Warning. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE approaching.

Author's note: Hey there! So, I've decided that this (points at bold text) will be the indicator in future of a one-shot that diverts from anime canon. I only have a couple in mind at the moment, but any future suggestions are welcome for me to mull over.

There's no guarantee that I'll use the idea, but I will if it's interesting enough! I don't like my plotlines to be too predictable or eventless.

Anyway, please enjoy!

P.S. FUDGE! I had to rewrite the last bit of the one-shot (which was PERFECT), because I accidentally went off the page before saving! GAH!

P.P.S. I got the idea for this fic after watching a YouTube Poop of VGS2's, so he gets the credit for this one!

Decisions, Decisions

Buneary looked right, then looked left. It was morning, and she was pretty hungry, but she wasn't really sure where she should go for her breakfast. On one hand, she could go right, deeper into an area that she knew had very little in the way of food. On the other hand, she could go left and cross the path to the wooded area on the other side, where she knew berries were more plentiful. However, going that way meant crossing the path that trainers were often seen walking down. She wasn't sure if she wanted to risk running into one and, possibly, being captured.

She looked right again, at the area just beyond her hidden burrow, which eventually led to an open field. Then she looked left again, at the wooded area across the path. She looked left, she looked right. Which one did she want to choose?

After pondering hard over it for a few more moments, she shrugged and crossed the path. There were, fortunately, no trainers around to worry about, so she supposed her indecisiveness had been meaningless, after all.

Buneary bit into her second oran berry, relishing the taste. It was amazing how close to the path the berries were growing on this side. She knew she should've come here more often.

Suddenly, she heard a strange noise and perked up her ears in intrigue. It sounded like one of those human contraptions was coming down the path. That certainly didn't happen very often around here. Immediately after, she heard a sudden rustling. Curious, she turned her body towards the path, still chewing her berry, and looked to see what was going on.

Standing in the middle of the path, a human's cap on his head, was a pikachu. He was staring off into the distance with a look of shocked horror on his face, as the noise from earlier got louder. For a few seconds, she didn't register what was happening. By the time she did, the motorbike crashed into the pikachu and sent him flying.

The next few moments were a blur. There was a sickening bang as his body hit a tree, before the motorbike screeched to a halt, and the woman in a blue uniform jumped off it in a panic. Buneary was so horrified at what she'd just seen that the berry slipped from her paws and dropped to the ground, unnoticed.

A black-haired boy and an aipom emerged on the other side. "Pikachu!" the boy screamed in horror.

"(No!)" the aipom next to him cried in distress.

A blue-haired girl with a pink skirt appeared behind him, her hands over her mouth. "Oh, no!" she cried.

"(Pikachu!)" the piplup next to her cried, flailing his flippers around.

"No, no, no, no, no..." the woman in the uniform muttered, as she moved quickly away from her motorbike.

Buneary was numb with shock. Utterly traumatised, she slowly got to her feet and edged into a better position. She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to see this, but her morbid fascination was driving her legs forward.

What she saw was horrendous. The pikachu was ten feet away from the motorbike, lying crumpled against a tree, and partly obscured by a bush. The cap he'd been wearing was upside-down on the path by his feet. As far as she could see, his body was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, some of the cuts leaking blood down his face. His tail was bent at an odd angle and he appeared to be unconscious.

"Pikachu!" the boy cried, kneeling next to the mouse. "Pikachu! Say something to me! Anything!"

"(Pikachu!)" the aipom cried, frantically waving her arms.

The woman in the uniform tried to compose herself. "We need to get this pikachu to a pokémon centre immediately!" she said. "The closest is in Jubilife City!"

The boy turned to her, tears in his eyes. "Well, don't just stand there, Officer Jenny!" he cried. "Help my pikachu!"

She nodded with a frown of determination. "Right!" She pointed to her motorbike. "Grab him and hop on!"

The boy grabbed the cap and shoved it onto his head, then gently scooped up the pikachu and hurried over to the motorbike. As he passed the woman, she took one last look at the mouse with what seemed to be immense guilt, then hurried after him. Once they were seated - the boy keeping one arm around the pikachu, and the other around the woman - she started the engine and set off.

"We'll meet you there, okay, Ash?" the girl called out.

"Okay, Dawn!" he called back.

The girl, the piplup and the aipom ran back into the woodland.

Buneary stood stock still for a few moments, her brain still trying to process what she'd just seen. That poor pikachu! What had he been doing, standing in the middle of the path like that? Well, motorbikes didn't usually go down there, but still!

She felt pity wash over her in waves. That poor, poor pikachu. It was just his terrible luck that a motorbike had to be coming down the path when he was on it. Why he'd been there, she didn't know, but no pokémon deserved that kind of fate.

Was he alright? He wasn't dead, was he? She shook her head. No, she was sure he wasn't dead, but was he alright? She'd seen the entire thing, and it hadn't looked pretty.

Guilt suddenly consumed her. She'd been there, she'd seen the whole thing, yet she'd done nothing to help. She probably could have saved him, if only she'd reacted fast enough. Why hadn't her brain told her sooner that he'd been in danger?

Pokémon were built to withstand many hits, but mostly from other pokémon. They could take a Giga Impact to the face and be perfectly fine the next day. They weren't, however, built to withstand a hit from a motorbike. While it seemed crazy, it was true. Pokémon attacks, they could brush off like nothing. A tonne of metal ramming into them at forty miles an hour and they were helpless.

That was how Buneary felt now: helpless. While she could have helped earlier, now, she couldn't do anything at all. It made her feel horrible. Was there anything she could do to make up for what she hadn't done? She thought about it for a moment.

Suddenly, the blue-haired girl, the piplup and the aipom returned, being followed by a taller, brown-haired boy and a croagunk. They ran along the path in the direction of the motorbike.

"They went this way, Brock!" the girl said.

"(Yeah, this way!)" the piplup added.

"Alright, let's go!" the tall boy replied.

Buneary watched them for a moment, before making a decision. It was partially her fault that the pikachu was in this mess, so it was her responsibility to make sure he was okay. She waited for the humans to be a reasonable distance away, so that they wouldn't notice her, then hopped after them.

Eventually, Buneary had followed the two humans and three pokémon to a nearby city. She'd never actually been in this city before - so it was a little daunting - but she continued onwards, regardless, making sure to keep her distance. Soon enough, they reached a building that she assumed was this 'pokémon centre' they'd mentioned. Watching them go inside the front door, she took a detour around the back of the building.

Once there, she paused for a moment as she took in the strange scene in front of her. A woman with reddish-purple hair, a man with bluish-purple hair and a meowth were all crouching by the window, tears in their eyes and pressing tissues to their noses. They sounded like they were holding in sobs.

She blinked and walked over. "(Um, excuse me,)" she said.

They all turned to her. "Hmm?" they all asked.

"(Is this where they're keeping the injured pikachu?)"

"Huh?" the meowth asked, rubbing at his eyes. It intrigued her slightly that he was speaking in perfect English. "How do you know about de injured pikachu?"

"Is this thing here to see Pikachu, too?" the woman asked.

"Apparently. Yeah, dis is where Pikachu's bein' kept." He tried to hold his composure, before bursting into tears. "He's covered in blood! And he hasn't woken up yet! Oh, Pikachu!"

The man and woman also tried to hold their composure, before bursting into tears.

Buneary felt sorry for them. Clearly, they knew this pikachu, and he meant a lot to them. She had no idea why they were outside, rather than sitting by his bedside, but she wasn't about to question them. Instead, she hopped onto the wooden box that the meowth was standing on and peered into the window.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The pikachu was lying in a bed, covered in blood-soaked bandages, with an oxygen mask attached to his face. The monitor beside him was beeping at a consistent rate, but he wasn't moving. The three humans and three pokémon from earlier were all sitting around his bedside, the black-haired boy being the closest of the six. The mood inside seemed to be very sombre.

The blue-haired girl was absent-mindedly fixing yellow clips into her hair, as she stared off into the distance. The tall, brown-haired boy was staring at the floor, and the black-haired boy was watching the pikachu. It was very quiet.

The girl glanced over at the boy. "Pikachu will be okay... won't he, Ash?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course he'll be okay," the boy replied, his eyes never turning away from the pikachu.

"Officer Jenny seemed pretty distraught about the whole thing..." the tall boy said.

There was an awkward pause. The aipom sniffled and hugged the boy's leg. "(Pikachu...)" she muttered.

"(It's not your fault, Aipom...)" the piplup said half-heartedly. The aipom ignored him.

The girl placed a white hat on her head. "Are you gonna be okay, Ash?" she asked. The boy remained silent.

"Nurse Joy said that Pikachu will have to stay here a week," the tall boy said. "It'll mean holding off on gym battles and contests for a while." Again, the boy said nothing.

The girl sighed. "It's a shame about that... but Pikachu's health comes first. Right, Ash?"

"Right," the boy replied.

After a while of watching the progress through the window - and leaving at one point to get herself some dinner, as Buneary had skipped lunch - it was now night-time. As she hopped towards the window again, unable to stay away, the man, woman and meowth were just starting to leave. They took notice of her as she approached.

"It's you again," the woman said in surprise.

"Why did you come back?" the man asked.

"(I wanna visit that pikachu, and make sure he's okay,)" Buneary replied.

"Ya wanna visit Pikachu?" the meowth asked. "Ya mean, as in... go in, t'rough de window?"

She nodded. "(Yeah.)"

The trio looked at one another, then back at her. "And what, exactly, does Pikachu have to do with you?" the woman asked.

Buneary paused. "(Well... I feel really bad about what happened, so I just wanna make sure he's okay.)"

"Ya feel bad about what happened, huh?" the meowth asked. "Why? Did ya actually see it?"

She nodded again. "(Yeah, I did.)"

All three pairs of eyes widened. "You did?" the woman asked. All three jumped down on their hands and knees in front of her.

"How bad was it?" the man asked.

Buneary averted her eyes as the memory of the crash flashed before her. "(... Pretty bad...)" she replied.

It seemed that the meowth hadn't needed to translate for the humans that time, as a deathly silence fell over the three of them. After a few moments, they jumped to their feet again.

"Here," the woman said. Buneary looked up to see her lifting up the window. Apparently, the nurse had forgotten to lock it. "If you want to see him, go ahead."

"Just do us a favour, before you do," the man added.

"(Sure,)" Buneary replied in slight surprise. "(What is it?)"

"Don't tell Pikachu we were here," the woman said. Buneary cocked her head in confusion. "It's better if he doesn't know."

"(Um... okay.)" She didn't understand why they'd want to keep their presence a secret, but she wasn't going to question it. Instead, she jumped on the windowsill and turned to them. "(Thanks.)"

They nodded and began to walk away. Turning away from them, she jumped inside.

Sitting on the pikachu's bed, she looked down sadly at his pitiful form. The machine continued to beep in that same steady rhythm nearby, as his chest slowly rose and fell. She said nothing for a few moments. What could she possibly say? This pikachu didn't know her. Heck, he wasn't even conscious. What on earth could she say?

As if on cue, his eyes gently fluttered open. Her breath caught in her throat as he gazed up at her through half-lidded eyes.

"(Huh?)" he asked through the oxygen mask.

She tried to smile for him. "(Hey there,)" she said.

He blinked once, then twice. "(Wh... Who are you?)"

"(I'm Buneary.)" She paused awkwardly. "(You don't know me, but... I saw what happened earlier.)"

He blinked again, then glanced down at his bed sheet. "(... I got hit, didn't I?)"

She twisted her mouth uncomfortably. "(Yeah, you did. A motorbike crashed into you.)"

He continued to stare at the bed sheet for a moment, then looked up at her. "(So, why are you here?)"

She blinked. "(Huh?)"

"(You're just a wild buneary, right? So, why are you here?)"

"(Well...)" She felt her face heat up slightly in embarrassment. "(I felt really bad about what happened...)" She looked away. "(I was there... I saw everything... Maybe I could've... saved you... Then you wouldn't be so badly hurt...)"

There was silence for a few moments. Tentatively, she looked back at him to see that he'd fully opened his eyes and was staring at her.

He gave her a small smile. "(Hey, it's not your fault. I was being stupid and didn't look both ways.)" He chuckled, then winced.

Her paw reached out towards him instinctively. "(Oh, careful...)"

"(I was chasing Ash's... my trainer's... aipom, 'cause she'd stolen his hat.)" He closed his eyes. "(I guess I was too focused on the hat to pay attention to the road.)" He opened his eyes again.

"(Well... in fairness, it's not often bikes come down that path.)"

"(I guess... Though it was still my own fault.)" He paused, then looked to the side of him. "(I hope I haven't upset Ash too much...)"

"(He's the black-haired guy, right?)"

He looked back at her. "(Yeah.)"

She gave him another sad smile. "(He seemed pretty distraught. You two must be very close.)"

His face fell. "(Oh... poor guy... and yeah, we're very close. I was his starter, back in Kanto.)"

Her eyes widened briefly. "(You're from Kanto?)"

"(Yeah, we've been to a lot of regions together. He's only just started his Sinnoh journey...)"

"(I see...)"

He paused again, then looked up with another small smile. "(Thanks for being here, Buneary.)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(You have no reason to be here, yet you're here anyway. Thank you.)"

The heat rose to her cheeks again. That was an awfully cute smile. "(N-No problem.)"

He lifted a paw and touched his head, then flinched, hissing through his teeth. "(Ow...)"

Her paws instinctively reached out. "(Careful! Don't touch that.)"

"(It's really bad, then, huh?)"

She looked down. "(Yeah, pretty bad.)"

He sighed, placing his paw back on the bed. "(So, how long am I in for?)"

She looked up again. "(From what I heard, a week.)"

He gave a light groan. "(A week? Darn... that'll hold Ash back a bit.)"

She blinked. "(Doesn't your own health come before your trainer's journey?)"

"(Well, yeah, but I still feel bad.)" He paused. "(It's not all about him, though. I love battling, and winning gym badges. It gives me a sense of accomplishment, you know?)"

"(Yeah?)"

"(Mmm-hmm. I also love travelling...)" He paused again. "(It's not the first time I've been in the emergency ward, but a week's definitely the longest.)" He glanced outside at the darkness. "(What time is it, anyway?)"

"(I dunno. It's pretty late.)" She turned away from him. "(Maybe I should go, and leave you in peace.)" She started walking across the bed.

"(Hey, wait.)"

She stopped and turned back to him. "(Hmm?)"

"(Could you... come back again tomorrow? I'd appreciate your company.)"

She blinked, then gave him a wide smile. "(Of course! I'll come back every night, if you want!)"

He smiled brightly, cringing slightly. "(That'd be nice.)"

For the next week, Buneary came to visit Pikachu every night. She'd wait until the humans had left the room and turned out the lights, before entering through the window. Every single night, she'd see the same trio outside, and they'd tell her the same thing: don't tell Pikachu they were there. She never questioned it and always did as they wished.

Every night, he'd looked a little bit better. In the first couple of days, Nurse Joy had stitched him up slightly and realigned his dislocated tail. After that, his bruises had become less visible, and he'd eventually come off the oxygen mask. Throughout all of this, the two of them had talked into the many nights about all sorts of things. She'd told him about her rather dull life in the wild, and he'd told her about his many amazing adventures. He'd described all the people he'd travelled with, all the places he'd visited and, most incredibly, all the legendaries he'd met.

As she jumped on his bed, he looked at her with a bright smile on his face and a clean bandage on his head. "(Hey, Buneary!)" he said.

"(Hey, Pikachu!)" she replied, returning the bright smile.

Over the course of the week, she'd learned what sort of pokémon he was. He was incredibly sweet and kind, yet exceptionally talented and special, but what was most amazing was the way he treated her. She had nothing to do with him, he had no reason to want to see her every night when he had other, closer friends, yet he was always happy to see her. Heck, he'd asked her to come back. It made her feel very special, herself.

He was also taking his condition - that she would, frankly, call critical - very well. He was being so brave and, every night, he would get that little big stronger, that little bit healthier, and that little bit more determined to get back on the road. She'd be sad to see him go. She'd developed quite a crush on him.

"(Nurse Joy said I'd be clear to leave tomorrow! Isn't that great?)"

Her heart dropped into her stomach. "(Oh...)" She forced a smile. "(Yeah, that's great.)"

"(I can't wait to get to the next gym! It's in... uh... well, I can't remember the name of the city, but it's a walk off yet.)" He paused for thought. "(We're in Jubilife City right now, right? That means Dawn missed her contest.)" He stared sadly at his bed sheet. "(I hope there's another one soon.)"

"(I'm sure there will be.)"

He looked up at her, then smiled. "(Yeah, you're right... and, if there isn't, she can get her first ribbon in another city. She's got what it takes, I'm sure!)" He gave her a sheepish look. "(I mean, she's still a bit rough around the edges, but I believe in her.)"

"(Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine.)"

He looked her curiously. "(Buneary? Are you okay?)"

"(Yeah, I'm fine...)"

He tilted his head at her, silent for a few moments, then his eyes widened and his head straightened again. "(Oh!)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(Oh...)" His ears drooped. "(I'm not going to see you again after tonight, am I?)"

Her ears also drooped. "(No, sorry...)"

He looked back down at his bed sheet. "(That's a shame... I'll miss having you around...)"

"(Me too...)"

There was silence between them for a few minutes. Buneary didn't know what to say anymore, though it was a small comfort to know that he'd miss her as much as she'd miss him.

Eventually, Pikachu's head snapped back up, and there was a huge smile on his face. "(I've got it!)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(You could come with us!)"

Her heart skipped a beat. "(C... Come with you?)"

"(Yeah! Then we wouldn't have to say goodbye! Plus, Dawn's been trying for a while to catch a buneary, so it'll be perfect for her, too!)"

"(Yeah?)"

"(Yeah!)" He beamed at her. "(I'd love to have you along, Buneary.)"

She blushed, fidgeting with the fluff around her waist.

He continued. "(Dawn's a really nice girl, so she'd look after you. That much, I can promise... and, if you let her catch you, she'll enter you in contests!)"

"(Wh-What were contests, again?)"

"(Well, unlike gym battles, which are all about power and brute force, contests focus on the pokémon's grace and beauty.)" She was intrigued. That actually sounded rather appealing. "(And I think you'd do great in contests, Buneary! You're certainly cute enough!)"

She was certain her heart had stopped working for a few seconds. Her eyes widened, the heat on her face rising. "(C... Cu...)"

He gave her the most adorable smile she'd ever seen. "(Cute!)"

She couldn't take it anymore. She yanked her fluff over her face, making odd squealing noises. He thought she was cute! She couldn't help but feel embarrassed delight over the compliment.

"(Uh... Buneary?)"

She peeked over the top of her fluff at him. "(Yes?)"

He paused for a moment, then started chuckling. "(You're a strange little thing.)"

She pulled the fluff back over her face.

The next day, Buneary was standing a short distance away from the pokémon centre, waiting for her target: the blue-haired girl, known as Dawn. She'd made her mind up about what she wanted to do. She was going to battle her, let herself get caught, then travel the region with Pikachu. Who knew where this adventure would take her, but she wasn't going to worry about it. All that mattered right now was leaving her dreary woodland life to be with him. There was nothing more for her here. There never had been, really.

At that moment, the door slid open and out stepped the three humans. Pikachu, the only pokémon that could be seen with them, was riding on the boy's - Ash's - shoulder, now completely free of bandages. He caught her eye and smiled. Nodding to him, she made sure to block the humans' path, hopping up and down on her tiptoes: the sign that she was ready to battle.

As the girl spotted her, Buneary lifted her paws up into a fighting stance and grinned. This was going to be fun.

The End