically. "If you mean we'll have it all to ourselves, then you've got that right!" she replied.
"Wow, that sounds great!" Iris chimed. "As fun as training sounds, I'd love a proper day out!"
"It'll be like a resort without any of the tourists!" Cilan piped in. "Almost like a delicious cake with no unwanted toppings ruining it!"
"[Except us, of course!]" Pansage agreed.
Pikachu grew excited at the idea. Especially when the others seemed to be agreeing. Ooh, that sounded awesome! Sure, they were already on a beach... but if going to a different one meant less overdosing on training, then he was down to clown with the idea!
"[You hear that, Oshawott?]" Pikachu asked the otter next to him. "[It might be time for a lil' vacation!]"
Oshawott's eyes lit up. "[A vacation? Really!?]" he asked.
"[Yep!]"
"No way!" Ash cried. "We've got training to do!"
Pikachu's good cheer immediately deflated. Oh, what? For crying out loud...
Oshawott's beaming smile was crushed in an instant. "[Aww, but... what?]" he said slowly. Tears began to pour down his face. "[B-But that v-vacation, though! Huuuu!]"
Ash was taken aback. "B-But c'mon, Oshawott... training!"
"Ash Ketchum, you're always such a party pooper!" Dawn chided in exasperation.
"I know, right?" Iris added, frowning with her hands on her hips. "Look what you've done to poor little Oshawott. Something I'd only expect from a kid like you..."
"Hey, c'mon, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash said defensively. "It's not my fault the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup is coming up so soon!"
While rubbing Oshawott's back to cheer him up, Pikachu sighed. It wasn't even all that important, though... Not important enough to ignore a day out, to train for nine more flipping hours.
"Alright... I guess there's nothing for it," Dawn said. She pointed towards the sky in a scholarly way. "There's a secret about the island that I'm sure you'd love to hear! One that might just change your mind! Jervis told me all about it!"
Ash's eyes lit up in interest. "Oh, awesome! Does it have-"
"Ash, if you think it's training related, it probably isn't," Iris interrupted.
He deflated. "Aww... no training facility for me..."
Dawn giggled before continuing. "Actually, there're rumors of an interesting onix that lives there! One that's green!"
Ash aloofedly put his arms behind his head. "Ehh, I dunno, Dawn... that sounds like a shiny pokémon, and I've seen plenty of those..."
Pikachu clicked his tongue. After the crystal onix, a simple shiny was never going to catch Ash's attention.
Dawn stared blankly at him. She began to sweat. "O-Oh, well, er... yeah... um..." she stammered.
"Ash, there's also a special onix!" Iris added quickly.
Ash's face lit up like a firework possessed. "A special onix!?" he cried, getting in her face. "D'you know what's special about it, do you!?"
She blinked. "... Er... it's... a secret, so the... only way to find out is to go there!"
He started running towards the ocean. "Alright, let's go!"
"Wait, Ash, don't jump in the water!" Cilan called out, running after him. "Do you even know where you're going? Hey, wait up!"
"... Wow, that actually worked?" Iris muttered. "I only just made that up."
"Well... great work!" Dawn praised. She waved her arms in the air excitedly. "R&R time, here we come~!"
Pikachu continued staring at the spectacle, flummoxed. Welp... whatever worked! Ash always did have a thing for 'special' stuff, so it was hardly a surprise.
Oshawott's tears immediately left his face, replaced with a beaming smile. "[Heehee, yippie!]" he cheered, jumping while pumping a paw into the air. "[Super relaxing island vacation time, here we come~!]"
"[Hah, you got that right, buddy!]" Pikachu replied, pumping a paw along with him.
Oshawott gasped and energetically turned around. "[Heee, if this ain't the perfect time to ask Meloetta to hang out, then I don't know what is~!]" he sang, running towards the villa.
"[Good luck...]" Pikachu said. Knowing Meloetta, he was gonna need it. Especially if Piplup had a similar idea...
It was a good plan, though. In fact, Pikachu knew just who to ask along to the island, himself.
He made tracks towards Buneary, wondering just how this onix island expedition was going to go.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Finished: 13/02 (February)/2019 (Happy Valentine's Eve!)
Word count: 8,850
VGS2's pointless notes: Hey, guys! Sorry for being so dormant for so frigging long. Life's been busy, and I've been lazy. Two things that don't mix. So yeah, if you're still waiting for a message from me, that's why. Nothing personal!
All the same, I hope this overly-long chapter made up for it! Oh, and by the way, I put a poll up on my profile that's related to this fic. Please go check it out! Somebody already chose Axew as their favourite character, for... some reason or other. I thought I'd made him a bit boring, but if you like him, then that's fine and dandy by me. XD
... Y'know, while I'm at it... in other news, I was playing Pokémon Puzzle League for the first time a few days ago. It's a goddamn riot. XD Maybe I should make a one-shot where Getting An Earful Pikachu and Buneary try playing it, or something. After all, I'm sure they, too, would love to hear such fully-voiced class lines such as: 'Giovanni: *Wins* "Team Rocket rules!"' 'Giovanni: *Loses in story mode* "Congratulations! You've won the Earth Badge! :D"' 'Ash: *Counters a garbage block* "I'm gonna win!" *Counters another one* "I'm gonna win!" [etc.] Ash: *After winning* "Yeah! My pokémon rule!" and (one that I'm well acquainted with, because the person who says it is a frigging murder beast) 'Lorelei: "Learn by losing~. AH HAHAHAHAHA!"' Everyone in that game needs to get their bloody heads checked, I swear to God.
Also, I'm never gonna get those cheap midi remixes of the 4Kids pokémon songs out of my head. Ever. Especially the strange wedding theme that plays when Team Rocket decides to dress up in wedding gear, in a bid to escape with Bulbasaur and Squirtle (but not Pikachu...?). The one that I'll never be able to stop hearing, because the stage is too hard, due to bridal gowns apparently making James stronger than Dark Ryder infused with Ganondorf and Dhar- ... Um, that guy from a game. You know the one. XP 'James: "I'm feeling giddy~! :D"'
Shameless promotion: Today, I'm-a gonna shout out a newcomer of sorts called SpaceBen10.
While he's made a few fics before, he's currently making a name for himself with his most recent fic, Reversal Of Roles. And out of all the 'Pikachu likes Buneary instead of vice-versa' fics I've read so far, I'd say that his is in the higher-tier bracket somewhere. It goes without saying that it's not a bad little read, even though Aipom's a dude, now, for whatever reason. XP
I say go give him a read and a review! Especially since he's a pretty frequent poster, as of late. More frequent than I ever am, anyway. XP
Fun mistake/s of the day: #1: 'Buneary cheered while Pikachu miled'
(Buneary cheers Pikachu on as he runs a mile. Naturally, he'll probably lose to whatever ticks off the fanbase the most.)
#2: I realized that I wanted to help Ash after some eevent
(I sometimes use ravengal's laptop when she's gaming or something, and it has an annoying habit of pressing keys twice, sometimes. How appropriate that she be playing the mouse equivalent to that silly Let's Go Eevee game while I was writing, eh? XD)
#3: "[Yeah. I only started getting good when... well, on the day when I met Ash, when I realized that I wanted to help Ash, no matter what.]"
(Meet Ash, help Ash, live Ash, breathe Ash… Reminds me of Mezamun's fics, where Pikachu is unashamedly fond of Ash to the nth degree. XP)
#4: '"[Heat-warming?]" Meloetta asked, sounding very intrigued.'
(I'll bet she sounds bloody intrigued.)
#5: 'oh lord, if I leave this kid be, he's gonna kill himself.'
(Without an 'accidentally' there somewhere, it makes Ash seem suicidal, or something. Not that I'd blame him, looking at his show nowadays, but still. XD Is this a betrayal fic, now?)
#6: 'When their cheers died down, Meloetta gave Pikachu a beaming loo.'
(Whoops, I put that fullstop down a bit too quickly... XD I'll let your imaginations work their magic.)
#7: 'He chuckled again. "[Your new favourite number, I'll bet.]"'
(Bollocks and bloody hell, me language is slipping. What a bugger.)
#8: 'Turning back a page or two, he was greeted with a photo of Buneary is a pretty right dress.'
(Not only did Cruella Deville apparently turn Buneary into a dress, but she made sure it wasn't a left one, either. )
#9: 'Something crashed to his side, sending him flying.'
(Apparently, having Oshawott crash next to him was enough to send him flying.)
#10: 'The young otter kept making u-terns to correct himself and attempt another ram,'
(I was going to make a bad joke about interns… but apparently, there's a kind of bird called a tern. Huh. Well, I hope they're U-shaped. XP)
#11: 'While going to pick up the magazine to put it away behind the girls,'
(The original action had Pikachu following behind the girls. Now it involves him sticking the magazine up their arses. Quality writing. XD)
#12: 'Ash gasped, as if in realization of something.'
(What, the meaning to life? The overly fancy way I worded this simple action would probably suggest as such… XD)
#13: 'He glanced at Buneary to see if she was amusement.'
(To be fair, I guess she's Pikachu's daily source of amusement, in a way.)
#14: 'At the same time, he seemed to be charging a brig,'
(That's, like… a boat-related thing, right? Specifically the part where they store prisoners. I wonder how much money Servine charged them.)
#15: '"Oshawott, don't stop! Keep on slicing and don't stop!" Ash called out.'
(Can't stop, won't stop.)
#16: "[Oshawoott might be in a bit off trouble, now.]"
(Oshawoooott! Don't be off trouble!)
#17: "[Y-Yeah...]" Oshawott mumbled back. *Next line* *"[Uh oh...]" he heard Buneary say.
(Oshawott heard Buneary say that? When she was mumbling? Reminds me of the actual anime, where they can hear each other talking normally from a small football stadium's distance away (and yet Team Rocket, in disguise, can talk about their plans loudly while right next to the gang without any problems). All this said, there's probably some BS with the distances they speak at and hear each other in my fics, too… but let's, er… just brush that under the carpet. Yea. XP)
#18: "[Oho, absolutely~! In fact, on that note...]" He turned back to face Oshawott. "[And on that note... now back to business!]"
(Serperior should get into singing, what with that obsession with notes of his. Maybe he should go out with Meloetta.)
#19: 'A second or two passed until many humongous, spiky-looking roots erupted from the ground in front of him, one after another.'
(Just because they look spiky doesn't mean they are! They might identify as smooth roots, after all. Watch your privilege, Pikachu, you bigot!)
#20: 'He shared a look with Buneary and groaned along with her. For legend's sake…'
(Only one legend? Which one? Zera- Zerooro- Zerroroo- Zeroroa- Ze- The generic yellow furry one?)
#21: "[Yeah, let's top working so hard!]"
(He wants to work to the top? Who is this, Game-Changer Piplup? I made that guy such a workaholic that I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to do more training instead of relax. XP)
#22: "Thee dragon chuckled lightly."
(Pretentiously eloquent reference of a draco dude (even if it is kind of incorrect grammar, lol). Is this Fire Emblem?)
#23: "It wasn't even all that important, though... not important enough to tran"
(Oh no... tumblr's going to eat me alive. D:)
#24: '"A special onix!?" he cried, getting into her face.'
(Ash crawled into Iris' face? Is this a new form of betrayal fic?)
-Bonus mistake from a surprise Smash fic ravengal is writing-
"No. You need to stay here and watch after the kids. I don't want them coming in me."
(What a word to miss. XD You should probably discipline your kids better if they're misbehaving like that.)
(… Y'know, on a related note, while playing Mario Odyssey, I noticed that New Donk City (a name I can never say with a straight face, kek) has all of its Sonic 06-esque realistic humans speak in vocalized gibberish. Because I like making fun of everything, I can't stop hearing that one human who blocks your path, unless you're wearing your Mario Maker outfit, from saying "I just want to come now…" Cracks me up. XD Also, special shout out to the guy in the store who says "I just want to die…")
-Bonus mistake from ravengal's one-shot, Space Cadets, because she's on a roll, apparently-
'She looked over and the window and her yes bulged.'
(I didn't even know what the context for this was at the time of her telling me this... but hearing it, I knew I was already excited to read. XD)
Welp, with that, I'm done. After all, I've got many people to respond to, so I'd best not delay, eh? XP Either way, thanks for reading and tata for now! c:
Next up: Milling at the beach!
