Author's note: Hey ho!
Not much to say this time, so I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Ten: Gaining Ground
The next day, Buneary and her teammates were, once again, outside the pokémon centre. This time, Dawn had decided to train Togekiss.
"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!" she called out.
Forming a small ball of aura between her wings, Togekiss spun around in mid-air, then fired it into the air above her. She did this several more times, until there were six Aura Spheres soaring upwards.
"Now use Air Slash!"
Twirling a wing, Togekiss formed a spinning ball of air. With another spin, she flung it upwards towards the Aura Spheres, which had now slowed and were falling back down. As they met in the middle, the attacks struck each other, exploding on impact.
Sparkling debris rained down like the remains of fireworks, straight towards Togekiss.
"Now finish up with Safeguard!"
Spreading out her wings, Togekiss formed a large green barrier around herself. It encompassed the area, protecting everyone around her. When the falling debris struck it, it bounced away harmlessly, sparkling all the while.
When it caught the sunlight, it created a rainbow on either side of the Safeguard.
As the appeal faded away into nothing, Togekiss gracefully turned in mid-air, landed on her tiptoes and bowed to her audience.
As Dawn laughed in happiness, all of her teammates clapped and cheered.
Wow, Buneary was looking forward to the Wallace Cup more and more with each day! And, with performances like these, they were sure to get that ribbon.
Look out, lucky number five!
"Alright, Krookodile!" Ash called out. "Use Dragon Claw on that tree!"
His claws glowing blue, Krookodile lunged at the tree, striking at it once, twice, three times. He paused, the trunk now covered in criss-crossing scratch marks. After a moment, the bark burst outwards from the tree and crumpled to the grass below.
Krookodile crossed his arms proudly.
"Way to go, Krookodile!" Ash said happily. "Your Dragon Claw's coming along great."
Krookodile smirked. "(You bet it is,)" he replied.
Standing next to Ash, Pikachu nodded in agreement. "(Yeah, good job!)" he said.
"(Heh. Thanks.)"
"(... I'll never understand this training thing,)" Emolga suddenly said from nearby.
Pikachu turned to see the squirrel standing next to him.
"(Well,)" he replied, "(we do it to get stronger. So we can win more battles.)"
Emolga pulled a face. "(Battling, just to battle some more? Urgh, no thanks.)"
Pikachu huffed, shaking his head. "(You just don't get it.)"
"(Darn right I don't!)" She pouted. "(And I can't believe Iris made me train for two weeks! Then she didn't even use me in the tournament! What was the point?!)"
Pikachu gave her a deadpan stare. "(... To get stronger?)"
"(No, screw that! It was a complete waste of my precious time!)"
Pikachu rolled his eyes. The squirrel was so lazy, it pained him sometimes.
She put on a sickly sweet smile. "(Time I could have spent eating apples.)"
"(Urgh, what is it with you and apples? You're obsessed.)"
She gave him a mock-offended look. "(What? They're tasty.)" She shrugged. "(Not my favourite food, but they're pretty dang good. And they grow everywhere, so win-win!)"
"(... So what's your favourite food?)"
Her eyes shone. "(Ooh, anything spicy! Cheri berries, razz berries... anything like that!)" She paused a moment. "(Not toooo spicy, though. I don't have an iron tongue, after all.)"
Heh. If Buneary was here, she'd probably comment on how enough heat might actually melt an iron tongue, instead. Especially since fire-types were strong against steel-types.
Perhaps she'd even wonder how many tamato berries it would take to work.
He shook his head, clearing it of such thoughts.
"(Uh, yeah. Me too. On the spicy thing.)"
Her eyes widened slightly in delighted surprise. "(Oh, you like spicy food, too?)" She grinned at him. "(Well, then, maybe you'd know a few good spots for the berries?)"
"(Well, not really, but-)"
Emolga sidled up to him, almost nuzzling him. He backed up in distaste.
"(Then how about you go look for me, hmm~? I'd really like some nice, juicy cheri berries or something~! Heck, if you find one that's sweet and spicy, I'd be ever-so grateful~)"
He frowned at her. "(You know that's not gonna work on me, right?)"
Her act dropped immediately as she moved away. "(Eh, it was worth a try.)" She paused, her mouth slowly forming into a smirk. "(... Though I could always-)"
"(Attract me and I'll zap you.)"
She pouted. "(You're no fun.)"
He huffed out some air in annoyance. "(Why don't you go bother Oshawott, or something?)"
She folded her arms. "(He's been ignoring me.)"
He raised an eyebrow. "(Hmm?)"
"(Ever since he and Piplup started fighting over Meloetta, he's just been ignoring me! He won't get me apples and things. Not even now, when Piplup's not even here.)" She kicked the dirt under her foot. "(It's like he forgot I exist, or something...)"
Pikachu blinked a few times. Turning his head, he looked over at where Meloetta was floating. Sure enough, there was Oshawott, showering her with compliments with an adoring sparkle in his eyes.
"(Yeah, see?)" Emolga continued. "(He's completely ignoring me!)"
Pikachu turned back to her. "(Why haven't you tried Attract yet?)"
She shrugged. "(I thought about it... but I dunno. I haven't had to use it on him in so long, it's... kind of weird doing it now.)" She glanced away. "(Besides, I've got other guys to use.)"
Pikachu huffed again. "(You could always get the apples yourself, you know.)"
Turning back to him, she winked. "(Yeah, I know... but it's way more fun getting others to do it for me~)"
Pikachu rolled his eyes again.
Glancing back in Oshawott's direction, he watched as the otter continued chatting to Meloetta. The legendary seemed calmer around him than she used to be. Probably because he and Piplup were no longer ripping each other's throats out over her.
Still, though, he couldn't get what the otter had said yesterday out of his head. 'The one'? Really? What made him think, out of all the girls he'd flirted with, that Meloetta was 'the one'? Was it just because she was pretty? Was it just because she was a legendary?
Either way, it was very strange for him to just straight up ignore the other girls around him. Especially since he'd been flirting with them fairly consistently over the months.
One of his favourites to flirt with was Emolga - mostly because she often led him on, purely to get apples out of him - but now he was ignoring her? How odd.
He gave his head a light shake. As weird as it was, it was most likely temporary.
Later in the day, Cilan had made everyone dinner outside Cynthia's villa. Picking up his bowl of pellets, Pikachu started making his way across the grounds to where Axew and Pansage were sitting.
As he passed by Dragonite, who was glaring angrily down at his bowl, he walked a little bit faster. Gosh, that guy was unpleasant to be around. When he wasn't demanding battles from the strongest opponents he could find, he could always be found glaring at something. It was as if his bowl had personally insulted him, or something.
Pikachu hoped that Iris would get the guy's temper under control soon. He could be a real handful...
Continuing onwards, he began to pass by Oshawott and Meloetta, who were eating together. Huh, now that was an unusual sight.
"(Oh, come on, pleeeease?)" Oshawott asked, a bright smile on his face.
Mildly curious, Pikachu couldn't help but slow his walk slightly.
Meloetta giggled. "(I told you, I can't!)" she replied. "(It's a secret~!)"
Oshawott pouted. "(Awww! But I really wanna know where you came from!)"
"(Sorry~! But I promised I wouldn't tell a soul.)"
"(Dang it. Who'd you promise?)"
"(I can't tell you that, either~!)"
"(Awww! Phooey.)"
Meloetta giggled again.
Huh. They seemed to get along surprisingly well now. Maybe Piplup leaving had actually been good for their relationship.
Hmm. He pondered Oshawott's words some more as he continued walking past them.
'The one', he'd said. 'Just Meloetta', he'd said...
... Hmph.
There was just no way.
He kept walking, all the way up until he arrived at his destination.
"(I really hope Scraggy comes back soon...)" Axew said with a pout.
"(Don't worry, I'm sure he will,)" Pansage replied. "(Then the flavours can mix again!)"
"(And make a... delightful dish?)"
Pansage beamed. "(Yes, exactly!)"
After a moment, Axew beamed back. "(Yeah! Yeah, you're right! Scraggy will come back and then we'll play and play all day long!)"
"(Unless he's training, of course.)"
"(Yeah, I guess so. 'Cause he hasn't mastered that blasting move of his yet.)" Axew suddenly looked up in surprise, then smiled at Pikachu. "(Oh, hey, Pikachu!)"
Pikachu smiled back. "(Hey,)" he replied. "(You mind if I sit with you guys?)"
"(Not at all!)"
"(Yes, feel free to jump in the pot,)" Pansage added.
"(Okay, thanks!)" Pikachu replied, sitting down.
As Axew and Pansage went back to talking amongst themselves, Pikachu cast another glance over at Oshawott and Meloetta.
Something stirred in his chest, but he ignored it.
The following day, Dawn's pokémon watched as Pachirisu stood in front of their trainer, ready to train. Buneary was wearing her vest and matching ribbons, excited to see what today's performance would be like.
"Okay, Pachirisu!" Dawn called out. "Use Sweet Kiss!"
Blowing a kiss, Pachirisu sent a swarm of pink hearts flying into the air.
"Now use Discharge!"
Charging up blue electricity in his cheeks, he released it in streams towards the hearts. As each stream hit a heart, it bounced off, hitting another one. This continued, until all of the hearts were joined in a string of electricity.
"Alright, now get up there!"
Jumping up, Pachirisu spun into a ball and bounced, using his tail to springboard himself higher.
"And Spark!"
Unrolling, Pachirisu covered himself in blue electricity. Landing on one of the hearts, he immediately jumped to the next one. The one he'd left behind exploded in a shower of pink sparkles. This continued, with each one exploding as he jumped off it.
As he finished, he rolled back into a ball, spinning towards the ground. Bouncing once, then twice, he unrolled himself in time to land on his tail and pose.
All of his teammates cheered.
Buneary's heart soared. Wow, her friends were getting so good! Every time they performed for her, she felt more and more excited!
With moves like these, they were certainly a shoe-in for that ribbon! A perfect fit of a shoe!
Though... ohhh, now she wanted to join in, too! If only her stupid moves were working! She didn't want to sit idly by, while her teammates carried the Wallace Cup for her!
Gosh and what about the Hoenn Grand Festival?! She'd be beside herself, fidgeting anxiously all the while, if she didn't manage to compete in that!
... Her adrenaline was running pretty high right now, though, so maybe... just maybe...
"Great job, Pachirisu!" Dawn said happily. "You finally perfected your landing!"
"(Yay me!)" Pachirisu replied just as happily.
"(That landing was splendid, dear!)" Togekiss said.
"(Yeah, it was real cool!)" Quilava agreed.
"(Good job,)" Mamoswine added.
Piplup nodded. "(Not bad at all,)" he said.
"(Yeah, you were great!)" Buneary added.
"(Thanks, guys!)" Pachirisu replied, beaming. Hopping off his tail, he ran back over to the sidelines.
"Alright," Dawn said, putting her wrists on her hips as she looked at her team. "Who's up next? We'll do one more round, before taking a break!"
Piplup stepped forward. Before he could speak, however, Buneary stood up. She stared intently at Dawn.
Everyone glanced at her in shock.
Dawn blinked, her mouth falling open. "... Buneary?"
Buneary smiled brightly, hopping over to where Dawn was. She held a paw to her chest. "(Can... I try?)" she asked.
"(You... You wanna train?!)" Piplup asked in shock.
"(Oh, are you certain you're ready, dear?)" Togekiss asked in concern.
"(Yeah, what if your moves don't work again?)" Quilava asked.
"(... Or do they?)" Mamoswine asked.
Buneary turned to them with a smile. "(Well, we won't know unless I try, right?)" she replied. Turning back to Dawn, she indicated herself again.
"You wanna train, Buneary?" Dawn asked.
Buneary nodded. "(Yup!)"
Dawn kneeled down, getting as close to eye level as she could. "Are you sure?"
Buneary nodded again. "(Yep!)"
"... Do you think your moves are working now?"
Buneary shrugged. "(I dunno, but I'm willing to try!)"
Dawn closed her eyes, looking thoughtful. "I see... so you're not sure..." She held that pose for a moment, then stood up and opened her eyes, looking determined. "Well, no need to worry! I'm sure you'll do great!"
Buneary nodded, more enthusiastically than before. "(Yeah!)"
"We'll get you back to fighting form, no problem!"
Buneary raised her arms in a cheer. "(Yeah!)"
"Alright, then... you ready?"
Spinning around to face the other direction, Buneary nodded. "(Ready!)"
"(Good luck, Buneary!)" Piplup called out.
"(Yeah, you can do it!)" Quilava added.
"(Knock it outta the park!)" Pachirisu called out.
"(We believe in you, dear!)" Togekiss added.
"(Go get 'em,)" Mamoswine said calmly.
Okay... okay, she could do this...
"Alright then, Buneary..." Dawn said, "use Ice Beam!"
Buneary closed her eyes, concentrating. She could feel the energy circulating inside her. It grew colder and colder as it travelled up, towards her mouth.
Okay... she could do this...
She opened her mouth.
After a few moments, she could feel it. Cold energy concentrating itself. Forming itself. She opened her eyes to see a light blue ball in front of her.
Her confidence shot through the roof at the sight. With a loud battle cry, she fired a beam of light across the grounds of the pokémon centre. She heard her teammates gasp in shock and awe.
Power. So much power! She'd missed this feeling. She'd missed it more deeply than she'd thought.
She turned her head this way and that. The Ice Beam travelled with her, freezing everything in its path.
Her happiness soared. She could use her moves again! Or at least Ice Beam! Maybe that meant the others would work, too!
Cutting off her attack, she turned to her friends with a bright smile. Unable to contain herself, she jumped up and down in joy.
"(I did it, I did it!)" she cried.
There was a mass of noise and thundering footsteps. Suddenly, she was engulfed in many hugs at once.
"(Way to go, Buneary!)" Piplup cried.
"(Ya did it, ya did it!)" Quilava added.
"(Congratulations, dear,)" Togekiss said.
"(You were awesome!)" Pachirisu cried. "(Super duper awesome!)"
Nearby, not joining in the hug, Buneary saw Mamoswine nod. "(Good job,)" he said.
The smile on Buneary's face widened so much, it hurt. It felt like her face was going to split in half, but she didn't care. She was so happy!
Dawn laughed in joy. "Wow, way to go, Buneary!" she cried. "You finally got your moves back!"
Looking at her, Buneary nodded. "(Yep~!)" she replied.
Dawn gasped in delight. "We should see if the other ones came back, too! What do you think?!"
Buneary nodded several times in quick succession. "(Yeah, yeah!)"
Dawn clenched her fist, looking determined. "Alright! Then let's get to work!"
"(Heck yeah!)"
It had been a rough road, but things were finally looking up again! She couldn't wait to get back to training!
It had been so long, she was probably super rusty by now... but she was ready to get out that spit and polish and make her moves shine like a rainbow!
Like two rainbows!