Author's note: Heya, guys!

This'll probably be the last time I write for this particular region, since... it's one of my least favourites. So yeah, unless a really good idea comes along, this is it for this region! Not to mention the one after it, too.

Any of the ones before it, though, are still fair game. XP

Today's one-shot is dedicated to VGS2 and Karystma! Both of which had very similar ideas, apparently. VGS2 provided the main plot and it was one of Karystma's many suggestions, so how could I refuse? XD

Hope you enjoy it!

That's Just Super

Buneary couldn't contain her excitement! Her favourite show was about to start! And, not only that, it was the only episode she'd missed, too!

Unfortunately, she'd only started watching the show from episode two onwards, so she'd completely missed the pilot! And it was said to be really cool, too! With a character who was oddly absent from the rest of the show! She couldn't wait for it to start.

Nearby, her trainer, Dawn, was looking over the five ribbons she'd earned this region. After their narrow loss in the Hoenn Grand Festival, they'd started travelling around Johto and, so far, they were making good progress! Next up was the Johto Grand Festival! And very soon, at that!

... Though she'd often wondered what her crush, Pikachu, was up to. Due to a lack of communication on their trainers' part, she currently had no idea which region he was in. He could be anywhere, really. It was a shame, because they hadn't had much time to hang out the last time they'd seen each other, back in Unova.

They'd been too busy stopping Piplup and Oshawott from killing each other over Meloetta.

"(Ugh, when's the show gonna start?!)" Piplup asked impatiently from Dawn's lap.

Buneary beamed at him. "(Soon, Piplup,)" she replied. "(Just be patient!)"

"(Urgh...)"

Turning back to the TV screen, she continued watching the commercials. Something about tours to the Bell Tower in Ecruteak City was currently playing.

Man, she couldn't wait for the show to start!

... Admittedly, she'd only started watching the show because of the title: Pikachu Land. It reminded her of her crush, who she hadn't seen in ages.

It had been oddly nostalgic, watching that first episode. Seeing all the pikachu, both male and female, some of which were in cosplay. It had made her heart warm with happiness and a tinge of melancholy.

... But then, halfway through the episode, she'd realised that the show was pretty darn amazing by itself.

She'd kept on watching it every week. Dawn would even rush to the next pokémon centre, just so they could watch it, because she liked it just as much. It was slice-of-life, with bouts of comedy, action and even hints of romance! It was great!

Pikachu Rock Star and Pikachu Ph.D had become best friends, with the occasional blush showing that they wanted to be more than that.

Pikachu Belle had decided to try and reform Pikachu Libre, always telling the other pikachu that she saw something good in him. She just needed time to bring it out. What had followed was Pikachu Belle learning about Pikachu Libre's backstory and why he'd become a villain in the first place.

Pikachu Pop Star was always staring into the sky, wishing for the return of her hero, Super Pikachu. She'd often sigh dreamily, wondering where he was.

It kind of reminded Buneary of her own crush. Also on a pikachu.

She was very curious about this Super Pikachu, though. From what little she'd gathered, he was a character who'd appeared in episode one to solve everyone's problems, then had 'mysteriously disappeared' afterwards. Hence the rest of the show, where the other pikachu had tried to solve their problems themselves. With varying degrees of success.

The show was still in its early days - being only twelve episodes long - but a lot had happened so far! She'd kill for a second season! Especially since the episodes were all really short, anyway!

... Though, first, she wanted to be sure to watch the pilot, so that she'd be all caught up on things.

Her eyes widened in delight as the commercials ended. Oh, speaking of which! It was about to start!

She watched with bated breath as it opened with its usual narration, this time introducing the viewers to Pikachu Land. A town full of nothing but pikachu.

The characters were dancing around in a circle and speaking to one another with dubbed-over voices. True, the voices in the show weren't the best, but she was able to look past that!

... In fact, were a few of the voices different?

Huh. How weird.

She kept on watching.

Yep, there was Pikachu Libre, playing the villain. It was rather jarring after all the character development he'd gone through since, but it was still a really cool scene.

Then the man of the hour showed up.

Super Pikachu.

Buneary stared in awe. Wow. Everything about this guy was cool. His stance, his attitude and especially his costume! It had a mask and cape, and was mainly white, with splashes of red, blue and black. Attached to his front was a brooch with a lightning bolt on it.

When she watched him do a front flip straight off the clock tower he'd been standing on, she started to understand why Pikachu Pop Star would like him so much.

She kept watching.

... Wow. The way this guy held himself, the amount of confidence he carried and his intense need to protect his friends... it reminded her insanely of Ash's pikachu. Huh. How weird.

Yep, Pikachu Pop Star had really great taste!

She kept on watching.

There was lots of action! Suspense! Drama! It was an awesome pilot that she wished she'd been able to watch sooner!

Disappointingly, there was no romance, but she supposed that was what the later episodes had been for.

Then came the final confrontation: Super Pikachu on a mountain top, facing down the diabolical Pikachu Libre and his henchmen, to rescue the fair maidens, Pikachu Pop Star and Pikachu Belle.

The battle was intense. It was starting to look like Super Pikachu would lose! But that couldn't be right! He was the hero! The cool guy! There was no way he could lose!

Buneary really wished she had some popcorn!

When all hope seemed lost and Super Pikachu was unable to stand, due to his injuries, his friends came to help. Pikachu Rock Star and Pikachu Ph.D! Plus all the other pikachu from Pikachu Land!

With the power of many Thunderbolts combined, they were able to send Pikachu Libre and his henchmen blasting off into the sky. The same way that Ash's pikachu used to send Team Rocket flying!

Rescuing Pikachu Pop Star and Pikachu Belle, Super Pikachu said some final words of farewell and flew dramatically into the sunset.

Woooow! That episode had been so cool! And she was finding it really hard to deny that Super Pikachu had been incredibly handsome. It almost felt like she was betraying Ash's pikachu, in a way...

Well, he'd always be her favourite pikachu, but she couldn't help wonder who Super Pikachu was. Probably not a pikachu she knew. The show had been filmed in some region called... Kalos, was it? So she highly doubted she'd ever heard of him. Besides, what would the credits even say? 'Super Pikachu, played by Pikachu the pikachu'?

She chuckled to herself.

Then she actually checked his name in the credits.

She froze.

"Wow, that episode was great, wasn't it?" Dawn asked happily. "Well worth rushing downstairs to watch."

"(Heck yeah!)" Piplup replied. "(The others don't know what they're missing with this show!)" He huffed. "('Silly', indeed...)"

Dawn giggled. "Glad you agree, Piplup! How about you, Buneary?"

Buneary blinked. She blinked again. "(Uh... yeah,)" she replied.

"Hmm? Buneary, what's wrong?" Dawn paused a moment, then made a pained noise. "Oh, hold that thought. I really need the bathroom!"

Standing up, she placed Piplup on the couch and ran out of the room.

"(... Uh... Buneary?)" Piplup asked.

Buneary slowly turned to look at Piplup, feeling nothing but shock.

"(... Piplup...)" she replied, "(did you see the credits?)"

Piplup tilted his head. "(Hmm?)" He glanced at the screen, where the credits were still rolling. "(What about them?)"

As her excitement rose, so did the volume of her voice. "(Did you see who played Super Pikachu?!)"

He looked back at her. "(Huh? No, I don't pay attention to credits.)"

She couldn't contain herself anymore. "(It was Pikachu! Ash's pikachu!)"

He blinked at her. "(Huh?)"

She pointed at the screen. "(I saw it! Right there, next to his name! 'Played by Ash Ketchum's pikachu'!)"

His eyes widened as far as they could go. "(What?! Really?!)"

Buneary's mouth stretched into a beaming smile. "(Yeah! Not only that, but I saw Ash's name elsewhere, too! He voiced another one of the pikachu!)"

"(You're kidding!)"

She giggled in pure joy. "(Nope!)"

"(... Well... I guess there's the chance it's a different Ash Ketchum...)"

"(Aw, come on! How many pikachu do you know that are owned by an Ash Ketchum?)" She clasped her paws together dreamily. "(No wonder he was so handsome...)"

"(... So that really was Pikachu, huh?)"

She hummed in delight. "(I'm sure of it~!)"

"(... Wow...)" Piplup paused a long moment. "(Wait...)" He began flailing around angrily. "(Why don't I get to be on TV?!)"

Ignoring him, Buneary giggled to herself, spinning around in joy. Her crush had been on TV! And in such a cool role, too! The best role!

Gosh, how long ago had he filmed this?! Now she was even more disappointed that she hadn't watched it sooner! Especially since he hadn't appeared in any of the episodes after it!

She thought back to the other eleven episodes.

... Nope, she didn't recall ever seeing him play any other role. Plus, she liked to check the credits often and she didn't once recall seeing their names.

... That meant they'd only stuck around to film episode one, then had left the rest to the director.

Gosh. She knew a celebrity! Well, a one-time celebrity, granted, but still a celebrity! Not only that, but she had a massive crush on this celebrity, too!

Ohhhh, she wished he was here, right now, in front of her! So she could give him the biggest hug and biggest compliments and say what a great job he'd done!

Oh, but he was in a different region, wasn't he? And she didn't even know which one! There were so many and it could be any of them!

... Wait. The show had been filmed in Kalos, right? So... did that mean that was where Pikachu was?!

Eek! Maybe she should find a way to contact him! Yeah! She could call him, tell him how amazing his performance was and how handsome he looked and... and...

Darn it, now the embarrassment was hitting her. It always did that at the worst times!

She pulled her fluff up to her face and squealed into it.

She was still thinking about it later. In fact, she hadn't stopped thinking about it! About how she really wanted to contact Pikachu and tell him how amazing, great, wonderful, cool and handsome he'd been in the episode!

But she was really nervous and, besides, Dawn wouldn't be able to understand what she wanted, anyway. Thanks to the human/pokémon language barrier.

"(Are you still thinking about Pikachu?)" Piplup asked in exasperation.

She peeked over at him. "(... How could you tell?)"

"(Are you kidding? It's written all over your face!)" He put his flippers to his hips. "(You're not very subtle, you know.)"

"(... Oh.)"

Piplup heaved a sigh. "(Next, you'll be writing him fan mail, or some nonsense...)"

She blinked. "(... Fan mail?)"

"(Yeah. You know, those celebrities who get letters from their fans and stuff.)

Her eyes lit up in wonder.

He looked uneasy. "(... You're totally gonna do it now, aren't you?)"

She beamed. "(Heck yes, I am!)" She rushed away to find a pen and paper.

"(H-Hey! Buneary!)"

Argh! Darn pen. Buneary had never been very good at holding these things.

Having only three fingers that weren't very flexible and no opposable thumb, she was starting to remember why she never bothered with writing much...

After some more fiddling, she finally managed to hold the pen in a somewhat comfortable position. Looking down at the paper she had on the floor in front of her, she wondered what to write.

Getting an idea, she placed the pen to the paper.

Changing her mind, she pulled it away again.

Getting a different idea, she placed it down again.

Changing her mind again, she pulled it away.

Ohhhh, what should she say?!

Argh...

She had a feeling she'd be at this for a while...

Finally, she was done.

She smiled proudly at her achievement. Now, all she had to do was get Dawn to send this.

"What's that you've been working on, Buneary?" Dawn asked, kneeling down to look.

Ah, speak of the devil!

She lifted it up for her trainer to see. "(It's fan mail!)" she replied.

Dawn blinked. "Hmm?" She took the paper and looked at it. "... Um..." She smiled sheepishly. "I have no idea what this says!"

... Oh. Right. To Dawn, it would just look like 'Buneary Bun Bun Buneary Bun'. Well, mostly because it was that, but Pikachu would be able to understand it just fine!

... Though how the heck would she communicate that she wanted to send it to Pikachu?

Dawn looked at the fan mail curiously again. "So, is this a letter?"

Buneary nodded enthusiastically. "(Yup!)"

Dawn smiled. "Oh really? Who's it for?"

Buneary paused, wondering how to get this across. She fidgeted with her fluff as she thought about it.

Suddenly, Dawn gasped. "Wait! I know!" She beamed. "It's for Pikachu, isn't it?!"

Buneary blushed, but couldn't stop a smile from forming on her face. She pulled up her fluff and hid behind it. After a moment, she nodded.

"Oh, wow, how cute~!" Dawn paused. "But wait, where would I even find him to give him this?"

Wordlessly, Buneary pointed towards the TV in the corner of the room, which someone else was now watching.

"Hmm?" There was another pause. "Um..." Dawn chuckled awkwardly. "I don't understand..."

... Oh.

"Do you want a region more avant-garde?" someone on TV suddenly said. It sounded like a commercial. "More trés bien? Then look no further than the fashion capital of the world! Kalos! Visit Lumiose City, with its towering structures and magnifique shopping district! Or the..."

Buneary tuned the rest out, dropping her fluff and pointing to the screen energetically. What luck! Maybe the legendaries were looking down on her today and granting her good fortune! The ones that didn't like to destroy things randomly, anyway...

"Hmm?" Dawn asked, looking back at the screen. She watched it for a few moments. "Kalos?"

Buneary nodded over and over again. "(Yeah! Yeah!)"

Looking back at her, Dawn had a look of dawning comprehension on her face. She smiled. "I get it! You think Pikachu's in Kalos, right?"

Buneary nodded again. "(Yeah!)"

Dawn blinked. "Huh. Well, I don't know why you'd think that, since Ash never told me where he was going... but..."

Buneary got a fire in her eyes as she held her gaze to Dawn's. "(No, I'm sure that's where he is!)"

Dawn blinked again. "Well, if you're sure..."

Buneary nodded. "(I am!)"

Dawn smiled. "Well, alright, then!" Standing up, she looked determined. "In that case, no need to worry! I'll get this sent off to Kalos A.S.A.P! It should find its way there easy enough! After all, the mail service is top-notch!"

Buneary nodded again. "(Yeah!)"

"Okay! I'll just get this an envelope and we'll take it to a mail box! Oh and I can't forget the stamp."

Buneary chuckled. "(Please don't.)"

The doors of the pokémon centre slid open as Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie entered. Bonnie skipped up to the counter, Dedenne on her head and Squishy asleep in her bag. Clemont followed behind, making sure she stayed out of trouble, and Serena stayed near Ash.

"Hey, Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he approached the counter.

"(Hi!)" Pikachu added from atop his trainer's shoulder.

"Mind healing our pokémon?"

Nurse Joy smiled at him. "No, of course not," she replied. She brought out several trays and they all loaded their pokéballs onto them. "So what name should I call when they're healed?"

"Just 'Ash' is fine!"

She blinked at him. "Ash? You wouldn't happen to be Ash Ketchum, would you?"

"Yep, that's me!"

She smiled. "Oh, excellent! I actually have a letter for your pikachu."

"A letter?"

Pikachu blinked. "(For me?)" he asked.

"Yes," Nurse Joy replied. "I'll give it to him after he's healed."

"Well, alright, then," Ash said. "... I wonder who's writing to Pikachu..."

"(... Beats me,)" Pikachu replied.

Once Pikachu was nice and refreshed, Nurse Joy handed him his letter. He looked at it in intrigue.

'Ash's pikachu'. Yep, that was him, alright.

"So who's it from?!" Bonnie asked excitedly.

"(Yeah, yeah!)" Dedenne added, just as excitedly. "(Who's it from?!)"

"I must admit, I'm curious, too," Clemont said.

"Yeah, come on, buddy!" Ash said. "Open it!"

"Now, you three..." Serena said with gentle chastising. She glanced at Dedenne. "... Four. Give him some privacy, okay? After all, it's his letter."

Ash huffed out some air. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you want some privacy, buddy?"

Pikachu chuckled in slight embarrassment. "(Yes, please...)" he replied.

Who knew what this letter would say, after all. If it wasn't too scandalous, maybe he'd share it, but he'd at least like to check it first.

Ash smiled at him. "Okay, sure."

Serena beamed at Clemont and Bonnie. "You heard him~" she said.

"Aww!" Bonnie complained, pouting. "Okay..."

She moved elsewhere, Dedenne still on her head. The other three followed after her.

Now alone, Pikachu looked back down at the envelope he was holding.

... Well, no time like the present.

Tearing open the seal, he pulled out the letter. Deciding to leave the envelope on the floor for now, he unfolded the letter and looked at it.

He blinked. Gosh, this was a messy scrawl. Whoever had written this clearly wasn't very good with a pen.

He glanced over it, noticing it was in buneary language. Huh. A buneary had sent this?

He began to read it.

To Ash Ketchum's pikachu,

Hi!

I'm a big fan of Pikachu Land! It's my favourite show of all time, though I only just watched the pilot episode recently!

... Huh? Pikachu Land?

And oh my gosh! You looked so cool as Super Pikachu!

... Oh! That! Huh... that was a show now? He'd thought it would only end up being a really short movie.

He supposed the director, Frank, must have really gotten it off the ground. Well, good for him! It seemed he was spreading his love for pikachu across the world now, just like he'd wanted.

It's a shame you weren't in any of the other episodes. I think the show would have been much better with you in them!

He blushed slightly. Gosh, this buneary sure was praising.

But you're probably really busy, so I guess it can't be helped.

That was certainly true. What with Ash winning badges and making his way to the Kalos League. Still, though, it might have been nice to film a few more episodes of that show...

Ash didn't watch much television, so Pikachu hadn't even known it was a show now.

It's a shame, though, because you were easily the best actor! You looked so at home on that set! Like you'd done it a thousand times!

Gosh. Well... he'd done a couple of acting roles before...

Will you be doing any more episodes in the future? I hope so! Not that you can tell me all the way over here in Johto, I guess. But still!

So this buneary was in Johto, huh?

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much I loved watching you on-screen! You looked so cool and collected! So in-the-zone!

Oh! Speaking of which, do you do all your own stunts? I'll bet you do! Well, except for the whole flying thing. I don't think pikachu can fly.

He smiled sheepishly. Well, no... that had been his stunt double, Hawlucha. As for the flying thing, he'd been tied to a string the whole time...

You're pretty amazing, but probably not THAT amazing.

His face warmed slightly again. Gosh, he couldn't recall anyone who'd ever praised him so much. Not since...

... Hmm...

Well, either way! Good luck with whatever you're doing and know that I'll always support you!

Love

Your biggest fan x

... Oh. They hadn't signed it. He looked around the paper. Turning it over, he checked the back. Nothing.

... Hmm.

Buneary was beaming to herself. Wow, that had been one heck of a Grand Festival! Sure, they hadn't won again, but they'd gotten really close that time! Plus, it had been a lot of fun, so she wasn't complaining!

If travelling had taught her anything, it was that winning wasn't everything. It was having fun and doing your best that mattered!

Besides, there'd always be the next Grand Festival, she was sure.

"Hey, Buneary!" Dawn suddenly said from beside her. Piplup was sitting on her shoulder. "A letter came for you!"

She blinked. "(A letter?)" she asked.

Dawn handed it over. With a giggle, she wandered off elsewhere.

Buneary looked at the envelope. 'To Dawn's buneary'. Huh. Yep, that was definitely her.

She opened it.

The writing on the inside was quite nice. Much nicer than her own messy scrawl.

... Wait.

Was this written in pikachu language?!

She hastily began to read it.

Hi, Buneary!

Thanks for the letter you wrote!

Her face exploded in heat. What?! How did he know?! She'd signed it anonymously!

Well, I assume you wrote it, anyway. It was written in buneary language, you praised me endlessly, like back in Sinnoh, and you're probably in Johto by now, if I had to guess? I don't know for certain, but, after Hoenn, Johto seems like a logical place to go! It's what May did!

... Oh.

Good lord, she was an idiot.

Anyway, yeah! If it really was you, then thanks! I did play Super Pikachu for that one episode. In fact, I didn't even know there were MORE episodes! Maybe I should watch them at some point!

She blinked. What? He hadn't even known?

Then maybe we can talk about them in these letters, or something!

... He... wanted to be pen pals?

Well, unless it really WASN'T you. In which case, I'll feel silly, but I'm pretty sure it was.

... Darn it all.

Still, she couldn't help the smile that pulled at her mouth.

Either way, it'd be nice to keep in touch! Ash is terrible with a phone, as you know.

Oh, she knew, alright...

Oh! And, to answer your questions... nope. Sadly, they weren't my own stunts. I wish they were, though, believe me. Haha.

Aww... drat.

Well, that wouldn't stop her from liking him, but still.

And I did a few other movies, back when I was in Unova. I wonder if they'll be on TV, too. I've no idea, since Ash barely ever watches TV.

Her eyes widened. There were more movies with Pikachu in them? Oh, she just had to find them and watch them!

But yeah, thanks for being such a big fan. You always had a way of making me feel special. Haha.

She blushed, both in embarrassment and giddiness.

So write me a letter back, if you want! I'll be in Kalos 'til the end of the Kalos League! Who knows where I'll go after that, but let's keep each other posted, if you like!

All the best,

Love Pikachu x

Buneary loudly squealed into the paper she was holding.

Best day ever!

She'd originally wanted to stay anonymous out of embarrassment, but... she was honestly really glad she'd been too obvious now. Of course she wanted to be pen pals!

She rushed off to find a pen and paper, to give her response.

Several months had passed since Buneary and Pikachu had become pen pals.

In that time, they'd kept in constant contact, keeping each other up to date on where they were and what they were doing.

Apparently, Pikachu had gone through quite the adventure involving his friend, Squishy the zygarde, at the end of Kalos...

The mouse had also kept up with Pikachu Land whenever he'd been able to. He seemed to like the show, too, which was great! It meant they always had a lot to talk about!

Especially since Pachirisu had always laughed at the voice acting, Mamoswine had called the show boring and Quilava had cringed at the dialogue. Togekiss had found it cute, but hadn't been too fond of the show's pacing.

Hmph. They didn't know what they were missing.

Currently, Buneary was sitting in a pokémon centre in Kanto, reading another of Pikachu's letters with a warm smile on her face. He was currently in the sunny region of Alola, helping Ash win z-crystals, instead of the usual gym badges.

She wouldn't mind getting hold of one of those z-crystals, herself. They sounded powerful!

When they hadn't been talking about ribbons and z-crystals, they'd been talking about the second season of Pikachu Land.

With Pikachu Libre and his henchmen finally on the side of good, a new evil had risen to destroy the town of Pikachu Land. One known as Nega Pikachu.

His power far outmatched that of the heroes.

Pikachu Pop Star had prayed for Super Pikachu to come back and help them, but the others had grown cynical. They'd had to solve their own problems up until now, so they were determined to keep doing so.

In a recent episode, they'd all managed to learn new moves, in an attempt to bring down Nega Pikachu.

Pikachu Rock Star had learned Meteor Mash, and his love interest, Pikachu Ph.D, had learned Electric Terrain.

Pikachu Libre had learned Flying Press and his love interest, Pikachu Belle, had learned Icicle Crash.

Pikachu Pop Star had learned Draining Kiss.

In the most recent episode, there had been a surprise appearance by Super Pikachu! With the suspense high and the action getting more intense with each second, he'd landed in a flash of lightning to help out.

Pikachu Pop Star had been ecstatic to see him again.

Super Pikachu had then explained that Nega Pikachu had been the reason he'd been away for a while. He hadn't been able to help with their problems, because he'd had to deal with one of his own.

A big one that had now made his way to Pikachu Land.

Though Buneary had been quite surprised to see Super Pikachu again, she'd been able to tell immediately that the actor wasn't Ash's pikachu.

Well, Pikachu had never mentioned the role in any of his letters, but, besides that, this new actor carried himself much differently. He may have had the same voice, but the passion, the feel of being at home on-set... she didn't really feel it from him, honestly.

She'd pouted and said that he wasn't as good.

When she'd said this in a letter to Pikachu, he'd laughed and thanked her for the praise.

As she finished reading his current letter, she reached for a pen, the warm smile having never left her face.

Yeah. It had definitely been a good thing that she'd been so obvious, after all.

The End