Chapter 30: And I Say, It's Alright
"Okay Buneary, you're on a white mountain of snow and you're a snow spirit!" Dawn gently said, leaning down to the bunny as she smiled and ushered her to the stage. The azure-haired coordinator was dressed in a simple yet elegant white dress, much to the judge's amusement.
"(Right! I'm a snow spirit!)" Buneary – who was dressed the same – cheerfully exclaimed as she enthusiastically hopped onto the stage.
Three weeks had passed since Chimchar had joined the group and their journeys had only continued to get more interesting. In a sea of events, the most notable were Ash and Dawn deciding to trade Aipom and Buizel, Aipom evolving into Ambipom, Ash catching a gligar which later involved into Gliscor, and Swinub joining Dawn's party. That's not even mentioning Ash's progress of earning both his third and fourth gym badges or Dawn going through a losing streak that was only broken with the help of May by earning the Aqua Ribbon. Of course, it wouldn't be a journey without having to encounter a villainous faction, in this case it was one called Team Galactic.
Now, even after returning to Hearthome City, the gym leader still wasn't back so instead, much of the focus turned to Dawn's participation in the Hearthome Collection competition with Ash and Pikachu joining too! Interestingly, the two dressed up in in wigs and loincloths, something about it representing wind and thunder. Regardless, they performed rather well and it was now up to Dawn and Buneary to drive it home!
Right on cue, Buneary used Bounce to hop from end of the stage to the other.
"Alright, use Ice Beam!" Dawn said.
Twirling in midair, Buneary shifted her body upside down and unleashed a steady bright blue beam onto the stage, creating several pillars of ice, all the while she continued to bounce around.
From the backstage, Ash, Pikachu and Piplup watched the show on a television screen.
"(Let's go Buneary!)" Pikachu shouted, still dressed in his outfit as she bounced from one end of the stage to the other, often twirling. He couldn't stop staring at her graceful form. They definitely made the right call by focusing on performance rather than ostentatious displays.
"That's it! The accessories and fashions aren't the important thing for you! Because you're the star of the show Buneary!" Dawn confidently shouted as Buneary happily twirled among the ice pillars.
Finally, after a few more moments of bouncing around, Buneary finished her performance with an energetic backflip, landing next to Dawn and waving to the crowd before they bowed in unison.
The audience went wild, applauding quite enthusiastically with one of the judges named Hermione looking particularly impressed.
"What a show, that was great!" Ash cheered as he continued clapping.
"(That's right it was!)" Pikachu followed, even more energetically. He took a moment to continue watching the screen. It was crazy but somehow, she was managing to top her previous performances...and those were quite impressive displays to begin with!
Heh...that girl...his girl.
After another interruption by Team Rocket, Ash and Pikachu – much to their surprise – were announced as the winners of the Unique Award!
Then it came time for the announcement of the big winner.
"The winner is...!" The judge known as Paris began to declare. A drumroll began as everyone, Dawn and Buneary most of all, anxiously waited with bated breath as the spotlight shined upon them and their rival named Cocoa. Paris looked up and smiled even wider. "...The amazing team of Dawn and Buneary!"
Screaming to the heavens, Dawn threw her arm in the air. "Yippee!" She proudly exclaimed.
Buneary continued to stand in place, her paws up to her smiling mouth.
"(I-I can't believe it!)" She muttered trying not to squeal with joy.
Immediately, Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and waved his arms in the air.
"(Amazing job Bun!)" He declared.
Still smiling, she paused and looked over at him.
"(Yeah, great job!)" Piplup said from her other side when suddenly, he jumped forward. Just as he did, Buneary hopped to Pikachu and tightly hugged him, causing Piplup to fall flat on his face.
"(Thanks baby!)" She happily shouted as she began nuzzling Pikachu's cheek.
And so together, Dawn and Buneary were awarded their silver tiaras. After that, Hermione insisted that Dawn start on a Poké Chic career only for the bluenette to express more of a desire to become a better Pokémon Coordinator.
Looking on, Pikachu smiled at her, still wearing that tiara. Heh, that silly bunny.
Needless to say, after all of that adventuring, battling, contesting, training, and constantly dealing with Team Rocket, the gang was entitled to a little R&R again.
"Okay guys, just stay near the beach okay?" Ash firmly said as he gave everyone a once-over.
"(Okay!)" Most of them replied in unison.
"Alright, have fun then!" Dawn replied with a smile and with that, everyone started running towards the shore. Off to the side, she saw Buneary bending down to grab her beach towel. "Oh hey Buneary before you go..." She said as the bunny looked up, her sunglasses atop her head.
"(Hmm? What's up?)" Buneary asked.
Dawn giggled and squatted down to her eye level. "Just between me and you, keep an eye on them would ya?" She said with a wink and smile.
"(Huh?)" Buneary muttered, tilting her head to the side a little.
"Just make sure that nobody gets into trouble and if anyone's hungry..." Dawn said before rummaging through her backpack and pulled out a plastic baggie with celery sticks. "Just give them some of these."
Buneary smiled and nodded as she took the plastic baggie. "(Got it!)" She brightly said as she stuffed the baggie in her fluff.
"Alright, you have fun now!" Dawn laughed before Buneary turned and headed towards the beach, unable to wait any longer for some simple fun in the sun.
...
Unfortunately, it's never really that simple is it?
"(I'm so scared!)" Buneary somewhat dramatically said as she leaned over and hugged Pikachu in front of everyone while Pachirisu and Happiny danced on the ice.
Slightly taken aback, Pikachu gave her a little smile and made her ease up. "(Don't worry Buneary! Everything's gonna be okay!)"
It all started out so normal too. One moment they were on a nice beach, swimming, snorkeling and lounging around and the next, Meowth and his goons show up to cause trouble and before anybody even knew what was going on, they were all stranded on an island covered in ice!
In response to Pikachu's reaction, Piplup rushed in front of them and made a proud pose, flippers on his hips and all. "(That's right, as long as I, Piplup, am here, there's nothing to be afraid of!)" He declared when a sudden cry from behind them made the penguin lose all confidence and cower on the icy ground, much to his friends' exasperation.
Taking a moment to get over Piplup's shenanigans, everyone looked over at the source of the commotion and saw Swinub crying with Chimchar and Ambipom concernedly looking over at him.
"(I'm hungry! I wanna go back to the beach!)" Swinub whined.
Pikachu looked at him when all at once – as if a lightbulb went off over his head – he came upon an epiphany!
"(Okay, let's climb up there and have a look!)" He said, pointing to a large ice hill.
Buneary groaned as she struggled to keep her head above the soft snow. While her eyes were closed, she could make out the voices of Happiny's laughter, Swinub's complaining, Ambipom's concerned voice and Piplup's muffled shouting. Wincing, she opened her eyes and saw Happiny excitedly waving her tiny arms, her body halfway buried in the snow.
"(Everyone okay?)" Ambipom asked, the snow going up to her neck as she looked around.
"(Y-Yeah. What...happened?)" Buneary replied as she started to push herself out of the snow.
"(Well Pachirisu tried climbing the hill and went flying so Staravia had to go get him.)" Ambipom said, she too trying to climb out.
"(Yeah...)" Buneary grumbled as she pried herself out, some snow sticking to her fur and fluff.
"(Then...I dunno, we got hit by a gust of wind or something and now we're here.)" Ambipom said, freeing herself and dusting her body off.
"(Mphhmpph!)" Piplup muttered, the poor penguin having landed headfirst into the snow with his rump sticking up in the air.
"(Oh dear.)" Buneary sighed upon seeing her friend's predicament.
"(Yay fun! Do it again!)" Happiny laughed, not making any effort at getting out.
"(Still hungry!)" Swinub cried, his face sticking straight up out of the snow.
Buneary blinked. Is that everyone?
"(Where're the others?)" She asked, looking over at Ambipom.
The purple monkey gave a half-hearted shrug in response. "(Beats me, hopefully they landed in the snow somewhere close by.)"
Buneary looked back at their group to make sure that everyone was accounted for. Seeing Happiny's smiling face in that moment reminded the bunny of their little misadventure in the maze not too long ago.
Great. Looks like they're having a repeat of that oh-so fun moment in her life and not only that, but Swinub too. So she's isolated with two kids this time...perfect. If Pachirisu was here, it would be a trifecta of juvenile-causing headaches.
Holding back another sigh, Buneary motioned for Ambipom to help in getting the others out of the snow.
Once he was freed, Piplup didn't hesitate at all to take the reins.
"(Okay everyone, let's find the others and get back to the beach!)" He declared; a flipper raised in the air. So confident was he that he didn't even realize that the only one positively responding was Happiny.
"(Yay! Let's do it!)" She cried out, jumping in place.
"(Follow me!)" Piplup said as he began walking away. "(Let's find Pikachu and the others quickly.)"
"(Find Pikachu and the others!)" Happiny repeated, following closely behind him.
It took only a moment for the two to realize that nobody else was following them. A tad irritated, Piplup ran back and glared at the rest of his group.
"(Hurry up! Hurry up!)" He repeatedly yelled to the others who were huddled up in a tiny alcove in the ice.
"(We don't want to!)" Ambipom complained, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth.
"(You're kidding right?)" Buneary followed, both of her ears curled up.
"(It's freezing out there! And I'm still hungry!)" Swinub cried.
Piplup merely slumped his shoulders and sadly sighed. "(But you're an Ice-type...)" He grumbled, still staring at them.
A little while later, their little group continued wandering the icy landscape, Piplup insisting that they were heading in the correct direction although how he deduced this was anybody's guess.
"(And you're sure it's this way?)" Ambipom asked as she walked behind the penguin.
"(Totally! I'm a whiz at directions!)" Piplup confidently replied.
"(Heh, not that time we got separated before...)" Ambipom scoffed.
"(What's that?)" Piplup asked, looking back.
"(Nothing!)" Ambipom quickly said before giving the rest a sly smile.
Buneary resisted the urge to roll her eyes at their banter. Indeed, Ambipom mentioned how during the last time everyone got separated and had to go through those caves, Piplup kept getting them lost. Frankly, it was sort of a miracle that everyone met up the way that they did.
"(So hungry...)" Swinub grumbled as he walked alongside them, the young Ice-type having not stopped complaining since they arrived here. In contrast, Happiny wasn't letting anything bring her down. In fact, she seemed to really be loving this place. Well...at least that was good.
"(We'll get something when we meet up with Pikachu's group.)" Piplup said, briefly looking back at him.
"(But I'm hungry now!)" Swinub cried.
"(Well you're just gonna have to wait.)" Piplup firmly said as he turned back to keep walking.
Buneary rubbed her temples. Oh legends above, it was resembling that maze misadventure with each passing moment.
"(I said that we don't have anything!)" Piplup practically shouted as the group took a momentary rest between pillars of ice.
Swinub only cried harder in response, much to the exhaustion of everyone around. Even Happiny's bright demeanor was beginning to sour as her stomach loudly growled.
Buneary and Ambipom looked at each other, clear worry on their faces. They hated to admit it, but if they don't try and find food soon, nobody was going to last much longer.
"(Well, maybe we can find something around here.)" Buneary muttered as she looked around. The more she did, the less and less it seemed like anything at all could grow here let alone provide sustenance.
"(Heh, fat chance.)" Piplup grumbled as he folded his flippers over his chest.
Maybe he was right, maybe there's no way to-
Buneary's ears fully uncurled as an idea came to her. Feeling a familiar mischievous sensation coming out of her chest, she suppressed an impish grin.
"(Yeah maybe you're right Pip, I guess there's nothing to eat.)" She said, looking over at him.
Piplup nodded affirmatively. "(Yup, nothing at all-)"
"(I mean, I wouldn't expect anybody to find something around here.)" Buneary said, waving her paws in the air, much to the somewhat confused stares of the rest of the group. She couldn't help but give Piplup a side-glance and an accompanying sly smile. "(Not even you would be able to find something I'm sure.)"
In complete disbelief, Piplup merely blinked at her, his beak hanging open as he made a wordless sound.
Ambipom looked between them. "(Well I don't think food could grow here anyway.)"
Buneary shrugged her shoulders. "(Yeah maybe, or maybe there is but we can't find it. Nope. I wouldn't expect anybody here to locate food in this place. Only someone really cool would be able to do that...like maybe Pikachu?)"
Completely irate, Piplup practically jumped from where he was sitting. "(Now hold on! I'm the leader here and if Pikachu can find food, so can I!)"
Looking at him again, Buneary put on a disingenuous smile. "(It's okay Pip. Pikachu knows Iron Tail and can shatter ice, so it's really not a fair comparison. I'm sure wherever his group is, they're eating pretty well right now.)"
"(I wanna be with Pikachu's group!)" Swinub whined.
"(Me too!)" Happiny followed.
Ambipom merely looked at them, still not getting it. Seeing the purple monkey's confusion, Buneary leaned over and lightly elbowed her.
"(Huh?)" Ambipom muttered as she glanced at the bunny who silently looked between her and the increasingly annoyed Piplup. As soon as she saw the penguin's angry expression, it clicked. "(O-Oh yeah, me three!)"
"(Now hold on a second! If that's how it is, then I'll find us some food!)" Piplup declared, unable to take it anymore. Quickly, he looked back and forth, scanning for any sign of possible nourishment. "(Hmmm...)" He mused aloud before suddenly pointing at an ice pillar. "(There!)"
Everyone looked at the ice pillar. It didn't really appear any different than the rest.
"(What are you pointing at Pip?)" Ambipom asked, still staring at the pillar.
"(That pillar has food, I'm sure of it!)" He shouted as he ran up and pressed his head against it while tapping.
"(How do you figure?)" Ambipom asked as they began to approach him.
He took his head off the pillar and gave them a rather smug grin. "(Heh, if you're observant, you'd notice that this pillar has formed around a tree.)"
"(Really?)" Buneary asked, looking over the pillar.
"(Yup, definitely! This ice pillar has different cracks than the other ones which means that it must have formed around something that was already here. Trust me, you'd have to be the right type to notice!)" Piplup confidently said with a nod.
"(But you're not an Ice-type...)" Ambipom muttered.
"(Not that type! I mean figuratively!)" Piplup yelled, flailing in place.
Smirking, Buneary put her paws on her hips. "(Well alright, if you're sure, let's see shall we?)"
Calming himself down, Piplup nodded again. "(Okay, let's take turns. I'll go first.)" He said as he turned back to the pillar and his beak began to glow.
As she saw the penguin begin to use Peck on the ice pillar, Buneary couldn't help but feel rather proud of herself in that moment. Heh, clearly Pikachu wasn't the only one capable of using reverse psychology!
Atta girl!
"(Is it done Piplup?)" Ambipom asked as she stared at the tunnel they had made into the ice pillar.
"(Yeah and can you hurry up? I'm freezing!)" Buneary shouted as she peeked into the tunnel.
The amount of time they had spent on making progress didn't ease Swinub's complaining whatsoever as the young Pokémon continued to cry in place.
"(I'm huuunnggrryyy!)" He whined, his tears becoming fountains at this point.
"(Me too!)" Happiny followed although as soon as she said that, Piplup emerged from the tunnel holding an apple.
"(Behold! I've found it!)" He proudly proclaimed as everyone smiled. Yes! At long last, now they could divide the spoils and-
"(Mine!)" Swinub shouted as he jumped up and grabbed the apple out of Piplup's flippers. In one swift motion, the porcine munched the apple and swallowed it in a few seconds flat.
Everyone looked at him and then back to Piplup.
"(Please bring some for us too.)" Buneary asked.
Piplup slumped his shoulders as he lay there in the ice tunnel. "(There's nothing left.)" He muttered to which everyone gasped.
"(You could only find one?!)" Ambipom yelled in disbelief.
Immediately, Happiny rolled onto her backside and flailed her tiny limbs in the air in defiance. "(I'm hungry!)"
Ambipom scoffed as she put her paws on her hips and gave the penguin a stern glare. "(You are not reliable Pip.)"
Next to her, Buneary turned away and made a rather displeased face. "(Maybe it really would be better if we were with Pikachu...)" She muttered as she furrowed her brow.
She was so utterly annoyed that she didn't even bother to look at Piplup's completely floored reaction to that.
About an hour had passed and everyone was taking a rest in a snow-covered forest.
"(Jeez, I'm getting puh-retty tired of being cold over here!)" Ambipom grumbled as she rubbed her arms to stay warm.
"(Me too!)" Happiny complained.
Buneary glanced over at them and seeing the two give an occasional shiver immediately filled her with immense sympathy. Hungry or not, there wasn't any doubt that they had it the worst. Swinub is part Ice-type, Piplup's a penguin and she herself has fluff to keep her warm.
"(Well, we can't stay sitting around for too long. To stay warm we have to keep moving.)" Piplup firmly said.
"(But I'm coooold!)" Happiny whined.
"(And I'm hungry again!)" Swinub cried next to Buneary.
"(Hungry?! You just ate the only bit of food we could find around here! You ate our only food, now we're gonna starve!)" Piplup shouted.
"(It wasn't enough, find more please!)" Swinub yelled back, this time his dramatic tears splashing on the poor bunny.
"(Woah, hey!)" Buneary yelled as she got up from where she was sitting. "(Don't splash me! I'm gonna be even colder!)"
"(I'm sorry! Find more food now please!)" Swinub demanded, his cries only getting louder.
"(I...!)" Buneary started to shout back but immediately held it in. She briefly glanced over at everyone and they were looking elsewhere, perhaps because they were more concerned about other things or they were just trying not to stare. She looked back at the little Ice-type who was now on his side kicking and screaming. All at once, her mind flashed back to that day in the maze with Happiny. How she had royally screwed that up...
"(I wanna another apple!)" Swinub shouted.
Taking a moment, Buneary closed her eyes and deeply inhaled.
"Okay. One, two, three..." She thought before she let out a rather loud exhale. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Swinub wasn't easing up on the crying. Slowly she approached him and gently put a paw on his side. He looked up at her in mild surprise and sniffled. "(Swinub, I get it. You're hungry, we're hungry, it's tough right now. I'll tell you what, if you keep moving with us and we find Pikachu's group, you can have as much food as you want, no questions asked. Deal?)"
He just stared at her. "(B-But...what if we don't find Pikachu?)"
Her face became more determined and she gave him a little smile. "(We will! A little ice and snow isn't gonna stop that guy, trust me! I promise, everything's gonna be alright.)"
From behind she could hear Ambipom let out a little snicker. "(Heh, h-he could probably use your w-warm hugs right now.)" She managed to say in-between her chattering teeth.
Turning around, Buneary twirled her wrist at the purple monkey. "(Oh please, he doesn't need anybody to watch over him...much.)" She said, Dawn's earlier advice echoing in her head. The young coordinator had specifically asked for her to watch over everyone in case something happened. Yeah, because nothing crazy ever happened to them right? And then she...she...
...
...She...gave her a plastic baggie with...!
Buneary's eyes widened upon her realization. Immediately, she looked down and began digging through the fluff around her waist.
"(Hmm? What are you-?)" Piplup said before Buneary pulled out a baggie that contained a few celery sticks.
Everyone blinked at her.
"(Ah-ha! It's still here!)" Buneary cheered. Through thick and thin, somehow Dawn's snacks managed to make it through without getting lost or ruined!
"(Is that...?)" Ambipom mused before Swinub rushed over and pushed his body against Buneary's.
"(FOOD! Gimme, gimme gimme!)" Swinub demanded as he constantly tried getting at the baggie which Buneary was now holding above her head as she stood on her tippy toes.
"(Hey hold on!)" Piplup yelled as he ran over to them. "(You already ate that apple, it's our turn!)"
"(Yeah! I'm hungry too!)" Happiny shouted, joining Piplup's side.
Still holding the baggie away from Swinub, Buneary looked over and saw the little crowd around her, Ambipom still sitting down and looking at them rather concernedly. Looking back at the rest of their group, Buneary grimaced and quickly used Bounce to jump back.
"(Okay that's' enough!)" She yelled, landing a fair distance away while holding the baggie in front of herself. Everyone merely looked at her, drool practically coming out of each of their mouths. Sighing, Buneary held the baggie closer to her face and counted the celery sticks. "(Five...)" She muttered and slowly lowered the bag. "(There's five celery sticks.)"
"(Well I think-)" Ambipom started to say before Piplup took a step in front of her.
"(I'm hungry and I'm the leader, so I get dibs!)" Piplup yelled.
"(No, me first!)" Happiny protested, looking the penguin straight in his eyes with enough intensity that they practically shot lightning bolts. Already pushed pretty far, Piplup angrily did the same.
Buneary continued to watch them, another reminder of that day in the maze with the baby Pokémon. Before she could say anything, she instinctively looked down and saw Swinub barreling towards her!
"(I want them!)" He yelled before he was suddenly stopped in place by a gentle tap on the head by the bunny. "(Huh?)" Swinub muttered as he looked up and saw Buneary giving him a somewhat stern look.
Everybody stopped their squabbling to look at them, almost as if they were waiting in anticipation for something dreadful to happen.
Buneary merely looked down at the young Ice-type before something else clicked in her mind. A bright smile appeared on her lips and she removed her paw from his forehead.
"(Okay Swinub, you can get one celery stick.)" She finally said before she pulled one out from the bag and held it in front of herself. "(But only one. After that, we need to share with everyone else.)"
Swinub blinked at her. "(Huh? Share?)"
Her smile growing wider, Buneary nodded her head. "(Yeah, share! Do you know what sharing is?)" She asked only for the little porcine to shake his head.
Happiny suddenly waved her tiny arms in the air. "(Ooh yay, share!)" She cheered, causing Swinub to look back at her.
"(So sharing...is good?)" He asked as he turned back to the bunny.
Buneary looked up and saw both Piplup and Ambipom smiling at her.
Feeling pretty good, Buneary gently nodded. "(Yup, sharing is good!)" She said as she handed him a celery stick.
He looked between her and the snack before he happily took into his mouth and started chewing. With that, Buneary took out another little celery stick and saw Happiny walk to her.
Laughing, Happiny graciously accepted the snack. "(Sharing is great! Love sharing!)"
While Buneary didn't see them, both Piplup and Ambipom smiled and nodded in approval.
A little while later, their little group found shelter in an igloo they had made, having gone from the snowy forest to a flatter, ice-covered landscape.
"(Okay, don't just sit there. We have to find our friends.)" Piplup sighed with a worried look, his flippers on his sides as he got up.
Her ears fully curled up, Buneary merely squat in the igloo and looked down at the ground, a pouting face being all that she could muster. "(I refuse to move...)" She muttered, utterly exhausted. The celery sticks were a nice reprieve from hunger but the continued trekking across this icy hell and the fact that it felt like it was only getting colder made it all the more difficult to find the strength to go out again. Besides, where would they go anyway? They would just be aimlessly wandering out in the wilderness. They needed some sort of plan.
"(If you insist on going out, please bring a sleigh or something.)" Ambipom grumbled half-jokingly.
"(Sleigh is a good idea!)" Happiny cheered, jumping in place.
"(I'm hungry.)" Swinub muttered, giving Buneary a quick side-glance. Though she was still pouting, Buneary saw his pleading face and eased up a little. Ooh boy, he may have picked up the concept of sharing but it looks like he might need a refresher every now and then.
Piplup merely sighed and slumped his shoulders.
Happiny turned her head to stare at something outside of their igloo.
"(Huh? Strange...look there.)" She muttered.
Buneary turned around and looked. Immediately, her face brightened and she quickly stepped outside.
"(Oh wow! It's a castle!)" She cried out, her eyes on a giant ice building off in the distance. Still admiring in complete awe, she didn't even turn around to notice the others leaving the igloo to do the same...well all except for Piplup anyway.
"(Indeed, that's quite a castle alright!)" Ambipom said in total astonishment.
Still smiling, Buneary looked over and locked eyes with the purple monkey. "(Do you want to have a look?)"
Ambipom smiled back and nodded her head. "(Yeah, let's!)"
"(Hey!)" Piplup shouted in complete disbelief as he saw his group happily skip towards the castle, laughing and cheering the whole way.
"(I wanna be a princess!)" Happiny giggled as she hopped away in sheer merriment.
As was expected, the place was entirely made of ice, even the windows and whatever type of décor that graced it. After walking through an entrance, Buneary and the others couldn't help but look around in amazement.
"(Wowwww...)" Happiny muttered, her eyes trailing over the ice hallway which was complimented by an occasional ice dresser with icy blue flowers in an ice vase.
"(Yeah, wow.)" Ambipom said as she walked behind her.
"(Hmmph, maybe we can ask the owner if they've seen our friends.)" Piplup huffed from the very back of the group.
"(And maybe some food to share!)" Swinub exclaimed.
Buneary amusedly rolled her eyes. Well, it was better than just aimlessly wandering around like they had been doing all day.
It didn't take long for their group to reach an opening and their adoration for this mysterious place only strengthened as they stepped into a massive room adorned with an ice staircase, chandelier and tainted windows.
"(Jeez, it doesn't cease to amaze huh?)" Ambipom said as she looked up towards the ceiling.
"(Yeah, I-)" Buneary said before her ears uncurled as she heard the voice of a younger Pokémon from above. She looked up and saw none other than a familiar-looking squirrel riding atop an equally familiar-looking bird.
"(Pachirisu's number one!)" He cheered as they descended from the ceiling, having made their way in from a window near the top.
"(Pachirisu?)" Piplup wondered aloud as his gazed followed them.
"(Oh thank goodness he's-)" Ambipom muttered before another familiar voice called out.
"(They're okay!)" A male Pokémon shouted from across the huge room. Everyone looked down to see the rest of their group!
Buneary blinked. Let's see, there was Chimchar, Buizel, Meowth...that's pretty weird, and...and...
Her heart immediately fluttered upon seeing his handsome face. She quickly noticed how his yellow fur sparkled no doubt thanks to the snow and ice crystals that he picked up along the way.
The two groups stared at each other for a moment and then, before anybody even knew it, they were rushing forwards. Naturally, Piplup was leading the way however Buneary was running right alongside him, her smile the widest it's been all day!
As soon as Pachirisu and Staravia landed, the two groups were mere feet apart. Buneary could only felt immense relief, their terrible ordeal finally over. It was him; it was really him!
"(PIKACHU!)" She joyously squealed, her excitement so great that she didn't even notice that she had accidentally pushed Piplup off to the side and caused him to go sliding across the icy floor.
By some miracle, some of the others had managed to get to him first. Her eyes so wide and sparkling that they may have been replaced with hearts at that point, Buneary practically floated over to the smiling mouse.
"(Pikachu~!)" She sang, her bright voice catching him by surprise as he looked over at her. He didn't even have time to react to her body pressing up against his. "(I was so lonely without you!)"
Pikachu's surprised look quickly melted into relieved laughter. "(Hi baby. Glad to see you're okay too.)" He happily said as she continued to nuzzle him, everybody snickering around them.
As it turned out, the occupants of that castle were having a quarrel over some broken ice statues, their squabbling being the cause of the blizzard that separated their group in the first place. With a little bit of teamwork, the crew came together to make new ice statues and with that, they were on an ice-boat headed back to the beach!
As their ship departed, Buneary couldn't help but put her paws up to her cheeks. "(Hey, this Country of Ice is a beautiful place!)"
Piplup could only gasp in complete bewilderment.
Likewise, Ambipom put her paws up to her mouth and giggled. "(Yeah, I might come by again.)"
Piplup merely slumped to the floor. "(Well that was a big turnaround...)" He muttered, completely exhausted.
Buneary looked back at him and snickered. Poor guy, he really did give it his best shot. And hey, it's not like he did a terrible job or anything. Honestly, it's hard to imagine anyone handling that whole situation very well in general.
She looked over and saw several of their friends milling around the boat.
"(Oh man, I can't wait to get back. I'm tired of you guys using my tail for warmth.)" Chimchar laughed.
"(Hey man, what can I say? It's chilly around here.)" Turtwig replied with a shrug.
"(Yikes, ice here, fire there, you must've really been desperate for some heat huh?)" Buizel muttered with a raised eyebrow at the grass-tortoise.
"You tawt dat's bad? How about crashing inta an ice pillar and starving da whole day?" Meowth said with a little grin as he shook his head, his crew huddled around him.
As everyone continued to talk amongst themselves, Buneary looked around a little more and finally saw Pikachu at the front of the ship looking forwards. Without hesitation, she walked over to him.
"(Hey.)" She said as she joined him.
He looked over at her and smiled. "(Oh hey you!)"
"(Fun day huh?)"
"(Yeah, it was a real great time.)"
She snickered as she looked forward with him to view the open sea, leaning on the ice railing.
"(So I assume you took charge of your group?)" She asked, stealing a glance at him.
Pikachu's ears twitched and he quickly looked back at her, a little surprised. "(Hmm? Oh uh, yeah I guess.)"
Buneary let out another giggle. "(Of course, why am I not surprised?)"
Pikachu stared at her before a little smirk appeared on his face. "(Heh, you're one to talk missy!)"
"(Huh? What do you mean?)" Buneary asked.
"(Piplup told me about what you did with Swinub and sharing those snacks. Got him to calm down did ya?)" He said, his smirk showing a hint of mischief behind it.
Now it was Buneary's turn to give him a surprised look before looking away and holding her arm. "(Oh that? It was nothing, Piplup was the one leading us.)"
"(Tsk, trying to be modest eh? I'll bet you were the one pulling the strings!)" He laughed, giving her a little nudge.
Face warming a little, she giggled back and lightly slapped him on his chest. "(Oh hush!)"
"(C'mooon, admit it!)" He said, leaning forward, his eyes half-lidded.
Rolling her eyes, she tried not to look him in the face. "(Well...I guess I did sort of convince him to find us food.)" She said, a proud smile creeping across her face.
"(Heh, knew it! That's my girl!)" Pikachu exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around her, causing her to squeak in surprise. "(Handling two kids at once. I'm proud of you.)" He beamed before he nuzzled his cheek against hers.
If her face wasn't warm already, it was practically emitting steam now!
"(Th-Thanks...)" She stuttered as she gently wrapped her arms around his body and nuzzled him back.
After another little mishap with their now nearly completely melted ship being sunk by an overexcited Gliscor, the gang at long last managed to enjoy their day at the beach. Some lounged in a raft and others surfed. Pikachu and Buneary enjoyed some exciting snorkeling with Ambipom while Piplup swam along the bottom of the ocean bed.
After everyone had had their fun, they gathered on the cliff to watch the sunset, Meowth's team included.
"What a beautiful sunset." Meowth beamed as he stood next to Pikachu.
"(Indeed it is.)" Pikachu smiled back as they saw the yellow sun dip below the now purple and orange ocean's horizon. It almost felt like forever since they had seen the sun and now at long last, it had finally come.
As everyone continued to admire the view, Pikachu leaned over and saw Buneary to his left. Taking notice of his gaze, she looked back at him and smiled.
Author's Notes:
About damn time that Buneary learns how to handle kids. Don't want a repeat of that embarrassment from before after all!
While writing this, it occurred to me that this special kinda...doesn't have a lot going on. The whole conflict at the end is about ice statues...whoopie. Then again, I guess the other specials were like that eh?
What's that? You want another mini-arc you say? Well alright then...! :P
And don't forget that if you're interested in PikaBun stuff, why not join our Discord server? Just ask user Lenard or NerdoodleN on DeviantArt.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed a little more character development for Buneary, until next time!