Author's note: Heya!

Time for another episode! Or bunch of episodes, since I decided to incorporate multiple, just to make it more believable and interesting!

... There's no way this was ever gonna be a drabble, it turns out. XD There's way too much to say, and it turned out to be quite large.

Regardless! This time, I'm writing about a thing that desperately needed an origin story, but never really got one. It just kind of... appeared and was barely ever referenced. But that's what I'm here for! Adding extra stories to details that the anime ignored!

Hope you enjoy the one-shot!

Best mistakes of the day: 'from where he was sitting near a boulder embedded in the group'

(In the group?! Oh dear. RIP, anime. XD *everybody cheers*)

'to stat their training'

(Ohhh no, it's one of those fics where everyone has game stats. XD Watch out for Pikachu, with his speed of 120 and his special attack of 75.)

"I'll sho you!"

(Uh oh, Dawn has turned into that dweeb from Pika and Goliath! - "Next time we dance, we're gonna lock it down!")

Designer Wear

In a garden, atop a pokémon centre the size of a skyscraper, with a glass dome for a roof, stood Buneary. As the strong winds of the city whistled around the closed dome, she and all of her friends watched Ash try to teach his brand new gligar about control. Mostly so that the bat would stop flailing around in mid-air before crashing on top of Ash.

Turtwig had just managed to gain control of his Energy Ball earlier that day, so, naturally, he was the ideal assistant teacher. Buneary watched as he showed off his perfect accuracy on a nearby tree, while, at the same time, making sure not to hit any of the bug-types that frequented the garden.

Suddenly, from next to her, Buneary heard the sound of a page turning. Curious, she turned to look, only to see Dawn sitting next to her, not even watching what Ash was doing. Instead, she was flipping through some sort of magazine. On the cover was a marill wearing a pink bow around its tail. Intrigued, Buneary inched closer to look.

"(What's this, Dawn?)" she asked.

Dawn looked at her in pleased surprise. "Oh, are you interested, Buneary?" she asked. She moved the magazine closer to show her. On one page was a croagunk wearing a green kimono and carrying a red parasol, and on the other was a sunflora wearing a blue kimono and carrying an orange parasol. "It's called Poké Chic! I bought it earlier."

Buneary's eyes lit up. "(Oh, wow~!)" she said, impressed.

Dawn forced a pained smile. "It was kind of as a treat to myself, you know? To, uh... cheer myself up a bit."

Her smile falling away, Buneary gave her trainer a sad glance of sympathy. The girl had been hit hard by her two consecutive contest losses recently, both in the appeal round. Thanks to her low self-confidence, she'd been taking a break since then, but it didn't look like she'd improved much. Probably not helped by how everything seemed to be coming up roses for Ash today...

"Anyway!" Dawn turned a page, showing off two photos of a delcatty. One was wearing an orange Santa outfit with a yellow ribbon on its tail, and one was sitting on an orange cushion, wearing various red, yellow and white accessories. "It's a magazine about pokémon fashion! Apparently, it's all the rage right now."

Buneary decided to play along, to keep the mood cheerful. Especially since the accessory picture looked so nice. She smiled up at her trainer. "(Oh yeah?)"

Dawn beamed. "Yeah!" She turned the page again. On one side was a turtwig, wearing a brown headband around its head and cream-coloured feathers on its shell. On the other side...

Buneary's eyes widened. "(A pikachu?)"

On the page was a beaming pikachu - male, by the tail - wearing a grey apron with a red pokéball symbol on it. Buneary glanced up at her crush - Ash's pikachu - who was standing near his trainer. Then she looked back down at the photo.

She amused herself with the idea of it being her crush in the photo - though she knew it probably wasn't - and beamed to herself.

"Ooh, you like that one, huh?" Dawn teased. Buneary giggled in response. "Figures you would." She observed the page for a minute. Eventually, she heaved a sigh. "... You know, when I was little, I used to design outfits."

Buneary looked up at her, her eyes widening in intrigue. "(You did?)"

"Yeah." She chuckled. "Though I was always really bad at knitting and sewing... so I'd draw a picture, and my mom would make the outfit for me. Then I'd parade around in it, all proud! Shirts, and skirts, and dresses... All sorts of things!"

Buneary smiled. "(Wow, that's really cool, Dawn!)"

She smiled back. "Looking at this reminded me of that." She chuckled again. "Those were fun days."

Buneary gave her an even brighter smile, happy that she'd cheered up a bit.

A while later, everyone was eating in the dining area of the pokémon centre, a few floors down from the rooftop garden. While the humans sat at a table, the pokémon ate pellets from their food bowls.

Buneary watched as Gligar started mingling with his new teammates, Turtwig, Buizel, Chimchar and Staravia. Pikachu was a bit further away, looking out of the huge window that reached almost as high as the ceiling. She guessed it was because he'd already bonded with Gligar enough today, so he was letting everyone else have a turn.

She was currently sitting with her own teammates, Piplup, Pachirisu and Ambipom. As she observed Pikachu, she was reminded of the photograph in the magazine earlier. She knew it hadn't been him, but still. It made her wonder something. She pushed her bowl closer to the window.

"(Hey!)" she said happily.

He smiled at her. "(Hey!)" he replied.

She walked up the small slope that led up to the window, and peered out at the vast city below, bathed in the evening light. "(Wow... Pretty nice view, huh?)"

"(Yeah, it's not bad! Shame about the trees being barren, but I'm sure they'll grow back!)"

"(Yeah.)" She had no doubt about that, since the gliscor and his gligar gang were no longer around to steal the fruit. Still admiring the view, she paused a moment, to allow time for a change of topic. Then she turned to him. "(... Hey, you know, Dawn bought a fashion magazine today!)"

He turned back to her, looking intrigued. "(Oh yeah?)"

She beamed. "(Yeah!)"

"(Well, I guess I'm not surprised. That girl does like her fashion!)"

She giggled. "(Yeah.)" She allowed herself another pause. "(Say, what are your thoughts on fashion?)"

He blinked in surprise. "(Mine?)"

"(Yeah!)"

"(Well... I like it enough, I guess.)" He chuckled. "(Though more on other people than me. I've got my kimono, but, other than that... I'm not much of a fashion guy.)"

This was mildly disappointing. "(Ah, I see...)"

He beamed. "(It looks great on you, though!)"

Her mood immediately perked up again. "(Really?)"

"(Yeah! Like the cheerleader outfit! And the dress from the steamboat!)" He paused, cringing. "(Oh, and the maid outfit. It looked great on you, but ridiculous on me.)"

She giggled. "(Oh yeah? I thought you looked cute in it~!)"

He pouted. "(Don't tease me...)"

She giggled again. "(Sorry. I guess it didn't suit you all that much.)"

"(Yeah, see?)"

"(Though, if they were manly clothes, you'd look great!)"

His face lit up. "(You think so?)"

"(I know so!)"

"(Heh. Thanks, Buneary.)"

Later that night, everyone retreated to their bedrooms. Since this city's pokémon centre was so huge, the three humans were allowed a bedroom each. A luxury they weren't often afforded.

In fact, the room was so big that Dawn had decided to lay down some cushions on the floor for her pokémon.

"(Comfy, comfy, comfyyyy~!)" Pachirisu said, lying on his stomach on a pink cushion. His tiny legs kicked around in happiness.

"(Now this is nice~)" Ambipom said, lounging back on a large white cushion, her arms behind her head.

"(No kidding!)" Buneary replied, lying flat on her back on her orange cushion. It was very soft, and moulded perfectly to her shape.

"(Mine's the best, 'cause it's blue like me!)" Piplup said, protectively hugging the blue cushion he was lying on.

Dawn chuckled from where she was sitting at a desk in the corner. "Well, you guys seem happy, at least," she said.

Buneary smiled at her, only to pause when she saw Dawn's smile waver. Ah yes, in all her joviality, she'd almost forgotten that her trainer was still down in the dumps. She watched as Dawn pulled her copy of Poké Chic from her bag, placed it on the table, moved her chair into a more comfortable position, and started flipping through the pages.

Continuing to watch her, she was reminded of her conversation with Pikachu earlier, about what he thought of fashion. He'd said that he liked it when it was on her. That she'd looked great in all the outfits she'd ever worn.

It made her want to wear another outfit, to impress him further.

She paused on this thought, looking over at Dawn again. Then she remembered what Dawn had said earlier that day, about how she used to design outfits.

Actually, that gave her an idea.

Clambering off her cushion, she hopped over to her trainer. Once there, she waved her arms around to get her attention. "(Hey, Dawn!)" she called out.

Dawn looked down at her, surprised. "Huh?" she asked. "What is it, Buneary?"

Sending energy to her feet, she used Bounce. Leaping up, she landed on the table, next to the magazine. She pointed to it. "(Can I have one of these?)"

Dawn blinked. "Huh?" She looked at the magazine, then back at Buneary.

"(... Um...)" Buneary moved her paws around herself, to outline the shape of a dress. Afterwards, she grabbed the imaginary skirt and curtsied.

Dawn glanced at the magazine again. "You... want a dress?"

Buneary gave a light shake of both her paw and head. "(Not necessarily a dress...)"

She mimed closing a jacket around herself. Then mimed tipping a hat on her head. Then mimed putting on pants. Afterwards, she mimed drawing something, then mimed sewing something. When she was done, she smiled up at Dawn, hoping she'd get the message.

Her trainer's face lit up. "Oh, I get it!" she said excitedly. "You want me to design you an outfit, right? And have my mom make it?"

Buneary nodded enthusiastically. "(Yeah!)"

If Dawn designed her an outfit, just like the 'old days', it would keep her busy. Therefore, it would keep her distracted and happy, instead of lingering on the thought of not being cut out for coordinating. Which Buneary didn't believe for a second, but it was hard to convince Dawn of that.

"You know, that's a great idea!" Dawn's eyes sparkled. She pumped her fists. "I'll design you an outfit! A really cool and pretty outfit! Just you watch!" She paused, blinking. After a moment, she beamed. "In fact, I'll do it right now!" Hurriedly, she pushed aside the magazine, then fished out a pencil and some paper and laid them on the table. "Alright, time to draw!" She winked at Buneary. "I'll design you something nice for Pikachu, 'kay~?"

Buneary beamed. "('Kay!)"

Dawn nodded to herself. "Alright." She paused again. "Any requests?"

Still beaming, Buneary shook her head. "(Surprise me!)"

A twinkle appeared in Dawn's eye. "You wanna be surprised, eh? Alright then! Here we go!" She grabbed the pencil, staring intently at the paper. "... What to draw..."

Deciding to leave her to it, Buneary jumped off the table and hopped back over to her cushion. When she got there, she realised that her three teammates were watching her.

"(So,)" Ambipom said, still lounging, "(you're gettin' an outfit made?)"

"(Oh,)" Buneary replied, mildly surprised that they'd overheard, "(yeah.)"

"(Whatcha doin' that for?)" Pachirisu asked, still kicking his tiny legs.

"(Probably trying to look good for Pikachu, I'll bet,)" Piplup replied.

"(Well...)" Buneary said, "(that's partly it, but...)"

Piplup shrugged. "(Knew it.)"

"(... But it's also to cheer Dawn up.)" That caught everybody's attention. "(Give her something to do, so she doesn't... well, you know... think about her losses too much.)"

All three teammates gave her sad gazes.

"(Makes sense,)" Ambipom replied.

"(Dawn needs cheering up!)" Pachirisu added.

Piplup nodded. "(Alright,)" he said, "(so it's not for an entirely selfish cause.)" He smiled. "(I approve!)"

Ambipom smirked. "(Heh,)" she replied, "(you're one to talk about bein' selfish.)" The smirk relaxed into a smile. "(But yeah, that's a cool thing you're doin' for Dawn.)"

Pachirisu beamed. "(Yeah! I'm proudda you!)" he said.

Buneary smiled at them. "(Thanks, guys!)" she replied.

"Hey, Buneary?" Dawn asked from across the room.

Buneary turned in her direction. "(Yeah?)"

"Any colours you want me to use?"

Buneary paused in thought. "(Hmm...)"

She glanced around the room for inspiration. When her eyes landed on the cushions, she looked at their colours. Inspiration struck her. She beamed, pointing to the orange cushion. "(This one...)" She pointed to the pink cushion. "(This one...)" She thought about it for a moment, made a decision, then pointed at the white cushion. "(And this one!)"

"Orange... pink... and white... Okay, got it!" Dawn turned back to her paper.

Nodding, Buneary turned back to her friends.

Piplup huffed, hugging his blue cushion tighter. "(Shoulda picked blue...)" he grumbled. "(No taste.)"

Buneary giggled. Then she paused upon realising something. "(Wait, you guys don't want outfits, too, do you?)" she asked.

Ambipom chuckled. "(Nah, I'm good,)" she replied.

"(I'm fine with the cheerleader outfit!)" Pachirisu replied.

"(Yeah, I'm not big on fashion, myself,)" Piplup added. He paused. "(... I only really wear the cheerleader outfit to make Dawn happy.)"

Ambipom laughed. "(Not that you mind, though, right?)" she asked.

Piplup pouted. "(... Not too much.)"

Buneary giggled again. "(Well, okay then,)" she said. "(Good to know!)"

The next morning, Buneary was woken by the sound of the bedroom door opening. Blinking, she saw that the other pokémon were stirring awake, too. Rubbing a tired eye, she looked at the door to see Dawn standing there, fully dressed and beaming at her pokémon.

Her smile suddenly turned sheepish. "Sorry, guys, did I wake you?" she asked. There were a few groans and nods. "Sorry." She beamed again. "But I was so excited to call Mom that I rushed downstairs!"

Buneary's rolled-up ear lifted slightly in intrigue.

"I showed her the design I made over the video phone..." Dawn continued, "and she copied it down as best she could!" She winked. "She said she'll try and get it made by the time we get to Veilstone!" She went back to beaming. "Then we can pick it up and show it off to everyone!"

Though still very groggy, Buneary beamed back. It was rather exciting to think that she'd be getting her surprise new outfit when they reached the next city. She couldn't help but wonder what it would look like.

"(Whoa...)" a groggy Ambipom said, pointing off into the corner of the room. "(What's with all the papers?)"

Looking in that direction, Buneary did a double-take. Next to the desk that Dawn had been sketching at was a trash can. It was absolutely filled with crumpled up pieces of paper.

"Oh, that?" Dawn asked. She laughed awkwardly. "Those are all my design ideas. A lot of them were way too gaudy and complicated. Some were impractical! Some, I realised, were downright horrible. I eventually settled on a simple design."

Buneary looked back at Dawn, only then noticing that she looked rather tired. Buneary squinted at her suspiciously.

Dawn laughed awkwardly again. "I didn't stay up tooooo late drawing it! Just... well, maybe a little bit, but not too much!"

"(Dawwwwn...)" Piplup groaned.

Pachirisu giggled, Ambipom rolled her eyes in amusement, and Buneary heaved a sigh.

Ah well. If it had kept Dawn happy and distracted last night, then maybe it was okay. That was half the reason Buneary had asked her to make it, after all...

Several days of travelling later - partially across a desert-like landscape - the group had arrived in Veilstone City for Ash's third gym badge. However, the gym leader, Maylene, had no confidence in herself, so Dawn - in a move full of irony - had decided to challenge her, to help her get it back.

Buneary dodged another Thunderbolt from Pikachu, and another Razor Leaf from Turtwig. Well, she couldn't say she'd expected to be training for a gym battle, that was for sure. Though, if all went well, maybe it would cheer Maylene up, and help boost her confidence.

Maybe it could even help Dawn, too...

She smiled determinedly up at Pikachu and Turtwig. "(Come on, amp it up!)" she said. "(I gotta train harder!)"

Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, he smiled back determinedly. "(You got it,)" he replied.

"(Okay~!)" Turtwig replied happily.

The following day, Buneary battled Maylene's meditite. She was pumped, she was ready, and Pikachu had even wished her good luck. Despite her best efforts, however, she was soundly beaten. Ambipom followed her lead, defeating the meditite, but both her and Piplup fell to the lucario. Pleased with her performance - and thankful to Dawn for helping her - Maylene agreed to battle Ash later in the day.

After healing at the pokémon centre, Buneary stood around, watching Ash and his team train. During this time, she glanced at Dawn, who was flipping through her copy of Poké Chic. Except she couldn't help but notice that the girl seemed much happier than before. It was like the gym battle had rekindled a spark inside her.

Buneary beamed. Maybe she was on the mend, finally.

Happy with this, she turned back to the training, which, unfortunately, didn't include Pikachu, as Ash had decided to use Staravia, Chimchar and Buizel. She pouted in mild displeasure.

Much later, after Ash managed to win his cobble badge, the group were back at the pokémon centre and the pokémon were back in their pokéballs. Buneary was just settling down to relax when she heard Dawn whisper something to her pokéball.

"Hey, Buneary?" she asked. "Can you hear me?" The trainer waited a moment, though she probably wasn't expecting a response. "The outfit I asked Mom to make came in the mail."

Buneary perked up in intrigue.

"I think I'll hold off until tomorrow to spring it on everybody. Is that okay?" She waited again. "... Thanks for asking me to make it, by the way. It really boosted my confidence, I think. Enough to ask Maylene for a battle, anyway... and... like I said, the battle reminded me of how fun contests are. So... thanks for that."

Inside her pokéball, Buneary beamed. Focusing all of her digital energy on the pokéball, she made it wiggle.

Dawn gasped lightly. After a moment, a warm tone entered her voice. "... Is that you saying 'You're welcome'?" She chuckled to herself.

Buneary made the pokéball wiggle a second time.

After a night of trying to stop Team Galactic from stealing the town's meteors, the group slept in the pokémon centre, ate breakfast the next morning and set off. Since Happiny had a slightly upset tummy, she wasn't able to finish her pellets, so Brock decided to carry her for a while. At least until she felt better, and up to eating again. Everyone else went back into their pokéballs.

Sometime later, the group had decided to stop in an open field, so that Ash could continue training Gligar. It was at this point that Buneary heard Dawn whisper to her pokéball again.

"Hey, Buneary," she said. "It's almost time. I'm gonna reveal it real soon!"

A surge of excitement ran through Buneary.

"You wanna come out, so we can do it together?" Dawn continued.

Buneary immediately sprung to action, bursting out of her pokéball and materialising on the grass. "(Heck yes, I do!)" she replied.

"Better wait until Ash is done with his training, though."

"(Okay~!)"

Buneary saw Brock glance curiously at her from where he was sitting - near a boulder embedded in the ground - with Happiny on his lap. After a moment, he smiled, shrugged and looked away again.

Glancing at Ash and Pikachu, Buneary saw them taking Gligar over to another boulder to start their training. As for Dawn, she had her copy of Poké Chic, and had decided to sit down next to Brock to read it.

Now Buneary just had to wait for Gligar's training to end, and then it was surprise outfit time.

A short while later, once Happiny was well enough to finish her pellets, Gligar managed to fly so off-course that he smashed his head on one of the boulders. Thankfully, though, pokémon were strong-boned creatures, so he was fine. Dawn was rather angry at almost being hit, but, once Ash and Pikachu wandered over, she quickly got over it.

Noticing the magazine, Ash asked about it. Brock, who was holding Happiny again, also seemed intrigued. Dawn happily explained what it was, while showing them the current pages she was on. On one was a swinub wearing a pink bow. On the other was a teddiursa wearing a pink dress with a dark pink circle on it. She turned the page, showing off the croagunk and sunflora.

"See?" she said, turning the page again. She landed on the two delcatty photos. "Aren't they adorable?"

Buneary pointed at the delcatty that was covered in pretty accessories. "(Yeah!)" she said. "(Like this one! See how well the accessories match his shape and colour?)"

Dawn smiled at her. "You like that one?"

Buneary nodded enthusiastically.

A cheeky grin appeared on Dawn's face as she locked eyes with Pikachu. She turned the page. "And here's Buneary's favourite~"

It was the page with the pikachu picture. Buneary giggled in embarrassment. "(Dawwwwn...)" she mumbled.

Ash made a noise that was somewhere between shocked and disgusted.

Buneary's smile faltered, especially as she saw Pikachu's displeased face. She wondered if maybe her crush on the mouse disgusted them both. It would be the first she'd be hearing of it, though, so it was strange. The last she'd heard, Pikachu knew of her crush, but had no idea how he felt, or how to respond to it, so it would be very disheartening to find out that it disgusted him...

"(Wow...)" Pikachu said, staring at the magazine, "(nice... apron...)"

Buneary immediately brightened up again. So it wasn't the crush that had perturbed him. It was just the outfit. That was a relief.

Ash looked at Pikachu. "You're not interested in this, are you, Pikachu?" he asked.

Buneary blinked, wondering if Ash was asking if Pikachu wanted to dress up, too. Just because there was a pikachu in the magazine. It seemed that Ash wasn't a very big fan of fashion...

"(Not really,)" Pikachu replied. He glanced at the magazine. "(... Wow, that apron's awful... That got in a magazine?)"

Buneary giggled. "(It's not so bad!)" she replied. She pointed at it. "(Look, it's almost diamond-shaped and fits his body shape pretty well!)"

Pikachu stared at it for a moment, analysing it. "(... I guess I sorta see it.)"

She beamed at him. "(Yeah, see?)"

Dawn chuckled. "By the way!" she said excitedly, getting everyone's attention as she put the magazine away. "I designed a vest."

So it was a vest. Now Buneary was intrigued.

Dawn moved over to grab her small yellow backpack. "I'll show you!" she continued. She started to rummage through it. "Here, hold on..."

Buneary watched her with bated breath. It was the moment of truth. The time to find out what her new vest looked like.

"Ta-daaaa~!" Dawn said, pulling out an orange vest.

It had a white collar, white lacing around the bottom and two halves of a pink heart on the front. Glancing at the back, Buneary could see that it had a different design from the front. The top half was white, the bottom half was orange and there was a complete pink heart in the middle.

She stared at it in awe. It was gorgeous.

"Hey, wow!" Ash said, sounding impressed. "Nice work, Dawn!"

"(Yeah, it's lovely!)" Pikachu agreed, beaming.

"Thanks!" Dawn replied. "I made it for Buneary!" She paused, chuckling sheepishly. "Well... to be honest..." She glanced at Buneary. "My mom actually made it, and then sent it to us."

"Oh..." Ash replied, sounding significantly less impressed.

"(Ah, I see...)" Pikachu said, exasperatedly amused.

Dawn frowned. "Give me a break!" she said. "After all, I'm the one who designed it!"

Buneary couldn't take the anticipation anymore. "(Come oooon!)" she said eagerly. "(Lemme try it on!)"

Dawn giggled in amusement at her, before helping her put the vest on. Once she was done, she clapped her hands together in glee, laughing heartily. "It's a perfect fit!"

It felt like a dream on her. Buneary beamed. "(Wow, it is! And so comfy, too~! I love it~!)"

"Great, you like it! I'm so glad!" Dawn turned to the others. "She asked me to make her a surprise outfit, once she saw me reading Poké Chic. So I guess she likes fashion as much as I do!"

While Buneary couldn't deny this was true, it wasn't entirely the reason she'd asked for the outfit. Partly, though, perhaps. One reason of three. Now Dawn was happy again, and she'd gotten a lovely vest out of the deal. In her view, it was a win-win all around.

... As long as a certain other person thought it looked good on her.

"I guess so," Brock replied, smiling.

"(So cute~!)" Happiny said from his arms.

Brock turned his smile on Buneary. "That looks really good on you."

"It sure does!" Ash agreed.

"(Thanks~!)" Buneary replied. She giggled happily, then paused in anticipation as she turned to Pikachu. "(... Do you like it, Pikachu?)"

"(Of course I do!)" he said. "(The colours really suit you!)"

Beaming, she put her paws to her face and blushed in pure joy. "(You think so~?)" Suddenly feeling a bit shy, she turned away. "(Thanks~! I picked the colours myself~)"

"(Oh, you did? Well-)"

It was then that Buneary heard a faint sound in the distance. Something that sounded almost like a bell. "(... Huh?)"

The sound had actually been an overly-friendly chingling, owned by a woman named Francesca. After introducing herself as a pokémon magician, though, she'd been requested to put on a magic show.

She opened up her rolling suitcase and pulled something metal out. Unfolding it, she revealed it to be a folding metal table. While she dug around for more supplies, Happiny yawned, so Brock let her take a nap in her pokéball. At the same time, Piplup decided that he wanted to be outside his own pokéball to watch the magic show.

The penguin glanced at Buneary, then nodded in approval. "(The new vest looks good on you,)" he said.

She beamed at him. "(Thanks!)" she replied.

"(Yeah, it's really nice, isn't it?)" Pikachu said. "(I was just about to tell her earlier that she has great taste! You know, since she picked the colours and all?)"

"(Yep! I was there!)" Piplup glanced at Buneary. "(And thanks for doing that for Dawn. It really cheered her up.)"

Pikachu's ears perked up. "(Huh? You did that for Dawn?)"

"(Oh, well...)" Buneary replied, feeling embarrassment creep in again.

"(Yep!)" Piplup replied proudly. "(To get her out of her slump!)"

Pikachu smiled warmly at Buneary. "(Oh, well, that's-)" he started.

"(And to impress you.)"

"(... Really... admirable...)" Pikachu's face flushed red.

Buneary's soon followed. "(Pipluuuuup...)" she whined, hiding her face behind her paws.

"(What?)" Piplup asked with a shrug. "(It's the truth. So, are you impressed, Pikachu?)"

"(... Yeah,)" Pikachu mumbled, "(I'm impressed...)"

Buneary peeked through her paws to see Pikachu looking away, his face still bright red. Despite wanting to give Piplup a light smack for embarrassing them both, the rabbit couldn't help her heart exploding in joy at Pikachu's reaction.

Mission successful.

The End