Author's note: Heyo!

It's time for my obligatory begging for fics!

A good example of what I mean is this new drabble here. It's not exactly what people asked for, it's only vaguely what they asked for. Should I give dedications if it's not what you asked for?

I'm not really sure on that. Regardless, if a specific one-shot didn't meet your wants and/or needs, feel free to make a version of your own!

Like... if you want a super jealous Buneary, for example. I have a hard time imagining her getting violent over another girl wanting her man... but, if that's what you want, feel free to write it!

PokeMaster64 already did it in For the Love of Pikachu, where Ayeka and Ryoko fought daily over Tenchi- I mean, Buneary and Laura fought daily over Pikachu. So add to the pile, if you wish!

There are also some clichés that, strangely, haven't been used in this fandom yet. Like the mistletoe at Christmas. For PikaBun, anyway. MewLover54 already covered Staraptor and Tranquill. XP

Anyway, my point is, I just want to help this fandom expand. Though I'm sure I'm sounding like a broken record by now, I'm just trying my best... XP

I don't always wish to write the requests I get, which makes me feel guilty. So the hope is that someone else writes them, to make people happy. And to expand the fandom, which will make even more people happy.

That's why I started writing fanfiction in the first place, after all.

... Ahem, anyway! On with the drabble before the author's note gets too long. Hope you enjoy it!

The title's a song reference, too, for extra brownie points!

In the Summertime

"Pikachu..." a distant voice said. "Pikachu... Hey, Pikachu! Come on, wake up!"

Pikachu blinked his heavy eyelids. Huh? What? Glancing upward, he saw Ash smiling down at him.

"Great, you're awake!" Ash continued, grinning like an idiot. "Come on, it's late. We gotta get back to the Pokémon School."

Oh, right. He'd fallen asleep in his trainer's lap, waiting for Pikala to finish her roll call. Glancing up at the sky, he noticed that it was getting dark. Gosh, had roll call really taken that long? At least it was much cooler out here than before. Daytime in the Alola region could be unbearably hot, sometimes.

Directing his gaze across Pikachu Valley, he saw many pikachu faces smiling back at him, most of which had different hairstyles. Two pikachu stood out in particular.

The orange one with the pompadour approached. Behind him was the pretty, curly-haired one.

"(Oi,)" Boss said, jolting his head in acknowledgement. His pompadour bounced as he spoke. "(You leavin'?)"

"(Yeah, I guess so,)" Pikachu replied.

"(Take care then, honey~)" Curly said. Standing beside Boss, she held his paw in her own.

Reddening, Boss turned away and huffed. There was a small smile on his face, though. "(Yeah...)" he said, "(and thanks for stuff.)"

Curly giggled. "(Yeah! Without you, I'd have never known how sweet Boss is~! I thought he was such a thug before.)"

Boss rounded on her, looking horrified. "(Hey, I ain't no thug!)"

She lightly poked him with a finger. "(You're a little bit of a thug.)"

He huffed indignantly, his face still red.

"(Heh,)" Pikachu replied, "(well, no problem. Glad it all worked out.)"

A smile worked its way onto Boss' mouth, while Curly giggled.

"Well, come on, guys!" Ash suddenly said. "Time to go!"

"(Kay. Bye, guys!)"

The two pikachu turned to smile at him.

"(Yeah, see ya,)" Boss replied.

"(Buh-bye~!)" Curly added.

Nodding, Pikachu made a move to climb onto Ash's shoulder, but realised he was holding onto something. Glancing down at his paws, he saw the lum berry that Curly had given him earlier. Oh yeah, he'd forgotten about that.

Holding it in an awkward position, he climbed into place on Ash's shoulder. Standing up, his trainer said a few goodbyes. Kiawe and Mimo did the same, before the three of them set off on their way.

Glancing back at Pikachu Valley, Pikachu saw Boss and Curly waving at him. They were still holding paws.

He smiled, happy for them.

It was only then that something hit him. He blinked. Wait, he was happy for them? After the events of the day, shouldn't he be feeling something else? Jealousy, maybe? Sadness?

He searched himself as he waved back. After a moment, he realised that he didn't feel these things at all. Huh. How weird.

Back at the Pokémon School, Ash, Kiawe and Mimo were describing the events of their day to everyone. Pikachu stood to one side, studying the lum berry in his paws.

Man, what a day he'd had. Though, thinking about it, he'd acted a bit... off, all day. Assuming all the female pikachu had been flirting with him, he'd gotten a massive ego boost and had shown off. He'd strutted his stuff, in hopes of getting praised some more.

... He'd been so humiliated when he'd found out the truth. That they'd only been greeting him.

Then Curly had approached. She'd actually flirted with him and he'd freaked out, not expecting the attention.

It had been nice, though. He wouldn't deny that. A girl hadn't properly flirted with him in a long time. He'd gotten plenty of cuddles and nuzzles from Poipole, before she'd left back to Ultra Space with her mother, Naganadel. Then there was Togedemaru, who was currently bouncing around the room, as usual. She often like to cuddle and nuzzle him, too.

Maybe all the female attention had gone to his head in Alola. Either that, or his brain was gradually melting in the Alolan sun. It would explain why he and Ash were constantly over-reacting to everything around them.

As lovely a region as this was, it was probably unhealthy to stay here for too long. That was why he preferred it at night time, when the sun had gone down. It didn't feel like his brain was being cooked, sunny side up, at night time.

Regardless, why had he panicked and ran, if he'd liked the attention?

Boss had even relented after Pikachu had won their tail-biting battle. Said that Pikachu could have Curly, if he'd wanted, since he'd earned the right to her.

He had to admit, the nose tap he'd gotten from Curly had made his stomach do weird somersaults, and it certainly hadn't been unpleasant... so why, when Boss had rescued Curly from Team Rocket, and she'd fallen for him, instead, had Pikachu only felt happy for them? Why had he not felt bad that he'd lost out?

... Well, he supposed he didn't really feel anything romantic towards Curly, despite her flirting with him. As pleasant as it had been, it had also been awkward.

As for Poipole and Togedemaru, he'd never really seen them as anything but little sisters, really. Even though their affection had also been greatly appreciated. It sure boosted a guy's ego, knowing that so many girls liked him.

... Which explained why he'd embarrassed himself in a moment of stupidity. Again, he wanted to blame the Alolan sun for that.

In fact... the last girl who'd given him this sort of attention had been all the way back in Sinnoh. Plus a little bit of Unova. A brown rabbit with cream fluff known as Buneary. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing right now.

She was probably in a far off region with her trainer, Dawn, somewhere, earning contest ribbons. Johto? Kanto? Speaking of Kanto, Misty and Brock had been to visit Alola some time ago. It would be oddly amusing if Dawn was in their region right now.

Hmm. Thinking about it... although the affection from Poipole, Togedemaru and especially Curly had been nice, they'd been missing something. Sure, they made his heart warm and happy, but something was still missing.

Back in Sinnoh, the attention he'd get from Buneary would make his emotions soar in an explosive fashion. Like they wanted to burst out of his chest. He certainly hadn't felt that in a long time. Not since her.

... Wait.

Wait, why did she make him feel differently than everybody else? Sure, she was peppy and fun, cute and playful, and she flirted with him constantly, but...

Heh. That reminded him of a few times they'd spent together. That double appeal battle, where she'd been so busy flirting with him that she'd forgotten to battle. Or that time they'd been lost in a maze, and they'd held paws on their way to finding an exit. Or...

... Huh. He could feel those explosive emotions welling up again. They were making his heart ache. Like it was longing for something.

... Was it longing for Buneary?

Huh. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was. He'd missed her company, ever since Dawn had left for the Johto Wallace Cup. At the time, back in Unova, he'd been sad that she hadn't been able to stay longer. He'd tried not to voice his concerns, though, as it would have only brought the mood down. Instead, he'd smiled and waved as Dawn had left on the plane. They hadn't seen or heard from her since.

... Even though she'd promised to tell them how the Wallace Cup went.

Though she'd also promised to talk to them about the photo shoot in Sinnoh. The one that had kept Dawn from travelling with Ash any longer. They'd never heard anything about that issue of Poké Chic.

Heh. It seemed Dawn was really unreliable with that.

Heck, he didn't remember her showing off any ribbons in Unova, even though Buneary had said they'd been travelling through Hoenn. Just where was Dawn's mind these days? That was a lot of stuff to forget.

... Yeah, just thinking about Buneary was making him miss her even more. Though why would her hugs and nuzzles feel different from everyone else's? Was it purely because they were given in a romantic pursuit?

Maybe? Though Curly had been interested, too, up until she'd chosen to date Boss, instead. So maybe not.

... Did he... like her, too?

He'd pondered his feelings back in Sinnoh, but he'd never come to a conclusive answer. Then, for the majority of Unova, he'd been distracted by his adventures. Only when he'd met up with Buneary again in Cynthia's villa had he started pondering again.

Though he hadn't had much time to do it, before Dawn had left for the Johto Wallace Cup. So he'd been left alone to ignore his feelings again. To push them under the rug and forget about them.

Now, though, he was thinking about them again.

He pictured all three girls hugging and nuzzling him. Poipole, Togedemaru and Curly. He pictured them complimenting him, saying sweet things to him, calling him handsome.

His heart ached, wishing they were Buneary, instead.

Eyes widening, he tried to picture a different scenario. The three girls sitting around him as they ate, laughing and joking with him. Cheering him on, saying he'd do great in his next battle. Saying they'd help him train.

... Again, his heart wanted them to be Buneary, instead.

He blinked, astounded. Huh. Wow. It seemed, after all this time, he finally had the answer he'd been looking for. All thanks to Poipole, Togedemaru and Curly.

He smiled warmly to himself.

... Now, if only he could see her and tell her.

He'd seen Misty and Brock not long ago, so it wasn't impossible that they'd see Dawn again. He just didn't know when it would happen.

Maybe he could send her a letter, or something? If so, maybe that would suffice, until they could meet face to face.

Deep in thought, he looked down at the lum berry in his paws. He rolled it around.

Hmm. What did lum berries taste like again? They were quite rare, so he didn't often get a chance to eat them.

Since getting it from Curly, he'd been wondering when to eat it. Maybe he should save it for a special occasion? Or maybe he should just eat it now? Then again, it could heal any status condition, so maybe he should store it? But what if it took so long to get a status condition that the berry went off? Oh, decisions...

... Actually, thinking about it, Buneary had once said that she really liked lum berries, hadn't she? Something about them being super crunchy and full of flavour.

Heh. If only she was here right now, he'd probably just let her have the lum berry.

... Hmm. Well, he was planning on sending her a letter, wasn't he? Maybe he should include a little present with it.

He squeezed the berry, noting how incredibly hard it was. Yeah, this thing would probably take a while to rot.

He smiled to himself. Buneary was about to get a surprise in the mail.

The End