Author's note: Heyo!
Just so you know... a few extra scenes got added to the last chapter! One that goes into detail about Starly and Pachirisu's personalities, one that talks about how the brainwashing machines explode, and one where Munchlax and Buneary discuss the soothe bells!
Feel free to check 'em out, to get yourself up to speed! :D
Well, with that out of the way... hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Eight: A Hidden Truth
While the group walked, Pikachu listened intently as Munchlax explained how he'd met Kellyn on some place called Nabiki Beach in Almia.
It was a really cool story, but Pikachu was still kind of stuck on something from earlier. How he'd made a complete fecking fool of himself, trying and failing to explain what a ranger was.
Urgh, it was just like the first time Buneary had asked him about rangers today. The second he'd started explaining them, he'd realised he didn't know nearly enough about them! Their way of doing things hadn't made sense at all, and had confused the hell out of him the more he'd thought about it.
It wasn't his fault, though! Rangers had never been properly explained to him, so he'd only been able to go off what he'd seen first-hand from Solana and Jackie!
He was pretty sure Jackie hadn't told them squat about being a ranger. What they were, what they did, what they stood for, nothing. Just his backstory of why he'd decided to become one.
As for Solana, if she'd explained it to Ash the first time he'd met her, then Pikachu hadn't been there to hear it. He'd been elsewhere, trying to cheer up a scared and injured celebi he'd found.
... Oh god. Even worse than not being able to explain what rangers were, a minute ago, he hadn't been able to explain to Munchlax and Riolu what a frigging pokéball was! He hadn't been in one in so many years now that he'd forgotten exactly what it felt like, so, yet again, he'd been unable to look impressive.
Damn it all...
Once Munchlax finished his surprisingly interesting story, he asked the group if they had any fun stories of their own, of how they'd met their trainers or carers.
Pikachu brightened as excitement filled him. Well, of course he did! The story of how he'd met Ash was one that should go down in legend!
Taking note of Riolu, he squashed the emotion down. "(Yeah, maybe,)" he replied as humbly as he could.
"(I'd say so!)" Buneary replied cheerfully.
"(Well, I dunno about exciting...)" Riolu replied, "(but yeah, I can tell you, if you want.)"
"(Great!)" Munchlax said with a beaming smile. He looked around the group. "(So, who wants to go first?)"
Buneary raised a paw. "(I wi-!)" she said enthusiastically before pausing. She glanced over at Pikachu. He was about to question it when she suddenly spoke again. "(Actually... I've never heard Pikachu's story, so...)" She indicated him with her paw. "(How about he goes first?)" She beamed at him.
He blinked. Oh. Oh! She wanted him to go first? Well, sure, he didn't see a problem with that! Talking about how he'd met Ash through Professor Oak, and...
He paused as horror seeped into his veins. Ohhhh shit...
"(Uh... okay, sure!)" he replied, forcing a smile. He also tried his best to squash down the horror, so as not to scare Riolu again.
Alright, he had to go about wording this very carefully...
"(Well,)" he continued, "(I used to live in Kanto... somewhere between Pallet Town and Viridian City... and... one day, I was caught by some kid named... Joshua, I think.)"
Buneary had a contemplative look on her face, before her eyes widened. "(You had a trainer before Ash?)"
"(Yep! But, uh... he... didn't think I was a good fit for his team. So he took me to Pallet Town, and dropped me off at Professor Oak's.)" Now that he was past the hard part, he could feel the tension lift from his shoulders. He smiled genuinely at the group. "(He's a guy who has a research lab, and also gives out starters to new pokémon trainers.)"
"(S-Starters?)" Riolu asked, eying him warily.
... God, he hoped his emotions hadn't been too obvious.
Trying to ignore it, Pikachu continued. "(Yeah! In Kanto, they're Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. They're different for other regions. They're given to kids, so they can start their pokémon journey.)"
"(Sounds cool!)" Munchlax replied happily.
"(Journey?)" Riolu asked, stepping around a rock.
"(Yeah!)" Pikachu replied. "(Travelling across the land, and earning gym badges, contest ribbons, or something similar.)"
Riolu's eyes widened in intrigue. (Oh.)"
Pikachu felt a twig snap underneath his foot as he walked. "(Now, not long after I was given to Professor Oak, he had to hand out the starters. Three kids came and picked them up... but then, afterwards, Ash showed up late. In his pyjamas.)"
Buneary snorted. "(In his PJs?)" she asked, a smirk just about visible behind her paw. "(Really?)"
He felt his own amusement swell, as well as his pride. Remembering Riolu, though, he squashed them down. "(Yeah! He wanted a starter, but they'd all been taken. So he got me, instead!)"
"(Wow, all 'cause he showed up late?)"
"(Yeah. Things would be quite different if he hadn't!)"
She giggled. "(No kidding!)"
"(So you were an accidental starter?)" Munchlax asked, smiling. "(Funny how that works out!)"
(Heh, yeah,)" Pikachu replied.
"(So, have you and Ash been together long?)"
Pikachu nodded. "(Yeah. About... four years now, I think.)"
Munchlax's eyes lit up. "(Wow, really? That's longer than I've been with Kellyn! Impressive!)" He beamed at Riolu. "(Isn't that impressive, Riolu?)"
"(Y-Yeah,)" Riolu replied, smiling a little bit.
Huh. It was quite nice not having him flinch away for once.
Munchlax turned to Buneary. "(How about you, Buneary?)" he asked.
Buneary gave another light giggle. "(I've not actually been with Dawn all that long,)" she replied. "(Just a few months now!)"
His eyes widened in intrigue. "(Oh yeah?)"
"(Yeah! I used to live on Mt. Coronet, the highest mountain in Sinnoh! Not quite at the top, but high enough for it to be pretty cold! One day, though, I decided I wanted to live somewhere lower, that had warmth and grass, and flat pathways.)" She laughed. "(You have no idea how rocky that place is, believe me!)"
"(Can't say I've ever been up there!)"
"(Ha, well, it is. Anyway, I moved waaaay lower down, to a place somewhere between Sandgem Town and Jubilife City. Then, one morning, when I was out looking for breakfast, I heard a scream, so I went over to see what it was. Turned out Dawn was freaking out over her hair being a mess!)" She laughed, and everyone chuckled along with her. "(Okay, so... afterwards, Brock started peeling potatoes, and he dropped one. His croagunk grabbed it and threw it so high, no one could catch it!)"
"(Wow, really?)"
"(Yeah! And then Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and caught it!)" She paused for a long moment, looking contemplative as she glanced at Pikachu.
He was trying really hard not to feel incredibly proud of his accomplishment. Especially since he'd done three forward flips and landed perfectly on his feet that day.
"(Then what happened?)" Riolu asked Buneary curiously.
"(... Well...)" A light smirk appeared on her face, before it melted away and she shrugged. "(He just looked really cool.)" She flipped around to face Pikachu, now walking backwards, and winked at him. "(Did three forward flips and landed on his feet, didn't you, Mr. Hotshot?)"
Pikachu tried to smile pleasantly through a wave of pride and attraction. The damn wink got him every time.
"(Well, I guess so,)" he replied humbly.
She grinned again. "(It looked soooo cool.)" Her eyelids lowered a bit. "(Like a piece of art, almost.)"
Damn it, she was kinda hot when she talked to him like that.
Well, he wasn't about to stop her, that was for sure.
He gave a sheepish grin back, but he so badly wanted to return that sexy seductive look she was giving him! Alas...
After a moment, he noticed her eyes widen and her face go bright red. This threw him off a bit. Huh, was she getting embarrassed by her own flirting?
As he watched her scoot back into place and pull her fluff up over her face, he couldn't help but stare.
Glancing around briefly, he saw Munchlax watching Buneary curiously, and Riolu... was staring at Pikachu. Wide-eyed. Blinking several times in utter bewilderment.
... Wait, shit, Riolu! Squash it down, squash it down!
"(U-U-Uh, anyway!)" Buneary continued flusteredly, her fluff still covering her face. "(Some stuff happened, and I got captured by Team Rocket. They're these bad guys who follow Pikachu around, constantly trying to steal him... a-and they wanted to use me as bait. H-He and the humans saved me, and Dawn caught me when I jumped off the robot.)"
"(H-Huh?)" Riolu asked, snapping out of his trance. "(Robot?)"
"(Y-Yeah! A big metal thing that walks around, and they use it to steal pokémon.)"
Riolu flinched. "(O-Oh...)" He glanced down at the grass sombrely.
"(And-)" Buneary tripped on a rock, which she probably hadn't seen. "(Wah!)" She wobbled, hopping on one foot to stabilise herself. Once she stopped, she let out a breath of relief, dropping her fluff to her waist. Her face was still a bit red as she continued walking. "(... Well, I thought Dawn was pretty cool, so I joined her team.)"
... Okay, was it Pikachu's imagination, or was she purposely avoiding his gaze?
When he realised that no one had said anything, he glanced around. Riolu was still staring sombrely at the floor, and Munchlax... was staring at Buneary. Huh?
After a moment, the bear shook his head and went back to beaming. "(That's a cool story!)" he said. "(So you met Dawn because of Pikachu, huh?)"
Buneary nodded, smiling. "(Yep!)" she replied. She paused as she looked at Riolu. "(Riolu? Are you okay?)"
"(H-Huh?)" the dog replied, lifting his head. "(Oh, y-yeah...)" He glanced away, rubbing his arm. "(I just... don't like thieves...)"
Munchlax gave him a sympathetic gaze.
Buneary moved a bit closer, patting the dog on the other arm. "(Hey, I don't blame you. Pokémon thieves are horrible, selfish people.)" After a moment, she brightened. "(Oh hey! It's your turn, isn't it?)" She gave him her best smile, which lit up her entire face. "(Why don't you tell us how you met the nice old man?)"
Riolu's eyes widened in intrigue.
"(Yeah!)" Munchlax agreed, also brightening up. "(Tell us, tell us!)"
"(Mm,)" Pikachu agreed, giving a nod of 'go ahead'.
Riolu looked around at them all. "(W-Well, okay,)" he replied. He took a breath, composing himself, before he began.
Riolu walked along the dirt path that was surrounded by grass, trees and various types of one-story houses. Some had red roofs, some had blue roofs, and others had flat roofs the same off-white colour as the buildings.
Hanging around the trees and houses were many humans, with their riolu and lucario partners. Nervously, Riolu stuck close to his daddy's legs as they passed them.
"Just a bit further," the human leading them said.
The man was his daddy's human, but his aura was never very warm or welcoming. Earlier, Riolu had shaken his head and clung to his daddy's leg, refusing to go with the man without his daddy around. The man had heaved a sigh, his aura full of frustration, but he'd ultimately agreed.
Looking around as he walked, Riolu saw a group of riolu running around nearby. One of them tapped the other on the back, before cackling and running away.
"(Tag!)" he called out. "(You're it, Aurora!)"
The one who'd been tapped rounded on him, her aura angry. "(No faaaair, Spike!)" she whined. She pointed at the third riolu. "(Emmet was way closer! Why'd you go for me?!)"
Emmet shrugged, his aura calm, but also amused. "(Guess he doesn't like you!)" he called back.
Aurora's anger spiked. "(What?! Oh, come onnnn!)"
"(Nah,)" Spike replied with a grin, his aura radiating amusement, "(you're just fun to mess with.)"
Aurora puffed out her cheeks. "(Spiiiike!)"
The two boys laughed, a mirthful aura pouring off them, as the girl continued to pout. When their gazes locked with Riolu's, though, they all fell quiet. The aura he felt from them was suddenly very awkward.
"(Oh... hey,)" Aurora said, fiddling her paws together.
Spike gave a small wave. "(Hey,)" he said.
Emmet half turned away, still watching him. "(Yo,)" he said.
Riolu shrunk further behind his daddy's legs. "(H-Hey...)" he mumbled back.
It was always like this. Once the 'special riolu' with Aura Sphere came by, the aura would turn awkward, since the humans had put him on such a high pedestal. He had expectations to meet, so he was apparently intimidating to talk to.
He hid his face as they walked past the group.
A gentle paw rested on his head, momentarily startling him. "(You doing okay, sport?)" his daddy asked.
Riolu looked up at the familiar face, relaxing into the touch. "(Y-Yeah,)" he replied. "(I'm fine, Daddy.)"
The lucario smiled down at him. "(That's good.)"
"... Jack," the human said, his aura frustrated again. "Soon, Riolu will have to start his training... so you'll have to stop coddling the boy."
Jack looked up at him with a sigh. "(... I know, Pete,)" he replied quietly. "(I know.)"
... Riolu wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.
Pikachu felt a twinge of amusement. Heh. He'd just been thinking about a 'Jackie', too. The two of them had completely different personalities, though.
"(Wow,)" Munchlax said to Riolu with a smile. "(You weren't kidding when you said you don't have a nickname! But everyone else does?)"
"(Almost everyone,)" Riolu replied.
"(Jeez, though...)" Buneary said, folding her arms with a light frown, "(everyone took this Aura Sphere thing way too seriously!)"
"(No kidding!)" Munchlax added, looking surprised. "(Sure, it's impressive that you can do it, when most riolu can't, but...)" He put a paw to his chin in thought. "(Is it really that important?)"
"(W-Well...)" Riolu replied awkwardly.
"(Yeah,)" Pikachu agreed with a pleasant smile, "(you'll learn it when you evolve anyway, right?)"
Inside, he was flabbergasted. Other young riolu avoiding him, and this 'Pete' guy, wanting to separate him from his dad, just because he was a little bit special?
He tried hard to keep his emotions squashed down.
"(Mm-hmm!)" Buneary added, nodding. "(So why put so much stock in it?)"
"(Um...)" Riolu glanced away, rubbing his arm. "(I'm... not sure I'm supposed to talk about that...)"
Pikachu's curiosity piqued, though he kept his mouth shut.
Buneary blinked. "(Oh?)"
"(Yeah...)"
She faltered. "(Oh, well... okay...)"
"(Hm,)" Munchlax said, sounding intrigued, but not pushing the issue. "(Well, how about you continue your story, then?)" He smiled. "(You haven't told us how you met the old man yet!)"
"(O-Oh, right,)" Riolu replied. "(Well...)
"Here he is, Graham," Pete said, indicating Riolu.
The old man, who was standing in front of his own house, smiled down at the dog. "Why, hello there, young one," he said, his aura almost as gentle as his daddy's.
Riolu hesitated, his paw clinging to his daddy's leg for comfort and support. The old man seemed nice, but Riolu wasn't familiar with him at all.
"(H... Hi...)" he replied.
The old man knelt down, gazing at him from close to eye level. "I'll be training you for a while. Let's get along, okay?"
Riolu glanced up at his daddy, who smiled and nodded encouragingly at him, his aura as gentle and kind as ever. Looking back at the old man, Riolu ducked his head, still unsure.
But, if his daddy was fine with it, then...
"(O-Okay...)"
"Well," Pete said, turning away, "let's leave them to it, shall we, Jack?"
"(R-Right...)" Jack replied, his aura suddenly awkward.
Riolu looked up at him, surprised by the shift in emotion. "(Daddy?)" he asked.
The lucario knelt down, his aura a little sad now. It kind of scared Riolu. "(Alright, kiddo. I'm gonna leave you with the nice old man now. He'll help you train, okay?)"
Riolu's fear spiked. "(Wh-What?! B-But Daddy!)"
His daddy hugged him, making sure to be gentle around his chest spike. "(It's okay, sport. I'm not going anywhere. I'll come see you a lot, and so will your mom. Okay? But you need to... be a big boy and train with the nice old man, alright?)"
Riolu shivered, not liking this at all. "(B-But, but...)"
"(It'll be okay. You'll be safe. I promise.)"
His aura was so confident - so self-assured - that Riolu couldn't help but believe in it. Slowly and tentatively, he wrapped his arms around the lucario.
"(Okay, Daddy...)"
Buneary had her paws over her mouth as she walked, staring intently at Riolu. "(... Please tell me came back,)" she said tentatively.
"(Of course he did!)" Riolu barked back, frowning slightly. "(Daddy never left me, and neither did Mommy!)"
Buneary heaved a sigh of relief. "(That's good...)"
Yeah, Pikachu had to admit, that was a relief. It'd really started sounding like a red flag of some sort at the end there.
"(Well, that old man does sound really nice!)" Munchlax said happily. "(Your dad, too!)"
Riolu gave him a soft smile. "(They are,)" he replied.
Munchlax pointed at the pink, string-tied pouch around Riolu's neck. "(And he was the one who made you the carving, right? The old man, I mean.)"
Riolu nodded. "(Uh-huh.)"
"(Well, it's really nice!)" Munchlax paused, blinking. "(Actually, it kinda reminds of Mr. Woodward, thinking about it!)" He smiled again. "(The old man I mentioned, who used to give me snacks a lot! He carves things out of wood, too!)"
Riolu perked up. "(Oh yeah?)"
"(Yeah! In fact, he had this huge pikachu carving sitting in his house! It was so cool.)"
Pikachu internally smirked. A pikachu carving, eh? And a huge one, at that? The man had good taste.
"(Whoa.)" Riolu's eyes lit up. "(That does sound cool.)"
Buneary giggled, one paw over her mouth. "(How lifelike is it?)" she asked.
"(Pretty lifelike, I'd say!)" Munchlax replied happily.
She leaned over and winked at Pikachu. "(Better than the real thing?)"
Pikachu gave her a sheepish smile in return. Goddamn, two winks in one day? He must've been a good boy today.
Riolu paused to stare at him. "(... The grown-ups sometimes have this aura,)" he said. He frowned in contemplation. "(What is it?)"
Pikachu blinked back at him, wondering what the hell he meant. When it eventually hit him, the heat rushed to his face.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, squash it the hell down!
He hurriedly glanced over at Buneary, whose face was also rather red as she fiddled with her fluff. She avoided his gaze, looking like she was debating whether or not to pull the fluff over her face again. Oh double shit. Had she figured something out?!
"(Uh...)" he said, forcing a smile, "(I-I'm not sure what you mean, Riolu, but... um, I need to talk to Munchlax a second!)" He rushed behind Riolu and pushed him forward, to the dog's yelps. "(S-So go chat to Buneary for a bit, okay?)"
"(O... Okay?)"
Once he'd pushed him far enough away - and, as a result, closer to the humans - he scurried back to his previous position. Buneary gave him a quick, surprised glance, before hurrying over to where Riolu was.
Pikachu sighed in relief. Okay, maybe he hadn't handled that the best, but he'd panicked! Urgh, and he was supposed to be the master of controlling his emotions...
"(What emotion was he talking about?)" Munchlax asked curiously.
Pikachu forced a smile. "(Uh, nothing important! But, uh... I wanted to... talk to you about something.)"
Munchlax brightened up. "(Oh yeah?)"
"(Yeah! Uh...)"
... Goddamn it. Now that he'd put himself on the spot, he couldn't think of anything.
"(Is it about how cute Buneary is?)"
Pikachu stood at attention. Had he heard that right? "(Huh?)"
"('Cause she is pretty cute when she gets all bashful! Don't you think so?)"
Jealousy flared in his chest, and he tried to resist the urge to frown. Instead, he tried to sound confused and flustered as he shrugged. "(I... dunno!)"
He wanted to kick and scream, lash out, tell Munchlax to lay off his woman... but...
He deflated. Oh, who was he kidding? He wouldn't do that in a million years. Not if he wanted to keep his emotions under wraps.
Besides... as painful as it was to admit, it wasn't like he'd ever make a move on Buneary. So what right did he have to tell Munchlax to back off?
The bear blinked, looking surprised. "(Oh. Was that not what this was about?)"
Pikachu forced another smile, trying not to heave a sigh. "(Uh... y-yeah, actually! That was it...)"
Munchlax brightened. "(Oh! Well, in that case...!)"
Urgh... he'd dug himself a very deep hole, and now he had to lie in it...