Chapter 27: I Wanna Be Yours But...
The next two days were filled to the brim with training. Clearly, Ash and Dawn were trying to make up for time after that whole Aerodactyl fiasco. Indeed, once the group found a spot to train, it didn't take long for the sounds of battling to fill the still air. It was only after three straight hours of nonstop training did Brock urge to throw in the towel. Utterly exhausted, the group of Pokémon sat around in a circle.
"(Ugghh...)" Piplup groaned as he rubbed his arm, a little spark of electricity quickly appearing and disappearing. "(Where's Brock with that Full Heal?)"
"(He's getting it, hang in there Pip.)" Turtwig responded, a small bandage wrapped around his leg courtesy of the Pokémon Breeder in training.
Piplup winced as a slight surge of pain went through his body again. "(Jeez that's smarts! Clever using your Static ability Pikachu.)"
"(Yeah, Ash is really taking advantage of that. It can seriously come in handy when needed.)" Pikachu responded, not a scratch on his body.
Hearing that, Piplup clicked his tongue and looked away, his ego clearly in desperate need of being fed. "(Well don't rely on it too much. It may be cool, but I myself have never needed to use my ability.)"
"(What is your ability Piplup?)" Staravia asked, looking up from preening his feathers.
"(Well...I don't know! But I'm sure whatever it is, it'll be just as cool and impressive!)" The blue penguin declared, nodding his head.
Buneary huffed and folded her arms over her chest. "(I swear, you are the most prideful Pokémon I've ever met!)"
"('Cuz there's a lot to be proud of!)" Piplup said with a confident smile only to be met with snickering from the group.
"(Okay, sure buddy.)" Buizel laughed.
"(Yeah seriously, if I were to guess your Nature, it would obviously be Pride!)" Turtwig laughed.
"(Hmmph! I'll have you know that Pride isn't a Nature type!)" Piplup yelled before quickly eyeing everyone else. "(...Right?)"
"(I don't think so but maybe it should be, and you would be the first and only one to have it!)" Staravia responded.
"(Well guess what, I don't know my Nature type either!)" Piplup shouted as he started to perform his flailing dance out of sheer frustration.
"(You don't? Hmm interesting, I wonder what it would be.)" Pikachu muttered as everyone else began to adopt thinking poses.
"(How about Adamant?)" Staravia suggested.
"(Not bad, but maybe Bold?)" Buneary replied to which everyone started to nod in agreement.
"(I'll take Bold, sounds pretty cool if you ask me!)" Piplup said with a proud nod.
"(I think Brave suits me.)" Turtwig said.
"(That and Rash maybe.)" Staravia smirked.
"(Oh yeah? How about you? Adamant, Serious, Sassy?)" Turtwig asked.
"(Probably Sassy yeah.) Piplup remarked. "(After the way he slapped me on the back of the head.)" He said, rubbing the aforementioned part of his skull.
Buneary laughed. "(Well you deserved it you Bold penguin you!)"
He stuck his tongue out at her before pausing. "(And you Buneary...)" Piplup said with a little smile. "(I'm willing to guess...Quirky!)"
She scoffed at that. "(Uh-huh yeah.)"
"(If you were to ask me, when I first met her, she would've definitely been the Timid type. Or at least around you-know-who.)" Staravia muttered, motioning towards Pikachu.
Pikachu awkwardly laughed. "(Yeah I guess so.)"
Buneary suddenly put on a smirk and leaned up against him. She got closer to purr into his ear. "(What do you think my Nature type is Pikachu~?)"
Gulping hard, Pikachu's eyes darted around to see everyone giving him rather amused grins. "(Erm, uhh...I would say...Gentle? O-Or maybe Brave?)"
Buneary leaned back and made a satisfied squeal. "(Hee~! I'll take either one!)"
"(How about you Pikachu? What would your Nature type be?)" Sudowoodo asked.
"(Hmm? Me?)" Pikachu asked, caught off guard.
"(That is a little tricky. It could be anything really.)" Buizel remarked.
"(Not anything...)" Pikachu muttered, trepidation filling his chest as he vaguely knew where this was headed.
"(Well Brave and Bold are pretty easy to guess.)" Piplup said.
"(Tsk, after what happened with that whole Aerodactyl thing, I'd say Hardy.)" Buizel replied.
Pikachu awkwardly rubbed the back of his head upon hearing that.
"(Relaxed maybe? Or how about just Lax?)" Turtwig wondered aloud.
"(What's even the difference?)" Staravia pondered to which everyone shrugged their shoulders. Suddenly they all looked over and noticed Aipom entering their field of view.
"(Hey guys! What's going on here?)" She said as she approached them with fresh bandages on her body.
"(Oh, just guessing each other's Natures.)" Staravia remarked.
"(How fun! I don't know mine but if I were to guess I think maybe-)"
"(Impish...without a doubt.)" Piplup finished for her to which everyone else immediately murmured in agreement.
Aipom sagged her shoulders and sighed. "(Guess that's pretty obvious.)"
"(We're still trying to guess Pikachu's Nature.)" Sudowoodo said.
Aipom immediately perked up. "(Oooh, now that's a challenge!)" She beamed to which the mouse looked away in mild embarrassment. "(Let's see...have you guessed Bashful yet?)"
Everyone stared at each other in mild surprise before looking back at her.
"(No actually, but's that's a pretty good guess!)" Piplup laughed.
"(Yeah, especially around...)" Buizel said before pointing at Buneary.
Feeling a cold sweat coming on, Pikachu tried to ignore the shiver going up his spine. "(H-Hey! That's not...)" He managed to say before the pressure of everyone staring at him made his face flare up. Unable to take it, he merely sighed in defeat and put his face in his paws.
"(You see? Check and mate!)" Aipom proudly said, her paws on her hips.
Everyone laughed, Buneary included. She gently hugged him and uncurled her ear to stroke the top of his head.
"(Well, you're certainly my bashful mouse~)" She whispered to him.
Feeling a strange sort of relief, Pikachu gave her little smile back. "(Thanks.)"
Another two days passed and the group had come by a lake just as a storm had begun to pick up. Soon, the area was littered with pools of water. Luckily, the crew found shelter in a small mountain cave that was just large enough to comfortably light a fire.
No doubt that as soon as the rain let up, Ash was going to start training again...
"(Alright Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!)" Ash commanded.
Pikachu took a moment to get into position and unleashed a powerful stream of electricity at Piplup.
"Piplup dodge and use Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted to which Piplup jumped away from the attack and unleashed a torrent of deadly bubbles Pikachu's way.
"Quick Attack now!" Ash yelled.
In a flash, Pikachu zipped around the stream of bubbles and slammed straight into Piplup who let out a brief cry of pain as he slid along the wettened grass on his back.
"Piplup!" Dawn cried out as the penguin tried to get back up.
"Now's our chance! Pikachu, Quick Attack again!" Ash shouted.
Steadying himself once more, Pikachu immediately rushed forward at his opponent.
"Peck, let's go!" Dawn commanded.
Piplup put on a determined face as his beak began to glow. He saw how Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise, realizing that he was on a collision course!
"Jump and dodge it!" Ash yelled only for Pikachu to stumble and awkwardly try to avoid the attack but to no avail as Piplup easily made contact, causing the mouse to fly backwards.
"(Come on Pikachu! You got this!)" Buneary cheered from the sidelines.
Piplup merely rolled his eyes at her. It's not like it's a surprise anymore, especially since she was dating the guy but jeez, can't she try to be supportive of her own teammate just this once?!
He looked back at Pikachu who was just getting back to his feet. Huh, guess all of Dawn's training was paying off if Pikachu couldn't dodge his attacks like he could before!
"Alright Pikachu, let's really end this! Thunderbolt, full throttle!" Ash shouted as he pointed at Piplup.
Pikachu smirked as his cheeks once again emitted sparks, followed by a battle cry as he unleashed the Electric-type attack.
"Piplup dodge it!" Dawn shouted as the blue penguin tried jumping backwards. He just barely managed to evade the attack yet he could feel the power from just being nearby. As soon as he landed on his feet, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Pikachu sprint up to him! A moment later, his mind registered that Pikachu's tail was glowing white.
The mouse gave him a rather wicked smile as he was about to unleash the full throttle of his Iron Tail right at him.
Dawn only gasped in shock as she realized that it was too late. Piplup raised his flippers over his eyes in sheer panic, unable to make a move.
A moment passed before Piplup slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms as he let out an exasperated sigh.
"(Guess you win again huh? Well...good battle then!)" He said as he raised his flipper to shake his paw.
As he did, Brock spoke up.
"Alright, I think that calls-" He managed to say before suddenly, Pikachu quickly twisted his body and smashed his Iron Tail against Piplup's chest, causing him to fly right into Dawn!
"Pip-ahh!" She managed to say before the penguin landed into her chest and knocking her backwards.
"(Woah, hey!)" Buizel shouted from the sidelines.
Buneary gasped in surprise, her paws covering her mouth. What the heck was that?! Granted, it was a battle, but Piplup was clearly conceding defeat!
"Pikachu!" Ash sternly shouted, clear disbelief in his voice as well.
Slowly, Pikachu turned to face him and gave him a little smirk.
"(I win.)" He said as Dawn and Piplup lay groaning in the distance.
A little while later, the group of Pokémon sat around eating their meals. Piplup joined them with a noticeably large bandage wrapped around his torso. Unlike before, the air was filled with an awkward silence.
"(So uhh...good job using your Focus Punch Aipom.)" Buneary finally said, hoping to get some sort of conversation going.
"(Thanks, I work out my tail every morning.)" Aipom said with a smile as she popped a pellet into her mouth.
"(I'll bet.)" Pikachu muttered under his breath.
"(Hmm? What was that?)" Buneary asked as she leaned over to look at him.
"(Nothing.)" He replied as he chewed his food.
Everyone just stared at their bowls, not willing to say a word.
"(So I hear that we'll be in Hearthome City in like a week.)" Sudowoodo muttered, half-heartedly trying to sound excited.
"(Yeah, that'll be...exciting.)" Turtwig said, unable to keep the awkwardness from sounding obvious in his voice.
Another moment of silence passed before Piplup frustratedly threw his pellet onto the ground.
"(Alright I'll just say it: what the heck man?!)" Piplup shouted, causing everyone to look at him except for Pikachu who just continued munching his food. "(Why'd you hit me like that?!)"
"(We were battling. It's what you should expect.)" Pikachu nonchalantly replied.
"(Yeah but I was throwing in the towel! You didn't have to slam me into my trainer!)" Piplup yelled as he tried to do his flailing dance again only to stop out of sheer pain.
"(I have to agree, you did sort of take it too far at the end there. I mean, we're just training after all.)" Turtwig said.
Pikachu looked around, seemingly gauging everybody's reaction before shrugging his shoulders. "(Okay, I'll keep that in mind next time.)"
Buneary raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. She silently stared at him before an idea came to mind. She slyly leaned over and snuggled into his side.
"(Yeah, you better, or else I'd have to come pummel you myself~)" She cooed and looked at him, eagerly awaiting his response.
He smirked and wrapped his arm around her. "(Heh, I may actually look forward to that!)"
Buneary blinked at him in bewilderment, her reaction overshadowed by the snickering around them. She looked over and noticed how everyone rather enjoyed seeing them like this yet she tried her best not to frown.
Interesting...
Sometime later, Pikachu was resting against the base of a tree as Ash and Dawn continued training their other Pokémon. As he laid there, eyes closed, Buneary and the others continued conversing amongst themselves. As they did, Buneary continued to silently stare at him. She was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice the first few times Aipom called out her name.
"(Buneary.)"
"I'll keep that in mind next time..." Is what he said.
"(Buneary...)"
Why would he need to-?
"(Buneary!)"
Buneary jolted in shock as her ears suddenly uncurled and she looked to the culprit of who was calling out to her.
"(You good there?)" Aipom concernedly asked. "(You seem pretty distracted.)"
"(Oh uhh...yeah. Sorry.)" Buneary muttered as she slowly turned back to her friend.
"(Admiring Pikachu again? Tsk, dating the guy and you're still giving him googly eyes. It's so sweet I'll need to see a dentist)" Aipom chuckled.
"(Yeah...)"
"(So you were saying?)" Aipom asked.
"(Uhh...I was...saying?)" Buneary merely muttered in complete confusion.
"(About what you were gonna wear at Hearthome?)" Aipom said, twirling her wrist.
"(O-Oh yeah...well Dawn's narrowed it down to either something sparkly and colorful or something really simple.)" Buneary said, finally remembering their previous conversation.
"(Something simple? It's a contest! You should be wearing something that catches the eye!)" Aipom declared. "(I mean, if it was me I'd wear something super colorful like yellow or bright green or...)" She said before going into a little rant. All the while, Buneary gave another glace at Pikachu.
"(Well...it's just...an idea.)" She muttered as she noticed Pachirisu walking up to Pikachu.
Pikachu continued to lay against the tree, contently taking in the gentle rays of the sun as the tree leaves occasionally gave him much some needed shade. He sighed as he kept his eyes shut and took in how quiet it was.
"(Hey Yellow Guy!)" Pachirisu cried out and jolting the mouse fully awake.
"(Huh...wha?)" He muttered as he settled his eyes on the squirrel.
"(You said that after training you'd hear more stories! This one's a good one: it involves a dratini and a sack of flour!)" He beamed in an oddly proud way.
Pikachu merely stared at him; his frowned expression unchanging. "(Hey kid, I'm on my break do ya mind?)"
"(Huh?)" Pachirisu muttered, genuinely caught off guard by that.
Pikachu adjusted his sitting position and leaned back, his arms behind his head. "(And can you move? You're blocking my light.)"
The squirrel merely looked at him, unable to process what was happening. "(Oh...uhh...okay sure.)" He said before moving away.
"(A little further.)" Pikachu said.
Pachirisu took a few steps back.
"(Further.)"
He took a few more steps back.
Pikachu smirked and motioned for him to keep going. He did and before the squirrel knew it, he was a good thirty feet away from the mouse. As this was unfolding, Buneary looked on in complete bewilderment.
"(Hey Pikachu?)" Buneary gently said as she nudged the mouse awake.
"(Mmm...)" He muttered as he started to open his eyes.
"(Time to get up, Brock's starting to make dinner.)" Buizel remarked.
Pikachu rubbed his eyes as he leaned forward with a groan. "(How long was I asleep?)"
"(Like an hour.)" Piplup said, flippers on his sides.
"(Oh. Alright.)" Pikachu replied as he started getting to his feet.
"(And then you can hear my stories!)" Pachirisu said with a big grin.
"(Still won't let up will ya?)" Pikachu muttered under his breath.
Buneary quickly glanced around to see if anybody noticed that but it seemed like nobody did. Frowning, she silently inhaled as she walked over and leaned into his side again.
"(Hey, before we eat, do you maybe...wanna go on a quick date?)" She asked with an intentionally warm grin.
"(Huh? Date?)" Pikachu said as he looked around. His gaze returned to her before quickly stepping away. Everyone's eyes widened ever-so-slightly.
"(Pikachu...?)" Buneary asked, giving him a concerned look.
"(Maybe some other time. Right now I can't let distractions get in the way of my training!)" He confidently said.
"(Distractions...?)" Piplup muttered under his breath, his expression becoming more horrified as he looked between them.
"(I'm...a distraction to you?)" Buneary asked, a hurt tone in her voice.
"(Sorry, but if I'm going to be the best, I need to stay the best!)" Pikachu declared as he turned away and struck a rather proud pose.
"(Oh.)" Buneary merely muttered as her ears drooped.
"(Pikachu!)" Buizel yelled, his eyes practically shooting fire with fury. "(How could-?!)"
"(N-No it's okay Buizel...I get it.)" Buneary sadly said as the orange weasel looked back at her in total shock. Indeed, it seemed that everyone had the same reaction as even Pachirisu was stunned into silence.
"(Well, now that that's cleared up, time to get some grub, then more training! No hard feelings of course!)" Pikachu said with a smirk.
"(Yeah...no prob.)" Buneary muttered as she stared at the ground.
"('Kay, see ya later!)" Pikachu cheerily remarked as he walked off towards camp.
There was silence for a good long while amongst them as they stared at his receding figure, except for Buneary who continued to look at the ground.
"(I just can't believe it...)" Buneary finally said in a voice so low that it was barely above a whisper.
"(Buneary...I'm...I'm so sorry. I-I don't know what to say.)" Piplup said as he moved closer to her and placed a flipper on her shoulder.
"(Yeah, me neither.)" Buizel remarked with a grimace.
"(What...just happened?) Pachirisu absentmindedly asked.
"(It's so hard to believe...)" Buneary said as she slowly started to look up from the ground.
"(Well if this is how he treats you...then forget him!)" Piplup declared. "(He's a jacka-)"
"(Not that.)" Buneary quickly said, cutting his words off and placing a paw over his beak as she continued to stare off into the distance.
"(Hmmph?)" Piplup managed to mutter and blinked in confusion before Buneary lowered her paw from his face.
"(...I just can't believe Team Rocket would pull something like this.)" She finally said.
All three of her friends made a confused noise in unison as they looked at her.
"(Team...Team Rocket? Wha...how...you...h-how do you figure they're involved in this?!)" Piplup stuttered, clearly too flustered to get a sentence out in a decent amount of time.
"(They really must be trying this time. It's a lot more sophisticated than their usual attempts.)" Buneary muttered to herself as she continued to stare at Pikachu.
"(Wh-What in the name of the second coming of Mew are you talking about girl?!)" Piplup sputtered, unable to hold it back any longer and started flailing in place.
"(Yeah, what gives?)" Buizel asked with a raised eyebrow.
Buneary slowly turned towards them. Then she pointed to where Pikachu was sitting.
"(That's not Pikachu.)" She said, not taking her gaze off them. "(I don't know who that is, but it's definitely NOT Pikachu.)"
"(What do you mean?)" Buizel asked, his interest getting more and more piqued.
"(Yeah, I mean...he certainly looks like Yellow Guy.)" Pachirisu remarked as he scratched the side of his head.
Buneary's expression turned more confident as she put her paws on her hips. "(I'm not completely sure it's Team Rocket but who else would mess with us like this? I mean think about it, do you really believe that Pikachu would say something like that after being asked out?)"
"(Well...maybe he just didn't want to go on a date right now.)" Buizel said with a shrug.
"(And call me a 'distraction'?)" Buneary responded with a frown. Buizel merely looked at her, unable to reply to that. "(And what about Pachirisu? I saw Pikachu shoo him off. I know he wouldn't just dismiss him like that! Not the Pikachu I know!)"
"(Yeah that was puh-retty weird.)" Pachirisu said as he took on a contemplative pose. "(I mean...how can he listen to my stories if I'm too far away?)"
"(And how he hit Piplup during training? Remember when he said that he'd keep being more merciful in mind? Why would he do that when he's already done it before?)" Buneary concluded, her paws on her hips.
"(That was pretty brutal...)" Piplup remarked, staring at the ground and rubbing his abdomen. "(I just thought that he was being a jerk but...)"
"(...But Pikachu would never be that much of a jerk.)" Buizel concluded before putting his face in his paws as he let out a groan. After a moment, he lowered his paws. "(Okay...so what do you think it is then? Brainwashing? Evil robot doppelganger?)"
"(I don't know, but the longer we stay here and wait, the more time we give Team Rocket to do whatever it is they're planning to do.)"
"(Still...I don't know, maybe we're wrong, maybe...)" Piplup said before Buneary pointed at Pikachu again.
"(Hold that thought.)" She quickly said as all of them looked towards where she was pointing. Their expressions once again turned into ones of shock as they saw Pikachu stare at his reflection in one of the many small ponds littering the area. Then he gave another pose, winking to himself, his face looking particularly smug.
They could only hold their mouths agape upon seeing that, Buneary especially so.
Huh...whoever this guy is, he certainly nailed Pikachu's knack for expressions and crazy faces.
"(Okay, you're right. How do we get this guy?)" Piplup said, still not taking his eyes off Pikachu.
"(Yeah, what's the plan? Go tell Ash?)" Buizel asked.
"(Maybe...or maybe we can use the element of surprise.)" Buneary said.
"(Oooh I love surprises! What kind of surprise is it?!)" Pachirisu beamed.
"(Well, four heads are better than one. I'm sure we can brainstorm something.)" Buneary replied to which everyone nodded in agreement.
"(Alright, I'm in.)" Buizel said.
"(Me too!)" Piplup followed.
"(And Little Wing has your back!)" Pachirisu cheered, to which Buneary chuckled a little before she got a sudden thought.
"(Say Pachirisu, what was that thing that Electric-types can do?)" She asked. "(Some kind of electro-communication?)"
"(Yeah! I just need to make a connection to say hi!)" Pachirisu beamed.
"(Can you get into his mind then? Like read his thoughts?)" She inquired.
"(More or less, yup!)" He replied.
She smiled at him. "(Alright everyone...)" Buneary confidently said as she motioned for everyone to get closer. "(Huddle up!)"
Almost an hour had passed and everyone was getting ready to chow down. Pikachu had just grabbed an empty bowl when his ears pricked up upon hearing someone approach him.
"(Hey you~!)" Buneary sang as she walked up to him with an empty bowl in her paws.
"(Oh hey there.)" Pikachu remarked with a little smile.
"(Say, can I show you something? Over there?)" Buneary asked as she pointed to the nearby woods.
"(Right now? Can't it wait 'till after dinner?)" Pikachu grumbled with a grimace.
"(Don't worry, I'm not asking you out again.)" She said with a warm smile. "(I was thinking about what you said...about being the best. And it got me thinking about this new move you can use in your upcoming gym battle.)"
"(Oh yeah?)"
"(Yeah! Dawn's been training us to get it right but I think you can definitely use it too! You know, like what happened in Oreburgh City?)"
"(O-Oh yeah, totally!)" Pikachu beamed, his full focus now on her.
"(Great! I promise it won't take long but we need some space since everyone is getting ready to eat.)" Buneary practically cheered.
He looked at her for what felt like a long while before sighing with a shrug. "(Well alright, but let's be quick okay?)"
"(Cool, let's go!)" Buneary said, confidently pointing at their destination.
"(Here we are!)" Buneary finally said as the duo reached the middle of the woods, the light from the sun occasionally breaking through the tree leaves.
"(Okay, so what's this crazy technique?)" Pikachu asked, paws on his sides.
"(So first thing's first...close your eyes.)" Buneary said with a grin.
"(Huh? Why?)" Pikachu asked, perplexity dominating his face.
"(This technique is what would happen if your vision is compromised, like if an opponent used Smog or dust kicks up. Y'know, like what happened with that blaziken. Trust me, it'll come in handy I promise!)" She beamed, the energy in her voice not losing momentum for a moment.
"(Like with blaziken?)" He asked as he looked at her for a few moments before scoffing. "(Alright but if you try to sneak a kiss or something...)" He muttered before closing his eyes.
"(Oh don't worry...)" Buneary replied as she took a few careful steps back. "(You won't have to worry about that.)" She said before looking upwards and nodding.
"(Okay, so what do I do first?)" He asked as he continued to squeeze his eyes shut. His ears twitched as he heard leaves above him rustle before all was quiet gain. A moment of silence passed before he opened one eye. "(Buneary?)" He muttered as he noticed that she was a little further away than she was before and had a tiny, if not somewhat strange smirk on her face.
Suddenly, he took notice of the ground and how the sparse streaks of light from the sun seemed to be growing dimmer. Once more his ears pricked up as he heard the leaves above him rustling again...which was weird because it wasn't windy at all. Instinctively, he looked up only to see a little white squirrel falling towards him from the trees above!
"(RAAAGHHH!)" Pachirisu furiously cried out as he descended upon the mouse and promptly landed on his head.
Pikachu gasped in sheer horror. "(AAAAHH! Sweet Palkia! Get it off me! Get. It. Off. ME!)" He shrieked as he immediately ran around with Pachirisu bouncing on his head, unable to get a good grip.
"(Hurry Pachirisu! Do the thing!)" Buneary shouted, clear concern in her voice.
"(I'm trying to! He's a fighter!)" Pachirisu managed to say in-between bouncing on the mouse's head.
Shrieking, Pikachu came to an immediate halt, his feet skidding along the ground. The sudden shift in momentum caused Pachirisu to swing forward until he could hold on no longer.
"(Waahh!)" He cried out as he was promptly flipped forward into the nearby bush. It took everything Buneary had to not curse under her breath.
Panting, Pikachu looked back to her, clear panic and anger in his eyes.
"(Just what the heck was that?!)" He cried out as he glared at her.
"(Okay, Plan B then!)" Buneary declared.
"(Plan B?)" Pikachu muttered before suddenly, the bushes parted and a steady stream of bubbles flew in his direction. Panicking, Pikachu jumped back and landed in front of another bush just as the bubbles collided with the ground.
Pikachu didn't have any time to say something else as Buizel quickly stepped through the bush behind him. The weasel promptly grabbed the mouse under his arms and lifted him up to his chest.
"(Got him!)" Buizel announced as Pikachu immediately started thrashing to get out of his grip.
"(Lemme go! I'm warning you!)" The mouse shouted as sparks emanated from his cheeks. "(Alright, you asked for it!)" He shouted as he unleashed electricity from his body.
A few moments later, the electricity dissipated and Pikachu quickly noticed that Buizel wasn't reacting at all. Blinking, he realized that the weasel was wearing thick pink rubber gloves that extended well along his arms.
"(Yesss!)" Buneary cheered. "(Brock's dishwashing gloves worked!)"
"(Gloves?)" Pikachu repeated.
"(Electric attacks won't do any good with those!)" She bragged, her paws on her hips.
"(Yeah, but can we hurry this up? I'm feeling a tingling sensation here.)" Buizel remarked with a slight grimace.
"(Right, time to interrogate.)" Buneary said before nodding to Buizel to lower Pikachu down while still maintaining his hold on the mouse.
"(What's the meaning of this?!)" Pikachu angrily shouted. Just as he did, Pachirisu emerged from the bushes, accompanied by Piplup. "(Let me go right now or I'll get Ash!)" The mouse screamed as Piplup walked up to him.
"(Quit moving or I'll make you quit moving!)" Piplup shouted as he slapped him across the face, much to Pikachu's surprise.
"(Good merciful Mew! What the heck is going on around here?!)" Pikachu cried out as Piplup took on a confident stance.
"(Just stay there and shut up Imposter-chu!)" Piplup yelled before slapping him again.
"(Well Plan A didn't do so hot...)" The squirrel mumbled as he picked a twig out from his tail's fur, a tiny leaf resting atop his head.
"(Yeah, but we got him.)" Buneary happily replied before taking the leaf off and turning back to look at their prisoner. "(Now it's time to see what he knows.)"
"(Ooh! I got this!)" Pachirisu shouted, his enthusiasm returning full-force before he ran up to Pikachu...
...And promptly slapped him across the cheek, causing Pikachu's eyes to go googly as he dizzily swayed his head.
"(Pachirisu, no. You have to ask him something first.)" Buneary exasperatedly said as she walked up to him.
"(Oh yeah.)" Pachirisu said before turning back to Pikachu who by now had regained his composure. "(Who got kicked off Sinnoh's Top Chef last night?)" He sternly asked.
Pikachu blinked at him. "(...What?)"
SLAP
He dizzily swayed his head again.
"(Pachirisu...let me handle this.)" Piplup remarked as he quickly walked up to Pikachu's side and got close to his face. "(Where's Pikachu?!)" He sternly asked.
"(What are you talking about? I'm Pikachu!)" Pikachu replied rather annoyed.
SLAP
"(We can do this all day if you want!)" Piplup said as their prisoner recovered from his fifth slap of the day.
"(Where's Pikachu?!)" Buizel shouted as he continued to maintain his grip.
"(I'm Pikachu!)" Pikachu again replied, looking up at the weasel.
"(Where's Yellow Guy?!)" Pachirisu yelled as he leaned up against Pikachu's other side.
"(I'm Yellow Guy!)" He yelled, turning his head towards the squirrel.
"(Where's Pikachu?!)" Buneary shouted as she stepped in front of him.
"(I am Pikachu! I am, I am, I am, I am, I am, I am, I am, I AM!)" He repeatedly screamed.
"(Alright, we've been playing nice so far, but back to Plan A!)" Piplup yelled, taking a step back. "(Little Wing...do your thing!)"
"(Little Wing...?)" Pikachu mumbled as the squirrel got close to his face.
"(Alright you big phony-baloney, let's dance!)" Pachirisu declared before quickly pressing his forehead against the mouse's.
"(Woooaaahhhh!)" Pikachu screamed as Pachirisu's electricity coursed throughout his body, causing the both of them to shuffle in place a little.
A few moments of convulsing passed before Pachirisu broke off the electro-communication and stumbled a few steps back. Groaning, he put a paw up to his forehead and rubbed it.
"(Well? Did you get anything?)" Piplup concernedly asked.
Slowly opening his eyes, Pachirisu looked straight at their prisoner. "(Oh yeah, definitely not Pikachu!)" He declared; a flash of anger streaking across his face.
"(Wh-What do you mean? Of course I am!)" Pikachu nervously stuttered.
"(Alright, just give it up already, we know you're not him!)" Buizel angrily shouted as he started to readjust his grip. "(For one, Pikachu wouldn't brush off his own girlfriend to go training!)"
Pikachu blinked at that. "(Huh? Girlfriend?)" He confusedly muttered as he looked at Buneary.
"(Yeah, he's crazy about her! He would never treat her the way you did!)" Piplup yelled as he flailed around in place.
Buneary cleared her throat, trying not to let the light blush dusting her cheeks appear too obvious.
"(Huh...that definitely wasn't in the report...)" The mouse mumbled as he looked at the ground.
"(Okay, we know you're not him. So who are you?!)" Piplup shouted as he took a step forward.
A moment passed before "Pikachu" closed his eyes and he let out a small, frustrated exhale. "(Okay fine. Just to be clear, I do this only under duress.)"
And then...his body began glow a bright white, causing everyone to gasp in surprise. Buneary and Pachirisu shielded their eyes as the mouse's body began to morph.
"(Woah! Hey!)" Buizel shouted as he felt what was once Pikachu began to change into an amorphous blob, causing him to struggle to keep his hold.
Soon the light disappeared and everyone got a good look at the imposter: a ditto.
Everyone stared at him in complete silence, unable to properly register it.
"(Y-You're a ditto?!)" Piplup wondered aloud.
The ditto smiled. "(Not just any ditto!)" He declared as he quickly wriggled his way out of Buizel's grip despite the weasel's attempts to stop it. As soon as he was free, the ditto plopped onto the ground a few feet away and turned to face them before giving a salute. "(Dante Ditto, freelance impersonator at your service!)" He cheerily announced with a smile.
"(Freelance impersonator?)" Buneary muttered as she continued to stare at him.
"(Yes ma'am, here's my card!)" He said as he reached into one of the pink folds of his body and pulled out a business card. Buizel promptly took it and read it aloud.
"('Dante Ditto: impersonator extraordinaire! Need to get out of a jam? Crazy ex looking for you? No need to fear, Dante is here! Humans, Pokémon, you name it! Not licensed to work in the Johto region.')" He read before grimacing. "(So...what, you charge people to impersonate someone then?)"
"(Yup! Whatever it is, I can resemble it! I'm the best!)" Dante confidently declared.
"(Okay, so we're back to the original question: where's Pikachu?!)" Buneary shouted.
Dante blankly looked at her before raising a pink, blobby flipper at her. "(Uh-uh! I signed a non-disclosure agreement. My lips are sealed on that.)"
"(Alright, then is it Team Rocket who's behind this?)" Buneary asked, clearly getting more and more annoyed.
"(Again, I'm not allowed to say.)" Dante said with a shrug.
"(Listen blob boy-!)" Piplup yelled before Buneary got in front of him.
"(Hold up, before we resort to violence, let's go about this rationally.)" She calmly urged.
Piplup continued to look at Dante before his angry expression changed into one of mild confusion. "(Wait...so they paid you? Like with money? What does a Pokémon need with money? You don't seem to have a trainer, so what gives?)"
"(They did pay me!)" Dante declared before reaching into another one of his pink folds and pulling out a little bag with a string wrapped around the opening. "(With these!)" He proudly shouted before opening up the bag and lifting up its contents: a red jellybean.
Once again, everyone silently stared at him, too dumbfounded to say a word.
"(Jellybeans? You were paid...with jellybeans.)" Buneary muttered as she unblinkingly looked at him.
"(Yup! A whole sack of them!)" Dante replied.
"(Y-You...you...you helped kidnap our friend for candy?!)" Piplup shouted, his unbridled anger coming out in full force.
"(Umm...have you ever had jellybeans? Like real ones? The kind that have actual flavor and not the no-name brand that are more like frozen toothpaste.)" Dante nonchalantly responded.
"(WHY YOU-!)" Piplup screamed as he lunged forward only to be grabbed and held by Buizel. "(Let me at him! Just give me five minutes with him!)" He shrieked, flailing around in Buizel's arms.
Buneary and Pachirisu merely looked at them before turning back to Dante.
"(So you can't tell us anything that's in your agreement right?)" She asked, trying to ignore the chaotic scene behind her.
"(Mhmm.)" Dante replied with a nod to which they both frowned, not really knowing what to say next.
Pachirisu rubbed his chin in deep thought "(Hmmm...). He mused, looking up towards the tops of the trees. Almost just as quickly, the little squirrel perked up."(...I know!)" He declared with a paw raised to the heavens. "(What if we ask you something that you don't know? That way, you won't be breaking any rules! If Team Rocket didn't tell you some stuff, then it would okay to tell us right?)"
They both looked at him.
Huh...
Dante folded his "arms" over his "chest". "(Hmmm...)" He muttered before smiling again. "(Yeah sure, works for me!)"
Buneary looked between them. Pachirisu seemed rather proud.
Inwardly shrugging, she turned back to Dante. "(Okay so has Team Rocket already left or do you think they're still around here somewhere?)" She asked, clearly trying to choose her words carefully.
"(Well they set up camp in a cabin nearby...so I don't think they're leaving anytime soon.)" Dante replied. All the while, Piplup continued thrashing about in Buizel's arms.
"(So if they're not running away just yet, they might be planning something else.)" Buneary muttered under her breath. "(Dante, did you see them do anything strange? Anything at all?)"
"(Well...)" Dante said as he put a flipper up to his "chin". "(I remember they were making some kind of contraptions around the camp. Like with nets and stuff.)"
Buneary concernedly looked at Pachirisu. "(Traps...)" She said with a grimace to which the squirrel nodded in agreement.
Okay so Pikachu's kidnapped, Team Rocket is likely behind it, they're held up in a cabin in the woods and it sounds like they've laid down traps. Could their plan be for the group to wander nearby and snatch them up? Perhaps Dante – under the guise of being Pikachu – was supposed to lure them in?
"(Sounds like some kind of ambush if you ask me.)" Buizel remarked as he continued to hold on to Piplup who by now was starting to tire out though his fiery spirit still remained strong.
"(Yeah it does...)" Buneary replied as she contemplatively looked at the ground.
"(So now what? Do we tell Ash and the others?)" Buizel asked.
"(Maybe...)" She replied before turning to face them. "(Or maybe we can use the element of surprise again.)"
"(Huh? How do you figure?)" Buizel wondered aloud with a raised eyebrow, his intrigue shared with Piplup who had finally stopped resisting and merely looked at the bunny.
Buneary furrowed her brow as she thought it over. A few seconds passed before she quickly turned back to Dante.
"(Dante, you're a freelance impersonator right?)" She asked.
"(Yuppers! The best there is!)" Dante replied with a salute.
"(And you accept sweets as payment?)" She followed.
"(Yu-huh! Because I have a bad sweet tooth!)" He cheerily declared.
Buneary nodded her head as she turned to Pachirisu who merely tilted his head at her.
"(Little Wing...I'm going to need you to do me a solid.)" She firmly said to him.
Author's Notes:
Whoo boy! Team Rocket has returned? And what sort of plan does Buneary have in mind? So many questions...all of which have answers that are probably really obvious haha.
Anyway, this chapter was partially inspired by two sources! The first is author Aiselne Phoenix Nocturnus and her work "Cupid Wears Buneary Ears". Unfortunately, it doesn't look like she's been on the site for years and the place she's moved to (LiveJournal), doesn't look like she's shown much activity either. Either way, I liked the whole "one character starts working with Team Rocket" aspect and wanted to try my hand at it.
The second source of inspiration is outside of the fanfic community (*Gasp!* Betrayal!), an artist on DeviantArt called Stubbyubby. They've made some really cute pikachu and buneary artwork and they made a short comic that helped get this chapter going.
Check both of their works out if you love lago! Anyway, let's see what's in store for our characters next time on About Her!