Author's note: Hey there!
... I know. It's been a while, hasn't it? XD I really need to stop going through phases. Nothing will ever get finished at this rate!
Anyway... this one's a little treat for anyone who's still around. Happy Valentine's Day!
P.S. I hope Sinnoh isn't considered too old-school now. XD It still holds a special place in my heart, for obvious reasons.
P.S.S. I don't even know if this person remembers anymore, but this one-shot is dedicated to ultimateCCC~!
Heart to Heart
The group of three humans and two pokémon stared in shocked awe at the sight in front of them.
"Whoa..." Brock muttered.
"What in the heck?" Ash asked.
"Oh, wow~!" Dawn squealed.
"(Wow...)" Pikachu muttered from atop Ash's shoulder.
Directly ahead of them was a theme park, complete with a rollercoaster, a Ferris wheel and various other rides. That wasn't the most remarkable thing about it, though.
"(... It's so pink!)" Piplup cried from atop Dawn's head.
Pikachu couldn't have put it better, himself. Everywhere the eye could see was the colour pink. The reason for it was rather obvious, especially since there were red hearts of varying sizes dotted all over the rides, but it was still a glaring eyesore.
"Bonjour, messieurs et mademoiselle!" a voice called out. Out of nowhere, a young man in the pinkest, frilliest dress known to mankind spun into their line of view and posed. "Welcome to Pokéland!"
Pikachu blinked. Man, this guy could give Harley from Hoenn a run for his money...
"Oh, wow, uh..." Dawn muttered in surprise, exchanging glances with Piplup.
"... Pokéland?" Ash asked, completely ignoring the dress.
Brock briefly raised an eyebrow at him, but chose not to say anything.
"Oui, mon ami!" the man replied with a smile. "Normally, it is trés average, you see... but it 'as been revamped in ze spirit of Saint Valentin!"
"Uh... sorry, what?" Ash asked.
"Valentine's Day!" Dawn happily replied for the man. "It's been made all pretty and pink for Valentine's Day! That's what he said!"
"Oui, mon cher," the man said, "zat is correct!"
"But..." Brock said with a gasp, "if it's a Valentine's Day theme park, that means we need dates! We cannot experience the true romance of Pokéland without dates!"
"Exactement! Zat is why it was repainted, after all! Of course, no one said you 'ave to bring dates... it is just a more enriching experience if you do, non?"
"Oui!" Brock pointed dramatically at the gate. "Once I am inside that theme park, I shall find a beautiful girl to go on the rides with!" He paused. "You guys don't have to wait for me."
Ash and Dawn laughed awkwardly. "Okay..." Dawn replied.
"If you say so, Brock..." Ash added.
Suddenly, one of Dawn's pokéballs opened. Once the white light cleared away, Buneary was smiling up at her trainer.
"(Dates?!)" she asked, her eyes gleaming.
Dawn blinked a few times, then knelt down, smiling. "Oh, of course!" she replied. "You wanna spend the day with Pikachu, don't you?"
Buneary nodded. "(Yep!)"
Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. Oh boy... he should have figured...
"Oh, zat is quite fine~!" the man said. "Zough you might want to keep your pokémon fairly close today... zough not too close, eh?" He winked at Pikachu, who chuckled awkwardly again. "Zere have been reports of a zief in ze area."
"A thief?!" Ash asked indignantly.
"Oui... zough don't worry about it, mon ami. Zere are plenty of cops around to 'andle it."
"Then let us help!"
"Non, zat is quite alright. You kids just enjoy ze rides and ze spirit of Saint Valentin, okay?" He winked again.
Ash relaxed. "... Well, okay."
"(... Hey, wait!)" Piplup cried. "(What am I supposed to do?!)"
Dawn looked up at the penguin on her head. "Hmm?" she asked. "What's wrong, Piplup?"
"(I don't have a date!)"
"(Well...)" Pikachu suggested, "(you could go and get one, I guess...)"
Piplup blinked. "(Go and get one?)"
"(Yeah!)" Buneary agreed. "(Or just go with Ash and Dawn!)"
Piplup frowned. "(Screw that!)" He jumped off Dawn's head – causing his trainer to yelp in surprise – and landed on Brock's shoulder. He scooted around until he was comfortably seated. "(I'm joining the hunting club!)"
"(... The hunting club?)" Pikachu asked.
"(The date-hunting club!)"
"... You're going with Brock?" Dawn asked, still looking a bit dazed.
"(Yup!)"
"... Well, okay then."
After parting ways with Brock and Piplup, Ash and Dawn made their way around the theme park, Buneary tagging along beside Dawn, and Pikachu still riding on Ash's shoulder.
"So, where should we go first?" Dawn asked.
"Not sure..." Ash replied, looking around.
Uncertainly, Buneary looked up at Pikachu as they walked along. "(Um...)" she said.
"Hmm?" Dawn asked, looking down at her. "What's wrong, Buneary?" Following her pokémon's line of vision, she smiled. "Ah. Hey, Pikachu? How about you walk beside Buneary?"
"(Huh?)" Pikachu asked. "(Oh, well... okay.)" He jumped down, landing next to the rabbit.
Buneary lit up in response. "(Hey, Pikachu!)" she said.
He gave her an awkward smile. "(Hey, Buneary.)"
"Okay, then!" Dawn said excitedly. "Let's go on some rides!"
"Alright!" Ash replied enthusiastically.
"(Yeah!)" Pikachu and Buneary replied in synch.
Buneary was practically bouncing in her seat. The four of them were on a Ferris wheel, the view was spectacular – and so very, very pink – and she was nestled into Pikachu's side. Ash and Dawn were sitting opposite them. Life was good right now.
"Wow, the view's amazing!" Dawn said.
"Yeah!" Ash replied. He stared out of the window. "... Is that Brock getting attacked by Croagunk?"
"Where?" Dawn leaned over to look. After a moment, she laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, it is..." She paused. "Oh! And now Piplup's being a drama queen..."
"(This is nice, isn't it, Pikachu?)" Buneary asked, scooting closer to the mouse.
"(Uh, yeah!)" he replied. "(Yeah, it is.)"
She sneaked a glance at him. He was averting his gaze and scratching his head awkwardly. How cute~!
"Alright!" Ash cried as he spun the teacup faster.
Dawn screeched. "This is so going to mess up my hair!" she cried.
Ash flashed her a sly grin. "No need to worry, right, Dawn?"
Dawn whined as she tried in vain to hold her hair in place.
"(Argh, I'm getting dizzy!)" Buneary cried with a smile as she clung to Pikachu.
Pikachu laughed. "(This is fun!)" he said.
After a while of floating casually down its designated route, the log-shaped boat began to climb. Excited, Buneary grabbed onto Pikachu from behind. He yelped slightly in surprise.
"Yeah!" Ash cried from the front of the boat. "Almost time now!"
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no..." Dawn muttered from the back of the boat.
Her poor trainer had spent ages brushing her hair after the teacup ride, so she had the rabbit's sympathy. Regardless, she held tightly onto Pikachu, who was holding onto Ash.
Once the boat reached the top, it slowed down to an agonising crawl, gently tipping itself downwards. A moment passed before it cascaded down the waterfall. All four of them screamed, three in delight and one in terror.
Halfway down, a light flashed in their faces. Then a wave of water crashed over them. Having been at the front – partly to protect the pokémon and partly because he'd wanted to sit there – Ash had taken the brunt of the 'attack', and was dripping wet. Yet his bright smile showed that he cared little about this fact.
Dawn had sat at the back to avoid most of the water. Turning to look at her trainer, however, Buneary could see that she hadn't escaped unscathed. She didn't want to laugh at her misfortune, but she simply couldn't help herself. Dawn smiled weakly in response. Then, after a few moments, she giggled, too.
"Hola!" a young man in a red suit said from behind a stall. "What would you like, ah?"
"Some cotton candy, please!" Ash replied.
"Oh, muy bueno! Good choice, amigo!" The man winked. "Are you sharing?"
Ash blinked. "Huh?"
"Oh no, no," Dawn replied, waving her hand while smiling awkwardly. "We'll take one each, please."
"Oh, si, okay!" the man replied. He busied himself getting some cotton candy.
"... Actually..." Dawn smiled brightly. "Can we get another one for our pikachu and buneary?"
Buneary smiled. "(Wow, you're getting us cotton candy?)" she asked.
"(Sweet!)" Pikachu said happily.
"Si~!" the man replied. "One each, or are they sharing?"
Dawn appeared to be holding back a devious grin. "They can share one," she replied.
Buneary's eyes lit up. "(Really?!)" she asked.
"(R-Really?)" Pikachu asked.
The man chuckled. "Aww, how cute!" he replied. "Sure thing, amiga!"
A short amount of time later, he held out a cotton candy. Taking it from him, Dawn knelt down and gave it to the rabbit.
"Here you go, Buneary!" she said. "Have fun!"
"(Thanks, Dawn!)" Buneary replied. When Dawn got back to her feet to grab the other two sticks of cotton candy, the rabbit turned to beam at Pikachu. "(You want some?)"
"(Uh, no, no, that's alright!)" Pikachu replied, fidgeting nervously.
Buneary giggled. He was so cute when he was nervous. "(It's okay! Come on!)" She bit a piece off and chewed it, then held it out for him. "(Here!)"
He hesitated for a few moments, then slowly leaned forward and bit off a piece. Leaning back again, he chewed it with a small smile on his face.
"(Good?)" she asked.
Pikachu nodded, swallowing the cotton candy. "(Yeah,)" he replied.
"Let's go, guys!" Ash said.
Buneary looked up to see him and Dawn both holding a stick of cotton candy each. Dawn was already nibbling on hers.
"Where to, Ash?" Dawn asked.
"Hmm..." Ash scanned around. After a moment, he pointed with his free hand. "How about that way?"
Buneary was really enjoying herself. Still walking, she bit into the cotton candy, then held it out for Pikachu. Smiling and thanking her, he took a bite. She beamed back at him. This day was amazing. Truly amazing. The only slight downside was that she wasn't getting much time alone with Pikachu.
She loved Dawn – she truly did – so she was quite happy to spend time with her bubbly trainer, but some time alone with the guy she liked wasn't too much to ask, right? Especially since it was Valentine's Day... though there was the problem of the thief that was running around...
She'd have to think about this a little...
As they waited in line for their turn on the rollercoaster, Buneary continued to ponder her predicament, occasionally taking side glances at Pikachu. Within moments, she was hit with inspiration.
Once a small chunk of the queue were allowed though, she grabbed Pikachu's paw and dragged him off to stand in the first aisle. Soon after, Ash and Dawn entered the second aisle.
"So, you're riding with Pikachu?" Dawn asked with a smile.
Buneary smiled back and nodded. "(Yup!)" she replied.
"Well, it'll be safer if we ride in separate cars, I guess." She paused. "Oh! But you probably wanna be alone with him, right?"
Buneary giggled. "(You caught me!)"
Pikachu laughed awkwardly. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. She didn't mind, though. It was rather adorable.
"(Wheeee!)" Buneary cried in joy as the cars flew up, down, side-to-side and upside-down.
Beside her, nestled into her side, Pikachu laughed. "(Yeaaaah!)" he cried.
"This is awesoooome!" Ash cried from the car behind them.
Dawn screeched. "My haaaair!" she cried.
"A... ghost house?" Dawn asked, shuddering.
Buneary jumped back and hid behind Pikachu, looking fearfully up at the creepy building.
"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Ash replied. "Let's go!"
"(You okay, Buneary?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Yeah!)" Buneary replied with false bravado. "(Yeah, I'm fine...)"
"(We could stay here, if you prefer.)"
"(Well...)"
"Do you wanna stick with us, Buneary, or..." Dawn asked, "do you wanna go ahead with Pikachu?"
Buneary perked up. "(Huh?)"
She thought about it for a minute. Being alone with her loved one. In a haunted house. Clinging to him for comfort and safety.
"(Buneary?)" Pikachu asked.
She beamed. "(Sure! Let's go!)"
"Okay!" Dawn replied, beaming back. "Just don't go too far ahead, okay?"
"(Okay~!)"
In the darkened hallway, Buneary stuck close to Pikachu as they passed another set of grotesque models.
"(Eeeek!)" she squealed, concealing a smile as she grabbed onto Pikachu. "(Scary!)"
Pikachu turned to her, sighing with a smile on his face. "(Oh, Buneary...)" he replied.
Somewhere behind them, Buneary heard Dawn scream. This was shortly followed by Ash's laughter.
"Ciao~!" a young woman in a modest white dress said cheerfully, a mass of heart-shaped balloons strapped to her arm.
"Wow, what cute balloons~!" Dawn said.
"Grazie~! Would-a you like one?"
Buneary's face lit up. Moving towards her trainer, she prodded her in the leg.
"Hmm?" Dawn looked down. Seeing Buneary, she smiled. "Would you like a balloon, Buneary?"
Buneary nodded. "(Yes, please!)" she replied.
Dawn giggled. She looked back at the woman. "Alright. I'll take..." She paused a moment. "I'll take two, please."
"Okie dokie!" the woman replied. Pulling two balloons off her wrist, she exchanged them for the required amount of money. "Grazie~!"
"No, thank you~!"
"You want a balloon, Dawn?" Ash asked.
"Nope~!" Kneeling down, she handed one to Buneary. "Here you go~!"
"(Thanks!)" Buneary replied, taking the balloon and tying the string around her wrist.
Dawn then held the other one out. "And one for you, Pikachu~!"
Surprised and intrigued, Buneary turned to look at the mouse.
"(Uh... thanks,)" Pikachu replied, taking the balloon. As Dawn stood up again, the mouse tied the string around his wrist.
Buneary beamed at him. "(Hey, now we have matching balloons~!)"
Heart balloons, at that! Life really was good right now.
Pikachu gave her an awkward smile. "(Yeah...)"
"A tunnel of love, huh?" Dawn asked coyly.
Buneary was trying very hard not to squeal. She had to retain some level of dignity, after all.
"Sounds cheesy," Ash said. "Shall we go elsewhere?"
Buneary felt her heart drop.
"No way!" Dawn replied indignantly. "Buneary's gonna wanna go on it with Pikachu! Right, Buneary?"
Buneary felt her heart soar. "(Yeah!)" she replied, beaming.
"Well, then, that settles it!" Dawn paused. "Oh! But it might be better if they get on a separate boat. Then they can have some alone time."
This time, Buneary really did squeal.
"Alone?" Ash asked. "But what about the thief?"
"Well... we'll get on the next boat. That way, when they get off, we'll be right behind them!"
"... Urgh. I really don't wanna go on it, but I can't argue with your logic..." Ash paused. "Alright, then."
"(This is nice, isn't it, Pikachu?)" Buneary asked as she cuddled the mouse.
"(Uh, yeah!)" Pikachu replied, keeping his gaze away from her. "(Real nice.)"
Buneary giggled, nuzzling her face into his fur. Looking around, she observed all the models of luvdisc that were lining the tunnel, including two above their heads that were kissing. Somewhere, a speaker was playing a soft, romantic tune.
"(If only we could have more moments like this...)"
"(Uh... yeah.)"
She glanced at him, though he was keeping his face away from her. "(Pikachu?)"
He turned to her, caught off-guard. "(Hmm?)"
It was then that she noticed how red his face was. She couldn't stop the gleeful grin that spread across her face.
"(Oh, nothing~!)"
"(Oh...)" He turned away again.
She snuggled into his fur again. After a moment, she remembered that their trainers were in the boat some ways behind them. This gave her an interesting thought.
"(Hey... do you think Ash and Dawn could be a thing?)"
It would certainly be convenient for her, if they were.
"(Huh?)"
"(You know! Romantically and stuff.)"
"(Oh.)" Pikachu paused a moment. "(Not really.)"
"(Hmm?)"
"(Well, Ash isn't really into that kinda thing.)" He paused. "(I might have said that one time, but... I really don't think so anymore.)"
"(Really?)"
"(Yeah... the only girl he showed any real interest in was Giselle... The others, I could only guess at, really. It's not likely, though.)"
Buneary blinked. "(Wait... who's Giselle?)"
"(Oh, some girl from some pokémon school in Kanto. But he's met and travelled with plenty of girls since then and not shown much interest.)" He chuckled awkwardly. "(He's big on the friendship, but not so good on the romance.)"
Buneary blinked again. "(How many girls has he travelled with?)" She paused. "(Wait, there was that May girl, wasn't there?)"
"(Yeah, she was the second. Dawn's the third. You never met the first one.)"
Buneary's eyes widened. "(Three?)"
"(Yeah... and there's bound to be more in the future. That's just how Ash is.)" He chuckled again. "(He makes a lot of friends.)"
Fear started to creep into her veins. "(And... the old ones just... leave?)"
"(Yeah. They come back, sometimes! Though... I haven't seen Misty for a really long time... I wonder how she's doing...)"
"(Why... do they leave?)"
"(Oh, it's usually 'cause they've got their own dreams to follow. They can't follow Ash around forever, I guess.)" He paused. "(Misty went off to become a gym leader, May went off to a different region...)" He paused again. "(Tracey went off to be with his idol, Professor Oak, and Max went off to help out in his dad's gym.)"
The fear started to turn to panic. "(So... even the guys he travels with don't stay with him?)"
"(Not for long, no... though Brock keeps coming back. So far, anyway.)"
Buneary stared ahead of her in horror. Ash's friends kept leaving him? Would that mean Dawn would do the same, then? But Dawn knew she liked Pikachu! She wouldn't do that to her... would she?
She remained quiet for the rest of the ride.
The rest of the day continued, with Ash, Dawn and Pikachu remaining oblivious to the turmoil stirring in Buneary's heart. She didn't want to bother them with it, but every glance at either her crush or her trainer sent her mind whirling.
They continued to go on ride after ride, even repeating a few, though Buneary wasn't enjoying them as much as before. It was rather hard to, with this dark feeling weighing her down.
Since she and Pikachu had balloons – which weren't recommended on some rides – Ash and Dawn took turns to stand back and hold them, while the other enjoyed themselves.
The longer she spent alone around Pikachu, however, the more her gut burned to talk to him about the issue at hand. Just how could she broach this subject, though?
It was reaching closing time. Most of the other customers had called it a day and left, and now Ash and Dawn looked ready to leave, as well.
"Well, I think we should go find Brock and Piplup," Ash suggested.
"Yeah," Dawn replied, "let's go."
Buneary panicked. After today, it would be difficult to get Pikachu alone again, what with all the other pokémon that would be around. Glancing left and right in a desperate attempt to find a solution, her eyes landed on a certain ride. Her eyes widened as she got an idea.
"(Dawn!)" she cried, tapping her trainer on the leg.
"Hmm?" Dawn looked down at her. "What's wrong, Buneary?"
Buneary pointed at the ride. "(Can I go on that before we leave?)"
Dawn looked where she was pointing, then smiled. "Oh, you want one last go on the Ferris wheel? Well, alright!"
Beaming, Buneary grabbed Pikachu's paw and made a show of dragging him slightly, while staring imploringly at her trainer.
"Hmm?" Dawn paused. "Oh! You wanna go on it alone?"
Buneary nodded. "(Please!)"
"Is that safe, Dawn?" Ash asked.
Dawn paused again. "Well, how about we wait at the bottom?" she replied. "That way, we can keep an eye out for the thief!"
Ash smiled. "Alright, sure!"
"(Thank you, thank you!)" Buneary cried, dragging Pikachu over to the Ferris wheel.
Sitting on the ride as it slowly rolled upwards, Buneary suddenly felt nervous. She fidgeted with the string around her wrist as she watched Pikachu staring out of the window.
"(Nice view, huh?)" Pikachu asked with a smile.
She jumped slightly. "(Uh, yeah!)" she replied. "(Lovely view.)"
The time ticked on, with the Ferris wheel slowly rolling around its designated path. Things were quiet for a while.
"(Um... Pikachu?)"
He looked at her, still smiling. "(Yeah?)"
"(What... What if...?)"
His expression melted into one of concern. "(Hmm?)"
She steeled herself for what she was about to say. "(What if... I have to leave one day?)"
He blinked. "(What? What do you mean 'leave'?)"
She looked down at her lap. "(What you said earlier... about people always leaving... Well... what if I left?)"
"(... Huh... well...)"
"(I wouldn't wanna leave... but I wouldn't have much choice, if Dawn wanted to...)"
"(Yeah...)"
"(... You'd miss me, right?)"
"(Of course I would!)"
She looked up at him. "(Yeah?)"
He smiled sadly. "(Yeah.)"
She gave a sad smile in return. "(I dunno if we are leaving... but I guess I can't deny it's possible...)"
"(Well... we'd probably see each other again!)"
"(... 'Probably'?)"
He suddenly looked very awkward. "(... Well...)"
She paused, fidgeting again. "(... You know I really like you, right?)"
His face turned slightly red. "(Y-Yeah...)"
There was silence for a few moments.
"(... So, I'd be really sad if I had to leave.)"
The Ferris wheel took this moment to grind to a halt, stranding them at the peak of its structure.
The silence continued for another few moments.
"(Well... you know...)" Pikachu looked down, fidgeting with his own balloon string.
"(Hmm?)"
His face turned even redder. "(I-It's not like I don't know! I mean... you're not all that subtle about it...)" Her own face reddened in response. "(And all the guys are always teasing me about it... but... I...)"
"(Do you not like me like that?)"
"(N-No, that's not... I mean...)" He took a deep breath. "(It's confusing. I mean... I've never had a girl like me before and... and I don't know anyone else who has, either... so there's no one to learn from and...)"
She suddenly felt intrigued. "(So, you don't know?)"
"(No... though I do like you... quite a lot... so... I dunno... maybe?)"
Her heart soared in her chest. "(Really?)"
"(Yeah... though...)" He paused. "(There's just no time to think about that kind of thing, really... Not when you travel with Ash...)" He paused again. "(He travels around a lot, so we never stay in one place for too long... Plus, he's got his dream to follow, and I really wanna help him with it and...)" By this point, his face resembled a tamato berry.
She was unsure where he was going with this. "(Yeah?)"
"(... M-Maybe one day... when Ash achieves his dream, or something... I'll be ready to settle down... and... and maybe... have a l-lover, or something...)"
Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "(What?!)"
"(And... well... I do really like you, so... and I don't have anyone else in mind, so...)" There was a long pause. "(Maybe we could try that?)"
Buneary was sure that she'd stopped breathing. Her chest was hurting rather badly and her brain was blowing a circuit.
At the silence, Pikachu looked up at her. "(Buneary?)" She squeaked in response. "(A-Are you okay? Sorry, was that too much?)"
As the reality of the situation hit her, a smile slowly started to spread across her face. It spread out all the way until her cheek muscles hurt. Then she tackled him in a hug.
"(Ack!)" He chuckled awkwardly. "(I-I take it that's a yes?)"
"(Of course it's a yes!)"
She nuzzled into his fur, perfectly content. At least now, if Dawn did decide to part ways with Ash at the end of their Sinnoh journey, she'd have something to keep her going. A reason to smile if she had to say goodbye.
Once they were off the Ferris wheel, a beaming Buneary dragged Pikachu by the paw over to a waiting Ash and Dawn.
"Hey, Buneary!" Dawn said. "Did you have a nice time?"
"(Yep!)" Buneary replied.
Dawn beamed back at her. "That's great."
"Hey," Ash said, attracting everyone's attention, "seems they've caught the thief."
They all looked where he was pointing, and saw some guy they didn't recognise being dragged off by five police officers, one of whom was an Officer Jenny.
"Well, that's good! Now, let's go find Brock and get out of here."
"I can't believe it!" Brock cried, moping in a stooped position near the wall. "I spent all day at this theme park and still couldn't find a date!"
"Aww, no need to worry, Brock!" Dawn replied with a vain attempt at a comforting smile. "There's always next time, right?"
"(I can't believe it!)" Piplup cried, dancing around dramatically. "(I spent all day at this stupid theme park and still couldn't find a date!)"
"(Aww, don't worry, Piplup!)" Buneary replied, smiling brightly. "(There's always next time, right?)"
Pikachu laughed awkwardly beside her. While Piplup was distracted, she threw the mouse a secret grin. Upon seeing it, he blushed slightly, then turned away, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
She couldn't help but giggle to herself.
The End