Author's note: Heyo!
This chapter sure was difficult to get right! I had a million topics to cram in, while also doing my best to have them flow naturally into each other, and trying to make them interesting to read about, all at the same time! Phew...
Hope you enjoy it! :D
Chapter Seven: A Distracting Chat
Buneary pushed aside a few stray leaves from bushes as she walked. After seeing Hunter J's airship in the sky, Kellyn had told everyone to follow him, so that's what they were doing. They were heading somewhere, under the ranger's guidance, while staying out of sight behind the trees and bushes. The last thing they wanted was for Hunter J to spot them right now.
Turning to look at the others, she saw Munchlax happily skipping along, humming a tune to himself without a care in the world. Even his waves gave off nothing but happy vibes. Heh. Kinda crazy, since a greedy, heartless pokémon hunter was after them. Maybe he just had that much faith in Kellyn. Or maybe he was just generally happy. She wasn't really sure.
Pikachu had a neutral look on his face as he glanced around, but his waves were antsy and angry. At least, they were, until they weakened heavily. It was so strange that they'd been doing this recently. Was something wrong with her powers? No, they worked fine on everyone else, so it made no sense.
... Regardless, she could tell he was worried. Maybe he also wanted to pummel Hunter J. She'd have no complaints if he ever got the chance to do that.
Riolu, however, was glancing around with a scared look on his face. His waves felt just as scared, and he was clutching at the pouch around his neck, where he'd put his wooden riolu doll for safekeeping.
That wooden doll... The emotions that had hit her after Riolu had looked at it had been... rather intense. Happiness, relief and sadness, all bundled together with flashes of memory...
Strange. This was the first time her wave powers had allowed her access to memories. They'd probably been 'emanated' by Riolu, though Ash had been able to feel them, too, oddly enough. Something to do with his 'aura affinity' or something.
She hadn't been able to see Riolu's memories clearly, but they'd stirred something deep within her. She'd been crying and hadn't even noticed...
Shaking away the thought, she cast Riolu a sympathetic gaze as he continued to look and feel scared. Poor thing. Maybe she should start up a conversation to take his mind off things. Hmm, what to talk about, though...
She glanced around at everyone again. Her eyes travelled across Riolu, Pikachu and Munchlax, then up at Ash, Dawn, Brock and Kellyn.
... Wait! Kellyn! She broke into a smile. She'd wanted to ask about that anyway, so why not now?
She turned back to the group of pokémon. "(Hey, so...)" she started, waiting for them all to look her way with more neutral waves. She smiled brighter. "(Pikachu!)" She felt a spike of surprise and intrigue from him. "(Tell me more about rangers! You said they capture pokémon with their stylers, right? But not permanently, like with a pokéball. So, why do they do that?)"
Pikachu blinked at her, though his mind was a mess of confusion and growing frustration. When the waves weakened heavily, he blinked again. "(Well...)" he replied, "(it's because...)" He smiled. "(Their stylers create bonds with pokémon, and... well, they don't wanna keep them.)"
Ignoring the weakening for now, there was that strange reaction again. Why was he confused?
"(Oh yeah? Why's that?)"
His emotions spiked again, waves of panic now wedged in-between the confusion and frustration, until they weakened again. "(Uh, well... it's... not their job to catch pokémon! That's left to the trainers!)"
"(... Okay, but why?)"
"(B-Because...)"
... Oh, now she understood. He had no clue, did he? She fought down an amused giggle as he looked around.
When his eyes landed on Riolu, who was watching him warily, he smiled and pointed at the young dog. "(W-Well, Riolu here's owned by someone, right? So you can't just catch him.)"
Buneary felt a swell of pride come off him as he said this, before it weakened again. Oh, that silly mouse...
"(I guess so!)" she replied. "(Though...)" She put her paw to her chin in a dramatic thinking pose. "(That doesn't explain the wild nincada he captured...)"
His expression only held the most subtle of changes, but his waves of pride had crashed into oblivion. She tried not to laugh again.
... Wait, why had it not weakened that time?
"(Ooh!)" Munchlax cried, throwing his arms in the air in excitement and distracting her. "(I know this one!)" He lowered his arms, now walking more calmly. "(The job of a ranger is to protect!)" He smiled fondly, placing a paw over his chest. "('On guard for the irreplaceable: pokémon, nature, and people'.)" He beamed. "(That's the motto of the Ranger Union!)"
"(Oh, okay!)" Buneary replied. "(But they can't protect with pokéballs?)"
Munchlax dropped his paw to let it swing by his side. "(Nope! It's no good catching the wildlife when you're trying to protect it!)"
"(Hmm? But trainers are allowed to?)"
"(Oh yeah! 'Cause they usually wanna battle them, while rangers just wanna protect them!)"
"(Ah.)" She blinked. "(Wait, but the nincada...?)"
"(Oh, that was just to borrow her power for a bit! 'Cause he needed Dig at that moment, and she had Dig!)"
... Now she was starting to see why Pikachu was so confused and frustrated.
"(So...)" Pikachu said, "(why don't rangers just catch and train a team of six?)"
Her ear perked up in intrigue. Oh! That was a good question!
"(Yeah!)" she agreed. "(It sounds like you need to go looking for something whenever you need a move. So... why not get a team of six and just... give them all the moves you might need!)"
She felt a surge of pride come from Pikachu, and it made her glow inside. Even if his waves did weaken afterwards. Just why did they keep doing that?
"(Hmm...)" Munchlax replied, looking thoughtful as he hopped over a rock. "(Well, they could do that... but they might not even get all the moves they need. If they miss any, and suddenly need them, then they're in big trouble!)" He laughed. "(Plus, rangers are super busy all the time! So many missions, every day!)" He shook his head. "(There's just no time to be training a team of six!)" He indicated himself. "(Hence why I only know Work Up and Tackle!)"
Pikachu's waves felt confused again, but they didn't weaken this time, either, oddly. "(But... you said you'd been training it really hard?)"
"(Yep! Though even that was a hassle with the constant missions! But I really wanted to help power up Kellyn's styler, so I could be more useful!)"
"(Huh...)" Buneary replied, intrigued. She thought for a moment. "(So... what exactly does the styler... do?)"
Munchlax beamed. "(I'm glad you asked! When you fire the capture disc...)" He put one paw on his other arm and did the 'capture on' motion. "(You put all your feelings of friendship into it... and when it circles the pokémon enough times...)" He made a circling motion in the air with one finger. "(It shares those feelings with the pokémon!)" He dropped his arms. "(So they know you're not a threat and can trust you!)"
"(... Yeah,)" Pikachu replied with a smile, his waves betraying shame and embarrassment, before they weakened again. "(That's it!)"
Buneary tried not to smirk. Why was that silly mouse pretending he knew more than he did? Was he hoping to impress her, or something?
"(S-So that's how it works?)" Riolu asked. Buneary was surprised, as that was the first thing he'd said in a while. "(Th-The ranger was trying to... get me to trust him?)"
"(Yeppers!)" Munchlax replied. "(You were really scared and angry... and we've dealt with a lot of pokémon like that... some of them brainwashed! So he was hoping to calm you down, get you to see he's not a threat, and then take you back home!)"
Riolu blinked at him, his waves now full of awe. "(O-Oh...)" They suddenly filled with shame as he looked at the ground sadly. "(S-Sorry...)"
"(That's okay! You were freaking out, so I get it! Everyone freaks out when they're scared!)"
Buneary smirked just a little bit. "(Even you?)" she asked.
"(Yep, even me!)"
Buneary blanched, not expecting that response. "(... Huh? Really?)"
"(Yeppers!)"
... She found that a bit hard to believe, honestly.
She shook her head, smiling at the bear. "(Well, either way, you sure know a lot about rangers!)"
"('Course I do! I've been with Kellyn a loooong time, so I know all there is to know about them!)"
She giggled. "(I guess that makes sense.)"
"(S-So...)" Riolu said, "(what do pokéballs do?)"
"(Hmm?)" Buneary asked. "(You don't have a pokéball?)"
He shook his head. "(N-No...)"
Pikachu's waves spiked with excitement and pride. "(Oh!)" he said. "(Well-!)" He turned to Riolu, but paused when the dog flinched. Pikachu's waves immediately weakened.
Buneary's eyes widened. Wait a minute...
"(Ooh!)" Munchlax said happily. "(This is something I don't know much about!)"
"(Well, you catch pokémon in them,)" Pikachu continued, "(and it's kind of like a styler, but not really. It doesn't... transmit feelings of friendship, so not all caught pokémon will understand how their trainer feels... but it's...)" He paused, conflicted waves coming off him, before they weakened again. "(My friends say they're comfortable, but I've... never really been a fan.)" He smiled sheepishly, though there was no sheepishness in his waves. He looked over at Buneary. "(Would you say they're comfortable, Buneary?)"
"(Hmm?)" she asked, surprised at being addressed. "(Oh, um... yeah!)" She smiled. "(It's super comfortable! You become little particles that float around in a void!)" She saw Riolu's eyes widen, as horror entered his waves. She floundered a bit. "(I-It's not as bad as it sounds, trust me!)" She smiled. "(Your molecules all bunch together in a really warm, cosy space, and it's super easy to relax and sleep in!)"
Riolu listened intently, his waves full of awe and intrigue, though also a bit of uncertainty and wariness. "(R-Really?)" he asked.
"(Yeah! Trust me, I go in a pokéball all the time!)"
"(... But... you didn't want to, earlier...)"
She blinked. "(Hmm? Well, that was 'cause I wanted to stay out and make sure you got home safely! Trust me, I love my pokéball, but I'm gonna stay out of it, just for today.)" She threw him a wink.
He brightened up, and so did his waves. "(Oh, okay!)"
An absolute surge of pride came from Pikachu. When Riolu flinched, however, it weakened immensely.
Buneary stared in disbelief. She knew it. Pikachu had been squashing down his emotions, hadn't he?
Was it because... it had scared Riolu? Earlier, when the dog had said that Pikachu's emotions were 'too intense', Pikachu had been extremely shocked and horrified. So he'd tried to combat it by... squashing them down?
... Thinking about it, those times they hadn't weakened, he'd been distracted, hadn't he? So he'd probably forgotten to do it.
She fought down another smirk. Wow. Not only was that really amusing, but it was actually really cute, too! Especially since he was doing it for Riolu's benefit.
"(You know,)" Munchlax said happily, "(this pokéball thing sounds nice when you put it that way!)"
"(I'd say it is!)" Buneary replied.
"(Though how does it work, if it doesn't connect you emotionally?)"
She thought for a moment. "(Hmm... well, it's more like it connects you physically. Like... you're tied to that trainer now.)" Upon feeling a spike of concern from Riolu, she quickly continued. "(But you can always break your pokéball, or be released, if you're really unhappy.)"
His waves relaxed. "(Oh,)" he replied.
She beamed. "(But me? I'm really happy with Dawn!)" She pointed at Pikachu. "(And Pikachu's really happy with Ash, right?)"
The mouse's waves filled with happiness and pride, before being squashed down. "(Yeah,)" he replied with a smile and a nod.
"(Same with me!)" Munchlax added happily. "(I love being around Kellyn! I mean, I wasn't caught with a pokéball, but I was captured with a styler!)" He laughed. "(That counts, right?)"
Some perplexed waves rose up from Pikachu. Before Buneary could question them, Riolu spoke up.
"(I... wasn't caught or anything, but...)" the dog said, "(I like the nice old man, who looks after me and trains me... so I kinda get what you mean.)"
"(Yeah!)" Munchlax replied. "(We all have human partners or... trainers - or I dunno, carers? - that we like!)"
Riolu nodded, smiling. "(Yeah!)"
"(... Say, uh... Munchlax...)" Pikachu said slowly. His waves were very confused and frustrated, before he squashed them down again.
"(Yeah?)" Munchlax asked him, still smiling.
Pikachu idly kicked a twig out of the way as he walked. "(If, uh... if rangers don't like capturing the wildlife, then why do they have partners, anyway?)" He smiled sheepishly. Again, though, there was no sheepishness in his waves.
A spike of surprise hit Munchlax's waves. "(Oh! Well, a ranger doesn't have to have a partner. That's the pokémon's choice!)"
Surprise entered everyone else's waves. "(Even you?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Yep! Even me! Kellyn helped me out of a sticky situation, so I wanted to stay by his side forever!)" He laughed. "(It was hard work keeping up with him, though! He moves pretty fast in a hurry!)"
Amused waves emanated from the group as they all chuckled at this.
"(So how did you meet?)" Riolu asked, his waves filled with intrigue.
Buneary smiled. The young dog finally seemed to be warming up to Munchlax a little bit.
"(Well!)" Munchlax's waves were full of excitement now, as if he'd been dying to tell this story. He paused, his waves uncertain, before they went back to being excited. "(Actually, I should start from the beginning. See, I used to live in a place called Vien Forest in Almia...)"
Buneary raised both eyebrows in surprise. "(Oh, you actually come from this Almia place?)" she asked.
"(Yeppers! Anyway, I got kinda bored of seeing the same forest-y scenery every day, so I thought, 'Why not head through Vientown and see some new places?')"
"(Vientown?)" Pikachu asked, his waves intrigued.
"(Yeah, the nearby town! So I wandered around, enjoying the sights, until I found the best place of all: Nabiki Beach!)"
"(A... beach?)" Riolu asked, confusion and intrigue in his waves.
"(Yep! And it became my favourite place, so I went there allll the time...)"
Munchlax stretched his arms above his head, breathing in the salty sea air. Ahh, he loved coming to Nabiki Beach! Sure, he had to travel through Vientown to get here each time, but it was totally worth it! Especially since, every time he came here, he was fed by that kind old man, Mr. Woodward!
Today had been no exception, as he and his new friends - Starly and Pachirisu - had been given some delicious snacks! Lots of them, too, since the man was really generous!
Beaming to himself, he looked around him, admiring the white sand and clear seawater. Nearby, his two friends were playing a game of tag. He'd seen a lot of those two lately, and they were really nice pokémon! Starly had said he was from Chicole Path, and Pachirisu had said she was from School Road.
He chuckled to himself, as School Road was such a funny name for a place! It was appropriate, since it apparently led to the Ranger School, and all, but still!
Elsewhere, there were two pink shellos that he wasn't familiar with, just relaxing by the shoreline and chatting. A bit further down the beach were two humans, a boy and a girl who were relaxing on beach towels and soaking up the sun's rays together. How cute! Were they dating?
Skipping merrily along the sand, he made his way over to say hi. On the way, he took one last glance across the sea, only to pause at the sight of something over the horizon. His eyes lit up. Ooh, a big metal ship! How neat!
He continued to watch the ship, entranced by how much it stuck out against the skyline, when a strange buzzing sound entered his head. It started in his ears, slowly spreading down into his brain. It itched, it burned, and the world became a blur around him. All senses melted away as the pain intensified. His senses of fight and flight kicked in at the same time, his heart racing, his panic spiking, and his anger flaring up.
He had to get rid of it! He violently thrashed around, desperate to get rid of the itching and burning, because it hurt, it hurt, oh god, it hurt!
He thrashed and thrashed. Distantly, he thought he saw and heard something, but the itching and burning was too intense. He didn't care about anything, other than making it stop!
After a few more moments of thrashing, he felt a presence around him. His panic and anger flaring up even more at the new threat, he charged at it with a full force Tackle.
No, go away, go away, go away, go away!
The object disappeared for a moment, causing him to pause in confusion. Where had it gone?
Soon, though, it was back. His panic and anger flared up again, and he charged at it, aiming to break it. Hitting nothing but thin air, he turned around and charged again.
Go away!
Then, suddenly, there was a flood of emotions inside his brain that weren't his own. Gentle, calming emotions. Pure emotions with good intentions. 'It's alright', they seemed to say, 'I'm not going to hurt you.'
Exhaling, Munchlax felt all the adrenaline wash away from his body. The buzzing in his head followed soon after, cleansing him and waking up his senses. Wow. What a relief. He glanced around him, wondering what the heck had just happened.
Next to him was a pair of human legs wearing blue pants. He looked up the body - past the blue shirt, yellow tie, and green jacket - at the face of the one wearing them. He saw a boy with brown hair smiling down at him.
"Hey," the boy said in a calming voice.
Oh! Wasn't that one of the boys from earlier? The ones from the Ranger School, who'd said hi to Mr. Woodward?
The boy knelt down, until he was close to eye level. "Don't worry," he continued. He gently placed a hand on Munchlax's head, away from his ears. "Everything's okay now."
... Somehow, Munchlax could feel that this boy was the one who'd taken the buzzing away. Some strange connection told him so.
This boy had saved him from pain and misery. That made him feel so warm and happy. He stared at the boy in wonder for a few moments, then his face lit up in a beaming smile towards his saviour.
"(You got rid of the nasty buzzing!)" he cried in joy. He hugged the boy's bent leg, nuzzling with all his might. "(Thank you so much!)"
He heard the boy chuckle in amusement. "Wow, you're friendly, aren't you?"
Munchlax looked up to see the boy smiling warmly at him, then felt the hand on his head stroke him gently.
Laughing happily, he continued his nuzzling.
"(I decided, right then and there,)" Munchlax continued, his waves still filled with excitement, "(that I wanted to follow this guy. Not only was he super nice, but I thought maybe he'd take me to cool places, too!)" The waves dampened slightly. "(Though he was still in Ranger School, so I wasn't allowed to be his partner yet...)" The waves spiked into determination. "(So I waited on that beach every day for him to come back.)" He beamed, his waves filled with happiness. "(And, eventually, he did! And we've been together ever since!)"
Everyone's waves were filled with awe. Riolu especially was staring at Munchlax with wide, glimmering eyes. So much so that he didn't pay attention to where he was walking and tripped on a rock. His waves spiked in panic as he stumbled to regain his balance, but melted into embarrassment when he managed to keep walking.
Buneary couldn't help but snicker a little, though she was glad he hadn't fallen over. She also couldn't help but notice that Pikachu's waves were similarly amused, though he quickly squashed them down.
Clearing his throat, Pikachu smiled. "(That was a really cool story, Munchlax,)" he said.
"(Yeah!)" Buneary added with a nod. Well, now she knew what the bear had meant earlier about even him freaking out...
Munchlax laughed. "(Thanks!)" he replied.
... Actually, she'd just realised something. "(Say, Munchlax... what was the buzzing in your head about, anyway? Did you ever find out?)"
"(Oh, that? It was a brainwashing machine!)"
She did a double-take, as shocked waves enveloped the group. "(... It was?!)"
"(Yep! See, there were these bad guys called Team Dim Sun. I think they were on the cargo ship that day. They didn't brainwash me completely, though, since Kellyn was still able to capture me... so it must have just been a prototype, or something!)"
Buneary blinked. "(I... see.)" She paused for thought. "(And he didn't have his special styler back then?)"
"(Nope! Just a regular old school styler!)"
"(Huh...)"
Munchlax laughed. "(Wow, listen to me rambling on!)" His waves grew excited. "(I bet you guys have some fun stories, too, right? Of how you met your trainers?)"
Pikachu's pride spiked, but he squashed it down to chuckle. "(Yeah, maybe,)" he replied.
Buneary perked up. Ooh, they were going to take turns telling stories, were they? That sounded like fun.
"(I'd say so!)" she replied.
"(Well, I dunno about exciting...)" Riolu replied, his waves a bit calmer and happier than before. He carefully walked around a rock, probably to avoid tripping again. "(But yeah, I can tell you, if you want.)"
"(Great!)" Munchlax said with a beaming smile.