Chapter 14: ...Misunderstood
"(Go Buneary! GO!)" Pikachu cheered from the sidelines as the aforementioned brown rabbit bounced around the field deploying her Ice Beam. In the process, she created large ice pillars jutting from the ground of which glistened particularly brilliantly in the morning sun.
After several of the ice structures were created, Buneary landed on her feet, ready for her trainer's next orders.
"Alright Buneary, now use Bounce and twirl!" Dawn commanded with the utmost confidence.
Doing as she was told, Buneary smiled and gracefully bounced between the pillars, creating the image of her atop a snowy mountain. To say it was quite the spectacle would be an understatement!
"Now use your strongest Ice Beam! Let's make a huge ice pillar shall we?!" Dawn declared.
Nodding in approval, Buneary focused on an open patch of grass and unleashed the most intense Ice Beam she could manage. Almost immediately, a much larger ice pillar began to form upon the ground.
"Aim it so that the structure creates a slide!" Dawn shouted, not taking her eyes off the newly-created monolith.
Doing her best, Buneary aimed her Ice Beam so that a twirling slide began to jut out from the side of the structure. After a few moments however, Buneary felt herself quickly losing energy and her Ice Beam began to weaken. Straining even harder, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep it going but soon it fully dissipated with the slide being left somewhat incomplete.
"Oh shoot, looks like we'll have to keep working on that then." Dawn muttered, seeing how the slide was supposed to fully twirl towards the ground instead of stopping halfway, hanging in midair. The coordinator looked at Buneary and took notice of her sullen expression. "Hey don't worry about it! That's why we're training in the first place!" She energetically said with a smile.
Buneary looked back at her and nodded, her frown lightening up a little.
"Okay, let's try it out, Buneary use the slide and when you get off, do a triple backflip!" Dawn commanded, pointing at the structure.
"(Right!)" Buneary exclaimed before using Bounce to jump to the top of the ice pillar. As she looked down below, she took a moment to catch her breath before getting onto the slide.
Pikachu's eyes tried their best to follow Buneary as she moved along that dizzying ice slide, slightly anxious of how this will end.
After a few seconds, Buneary neared the edge. Pikachu held his breath.
"Now Buneary!" Dawn shouted.
Steadying her nerves, Buneary positioned her body and felt the ice slide give way to open air. As she felt herself gliding in midair, she tucked her body and performed three backflips before gracefully landing on the ground! For good measure, she struck a pose, extending her arm high into the sky and giving a crowd-pleasing smile.
"(Alright Buneary!)" Pikachu cheered, fist pumping in the air.
"(Yeah that's how you do it!)" Piplup shouted next to the mouse.
"Pretty spectacular!" Brock proudly beamed nearby.
"Great job Buneary, you looked amazing!" Dawn happily exclaimed as she approached the bunny.
"(All in a day's work!)" Buneary proudly said, her arms behind her back and her chest slightly puffed out.
"Wow, great moves Dawn! You'll win that Hearthome Contest for sure!" Ash shouted as he too approached them.
Dawn rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Well to be honest we're still working on the slide move; I only came up with it a few days ago! I don't think we'll use it for Hearthome though. I'm thinking of something more simple but elegant you know? But I'm still kind of brainstorming things."
Ash and Brock chuckled in response.
"Oh for sure! Judges love heart above all!" Brock said with a smile.
Pikachu meanwhile continued to lay on the grass nearby, the proudest smirk on his face.
Wow. She was really coming into her own, that Ice Beam of hers was so versatile! He honestly didn't think such a move could be used in so many different ways! That girl was really something else wasn't she?
...Yeah...she sure was.
Pikachu's smile began to fade and was soon replaced with a look of contemplation. Oh yeah...that little thing he needed to go over. He continued to stare at her as their trainers talked amongst themselves. She was intently listening on what they had to say to such an extent that she didn't notice his gaze upon her.
Lightly sighing, Pikachu was at a loss. He was pretty sure of how he felt about this whole thing but during the few precious moments of free time to think, he realized that he wasn't too sure about how to actually go about it. Should he just walk up to her and say, "Hey I know you like me, wanna give it a shot?"...probably not. After all, for as extroverted as the bunny had become since joining them, she was still prone to moments of shyness, especially around him. Actually, it wasn't too long ago that she did just that during their craziest adventure yet...at least for their time in Sinnoh so far.
It started out as a normal day and before they knew it, the gang was dealing with Darkrai, Dialga and Palkia to save Alamos Town and perhaps the rest of the world! In the midst of all of that craziness, there was that one specific moment while the group was in those Space-Time Towers.
When things were getting bad, Ash and everyone else needed to climb to the top of the staircase when suddenly the stairs began eroding away! To help with this, Dawn sent out Buneary and Buizel to create new steps out of ice. Using Ice Beam and Water Gun respectively, the duo covered up the hole in the staircase and replaced it with newly-formed ice stairs!
"Perfect!" Dawn shouted.
"Great!" Ash said as he began slowly climbing the newly-formed ice steps with the music disk in his hands. "Careful…"
As Buneary and Buizel looked on, waiting for the young trainer to ascend the steps, Pikachu moved forward.
"(That was awesome! Great job, thanks!)" He said to Buneary with a wave of approval and closing his eyes.
Pikachu suddenly heard her make some sort of muffled noise. Opening his eyes, he swore he could see Buneary's face redden like a shepherd's sunset, visible even after she had pulled her fluff up to her face and turned away from him.
He could only lean in a little and look at her completely bewildered, everyone else staring at them.
Yeah...being so blunt about it probably wouldn't work too well...
Besides, such a moment should be in private and made special right? She of all Pokémon deserved it...she saved his life twice and nursed him back to health not too long ago after all!
Pikachu's eyes widened upon remembering that.
Oh yeah...she did do that...
And he hadn't repaid her for doing something so altruistic and noble either...
Pikachu groaned and put his paws up to his face. Great...just great! What was he supposed to do?! Would giving her a chance be his way of repaying her for what she's done for him so far?
Blinking, Pikachu began to frown. No, he shouldn't look at it that way. Dating him shouldn't be some kind of reward for saving his life or taking care of him. Those two things should be separate. Still, he needed to show how much he appreciated everything that she's done.
Pikachu put his paw up to his chin in contemplation as his mind began to go over potential ideas.
Should he give her something back in return? Okay, like what?
Should he do some sort of grand gesture like serenade her or something? Well, she might have already gotten that from his little dare back at the gala plus their duet together afterward.
So...what exactly should he do?
Later, Pikachu was sitting on a patch of grass nibbling on a bowl of pellets. Buneary almost immediately took a seat next to him, something that had become routine now.
"(Hey, that was one heck of a performance!)" Pikachu beamed, in between munching his food.
"(Really? You think so?)" Buneary asked with a bashful smile as she reached for a pellet.
"(Totally! You've got that contest in the bag, just keep up the pizazz and that ribbon is as good as yours!)"
"(Oh, gosh...thanks!)" She said blushing, trying not to fiddle with her fluff and suddenly finding it incredibly hard to eat right now.
Not taking notice of this, Pikachu continued to smile. "(No problem!)"
Hmmm...it was funny. That girl acted so bashful and dainty in one moment and then energetic and full of life in another. Even now, she was having trouble establishing eye contact with him when not long ago she was backflipping off of an ice slide and giving the crowd a finishing pose!
But that wasn't the only thing he took notice of...even now he couldn't stop thinking about what happened in Oreburgh City when he got sick. Sure, everyone did their duty to help him through it, but she was practically his personal nurse! Always staying by his side and getting him whatever he needed...he had no doubt that she would've done the same thing to the others if it was them who was sick.
Just another side to her that he'd only recently noticed. A caring, responsible one at that.
Heh...that silly bunny.
Pikachu blinked as something stirred inside of him. "(Say...)" He started.
"(Hmm?)" Buneary asked as she looked up from her pellets.
Inwardly, he took a deep breath. Okay...here we go...
"(I never did properly thank you for what you did...w-when I got sick.)" He said somewhat embarrassedly.
Buneary blinked a few times. "(Oh sure you did! And...well...it was no problem! Happy to help!)" She chirped.
Pikachu couldn't really explain it but for some strange reason, that still didn't exactly sit right with him. He felt something in his chest...something that was telling him that it wasn't enough.
"(Oh no, no, no.)" He said with a little smile while waving a paw in front of him. "(You practically nursed me back to health alone; I definitely owe you one!)"
"(Really?)" She asked, genuinely curious.
"(Yup! I can't just let that one go. Anything you want, just name it!)" He nearly blurted out. Strange, the words he was saying were practically coming out of his mouth without a second thought.
"(Heehee~! Well...)" She started, a paw on her cheek. "(Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure what you could do for me...)"
Pikachu put his own paw to his chin. "(Hmmmm...)" He wondered aloud, lost in deep thought. He furrowed his brow, and tried to think of the things that he knows she would like.
Contests, cherry tomatoes, fashion, flowers...flowers!
Aha! He's got it!
Suddenly, punching one paw into another, Pikachu couldn't help but make a high-pitched sound as an idea came to him. Of course! He saw how much she loved flowers when they were on that little excursion together when everyone got separated!
"(I know!)" He confidently declared, earning Buneary's full focus on him. "(When I looked at Brock's map, I saw that there was a cliff along the side of Dover Mountain that was known for its flowers!)"
"(Flowers you say?)" Buneary asked, eyes widening a little in intrigue.
"(Yeah! And it's all supposed to be on the mountain itself, overlooking the valley. It sounds pretty nice! It's a little bit off the path we're taking but I know the others wouldn't mind the detour.)"
She paused for a moment, thinking it over. Noticing her silence, Pikachu looked over at Buneary with an odd bit of anxiety stirring in his stomach.
"(Sooo, what do you think?)" He asked a bit nervously though why he didn't know.
Buneary suddenly gave a warm smile. "(Sounds like fun!)" She beamed.
Feeling an odd wave of relief wash over him, Pikachu let out a small exhale. "(Great!)" He nearly exclaimed.
"(Is everyone else joining us?)" She asked, reaching for another pellet.
Pikachu blinked, then folded his arms in deep thought about all of their friends and if they would even want to go with them. "(They're welcome to join, but I don't think beautiful flowers are really their thing.)" He said, shrugging. "(Besides, it'll probably be better if it was the two of us anyway!)"
Buneary's eyes widened a little.
Suddenly her heart started beating like a jackhammer. "Wait...O-Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh my gosh! Is he asking me out?!" She thought, mind racing. "It certainly sounds like it! It was his idea, he thought about how much I love flowers and it's supposed to only be the two of us! Still, maybe he intends for it to be a quick visit maybe-" Her thoughts were interrupted when Pikachu spoke up again.
"(Actually, the view might be so nice, we could be there for a bit. I could bring some snacks or a picnic basket for us if you'd like!)" He said smiling.
Buneary couldn't help but keep her mouth held agape. "(A picnic basket?)" She nearly stammered, dropping her pellet on to the grass.
"(Yeah, I could bring those cherry tomatoes you like so much, maybe some pellets, definitely some ketchup...)" Pikachu started saying but for the moment, the world went silent for her. She could only continue to stare at the handsome mouse's happy face as he continued to talk.
"There's my answer right there! It has to be a date! Yup! A picnic date! He's even bringing me my favorite snack!" She internally screamed as a blush began to spread across her face. Oh heavens above, if she didn't feel a strong urge to hide her face behind her fluff before, it was taking everything she had to not squeal and do so now! But that would only make him worry and perhaps make him think that she didn't want to. So what should she do? Nuzzle him into the ground and squeal like a fangirl? Hmmm, maybe she should try giving that maturity thing another shot and stay calm to maintain her dignity...
Satisfied with that, she continued to lovingly gaze at him as he kept talking.
She could already picture it right now. Them together, alone on a beautiful mountain surrounded by colorful flowers, overlooking the land while they sit on a nice picnic blanket. They would tell some funny jokes; she would make some flirtatious comment. He would get shy and embarrassed, he would...realize his feelings for her...he would tell her how much she means to him and how he wants to be with her forever...he...would...
"(Buneary...)" Pikachu said fidgeting with his pellet while sitting on their picnic blanket.
"(Yes Pikachu?)" She asked, batting her eyelashes as she sat next to him.
"(We've known each other for a while...and I...I finally know how I feel...)" He managed to say, slowly but surely becoming more confident.
"(What do you feel Pikachu?)" She softly asked as she began to lean forward, her heart beating so loud, she could practically hear it ringing in her ears.
"(I...)" Pikachu started but paused, his nerves starting to get the better of him. He swallowed hard before continuing. "(I want to be with you, I-I have feelings for you that I just can't ignore anymore.)" He shakily said as he turned to her.
"(Oh Pikachu...!)" She whispered, so happy at his confession that her mind was going in a million different directions at once.
"(Buneary...I want to be with you...I-I...) He started, clearly too nervous to keep going.
"(Yes...?)" She asked, leaning forward, her eyes sparkling in wonder.
"(I like you!)" Pikachu declared, vulnerability in his eyes. He leaned forward towards her.
"(Pikachu, I feel the same way. I always have...)" She said as she closed her eyes and leaned forward even more.
"(Buneary...)" He said as he too closed his eyes.
"(Come here and make it official~)" She said with a smile as her face was mere inches from his. She could feel his warm breath gently caress her face. She could only feel bliss in her heart as their lips pressed agains-
"(Buneary?)" A voice of concern rang out.
"(Huh?)" Buneary wondered aloud as she blinked a few times. Where was she?! What happened?! Her vision suddenly returned and she realized that her favorite mouse was staring her in the eyes, a look of both confusion and concern on his face.
"(You okay? You were quiet for a while.)" He asked.
"(Oh...err yeah! I was just thinking of...)" She started, her face reddening by the second. "Think of something to say! Anything!" She thought.
"(About what kind of vest I should wear to the picnic!)" She blurted out, not entirely sure as to why she decided on that.
"(Oh, well...wait do you even have a vest to wear?)" He asked.
Buneary blinked in response.
"Oh crap."
"(Ummm, I guess I don't...whoops!)" She smiled sheepishly, turning away while trying to keep a blush of embarrassment from overtaking her face.
Oh great, he probably thinks she's a weirdo or an airhead now...
Both of her ears suddenly perked up as she heard something from him. Was that...chuckling? She turned back and saw that incredibly cute mouse smiling and holding his stomach.
"(So I guess problem solved then huh?)" Pikachu laughed.
"(Err...yeah!)" She awkwardly laughed back.
"Atta girl! Nice save there!"
Trying to move on from that incredibly embarrassing moment, Buneary tried her best not to stammer any more. "(Anyway, that sounds really nice. I'd love to go!)"
"(Great, sounds like a plan!)" Pikachu said beaming and waving the pellet in his paw.
She couldn't believe it. He asked her out?! She wondered if this was some sort of misunderstanding on her part but she couldn't think of any other way to describe it! She reached for another pellet and bit into it. Somehow, the flavor of the pellet was even tastier than before, earning a quiet sigh of content from her. She looked back to him and noticed that everything around them seemed more vibrant and colorful than how it was mere moments ago, the trees, the sky...everything! She could feel a warmness spreading from her chest and envelope her heart in a comforting embrace. Yet, it didn't feel scary, in fact it felt quite...lovely. The world just seemed like a more beautiful, pleasant place in that moment!
They sat there for a while. Eating their food and occasionally talking, but the bunny's mind was always somewhere else. Somewhere very pleasant and cozy. And that warm feeling in her chest never left her.
As Buneary finished her last pellet, she heard another voice call out.
"Buneary! Hey can you come over here real quick? I wanted to go over some more move sets we can do with your Ice Beam!" Dawn asked from the campsite, waving over to her.
Buneary started to get up from her spot. "(Looks like duty calls.)" She said, somewhat saddened that the moment with Pikachu has to end.
"(Yeah, I'll take care of the dishes. Ash'll probably want to start training soon anyway.)" Pikachu said as he started to grab both of their now-empty bowls, the role of being the dish handler becoming all-too-familiar to him now.
"(Thanks.)" She said with a smile as she began to turn around and hop towards her trainer. She suddenly turned back and glanced at him. "(Hey Pikachu?)"
"(Mhmm?)" He replied, looking up as he grabbed their bowls.
Buneary looked towards the ground, her feet shuffling along the grass. She couldn't help but hold on to her fluff this time. "(Thanks...f-for the picnic date I mean.)"
"(Oh no problem!)" He said smiling, not fully registering the last part of what she said.
She gave another big smile and with that, hopped off towards Dawn.
Pikachu continued to smile back as he lifted their bowls off the ground and began to turn away.
...
Wait...what?
Pikachu blinked a few times as he finally understood what she had just said to him.
"Picnic date? Wait...date?!" He thought as he suddenly dropped their empty dishes.
Soon after eating, the gang engaged in some particularly intense training and when they were finally done a few hours later, they started preparing lunch. As the trainers were setting up the tables and dishes, their Pokémon helped out any way they could. Eventually, when all the work was done on their end, they sat around talking as they usually did, each in their own little groups, eating their food. Unbeknownst to them all, a certain electric mouse was completely silent, mulling over what had happened.
"A date, she thinks I asked her out on a date." He thought as he sat down by himself. "Why would she think that though?! I just wanted to repay her for all she's done! It's not like it's just the two of us...oh wait yes it is...well it's not like it's a romantic setting...except for the beautiful scenery and the flowers that she loves so much..." Pikachu thought as he put his paws up to his head and closed his eyes. "Agghh! Okay, okay but it was her idea after all...no wait it was mine...all of it was! Including the picnic!" He opened his eyes and stared at the ground as another thought came to him. "It certainly sounded like a date didn't it? Is it possible that on some level I..." He shook his head again. "No, no! It was just a misunderstanding...yeah."
Though...he didn't have to suggest the location or the picnic. He could've suggested something less romantic and just as meaningful if he gave it more thought. Pikachu furrowed his brow as he continued to think it over. Yeah, no...there wasn't any denial this time, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself. He actually asked her out on a date! A lovely, thoughtful and romantic one at that!
Pikachu sighed and got up before walking up to a group composed of Buizel, Turtwig and Staravia. "A date...oh lord I actually asked her out on a date! Okay...well...no harm done; I'll just go through with it! She still deserves to have a nice time after all!" He thought as he sat down with his friends.
After some hanging out, the gang decided to play hide and seek in the nearby forest with permission from their trainers. Pachirisu was the seeker and everyone else started getting ready to look for hiding spots. As soon as Pachirisu started counting down from one hundred, everyone scattered. Before they knew it, Aipom and Buneary found themselves hiding near some bushes.
"(He WHAT?!)" Aipom exclaimed, not caring at all if she gave away their hiding position.
"(Hee~! Yup!)" Buneary squealed, paws on her cheeks and drifting off into her own world to relive the wonderful memory of Pikachu asking her on a date.
"(No flippin' way! You're messing with me! Are you messing with me? You're messing with me!)" Aipom quickly prattled.
"(Nope! No doubt at all, he asked me out on a picnic date, just the two of us!)" Buneary excitedly shouted as she twirled in place.
"(I-I can't believe it! He asked you out? Him?!)" Aipom shouted in complete bewilderment although a smile began to appear on her face.
"(Teehee~! I know! I can't believe it either!)" Buneary exclaimed as she started to twirl along the ground with a little more finesse.
Aipom put her paws on her hips with a sigh of content. "(Heh, gotta say, I'm actually proud! I didn't think he had it in him! He's usually so shy about this kind of stuff.)" She said, her smile growing wider. Buneary stopped twirling in place to lean forward and make eye contact with her.
"(Exactly! So he must really want this date to happen!)" She exclaimed with her famous sparkling gaze. "(Oh I'm just so excited! I just know how it's gonna go! We'll get there, he'll confess his feelings, we'll start going steady and...and...)" She excitedly yelled before trailing off and going silent.
Aipom leaned over to make sure she was okay. "(Umm...Buneary?)" She asked, slightly concerned. She got a little closer to get a look at Buneary's face and saw that she was blissfully staring off into the distance, her paws on her cheeks and clearly lost in her own world again.
A bead of sweat went down Aipom's head as she let out an exasperated chuckle. "(Heh, call me crazy, but you must be really excited for this date huh?)"
Aipom could only chuckle again as Buneary wordlessly nodded her head as she continued to stare off into the distance.
Pikachu continued to walk through the forest. He was certain Pachirisu wasn't nearby, otherwise he would have heard shuffling and fast footsteps, not to mention that the little squirrel wasn't exactly subtle or quiet. He soon sat down behind a bush and listened if anybody was nearby. When he heard only silence, he let out a small exhale. Thankfully the area was quiet enough to hear the excitable squirrel from a mile away...in fact it was really quiet...more quiet than he was used to actually. Huh.
Blinking, Pikachu continued to stare off into the distance. Although he was in the middle of a game, his mind was completely elsewhere.
Just what had compelled him to do that? And if – or rather when – the others hear about it...
Pikachu shook his head. "No! Stop thinking about yourself! Whether you meant to ask her out or not, she certainly thinks it. Besides, what's the harm anyway?" Pikachu thought as he continued to gaze out into the forest. It was true, regardless of his intentions, spending time with Buneary was always fun, probably more so than with any of his other friends, current or even in the past!
He smiled and got back up. Best keep moving to find a better hiding spot, Pachirisu moves quick after all! With that, he headed off.
A few minutes later, Pikachu heard the unmistakable sound of running water. He came upon a bush and parted it, only to see none other than Happiny. Pikachu blinked, not exactly understanding what he was looking at. He walked through the bush to get a better look. As he approached Happiny, his eyes widened in shock.
Happiny was standing on a log that was in the middle of the river! How she got on it, Pikachu had no idea. His eyes glanced over and noticed that the log was pressed against a rock that jutted from the water, seemingly the only thing that prevented it from being swept downstream.
Pikachu looked back to Happiny who only smiled upon seeing him. "(Hi! Hi! I'm hiding!)" She excitedly said, waving her tiny arms in the air.
"(Yeah, I can see that.)" Pikachu replied with a small smile, trying not to let his concern show. He continued to approach her and walked up to the edge of the river. "(But how about we find a better spot than that log, okay?)"
"(Okay!)" Happiny exclaimed, jumping up and down on the log.
"(Woah! Just keep still for a sec!)" Pikachu blurted, waving his paws in front of him.
"(Pikachu?)" A male voice rang out from the forest. Pikachu turned around to see Buizel emerge from the forest.
"(Oh hey. Check it out.)" Pikachu said, motioning towards Happiny.
Buizel looked at her and then huffed in slight frustration. "(Tsk, better get her on dry land, yeah?)" He remarked, crossing his arms.
"(Yeah, care to help?)" Pikachu asked as he pointed towards the water.
"(Sure.)" Buizel replied as he approached the edge of the water and began getting into the river.
"(Yay! New hiding spot! New hiding spot!)" Happiny happily repeated as she began to jump up and down in place again.
"(Happiny don't you might-)" Pikachu said before, to his horror, the log slipped off from the rock and began to move downstream with her on it!
"(Woah, hey!)" Buizel shouted as he looked on as the log continued downstream.
"(After her!)" Pikachu screamed as he got on all fours and bolted as fast as his legs could carry him along the side of the river. Buizel took a moment to look over at Pikachu before steadying himself. Taking a quick deep breath, he used his tails to propel himself forward as fast as he could.
Pikachu kept his eyes on Happiny who obliviously kept smiling and laughing. Clearly, she thought this was all a game or like a carnival ride or something because she was having the time of her life! Gritting his teeth, Pikachu used Quick Attack to put on a burst of speed. To his left side and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Buizel propelling himself through the water and quickly closing the distance. Moments later, he and Buizel were neck and neck but Pikachu could feel himself unable to keep up Quick Attack for much longer while Buizel didn't look like he was slowing down at all!
"(Wheee~!)" Happiny happily exclaimed as the log took off down the river. Buizel was getting closer with each passing moment.
"Oh thank god!" Pikachu thought, simply glad that one of them was about to get to Happiny soon. Despite the immediate situation, Pikachu couldn't help but be impressed by Buizel's speed in the water. He shouldn't be all that surprised he supposed, after all Buizel is a Water-type but still, those tails are quite useful!
He turned his full attention back to Happiny but beyond her he saw something rather concerning. He loudly gasped as he realized that not too far ahead, the river not only turned into raging rapids, but several large rocks were also jutting out from the water's surface! If the log struck one of those rocks at such a high speed, Happiny would fall off and be swept away!
"(Rapids ahead!)" Pikachu shouted to Buizel whose full focus was on the log.
"(Huh?)" Buizel wondered aloud as he realized too late what Pikachu meant. He suddenly felt his body being tugged from one side to another by the rapids before he slammed right into a rock, making his progress come to an immediate and painful grinding halt.
Pikachu winced at his friend's predicament but couldn't slow down, not while Happiny is still in danger! He looked on and cringed as the log just barely managed to float past several large rocks yet somehow Happiny remained on it, this time a slight look of worry was clearly on her face. Pikachu felt himself slowing down as his Quick Attack dissipated when suddenly, the log turned sideways and became horizontal in the river.
He grit his teeth in frustration. Damn, all of that training this morning wasn't doing him any favors right now! Maybe he could keep up Quick Attack if he wasn't already a little winded. Still, he kept at it for what felt like hours on end when really it should've only been minutes.
Eventually, Pikachu looked on as he saw the river's current slowing down, much to his relief. As the log came to a crawl, it managed to gently bump in to two rocks, fully coming to a stop. Still running as fast as he could, Pikachu finally managed to catch up to the log and stopped in his tracks.
"(Happiny! Don't worry, I'll get you off that log!)" He shouted in between pants, doing his best not to sound worried.
"(Yay! Again! Again!)" Happiny cheered, once again jumping in place on the log and her enthusiasm making a comeback.
Not wanting a repeat of what just happened, Pikachu racked his brain for ideas. He didn't want to jump on the log for fear of dislodging it or causing Happiny to fall into the river which still had some current, albeit much less so than the rapids. He judged the distance between where he was and the log and figured that it wasn't too far. He turned around and stuck his tail out as far as he could towards the baby Pokémon.
"(Reach as far as you can and grab my tail!)" He declared, trying his best to extend it to Happiny.
Happiny merely looked at him and edged herself over to the end of the log and leaned forward, extending her tiny arms to try and grab hold of Pikachu's tail.
"Almoooost!" Pikachu thought as he scooched backwards as far as he could.
Happiny continued to lean forward. And then, to Pikachu's horror, her foot slipped and he saw her beginning to fall into the water! He could only gasp in shock.
"Ahhh! Nooo!" He internally screamed as Happiny let out a squeal of surprise as she saw the water coming closer to her vision.
Suddenly, the surface of the water exploded as Buizel burst from it like a missile! Immediately, he snatched Happiny and soared into the open air before finally they came down on dry land near the electric mouse.
Pikachu looked on as Buizel gently put Happiny on the ground, not a hair out of place. He ran over to the two of them to which Buizel simply nodded in reassurance that they were okay. Sighing with relief, Pikachu fell right on his rump and felt himself panting again. In all of that craziness and with his adrenaline pumping, the mouse tried to not let himself feel tired for even a moment but now he found himself gasping, trying to catch his breath. When he finally got his breathing under control, he gave Buizel a satisfied grin.
"(Great job, really impressive swimming back there!)" He finally said giving Buizel a side glance.
Buizel merely gave a smirk and nod in response as he folded his arms over his chest.
Happiny jumped in place with the biggest smile on her face. "(Yay! So much fun!)" She declared, none the wiser.
Sometime later, the trio were walking along the riverbank back in the direction of the camp on a fairly-sized dirt road. None of them had realized before that they had actually covered quite a lot of distance in such a short amount of time. Indeed, it had served as quite the cardio workout! Pikachu wasn't entirely sure how long the chase had lasted but in retrospect, it was probably longer than he would like to admit. Regardless, at this rate, it would take them some time to get back.
As they walked at a leisurely pace, Pikachu couldn't help but notice something rather odd: the entire time he didn't hear any sounds coming from the surrounding area. No other wild Pokémon walking around the forest or some passerby chatting away, something that was rather common when travelling through the wilderness even in the middle of nowhere. Nothing...just silence. Great, just their luck! Despite making so much noise, nobody was around to help them.
...Actually come to think of it, it had been just as silent back at camp and when they were playing hide and seek in the nearby forest. In fact, Pikachu couldn't recall hearing anything the entire time they were here. No Bug-type Pokémon scurrying nearby, no Flying-types soaring overhead, no forest critters shuffling through the bushes. It was totally silent at all times.
Huh, interesting. Maybe it was just an isolated area? Or they just happened to miss seeing any of the locals here? Or maybe-
Pikachu was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts upon noticing something. He turned his head as he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Turning to his left, he thought he saw a large shadow moving at a rather fast pace above them. He looked upwards but only saw mostly clear sky, save for some noticeably large clouds that casted their own slowly-moving shadows. Huh, weird. Still, he couldn't shake a strange feeling that something was off.
A few minutes later they continued to walk with Happiny in high spirits while Pikachu and Buizel discussed training techniques they were trying to improve on.
"(Yeah, I'll definitely need to get faster if I can't keep up with a log in a river.)" Pikachu said, somewhat embarrassed.
"(Heh, don't sweat it, the only reason I caught up was because I was in the water. You're plenty fast on dry land.)" Buizel smirked, for once, not letting his pride be at the forefront.
"(Well, I guess, but what I do need to improve on is my endurance.)"
"(Just try not to spend too much time on that, I'm sure Ash wants to focus on other things too y'know.)"
"(Heh, certainly.)"
As they walked, Pikachu suddenly looked over to his left again. This time, he definitely saw a large shadow quickly moving over them. Immediately, he stopped in place and anxiously scanned the area, including the sky.
"(Huh? What's up?)" Buizel asked, looking over at him and coming to a full stop. Happiny stopped in front of him and she too looked back.
Pikachu grimaced as his instincts kicked in. "(Did you see that?)" He asked, still looking around the immediate area.
Blinking confusedly, Buizel looked from side to side, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "(See what?)" He asked.
Looking towards the sky again, Pikachu furrowed his brow. He looked back at them, showing his concerned expression.
"(Something's not right.)" He said, slightly worried.
Happiny walked up to him, a look of genuine concern on her face, not fully comprehending what they were talking about.
"(Hmm? What's not-)" Buizel asked before he was interrupted by a loud screech from above.
All three looked up towards the sky.
They could only hold their mouths agape in shock at the approaching terror that was flying towards them.
Author's Notes:
Looks like things are about to hit the fan...ooh boy!
Also, Happy Valentine's Day! Figured that I should send this chapter out during the holiday instead of the weekend as I usually do!
I'd like to give a shoutout to PokeMaster64, specifically for his fic "For the Love of Pikachu" which strongly inspired this chapter. In addition to the fluffy PikaBun moments he puts in, if you're a fan of epic stories of adventure, OCs and worldbuilding then definitely check out his work!
Next up, something a little more on the exciting side!