Chapter 11: Little Wing

"Oh my God just stay still!" Pikachu internally screamed as he and the rest of the Pokémon chased after Dawn's newly-caught member of the team: Pachirisu.

It had been over a week since Pikachu's hospitalization and with enough rest and care, he was back to his old self! Aside from experiencing one of the worst illnesses of his life, what was most notable about the entire ordeal was Buneary's role in taking care of him. Although he was in a Pokémon Center surrounded by nurses and assistants, Buneary assumed the role as his primary caretaker, often waiting on hand and foot to attend to his every need! In fact, Buneary at times actually butted heads with Nurse Joy and Chansey, insisting that she be the one to bring his water or fluff his pillow or simply stay by his side at all times, relenting when there was simply no other option. As embarrassing as it was at times, he couldn't help but feel flattered that he had his own personal nurse assisting him. Ironically, while he was the one in the hospital bed, she must've been the one completely exhausted by the end of his stay! Seriously, she was practically head nurse for a while, even when their other friends did their part and helped take care of him too!

Eventually after six days in the center, his symptoms fully died down and he was given a clean bill of health before the gang was sent on their way. It was decided that due to the whole sickness thing, time was of the essence to make it to Floaroma Town first for Dawn's contest and then to Eterna City for Ash's gym battle. They would start by backtracking to Jubilife City.

After a day on the road, the group had eventually made camp in an open grassy field where Dawn had stumbled across the electric squirrel known as Pachirisu.

It all started as per usual: yesterday Dawn caught Pachirisu – with some difficulty but no more than what was expected– then today she just wanted to train with the squirrel but instead, Pachirisu took off running. Poor Buneary and Piplup spent the next few minutes giving chase until they passed out from sheer exhaustion! Soon, Ash sent Pikachu and the rest to chase after the electric squirrel with Buneary and Piplup joining them after catching their breaths.

Clearly, the young Pokémon had boundless energy and thought that the whole thing was a game of tag or something because the squirrel had the biggest smile on his face the entire time.

...Or her face. Actually come to think of it, Pikachu wasn't entirely sure what the squirrel's gender was. Usually between Pokémon it was fairly easy to tell but once in a while someone like Pachirisu was a tad...tricky to discern.

Anyway, cut to the present and Pikachu found himself chasing after the little Electric-type who had the biggest smile on their face.

Eventually, they managed to corner Pachirisu at the base of a small cliff. Everyone – almost completely winded – lined up next to each other.

"(Alright, nowhere else to go!)" Pikachu declared in-between breaths. His eyes suddenly widened a fraction as he noticed blue sparks coming out of the yellow sacs on the squirrel's cheeks who gave the cheeriest of smiles. Waving his paws in front of himself, Pikachu started panicking. "(Woah hold on! No need for-)" He managed to shout before Pachirisu hit them all with Discharge.

Everyone screamed as the blue electricity hit them all at once. As it dissipated, everyone collapsed to the ground. Pachirisu merrily laughed and danced in place before suddenly falling over, completely exhausted.

Pikachu closed his eyes and rubbed his head. Jeez, that wasn't too nice! What was his or her problem?! Who does he or she think he or she is?!

Being an Electric-type himself, Pikachu only felt mild pain and was mostly just surprised by the attack. Still, he could tell that the little squirrel could pack quite a wallop! Pikachu looked over at his friends who were all groaning on the ground. He especially felt bad for Piplup and Staravia, that Electric-type attack must've really hurt.

Pikachu let out a small exhale as he rubbed his temples, attempting to soothe the dull headache he was feeling. Funny, he wasn't sick but here he was again experiencing a throbbing pain between his ears.

"It's okay, just calm down. Pachirisu's clearly just young, him or her probably didn't even know what he or she was doing." He thought as he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Pikachu opened an eye and saw the humans running towards them.

"I hope they're alright!" Dawn worriedly shouted.

Pikachu gave a tired smile and waved a paw in reassurance. "(Yeah, I'm fine)" He managed to say, a little pain clearly present in his voice.

As the humans tended to the rest of their Pokémon, Dawn ran over to Pachirisu and picked up the unconscious squirrel to give a stern talking to. Before Pikachu even knew it, Pachirisu's unleashed more electricity causing Dawn to scream. As it dissipated, the electricity caused the coordinator's hair to frizz and stand up. The azure-haired trainer only shrieked and demanded that everyone turn away as she flailed about, still holding the little squirrel. Pikachu didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't stop himself from smirking at the ridiculous sight.

Later that day, everyone was gathered around the campsite. They had just finished lunch and now had some downtime before their daily training. Much had happened since their epic chase: Dawn tearfully released Pachirisu, believing that the squirrel was too much to handle, Team Rocket came by and – as usual – started causing trouble only to have Pachirisu save the day and blast them off and finally at the end of it all, Dawn happily recaptured the excitable Electric-type.

After all of that craziness, Pachirisu was getting acquainted with the rest of the team. Or rather, the rest of the team was getting acquainted with Pachirisu, because just like running, the little squirrel was just as fast-paced when it came to talking.

Pikachu was finishing eating his last pellet when he glanced up to see Pachirisu chatting up a storm with Buneary. The poor bunny looked like she was getting pretty tired of the squirrel's constant talking as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Pikachu gave a small smirk. Huh, poor soul. His expression turned sympathetic as he himself had just gone through Pachirisu's constant gabbing for almost all of lunch before Ash called him away to discuss some new battle maneuvers. He could only wonder what the peppy little squirrel was talking about now...

"(And then I ended up on top of the mountain with like thirty zubats flying after me!)" Pachirisu happily exclaimed with the biggest smile on their face.

"(Oh, ummm...was it scary?)" Buneary asked as she swayed back and forth in an attempt to somehow make herself feel more comfortable.

"(Yeah I was super scared! I was sooo scared that I forgot to use Discharge on them! So instead I just jumped off the mountain and into the river!)" Pachirisu shouted, a strange tone of pride their voice. "(And then that's when the reaaalllly crazy stuff happened!)" The squirrel declared, causing Buneary to glance over at Pikachu, a look of sheer panic in her eyes. The kind of panic that screams "please come over and save me!". Oh lord, that little squirrel was just getting started wasn't he?

...Or she.

Pikachu smiled again and inwardly shrugged. Oh the heck with it, he'll just refer to Pachirisu as a "he" from now on and if Pikachu's wrong then he's wrong. Seeing Buneary's unspoken cry for help, the mouse got up from where he was sitting and started to walk over to the duo. By the time he got to them, Pachirisu was excitedly retelling the time he accidentally took food from a dragonite, causing it chase after him.

"(Hey guys!)" Pikachu said as he finally approached them. He had to pause when he saw Buneary give the most hopeful look he had ever seen.

"(Huh? Oh hey Yellow Man!)" Pachirisu happily yelled. In addition to his unlimited energy, the quirky young Pokémon apparently liked to give everyone nicknames. "(I was just talking to Cherry about getting chased!)"

Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "(Cherry?)"

Buneary awkwardly smiled and shrugged. "(I told Pachirisu that I liked cherry tomatoes.)" She said nonchalantly.

"(I'll keep that in mind.)" Pikachu chuckled with a wink as Buneary huffed, pretending to be annoyed.

"(Yay! Actually you know what? I should have a nickname too! Hmm let's see...)" The squirrel quickly said before taking a moment to think it over before grinning widely. "(Ooooh, oooh! How about Little Sparky? Or, or how about Lightning Wing?)"

"(Lightning Wing? You don't have wings Pachirisu.)" Buneary said, a little confused.

"(How about we combine those two nicknames? From now on, I'm...)" He said before striking a quick pose. "(...Little Wing!)" Pachirisu happily declared.

"(...Again...no wings...)" Buneary repeated.

"(But I do have a lot of stories about Pokémon with wings! Y'know what...?)" Pachirisu beamed before turning to Pikachu. "(Did you want to hear my crazy story? I can tell it from the beginning! So one time I entered this cave and...)" Pachirisu started as Buneary gave another look of panic behind him before speaking up.

"(Umm, actually Pachirisu, Dawn is gonna want me to go over contest moves in like a minute sooo...)" Buneary quickly said before she tapped her paws together. "(I'm gonna have to take a rain check on this one.)"

"(Yeah and Ash'll want to start training soon sooo...)" Pikachu said as he looked over at Buneary before turning back to Pachirisu. "(We can hear it later!)" He said with a warm smile.

"(Aww really?)" The loquacious squirrel said, his smile dipping a little. "(Are you sure you don't have time for one more riveting tale?)"

Pikachu lightly chuckled. "('Fraid so, but tell you what, you're an Electric-type too, so why don't Ash and I show you some techniques we've been working on? Then I can hear more of your stories!)"

Pachirisu's smile returned brighter than ever. "(Really?! That sounds good to me!)" He beamed, looking between them. "(Okay, see you in a bit!)" He chirped before running off, no doubt to find someone else to talk to.

"(Bye, see you later!)" Buneary waved to him. As soon as Pachirisu was out of earshot, she sighed and leaned back far enough to face the sky. "(Man, I can't ever thank you enough!)" She practically exclaimed.

"(Oh no problem.)" Pikachu chuckled.

"(No seriously, I don't know how much more I could take. Certainly not much more after my training!)"

"(Really, it's-)"

"(I mean I know he's energetic and all but jeez, can't he be a little less annoying?)"

"(Umm, well-)"

"(And those stories! He just rambles on and on! Seriously, can't he take a hint?!)"

(I…)"

"(And what was with that whole 'Little Wing' thing? He. Doesn't. Have. Wings! And those nicknames he gives everyone? It's all just too much!)"

Pikachu merely waited in silence until he was sure she was done. Feeling sure that she was finished ranting, he spoke up.

"(Well, you know how kids are.)" He finally said, shrugging his shoulders.

"(Hmm?)"

"(They're always pretty energetic. I'm sure we weren't so different when we were his age.)"

Buneary merely stared at him in complete silence for a moment. "(Oh...uh...right...)" She finally muttered as she began to look at the ground.

"(He's not so bad, the trick is that you need to be patient with kids. They'll start to grow on you.)"

"(...Sure.)" She said under her breath, suddenly feeling very self-conscious, still unable to look at him.

"(Wellll, I better get ready for training!)" Pikachu said as he stretched his neck and back before turning to face her. "(See ya later!)" He said before walking towards where Ash was standing.

"(...Yeah...see ya.)"

Later that day, Buneary had finally finished going over contest techniques with Dawn while Pikachu and Ash were still in the middle of training.

With her own training done for the day, Buneary was helping to set up the table and dishes for dinner. Standing on the table and completing the mundane task, her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't help but feel like a cloud was hanging over her head at all times. After what she said about Pachirisu, she couldn't shake off feeling horribly embarrassed.

"Oooh boy that wasn't too pretty was it?" She thought, grimacing as she started to put the utensils down on napkins. Uggghh, not exactly a side of her that she was proud of. And to show that to Pikachu of all Pokémon! She certainly didn't want him getting the wrong impression of her!

As she adjusted the napkins, Buneary sighed. Why oh why did it have to be in front of him?!

Regardless of the constant questioning in her head, the only thing that she was certain was that she didn't want to keep this bottled up, it was probably best she confide in someone. She looked around and didn't see many options given how nearly everyone else was either training or watching from the sidelines. Her eyes wandered over and she noticed Brock sitting nearby on a chair reading a newspaper. He had a timer in front of him, clearly waiting for the food to finish cooking. Not really thinking, she read over some of the headlines on the newspaper. Some of the titles included:

NEW POTIONS AVAILABLE AT JUBILIFE CITY MARKET

ALL NEW RECIPES TO KEEP YOUR POKEMON THIN

POKEMON CENTER ATTACKED, SUSPECTS STILL AT LARGE

NEW MAGIKARP RECIPE BOOK HAS READERS MORTIFIED AND FAMISHED

Buneary blinked upon seeing the last two headlines. An attack on a Pokémon Center? She leaned in a little closer to read what it said underneath the title. She was able to make out the first couple of sentences.

"A Pokémon Center located off of Mini Feather Ave. was attacked last night. The center's healing machines were torched and several owners' Pokéballs were smashed. Police are still searching for the perpetrators."

Buneary lightly rolled her eyes. Probably Team Rocket...figures. Still, to attack a Pokémon Center...that was pretty low, even for them. Then again, Pikachu mentioned how the first time he ever encountered the trio, they were doing just that.

...Also what was that last headline again?

Shaking her head, she looked back and saw Aipom walk past her, carrying some dishes. Huh. Well maybe Aipom could give some insight into the torrent of emotions she was feeling at the moment. As cheeky as the purple monkey could be, she was still a good friend. Besides, she needed to get this off of her chest.

As Buneary set up the utensils, she brainstormed a way to broach the subject. Suddenly, both of them looked up as they heard Pachirisu loudly cheering. They saw Pikachu using Volt Tackle before jumping into the air and soaring like some kind of shining, electric missile.

Taking a moment to admire the electric mouse, Buneary glanced over at Pachirisu who was enthusiastically clapping his tiny paws together and cheering at the top of his lungs from the sidelines. She saw Aipom smile and shake her head before going back to her task. Seeing an opportunity to talk, Buneary took a step towards her.

"(That Pachirisu, he's ummm...really energetic huh?)" She carefully asked, trying her best not to sound too obvious.

"(Yeah, he's pretty excitable alright.)" Aipom replied, not looking up from the table.

Not wanting the conversation to slip away, Buneary took another step towards her friend.

"(Yeah I uhh...wouldn't know to handle him. With all of that energy he has I mean.)"

This time, Aipom looked up from the table. She eyed her for what felt like minutes when really it was only a moment before smiling and speaking up again.

"(Well, kids can be a handful but hey, if you want, I can give you a secret tip on handling them that works every single time!)" She confidently said.

"(Really?)" Buneary asked, trying not to sound too clearly hopeful...or desperate.

"(Yeah! Okay, so the secret…)" Aipom said before leaning in a little with every pause in-between her sentences.

"(Yeah?)" Buneary asked, also leaning forward with every pause.

"(If you ever have a kid that's high-maintenance or too energetic, all you need to do...)"

"(Uh-huh?)"

"(Iiiiiiiiissssss...)"

"(Hmmm?)"

Aipom smiled before suddenly leaning back and shrugged with her paws on her hips. "(To just let Pikachu handle them.)" She concluded, a satisfied smile on her face.

Buneary merely blinked, still leaning forward and showing no reaction to Aipom's words of advice. "(Just let Pikachu handle it...)" She monotonically repeated, obvious incredulity behind it.

"(Yup!)"

"(Really?)"

"(Oh yeah, he's great with kids! That guy always knows what to do!)" Aipom said as she twirled her wrist.

"(...And you're serious?)"

"(Totally! Back when we travelled with May, she had an eevee that was pretty young and Pikachu always looked after it.)"

"(H-He did?)"

"(Yeah and when Sudowoodo was a bonsly, man...he used to cry all the time and Pikachu always managed to calm him down!)"

"(Huh…)" Buneary muttered as she looked back to Pikachu who was now dodging several Razor Leaves being thrown by Turtwig.

"(And apparently before that, Ash used to travel with a girl named Misty who had a baby togepi and Pikachu was practically like a big brother to it. I heard that he was the only one to make it laugh and calm it down if it was having a fit.)"

"(I...I didn't know that.)"

"(Yup, kids love him!)"

"(Who loves what now?)" Piplup asked as he walked up to the table before jumping on it to join them. Buneary noticed that he was carrying some plates for the humans.

Aipom smiled and gestured towards Buneary. "(Oh just telling Buneary that kids love Pikachu.)"

"(Oh yeah! He's great with them! Did you tell them about when Sudowoodo was a bonsly?)" Piplup said, the usual confident tone never leaving his voice.

"(Yup!)" Aipom said nonchalantly.

Buneary merely looked between them. They looked pretty sincere and given how Pikachu handled Pachirisu...it really looked like they were telling the truth.

"(I'll uhh...be sure to remember that.)" She finally said, to which the other two nodded in agreement.

With that, all three of them got back to work setting up for dinner, but Buneary couldn't help but replay their conversation over and over again in her head. On the one hand, knowing that Pikachu was so great with kids was just another thing to admire him for. In fact if she was being honest with herself, it kind of dialed up the attractiveness. The more she thought about him playing with kids...well...it did make him a little cuter. That adorable little smile of his as he held up a baby togepi or played with an eevee...it only made her heart want to melt.

...

On the other hand, it only made her look worse. The way she came off...she wouldn't be that surprised if Pikachu saw her as impatient, petty and too immature to handle kids, even if they didn't necessarily do anything wrong just like Pachirisu.

Hmmm, can't have that now, could she?

The next day, the gang was back on the trail with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder as usual while everyone else were in their Pokéballs. Ash and Pikachu excitedly discussed their next gym battle, spirits high as ever and without a care in the world. Unbeknownst to them, a certain little brown bunny was stewing in her Pokéball, feeling all the more mortified.

Inside her Pokéball, Buneary was lying in a bed composed of all sorts of flowers: daisies, tulips, roses, among others. Above her, the sky was mostly clear save for a few passing clouds and a sparkling stream ran nearby although it didn't make much noise. This setting was one of her favorites and thanks to the advanced technology of the Pokéball, she could be here whenever she wanted. Normally this was her happy place but today it wasn't bringing much happiness...or comfort.

As she lay on the flowers and stared up at the virtual sky, she went over everything that happened yesterday and how she acted in front of him. In her defense, Pachirisu didn't make it easy since the first time Dawn wanted to do some training, they had to chase the little squirrel and then they got zapped for all of their troubles! Still, she shouldn't have acted the way she did. Poor Pachirisu, he or she didn't deserve those condescending comments. The little squirrel is just a kid after all…

She, a young adult, ought to be better. Better...

...Better.

Her eyes widened as a sudden realization dawned on her. She knows she can be better...she should be better! Pikachu was certainly better in that moment after all!

Upon thinking of the electric mouse again, she couldn't help but feel her face warm a little. It was funny, not even two weeks ago he showed his own immaturity when he acted so stubborn that he nearly ran himself into the ground! Plus at that time, she was the adult in that situation taking care of him! Now – as if by some sadistic cosmic joke – the tables were flipped. He was the mature adult when it came to kids and she was acting like a child!

Groaning, Buneary sat up and continued to stare out into her virtual world, the textures of the grass, river and clouds making it all feel so real yet still continued to provide little comfort. Letting out a frustrated exhale, she put her paws up to her face and rubbed her eyes before slowly pulling her paws off them. Well...no use in sitting here and sulking about it for the rest of her life. There was only one thing to do: she needs to be better next time! Yeah...the next opportunity she gets to be mature, understanding and patient, she'll take it! After all, why should Pikachu always be the adult? Not to mention, why does it always fall on him to be the leader? She can assume those roles when the need arises!

Feeling a slight rush, Buneary got to her feet as she put on a determined face and raised a clenched paw towards the virtual sky. As Mew as her witness, she'll be better!

As soon as she said that to herself, Pikachu's smiling face flashed across her mind, causing her heart to skip a beat. She smirked.

...And if not for him, then at least for herself. She just needed the opportunity to prove what she's capable of!

Authors Notes:

Fairly short chapter I know, but that's mainly because the more exciting stuff will fit better across the next few chapters.

Seems like Buneary is embarking on her own little quest. Wonder how well that'll go? Well I guess I don't have to wonder since I already know but that's for you the reader to find out!

I'd like to give a shoutout to VGS2 the sexy sausage, specifically for his works "Game-Changer" and "Difference-Maker". I know this is the third time I've given him credit but I can't help it, his stuff is too good! Although, this is probably the last time I'll give him a shoutout because honestly if I gave him (or ravengal) credit every time they influenced or inspired something for this fic, practically every chapter will be doing so. Plus, there are other authors that I owe credit to as well. So here's to you VGS2!

Anyway, stay tuned for more misadventures!

-Carson55