Author's note: Heyo!
Hope you're all liking my little divergence from canon! It'll go the same general way as the special, but with lots of extra scenes~! Woo~!
Having Partner Munchlax and Wave Buneary here is really changing the pacing, and I'm loving it! XP
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
(Oh! By the way! A big thanks to Guest for your nice reviews across all my fics! I really wish I could give you a proper response through PMs, but alas! Still, though, know that I appreciate you greatly, whoever you are!)
Chapter Five: A New Friend
"This seems like a good place to rest," Kellyn said as he stopped moving. Everyone else seemed to stop along with him, as far as Buneary could tell. "We should be safe here for the time being."
"Okay," Dawn replied, kneeling down. "Here you go, Buneary."
Buneary felt herself being gently lowered onto the rocky ground. Now sitting down, she glanced around wearily. There was a calm river in front of her, with a few boulders dotting the edges. Around her were more trees and bushes, probably obscuring the group from view. On her right, she saw Kellyn lowering the riolu onto his feet. The munchlax stood by him, looking very relaxed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Buneary saw something yellow land on her left side, and she knew it could only be one person.
"Alright." Kellyn knelt down in front of the riolu and rummaged in the pocket of his black and yellow shorts. "I have an emergency super potion I can use on Riolu. Can you handle Buneary, Brock?"
"Sure thing," Brock replied, catching Buneary's attention.
She saw Dawn and Pikachu move out of the way as the breeder walked in front of her, knelt down and pulled off his grey backpack. Planting it on the floor, he started rummaging through it.
While he was doing that, a green bag that could only be Ash's was tossed to the side. Seeing this, Dawn decided to do the same with her yellow bag.
"Here you go, Riolu," Kellyn said, catching Buneary's attention in the other direction.
She watched as he held the riolu's arm, and pointed a red and orange bottle at the wound on it. He squeezed the sides of the bottle, causing it to spray onto the wound. The riolu flinched in pain, his waves immediately spiking with distress.
"Don't worry," Kellyn continued, his own waves as calm and collected as ever. "You'll be feeling better in no time."
The riolu looked up at him, wide-eyed, his waves full of surprise, as the ranger smiled warmly at him.
"(Yeah!)" the munchlax added, beaming. "(The cut'll be all gone soon!)"
"(Um... thanks,)" the riolu replied, glancing between them both, his waves now a bit awkward. He looked over at Buneary, who also attempted to smile at him comfortingly.
Not long after, a hand gently grabbed her arm, making her look back at Brock. He aimed a yellow bottle at her left shoulder, where the serious goon's crobat had bitten her.
He pushed down the white handle, and out sprayed an antidote. When it hit her shoulder, instant relief travelled around her body. Her head and limbs felt so much lighter, and the nausea was starting to fade. She even felt her vision becoming less blurry.
Though her muscles still ached from exhaustion, she couldn't help but close her eyes and sigh blissfully.
"There you go," Brock said in satisfaction.
"(Feeling better now?)" Pikachu asked pleasantly from beside her.
Without opening her eyes, she nodded. "(Mm-hmm...)" she replied.
"Well, seems she's okay now!" Dawn said happily.
"That's good!" Ash replied just as happily. "And you, too, Riolu?"
"(Y-Yeah...)" the riolu replied awkwardly.
"(Everyone's all better now!)" the munchlax said cheerfully. "(Yay!)"
"... Hey, Kellyn," Brock suddenly said. Buneary heard him standing up and moving away from her. "I just realised something. Where's that green coat you were wearing earlier?"
Buneary opened her eyes in intrigue. Kellyn blinked, surprise entering his waves as he checked himself over. "... Oh. Whoops," he replied. His waves held a tinge of embarrassment. He put a hand to the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, I threw it to one side to use my capture styler, but I... guess I forgot to grab it again."
"Really?" Brock asked in surprise.
"Yeah."
The munchlax laughed, his waves full of mirth. "(Wow, that's the second time that's happened!)" he said.
"I was using it for camouflage, to get in close with Riolu, but... well..." Kellyn sighed, lowering his hand as his waves became a bit exasperated. "I'm just lucky those coats are cheap."
Buneary heard Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu all chuckle in response, though the riolu's waves felt a bit uncomfortable, still.
The munchlax looked over in Buneary's direction with a grin. "(He gets so into his ranger duties that he gets a bit one-track minded sometimes!)"
Buneary giggled. "(Clearly,)" she replied. Oh, that silly ranger. After a moment, she looked back at the riolu. "(Hey, kid? You okay there?)"
The riolu jumped slightly as he looked her way, his waves a bit panicky. "(Uhhh... yeah...)" he replied. He stared at her for a few moments, his waves fading back into awkwardness. "(Hey... uh...)" He walked a bit closer. "(B... Buneary, was it?)"
She smiled at him comfortingly. "(Yes?)"
"(Why did you... try so hard in that battle?)"
She blinked at him, confused. "(Huh?)"
"(You got hurt... but you made yourself stand up again... Why?)"
"(Oh. Well, I promised to get you home, right?)" She smiled again. "(So I couldn't just faint, could I? I had to make sure the goons were gone, so you could be safe!)"
His eyes widened, and awe flooded his waves. "(Really?)"
"(Yeah!)"
He stared in wonder at her, not saying anything for a few moments.
"(Heh,)" Pikachu said pleasantly. "(That was pretty cool of you, Buneary.)"
She smiled to herself at the praise, and was about to reply when she saw the riolu look up and flinch, his waves fearful.
She blinked in surprise at this. Realising she still had to respond, though, she turned to look behind her. "(Uh, thanks, Pikachu!)"
From what little she could feel of his waves, he seemed a bit put off. "(Yeah, no problem.)"
Dang, her response had come out more awkward than she'd intended. Though they'd both likely been distracted by the same thing. She turned back to the riolu, wondering what to say, but her eyes widened when she noticed a pink, string-tied pouch around his neck.
"(Huh?)" She pointed at it. "(Hey, what's that?)"
The riolu turned his attention back to her, then glanced down at the pouch. He held it between his paws. "(Oh, this?)" he asked. "(Well...)"
"Well, I'd better put Buneary back in her pokéball," Dawn suddenly said.
Buneary snapped to attention, looking up at her trainer. The girl was enlarging her pokéball and holding it out.
"(Wait, wait, wait!)" Buneary cried, frantically waving her paws in a 'stop' motion.
Dawn blinked at her, her waves confused. "No?"
Buneary indicated herself. "(I wanna stay out and help the riolu!)" She pointed in the young dog's direction.
Dawn's confusion waves increased. "Huh?"
"I..." Brock began from nearby, "think she's trying to say she wants to stay by Riolu's side."
Buneary nodded enthusiastically.
Dawn's eyes widened, and her waves became surprised. "Really? But, Buneary, you need to rest!" Her waves turned concerned, and even a little bit irritated as she frowned. "You're in no condition to stay out right now!"
"I agree," Brock added.
"Aww, man," Ash said, also from nearby, "but, if she wants to help, then shouldn't we let her?"
"(Yeah!)" Pikachu agreed. Buneary briefly glanced down to see some very agitated waves, despite the mouse's light frown.
"That isn't a good idea, Ash," Kellyn replied, out of Buneary's view.
She suddenly felt two arms wrap around one of her own, and she glanced to her right to see the riolu holding onto her, with very concerned waves coming off him. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"... Although..." Kellyn continued, "considering how much Riolu seems to have taken to Buneary... perhaps it'll be good for him to have a friendly face around that he trusts." There was a pause. "What do you think, Munchlax?"
"(I say go for it!)" the munchlax replied happily.
Kellyn huffed in what sounded like amusement. "Figures you'd say that." He paused again. "... Though it's a pity, since this is my emergency super potion. I prefer to, well, keep it for emergencies. But, if I use the rest of it on Buneary, I won't have any left."
"It's okay," Brock replied reassuringly. "I think I have a spare in my bag."
There was another pause, followed by a sigh. "No, no. I'm the reason she got hurt in the first place, since I hadn't charged my styler in a while. I'll just have to buy another super potion later."
"... Well, if you insist..."
"I do."
There were some footsteps before Kellyn emerged in front of Buneary. Kneeling down, he held out the super potion, pointing it at her left shoulder. He squeezed the bottle, and it sprayed over her wound. Buneary flinched lightly at the stinging sensation, which thankfully faded after a moment.
The ranger kept up the spraying for a while, filling every muscle in her body with relief and energy. She sighed in contentment at the lovely feeling.
When the spray eventually fizzled out, Kellyn pulled the bottle away.
"Well, I'm all out now," he said.
Jeez, he'd really needed to use the whole bottle? Well, she supposed she had fainted, so maybe it had been sorely needed...
He was smiling and his waves were calm, but she still couldn't help feel a bit guilty.
She smiled apologetically at him. "(Sorry,)" she replied.
As Kellyn got back to his feet, Buneary clambered up onto her own. The riolu let go of her arm, giving her space, as she stretched her limbs.
"(Mmm! Wow, that feels good!)" She hopped from foot to foot. "(It still aches a bit, but it's much better than before!)"
"(That's good!)" Pikachu replied. She turned to him, and felt such intensely happy waves coming off him.
She couldn't help but beam in response.
"(Yeah!)" the munchlax agreed. "(Glad you're all better now!)"
"(Y-Yeah,)" the riolu added.
She turned to give them both a smile. "(Thanks, guys!)" she replied. The same happy waves as ever radiated off the munchlax, though even the riolu seemed a bit happier now.
"(So!)" she said, still smiling. "(Looks like we'll be spending the day together then!)"
"(Looks like it!)" the munchlax replied cheerfully.
"(Hope we all get along, then,)" Pikachu said pleasantly.
Buneary couldn't help notice the riolu flinch, his waves fearful again. He moved closer to her and touched her lightly for comfort. She blinked in surprise.
"(... Um... so...)" She strained her brain to think of an ice breaker. "(... Riolu, do you have a name?)" She smiled. "(Or are you just Riolu?)"
"(... Just Riolu,)" he replied. "(Though there's other riolu and lucario that have names... but I'm just Riolu.)"
She beamed, trying to look comforting. "(Oh, okay! Well, you can call me Buneary, then!)" She indicated Pikachu behind her. "(This is Pikachu...)" She watched as Riolu looked away awkwardly. Choosing not to comment on this, she indicated the munchlax. "(And this is... Munchlax?)" She glanced at the bear with happy waves for confirmation.
"(Yeppers!)" he replied. "(Well, I did have a name, but I prefer Munchlax!)"
Buneary giggled. "(Same, though it's mainly 'cause I got used to being called Buneary.)"
"(So those are your species names?)" Riolu asked.
She looked back at him, feeling waves of curiosity. "(Yep! We're a buneary, a pikachu and a munchlax!)"
He blinked, awe filling his waves once more. "(Oh! Wow. Uh, back home I... didn't see many pokémon, other than riolu and lucario...)"
Her eyes widened in surprise. "(You didn't?)"
He shook his head. "(Uh-uh.)"
Huh. A home that mostly housed riolu and lucario? How very strange...
"(Wow!)" Munchlax said happily. "(Riolu's so talkative around you, Buneary! Kellyn made a good choice, keeping you out!)"
Buneary chuckled. "(You think so?)"
"(Yep! Riolu trusts you a lot!)" He looked at Riolu. "(Do you trust me, too?)"
"(... Well...)" Riolu replied slowly, "(you're with the nice ranger, so... maybe? Though he did attack me with a spinning thing...)" Buneary felt him flinch against her. "(I'm still not sure about that...)"
"(Aww, that's okay! I'm sure you'll warm up to us in time!)"
"(And how about me?)" Pikachu asked pleasantly. "(Do you trust me?)"
Buneary felt Riolu flinch again. "(Um... n-not really...)"
"(... Huh? Why's that?)"
Buneary felt Riolu try to crouch down, out of sight. His voice lowered to a murmur. "(... Your aura's... too intense... It's scary...)"
There was an awkward pause from Pikachu. Munchlax's waves became confused, but Buneary was trying very hard not to laugh.
She probably shouldn't be laughing at Riolu's fear, but she understood. Oh, she understood.
She glanced over at Pikachu to feel some extremely shocked and horrified waves coming off him, though his face remained somewhat neutral.
She'd say 'somewhat', because he had slightly widened eyes and his face appeared to be frozen for a few moments.
"(I'm...)" Pikachu replied, his face twisting into a sheepish smile, "(not sure what you mean.)"
"(Me neither,)" Munchlax added, shrugging.
Riolu whined, not saying any more.
Still trying not to laugh, Buneary shrugged as well. "(Who knows?)" she replied.
She could swear she saw Pikachu's eyebrows twitch slightly, which only made her even more amused.
"Glad Riolu seems to be fitting in okay," Ash said happily.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a relief," Brock replied.
"Oh, say, Kellyn!" Dawn said suddenly, attracting Buneary's attention. Her waves held a lot of excitement and curiosity. "You mentioned other top rangers before, right?"
"That's right," Kellyn replied, his waves as calm and pleasant as ever.
"So... how many top rangers are there?"
Kellyn looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm... I remember them saying there's twelve right now."
Dawn's eyes widened as the waves of all three humans became shocked. "Only twelve?!"
"In the whole world?" Ash asked.
"That's right," Kellyn replied. "I was the eleventh, and my friend, Keith, was the twelfth."
"Wow," Brock said. "So who are the other ones?"
Kellyn gave them a sheepish smile, though his waves still remained rather calm. "To be honest, I don't personally know all that many." He started listing them off on one hand. "The only ones stationed in Almia are me, Keith, Sven and Wendy."
Buneary blinked. Huh. For some reason, she'd felt a spike of annoyance come from him halfway though that list. She couldn't help but wonder why.
"Almia?" Dawn asked, her waves intrigued.
"Never heard of that region," Ash added, his waves also intrigued. They spiked into excitement. "Are there any gyms there?"
Kellyn chuckled, his waves betraying slight amusement. "I'm afraid not, no," he replied.
Ash's waves crashed into disappointment. "Aww..."
"And no contests, either?" Dawn asked, her waves hopeful, yet with a tinge of trepidation.
"Nope, sorry."
The waves immediately became disappointed. "Aww..."
"So..." Brock started, his waves oddly amused, though he was clearly trying to hide it, "what sorts of missions do top rangers go on? I've read a few things, but there's nothing quite like a first-hand account."
Kellyn chuckled again, though there was a tinge of pride in his waves. "Well," he replied, "although the Ranger Union would prefer I tackle the higher-end missions, I can do any I wish, really. I can even assign myself missions, if I choose to."
Dawn's waves spiked into intrigue again. "Ooh, really?" she asked.
Kellyn nodded. "Yes. I've done everything from clearing fallen logs, to finding and saving lost pokémon, to stopping an evil team from taking over the region." The other humans were filled with awe. Kellyn held up the arm with the capture styler on it. "Of course, my specialty is hypnosis and closed-off hearts, but I'll gladly take any mission to help people in need."
"That's so cool!" Ash said, his waves filled with excitement.
"Thanks." Kellyn's waves became a bit awkward as he put his arm back down. "Speaking of which, there was a mission Keith and I were assigned to, some time ago. Gigantic, rampaging legendaries were causing havoc in a town in Sinnoh." His smile grew sheepish. "But, when we got there, they were already gone."
Surprise entered the other humans' waves, as Buneary's eyes widened.
"Huh?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah. The locals said that some kids climbed the towers and played a song to calm the legendaries. Then they just left." He chuckled. "Keith and his partner, Buizel, were really looking forward to that mission, so they were quite disappointed."
"... Kellyn," Brock began, "was this place you mentioned Alamos Town?"
Kellyn's waves became curious. "Hmm? Why, yes. How did you know?"
Suddenly, Ash's waves exploded with excitement. "We went to Alamos Town! That's where we saw Dialga and Palkia fighting each other!"
"Yeah!" Dawn added, her waves gleeful. "And we climbed a tower and played a song!"
Kellyn's eyes widened slightly, though his waves spiked in shock. "... Really?" he asked. "That was you guys?"
"Yeah!" Ash replied, no less excited, though there was a splash of anger in there, too. "No one knew why they were fighting, but they were destroying the town! So we couldn't just sit by and do nothing!"
Kellyn blinked. He blinked again. "... Wow." He smiled awkwardly, his waves now a bit embarrassed. "You three managed a mission meant for two top rangers. I have to say, I'm impressed."
Buneary also blinked. Wow, no kidding! And, considering that this Ranger Union, or whatever it was, had chosen Kellyn - the top ranger with the extra-special styler - to go on the mission, it was even more impressive!
She giggled. "(Crazy, huh?)" she asked, looking over her friends.
Munchlax's waves were full of awe. "(Whoa...)" he muttered.
Riolu's waves were curious and a bit confused. "(Y-Yeah...)" he muttered.
When Buneary looked over at Pikachu, she immediately jumped at how intense his waves of pride were.
He blinked, looking at her. "(Huh?)" he asked. After a moment, he smiled. "(Oh, yeah! Pretty crazy, alright.)"
As she heard Riolu whimper against her, and heard Munchlax murmur in confusion, she had to fight down the urge to giggle again. Oh, that silly mouse.