Chapter 5: ...& M.S
Half an hour passed after the charity event and the gang found themselves in the elegant backyard of the mansion. The backyard – which was practically a private park given its size - was adorned with exquisite marble columns, lush and carefully trimmed grass with impressively-designed hedges in the shapes of different Pokémon and an occasional small fountain or pond with its own miniature waterfall.
Scattered throughout the backyard were round tables covered with white tablecloths and plates of the promised dinner which was served by only the finest chefs in all of Sinnoh. Strewn about the backyard were lights that gave a warm glow to the night scene.
Since the gala itself was officially over, all attendees who brought their other Pokémon were now allowed to release them. There was certainly enough room to accommodate everyone at the palace after all! As soon as they were given permission, Ash, Dawn and Brock released all of their Pokémon to get some fresh air and enjoy themselves.
Soon, Pikachu and the rest of the gang had decided to engage in a game of tag as they continually chased each other throughout the massive backyard while Ash and the others continued to talk with the other attendees.
Soon it was Buneary's turn to tag someone which prompted everyone to scatter to escape being caught.
"(You're no match for me! Even in my nice dress!)" Buneary proclaimed as she hopped after them at a blinding speed.
Eventually, Aipom managed to break away from the crowd of Pokémon being chased by Buneary and continued to run in a different direction until something caught her eye. Skidding to a halt, she looked off to the side and her eyes widened upon what she saw: a fairly-large stage with speakers, a microphone, a laptop, a large television screen and a book on a pedestal. Her eyes wandered over to the banner that adorned the top of the stage which read "MASTER OF SONG".
Huh...neat. Laura mentioned something about karaoke when they first arrived after all. That could be fun. The book on that pedestal is probably a list of songs they could sing. Definitely a good way to end the night-
Aipom suddenly felt her eye twitch as an idea came to her. A huge grin suddenly began to creep across her face.
"(Almost got you!)" Buneary proclaimed as she chased Pikachu.
"(In your dreams!)" Pikachu shouted, looking back at her as he ran on all fours. He looked forward and to his horror, he realized that he was about to run straight into a pond! Pikachu immediately tried stopping himself but instead he just proceeded to slide right up to the edge of the pond's pool. He felt his body lean forward as he frantically flailed his arms around trying to balance himself away from the water.
"(Woaaah!)" He yelled before he felt something tug on the back of his tuxedo and pull him backwards.
He managed to turn his body and landed face-forward with his eyes closed but instead of the grass, he felt something else. He opened his eyes and to his surprise, he was staring directly into Buneary's face.
Pikachu couldn't help but feel his face grow warmer, especially with Buneary's breath reaching his lips. He quickly pulled away and cleared his throat.
"(Ahem, um thanks.)" He said bashfully.
"(No problem!)" Buneary giggled as she started to get off the grass. "(Oh and another thing...)"
"(Huh?)"
"(Tag, you're it!)" She happily said as she beeped him on the nose.
Pikachu only blinked in response before letting out a small exhale with a smile, his ears drooping. They perked back up upon hearing another voice call out to him.
"(Hey Pikachu!)" Aipom merrily said as she ran up to him.
"(Oh hey. I got tagged.)" Pikachu said in a defeated voice.
"(Teehee~! It was either that or get soaked! I'll go tell the others that you're it!)" Buneary laughed as she began to walk away to rejoin the other Pokémon.
"(Ahh, always need saving don'tcha?)" Aipom amusedly asked when Buneary was out of earshot.
"(You know it.)" Pikachu replied with a somewhat embarrassed smile.
"(Well not tonight mister 'cause guess what?)" Aipom asked with increasing excitement.
"(What?)" Pikachu asked a little nervously.
"(I know what your first bet is gonna be~!)" Aipom proclaimed, her arms extended outwards.
Pikachu merely stared at her in confusion. The bet? Ohhhh right...that bet. He merely sighed. Well, it had to happen one of these days, might as well get it over with.
"(Alright, what is it?)" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Smiling, Aipom pointed at the Master of Song stage. "(That!)" She proclaimed.
Pikachu blinked in confusion. "(Huh? Karaoke?)" He asked half-bewildered.
"(Yuppers! And your bet iiiiiissssss...)" She said, prolonging it for dramatic effect, moving her arm to point at the sky and then finally at Pikachu. "(To do a solo performance. And...)" She continued before walking up to him. "(It has to be a romantic song!)" She declared as she tapped his chest.
Pikachu felt a shiver go up his spine. Oh lord, sing a romantic song? Alone?! No. No! Heavens above please nooooo! Anything but this!
"(B-B-But I-I'm not a very good singer!)" Pikachu stammered, his entire body practically quaking.
"(Nonsense! I know you'll do great!)" Aipom confidently said, paws on her hips.
"(But I don't think I know any romantic songs.)" Pikachu muttered under his breath.
"(Oh don't worry, I took a look at the song list...)" Aipom started before quickly zipping away to grab the book and immediately ran back up to Pikachu. She opened the song book and flipped through its pages before finding the piece she was looking for. "(And I know you know this one!)" She happily yelled as she shoved the book in his face.
Pikachu glossed over the song. She wasn't wrong, he did know this one. He even knew the lyrics. How could he not? It was quite popular for a long time, everywhere they went, even away from towns, they could hear that song playing over peoples' radios, televisions or just the occasional passersby humming it. He sighed. What could he do? A bet was a bet and he would never back out on a promise.
"(Sooooo...what are ya waiting for?)" Aipom asked, unable to hide her enthusiasm.
"(So Pikachu's it huh?)" Sudowoodo asked.
"(Yup!)" Buneary replied.
"(Good luck catching me! I'm not only the world's best seeker, but I'm also the best unable-to-be-tagged-er)" Piplup proudly said.
"(That's not a thing.)" Turtwig said rolling his eyes to which the blue penguin huffed in annoyance.
"(Hey speaking of which, where is-)" Staravia started before a voice rang out.
"(Hey everyone! Pikachu's gonna sing for us!)" Aipom yelled, her paws cupped around her mouth.
Everyone turned to look at her but soon their gazes settled on Pikachu. Sure enough, he was on the Master of Song stage with a microphone in his paw, looking like he was about to blow away in the breeze given how shaky he was.
"(Sing? Pikachu?)" Turtwig asked, an eyebrow raised.
"(Huh, didn't expect that.)" Sudowoodo said.
"(Should be interesting.)" Croagunk replied.
Buneary on the other hand, didn't say anything and merely continued to look on at Pikachu as he flipped through the pages of the song book, going over the lyrics. As he did, everyone nearby - their group and the other attendees' Pokémon - began to gather at the stage, forming a little audience.
"(Ready?)" Aipom asked as she turned to Pikachu.
"(As I'll ever be.)" Pikachu replied, trying not to sound nervous.
"(Great, then without further ado!)" Aipom declared as she walked up to the laptop and pressed a button. Soon, the night was filled with the energetic music of a song that was all-too familiar to everyone listening.
Pikachu steadied himself, he tried to control his breathing and calm his hammering heart. He looked into the crowd who were eyeing him all at once. He saw Buneary amongst the audience. Upon seeing her, Pikachu gave a slight grin. Locking gazes with him, Buneary smiled back and gave a wave of reassurance. Letting out a small exhale, Pikachu waited for the first few lyrics to start. He was ready.
As the notes finally arrived and the lyrics appeared on the television screen, Pikachu put the mic up to his mouth and began to sing.
What pretty eyes you have
They want to look at me
But you don't let them
Not even to wink
As he sang, everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Wow. His singing...wasn't half bad! A little shaky but otherwise pretty good! As he continued to sing, many in the audience actually found themselves getting into it with some even starting to dance.
Without a doubt, nobody in the audience was more enraptured than Buneary who continued to gaze at the singing electric mouse, her mouth gradually hanging agape in shock.
Even Aipom herself had to admit that she was a little pleasantly caught-off guard with how well Pikachu's singing voice was. Granted, she shouldn't be too surprised. After all, she'd heard him sing – albeit he didn't know she was listening – ever since she first joined his group in Kanto. She knew that he would be pretty good otherwise she wouldn't have made him do the dare. She was a lot of things: Mischievous? Yes. A jokester? Definitely. Mean-spirited? No way!
"(Yeah, go Pikachu! Rock on!)" Piplup shouted from the crowd.
"(Atta boy!)" Staravia said, waving a wing in support.
Hearing his friends' words of support and gradual cheering from the crowd made Pikachu's confidence swell and he began to sing with more gusto, albeit with his heart practically about to burst out of his chest.
I do not offer wealth,
I offer you my heart
As Pikachu continued to sing, Buneary never once took her gaze off him. Just...wow. She thought she had a good reading on him but now? First it was battling, then impressions, now singing? Just what else was that cute, incredibly charming and increasingly-impressive mouse capable of?!
Suddenly she felt something go off in her chest that sent shockwaves throughout her body. She held her paw up to her chest, just above her heart which was hammering away like a pair of drums. Just what on earth was this? This was certainly...different than what's she's felt for him before. It was like the first ever time she'd laid eyes upon him. Like being struck by lightning.
She continued to gaze at him until he sang the final lyrics.
I would like to kiss those lips
And tell you, beautiful girl,
You are lovely, an enchantress.
As he finished, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. Some in the audience were even whistling. Pikachu felt his face was practically on fire, any redder and he would be a walking cherry tomato!
"(Thank you!)" Pikachu said into the microphone, again trying to keep his nerves under control.
"(Encore! Encore!)" Delcatty shouted as she sat on her hindlegs clapping.
"(Indeed, that was amazing!)" Gardevoir proclaimed.
"(What a talent!)" Mismagius cheered.
"(See? I knew you'd do great!)" Aipom said as she looked back at him with a large grin.
Somehow that made Pikachu's face burn even more. He nodded to her before starting to walk off the stage, hoping to grab a drink of water when suddenly he was tackled from all sides by his friends.
"(Dude, you freakin' killed it!)" Staravia happily shouted.
"(I'll say! I didn't know you could sing!)" Sudowoodo said.
"(I must admit, I couldn't have done a better job.)" Piplup calmly said while nodding his head.
Pikachu stared at Piplup upon hearing that. Woah, to hear that coming from him of all Pokémon...maybe there was some truth to what everyone was saying.
"(In fact that was sooo good...I should give it a shot myself!)" Staravia announced.
"(Me too!)" Turtwig followed.
"(Prepared to be amazed by my vocal range!)" Piplup said proudly. Ahh there it was, back to normal. Good old Piplup.
"(I'd suggest something hardcore! Like heavy death metal! I call being the lead singer!)" Staravia excitedly suggested.
"(Ooooh yeah! My voice has always been powerfully intimidating!)" Turtwig laughed.
"(Um guys, I'm not sure if they have-)" Pikachu started before being interrupted.
"(Of course, you'll be up there with us!)" Sudowoodo said, pointing at Pikachu.
"(Err, I...okay.)" Pikachu managed to say. He had to admit that being up there on stage was a little fun and probably will be even more so if he wasn't the only one singing this time.
As Pikachu continued to discuss with his friends about what song they should choose, Buneary looked at him from where she was standing. She couldn't help but smile. He's certainly shown bravery the likes of which she'd never seen before in other Pokémon but this...this was something else. As she continued to gaze at him, she could feel a blush overtaking her face. Strange, that didn't happen unless she was talking to him or saw him do something amazing – which was almost always – but simply staring at him from a distance? That was new.
"(Enjoyed the performance?)" Aipom asked as she walked up to Buneary, causing her to quickly turn back to face her.
"(Huh? Oh yeah, he was uh...really good.)" She said before turning back to look at him, trying to hide how red her face was.
"(I'll say! Didn't expect that from him did ya?)" Aipom giggled as she tapped Buneary's shoulder with her tail.
"(Not really. I didn't expect him to have such a good singing voice.)" Buneary said, her eyes still locked on Pikachu. "(And it's so unexpected of him too. He's usually so shy and modest. I would've never thought that he would sing in front of an audience.)"
"(Yeah, definitely worth a bet!)" Aipom laughed.
"(Huh? Bet?)" Buneary asked as she turned to look at her friend.
Aipom's eyes widened in horror and her face practically blanched as she realized her mistake. "(Oh umm...whoops!)" She sheepishly said as she rubbed the back of her head with an awkward smile.
"(What bet?)" Buneary asked, blinking in confusion before they saw Piplup run up to them.
"(Hey guys! We're gonna do a death metal song next, just need to warm up our vocals first!)" He announced as he got to them. His expression changed as he noticed the looks on their faces. "(Umm, what's up?)"
Aipom chuckled nervously before letting out a small sigh. "(Oh well, no denying it. Skitty's out of the bag. Pikachu and I sort of made a bet, back during your double-battle against Ash.)"
"(Oh? What was the bet?)" Buneary inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Both Aipom and Piplup exchanged nervous glances before Aipom spoke up.
"(That if, uh, one side loses, whoever was betting for them would have to do two truths or dares.)" She shamefacedly said, twiddling her paws.
"(Ohhh...)" Buneary said before turning back look at Pikachu, still being surrounded by his gabbing friends. "(So...he bet against me?)"
Aipom and Piplup both immediately felt a sense of panic upon hearing that and were so stunned that they didn't move a muscle.
"Oh crap this isn't good!" Piplup internally screamed.
"Mayday! Mayday! Ship's going down!" Aipom's panicked mind thought before she immediately tried to quell the tension.
"(B-B-But he really wanted to bet for you!)" She said with a nervous smile, trying her best to not convey that on the inside she was screaming to the heavens. "(I sorta...umm...convinced him to stick to his own team.)" She said, still trying to maintain her composure.
Buneary only continued to look on at Pikachu, seemingly not taking Aipom's words in at all.
Both Aipom and Piplup remained in place in complete silence for what felt like hours. Their rising panic hit a boiling point when they thought they saw Buneary begin to frown.
"Aaaaahhh!" Piplup screamed in his head.
"This isn't good, she's peeved off! She's gonna hate him forever and it's all my fault!" Aipom screamed, equally loud in her mind. Unable to take it, she covered her face with her paws.
Oh good God almighty this was it! It's over, they failed!
Buneary continued to stare at him before blinking as a sudden realization came over her.
"(But...he gave me that advice...)" She wondered aloud.
"(Huh?)" Aipom muttered as she took her face out of her paws, not expecting to hear that at all. Piplup however, quickly saw an opportunity and immediately took action.
"(Err...yeah that's right! He did! Even though he knew he could lose the bet, he still gave you advice on winning!)" He proclaimed, causing Aipom to look back at him, caught off guard and still trying to put the pieces together.
"(Sooo...he wanted me to win?)" Buneary asked as she slowly turned towards them.
Like a brick hitting her in the face, Aipom finally caught on and smiled.
"(Yeah, I'd say so! What a guy! If you ask me, helping you out was way more important than a stupid bet!)" She said as she playfully nudged Buneary's shoulder.
There was another silent pause. Piplup and Aipom tried their best to maintain their nervous smiles and not let their panic show. Suddenly Buneary beamed brightly as she put her paws up to her cheeks.
"(D'awww~! That's so sweet!)" She merrily proclaimed.
Letting a moment go by to take in her reaction, Aipom smiled and took a step forward.
"(Well, that's Pikachu for ya!)" Aipom said shrugging as she felt a wave of relief.
"(Totally! Always thinking of others!)" Piplup concurred, nodding his head.
"(Oh man, when I get the chance, I'll make sure to let him know how incredible he is!)" Buneary squealed, closing her eyes and going into her own little world.
Peering over Buneary's shoulder, Aipom smirked. "(Well you know, he's alone right now. Maybe you can-)" She managed to say.
"(I'll be right back!)" Buneary shouted before immediately turning and hopping towards Pikachu.
"(Okay, let us know how it goes!)" Aipom said smiling and waving at the departing rabbit. As soon as she was out of earshot, both she and Piplup let out loud sighs of relief and slumped against each other.
"(Oh man that was close...)" Piplup muttered.
"(Tell me about it. I need to keep my big mouth shut.)" Aipom replied, exhausted.
"(Yeah...the karaoke thing was a clever idea though.)" Piplup remarked with a little smile.
"(Heh, I aim to please.)" Aipom said with a shrug and a smile of her own.
"(Okay, I'm gonna go warm up my vocals. You're not even remotely ready for my metal-ness!)" Staravia proclaimed as he took brief flight to the stage.
"(Yeah me too, see you in a few Pikachu!)" Turtwig said as he walked towards the stage's stairs.
"(Okay, see ya!)" Pikachu said with a wave.
"(Heyyy Pikachu~!)" Buneary called out as she hopped up to him.
"(Oh hey!)" He replied smiling.
"(Saw your performance up there~)" She said, winking at him.
"(Oh um, hope it wasn't too painful.)" Pikachu nervously said, twiddling his fingers and a light blush beginning to dust his face.
"(Painful? It was amazing! You were amazing!)" Buneary cheerfully proclaimed, looking him directly in his eyes.
"(Th-Thanks. Dunno if I'm gonna do a solo again for a while though, heh.)" He said, his blush only getting darker.
"(Yeah, I guess it's not really something you would normally do. Unless it was for say...a bet?)" Buneary said with an amused smile.
Pikachu's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and nearly all the color drained from his face.
"(O-Oh I, uhhh...)" He stammered before Buneary started giggling.
"(Don't worry, Aipom told me about it.)" She laughed as Pikachu stared at her in bewilderment.
"(Oh, well if it's any consolation, I really meant to bet for your team. It's just that Aipom, well, um, y'know...she...)"
"(Did some teasing? Maybe added some peer pressure to bet on Ash instead?)"
"(Yeah...)"
"(Don't sweat it! I know how she is, kind of hard to say no to her sometimes. Plus you have to stick to your own team right?)"
"(I guess...)" Pikachu said, not entirely convinced of his exoneration.
"(And hey, if you want to make it up to me...)" Buneary said as she took his paw in hers, causing him to blink in surprise. "(...Maybe...you could do a duet with me?)" She asked, her face beginning to redden.
"(W-What? Duet?)" He asked, completely caught off guard, his heart skipping a beat. All at once, he felt his entire body nearly tremble with a tingling sensation that nearly knocked him off his balance.
"(Oh yeah, definitely! You know...for devastating me so much!)" She said as she dramatically put her wrist up to her forehead and leaned back.
Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle at the melodramatic sight. "(Well I mean...if it'll make up for shattering your world. Okay.)" He said with a nervous smile. Looking at her happy face and pretending to act so dramatic made his heart do a weird summersault in his chest. It was the exact same feeling he had in the mansion and pretty familiar to what he felt with that double-battle. Just what on earth was that?
"(Yessss~! That just might do it!)" She happily exclaimed with the biggest smile on her face.
"(It's just that the guys want me to do a song with them first.)" Pikachu sheepishly muttered.
"(Oh no problem! We'll have our song after them! And we'll be ten times better! Then you can show them what you're really made of Mousey~)" She giggled.
"(C-Cool. Looking forward to it Bun Bun...er...I mean Backwards Bouncer!)" He said with a smirk, earning Buneary to cheekily wink and stick her tongue out at him. With that, she led him to the stage.
And so the rest of the night was filled with nothing but singing, laughter and making memories that will never be forgotten. It was especially amusing when at one point Brock joined the karaoke session to proclaim his love for Laura before being jabbed and dragged off by Croagunk again.
And of course, the best part of the night was that Buneary got to do her duet with Pikachu.
Author's Notes:
Aaaand thus ends the Gala Arc! Gotta say, it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would!
I want to give credit and a big shoutout to J'LoBuizel whose fic "Pikachu & Buneary's Unspoken Love" strongly inspired this chapter. He's made some great Pikachu and Buneary works so definitely check them out, especially if you also like stories with light-hearted humor and more cartoony vibes!
Up next, something that might look a little familiar. Ta-ta!