Author's note: Howdy! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, let's kick off the end of my writing break with a simple little one-shot. Hope you enjoy it!

It's pretty short, I know, but not much else could be said here. It's my way of getting back into the game!

Back to the Roots

"Pachirisu, use Spark!" Dawn cried.

Pachirisu covered himself in blue electricity, then ran across the makeshift battlefield.

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!" Ash cried.

Pikachu charged towards the oncoming squirrel, gathering yellow electricity as he ran.

Dawn grinned. "Now spin!"

Pachirisu jumped off the ground and spun in mid-air, barely brushing the blades of grass beneath him as he travelled.

Ash grinned back. "Roll!"

Pikachu curled into a ball and rolled. When the two electric rodents approached one another, they clashed. Blue and yellow sparks crackled in the air around them, until a tiny explosion sent them both flying backwards. Landing on their four paws, they skidded backwards, sliding to a stop, and stared each other down.

"(Go, Pikachu!)" Buneary cried in joy.

"(You are such a traitor, you know that?)" Piplup said from next to her.

"Pachirisu, use Sweet Kiss!" Dawn cried.

Pachirisu stood up, brought his paws to his mouth and blew a kiss, sending a mass of pink hearts towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!" Ash cried.

Pikachu hopped around, trying to dodge all the hearts as they came after him, one after another.

"Oh no, you don't! Pachirisu, spin and use Discharge!"

Pachirisu twirled on the spot, releasing a dazzling display of blue electricity that shot across the field. It struck the swarm of hearts and shattered them into tiny pieces, which landed on Pikachu like droplets of rain. The mouse was instantly swaying around in confusion.

"Pikachu! Shake it off!"

Pikachu violently shook his head, paused, repeated the motion, then punched himself in the face. Buneary winced at the sight.

"Now, Pachirisu! Use Spark!"

Pachirisu got back on all fours, covered himself in blue electricity, then ran towards Pikachu.

"Come on, Pikachu, snap out of it!"

"Now, combine it with Discharge!"

As he ran, Pachirisu unleashed more electricity. When merged with Spark, it created a huge ball of blue energy around him. It crackled dangerously as he ran.

"Pikachu, jump!"

At the last possible second, Pikachu leapt off the ground, barely avoiding the attack.

"What?!"

"Now, use Thunderbolt!"

Shaking off his confusion, Pikachu gathered up some yellow electricity, then fired it straight down at a shocked Pachirisu. It immediately zapped him.

"Pachirisu!"

When the electrocution ended, the squirrel collapsed, unconscious. The elevation from the attack, however, caused Pikachu to soar higher into the air, where he did a triple somersault before landing perfectly on his feet.

The spectacular finish was eerily familiar to Buneary, who remained wide-eyed in awe. She barely acknowledged the cheering from Ash's pokémon, the grumbling from Piplup, the encouraging words from Brock, or the friendly high-five between Ash and Dawn. The only thing she was focused on was Pikachu...

As the mouse and his trainer exchanged a peace sign, Buneary smiled warmly. There was so much about that pokémon that she loved, but it hadn't always been that way. Once upon a time, her feelings hadn't been so deep.

The day she'd first met him had been like any ordinary day: wake up, get food, get on with life. When she'd stumbled across the human camp, she'd never expected to see what she did.

It had been a simple gesture – jump off shoulder, grab potato, land – but she'd been mesmerised by it. The precision, the accuracy, the casual nature with which he'd done it. It had honestly been the coolest thing she'd ever seen in her life.

Of course, nowadays was different. After much training by Dawn, she could now easily pull off the move herself. Back then, however, she'd been a simple wild pokémon with little battle experience. Enough to give Piplup a run for his money, but still not terribly skilled.

She'd been so enamoured with this pikachu that she'd followed him around, watching his every move like he'd been some kind of celebrity. She'd been unable to believe such a legendary creature existed.

Never before had she known what a total nutball she could be, until he'd spoken to her. The moment he'd said the words, "Thanks for saving me!" she'd completely lost it. It was like being told, "You're pretty cool!" by the local superstar. Ever since then, she'd never been able to keep her cool around him. It was just impossible.

The main reason she'd even allowed herself to be caught was just to be around him some more. It had partially been because of Dawn, having proved herself trustworthy and all, but it had mostly been because of Pikachu.

For a while afterwards, he'd maintained his celebrity status in her mind, especially whenever she'd watched him conquer what should have been impossible battle odds. Eventually, though, something had started to change. She'd begun to see more and more different sides to him. He was attractive, adorable, strong and athletic, yes, but he was also kind, gentle, modest, shy, determined and fair. He was everything wrapped up in one. He was her perfect guy.

Well, okay, he could stand to be a bit more confident around girls, but that was only a minor issue. Judging by how he'd reacted every time she'd tried to flirt with him, he had little to no experience dealing with admirers.

She giggled to herself. It was cute, in a way. All the blushing and the stuttering, and that adorable way he'd awkwardly scratch the back of his head...

She was crazy in love with him. She'd never made any attempt to deny this. She was absolutely head-over-heels in love with him. He was amazing. He was perfect. Her only hope was that, someday, he'd come to love her the same way. She'd certainly keep on trying, if that was what it took.

"(Hey, Buneary?)" a familiar voice asked from nearby.

"(Hmm?)" she replied, turning to the side. She jumped when she saw Pikachu standing right in front of her. "(Pikachu!)" She blushed at how close he was. "(Hi!)" She couldn't stop herself from beaming. "(What's up?)"

Pikachu smiled back. "(We were gonna play a game of tag. You wanna join in?)"

"(Sure! I'd love to.)"

"(Okay, great! Well, Piplup's about to start the countdown, so let's get over there and get ready to run.)"

Buneary nodded. "(Okay!)"

She happily followed him over to where the other pokémon were waiting for them. Piplup was standing in place, his flippers on his hips and his beak in the air. Pachirisu was hopping up and down in excitement. All the others looked raring to go.

They stopped amongst the crowd, waiting for the signal from Piplup to start running. As they waited, Buneary took one last look at the mouse beside her, the smile still fixed on her face.

Maybe one day...

The End