Author's note: Howdy, ya'll!

It's time for my first Unova one-shot! Expect more of these in the future~!

This one's an idea I've had for a really, really long time, so I'm glad to finally be writing it. It required a surprising amount of research for its short length. Haha.

Oh! Also! If any of my one-shots give you inspiration...

... Or your request is either too long to be a one-shot...

... Or it's your personal baby that you wouldn't want me taking any artistic liberty with...

Then please feel free to add to the PikaBun fandom! This old gal would love some new stuff to read, herself. :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the one-shot!

Haute Couture

"(One day, I'm gonna be reeeeaaaally big and strong~!)" Axew said happily, waving his arms for emphasis.

Pikachu smiled at him. "(Oh yeah?)" he replied.

"(Yeah! I'm gonna be a haxorus! They're big and strong and cool!)"

"(Heh. Well, train hard and I'm sure you can do it!)"

"(Yeah! I'm gonna train and train and train, until my tusks fall off!)"

"(Heh... Hopefully, it'll happen before then.)"

"(Oh, don't worry! They grow back!)"

As Pikachu continued to chuckle awkwardly, he had to wonder where Ash was. Earlier, his trainer had been called away by Nurse Joy over something and had said he'd be right back. The rest of them had decided to wait here for him, but quite some time had passed since then.

Iris, sitting at the nearby table, tapped her finger on it impatiently. "What's taking him so long?!" she complained.

Cilan, who was sitting opposite her, smiled. "I wouldn't worry, Iris," he replied. "Whatever recipe he's cooking up, it probably takes a while to boil."

"I'll boil him if he takes any longer..."

"Hey, guys!" a voice suddenly called out.

Pikachu looked up excitedly to see his trainer approaching, something clutched to his chest.

"Where have you been?!" Iris cried.

"Getting this!"

Ash turned the object around to reveal it was a magazine. Pikachu squinted at it curiously. He couldn't read the cover, but the people on it looked familiar...

"Huh?! Since when were you into magazines?"

Ash chuckled at her. "I'm not, but a friend of mine sent me this one just now."

"So that's where you were?"

"Yup!"

Ash sat down next to Cilan, flipping through the magazine.

"And what flavour of magazine is this?" Cilan asked.

"It's called Poké Chic!"

"Poké... Chic?" Iris asked.

"I'm not familiar with that," Cilan said. "Is it a foreign delicacy?"

"You got it!" Ash replied. "They don't make this one in Unova. It was sent over from Sinnoh."

Pikachu's ears perked up. Sinnoh?

"Sinnoh?" Iris asked curiously.

"Hmm..." Cilan said, thinking. "If I'm not mistaken, that's the region with a city colder than an ice cream sundae."

"Ugh... I hate it already..."

"Yup!" Ash replied, still flipping through the magazine. "That friend I mentioned won a contest for poké stylists... and her pokémon got to have a photo shoot for this magazine!"

"Wow, really?" Iris blinked. "And what's a poké stylist?"

"It's kinda like a co-ordinator, but they design clothes for the pokémon, too."

"Oh, cool."

"It certainly sounds like a delectable occupation," Cilan said.

"Yeah!" Ash replied. He continued scanning the pages. "She should be in here, somewhere..."

... He had to be talking about her, didn't he? He just had to. There was no one else they knew that fitted that description. Pikachu inclined his head in intrigue, despite not being able to see anything from so low down.

"Hmm..." Ash flipped a few more pages. After a moment, he looked confused, then went back a few pages. He suddenly grinned. "Oh, there she is!" He chuckled. "Almost didn't recognise her."

Cilan and Iris leaned over to look.

"Huh," Iris said. "Wow."

"That style... " Cilan said in an awed tone, "it's cool and crisp, like a fresh garden salad..."

"It's pretty... though it does make the pokémon look like an ice-type..."

"They wore those outfits for the contest," Ash explained. "Me and Pikachu entered, too, but we didn't win."

"And that pokémon's pose!" Cilan continued. "It has such a unique flavour!" He posed dramatically. "Sweet... yet with subtle bitter undertones..."

"Really? Looks normal to me..."

"I'd imagine it takes a delicate balance of ingredients to be a successful poké stylist!" Cilan paused, then smiled sheepishly. "Though I'm unfamiliar with the recipe, myself..."

"Yeah..." Iris agreed, "we don't get contests and things in Unova. Not that I'd really wanna enter one, anyway..."

"Contests are fun," Ash said, "but I much prefer gym battles!" Glancing down, he caught Pikachu's eye. "Huh?" He smiled. "Hey, buddy. Wanna see the magazine?"

Pikachu nodded eagerly. "(Yes, please!)" he replied.

"Alright." He grabbed it off the table and lowered it down to Pikachu's level. "Here you go."

Pikachu took it from him. "(Thanks!)"

Putting it on the floor, he was able to get a closer look at it.

Over on the left side of the page was a photograph of Dawn, perched on a chair and smiling at the camera, her hair barren of accessories. Her long white dress with a yellow ribbon was flowing elegantly down the chair, while the blue pearls of her necklace glittered in the lighting. Next to the photograph was a wall of text that he couldn't read, which likely spoke of her win at the Hearthome Collection.

On the right side of the page... was her.

Cilan had certainly been right. She looked so otherworldly in the photograph. Having been placed against a pure white backdrop that perfectly matched her short white dress and blue pearl necklace, she was angled slightly to the side. Delicately holding her paws to her chest, her eyes were cast down and there was a serene expression on her face. Most of her weight was on her front foot, while her back foot was elevated and resting on the ball.

She almost looked like she was floating.

... Now that he looked at the picture, she was supposed to be a snow spirit, wasn't she? Like the one in legends. The one said to wander the coldest mountains of Sinnoh, attacking any travellers who venture too far out. Most sightings would turn out to be a wild froslass, but it was still an interesting story, regardless.

... It had been quite a while since he'd seen Buneary, hadn't it? The last time had been, funnily enough, when Dawn had told them about the photo shoot. He'd congratulated the rabbit and she'd thanked him while blushing.

In fact... they hadn't even gotten a proper goodbye, had they? Everyone had been far too focused on Piplup and dealing with his little 'episode'. The mouse had said a small goodbye in his head to all of Dawn's pokéballs before getting on the boat, but he hadn't been able to say it to the pokémon's faces.

He pictured Buneary's smiling face. Her strangely boyish voice. The way she used to hug him and nuzzle him...

He smiled sadly at the picture. He hadn't realised how much he missed her until now. Her and her quirky, yet bashful nature.

She would always shower him with affection and giggle happily whenever he'd complimented her. She was nice and cute and fun, though way too forward sometimes. It had always been embarrassing whenever she'd flirted with him in front of other people. They'd always mock him about his little 'admirer'...

He had to wonder where she'd gone after the photo shoot. Had Dawn taken her to another region for more contests? Most likely. Had they gone to Hoenn? Johto? Somewhere else? He had no idea.

Would he ever see her again? He hoped so. Misty and May had come back for visits before, so it wasn't out of the question for Dawn to do the same, surely.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he looked up to see Axew leaning over, blinking at the magazine.

After a moment, the dragon smiled brightly. "(She's cute!)" he said.

"(... Huh?)"

"(The rabbit pokémon! I dunno what she is, but she's cute!)"

Pikachu made a noise of discontent. He wasn't sure why, but that comment bothered him slightly. Maybe because he wasn't used to other pokémon finding Buneary cute. Or maybe because Buneary had been so fond of him that he was now getting protective.

Either way, Axew had probably meant nothing by it. After all, he was young and found a lot of things cute. He even seemed to have a soft spot for Emolga, despite the squirrel's conniving nature. So there was no reason to be annoyed at him, really.

He forced a smile back onto his face. "(That's my friend, Buneary.)"

"(Wow, you're friends with someone so cute? Aren't you lucky!)"

Pikachu felt warmth spread across his face. "(W-Well...)"

He supposed he couldn't really deny the statement, but it was still rather embarrassing.

"(I hope I get to meet her someday!)"

He blinked at this. Then he gave a small, genuine smile as he glanced back down at the photograph. "(Yeah... me too.)"

Suddenly, Ash stood up, startling everyone. "Well, I think it's time we head out," he said. "Places to go and things to do, you know?" He glanced down at Pikachu. "Hey, buddy, you finished with that?"

"(Yeah,)" Pikachu replied, nodding.

"Awesome."

Turning back to the magazine, Pikachu looked at the photograph one last time before closing the pages. Only now did he realise that the people on the cover were Paris - the famous poké stylist - and her lopunny.

Picking the magazine up, he held it out to Ash. His trainer took it gratefully, then stuffed it into his backpack.

"Alright." Ash threw the backpack over his shoulders. "Now, let's get going!" Laughing, he bolted out the front door.

Everyone else immediately jumped to their feet.

"Hey, wait!" Iris called out. Axew quickly jumped into her hair. "Ash!"

They all ran after him.

"Looks like it's travelling time!" Cilan said excitedly as they exited the Pokémon Centre and raced down the street.

Iris groaned loudly. "Ash, slow down! You're such a kid!"

Ash, who was still some distance ahead of them, laughed in response.

Pikachu sighed in exasperation as he ran, a slight smile on his face. While some things changed, others stayed the same...

The End