Author's note: Heyo!
Time to continue the speech therapy arc!
Seriously, I have no idea why people seem to think this trio of friendly, helpful and well-intentioned OCs are a bunch of cringey pokémon thieves. Such strange ideas you people have...
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Thirty-nine: Persuasions
Pikachu followed POPSTAR deeper into the woods, where they'd said they had a 'special surprise' for him to help him with his confession. Excited, and ready for anything, he'd followed them.
"Tada~!" all three of them said, dramatically posing and indicating something in the distance.
Pikachu took a look, and spotted a black cuboid that seemed to be made of metal, big enough to comfortably fit two small pokémon. In front of the cuboid was a huge black square in the dirt that also looked like metal, and behind that was a rectangle drawn with chalk.
Pikachu blinked at it. "(Uh... is that a... stage, or something?)" he asked, turning to the trio.
"You bet your rosy red cheeks it's a stage!" Meo replied with a grin.
"This will be the culmination of all your hard work!" Jessamine said, beaming.
"The pinnacle of your training~!" Jamin added, also beaming.
"Show de woild just how much you've improved!" Meo added.
Pikachu tilted his head. "(The... world?)" he asked. He glanced at the stage again, then back at POPSTAR. "(I... don't think I follow.)"
Meo heaved a sigh. "He don't follow."
Jessamine huffed, then put her hands on her hips and grinned at Pikachu in an oddly scary way. "You, mister..." she said, "are about to enact step five of the plan!"
"(Uh...)" Pikachu replied nervously, "(and what's that?)"
"What's dat, he said," Meo translated with a blank stare.
Jamin snorted in amusement. "We already told you, you silly little mouse, you~!" he replied. He pointed at the stage with a finger. "You're going to stand on that stage, with all of your friends watching, while you confess your love~!"
Pikachu's eyes bulged, and he took a step back in sheer horror. "(I'm going to what?!)" he asked.
"You hoid us!" Meo replied. He pointed at the black cuboid. "You and your goil are gonna stand dere..." He pointed to the huge black square. "Your pokémon pals are all gonna stand dere..." He pointed to the rectangle drawn in chalk. "And de humans will stand dere!" He walked over to slap a hand on Pikachu's back a few times. "See? We got it all woiked out!"
Pikachu was flummoxed. "(But...)" he stammered. "(B-But...!)"
Jessamine's smile visibly tightened. "Is there a problem?" she asked.
He gulped, his heart hammering. "(W-Well... I was kinda hoping to, you know... do the thing by- Wait.)" He clenched his eyes shut and breathed in deep. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again. "(I was kinda hoping to... confess in private. You know, so it's more... special and... meaningful. You know?)"
Jamin blinked. "Hmm?" he asked. He looked at Meo. "What did he say, Meo?"
Meo crossed his arms, heaving another sigh. "He said he wants to do it in private," he replied. "So he can make it more 'special', or somet'in."
"Now you listen here!" Jessamine snapped, glaring daggers at Pikachu. "We worked really hard to set this up for you! Are you actually about to turn down our gift?!"
Pikachu could feel his heart start to hammer again. "(N-No, I...)" he replied meekly.
Jamin threw an arm over his eyes, where his glasses were. "How tragic!" he cried. "Made with tender, loving care, especially for you, and you don't want it?!"
Guilt begun creeping its way into Pikachu's heart. He shuffled awkwardly. "(W-Well...)"
"Like we said oilier..." Meo explained, "dis is your chance to really prove yerself. I mean, if ya can confess in front of a crowd, ya can do anyt'in', right?" He smirked.
"(Well... I guess...)"
Meo shrugged. "I mean, unless yer ashamed to show people how much ya love Buneary..."
Pikachu's eyes widened. "(A... Ashamed?)"
Well... it was a rather embarrassing thought, confessing in front of his friends... but did Meo have a point? He didn't want to look like he was ashamed of being in love with Buneary... so maybe he should go along with it?
After a few moments, he sighed and nodded. "(Okay,)" he continued, "(let's do this.)"
Beaming again, Jessamine clapped her hands together by her face. "That looks like a yes~!" she said. She pumped a fist, looking determined. "Right! In that case, it's time to rock, roll and rumble!"
"Setting the stage for success!" Jamin said, also pumping a fist.
"And makin' magic with mone-" Meo paused. "Uh... muffins." He beamed. "'Cause boy, do I love muffins!"
Pikachu blinked at him. "(Huh?)" he asked, confused.
"Don't worry about it, buddy, ol' pal! All ya gots to worry about is gettin' all your poké pals and human pals over here!" He pointed. "And remember: you and Buneary on de stage, de pokémon on de black square, and de humans on de rectangle."
Pikachu took a quick glance back at the stage to double-check. "(Okay.)" He paused. "(... Wait, Mamoswine and Torterra are pretty huge. Will they fit in that square?)"
Meo laughed out loud. He elbowed Jamin in the leg. "Will Mamoswine and Torterra fit, he says..."
Jamin chuckled. "Of course they'll fit!" he replied. He held a hand to his own chest. "Why, yours truly did all the measurements myself!"
"Right!" Jessamine agreed, fixing her glasses with a smirk. "So don't worry your pretty little head over that! Just be sure to bring your friends and your sweetheart over here, tout suite!"
"(Well, okay...)" Pikachu replied.
Honestly, he still wasn't sure about this, but they were the experts, right? So they must know what they're doing, way better than he ever would.
Besides, he wanted to make sure he didn't screw this up again. Once was bad, twice was horrible, but three times would just be unforgivable. He had to get it right this time!
He frowned in determination, remembering all the lessons he'd taken. The breathing exercises, the meditation, the practice with Meo-neary... and now, the public confession.
Refraining from gulping in fear, he chose to give a confidence-boosting huff through his nostrils, instead. He could do this. He would do this!
He nodded. "(Alright,)" he continued. "(I'm off.)"
Finally back at the campsite, Pikachu looked around him. Ash and Dawn were currently having an aerial battle with Staraptor and Togekiss, the two birds soaring high in the air as they attacked and dodged each other.
Brock was standing in-between Ash and Dawn, carefully watching the battle, so Pikachu assumed he was refereeing for them. Sitting around the group on the grass and dirt were the other twelve pokémon, all watching the battle with varying levels of interest.
Spotting Buneary sitting with Piplup, Buizel, Pachirisu, Cyndaquil and Happiny, the mouse felt himself quiver a little bit. He clenched a fist. No, he had to do this. He wasn't backing out now! After all the effort POPSTAR had gone through for him, he wasn't about to throw it all away now!
Nodding to himself, he walked over to her.
As he got closer, he suddenly noticed that the six pokémon were bunched together rather tightly, barely any space in-between them. Huh. He couldn't help but wonder why.
A little bit closer, and he noticed the Jibanyan doll sitting in the middle of the group. This would have been charming, but it seemed to be covered in yellow dandelions? Now he was even more confused...
"(Hey, guys!)" he said as he walked in front of them.
Buneary's curled ear sprang up, and a beaming smile spread across her face. "(Oh, Pikachu!)" she said happily. "(You're back!)"
Buizel folded his arms with a smirk. "(Jeez, you've been gone a while,)" he said.
"(Yeah!)" Piplup cried, throwing his flippers in the air in exasperation. "(Do you know how hard we had to cover for you?!)"
Pikachu blinked at him, then at Buneary. "(You told them?)" he asked.
She smiled sheepishly, her ear curling up again. "(Sorry...)" she replied. "(It was really hard distracting Ash on my own, so I... asked for some help. Hope that's okay.)"
"(Oh, uh, yeah, yeah! That's fine.)"
Pachirisu chuckled. "(That's why we're all bunched together like this!)" he explained. "(To make it look like you're in the group!)"
"(It was fun, pretending you were here!)" Happiny added with a smile.
Cyndaquil huffed. "(I dunno about fun...)" he grumbled.
Pikachu smiled sheepishly. "(Oh, well, thanks, guys!)" he said. He glanced at the doll. "(Uh, but why's Jibanyan covered in dandelions?)"
"(Duh!)" Pachirisu replied with a smile. "(To make it look like you!)"
"(My genius idea, of course!)" Piplup announced proudly.
Still smirking, Buizel rolled his eyes, but chose not to say anything.
Pikachu blinked. He glanced at the humans, then looked back at the group. "(They really fell for that?)" he asked.
Buneary giggled. "(Yeah,)" she replied. "(We mostly kept it hidden, but made sure they could see a bit of yellow.)"
"(Otherwise, they'd panic~!)" Happiny added happily.
"(It was a close call a few times,)" Cyndaquil explained with a huff, "(but we managed it!)"
Pikachu smiled gratefully at them. "(Well, thanks, guys,)" he said.
Buizel shrugged. "(No worries,)" he replied. "(Where'd the heck you run off to, anyway?)"
Pikachu's ears sprang up as he remembered what he was supposed to do. "(Oh! Right! Well, I need you to gather everyone up, so I can show you all something!)"
Buneary blinked. "(Hmm?)" she asked. "(Show us something?)"
"(Yeah! And- And I want everyone to come!)" He felt his nerves flaring up again, so he took a deep breath to calm them.
"(Huh?)" Piplup asked. "(Well, alright.)" He stood up. "(I'll go get the humans.)"
Pachirisu jumped to his feet with a smile. "(And I'll go get the others!)" he added.
"(Sure, me too!)" Cyndaquil added, also jumping to his feet. "(Hope it's exciting!)"
As the three of them ran off to tell the others, Buizel raised an eyebrow. "(So what's this about, Pikachu?)" he asked.
Pikachu laughed awkwardly. "(D-Don't worry about that now!)" he replied. "(I'll let you know when the times comes...)"
"(Sounds fun!)" Happiny said.
Buneary smiled. "(Yeah, I can only imagine what it is!)" she added, giggling.
Pikachu looked at her, taking in the sight of her beautiful face, and the sound of her adorable giggle, and felt his confidence rise again. Yes, he was definitely going to do this!
Pikachu walked along beside Buneary, who was carrying her Jibanyan doll in her arms. Around him, also walking in the same direction, were the other thirteen pokémon and three humans.
"Where are they taking us?" Dawn wondered aloud.
Ash huffed. "Dunno," he replied. "Must be important, though, to stop our battle."
Brock hummed in thought. "Pikachu seems to be leading the pack," he said.
"Huh, you're right!" Dawn replied in surprise.
"Wonder where he's taking us..." Ash mused, "and why."
Now that he was nearing his destination, Pikachu could feel his heart hammer in his chest again. Oh, good legends, this was nerve-wracking! But he had to stay calm, go with the flow, and get the job done. No screw-ups this time!
Suddenly, POPSTAR jumped out of the bushes, startling him. All three were clasping their hands together, beaming smiles on their faces.
"Welcome, welcome~!" Jessamine said.
"Good, you brought all of your friends~!" Jamin added.
"Dat's splendiferous!" Meo added. "Super! And, might I add, pretty swell!"
"Huh?" Ash asked in confusion. "Who are you guys?"
"Why, we're friends of your little mouse here!" Jessamine replied, indicating Pikachu.
"We made it our job to help him with a little... problem of his, you see!" Jamin added.
"Problem?" Dawn asked, sounding just as confused.
Jessamine nodded several times. "Yes, yes!" she replied. "Now, chop, chop!" All three indicated behind them. "Time's-a wasting~!"
"Wait..." Brock said, "when did you get time to talk to Pikachu? Wasn't he with us the whole time?"
Pikachu felt his heart skip a beat in fear. Uh oh...
Jamin gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, well, let's not sweat the details!" he replied. He ran behind Brock and began to push him along. "Let's just head over to the rendezvous point, okay?"
Brock blinked in bewilderment. "Uh, okay..."
Pikachu gave a quiet sigh of relief.
"Here we aaaare~!" Jessamine sang, indicating the black cuboid.
"A stage?" Dawn asked.
"Yepperooni!" Meo replied. "Now we just needs to get ya all in place!"
"In place?" Ash asked in confusion.
"Absolutely!" Jamin replied. He stopped pushing Brock to run over and dramatically kneel in front of the stage, indicating it with splayed hands. "This is where Pikachu and Buneary will stand!"
"(Huh...?)" Buneary muttered in intrigue.
Jamin jumped to his feet to point to the huge black square on the floor with both hands. "And this is where the other pokémon will stand!" He ran over to kneel by the rectangle drawn in chalk, again indicating with splayed hands. "And riiiight at the back here is where the humans will stand!"
Jessamine folded her arms and nodded several times. "All meticulously planned, of course," she added.
Meo adjusted his glasses. "Dat's right," he said. "So, if ya don't mind, kindly park yer butts in de right places, and let's get dis show on de road!"
"Huh?" Ash asked. "Well, alright..."
Pikachu felt his heart begin to hammer. This was it! He took a few deep breaths.
Okay. Okay...
... It was time to get his game face on.
