Author's note: Heyo!
I'd actually wanted to write this one earlier than this, but I was struggling with it. With the reveal of Ultimate, though, now seems like the perfect time to crank it out. So I will! Credit to VGS2 for helping me with a lot of references.
Oh and, speaking of which...!
If you like Smash-related shenanigans, as well as fluffy PikaBun, check out VGS2's fic. It's called Getting An Earful!
To summarize, Pikachu and Buneary are celebrating their budding relationship by inviting their fathers to a picnic! But their fathers might not quite be what you'd expect! It's weird and wacky, full of references and, most importantly, rather adorable!
I think you'll like it! Especially with its revamped chapters and brand-spanking new content! It's actually my favourite fic of his, so be sure to check it out!
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this one-shot!
... And scratch what I said last one-shot. This one's easily the longest. By far. No contest!
Belle of the Brawl
Pikachu looked up in awe at the poster on the wall. On it was a picture of a circle, with a horizontal line and a vertical line criss-crossing over it. Red and blue fire spread out from the circle, and inside the fire was four words.
4th Annual Smash Ball.
"... Shall I assume it's not talking about the final smash item?" male Robin asked.
Pikachu looked up at the crowd around him, who were all looking over at the poster.
"Yeah!" Sonic replied with a grin. "Confused the heck outta me last year, lemmie tell ya!" He shrugged cheekily. "Wasn't sure if I was supposed to hit the poster, or something!"
"So it's an actual ball?" Shulk asked. He leaned one arm on the other and held his chin in thought. "... Sounds like a pun my friend, Reyn, would make..."
Bayonetta pushed her glasses up with the barrel of her gun. "Hmm, a ball, is it?" she asked.
"Sounds pretty smashing, huh?" Pit asked, grinning at her.
She leaned in close to him, smirking. "Are you making fun of me, angel boy?"
"What? Noooo..." Pit paused. "Well, maybe a little."
"Hmph." She held her gun up to his face. "Keep it up and you'll be meeting a few acquaintances of mine~"
Pit jumped back in fright, then frowned at her. "Hey, I thought we were past the whole 'trying to kill me' thing!"
"Uh, anyway..." female Robin said awkwardly, "it says you can bring a date, so of course I'll invite my husband." She paused. "... Even though he kind of has two left feet."
Male Robin chuckled. "You think you have it rough?" he asked, referring to his wife.
She chuckled back. "Good point." She paused again. "It's still very weird that I'm talking to an alternate me."
"No kidding. Speaking of which, maybe we should go tell the Corrins about this."
She smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure they'd be happy to hear it."
Heh. It was nice that so many new Smash Brothers had been brought in over the years. Pikachu was actually one of the few who'd been around since this dimension had been created, four years ago, by Master Hand and Crazy Hand. Back when he and Ash had been travelling through Kanto. Next to him stood Jigglypuff, who'd also attended all three previous balls.
"(Sweet, another ball!)" Jigglypuff said, jumping up and down. The large dark pink ribbon she was wearing bounced with her. "(I can't wait to invite Whismur!)"
Pikachu smiled lightly. During his journey through Hoenn, Jigglypuff had stopped following their group around, because she'd found herself someone new to follow. Someone who could actually stay awake through her song and fully enjoy it. A whismur owned by a girl named Alanna. Some time ago, they'd become an item, so of course she was going to bring him as her date.
He adjusted the blue goggles on his head. "(Heh,)" he replied, "(sounds fun.)"
Jigglypuff turned to beam at him. "(Are you inviting anyone this year?)"
Pikachu paused. The first year he'd been here, there'd been no one he'd wanted to invite, so he'd hung around with Samus and Jigglypuff at the ball. The same had been true for the following year, when Pichu had joined. The two mice had gotten along like a house on fire, and Pikachu had acted like a mentor and big brother figure to the younger mouse.
The year after that - the first year where Pichu had been oddly absent - Pikachu had considered asking someone to the ball. However, in the end, he'd lost his nerve and gone alone. It had just figured that that had been the year when Jigglypuff had actually brought a date...
This year, though...?
"(Uh... I dunno,)" he replied.
She blinked at him, tilting her head. "(I thought you said there was someone you liked.)"
He blushed slightly. "(Well... yeah... but-)"
She beamed again. "(Then ask her! The worst she can do is say no, right?)"
... Say no?
"(I... guess...)"
He pondered this as the crowd around him gradually dispersed. Probably to either plan for the ball, or to chat to other Smash Brothers about the ball. There were plenty of posters scattered around the area, after all, so many more people would have probably heard about it.
... Might his crush say no? His friends - human and pokémon alike - had always heavily implied that she liked him. Heck, her overly-affectionate behaviour around him had always seemed to imply it, too. The hugging, the nuzzling, the praising, the hiding behind her own fluff... Things that she never did in anywhere near the same amount with anyone else.
... But...
Worry started to creep in again. Just like it had done last year. What if she just considered him a really good friend and nothing else? If he actually did ask her to this ball - in a romantic gesture, no less - was there a chance she'd turn him down?
Not to mention, he was terrible in the romance department! Awful! His trainer, Ash Ketchum, had had many girls crushing on him over the years. Some of which were more obvious than others, like Misty and Serena. Yet they'd fly over Ash's head, like homeruns in baseball. So far out of reach that he had no hope of catching them.
So, with a guy like that for a trainer, he'd never gotten any experience whatsoever. Unless one were to count Brock, but he'd rather not. The guy was rather overbearing, way too forward and kind of creepy. Only a select few girls had ever seemed even remotely interested in him and, even then, they hadn't pursued the matter. So they couldn't have liked him all that much.
Because of this, Pikachu hadn't known what to do around such an affectionate girl. After the initial awkwardness, his heart had started beating like crazy around her, constantly. No one had ever given him such attention before and he hadn't known how to handle it.
... He'd wanted so badly to invite her to last year's ball, but, alas. He'd been a coward.
Could he do it this year?
Glancing up again at the poster, he checked when the ball was. Okay, he had some time to spare yet. If he was going to ask her, he could easily do it in the amount of time given.
... Could he, though?
He began to walk elsewhere, in a daze. As he did so, he passed by Greninja, another of Ash's pokémon.
"(Greetings, Pikachu,)" he said.
"(Oh, uh, hey,)" he replied.
With a silent nod, Greninja kept walking. Pikachu did the same in the other direction.
As he walked, he continued to wonder about his crush, and how he planned to approach her. Was he going to try a cool, smooth approach? Was he going to straight up ask her? Would he try the cute and coy approach?
... He halted in his tracks as he realised something. Wait, how would he even find her?!
Sometime during his travels through Kalos, a letter from Dawn had told them that the coordinator was currently in Johto... but where in Johto?! She could be anywhere in the region, and he couldn't just pop in and pop back out again! Not without knowing where it was, first!
And, even then, the portal he'd used to reach this dimension could only be controlled on one side! The side he'd come from! If he tried to go back to his world, he'd just end up back at the campsite with Ash and his friends!
Thankfully, time passed at a weird pace in this world, so Ash most likely wouldn't even notice he was gone, but that wasn't the problem right now! How the heck was he going to find his crush?!
"Pikachu~!" a feminine voice called out. Whirling around in surprise, he saw Princess Peach smiling at him. Standing behind her were Link and Little Mac. "Would you like to join us~? We're having a match on Magicant~!"
Link and Little Mac both smiled and nodded in agreement.
... Well, it couldn't hurt to work off some nervous energy first. It might clear his head a bit.
He smiled at her. "(Sure!)" he replied.
She smiled back. "Sweet~!"
Getting on all fours, he ran over to the group.
Whew! What a match! They'd used so many items and there'd been so many explosions! Not to mention the Flying Men that everyone but him had managed to get. It was lucky that injuries didn't persist after matches, because good gosh, he'd been sore at the end of it. He'd lost to Peach, unfortunately, but hey, he'd just managed to scrape second! So that was something!
Now... what had he been thinking about earlier?
... Ah, right. The ball.
Hmm... okay, it was probably best to ask her to it sooner, rather than later. How the heck was he going to find her, though?
One option was to go back to his own world and somehow convince Ash to try and contact Dawn. Then he could ask over the phone. It wasn't a very efficient method, but he didn't really know any other options...
Not to mention, if he did that, how would he get his crush to come to the ball? Would Ash have to convince Dawn to meet up with him on that date? Urgh, that would be very inconvenient for everyone involved. Plus how would he even communicate that to Ash, anyway?
Urgh, if only Ash and Dawn were still travelling together...
Heck, if only he'd asked his crush to last year's ball, instead...
As he walked, he pondered if any of the other Smash Brothers could help him. He ran them through his head, one by one, wondering if any of them could even remotely help.
No. No. Nope. No. Nuh uh. Nope.
He paused as his thoughts landed on Mewtwo. Hmm... maybe. He wasn't sure exactly how much that psychic-type could actually do. It didn't help that whatever memories he'd had about him before they'd met up at Mount Quena had apparently been erased.
Still... Mewtwo was probably the best option he had right now. It couldn't hurt to find him and ask. The worst he could do is say that he wasn't able to help.
There was a very good chance that he'd be around here somewhere, too. Ever since he'd parted ways with his clone army, he'd pretty much started living in this world, since he didn't have much reason to go back. Well, except for last year, anyway, when he'd been oddly absent. Smash Brothers had a strange tendency to drop out for a year or two, sometimes, probably for personal reasons.
Pikachu wandered around the area, searching for the legendary pokémon. He passed many other Smash Brothers, who were excitedly chatting about the upcoming ball. Some knew exactly who they'd bring as their date, whereas others were still pondering about it.
Eventually, he spotted Mewtwo in the distance. His ears sprung up in excitement. He really didn't know if the legendary could help him, but he was hopeful. As he got closer, he noticed that Mewtwo was chatting to Lucario and Charizard.
Heh. The first time he'd met these two last year had been very confusing. It had turned out, though, that this lucario wasn't technically the same one that he'd met at the Tree of Beginning. He was an alternate universe version, who hadn't died from keeping Mew alive. He, too, spent most of his time in this world now, as being stuck in a time not his own - and without his friend, Sir Aaron - held no appeal for him.
As for Charizard, he was Red's, not Ash's.
... Speaking of Red, Pikachu couldn't help but wonder where he, Squirtle and Ivysaur were. Hopefully, they and a few other missing faces would show up again next year.
As he approached, the three pokémon stopped chatting and glanced down at him curiously.
He smiled up at them. "(Hey!)" he said.
"(Yo,)" Charizard replied.
"Ah, Pikachu," Lucario said without even moving his lips.
"What can we do for you?" Mewtwo asked, also not moving his lips.
"(Well, see...)" Pikachu replied, "(I need to ask Mewtwo a question.)"
Mewtwo inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Oh?"
"(Yeah. Um...)" Pikachu fidgeted awkwardly. "(There's someone I wanna find in our world... and I wondered if... you'd be able to find her?)"
Mewtwo inclined his head again. "With my psychic powers, you mean."
Pikachu nodded. "(Yeah.)"
Lucario looked at Mewtwo. "Can you help him?" he asked.
"Hmm..." Mewtwo replied. He closed his eyes. "Perhaps. Where is this person located?"
Pikachu smiled, feeling much more hopeful. "(Oh!)" he said. "(Well, she's in Johto!)" He paused. "(Um... I'm not sure where in Johto, though...)"
"Hmm..." Mewtwo opened his eyes again. "It sounds difficult, but I can try."
"(Thanks, Mewtwo!)"
"(So, who you looking for?)" Charizard asked, looking at Pikachu.
"(Oh, uh... it's a... girl I wanna ask to the dance.)"
Charizard gave him a light smirk. "(Ha, is that so?)"
Pikachu gave an embarrassed smile in response. "(Heh, yeah.)"
"Very well, then," Mewtwo said. "Let us go back to our world and I will try."
"(Great!)" Pikachu paused. "(Oh, wait... Ash might notice I'm gone if I do that. Uh...)"
"Hmph. Fine. I will try from here." Mewtwo glanced off in a direction. "Though it will take all of my power to do that."
"(... All of it?)"
"Yes."
"(Oh, uh... sorry.)"
"That is fine. After all, I owe a debt to your trainer for all he has done for me." He crossed his legs, floating in mid-air. "Now..." He closed his eyes. "Who am I looking for?"
"(Well...)"
A while of meditating later, sweat started to pool on Mewtwo's forehead. He began grunting in discomfort, the grunts gradually sounding more pained, until he opened his eyes. He breathed in and out.
"(Mewtwo, are you okay?)" Pikachu asked.
Mewtwo took a deep breath. "Yes," he replied. "I am fine. Though it is very taxing using my power across dimensions."
Pikachu gave him a sympathetic gaze. "(Is that so?)"
"(Sounds tricky, alright,)" Charizard said.
"Hmm..." Lucario said. He stepped forward. "Can I be of any help?"
Mewtwo turned to him. "You?" he asked.
Lucario nodded. "Yes. Could I infuse you with my aura and strengthen your powers?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure if it would work, but it may be worth a try." Mewtwo closed his eyes again, getting back into a meditative stance. "Go ahead."
"(W-Wait. Lucario,)" Pikachu said, slightly worried. "(Is this really a good idea?)"
Lucario looked down at him. "Don't worry," he replied. "I don't intend to drain myself, as the me in your world did."
"(W-Well, okay...)"
"(... Well, there ain't much I can do,)" Charizard said, smirking slightly, "(so I guess I'll just stand here and watch.)"
"Hmph," Lucario replied, smirking back as he held his paws out in front of him. "Get yourself some aura powers and maybe you could help."
"(I'll think about it.)"
Mewtwo gave an amused huff, but said nothing else.
Lucario looked back towards his paws and concentrated. After a few moments, they began to glow blue. Then a blue dome of light appeared around Mewtwo, feeding aura power into him.
Pikachu and Charizard watched in awed silence.
After a while, Lucario and Mewtwo, covered in sweat, stopped what they were doing. They took heavy breaths, clearly getting fatigued.
"(... Any luck?)" Pikachu asked.
"I was close," Mewtwo replied. "I just need... more power."
"Yes," Lucario added. "But... I fear I don't have much more to spare."
Pikachu creased his brows in concern. "(Oh no...)" he said.
"(Hmm...)" Charizard said, "(if only they could get a bit more power...)"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from all around them. "Looks like you four need a... hand!" it said.
"(Master Hand?)" Pikachu asked.
"Correct!" There was a loud snap, like the sound of fingers clicking.
Two smash balls appeared from thin air, flying towards Lucario and Mewtwo. They crashed into the pokémon, lighting them up in a rainbow glow, with their eyes shining yellow.
Activating their final smashes outside of battle, they turned into Mega Lucario and Mega Mewtwo Y.
"Hmm," Mega Mewtwo Y said, looking himself over, "yes. This will do nicely."
"Mmm," Mega Lucario replied, nodding. He looked to the sky. "Thank you, Master Hand!"
"(Heh,)" Charizard said, smirking again. "(I can do that, too, yet I still can't help.)"
Mega Lucario looked over at him. "You may help in spirit. Now!" He turned back to Mega Mewtwo Y. "Let's try that again."
Mega Mewtwo Y nodded. He closed his eyes, getting back into a meditative stance.
"Max aura!" Mega Lucario yelled, holding out his paws.
They glowed a much brighter blue than before. The dome that appeared around Mega Mewtwo Y was also much larger and brighter.
Pikachu watched in awe.
Sometime later, Pikachu was back to walking around the grounds. Okay, so, thanks to the combined efforts of Mewtwo and Lucario, he now knew the exact location of Dawn and her pokémon.
So, now, he supposed he'd have to actually get over to them in Johto.
He could always wait on it for a while, but then there was the high chance that Dawn wouldn't be in the same location anymore. Ash and his friends did like to travel a lot, after all. As soon as they were done with a location, they'd immediately move onto the next one.
So he supposed he had to go over there as soon as possible.
The only question was: how?
Mewtwo had been completely wiped out after his psychic scanning, so he'd been in no shape to teleport him. Heck, he wasn't even sure how far Mewtwo could teleport. Add on top of that the fact that he'd be teleporting someone else and...
No. He'd find another way.
He glanced around as he walked. Who could he ask?
Thanks to the power of Master Hand and Crazy Hand, he could speak in his own language and anyone in this dimension could understand him perfectly. He had no idea how that worked, but it was certainly useful!
Hmm... well, Samus had a ship. Then there was Fox and Falco, who had their Arwings. Whoever he asked would need to pilot the vehicle, of course, since Pikachu had no idea how to fly a ship, and wasn't about to try, either. It would probably just crash immediately. Wolf wasn't around this year, but Pikachu doubted he would've said yes, if asked, anyway...
There was also Captain Falcon, though the man did partake in dangerous, high-speed races a lot. It made Pikachu a bit scared of riding in any vehicle of his...
Hmm...
He continued to ponder his predicament as he walked. When a flash of pink entered his line of vision, however, he looked up.
"(Oh, hey, Kirby,)" he said.
Smiling, Kirby waved at him. "Hiiii~!" he replied.
... Wait.
"(Hey, Kirby?)"
"Yep?"
"(You get around by warp star in your world, right?)"
"Yep!"
"(Could I borrow one, please?)"
Kirby tilted his head in intrigue. "Uh?"
"(There's somewhere I need to go in my world and... I was wondering if I could borrow a warp star.)"
Kirby smiled. "Kay!"
He puffed out his cheeks, then spat something out onto his hand. Considering where it had just been, it was oddly devoid of saliva.
Pikachu stared at it. It appeared to be a pink cell phone. "(... Huh?)" he asked.
Kirby put it to his ear. "Warp star!"
Pikachu blinked. "(What-?)"
Then he heard it. A loud whooshing noise. He looked up at the sky, and his eyes widened upon seeing a warp star flying through the air in their direction. At the last second, it suddenly did a nose-dive, falling straight towards them. He yelped and jumped out of the way as it crash landed.
Pikachu stared. So that was how he called them over?
Kirby swallowed the cell phone again and smiled at him. "Here!" He indicated the warp star that was embedded in the grass.
"(Uh, thanks...)"
Pikachu climbed aboard it. Well, he'd used these things all the time in smash matches, so it should be easy enough, right? All he had to do was surf on it, until he got to his destination.
"(Um... go!)"
It rocketed up into the sky. He got into position to surf on it, but was alarmed when it rocketed back down again.
"(Wait, wait, wait!)" It crashed into the ground, throwing him off it. He landed with a painful thump. "(Owwww...)"
Kirby ran over, looking concerned. "... Okay?"
"(Yeah, I'm... fine.)" Pikachu paused to shake away the dizziness. Okay, maybe he was actually really bad at controlling warp stars. "(... Maybe you should drive.)"
Kirby smiled at him. "Kay!" He hopped aboard the warp star. "Come!"
"(Okay...)" Pikachu also climbed aboard.
"Gate!"
Pikachu blinked at him. "(Huh?)"
Kirby pointed into the distance. "Gate!"
After a moment of thinking, it suddenly clicked. "(Oh, right! Yeah, I guess I should make a gate.)"
Pikachu closed his eyes and concentrated. Eventually, he heard the unmistakable sound of a portal opening.
"Goooo~!"
Pikachu's eyes snapped open as the warp star gently lifted itself up into the air. Much gentler than whenever he used it. Then, after hovering in place for a moment, it zipped through the portal.
... He hoped to Arceus no one on the team saw him riding this thing...
After flying through the air for a while, all while scanning the lands below, Pikachu perked up upon finding his destination.
He pointed at it. "(Down there, Kirby!)" he said.
"Kay!" Kirby replied. "Land!"
The warp star immediately took a nose-dive, straight towards the ground. A few trainers and pokémon yelped, jumping out of the way as it crashed onto the concrete. Unlike with when Pikachu had used it, it gently threw him and Kirby off and they landed safely on their feet.
He smiled at him. "(Wow, you're really good at flying that thing.)"
Kirby smiled back. "Yep!"
Well, he supposed he was used to it. Turning his attention elsewhere, his eyes landed back on his destination: the pokémon centre where Dawn supposedly was.
He assumed she was still here. Heck, she'd better be still here! Otherwise, he'd have to start from scratch! Getting down onto all fours, he ran towards the building.
As he approached, the automatic front doors opened for him. He continued running inside, then skidded to a stop and looked around.
He perked up as his eyes landed on two familiar figures. Dawn and Piplup! Smiling, he ran over.
The two of them were sitting on a couch, their faces buried in a magazine each. Dawn seemed to be reading Coordinator Monthly, while Piplup seemed to be reading Poké Chic.
He stopped in front of them. "(Hey, guys!)" he said.
They lowered their magazines. Both of them gasped upon seeing him.
"Pikachu?!" Dawn asked.
Piplup beamed. "(Pikachu!)" he said. "(Good to see ya, buddy!)"
"(Yeah, hey!)" Pikachu replied.
Dawn put down her magazine. "Wow, what are you doing here?" she asked. After a moment, she beamed. "Aww, you look so cute!"
... Huh? He had no idea what she meant by that, but the compliment was nice.
Dawn looked around the pokémon centre. "Is Ash here, too?"
Pikachu awkwardly shook his head. "(Uh, no...)"
Piplup blinked. "(No?)" he asked.
Thankfully, Kirby chose that moment to skid to a stop next to him. He beamed up at Dawn and Piplup. "Hiiii~!" he said, waving.
Dawn made a noise of surprise. She beamed. "Oh, wow, he's so cute!" She quickly pulled out her pokédex and held it towards Kirby, who gave her a quizzical look in response. "Who's that pokémon?"
No pokémon entry found, the pokédex replied.
She gazed down at Kirby in awe. "Huh? You're not a pokémon?"
Kirby smiled. "Nope!"
Glancing away briefly, Pikachu spotted Dawn's small yellow bag by the side of the couch. His ears perked up. Aha!
"Then... what are you?" Dawn continued, putting away her pokédex.
"Kirby!"
"A kirby?"
He tilted his head at her. "Uh?"
"What kinda things can you do, Kirby?"
Hmm, that gave Pikachu an idea.
He turned to his pink puffball friend. "(Hey, Kirby?)" he asked. Kirby looked at him quizzically. "(How about you entertain Dawn for a bit, while I talk to Buneary?)"
"Kay!" he replied, smiling.
"(Buneary?)" he heard Piplup ask.
He turned back to the penguin. "(Yeah,)" he replied, "(I... need to ask her something, so... keep Kirby company, alright?)"
"(Uh, sure.)" Piplup put down his magazine and hopped off the couch.
Pikachu nodded. "(Thanks.)" He headed towards the bag.
Okay. Pikachu had moved a fair distance away, Kirby was distracting Dawn and Piplup and he had the pokéball in his paws, ready to open.
He swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Oh no, why were his nerves acting up now? He'd come all this way, so he couldn't afford to stop now!
Cringing, he opened the pokéball. In a bright flash of white light, a figure formed in front of him.
"(Hmm?)" Buneary asked. "(What-?)" Her eyes went wide as she saw him. "(Pikachu?!)"
He smiled awkwardly at her. "(Uh, h-hey!)" he replied.
She blushed, fidgeting with her fluff and not looking him in the eye. "(Hey. It's... good to see you again...)"
... Yeah, this was a similar reaction to that time they'd met up in Unova. Okay, so it was looking promising so far.
He blushed, too. "(Yeah, same.)"
"(... Nice goggles, by the way.)"
He blinked. "(Huh?)" He put a paw on his head, feeling the goggles that were still there. "(Oh yeah...)" That was probably why Dawn had called him cute earlier. He smiled. "(Thanks!)"
She hummed happily. "(No problem~! So... what are you doing all the way out here in Johto?)"
He lowered his arm. "(Well...)"
"(Huh?)" She looked behind him suddenly. "(Who's that with Dawn?)"
He turned to look behind him. He saw Dawn and Piplup chatting to Kirby, while he showed off some of his moves. "(Oh, that's Kirby.)"
"(Kirby? Never heard of that pokémon.)"
"(He's... not a pokémon.)"
"(He's not?)"
"(Nope.)"
"(Then what is he?)"
"(Uh...)" Just what was Kirby, anyway? "(... Kirby is Kirby.)"
"(Hmm?)"
He watched as Kirby suddenly opened his mouth wide, inhaling with a loud vacuum noise. Piplup flew off his feet and inside Kirby's mouth with a yelp.
"Piplup!" Dawn cried in shock.
With a flash of light and a small jingle, Kirby transformed and Piplup landed safely on the floor next to him, looking dazed.
Now Kirby was wearing a blue shower cap covered in bubbles. In his hand was a blue wand.
"Piplup, are you okay?!" Dawn asked, kneeling down.
"(Yeah...)" he replied, "(I'm good...)" He shook away some dizziness. "(Urgh, what the heck...?)"
"Bubble!" Kirby said. He waved the wand and a stream of bubbles came out.
Dawn beamed at him. "Oh, wow!" she said. "You got that from Piplup?"
Kirby nodded. "Yep!"
He forcefully swung the wand down and a giant bubble came out of it. It floated over to Piplup, trapping him inside it. The penguin squealed in shock, while Dawn stared in intrigue.
Chuckling awkwardly at the shenanigans, Pikachu turned back to Buneary. "(Like I said, Kirby's Kirby.)"
"(Huh...)" she replied slowly, "(okay, then...)"
"(See, he's from another world and... well...)"
She blinked at him. "(Another world?)"
"(Yeah...)" Oh no, he'd always feared this conversation. How the heck was he going to explain this? "(Um... see...)"
"(Hmm?)"
"(... You know those few times in Sinnoh, where I'd be gone for a bit?)"
"(Yeah?)"
"(Well, I was... kind of... elsewhere.)"
"(Elsewhere?)"
"(Yeah. In another world...)"
Her eyes widened in shock. "(Another world?!)"
"(Yeah. I go to some place where I fight in matches and tournaments and... people from many different worlds go there.)" He indicated his pink puffball friend. "(Kirby's one of them.)"
She briefly glanced over at Kirby again. "(I... I see.)"
"(Yeah... and...)" Oh, legends. Breathe in. Breathe out. "(They... host a ball every year. The smash ball.)"
She blinked. "(A ball?)"
"(Yeah. Where you... drink and dance and... you can bring a date, if you want.)"
"(... A date?)"
"(Yeah... and I was... wondering...)" His face erupted in heat. It was suddenly hard to look her in the eye. "(If you'd... like to be my date?)"
She stared at him in silence, her face turning an even brighter red. "(Your... your date?)"
"(Uh... yeah.)" He rubbed the back of his head, offering her an awkward smile. "('Cause I... really like you, and think you're pretty neat, so... um...)"
She slowly pulled her fluff up to her face, peering over it. "(... Is it a... romantic date?)"
He gave a bashful squeak in response. "(Um... yeah?)" Dang it, his voice had cracked at the worst time...
Buneary made a quiet squealing sound. It got louder and louder. He saw the edges of her mouth curling just above her fluff.
In a flash, she moved over to his side and nuzzled against him. The sudden contact made him jump in surprise.
"(... I'd love to,)" she replied.
A beaming smile worked its way across his face. He'd done it! He'd asked her out! And she'd said yes! Man, now he really wished he'd asked her out last year!
But he'd done it now, at least! And now was better than never!
"(Um... great!)" he said.
He paused for a second, contemplating something. The idea really embarrassed him, but... a good boyfriend would do this sort of thing, right?
He nuzzled her back. She squealed again and hugged him.
The beaming smile never left his face.
It was finally the day of the smash ball. Pikachu looked himself over nervously.
At some point in Kalos, he and his pokémon friends had started up a band, purely for fun. They'd called themselves Little Glee Monster and had even dressed in snazzy outfits. Currently, he was wearing the outfit he'd worn back then, minus the blue musical note on his head, and the white cufflinks on his sleeves. He didn't want to look silly and quirky on his first date, after all.
The open jacket and pants were dark blue, with a white shirt and matching dark blue shoes. The bowtie, which was a slightly lighter shade of blue, really tied the look together.
He just hoped Buneary liked it.
He'd told her, back when he'd visited her, that he'd come and pick her up on the day of the ball. He'd also said that she didn't need to worry about staying in one place, because he'd be able to find her again.
Oh, the looks he'd gotten from Mewtwo and Lucario for asking for their help again...
"Ready?" Kirby asked, waiting aboard the warp star.
The puffball was dressed in a dark pink jacket, a white shirt and matching dark pink top hat. The yellow bowtie that was holding the jacket together really complimented the look.
Pikachu had told Buneary that she could wear something nice to the ball if she wanted to, but she didn't have to. He wondered if she would...
Though she'd look lovely, either way...
Embarrassed by his own thought process, Pikachu shook his head to clear it, then smiled up at Kirby.
"(... Yeah,)" he replied. "(Yeah, I'm ready.)"
After travelling back to Johto and landing in the field near Dawn's campsite, Pikachu told Kirby to distract Dawn and Piplup while he talked to Buneary.
As Pikachu got hold of the rabbit's pokeball, he heard a cry of surprise from Dawn.
"Hiiii~!" Kirby said.
"Oh, wow, it's you again!" she said in delight.
Piplup yelped. "(Oh no, not you again!)" he cried.
Deciding to focus instead on the task at hand, Pikachu took the pokeball a fair distance away, then opened it.
A bright white light shot out of it, forming itself into his date. She beamed at him.
"(Hey, Pikachu~!)" she said. Her eyes widened. "(Oh, wow, nice suit!)"
He chuckled in slight embarrassment as he shrunk the pokéball and dropped it on the grass. "(Thanks,)" he replied, gently kicking the pokéball back towards Dawn's bag. "(Hope I don't look too dorky in it.)"
"(Not at all!)" She moved over and nuzzled him. "(You look handsome~)"
He chuckled again, now even more embarrassed. "(Thanks!)" He couldn't help but blush slightly. "(You look really nice, too.)"
She twirled away from him and curtsied. "(You think?)"
She was wearing a light purple dress with a small white outer layer attached to it. Clipped to her neckline was a blue brooch with gold lining, and on the fluff at the tips of her ears were two large, plastic orange flowers.
She looked lovely.
"(Yeah.)" He paused in thought. "(... Though... have I seen that outfit somewhere before?)"
She giggled. "(It was from the steamboat, remember? The one we took to Hearthome City.)"
His eyes lit up in realisation. "(Oh yeah! Dawn said she bought the dress you were wearing! And that you were going to... save it for a special occasion.)"
She giggled again. "(Yep! And what's more special than this?)"
Oh, wow. He was oddly flattered...
Suddenly, Kirby ran over. He skidded to a stop and waved. "Hiiii~!" he said.
"(Oh, hi!)" Buneary replied, waving back.
"(Well, time to get going, I guess,)" Pikachu said. "(Uh...)" He indicated deep into the woods. "(The transportation's this way.)"
Buneary blinked. "(Uh, okay.)"
"(... What... the heck is that?)" Buneary asked, staring at the warp star that Kirby and Pikachu were sitting on.
"(It's a warp star!)" Pikachu replied with a smile. "(Hop aboard!)"
She looked at it in confusion. "(Uh... warp star...?)" She suddenly blinked and turned around. "(Wait, won't Dawn notice I'm gone?)"
"(Probably not. Ash never really notices I'm gone. Hop on!)"
"(Well, okay...)" She hopped aboard and clung tight.
"(Alright, Kirby, let's go!)"
With a smile, Kirby nodded. "Kay!" he replied. He pointed into the distance. "Goooo!"
The warp star lifted off the floor, hovered for a moment, then shot into the sky.
It took a while for Buneary to stop screaming.
Eventually, they reached their destination. Waving goodbye to Kirby, Pikachu watched in amusement as Buneary's eyes lit up in wonder. She turned her head in all directions, drinking in the sights around her.
"(Wow...)" she said.
"(So, uh, yeah!)" he replied. "(This is the Smash Brothers world. People from all over come here!)"
All around him, he could see Smash Brothers heading towards the ballroom with their dates, a lot of which he recognised from previous balls. In Sonic's case, that pink hedgehog from last year seemed to be dragging him along again, quite forcefully. Apparently, Sonic hadn't invited her back then and, judging by the perturbed expression on his face, he hadn't done it this year either. Poor guy...
"(... It's amazing...)" Buneary muttered to herself. "(Who knew a place like this existed...)"
"(Yeah, it's pretty wild, huh?)"
"(So many creatures I've never seen before...)" She turned to face him, looking quizzical and slightly hurt. "(Why did you never tell me about it?)"
He felt a stab of guilt. "(Well... it was... awkward...)" He glanced away. "(I wasn't sure anyone would believe me... Plus it was a nice little secret just for me, I guess.)"
"(... You didn't wanna share it with me?)"
He felt another stab of guilt. "(Well... I... thought about it a few times... but... well, I wasn't sure you'd believe me and... plus I was still working out my feelings and stuff and...)" He twiddled his fingers. "(I was nervous...)"
Her expression softened. "(About telling me, you mean?)"
"(Yeah. Both secrets.)"
She giggled, taking his paw in hers. "(Well, I guess I can forgive you~! After all, it does sound like a pretty crazy story!)"
He chuckled. "(Yeah, can you imagine?)" He put on a weird voice. "('I go to this world through a portal I create with my mind, and fight people from other dimensions who aren't pokémon! Well, some are, but most aren't!')" He went back to using his normal voice. "(It sounds ridiculous.)"
She giggled again. "(It sure does!)" She beamed at him, indicating the ballroom in the distance. "(Well, shall we?)"
He beamed back. "(Yeah, sure.)"
Once inside, Pikachu looked around him happily. He always enjoyed attending the smash ball. It was always so lively! Especially since Master Hand and Crazy Hand would invite new people each year. The place just got busier and busier!
He looked at all the familiar faces, as well as the unfamiliar ones. Yep. Almost everyone was here, whether they had a date or not. The only exception being Ganondorf, as usual. Pikachu still had no idea why Crazy Hand had invited him to this world, honestly. The Links couldn't stand the sight of him and, whenever he did bother to show up, all the man ever tried to do was take over. Even Master Hand had been perplexed...
Crazy Hand most certainly was crazy, pulling a stunt like that. Next, he'd probably invite someone like Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates. The real one and not just an illusion of him. He was sure that would go down well with Samus...
Speaking of villains, Pikachu could see Bowser fighting with Mario over who would dance with Peach, though one could easily guess who she'd choose. Bowser Junior was nearby, egging his father on. Meanwhile, Dedede and Wario were seeing who could inhale the most food at the buffet table.
Elsewhere, he spied female Robin dancing with her husband. From what he'd heard, the man was still upset over only being part of a final smash and wanted to be an actual fighter someday. Currently, he was stepping on his wife's toes and earning her ire.
Lucina, who was from male Robin's world, didn't look comfortable about her otherworld father dancing with someone who wasn't her mother. Though at least she wasn't being hostile towards her anymore. Her jealousy had caused quite a bit of strife the first time they'd met...
Speaking of male Robin, his wife kept tripping over her own feet while trying to dance, almost falling flat on her face each time. Something that male Corrin's wife was also doing. The tactician and prince gave each other an amused glance that said they shared each other's pain.
As for female Corrin, she was showing her husband off to Pit and Dark Pit. The former looked very intrigued, while the latter looked perturbed.
"Whoa..." Pit said. "He sounds like you, Pittoo!"
"Heh," female Corrin said, "you should hear my friend, Percy. He sounds just like you! It's really strange."
"Is that so? Huh, we must all share the same voice actor, then!"
Dark Pit smacked him on the back of the head. "We told you to knock that off!" he snarled.
"... What?" female Corrin asked, looking very confused.
Shaking his head, Pikachu turned away, back to his date. She was gazing around in wonder.
"(Wow...)" she said.
He smiled. "(Pretty impressive, huh?)" he replied.
"(No kidding... Some of these people don't even look human...)"
"(Well, not all of them are human.)" He caught sight of Kirby in the distance, dancing with a blobby pink octopus. The puffball smiled and waved at him. He waved back. "(It'd take a while explaining what they all are, though.)"
"(Oh. Well, it might be nice getting to know them a bit.)" She paused. "(Oh, but they won't understand me.)"
"(Oh, don't worry.)" Pikachu watched as Olimar walked past, speaking to his wife in his deep, baritone voice. To this day, Pikachu still couldn't believe the man had been greatly sized up by Master Hand. "(The, uh... magic?... here helps us understand each other. Something about connecting to each other's hearts or... something.)"
Buneary beamed. "(Oh, okay! So I can actually talk to people?)"
He beamed back. "(Yep! Though, first...)" He dramatically held out a paw, trying his hardest to look dashing under the lights. "(May I have this dance?)"
She blushed, staring at him in awe. After a few moments, she started giggling bashfully.
Holding out her paw, she placed it in his. "(... You may.)"
Beaming brighter, he led her onto the dance floor.
The End