Chapter 33: Yesterday

"Ash!" Brock cried out as he and Dawn continued chasing their friend down the hallway. It had only been a few seconds since they left and they were already nearing the boys' hotel room.

Eventually, the young trainer came to a full stop at the door. He stood there, his back facing them as they caught up.

"Ash Ketchum, you go back there and apologize!" Dawn angrily shouted.

"Apologize?" Ash incredulously asked as he turned to her. "You gotta be kidding me! They snuck out! They made us miss Fantina for who knows how long!"

"Still, you shouldn't have just blown up at them like that!" Dawn sternly remarked.

"You know, it's like he doesn't even care about battling or the league anymore! I hardly even recognize him!" Ash said as his gaze moved elsewhere.

"Ash you have to understand...what they did wasn't good but it's no big deal." Brock calmly said, causing Ash to look between them.

"It's no big deal? What about the league?! What about winning and getting somewhere?! What about beating Paul and-?" Ash yelled before Dawn took a few steps towards him...

...And lightly slapped him across the face.

Brock gasped as Ash immediately stopped talking and slowly looked back at her, completely floored. He reached up and gently touched his throbbing cheek.

"W-What was that for...?" He muttered, still unable to grasp what she had just done.

"Listen to yourself..." Dawn huffed, as she put her balled up fists on her hips. "'Getting somewhere...'" She repeated as she shook her head in sheer frustration. "For a guy who usually thinks of others, you sure don't think of your own best friend's needs!"

"Wh-What do you mean?" Ash mumbled, his hand still covering his pained face.

"Let me ask you something..." Brock said, his hand stroking his chin as Ash looked to him. "Everything that Pikachu's ever done...what was it for?"

Ash blinked at him. "I-I don't..."

"I mean, everything that you and Pikachu have been through...it was along your journey right? For you to become a Pokémon Master?" Brock mused, pensively looking elsewhere.

"Right...?" Ash said, finally taking his hand off his cheek.

"Well...then that means that everything Pikachu's been through: good, bad, fun and difficult...it was all for you. For your dream right?" Brock concluded, looking Ash straight in the face.

"I...guess so." Ash muttered, still not entirely sure where this was going.

"Hmpph!" Dawn scoffed as she looked away.

Confused, Ash looked between them again. "But I don't get what that has to do with-"

Brock grimaced as he folded his arms over his chest and looked down at the floor. "All this time Pikachu has been there for you...to fulfill your goals. I've been with you practically since the beginning and I can tell clear as day that for the longest time...you were the most important person in his life."

Ash merely looked at him, unable to respond to that.

"Getting it now?" Dawn asked as she made eye contact with him. "He's always been there for you...but now he has someone else that's important in his life. You need to understand that he has to make time for her too."

He looked at her for a long while before his gaze slowly moved to Brock who merely looked at the floor.

"I-I..." He stammered, a look of concern growing on his face.

"Ash look, I get it. Should they be punished for staying out too long and making us worry? Sure. But don't act like this is the end of the world or anything." Dawn said, her voice progressively becoming softer.

Suddenly, a fiery anger returned in the young trainer's eyes. "Well he should understand better than anyone then! I mean because of this delay, Paul is just gonna-"

"I am SO sick of hearing about Paul!" Dawn screeched, causing both boys to jerk their heads back in shock. "You have a problem with the guy? Sure, I get it, he's a jerk and all but don't take it out on them because he's making progress!"

"You don't understand Dawn! The way Paul treats his Pokémon...it's just so wrong!" Ash screamed, taking a step forward and holding a fist in front of his face in sheer anger.

"I'm not denying that! But you know what, if beating Paul and quickly getting to the league was so important, then we wouldn't have gotten distracted so many times!" Dawn firmly shouted.

Taken aback, Ash eased up, his anger draining from his face. "Huh? What do you-?"

Still rather irate, Dawn pointed in a random direction. "We didn't have to stop and help random people with their problems, we didn't have to go on little vacations...heck, we didn't even have to walk! We could've just taken a bus or train or something! If it meant so much to you, Brock and I wouldn't have minded! But no! You wanted to travel on foot and have the journey! And now because Paul is doing well, all of this is suddenly so important? To the point where you scream at your best friend? You know, you say that you hate the kind of person that Paul is, but you sure were acting like him just a minute ago. I mean, did you even ask them what their side of the story was?!"

Ash looked at the floor, a flash of guilt appearing in his eyes for a moment. He tried mumbling something and balled up his fists along his sides. Finally, he looked back up at them. "They shouldn't have just stayed out like that. The way we had to go around looking for them...again. After what happened last time?"

She looked at him, her gaze briefly turning sympathetic. "I get it, I really do. Are you forgetting that Buneary was missing then too? I was just as worried as you were. But the truth of the matter is that this time it's different and I'm certain that they didn't mean to stay out so late." Dawn calmly said, an air of sternness behind her voice.

Ash looked back down at the floor, his hat obscuring his eyes, a prominent frown appearing on his face. A moment of silence passed between the three of them before the young trainer quietly looked back up.

"Okay, I get it. I'm still upset...but I get it." He said, his voice breaking a little.

A look of relief appeared on both of his friends' faces.

Dawn took a step forward. "Alright, so just go back there and-"

"I just...I still just need a moment. I-I need some fresh air." Ash said before he turned away and began walking down the hallway.

"Ash..." Brock muttered as the two of them watched their friend round a corner and disappear.

Buneary sat on a chair which rested in the corner of Dawn's hotel bedroom. Constantly, she rubbed the keychain in her paws as she stared out into nothing in particular. It had been a good twenty minutes and the poor bunny had just finished sobbing into a pillow. Now sitting in that chair, her eyes were red and wettened and if that wasn't bad enough, she was desperately trying to hold back another crying session. Her vest, which she often wore so proudly, now hung over her shoulders, looking more akin to a large coat. In that moment, she looked particularly small.

Sniffling, she replayed the events over and over again in her head.

She said that her life would be easier without him...

Perhaps it was because she was so numb from constantly crying or due to the shock of having even said that out loud, but she could only feel a deep emptiness as she continued to remember.

Pursing her lips a little, she grit her teeth and held back another sobbing fit coming on. Suddenly, a whimper managed to break through and she quickly put a paw over her mouth to stifle her crying, hot stinging tears coming down her face and blurring her vision and she desperately squeezed her eyes shut to stop it.

Why did she have to say that? How did things get so screwed up so fast?

Swallowing hard, she sniffled and tried composing herself. Amongst everything going on, she dreaded to see how she looked in the mirror right now, her fur tearstained, her eyes appearing quite puffy, a look of exhaustion on her face. It was a tad strange that nobody, including Dawn, had come by but given what had happened, everyone probably just needed time to cool off.

Sighing, Buneary leaned over to the side and rested her cheek on the armrest of the chair, the keychain mere inches from her face. She could see every little detail of the gift that was given to her just a few hours ago. A token of romantic appreciation from her boyfriend...well...perhaps she should say ex-boyfriend now.

She stared unblinkingly into the little plastic pikachu's face for what felt like a good long while. It was absolutely silent as she continued to look into the figure's eyes.

Almost as part of some cruel cosmic joke, her mind began to wander...

"Man!" Ash yelled as he dramatically fell forward onto the floor, his arms thudding and making a rather loud sound. "It's too hard to dress 'em up to look like other Pokémon!"

Buneary, along with everyone else, just stared at him. Wow...was it really that difficult to find someone for the job? Granted, she wanted to see them win and all...but this was getting to be a bit much for a dress-up contest wasn't it? The prize for winning was apparently a mystery Pokémon egg so perhaps she could sort of understand.

She almost wanted to step forward and volunteer right then and there just to ease the poor boy's suffering but even if she did, she had no ideas in mind. What could she even dress up and imitate? Another rabbit-Pokémon with fluff along their body? How was anybody supposed to-?

"(Ahem.)" Pikachu suddenly said, his arms behind his back.

All eyes suddenly focused on the mouse, Buneary being particularly intrigued.

Helllooooo...what was he up to?

Pikachu gave Ash a rather confident smile as he puffed his chest out. Somewhat baffled, Buneary cocked her head to the side a little. Huh, she'd gotten to know the guy a lot recently but she'd never seen this side of him before! Was that...hubris?

"Hmm?" Ash muttered as he looked over at his starter.

"(Perhaps I can help.)" Pikachu said. Buneary looked on in awe as she saw those cute lips of his form a smile.

"Are you saying that you want to give it a shot?" Ash asked as he got into a kneeling position, not breaking his gaze with the mouse.

"(Choose me and you'd be a shoo-in to win!)" Pikachu replied, smacking his paw against his chest.

Buneary blinked. Huh...that pose of his oddly reminded her of Piplup and how prideful the penguin could be. Yeah...that was...definitely confidence that he was showing! It was a bit surreal but also...weirdly attractive?

Ash repositioned himself to sitting with his legs crossed and his arms folded over his chest, an incredulous look on his face. "It's not enough just to change your color a little bit, so you look like a raichu or a pichu, remember?"

Pikachu gave a little laugh and waggled his finger at him. "(Tsk, tsk! How quickly we forget!)" He said before he made a sudden motion. His face contorted a little, he flattened his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as he made a familiar-looking pose.

Buneary blinked again, followed by everyone silently gasping as Pikachu performed a near-perfect imitation of a wobbuffet.

"Cool! Wobbuffet!" Ash beamed, his doubtful look immediately clearing up.

Promptly, Pikachu curled up his ears and stretched his mouth out in a way that seemed impossible. "(And now?)" He managed to somehow say with his mouth opened the way it was.

"Loudred!" Ash confidently replied, a finger pointing up.

Buneary continued to stare in awe. O-Oh yeah...! That's right! He showed them his little talent back at the gala! Huh...

"(Woah...)" Turtwig muttered from the crowd as some others murmured in surprise.

"Wow, Pikachu's awesome!" Dawn exclaimed as the mouse began to contort his body into different Pokémon one right after the other.

Buneary brightly smiled at him as he continued to do so. Let's see, he was imitating a jigglypuff, now he's a seviper, oh look it's a mudkip! She tried to hold back a giggle as he suddenly now resembled a lotad. Oh cool, now's he's a buneary and it looks like he's doing budew, well isn't that-

...

...Wait what...wait...WHAT?!

She merely stared at him as he assumed his next form however her mind was one step behind. Did...did he imitate...?

Her cheeks began to flare up and she started to shake in place. Yeah...no doubt...the ears, the "fluff", the pose...it was definitely a buneary!

Her paws immediately flew up to her cheeks, her smile so wide that it stretched across her face Aipom-style.

"(Heh, imitating his biggest fan huh?)" Aipom laughed as she nudged the bunny's shoulder before stepping back.

"(Yeah...)" Buneary dreamily muttered as she saw Ash's confidence skyrocket.

"Wow! I think you could end up winning the whole thing!" Ash exclaimed as he started to get up and raised a fist in the air. "Pikachu...you're IT!"

Returning to his typical form and his pride not once faltering, Pikachu closed his eyes and put his paws behind his back, a satisfied smile on his face. "(You made the right choice my friend.)"

Everyone continued to mutter in sheer awe, Buneary's gaze becoming so adoring that she may as well have hearts in place of her eyes.

Buneary stifled a little giggle upon remembering that. Seriously, how could she forget his strange knack for impressions? How could Ash forget?!

As her laughter subsided, she gave a little sigh.

Oh Pikachu...

Her smile fading, she tried thinking of something else to get her mind off of things.

...

And yet...all that came to mind was another memory of him.

"Uhh...Dawn are you looking at that magazine again?" Ash wondered aloud as he leaned forward a little towards the bluenette who was sitting on the grass. Likewise, Pikachu did the same.

"Yeah, what's that?" Brock asked as he knelt nearby, Happiny in his arms.

"It's called Poké Chic!" Dawn beamed as she opened up the magazine to them. "Dressing your Pokémon in the latest fashions is all the rage in Sinnoh!"

"Oh, isn't that interesting!" Brock said with a smile as Dawn opened the magazine up to a picture of a croagunk in a dress and umbrella.

"See? Aren't they adorable!" Dawn gushed as she turned the page to reveal a delcatty in a rather cute orange getup complemented with a little cap. The other page featured another delcatty in a red dress sitting on a pillow.

"(I really like that one, it's so cute! I mean, can't you just tell how fabulous it is?!)" Buneary beamed, pointing at the magazine.

"You like that one?" Dawn asked with a grin as Buneary smiled back at her. "And here's Buneary's favorite!" She declared as she turned the page to reveal a rather happy pikachu proudly displaying a large grey bib with a red Pokéball logo on it.

"Ahh!" Ash exclaimed, his smile immediately turning into a frown.

"(Ummm...!)" Pikachu muttered, clearly taken aback, a bead of sweat on the side of his head.

Ash leaned over to his starter. "You're not interested in this are you Pikachu?"

Pikachu gave him a wave of reassurance. "(It's uhh...not really my thing.)"

Buneary tried her best not to laugh. Clearly, fashion wasn't something that appealed to him but whenever she gushed about it or needed advice regarding contests, he was always one to listen. Heck, there were times when he was the one to ask about it, completely unprompted. It was actually kind of sweet to see him making an effort like that. Not to mention that it was really funny to watch him try and fail to understand any of it! As a boyfriend, he really didn't give himself enough credit...

"I designed a vest, I'll show you, here hold on..." Dawn said as she put the magazine away and reached for her bag before pulling out a little orange vest. "Ta-da!"

"Hey wow! Nice work Dawn!" Ash said, his smile returning.

"(Yeah! It looks great!)" Pikachu followed.

"To be honest, my mom actually made it and then sent it to us." Dawn sheepishly said, looking down at Buneary.

Ash's smile faltered a little. "Oh..."

"(Ahh...)" Pikachu said, slightly less impressed as he gave a sympathetic smile.

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

"(Alright, time for the moment of truth!)" Buneary urged as she got ready to put it on.

Eager as well, Dawn slipped the vest over her shoulders.

"Ah, a perfect fit!" She proudly declared, so excited that she clasped her hands together.

Feeling all eyes on her and looking absolutely fabulous, Buneary smiled as wide as she could. "(I love it so much! Thanks Dawn!)"

"(Cute!)" Happiny declared.

"That looks really good on you!" Brock happily said.

"It sure does!" Ash followed.

"(Thanks guys!)" Buneary beamed, jumping in place. Quickly, she stopped herself and looked at the one face whose opinion mattered the most. "(...Pikachu?)"

Pikachu smiled and gave her a confident wave of reassurance. "(You look amazing.)"

A pink blush dusting her cheeks, Buneary put her paws up to her face. "(Th-Thanks~)" She practically sang before looking away in sheer embarrassment. "(Thanks babe~!)"

Buneary continued to stare off into space, not having moved from being slumped over the chair's armrest. Her focus elsewhere, she unconsciously gripped a part of her vest.

Heh, that was a pretty good day all in all. Getting her favorite vest, her boyfriend genuinely liking it...

It was certainly a lot better than that suggestive maid outfit he had to wear for that dare.

Upon thinking of that, Buneary snickered a little as she remembered seeing him jump off the cliff into that lake, how he looked so embarrassed, what he had to say on the way down, how his cute face looked when she cheered-

Eyes widening, Buneary stopped herself and quickly shook her head in protest.

No, stop it! Stop thinking about him! Stop thinking about those times...just stop. Just...just...

Groaning, Buneary repositioned herself to lean back and stare at the ceiling. She took in a shaky breath as she rubbed the keychain in her paws again.

Why...why did it have to be this way?

As much as she tried, she couldn't help but visualize his face, smiling at her like always. All at once, her mind flashed back to the many good times with him.

Cheering each other on in battles...in contests...or cheering on their friends.

Showering him with adoration for jumping in the air and tossing a ring onto the hundred-point peg on a boat.

Running over and happily dancing with him after coming back into the real world when dealing with Giratina.

Seeing him help out the others with their different problems, not because anybody pressured him...but simply because he cared.

So many good times...too many to count really...

Her ears shot up as someone knocked on the bedroom door.

Desperate to wipe away her tears, Buneary quickly inhaled and rubbed her face, letting out a quick sniffle.

"(Hmm?)" She managed to mutter and looked over to see the door gently open and saw Piplup's face peeking in.

"(Buneary?)" He asked, a look of genuine concern on his face.

"(Yeah.)" She quickly said, her throat feeling kind of dry.

"(Everything okay? Do you need someone to talk to?)" He asked, not taking another step further.

Her immediate reaction was that she just wanted to stay here and continue wallowing in her own self-pity. Honestly, she didn't even know if she could bear someone else's attention right now. Maybe if she was alone and left to sulk she could-

"(Yes please.)" She blurted out, somewhat surprised by how fast her response was.

"(Okay.)" Piplup gently said as he pushed the door a little more and stepped in. Before either of them could say anything else, Ambipom's head peeked out from behind him.

"(And me too?)" She practically whispered.

Buneary eyed them both for a moment before slightly nodding. "(Yeah, you too.)"

With that, Ambipom stepped in and closed the door behind herself.

Pikachu didn't know how long he had been walking around for. All he knew was that no matter how many steps he took through the hallways and lobby, he couldn't really clear his head like he was hoping to.

Eventually, he returned to their hotel room. He sighed and knocked on the door and after a moment, it opened, revealing Brock to be the culprit.

"Oh hey Pikachu. I thought you were with Buneary." He said as the mouse entered the room without even acknowledging him. Raising an eyebrow, Brock looked on as Pikachu slowly made his way to the bedroom. "Er...Ash just needed to blow off some steam. Dawn and I talked some sense into him, he's not mad I promise. Umm...Dawn went looking for him a few minutes ago."

Still, Pikachu didn't give a response as he reached the bedroom door.

"(Yeah that's great...)" He muttered as he stepped into the room.

"Pikachu?" Brock wondered aloud as he saw the mouse walk away.

As soon as Pikachu got into the bedroom, he gently closed the door on the clearly concerned boy. As soon as the door clicked, he gave a shaky exhale and looked at the bed, feeling the energy immediately drain out of him as his eyes rested upon it.

Without thinking, he jumped onto it and laid on his stomach. His ears drooped as he looked at the wall. Sighing, he put his paws out in front of himself and immediately caught a glimpse of the bracelet that was still on his arm.

"My life was so much easier without you!" She had said.

Wincing a little from that, her voice practically ringing in his ears, Pikachu rested his cheek on the blankets.

It was strange. It wasn't the statement itself that hurt, but rather everything around it. Sure, if she never joined their group, she would probably still be a wild Pokémon and not have to deal with stuff like Team Rocket, or random strangers in need of help or contest battles.

...But it didn't negate the fact that things only got so bad because they started doing things like sneaking around or concocting harebrained schemes, something that he really wasn't too inclined to do before they started getting closer. Heck, their first few dates started out with them sneaking around and loving every minute of it. Okay, it wasn't something truly awful or unforgivable but given everything that's happened, he was left with something major to consider: did they really bring out the worst in each other? And if they did, was it best if they simply remained friends? Could they even stay friends now?

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a faraway urge to let loose some tears.

Their friends had suggested to give her a chance. He'd be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't a tiny bit curious even back then. Among the various reasons for why he was hesitant to go through with it, perhaps one of the most profound ones was that he was afraid of what would happen if things didn't work out...if they couldn't stay as a couple but also couldn't go back to how things were. Instead of letting those fears get to him, he took his friends' advice to seize the opportunity and not to dwell on the "what ifs". It seemed like it was such a faraway issue...but here they were.

Exhaling, Pikachu turned to his side as he felt a tear slide down his cheek onto the bedsheets and he blankly stared at the wall. Sniffling, he blinked to try and clear his vision, the unspecified tune of some song going through his head.

How'd they even get here? What led to this?

Well...if he was being literal, it was when they first met. Right after she saved his butt from being run over by Officer Jenny's motorcycle.

Ash's hat blocking his vision, Pikachu could only gasp and look up as he heard the ear-splitting screech of tires skidding along a hard surface. Immediately, he knew that it was loud enough to be rather close but it didn't sound like it was slowing down. His nervous system going haywire, he didn't have the time to jump out of the way. All he could do was flinch and try to brace for the impact.

"(Damn...this is gonna suck!)" He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and waited for unimaginable pain to course throughout his body.

He felt something alright, but instead of his body being mangled up, he felt someone's arms wrap around his waist and lift him off the ground.

"(Gotcha!)" A feminine voice cried out.

Before he knew it, the mouse was soaring sideways through the air. In the distance, he could hear Ash gasping. When all was quiet he, and whoever his savior was, landed on the ground nearby. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked up and stared into the concerned face of a brown bunny around the same height as him.

"(Oh man, that was a close one!)" He managed to say under his breath, still in complete shock.

"(You okay?)" She gently asked.

Before Pikachu could respond, he instinctively looked up to see Ash and Aipom approach them.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash asked, clear panic in his voice before he knelt down to them.

"(I'm fine!)" Pikachu said with a wave of reassurance and a little smile, unaware that the girl had stepped behind him.

Smiling himself, Ash leaned over to grab his hat off Pikachu's head. "That was great Buneary! Thank you!"

"(Huh? Oh, no prob.)" She bashfully said.

Approaching the group was Dawn, her hair still slightly wettened from Piplup's Bubble Beam-treatment.

"Hey! It's a buneary!" She excitedly proclaimed as she took out her pink Pokédex and held it in front of herself.

BUNEARY, THE RABBIT POKÉMON. WHEN SENSING DANGER, IT EXTENDS BOTH EARS AS AN ALERT, AND WHEN COLD, IT CURLS UP AND GOES TO SLEEP.

Tilting her head a little, Buneary gave a rather confused look to her. "(Umm...hi there?)"

"Wow, that was awesome! The way you scooped up Pikachu like that!" Dawn beamed as Ash stood up, adjusting his hat on his head with a smile.

"(That was amazing! Thank you so much, you're awesome!)" Pikachu declared with a smile of his own, extending his arm towards her. No sooner did he do that did he see the girl close her eyes and shake her head.

"(I...uhhh...)" She managed to say before pausing and quickly pulling the fluff from her waist up to her face and turning away from him "(...you're welcome!)" She blurted out albeit a bit muffled now. Pikachu merely looked at her, completely dumbfounded.

Leaning down towards them, Dawn's smile didn't falter. "And look at that, you're so cute!"

Her fluff still covering her face, Buneary shifted in place for a bit.

"(Umm...g-gotta go! Yeah...gotta...do some wild Pokémon things. See ya!)" She quickly said before suddenly hopping forward, still holding her fluff to her face.

Pikachu wordlessly looked on as he saw her hop away...right into a tree with an audible smack before sliding down into a bush. A second later, she emerged from the foliage and hopped out of sight.

He blinked. What in the world was that about? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked over and saw that Ash was doing the same. Immediately curious, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and climbed atop his head to see where the bunny had gone to.

"Oh, I really wanted to catch it!" Dawn groaned as she looked on.

Everyone's attention was immediately pulled away from the quirky bunny when Officer Jenny walked up to lecture them about being safe on the roads.

Pikachu gave a silent and amused huff upon remembering their first encounter. Yup, no rose-colored glasses on this one. She was definitely an odd one through and through, at least in regard to their first meeting anyway.

Still, to say that it was both brave and noble of her to risk her hide to save him from serious injury was a major understatement. Little did either of them know, it would only be the first in what seemed to be a long line of "saving Pikachu's butt" instances. Heh, if he was being honest, he didn't know if he wanted to cringe or smile at that.

Sighing, he turned his body over and faced the other side of the room. It's not like their second meeting was any less strange...

The gang was enjoying their food on a foldout table at their wooded campsite, the humans sitting on the chairs while their Pokémon sat and ate from bowls along the ground nearby.

"(Aipom, for like the fifth time already, it's okay, I forgive you!)" Pikachu awkwardly laughed, a bead of sweat forming along the side of his head.

"(Are you sure?)" She carefully asked, taking another pellet from her bowl.

"(Yes.)"

"(Are you really sure?)"

"(Yes.)"

"(Are you really, reeaaalllly sure?)"

"(Yes.)"

"(Are you really, really, realllyy-)"

"(Yes, yes! I'm super-duper, positively, absolutely sure!)"

Aipom gave a little sigh and eased up. "(...Okay...but one last thing.)"

"(Aipom...)" Pikachu muttered, his annoyance beginning to show through the cracks. Still, he couldn't be too mad. Sure, because she had stolen Ash's hat and ran off with it, he had to chase after her and nearly got run over for his troubles but it all worked out without any issue.

"(I promise this is the last question!)" She insisted.

"(Okay.)" He said before biting into a pellet.

"(You sure that you're not injured? Not even a scratch?)" She asked, her eyes carefully examining him.

"(Nope! Perfectly fine!)" He beamed as he popped the remainder of the pellet into his mouth.

Aipom sat back and put her paws on her hips. "(Heh, that girl really saved your hide then didn't she?)"

"(She sure did! I would've for sure been in the Pokémon Center by now if it wasn't for her! She just jumped out of nowhere and pulled me to safety, no problem!)" He declared, his excitement only building as he relived the experience.

Aipom merely stared at him before slumping her shoulders and looking away in complete shame. "(...Sorry.)"

A little bit later, the humans were discussing different things, mainly Dawn grousing about wanting to catch her second Pokémon for an upcoming contest in Jubilife City, all the while expressing her regret at not catching Buneary. Their focus soon turned to Croagunk who merely squatted in place, staring at nothing in particular. As they commented on the frog's demeanor, Pikachu continued to munch on his food. Overhearing them talk, he simply shrugged his shoulders. That guy is a bit of a strange one, who knows if something's up with him exactly...

So unconcerned with the frog's attitude in that moment that Pikachu barely had time to look over and see Croagunk suddenly get up, rush to a nearby bush and jab into it. As soon as he did, a familiar brown bunny jumped from the foliage straight into the air. In unison, both Ash and Dawn exclaimed in sheer excitement as Buneary landed next to Croagunk.

"(Uhhh...hi! B-Bye now!)" She squealed as she turned and hopped away.

A little smile formed on Pikachu's face. He knew where this was going! Looking at Aipom, he nodded and immediately started running alongside Ash and Dawn. The rest of their party followed after them, leaving poor Brock and his Pokémon to clean up the dishes.

Chasing after her, Pikachu could barely hear Ash and Dawn's agreement on catching the fleeing bunny.

"Quick Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Dawn commanded, pointing to a spot ahead of where Buneary was hopping.

"(Right-o!)" Piplup shouted, unleashing his Water-type attack and cutting off Buneary's escape route.

Buneary gasped as the bubbles caused a large cloud of smoke to erupt from the earth in front of her. She looked back at them before her face became more determined and she started to jump in place and punch the air in front of herself like some sort of fierce, tiny boxer. Pikachu stopped in place next to Ash and looked over to see Dawn giving a confident smile as Piplup stood in front of her.

"This is a race I can't afford to lose! Since I've had more than my share of goofs, I figured it's time for me to win one! No one is stopping me and that includes you!" She declared, more determined than the mouse had ever seen her.

"If that's how ya feel, then go for it!" Ash urged.

"Then you'll have the honor of watching my first catch!" Dawn shouted before taking a step forward. Amused, Pikachu hung back as he saw Piplup give his opponent a prideful smile, waiting for his trainer to give the first command. "Now Piplup, it's time to use Peck!"

(Take this!)" Piplup cried out, his beak glowing. He jumped into the air and dove towards Buneary only for the brown bunny to effortlessly dodge it.

"That's some dodge!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder and continued to watch in awe.

"'Kay, Piplup, now use Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted, the blue penguin wasting no time to unleash a stream of sparkling bubbles at the rabbit.

Pikachu's eyes widened in complete surprise as Buneary leaned back and released a powerful Ice Beam at the bubbles, causing them to momentarily float in midair before exploding into bright shards of ice.

"But how?!" Dawn exclaimed.

"It froze the Bubble Beam!" Ash gasped.

"(Woah, pretty cool!)" Pikachu muttered, now back on the ground to get a better look. He didn't even notice that Brock had walked up behind them, Bonsly in his arms.

"Then obviously Buneary knows how to use Ice Beam!" He said.

"(Sparkly!)" The young Rock-type muttered.

Buneary quickly lunged forward as Piplup gasped, too caught off guard to do anything else.

"Quick Piplup dodge it!" Dawn shouted, rather panicked but it was too late and everyone looked on as Buneary repeatedly pummeled Piplup using Dizzy Punch and knocked him back at his trainer's feet.

"Too late..." Brock mumbled.

"Oh my poor little Piplup!" Dawn cried out as Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder.

He looked on as Buneary jumped back. Jeez, that girl was no joke. Guess he shouldn't be too surprised. After all, she was the one who saved him without even batting an eye, so why would it be shocking that she-?

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Buneary land a few feet away and began twirling along the ground, almost in a ballerina-like fashion.

"(How'd you like that? Not bad huh~?)" She asked, an almost playful tone in her voice before suddenly stopping, putting her paws up to her cheeks and winking at them.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu confusedly muttered as he looked at her. Funny, it was almost like she was looking right at him.

"What was that?" Ash asked, equally perplexed.

Piplup got back to his feet but unfortunately, the poor penguin was left mumbling in a haze of confusion after Buneary's attack.

Pikachu could only look between Piplup, the rest of the group and Buneary as everyone debated on what was going on. He saw that Buneary was eagerly jumping in place, readying herself for their next move.

"What do I do?!" Dawn cried out.

"First, just chill out!" Ash firmly shouted.

"Put Piplup in its Pokéball and it'll be fine." Brock calmly suggested.

"That sounds good, okay!" Dawn replied, her worried expression melting away into one of determination. Quickly she took out her Pokéball. "Now-!"

"(Oh no you don't!)" Buneary shouted as she jumped incredibly high into the air, spun forward and kicked Piplup right into Dawn's face, causing them both to fall onto the ground.

Everyone could only gasp in shock as Dawn looked at the knocked-out penguin in her lap.

"Piplup no!" Dawn shouted.

"Buneary just used Bounce! That was some impressive power!" Brock said in awe as they looked at the brown bunny.

"(You're telling me...)" Pikachu muttered as he saw her do that twirl and wink again. He barely had enough time to register what the other were saying before Dawn recalled Piplup and rose up, a humble smile on her face.

"Okay Ash, go and give it your best shot!" She brightly said, motioning him forward.

"Alright, ready Pikachu?" Ash asked with an excited smile.

"(You got it!)" Pikachu replied with a nod before pushing himself off the boy's shoulder and landing on the ground a few feet away from Buneary.

"(Huh?)" Buneary mumbled, her smile being replaced with a look of surprise.

"(Ready?)" He determinedly asked, prepared for a battle of epic proportions.

And then...instead of rushing forward she...shuffled in place? Actually, she turned away and muttered something though it was a bit hard to say given that her paws covered her mouth.

"(Oh uhhh...hi. Fancy seeing you again!)" She said, her eyes squeezing even tighter. "(I mean I-I...you...I...o-ohh!)" She squealed before pulling her fluff up to her face.

"(What the...?)" Pikachu mused aloud as he tilted his head in complete confusion. He could barely even hear what the others were saying behind him. Something about how Buneary was acting so incredibly different than when battling Piplup. Of course owing to his incredible luck, he could pick up a whispered quip from Aipom in the tree.

"(Interesting...)" She practically laughed, no doubt with a large smile plastered on her face.

Pikachu couldn't even fathom turning around to look at the group as he was completely unable to take his eyes off the rather curious bunny. Was this some sort of Sinnoh-exclusive battle tactic? Something used to catch the opponent off guard?

"(I-Is he still...?)" Buneary muttered to herself as she lowered her fluff down a little to peek at him, exposing her slightly reddened face. Upon making eye contact with him, she pulled it back up and screamed, shuffling in place, even more flustered. "(Oh legends he is!)"

A bead of sweat appeared on the side of Pikachu's head. So mystified was he that he could barely make out what the others were saying.

"I had a feeling before this was going on..." Dawn said to herself. Pikachu couldn't really hear the rest of what she said as Buneary began to approach him, her fluff still covering her face. Despite his attention being focused on the bunny's antics, Pikachu could hear the familiar sound of Aipom landing on Ash's head.

"(Oh I've GOT to see this!)" She laughed as Ash grunted.

"Oh man, how do we battle with this going on?!" Ash grumbled.

Still standing in his battle-ready pose, Pikachu blinked, mouth hung agape as Buneary got closer.

"(Sooo...uhhh...)" She managed to say before briefly pausing a foot away from him. Standing in place, she continued to cover her face and moved her body from side to side. "(Y-You come here often or...?)" She asked before lowering her fluff to look at him again only to quickly pull it back up and practically flail in place. "(I-I mean...! I uhh...ahem. It's nice to meet you again~)" She said in a much gentler tone before suddenly leaning up against his arm.

So shocked was he from this display, that he could only register Brock and Dawn say something to each other, their voices progressively rising. Moments later, his ears twitched a little upon hearing Ash's voice.

"I'm catching that Buneary!" He shouted from behind.

"(Not today!)" Buneary declared, breaking out of her trance-like state, stepping away from Pikachu and suddenly unleashing an Ice Beam at the group.

"(W-Wait!)" Pikachu cried out only to see his friends immediately encased in ice, their shocked expressions frozen in place. When it was done, he could only stand where he was, unable to really take in what he was looking at. "(Wow...)" He mumbled before he suddenly felt his paws being grabbed.

"(Hee~! Did ya see that? No capturing for this gal! Not today!)" She squealed as she began to spin him in place, lifting him off the ground.

"(W-Wait! Hold on a sec!)" The poor mouse cried out as he felt his feet lose contact with the ground.

"(Come dance with me!)" She happily exclaimed before jumping away with him.

"(Hey!)" He squealed as they twirled away. With that, they took off further into the forest, constantly spinning along the way.

After a few rounds of this, he was starting to get utterly dizzy. All the while, he kept shouting, sometimes incoherently as they bounced throughout the forest and beyond, losing all sense of time.

"(J-Just hold on!)" He yelled.

"(We can just dance all day; you can come visit my burrow and walk by the lake and-!)" She said before Pikachu unlocked his chest to yell..

"(Alright, TIME OUT!)" He screamed.

Evidently, his response got through because she immediately landed with him in an open field.

"(Huh? Something the matter?)" She asked only for him to exhale and let go of her paws before giving her a rather stern look.

"(What's your problem?!)" He shouted, genuine annoyance in his voice.

"(Wh-What?)" Buneary gasped, a paw up to her mouth in shock and a horrified expression plastered on her face.

Seemingly not picking up on this, Pikachu concernedly looked back at the forest. "(I'll need to unfreeze my friends. Hey do you know where we-?)" He said before he heard slight whimpering from her. Looking back, he saw that she was practically about to burst into tears, her lips rather pursed as she tried her best to not cry right then and there. "(Uh-Uhhh...!)" He stammered, flinching in shock at the display.

"(I'm...!)" She managed to say, only for more tears to well up in her eyes.

"(Woah, okay!)" Pikachu blurted. All at once, he felt a wave of guilt come crashing over him. He had a right to be upset and all, but man he didn't want to make the poor girl cry! Setting his feelings of guilt aside, he put on a reassuring smile and leaned over to pat her on the shoulder. "(Ummm...there, there! It's gonna be okay!)" He calmly said, only for the bunny to turn away as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Horrified, he retracted his arm and looked at her in silent shock.

"(I'm sooorrrrry!)" She cried through sniffles. "(You must hate me now!)"

Panicking, Pikachu flinched before waving his paws in front of himself. "(N-No! Not at all! I was a little miffed just then but-)"

"(I'm soorrryyy!)"

Pikachu merely looked at her, not knowing what to do.

Oh...boy.

"(Hey!)" Starly called out as he landed next to them. "(There you are I-)" He said before looking between them. "(What uh...what's going on?)"

Pikachu gave an embarrassed smile and put a paw behind his head. "(Uhh...well ya see...)"

"(I...I...!)" Buneary managed to say between gasps, the tears continuing to flow before she suddenly stopped and extended her ears. "(Wait...)" She muttered as she looked around and moved her ears a little, both Pikachu and Starly looking at her. "(...Something's not...right?!)" Buneary shouted as she turned around only to be suddenly snatched up by some sort of glass capsule!

"(Wha-hey!)" Pikachu screamed as he saw her imprisoned form being retracted into a large machine bearing a familiar-looking "R" logo.

Pikachu blinked and groaned as he turned over on his back, his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Yup, pretty unusual day for getting a new member of the team. He still didn't know why she was in the bush near camp the second time they met. Spying on them maybe? Regardless, things only got crazier after that. His eyes glazed over the ceiling fan as he recalled giving himself up to Team Rocket with the promise of letting Buneary go. Of course, he should've known that the trio wouldn't keep their word because as soon as they got him in a separate glass capsule, they planned on keeping them both. Thankfully, Ash's arrival helped derail things.

He let out a huff as he recalled busting out of his glass imprisonment using Iron Tail. He could remember seeing Buneary's pleading face, her paws up against the glass capsule. As soon as he freed her, Ash and Dawn gave the commands to attack the machine's engines. With that, the two held paws and jumped down, safely landing in the humans' arms. After Team rocket was chased off by Officer Jenny, Buneary had one last battle with Piplup before being captured and officially joining their team.

Still not feeling comfortable, Pikachu flipped onto his stomach and groaned. What a day...perhaps one of the most significant ones in his life even if he didn't realize it at the time. Looking back on their first day together, it all felt like a lifetime ago. Man, it hasn't been that long has it? A few months right? How so many things can change so quickly...

Gym battles, Team Rocket and almost dying not even being the tip of the iceberg.

Getting to know someone, giving dating a chance, developing feelings for each other, going on misadventures...

Pikachu squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in the bedsheets, gripping them a little tighter. He could only wordlessly mumble something as he looked up at his letter bracelet, now in his paw instead of on his arm. All at once, he came crashing back to his current reality.

Things were so good not even twenty-four hours ago and now...

How did it all come falling apart?

And to think, of all the things they'd gone through: villainous factions, rampaging Pokémon, gym battles, contests, winning and losing...

...And yet it was this that did it.

In that moment, all he wanted was the ability go back in time and undo the past few hours nay, to just relive yesterday and how things were so completely different. How it was all smiles, excitement and looking forward to the future...

It was funny...it wasn't like Ash wouldn't forgive him but he really let the boy down. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time they were on terms this bad aside from their first day together. For the poor electric mouse – although his best friend would eventually come around – right now...it just felt like everything was crumbling around him.

Pikachu squeezed his eyes shut again as he tried to suppress the urge to cry, unable to really hold it back anymore as he lay there alone.

For the longest time, it seemed like losing the two most important figures in his life was such a faraway possibility...

...And in that moment it felt as if he had lost them both.