Sausage note: Damn, originally I was going to throw this at the end of The Cracks Of Chaos, but then it got too long. So, instead, I planned to expand the Deep Ocean Tunnel visit with an extended fight, plus some Skiploom action, before throwing this at the end of that to pad out the chapter... but then that got too long, and this got too long. So this whole thing ended up being five chapters longer than expected! Fucking hell... XD

Well, it means you get extra content, if nothing else! Either way, hope it was worth the wait!

Last time: Buneary nearly got very soggy after being attacked by some bastards, but managed to stay dry and un-robbed!


Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Flirty Follies


Buneary felt rather shaken and dizzy as she staggered across the sands of Venture Village, walking alongside Grumpig and Maractus. She'd thought she'd been getting used to Rapidash's rides, but clearly not! Not since that terrible chase against the water, anyway...

"Whewww! That was quite a day, huh?" Maractus said, stretching out as she hopped along. "I could use a shower after all that!"

"Same," Grumpig replied. "Even after scrubbing all that purple grime off, I still feel bedraggled."

Maractus started laughing. "What does that even mean? That's one nerdy word, alright!"

Grumpig huffed, giving her a sassy, if not amused, look. "Oi. Leave my vocabulary alone."

Buneary giggled at their antics. Either way, she agreed with them. Sure, she'd gotten a very cold, salty bath of sorts in Deep Ocean Tunnel, but she'd prefer a much nicer, warmer shower.

"Here," Grumpig said, catching Buneary's attention. She opened her bag. "Let's put our scarves and stuff away in Vespiquen's place."

"Why don't you just keep everything for next time?" Buneary asked. "Why put it away?"

"Keeps things organised and safe. Plus, it gets us out of the habit of being lazy and lugging too much stuff around."

"Uh huh~" Maractus replied, slipping her detect band off and tossing it to Grumpig. "Don't want to find ourselves tossing cool stuff in dungeons like we used to! We wanna leave space for some treasure and goodies~"

"Yeah," Grumpig agreed, putting it in the bag, along with her stamina band. "Our bags might be able to magically store lots of items without even weighing anything, but y'know... it only goes so far. So we just take what we need with us, now."

"Ahh, okay!" Buneary replied. That made a decent amount of sense!

"'Sides, if we get knocked out, we won't lose too much stuff this way!" Maractus continued.

Buneary frowned in confusion. "Huh? Losing stuff?" she asked. She didn't like the sound of that.

"Y'knooow... wild pokémon who decide they like what you've got!"

"Mhm," Grumpig added. "Ugh, and if you lose to an outlaw, it'll definitely happen."

"Ah..." Buneary's frown briefly turned sad. Depressing thought...

Oh well. She tried to smile at them. "Well, it all makes sense, I guess," she added.

"Yep. Now, let's get off to Vespiquen's Storage," Grumpig replied.

"Alright~"

The girls made their way towards the hive surrounded by grass and palmtrees in the distance. However, as Buneary glanced around at the scenary, she spotted someone sitting in the shade of a rock on the beach, a fair distance away from the grassy area.

Squinting against the sun - which was still sitting strong in the sky, even this late in the afternoon - she thought she could see... an umbreon? Oh, he was the same one from the guild, right? She could tell because of his messy, unkempt fur.

"Huh, I wonder what he's up to," Grumpig muttered, looking over at him as well.

"I'm not sure..." Buneary replied. He was just sitting in place, anxiously glancing about for some reason.

"Ooh, Buneary, you haven't met him yet, right?" Maractus asked.

"Uh... I guess not! Not properly, anyway," Buneary replied.

"Heh, hey, tell ya what, then," Grumpig replied. "Go say hi, why don't you? We'll sort things out while you're at it."

"Well... okay~" Buneary replied happily. It seemed like a good idea! She hopped over in Umbreon's direction.

"Have fuuun~!" Maractus called after her.

After giving her and Grumpig a quick wave, Buneary turned back to hopping towards the black fox covered in yellow rings that looked dimmer than usual. "Hey, Umbreon!" she called out.

Umbreon jolted and looked her way, eyes widening. "Oh... shoot, she's gonna give me away," he murmured to himself in his deep, scraggly voice. He began to frantically gesticulate wildly, as if trying to make her go away.

Buneary faltered. Huh? Did he not want to talk or something? And what did he mean by 'give me away'?

She stopped in place, frowning worriedly. A few awkward seconds later, a hand phased through the rock and clapped onto Umbreon's shoulder from behind, making him yelp.

"No such luck! Gotcha!" a girl's voice rang out. A familiar puppet-like pokémon phased through the rock seconds later. She had an object resting against her somewhat large bosom, tied around her neck via a strap.

The fox let out a long, drawn out sigh. "... Fuck," he muttered. "I'm probably going to have to work extra missions to pay back all the binoculars-hide-and-seek debt, now..."

Buneary cringed guiltily. Whoops...

Banette snickered unsympathetically. "Don't play the game if you can't pay the fine!" she boasted, wiping sweat from her dark gray skin. A sign she'd likely been searching for a while. Her eyes widened when she looked Buneary's way. "Oh, hey, the new chick."

"Oh, right. I remember," Umbreon said, looking her way. "Hi."

"H-Hey," Buneary replied. She scuffed her foot against the sand. "Um, I'm sorry, Umbreon. I didn't know you were hiding..."

Umbreon got up and brushed off the sand clinging to his messy fur. "Ah, don't worry about it," he replied, shrugging dismissively. "I didn't think I'd win, and didn't bet her much, so it's not an issue."

Buneary's brows furrowed. That's not what he'd implied, though...

Letting out a breath, she smiled and just let it slide. At least he wasn't mad at her. "Well... okay. Uh... I'm Buneary. Wallflower Buneary."

Banette stuck a thumb out at herself. "They call me Mannish Banette, 'cos I have more balls than most guys, here!" she said with a boyish laugh.

Buneary giggled. "Um, okay!"

"I'm Dark Mark Umbreon," the dark fox added. He turned away, letting his face fall into shadow. "It's... a fitting name for me."

"Oh... why's that?" Buneary asked, not sure if she was going to like the answer.

He held a paw in front of himself and clenched it. "It symbolizes the growing mark of darkness on my sou-"

"It's because he's a pretentious bastard," Banette replied, shrugging exasperatedly.

He spluttered and frowned at her, his yellow rings flaring in brightness. "Hey!"

Buneary pulled a face. She didn't really know how to respond to that. 'Pretentious?'

"Anyway, long story short," Banette started, waving her hand dismissively, "There was this day when the village we grew up together in got ransacked by criminals. Umbreon thinks that-"

"No, not 'think'!" Umbreon retorted. "I know that everyone in the village grew to be prejudiced against the dark-types... and the ghost-types, too... all because of those sableye and impidimps..." He placed his paw against his features, a look of turmoil spreading across them. "And it's for that reason that I became an umbreon... Someone has to fight on their behalf, to bring respect back to the forbidden types. Even at the cost of everyone's opinion of me...!"

Buneary frowned somberly. Aww, that was so sad...

Before she could say anything, Banette piped in first. "Nobody cared," she said, giving Buneary an amused side glance while chuckling. "Like, one or two pokémon acted cautious around me and Spiritomb, but that's it."

Stomping his paw into the sand, Umbreon glared at Banette. "Even that's too many! Ughh...!"

"W-Well... it's still pretty mean of them," Buneary said. She smiled. "I won't judge you!"

Umbreon smiled softly. "... Thank you."

"Anyway, no more of that depressing crap," Banette said, clicking her tongue. "C'mon, let's cheer ourselves up with another game of binoculars-hide-and-seek." She took off the object hanging around her neck and offered it to him. The 'binoculars', most likely. "I'll hide this time."

Umbreon let out a drawn out huff and took them. "... Sure."

Banette looked up at Buneary. "You wanna join?" Her grin grew. "A cutesy girl like you is always welcome...!"

"O-Oh, uh... but you play for money, or something, right?" Buneary asked tentatively.

"Yeah, it makes it all the more interesting," Umbreon replied, now with the binoculars loosely hanging from his neck. He huffed. "Except like now, when I keep losing..."

"Ah... that's a bit intimidating, then..."

"Hey, don't worry, sweet stuff," Banette replied, hovering closer. Smirking, she wrapped an arm around Buneary. Her gray skin had a strange felt-like quality to it. "If you lose, I'll let you get away with it under a special condition...!"

"Oh yeah?" Buneary asked hopefully.

"Yeah!" Banette slowly opened a hole in her chest, revealing pink skin under her fabric-like outer skin. Buneary could see the girl's cleavage inside. "You'll have to... help me take all my cloth off. Y'know, so I can wash it...~"

"Uh... okay?" Buneary replied, a bit perplexed. She needed help with that?

Before Banette could say anything else, Umbreon quickly strolled over, somehow reattached the ghost's cloth in a swift motion and then zipped her golden mouth closed.

She let out some loud, muffled protests and scrambled for her mouth, giving him an incredulous look all the while.

"Don't do it, Buneary," Umbreon replied, giving her a frowning side glance. "She's a massive dyke, so she just wants to diddle you."

"... Uh...?" Buneary murmured, not understanding.

Banette let out an annoyed cry through her clenched, golden teeth. Glaring, she finally managed to unzip her mouth. "I'm not a dyke, you're a faggot!" she retorted angrily. "I like boys, too! 'Sides, what have you got against gay pokémon, anyway!?"

He did a double take. "What? I didn't fucking say I hated any gay pokémon! I just hate how you keep taking advantage of innocent girls, you damn creep!"

She animatedly waved her arms about in annoyance. "I don't 'take advantage' of girls! I find girly girls and meek boys, I smooth talk 'em, and then give 'em a loving they'll never forget!"

Umbreon shook his head in disbelief. "That's taking advantage, you bitch! Stop doing it!"

"Why should I!?"

"Because it's wrong!"

Buneary stretched her lips into a grimace. Yep, she wasn't sure how, but she'd done 'it' again. Why did everyone love to argue and fall out around her?

Banette scoffed and faced away while crossing her arms. "Bleh, face it. You're just jealous you're not getting any, ever since Minccino went away!"

Buneary expected the fox to make some angry retort. Instead, he... stared in horror?

He crumpled to the floor and dug his claws into the sand, his face full of anguish. "M... Min..." he mumbled quietly.

Banette slapped a hand over her mouth. "Aww shit... Here we go..." she muttered.

"W-What's-?" Buneary started.

"MINCCIIIIIIIIIINOOOOOOOOO!" Umbreon howled in agony, his yellow rings flaring in brightness. He ran from the scene, tears pouring down his face.

Jumping in surprise, Buneary stared after him in a bit of horror, herself. What the...!?

"Ughhh, I told him to get over her, already!" Banette complained.

"Is... he okay?" Buneary asked. The answer was obvious, unfortunately, but she was more hoping for an explanation as to what the heck the guy was doing!

Banette shrugged. "Yeah, he'll be fine, sweetheart. Just... hang ten, right?" The girl quickly floated after Umbreon, calling after him. "Umbreon! C'mon, come back, I'm sorry!"

"... I... hmm..." Buneary muttered as she watched them leave. Two times she'd bumped into Team Shadow, and two times it had gone horribly wrong. She hoped she'd be luckier the third time.

Knowing her luck, though, maybe they'd start trying to kill each other...

"Oh dear, did Banette callously mention Minccino's name, darling?" a posh, womanly voice started from behind Buneary.

Surprised, Buneary spun around on the spot. She was greeted with the sight of a stunky with a large chest and sparkling red fur. She was smiling sheepishly at her while standing next to some odd rock with a face on it.

Remembering the time she was once sprayed by a stunky back at her old home, Buneary's back stiffened. "Oh, uh... y-yeah, she did," she replied, hoping not to annoy her.

The stunky clicked her tongue. "Thoughtless as ever. She knows poor Umbreon can't handle hearing his old lover's name without getting upset."

Buneary's eyes widened. "Old lover? What... happened?"

The stunky let out a womanly giggle. "Nothing too drastic, darling, don't worry. Her parents took her away from the town we grew up in, after an unfortunate incident. He hasn't seen her, since."

Buneary let out the breath she'd been holding in. "So she's alive, then? Even after the terrible attack?"

"Ah, they told you about it already, did they? Well, yes, darling. We haven't heard from her since then, but as far as we know, she made it out relatively unscathed. I don't think there were any fatalities, in fact, though there were certainly many injuries."

"Okay, well, it's a relief everyone's generally alright." Buneary frowned sadly. "Still... that sounded terrible. Poor Umbreon, and everyone else..."

"Hmm, it was a grim day. I was lucky my father was visiting at the time, for he is an experienced explorer. Otherwise, I may have been hurt, myself..."

"Oh dear, yeah..."

The stunky let out a breath through her nose. "In any case, I'll be sure to reprimand Banette for digging up old memories later." She let out a bigger sigh. "... As per usual."

Buneary chuckled sheepishly. Banette seemed good at riling up people without meaning to, it seemed. At least, Buneary hoped that she didn't mean to...

The stunky shook her head and smiled at her. "Regardless, that's neither here nor there. Charmed to meet you, Buneary! I'm Glamour Stunky~" She briefly stood on her hind legs to curtsy before falling to all fours again. "I saw a photo of you on Noctowl's camera! Pleased to have you at the guild!"

"Thank you! Pleased to meet you, too, Stunky!" Buneary replied, smiling back. "You seem a lot nicer than the last stunky I met!" She gave a sharp, shocked inhale and waved her paws defensively. "N-No offense, of course! Um, s-sorry."

Stunky blinked a few times. Her shoulders slumped and she let out a breath, but she smiled all the same. Apologetically, this time. "Y-Yes, quite. Sorry, unlike most stunky, I would never dream of... spraying." She gagged lightly before continuing. "I find it uncouth behavior, unlike my older brother, who's... quite fond of it, alas."

Buneary felt relieved. "Well, that's really-"

"Mr. Skuntank was very fond of his noxious spray clouds, indeed...!" a dark, shadowy voice said from nowhere.

Jumping, Buneary paused and looked around. Huh!?

"Oh, my apologies..." the voice continued. A terrifying, ghostly face erupted out of the rock, smiling with big, jagged teeth. "I didn't mean to interru-"

She shrieked and leapt a foot into the air. Losing her balance, she tumbled and crashed to the floor on her front. Ignoring the sand that had clung to her damp fur, she pointed a shaking paw at it. "Holy moly, watch out, Stunky, it's a demon!" she screamed.

Instead of reacting in fright, Stunky just... stared, her smile growing awkward. The demon didn't attack, and just continued to stare unblinkingly, its smile not changing.

Buneary blinked. On realizing that there wasn't any real immediate threat of danger, she relaxed her posture, lips stretching in embarrassment. Uh oh... he was just a regular pokémon, wasn't he? FFFFFFFudge.

"Ahem, um..." Stunky started sheepishly. She fanned her large, well-combed tail out. Buneary nearly died of fright, until she realized that she was only doing it to stretch. "I think you'll find my teammate isn't a demon, darling. He's a sweetheart, even!"

"My... sincerest apologies for frightening you, Miss Buneary," the non-demon added, bowing his face. "I have been told that I am rather... bloodcurdling in appearance...!"

"N-N-No, no, no!" Buneary frantically said, furiously shaking her paws and head. "I was, uh, just, um... k-kidding! I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by it! Not at all!"

Stunky let out a breath. "Darling-" she started.

"I... I-I didn't mean-!"

"Darling," Stunky repeated, reaching a paw over to rest on Buneary's shoulder, stopping her. She giggled lightly. "... No offense, but you're a terrible liar."

Face erupting into heat, Buneary pouted. "... I'm not lying... much..."

Stunky's giggles grew louder. "Well, whatever the case may be, Spiritomb and I shall forgive you, I'm certain~" she said, taking her paw away.

"Most certainly...! I have no... ill will to speak of...!" Spiritomb said with a low cackle.

"Oh... well that's... good, then!" Buneary said, just pleased they weren't mad. She kicked her foot into the sand and meekly put her paw behind her back. "Still, um... s-sorry, Spiritomb..."

"Please, Miss Buneary... I am the one who should be apologizing," Spiritomb responded, his crooked smile and swirly-patterned eyes never flickering once. He bowed his head. Or rather, his entire body...? "Once again, I am dreadfully sorry for startling you...!"

Buneary smiled. "That's okay! You're definitely not a demon! You're really nice, Spiritomb~"

He lifted his head to face her. "I am... flattered to receive such high praise...!"

Buneary's smile grew. What a polite team!

Sitting on her bum, Stunky gave a dainty, excited clap. "How splendid~" she announced happily. "You're both getting on like a weezing's house on fire~" She paused before giggling. "Okay, that was an odd analogy, but you understand me."

Buneary giggled along. "Um, I think so!"

"Most definitely," Spiritomb added. "Your analogy was a... perfect summarization of the situation."

Giggling once more, Stunky waved him off. "Oh, ever the flatterer, aren't you, my dearest?"

"Huh, not who I remember leaving you with," Grumpig suddenly said from nearby. "But whatever works."

Buneary turned to face her, and was surprised to see it wasn't just her and Maractus. Walking alongside them were two blue and white oval-shaped rabbit boys, about half their sizes. One was noticeably muscular with a soft, gentle face, and the other was grinning suavely, the fur on his head heavily ruffled in a cool style.

"Aha, good day, Team Nebula! And to your friends, also~" Stunky replied.

"Charmed...!" Spiritomb added.

"Hellooo, Team Inspection~!" Maractus greeted, eagerly waving a hand as she hopped closer, making her bosom heavily sway.

Stunky gave an awkward chuckle. "That's... Team 'Expectations', Maractus, dear. For we seek to surpass them!" she explained.

"Ohhh, right. Heehee, whoops~"

Grumpig chuckled. "At least it's not as bad as when you called that vivillon and skwovet 'The Extortionists'," she joked.

Maractus laughed. "Oh yeah... oopsie!"

Buneary giggled along, understanding what they meant.

... Actually, what had their real team name been, again? Something about explosions, or something?

"Well, anyway," Grumpig continued. She indicated to the two water rabbits behind herself. "You three, meet a couple of old friends of ours. They were a part of the guild, too, until they graduated."

Buneary smiled up at the two water-types. "Ooh, okay! Hello~!" she greeted, waving to them.

"Hello, there, everyone!" the muscular azumarill replied, his voice as gentle as his face suggested, despite his huge muscles. "So nice to meet you~"

"Yup, hey!" the other azumarill said in a cool voice with a simple wave. "We're The Water Floats!"

Buneary, Stunky and Spiritomb offered back their own greetings.

"Say, are you the newest member of Team Nebula, Miss Buneary?" the muscular azumarill asked. "We've heard about you!"

Buneary beamed. "Heehee, you heard right~" she replied.

The other azumarill smirked and winked her way. "Yooo, you didn't tell me you bagged such a cutie, Grumpig!" he said sauvely.

"Ugh, oh boy..." the pig muttered, crossing her arms.

Eyes widening in surprise, Buneary glanced at Stunky.

"... I believe he means you, darling," the skunk replied, grinning lightly.

Eyes widening further, Buneary looked back at him, face warming. "Oh, um... th-thank you...?" she responded bashfully. Gosh, it wasn't very often people flirted with her at all! It was very flattering~

The azumarill turned his wink Stunky's way. "Speaking of beauties, are you joining 'em, too, gorgeous?" he asked.

Stunky gave a short laugh and waved him off. "Goodness me... am I correct to assume you're the flirt of your team?"

"Got that right..." Grumpig groaned.

"Yup," the muscular azumarill said sheepishly. "Azumarill, c'mon, don't bother the poor girls..."

"Oh, quite the opposite, I assure you~" Stunky remarked.

"Uh, yeah," Buneary added with a giggle. Even if this man seemed to be known for doing it, it was nice to be seen as a woman, for once~

"Heehee! You still sure know how to charm a girl, huh?" Maractus joked.

"Too bad he doesn't know how to stop," Grumpig remarked. "C'mon, Dream Survivor. This is the exact reason I dumped you, and you're still up to your philandering ways."

Buneary did a double take. "D-Dumped? Huh?" she said in surprise.

Maractus grinned sheepishly. "Haha, I forgot it gets this messy with those two..." she said, tapping the large needles on her hands together.

"Aww, c'mon, babe!" 'Dream Survivor Azumarill' said to Grumpig, giving her an awkward grin while rubbing the back of his head. "You make it sound like I straight up cheated on you, or something!"

Grumpig clicked her tongue. "Weren't far off," she remarked.

Buneary gave an awkward side glance to Stunky, who shot her one right back.

"... Trouble in paradise, clearly," Stunky murmured.

"I think so..." Buneary mumbled back.

"How... unfortunate...!" Spiritomb added, his smile still unwavering. Not much could break it, it seemed.

The muscular azumarill sighed. "Little brother, I always told you this sort of thing would happen if you kept up with your flirting..." he scolded. He seemed to grow somewhat teary eyed. "You could've had something beautiful, and now...!"

"N-No, it's alright, bro!" the apparently younger azumarill quickly reassured, patting his back. "It's okay, because I'm gonna get you another sister in-law~"

He strolled over to Buneary and Stunky while quickly rubbing his paws over his white, lower body. Suds began to form in his paws, which quickly took shape as a large, white bubble. "So, ladies...!" he continued. He quickly molded the bubble into something that resembled a large flower and presented it to them, "... do either of you want to be that sister in-law~?"

"Um... I-I'd better not..." Buneary mumbled bashfully. It would feel wrong dating someone her teammate was so upset with. Especially since they'd dated, before...

Besides, something told Buneary that he would probably do the same thing with her...

Stunky, instead, seemed amused. "Ohoho, oh my, so forward, darling~ But I don't even believe we've been properly introduced, yet," she said.

"Oh yeah, o'course!" the azumarill replied. He reached down and stuck the bubble flower behind Stunky's ear, making her giggle again. He put a paw to his chin in a suave pose. "As Grumpig said, I'm Dream Survivor Azumarill!" He winked. "But you can call me just dreamy if you want~"

"Um... eheh, we'll see," Buneary replied sheepishly, glancing at Grumpig, who was frowning. For sure, if this is what he'd done while dating the pig, she could sort of see what she was mad about. If nothing else, he was friendly!

The other azumarill let out a heavy breath, but stepped forward with a smile, anyway. "I'm known as Gentle Giant Azumarill!" He gave a short, polite bow. "Again, it's good to meet you~"

"Likewise, to the both of you~" Stunky replied, cheerfully.

"You seem both perfectly gentle and... giant," Spiritomb piped in. "However,'Dream Survivor' is a very... unique sort of title. Please forgive me if I don't know how to make a... praising comment about it..."

"Haha, no worries!" Dream Survivor Azumarill replied. "They started calling me that as far back as when I was just a lil' babe! Y'see, I survived being abducted by ol' Hypno - uh, a Drowzee and an outlaw, at the time - and later, I got wrapped up in a darkrai's eternal nightmare that Team Destiny saved me from. Name stuck, and here we are, now!"

"We owe Team Destiny so much...!" Gentle Giant Azumarill said, clasping his muscular paws while his eyes watered again.

"Yeah, they saved my berry bacon. I'll never forget it!"

"Oh, how quaint~" Stunky said.

Buneary stared at the two azumarills. Her eyes went wide. "Wait... are you Politeness Marill and Cutie Azurill from the story!?" she exclaimed.

Maractus giggled and nudged Grumpig, who winced lightly in response. "There it iiis~!" she chimed.

"Heh, yeah," Grumpig replied, rubbing her nudged side. "Our celebrities of the hour."

Buneary was a little embarrassed at their comments, but was too amazed to pout.

"Oh, you read the story we're in?" Gentle Giant Azumarill asked her.

"I sure did! You showed up lots of times!" she replied. "You two were so cute~"

"Heh, well, you guessed it, fellow cutie. That was us!" Dream Survivor Azumarill added. He laughed. "Man, we were so young, back then. Can't believe it's been a whole... what, eleven years, since?"

"Definitely," his brother said. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled while blushing. "I'm glad you're a fan, Miss Buneary, but that's sort of embarrassing, honestly. Eheh..."

Buneary paused. Her own face warmed considerably from embarrassment. Actually, they were older than her, weren't they? It was so odd knowing them as adorable kids she wanted to hug and coo over, and now one of them was flirting with her...

Darn it. This made her feel oddly immature and kiddy! And after she'd felt so mature, earlier, too!

"Ah, good, you're still here," a tomboyish voice started up from behind.

Buneary turned to see Banette approach, alongside Umbreon. She had a black eye and parts of the cloth covering her body was sliced up, revealing her bruised up body within. She was still smiling, regardless.

"We made up," she said simply.

"Yeah," Umbreon added, covered in several bruises and scratch marks of his own.

"Oh, that's... good," Buneary replied, smiling unsurely.

His eyes lit up on seeing two pokémon in particular. "Oh. Hey, Stunky. Spiritomb."

"Greetings, my old... friends...!" Spiritomb replied.

"Yes, salutations, Team Shadow," Stunky greeted.

"Hey there, Spiritomb! Stinky!" Banette greeted with a snicker.

Stunky gave Banette a look that was halfway between a friendly smile and a murderous gaze. "Banette, dear, how many times have I told you not to call me that...? Darling?"

"Haha, dunno! The same amount of times I've complimented you for your face butt, probably."

The skunk's smile completely dropped. "Banette, I'll bloody end you!" she screeched, leaping for her.

Buneary jumped in surprise. Holy moly, was this the same person!? Now she was really glad Stunky didn't 'spray'.

Before Stunky could wring Banette's neck, a puddle quickly formed between the two of them, and Dream Survivor Azumarill burst out. As they stopped in surprise, the blue rabbit wrapped an arm around both girls.

"Ladies, ladies!" he said suavely. "Cuties like you two shouldn't be fighting."

"Huh? Was only teasing her, buddy," Banette remarked. She smirked. "Been calling her my assfaced buddy for years!"

Stunky made many anguished noises before sighing deeply and nodding with a frown. "Y-Yes, you're right... My apologies, I just childishly lost myself."

"Your lunge was... most excellent, if it is any consolation...!" Spiritomb praised.

"Yes, thank you, darling..." Stunky muttered, red faced.

Buneary blinked and lightly shook her head in disbelief. Legends above, that Stunky sure was special...

"Cool, everything's all gucci good, then, yeah?" Dream Survivor Azumarill asked. He gave a suave grin. "So instead of starting war... how about we start some love instead, eh~?"

Buneary pouted. Tsk, okay, she was fully on board with Grumpig, now. The more he flirted with everyone else, the less special it felt that he'd flirted with Buneary. Her poor ego...

Stunky giggled and waved him off. "As much as I like a man who's forward, I'm afraid I'd prefer someone with a bit more... push, so to speak. No offense."

"Yeah, opposite for me, man," Banette agreed, sort of. "Either I'm on top, or it's off."

"Miss Banette always was fond of her men being... tender," Spiritomb said.

"Got that right!"

Azumarill sighed, his smile turning a tad defeated. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he said.

"Teehee, better luck next time, Azumarill~" Maractus teased.

Grumpig huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, break a leg..." she muttered.

Banette slipped out of Azumarill's grasp by floating into the air, and turned her gaze to the other azumarill. "Speaking of 'tender men', I'll tell you who I am interested in, though! Hehe...!" she remarked, a sultry look to her gaze.

Gentle Giant Azumarill - who'd been very sheepishly watching everything unfold until now - blinked in surprise. "... Huh?" he muttered.

Banette produced a large nail in her hand that shimmered with ghostly energy. In an action that surprised almost everyone, she stabbed it deep into her thigh with a pained grunt.

"W-What're you doing!?" Buneary exclaimed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Umbreon muttered in distaste.

A small cloud of darkness appeared above Gentle Giant Azumarill, and many of what appeared to be strings of shadow shot out. They firmly clamped to the muscular rabbit's legs and feet in lots of different places.

"Uh, Miss Banette, why... are you using Curse on-?" he started before jerking forwards, somehow surprising himself in the process. He shakily walked forwards, somehow not seeming like he had any control over himself.

Brows heavily furrowed in concern, Buneary looked back at Banette. Using her fingers, she seemed to be manipulating some dark string that was pouring out of the nail in her thigh. The same sort of dark string connecting to Azumarill, in fact. So she was doing that?

"Uh, yo, what're you doing to my bro?" Dream Survivor Azumarill asked warily.

Gentle Giant Azumarill abruptly stopped in place, right below Banette. She flopped onto his head to lie on her front, between his ears.

"Yeah, for sure, I can tell... you're a soft one, ain't'cha...?" she asked, gazing down at his face from where she was.

"... What?" he asked, looking completely bewildered.

"... Did you really do all that just to show off?" Grumpig sassed.

"What of it?" Banette asked, shrugging at her.

"Ugh. I'm starting to see what Umbreon's griping about all the time."

"Meh." Banette turned her attention back to Azumarill, peering over the top of his head to look him in the face. "So... up for hanging out? I'll treat a little sweetie like you right...~"

Buneary cringed. This was super awkward. It reminded her of... someone.

"Yes, um..." Gentle Giant Azumarill replied awkwardly. He took a breath and frowned, "I'm afraid I'll decline. Now please, Miss Banette, get off my head." He strained to move his string-bound legs with little success. "... And stop Cursing me."

She seemed somewhat taken aback. "Well, now! You're more ballsy than I thought!" Her grin returned at full force. "Well, I dunno... what would you do if I said no?"

"Kick your ass, I hope," Umbreon replied gruffly. "Just get off, and stop being an idiot."

"I agree, Banette! Stop making a scene," Stunky added. "Your flirting has no class whatsoever! If you're going to do it, then at least do it properly!"

Banette waved them off and turned a grin back to Azumarill. "You heard Umbreon, cutie. Make me! I'd like to see you try...~" she dared.

Azumarill sighed. "Well, if you insist," he replied, grabbing his jagged black tail with a large, blue ball on the end. He rapidly spun it around in a circle with enough force to bend the air around it. "At least now I don't have to feel bad about this!"

Her eyes widened. "Uh... wait, actually, what're you-?"

The blue ball on the end of his tail suddenly bulked in size and turned metallic a second before he smashed it into the girl on top.

She cried out in pain as she was launched into the air, the force from the hit being enough to shred her cloth-like covers to rags on contact. Completely naked, she went flying far, far into the distance, yelling loudly all the while.

"You're still sorta hoooooot...!" she managed before disappearing entirely from view over the horizon.

Everyone stared at the departing woman. Buneary wasn't sure whether it was in amazement, shock, awkwardness, or bewilderment. She was sure that she personally felt all four.

She hoped she'd be alright... She'd heard that pokémon tend to gravitate towards and harmlessly land in dungeons after being launched miles away, but still!

"Heh..." Umbreon breathed out. "About time."

"Aww. You gave up a perfectly good woman, bro," Dream Survivor Azumarill said, chuckling as he put his paws behind his head. "I mean the show was good, but..."

His older brother slammed his spinning tail into the ground. Its momentum immediately halted, but not before kicking up sand and leaving a sizable hole in the floor. "I think... I'll pass," he said.

A mix of rattles and clapping rang out as Maractus applauded. "Wooo~! Nice~!" she praised loudly.

"Yeah, good going," Grumpig added with an impressed huff. "Muscles aren't just for show, clearly."

Azumarill let out a breath and - after kicking off the ghostly strings that had gone limp against his legs and feet - smiled sheepishly before continuing. "Thanks. Um, sorry for that, everyone. With my sensitive ears, I could already tell she was a mean one." His ears flapped up and down for emphasis, folding in the middle almost like they were on a hinge. "I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I guess I shouldn't have expected much else after everything she said to Umbreon..."

"Oh. You heard all that, huh?" Umbreon asked in light surprise.

"Your hearing must be... most excellent, in that case...!" Spiritomb praised.

"No kidding!" Buneary added in amazement. "I didn't even know you were in the area when Banette was being, uh... 'herself'!"

"Species quirk. We can hear all sorts of stuff!" Dream Survivor Azumarill replied.

"Wow... I know all abo-... Um..." Buneary caught herself before she dumbly revealed that she had more sensitive hearing than most pokémon realized. That was close! She'd never be able to live with the shame. "... That makes sense!" she finished with a grin she hoped wasn't too cheesy.

A sudden loud grumble caught everyone's attention before anyone could comment. Everyone followed the sound to see Grumpig, clutching at her belly with a shocked look.

As Buneary and most of the others chuckled in amusement, the pig's face went bright red as she frowned irritably. "Ugh... I haven't eaten much in ages, gimmie a break," she grumbled.

"Maybe you should've kept that belt on, Grumpig~" Maractus teased.

"Hmph. Quiet, you."

"Well, on that note," Stunky started, calming from her amusement, "shall we get going, ourselves? Dinner awaits us, darlings!"

"Yeah!" Dream Survivor Azumarill replied eagerly. "I'll tell you cute girls all about how our mom's the main secretary gal over at Paradise!"

Buneary's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! So she knows The Angels?" she asked excitedly. Come to think of it, she did remember something about an azumarill... though she didn't remember much about her.

"You got it, baby! Here, let's go eat and chat!"

"Oh, I dunno..." Gentle Giant Azumarill interjected. "We shouldn't drain the guild's resources, now that we're not officially a part of it..."

"As if. Team Destiny loves you two," Grumpig reassured. "Besides, Pansear's one of tonight's chefs, and he always prepares way too much."

"Not that you ever complain, Grumpig~" Maractus teased, giggling.

Grumpig prodded her in the side. "Oi."

Gentle Giant Azumarill chuckled and nodded. "Okay, I suppose there's no harm in it, then~"

"That's the spirit, big bro!" Dream Survivor Azumarill replied eagerly. "Then let's get going!"

The group eagerly agreed and set off for the guild.

"I simply must remember that Miss Grumpig prefers... larger portions, when it comes to dinner...!" Spiritomb remarked, floating along as his odd stone dangled beneath him.

"Hey, you and me both!" Dream Survivor Azumarill agreed. "Gotta get back into her good books one day!"

"Oi, zip it," Grumpig said with an exasperated groan.

"... I'd better save some food for Banette," Umbreon muttered. "For when she drags her sorry ass back, sometime."

"Hmm, maybe I went a bit overboard..." Gentle Giant Azumarill murmured guiltily.

"Nah. Do it harder next time."

Buneary shook her head. Well, at least everyone was getting along. For now, anyway. Maybe next time, Banette and Umbreon would kill each other, instead. Though hopefully not.

Because she was walking behind everyone, she suddenly realized that she had a good view of Gentle Giant Azumarill from behind. The rippling muscles of his back and the somewhat subtle bulge that made up his backside were sights that immediately made her grin widely.

Picturing how firm his cheeks likely were, she felt her face heat up. Teehee! She didn't know how he'd gone from such a sweet child over ten years ago to having such a killer bod now, but she wasn't about to complain~

She heard a womanly giggle from her side, and looked to see Stunky walking alongside her with a knowing look.

"Undressing him with your eyes, now, hm...? So risqué~" she remarked quietly.

Buneary wheezed in shock and embarrassment. "I-I... no!" she nearly shouted before stopping herself and whispering, instead. "I-"

Stunky laughed. "Oh, relax, my dear. You're not unlike me, I must admit. It's nice to see a fellow lady with a taste for fine gentlemen~"

"O-Oh, that's... good?" Buneary replied. She was... relieved, she guessed? Still embarrassed, though...

"I can see why you would be partial to Gentle Giant Azumarill, and his handsome, muscular form... but it's a pity he's not as rugged as he looks."

"Um... rugged?"

"Naturally~"

"You don't think he is?"

"Not at all, darling. He is a rather nice boy, while I - if you'll pardon my crass language - want a man who will make aggressive love to me until my legs stop working."

Buneary had to stifle a laugh. "O-Oh... I see." Okay, now she understood. She couldn't say she saw the appeal, but whatever worked.

"How about you, dear? I have a hunch your tastes are quite different to mine."

Buneary paused. Huh, that was a good point. What even was her type?

She supposed she liked the look of sexy, muscular men... but she'd never even thought about personality, or anything like that. Was that a huge factor for finding men attractive?

"I, uh... don't know," she replied meekly. "I guess I've never thought about it."

"Well, perhaps it's similar to the type of man you'd prefer dating?" Stunky suggested.

... Darn it, Buneary was pulling a blank on that, too. Had this really never crossed her mind?

"... I'll... get back to you on that," she finally answered, sheepishly.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder and she was pulled into a soft, warm, nice-smelling fuzzy object. She looked and was surprised to see Dream Survivor Azumarill, who had pulled her into a sideways hug, along with Stunky.

"Well, if you're not interested in my big bro... maybe I could fill in for him, eh...?" he asked suavely.

She looked back and forth between the people ahead of her and to the rabbit hugging her. She was shocked to see that he was over there at the same time, despite what he was doing now. "W-What!? But you're...! How did you...!?" she stammered.

He chuckled. "Substitute, babe! I can make an object take my place, and appear someplace else! Helps with our team strat."

She blinked and looked forward again. Actually, the 'Azumarill' ahead of them was just an azumarill-shaped bubble, wasn't it? "... Oh..."

"What, um... are you proposing, exactly, darling?" Stunky asked apprehensively.

"Y'know, I'm just saying... unlike my gentle bro, I'll be as soft or as rugged as you want~"

Buneary felt her eyes practically bulge out of her skull. Oh, sugar, his excellent hearing!

"... Oh, shit," Stunky muttered, face flushing notably. She cleared her throat. "Whoops, I-I mean... Ugh, oh never mind." She frowned at him. "Dear, eavesdropping on ladies is awfully terrible behavior! You never know what you might hear!"

"Hey, I can't help it when I hear cute girls talking 'bout love~" Azumarill replied cheekily. He winked. "As well as other things, eh? Eh?"

Buneary put a paw against her steaming hot face. Ughhh, she hated how she couldn't be annoyed about this, seeing as she overheard people all the time, herself...!

She still pouted, though.

Stunky huffed, though with a smirk. "Well, regardless, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Despite your behavior, you're not quite rowdy enough, yourself. Your respect for women is admirable, but not very hot in my eyes."

"I think... I'll pass, too," Buneary added. One thing was for certain, she'd realized right now... no dating big flirters!

Azumarill gave a defeated sigh. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he said with a sheepish smile.

Buneary shook her head. Her eyes widened again, and she looked over at Gentle Giant Azumarill. He was looking back at the group with a somewhat red face, though he turned away as soon as Buneary locked gazes with him.

... He'd totally heard her and Stunky talking, too, hadn't he?

Buneary's face went hotter than before. Next time a hot guy was around, she would have to clamp her eyes shut, she swore.


Bradley sighed as he slowly wandered back to the base Ben had decided to make their hideout. The darkening sky above was cast in an orange sunset, which looked pretty cool.

It had been a long day of enacting 'justice' by mugging pokémon, and now, he just wanted to sleep. After writing in his journal, anyway.

He glanced at one of the topo berries he'd plucked from a bush, somewhere. Ben had ordered him to track down a ferroseed and take his stash of the same berry, but luckily, it seemed like he wouldn't have to. This time...

He smelled it and flinched. Ugh... he didn't like sour food. Though if it were a spicy berry, he might've been tempted to nibble on one, so maybe this was for the best. He didn't really deserve anything particularly nice...

He let out a slow huff, put the berry away into his treasure bag and continued onwards.

As he wandered up another slope, he began to wish he'd set a progress device down before leaving. If he had, he would've been able to teleport back to their 'base' in a flash at the click of a button.

As it was, however, he was left to make a lonely trek home...

He looked around at the orange sky. Where was Ben, anyway? The fox was usually all too happy to watch him perform acts of 'justice' from afar, but he hadn't seen him for several hours.

He shrugged to himself. At least it had allowed him to avoid hurting anyone. This time...

He continued up the slope. He suddenly noticed that many of the spikes lining the wall jutted out further than the others. All of them combined made a convenient pattern for him to jump up, to reach the huge mountain blade in the distance above, which made up the next floor.

If he was right, it was the same floor the cave was on. So this was a shortcut, in other words.

He nodded to himself. Neat.

He leapt onto a protruding spike, and then onto another. He kept that up for a while, carefully judging the distance of each one to the next before making a leap.

Eventually, there was too much of a sizable gap between the jutting spike he was on versus the next one. Instead of giving up, he simply climbed up the spikes that didn't jut out as much, using them as a prickly ladder.

With nothing better to do, he let his mind wander. How did dungeons like this form, anyway? There was no way these spikes were naturally formed. Not to mention, it was the only dungeon he knew of that was so ridiculously spiky. Maybe that was why his dad always called it 'his favorite Mortal Combat stage'. Whatever that meant...

... Wait, it was spelled with a 'K', wasn't it? He didn't know why, but whatever. They had strange ways of doing things back then, from what he understood, so it wasn't too surprising.

He slowly approached the next floor. It wouldn't take him too long to get there, now. He just had to keep it up.

Going back to his previous thought as he continued his climb, he supposed that it could be the dungeon magic making things so spiky... but why would it be so specific with its gimmick? How did it know to make it 'bristly'? Almost as if it was crafted by a creative hand, as opposed to something that had just randomly came about because of the mysteriosity acting up?

Then again, he was questioning a place filled with magical panels, with pictures on them that turned pokémon into apples, and shit like that. Maybe there was some sort of dungeon god, who was too creative for his own good.

"Ooohoohoohoo~! Now, who's this that's stumbled upon my lair...?" a smooth, flamboyant voice started from somewhere nearby.

Bradley murmured in surprise and looked around. He quickly saw the quaxly who was talking, perched on an outreached spike.

The duck posed extravagantly while somehow producing a rose in his wing. "Little mouse, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong neighborhood, tonight...!" he said darkly. He held the rose to the side of his face while smirking evilly. "Oh, it'll be fun to steal from you, I just know~ Hooo~!"

Bradley stared. He let out a breath and continued climbing. "Not interested."

A beat passed before the quaxly made some flabbergasted noises. "Now where do you think you're going? I still have things to take from you, twerp!"

"Don't care," Bradley muttered back. He had enough on his plate as is.

He grabbed an outreaching spike with both paws. Swinging his tail back and forth, he built up enough momentum to flip all the way around to land on it. With a leap, he managed to grab the ledge of the next floor and pull himself up.

He just about managed to get to his feet as the duck landed in front of him with his rose in his beak. He was frowning in complete indignation.

"Now see here, you little loser lagomorph!" he announced after taking the rose out. "The only way your belongings are leaving this mountain are in my possession! Surrender them all at once!" He struck a dramatic pose while smoothing back his blue hair, smirking maliciously as he did. "Or else, prepare to fight...! Hohohooo~!"

Bradley stared again. He let out a deep breath through his nostrils. This goofball wasn't going to go away, was he?

Nothing for it...

The mouse glared intensely, allowing crackling electricity to escape from his cheeks. He produced a Brick Break beam from his paw in a threatening manner.

The quaxly's tune quickly changed as he took a frightened step back. "Heieieiei!" he squealed in a girly manner. "Th-Then again... maybe we could just go even-steven? Split it 50/50?"

Bradley made his cheeks crackle louder. "No. Leave. Now," he warned, taking a step forward.

The duck squealed again, dropping his rose. "Actually, you can keep it all! I'm going!" He took off into the air and made a hasty retreat.

Bradley held his aggressive stance. When he was sure the guy had gone, he dropped it with a deep sigh.

"Thank God..." he muttered, dissipating his Brick Break and relaxing his frown. Tch. Why did they always choose to get violent? What thrill was there to be gained from it?

At least he'd managed to avoid it. This time...

Huffing out another sigh, he continued back towards the cave.

He readjusted his ponytail. Admittedly, that quaxly's hair had been pretty well kept. Not his sort of style, but it was still pretty cool.

He cringed. It was much better than how he used to look without his ponytail in place. Ugh...


"Aha! Manectric, did you see that?" Battle Angel Delcatty asked, pointing towards the mouse she was training her binoculars on.

"Ja, most certainly!" Manectric replied, holding a paw to his lock-on specs to keep them steady against his face. "Zat overly aggressive response... He must be ze vun zhose teams vere talking about!"

"You're meowbsolutely right!" Delcatty agreed. Finally, they'd gotten a sighting on the jerk! And he was just as angry and evil as promised!

Right now, she and Manectric were lying on one of the highest floors, peering over the edge of one of the mountain's ginormously big, blade-like spikes. The both of them were partway through their investigation, trying to decide this villain's mannerisms, his moves and the best strategy to defeat him when the time came.

"So, vhat's ze plan?" Manectric asked. "Shall ve follow him back to his lair, in ze caverns?"

"Hmm..." she murmured, tapping her chin. "If he wasn't expecting anyone, then meowst certainly... but..." She pointed a claw up. "He'll still be expecting company, won't he? After all, he really purrissed off our friends, and he knows it."

Manectric looked at her in surprise. "Oh, ja, ja, gut point! He might have all manner of traps set up, like in Catching Ze Galaxy's Vaves, vhen ze space rangers vanted to catch Hunter Jynx."

"Indeed! And so she booby-trapped the rooms of the ship to combust, just to effortlessly defeat them when they climbed on board~"

"Ja! You raise an excellent point. If not for Aura Force Audino's ability to read emotions and use ze aura force, zhey vould've been screwed."

Delcatty nodded. "Mmhm! So we'll camp out here for the night, and keep up our detective study in the morning. For nyaow, we should get some sleep."

As if on cue, Manectric yawned. "Ja... it vas tiring enough getting up zis high."

"For sure. The wild pokémon sure were a purrain."

"You said it. Right, I vill get meinself ready. You'll do ze same, ja?"

"Meyup!"

He smiled and nodded before wandering away to do whatever he needed to do.

She stretched and prepared herself to do the same. One more time, though, she glanced through her binoculars.

As she gazed at the mouse - who was wandering behind a row of large spiky, stone hedges, out of view - she tapped her chin. Admittedly, this whole time she'd been watching him, she'd felt that something was... off. She couldn't put her finger on it.

She huffed. Maybe she was just antsy. She'd investigated a fair few criminals before, but this one was a pretty big deal, as she'd seen from Ponytale's psychic projection!

Not only that, but they had lots of pokémon to impress! She couldn't mess this up, or it would surely spell curtains for her and Manectric's career! Nobody would ever trust them again!

She glanced down at her notes in her kitty-themed notepad. So far - after listening to testimony from the pokémon teams, and after studying him, herself - she could gather three of Cold Pikachu's four moves.

First, he had Thunder Wave, which he often started fights with. He utilized it by filling the air in the immediate area with static electricity, which could paralyze on contact. His attack was fairly strong, so it could reach a fair distance. Perhaps because of the special band he wore around that weird ponytail of his.

Thankfully, electric-types like Manectric could stimulate their muscles with electricity to dispel paralysis. Also, if she ate a cheri berry, she would be immune to the effects of paralysis for a while. It worked out purrfectly~

The mouse also had Charge Beam. A move that let him charge a special kind of electrical energy in his body and fire it out as a ball of plasma. When charged enough, he could even use it to power other energy-based moves, or even itself for a second blast of plasma. She'd heard that pokémon could even use it to electrify non-electrical moves, though Pikachu hadn't been seen doing that, yet, so whether he knew he could do it or not was a mystery.

All the same, because of that move, attacking him at a distance was still risky, because he could take time to charge a huge shot and blast it, like he was some sort of super duper cool sci-fi hero. Manectric was electric-type, though, so he could probably handle a shot or two. Plus, Delcatty's zinc band could weaken energy attacks...!

She shook her head. Right, right, silly her. This was information for the other teams, so they could deal with the villain. Right...

Anyway, that aside... Pikachu also had some move or another that could create a cool beam sword. Manectric had been excited to see it, comparing it to the beam swords of Shadow's Ambition: Uprising of the Verge, so he'd been eager to talk about all the tricks and techniques he'd seen. It had been so charming, as it always was when he had one of his rambles~

That was all they knew about him at the moment when it came to his fighting prowess. He'd apparently punched the everloving meowing out of Eiscue, so was that related to his fourth move?

In terms of abilities, pikachus - from what she'd studied from a book while taking a break from climbing up the mountain - had the abilities Static and Lightning Rod. The former allowed a pikachu's fur to transmit a paralyzing current on contact when bristled that could numb the body. It would force Delcatty to fight at a distance, though Manectric would surely be fine.

It was a pity, though. Her ability, Cute Charm, would only infatuate boys if she stayed close enough to them for it to take effect, which was no good if she was standing dangerously close to that dumb ability. If she acted all cutesy, she could make her radius a bit bigger, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be enough to feel safe while doing so. Meoh well...

Actually... the cheri berry strategy would be effective here, too, wouldn't it? She took her kitten pen and quickly made a note.

A pikachu's second ability allowed it to harmlessly redirect electricity back to itself by sticking out its tail, or paw, or some other pointy body part. The absorbed electricity would have a similar effect to the electricity gathered by Charge Beam. Luckily, Delcatty and Manectric didn't have any electrical moves, so that wasn't an issue, if nothing else.

She let out a long huff before shaking her head again. Mrow! What was she doing? She had to get herself out of the mindset of fighting this guy! This was a job for the other teams!

For the... other teams...

She stared at her notes in contemplation, those words ringing through her mind. If the other teams took care of it, would Team Shire even get any recognition for it? Hmm...

... She shook her head and stood up to stretch. Meh, whatever. She'd figure it all out tomorrow! After all, if she didn't get ready for bed now, she'd end up disappointing Manectric.

She took one last look through her binoculars to see if Pikachu was there. Seeing nothing, she took her green and white striped zinc band off, packed her things away and went off to do her business.


Bradley let out another breath as he wandered through the cave. He wondered if Ben would be back yet, or not.

Remembering how the fox had made himself invisible with either a seed or an orb yesterday, a shot of anxious energy went up the mouse's spine. Could he even be watching him right this moment? He was an expert at sneaking around, so who knew? He was just glad that he hadn't been watching while Eiscue had been around. He wouldn't have been happy...

After taking some twists and turns through the bristly cave - some of which felt different to last time - he finally saw his destination down the long tunnel. It appeared to be nothing more than a dead end, but he recognized it as the entrance to the large room that made up their hideout.

Letting out yet another breath, he quickened his pace down the spike-filled tunnel, slowing to readjust the special band that held his ponytail together. He slowed when he thought he heard something... weird.

A... woman's voice? And she sounded like she was either in pain, or... something else.

... It was definitely 'something else'.

He cringed, his face warming. Uh... that was extremely awkward. It made sense, though. Wild pokémon made their homes all over dungeons, in hidden alcoves, or huts, or burrows, or whatever... so it was inevitable he would stumble across that sort of thing eventually. He only hoped they weren't doing it out in the open, or something.

He nearly found himself picturing it, but managed to get rid of the thought. Instead, he shook his head and progressed down the tunnel.

His eyes widened when he realized that the noises were getting louder as he advanced. He also didn't see any secret passages or anything, leading somewhere more private. None that he didn't know about, anyway.

They weren't... coming from their base, were they?

... Wait...

He rushed forwards. As the tunnel grew more narrow and misshapen at the end, he saw the gap in the spikes he'd been looking for. He crawled inside the alcove, going under some spikes in the process.

After a short crawl through the narrow space, he found himself inside the large room he'd been wanting to get to. He looked over to the pile of items they'd accumulated from other pokémon, which was starting to get fairly large.

His eyes went wider still when he saw a nidorina standing on all fours on a bed of vines near the pile. Ben was hunched over her back, nestled comfortably between the spikes on her back.

Bradley stared in utter shock. Sure enough, he was getting a side view of the fox thrusting his dick into the rhino rabbit's cunt. Their bodies rocked in tandem, timed to the rhythm of his thrusts.

Ben was smirking while running his paws up and down the sides of the nidorina's body sensually. She was moaning, but she looked equal parts euphoric and awkward, like she had mixed feelings about things. Her tits were swaying underneath her, except for when Ben cupped one with a paw.

"Mmm, dirty little thief..." Ben groaned out. "You call that a horny moan...?"

"I-I... ung... y-yeah?" the nidorina responded meekly inbetween her sounds of pleasure.

"It's pretty soft..." He firmly squeezed her tit and played with it. "It's almost like you want me to go back on the deal..."

Her eyes widened. "N-No!"

"I might not tell the authorities that you don't need any jail time..."

Her soft, modest moans suddenly became loud and almost obnoxiously slutty.

Ben laughed. "Yeah, that's more... hah... like it...!"

Bradley let out a shocked breath. What the fuck...!? What the hell was he doing!?

Ben's ear twitched and his head snapped in Bradley's direction. His grin widened. "Oh... hello, little monster...!" he greeted with all the casualness of a fucking day at the park.

The nidorina looked Bradley's way and shrieked. "W-Who are you!?" she demanded, her voice warbling as he continued to thrust into her uncaringly.

"He's with me, so stop worrying," Ben said, caressing the side of her face. "Now, focus more on being a good little fuck bunny, won't you?"

"B-But... Uh... um... A-Ahh! Ahn...~!" she moaned out, looking incredibly embarrassed and unconvinced, but going through with it, anyway.

"What... the fuck are you doing?" Bradley asked, completely bewildered.

"Having some casual sex. What does it look like?" Ben replied matter of factually, smirking.

"That's... not..." Bradley started, his voice faltering.

"Mmm, ahh... it's a nice treat, after all the hard work we've been doing." He gave her rump a light smack, making her ass cheek wobble and earning a gasp. "Would you like a turn with her? You are a virgin, still, after all."

Bradley let out an indignant breath. "... Hell no! What did you do? Why is she doing this?"

Ben huffed, his smirk not leaving his face. "She's a little thief with a bounty on her head." He briefly nibbled on one of her large ears, making her stutter on her exaggerated moans, as if she'd actually enjoyed it. "Tried stealing from me, too, but... ahh... I decided to make a - mmm - a trade..."

The nidorina's expression fell into one of shame, but she kept up her act.

Bradley clenched his eyes shut. "Ugh, we're thieves. Th-This isn't right. Just let her go," he muttered.

"She's not doing it for justice, like we are..." Ben retorted. He laughed in an almost sinister fashion. "Besides, don't get too self-righteous. You're loving this. Hmm...! I mean, just look at yourself, little monster...~"

Bradley's brows furrowed harder in confusion. Glancing down, he noticed that he was... stirring. He hadn't noticed in his shock, but...

He angled his body away in shame. No... Ben... didn't have a point... did he?

His ears dipped. He did, didn't he? Bradley was a humongous hypocrite...

"That's right~" Ben said, likely knowing what he was thinking. "That's- Unng... Oh, you should've taken over, l-little monster...! I'm...!"

The nidorina suddenly shrieked mid-moan. Frightened, Bradley looked over. He saw that Ben's arm and leg muscles were contracting from strain, and he was grinning especially hard as he stopped thrusting, having pushed himself as far in as he could go.

A second later, a translucent white liquid dribbled out from the nidorina's haunches. The girl's pupils were like pinpricks as she angled her head to look back.

Bradley stared, nervous comprehension building. Did... he really...?

"Heh... whoops...!" Ben remarked. He trembled with what seemed like giddiness as he pulled out, his dick still grossly dribbling with semen. "I suppose I got carried away."

"Y-You bastard!" the nidorina shouted, scrambling away from him. Falling onto her side, she checked her gaping vagina. She didn't like what she saw. "Why did you finish inside!? What if I get pregnant!?"

Bradley's back stiffened at the sudden comprehension. N-No... if that happened, then he... he'd be...

Ben chuckled eagerly. "What's the matter? That's what sex is for, isn't it?" he mocked, turning his back to her. "Are you stupid?"

"That wasn't part of the deal, you ass!" she screamed, the faint fur covering her visibly prickling like needles. She leapt at him, horn glowing purple and dripping with poison.

"Heh, that's not true..." Thick vines that glowed green with power erupted out of his back. He grabbed the rabbit with them just before she could reach him.

She quickly became tangled in them, and was stuck fast. She struggled angrily, not caring as her tits dangled, or her ass was up in the air. The sad, awkward sight made Bradley feel terrible. "You didn't say... you'd do that...!" she grunted out.

Ben dismissively blew some air out of his lips. "I guess you are stupid. If memory serves... I said that if we had just a little bit of sex, I'd let you off the hook, and that I'd even convince the authorities to forgive your bounty, too. That you'd found..." He clicked his tongue as his vines coiled around her more, "... 'redemption'."

"That's-!"

"I was even clear that you could decline my offer and just let me take you to the nearest guild for arresting, if you'd prefer. Puzzle Solver Donphan's, I believe..."

"Who cares!? You didn't-!"

His vines suddenly lashed out and stabbed her in several places, making her scream in pain. The vines pulsed, sucking in her energy and drawing it into the fox like blood through a vein. Her skin seemed to lightly dry and sag, and she went visibly pale.

He let out a laugh that came from the throat as his Giga Drain sucked her energy dry. "You're the one who chose sex with a stranger over a short stay in jail! And you think you can scold me for something you should have expected!? You're beyond stupid!"

"You... bastard...!" she groaned out weakly.

Ben grinned widely as he picked up a pickaxe-shaped wand. "Heh. Just like your child to be, I suppose...!"

He used the wand, shooting out a drill-shaped projectile that rapidly bore into the floor, creating a long downwards tunnel into the abyss. Without pause, he used his vines to forcefully fling her into it.

Bradley let out a shocked breath and ran to the hole. He peered down it, watching helplessly as she tumbled all the way down, yelling in what sounded half like fear and half like unbridled rage.

He clenched his fist and glanced over at Ben. The fox was letting out a breath and bringing out a soapy leaf from his treasure bag as his Giga Drain vines slowly withdrew back into his back.

"... Why?" Bradley asked quietly.

Ben began washing his dick with the soap leaf. "Hm? Why what?" he asked, his smile as hollow as ever.

"Why... did you do that? You hurt her so much..."

Ben snorted arrogantly. "I don't care. She knew what she was getting into, and she still went for it." He snickered. "And with a complete stranger, at that? She's just as bad as any pokémon."

"But... what if she has an egg? I'll be... I-I mean you'll be...!"

"Heh. Don't worry. I was only scaring her. I... ate a pinap berry to make it near impossible to breed. She won't be having any eggs."

Bradley stared at him, brows furrowing more. "... Do you mean it?"

"... Yeah. Besides, fear on its own is a good punishment for being a whore. Maybe she'll think twice about stealing and selling her virginity~" He let out a breath. "Though being a pokémon, I doubt it. Tsk, if it weren't for how satisfying her reaction was, I wouldn't be having sex with any of those... revolting creatures." He let out another breath, though it was more amused than before. "Still, it wasn't the worst sex I've ever had, I guess. Could've been worse..."

Bradley felt his shoulders go less tense. As relieving as it was to hear that she wasn't going to get knocked up, however, it did nothing to ease the ache in his heart. Even if this was for justice... it still felt like this was going too far.

But... who was he to rightfully complain? Seeing her in such a sexual position had gotten arousal out of him.

His heart ached more. He was such a hypocrite...

Ben let out a breath and stood up. He tidied himself away. "Well, as much as it pains me, I'd better make good on that promise. I'll need to write to Sheriff Magnezone, and tell him to call the bounty off. With my rank, and who I am, I'm certain he'll listen~"

Bradley grunted out a vague response. He was amazed Ben was even doing that much for another pokémon, to be honest...

Ben looked around in the pile of stolen goods. "I'll need to write a letter and shove it into an empty elixir bottle." Knowing how dungeon magic likes to do its thing, it'll find its way to him~" He let out a cough, brows furrowing lightly despite his ever present smile. "Damn it. But first, I suppose I'd better get a pecha berry. She must've caught me with Poison Point after I caught her with my Giga Drain." He looked somewhere else in the pile.

Bradley let out a long huff. Without a word, he slowly wandered away. Whatever. He had to go clear his head. Maybe he'd write in his journal, too...

As he passed the hole again, he slowed to a stop. After making sure that Ben wasn't watching, he threw a tiny reviver seed from his bag into the deep hole.

It was the least he could do for being a disgrace.


Sitting on the roof of the guild - specifically, the long part shaped like Donphan's trunk that stretched across the moat - Buneary stared at the shiny badge pinned against her chest in utter glee. It was here! It was finally here! She was finally an official explorer!

Its shiny chrome body, its sleek black wings and its beautiful silver button all came together in a wonderful package that made Buneary's heart burst with warmth.

"Like it?" Grumpig asked, lying down nearby on the roof of the guild.

"It's wonderful~!" Buneary replied, nearly squealing in her joy. "The only badge I had before this was a really old hand-me-down from Elder Slowking, so this is really cool!"

Also sitting on the roof, Maractus giggled heartily and cooed. "Aww, it's so cute that you're so happy, Buneary~" she chimed.

Buneary's face warmed. "Um... th-thanks?" she replied bashfully. Cute? She didn't know what was so cute about it, but she was too happy to worry about it right now.

"Did you read the whole letter you got with it?" Grumpig asked. She put her arms behind her head and gazed back up at the stars as they began to appear in the darkening sky. "What did it say?"

Buneary eagerly pulled the letter out of her treasure bag. It had a shiny, official stamp decorating the corner, which was designed like an amoongus' mushroom hand for some reason.

"Well, it said..." Buneary started, and began to read it...


Dear Wallflower Buneary...

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the world of exploring. At least, outside of the so called 'Adventure Squad' you used to be a part of.

I've been informed of all the mishaps you've had to endure since yesterday, and must say that you've had quite the ordeal, haven't you?

You have my sympathies, but fear not; you'll be compensated appropriately for the missions you've done. I've even taken the liberty of raising the grade of the mission involving the hooligan known as Arms Gligar. As a result, you and your teammates will receive more explorer points for the incident. (Ask Donphan if you wish to know how many exactly. She receives data on all completed missions.)

To further help you get accustomed to life as an explorer, please refer to the enclosed copy of Pokémon News I've sent you. It's a magazine I founded to help all explorers learn tips and tricks, as well as get to grips on any current news and stories. I do hope you'll consider subscribing.

In any case, thank you for joining our organization. Together, you, your peers and the rest of us will make a difference in pokémon's lives!

With regards, from Mr. Director

- Helping Adventurous Pokémon Prosper Institute (HAPPI)


While reading, excitement filled Buneary to the brim once again. A personal letter from the very person who was in charge of all the explorers! She was sure that he did it for everyone who became an explorer, but it still made her feel really special!

"That's so cool~" Maractus chimed as she finished. "I guess Donphan and Snorlax must've told him all about you!"

"Only good things, too, I'm sure," Grumpig added happily. "Sounds like he's taken a liking to you."

"I dunno about that...~" Buneary mumbled bashfully, light heat spreading across her smiling face.

"So, was that second letter you got from the director, too?" Maractus asked. "You got two, right?"

"Oh! No, the second one was from my brother!" Putting away her first one, Buneary took out another letter. "He responded to a letter I sent him yesterday~"

Maractus giggled. "Gee, that was fast, then!"

"He must've been pretty anxious to hear back from me," Buneary replied with a giggle of her own.

"Well, now I'm curious," Grumpig said. "Up for sharing?"

"I don't see why not~" Buneary began to read its contents.


To Blazing Buneary (Yeah, gotta get the formal stuff outta the way first, huh?)

Hey, big sis! I'm glad you wrote back! Ol' Slowking was worrying up something fierce, wondering what was gonna go wrong, and yadda yadda, you know how he is, haha! Thanks to you, he'll actually be able to sleep tonight! 'Till he worries about something else, anyway.

It's cool that everyone over there sounds great! Saves me the trouble of coming over to beat em up, haha!

For real, though, if there's ever any problems, write back and I'll come over there and actually now I just turned into Slowking, didn't I? Haha, guess that's my call to end this.

Love ya, big sis! Write again soon! And enjoy them krabby bubbles, heh!

Love, Blazing Chimchar

x


Even before Buneary finished reading, Grumpig was chuckling up a storm.

"Wow. I can tell, he's like your polar opposite, huh?" she said.

"He sort of is!" Maractus added in amusement. "He's so cool and confident!"

Buneary smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah... I don't know where he gets it from, to be honest," she replied. Probably from their mom's side of the family, which she hadn't gotten anything from, herself. She hoped, anyway...

"I'll bet he brings in all sorts of girls, huh~?" Maractus said teasingly.

Buneary felt her big sister instincts shoot through her spine. She really hoped not! She didn't want him getting that from their mom's side of the family, too! "Uh... no. Nuh-uh," she said, shaking her head.

"Haha, take it from another big sister..." Grumpig started, rubbing Buneary on her rolled up ear, "you might be worried about him, now, but when the time finally comes, you'll be ecstatic."

Buneary pouted lightly. "I-I guess..." She wouldn't be saying that if she knew anything about her family...

She blinked. "Wait... you're a big sister, Grumpig?" she continued.

Grumpig nodded. "Two brothers and a sister, yeah. They're all grown up, now, and off doing their own thing, Spoink, Grumpig and Oinkologne."

"They sure were a handful, growing up!" Maractus said. "It was almost like having little brothers and sisters of my own~"

"Heh, they pretty much saw you as a one, too. A big one, anyway."

"Heeheehee~"

Buneary smiled gleefully. "How cute~ I'll bet you were great big sisters!" she said.

"Could've been worse," Grumpig said, shrugging.

"Could'a been far, far worse!" Maractus said. "Without you, your poor brothers and sister would've been on Buneary's island!"

Buneary's eyes widened. "Huh? You... what, uh...?" she asked in bewildered comprehension. Maractus didn't mean what she thought she meant... right?

Grumpig let out a long huff. "Great going, Maractus. Now I have to tell her more sacred Grumpig lore," she said sassily.

Maractus let out a soft, sheepish giggle. "Um... oopsie..." she muttered.

Grumpig gave an exasperated shake of the head. She looked Buneary's way. "Mom and Dad were really rich. Extravagantly so. So me and my siblings were fairly spoiled, growing up." She blew air through her lips. "One day... the police came knocking. My parents made a hasty retreat, and we never saw them again."

Buneary gasped. "Oh no... they weren't outlaws, were they?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, they were, alright... All their riches had to have come from somewhere, I guess."

Buneary frowned sadly. "Oh no..." she murmured sympathetically. She knew exactly where this story was going...

"So yeah. Not a fan of outlaws. Their rampant acts of thievery led to me having to work my pearls off, keeping the kids fed." She let out another huff, though softer than before. "If it weren't for Maractus just... being kind to some random stranger like me... well, things wouldn't have gone so well."

"Heehee, aww, Grumpig," Maractus chimed, "I'm used to your nerdy time, but sappy time is another story altogether!"

Grumpig clicked her tongue, though she was grinning lightly. "Yeah, no more of that."

"Aww, but I'm enjoying sappy time!" Buneary said, smiling. "You two are such great friends, it's adorable~!"

Grumpig's face went red. "C'mon, Buneary, you're making me blush over here."

"Well, I agree with Buneary," Maractus added. She wrapped her arms around Grumpig, pulling her into a hug that made her yelp. "Sappy time is a great time~!"

Grumpig winced. "Aye ai ai..."

Buneary giggled. Their friendship really brought a smile to her face! She would've never guessed their bond had taken such a running start from nowhere.

She stared towards the moon as it slowly climbed the sky. A 'waxing gibbous' moon, Grumpig had called it. This was inspirational, actually. The rabbit hoped to have just as much of an impact on someone's life as Maractus had done to Grumpig's.

She rested her paw against the badge on her chest, earning a soft clack as it hit the pecha looplet on her wrist. It was probably a long shot. It wasn't like she was a special explorer, or anything. Still, she was hopeful~


Sitting right on the very tip of one of the mountain's giant blades, Bradley tried to relax. It had taken him a long time to get here, because these things were about the size of a football field... and the tops of them were maze-like with all the spiky hedge-like rocks dotted about on top of them. But the walk had helped him clear his head, somewhat.

Thanks to how long his trek had been, it was nighttime, now. Bradley watched the millions of stars which were spilled across the sky. He knew jack shit about constellations, but he guessed that it was probably the Milky Way. He wondered why it was called that...

He'd tried writing in his journal, earlier, but the words wouldn't come to him. He was still shaken by what had happened earlier. Sure, it had been consensual, if what Ben had said was anything to go by... but fucking hell.

He let out a huff as his feet dangled over the edge. He barely noticed the moon peeking out from behind the horizon. It was a... vaguely full moon. The kind that wasn't entirely full, yet. He didn't remember its name.

... It was weird how experienced Ben had seemed. How many times before had he done this, already?

It was a really strange thing to imagine. Bradley had always thought that it took a shitty person to do that with anyone who's not a lover. Whoreish, even.

Sure, he... wasn't against seeing lewd things, himself - when it wasn't dubious as all hell, anyway - but whacking it to a picture was a lot different to fucking everything possible.

He let out a breath. Then again, who was he to talk? He'd never even had a girlfriend of his own, so he was talking out of his ass.

He stared at the moon as it sluggishly crawled upwards through the sky. A girlfriend of his own... what would that even be like?

His mind drifted to all the things he could imagine doing with a girl. Holding paws... talking... maybe even watching the stars...

The pleasant thought made the edges of his lips curl ever so slightly. Was there a girl out there for him like that?

... His lips fell again. No. Of course not. He knew better. Nobody wanted a 'little monster' like him.

Besides, for her own safety, maybe that was a good thing.

He took a deep, shaky breath. He should probably head back to Ben.

He clambered to his feet and wandered back in the general direction of the cave. His heart ached the whole way there.

Maybe tomorrow would be a better day...


TO BE CONTINUED!


Finished: 02/02 (February)/2024

Word count: 13,236

VGS2's sausage notes: Why the fuck are Huge Power (Marill line and Bunnelby line) and Pure Power (Medicham line) so bloody similar!? Even in Mystery Dungeon, where they changed it so that there's only a chance of a physical attack getting a large boost, they're effectively the same!

Ugh, it's a good job I'm exaggerating all these moves and abilities, or else we'd be in a pickle, wouldn't we? XD

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed yourself! Incidentally, if anything in the chapter made you feel uncomfortable... well, good. That's the point. XD Why do edgy things if you're not aiming to make people's skin crawl?

On that note, please don't expect any content warnings or trigger warnings or whatever the kids call 'em nowadays. I respect your intelligence enough to trust that you'll decide when something is too much for you to handle without me babying you about it... so I'll let you decide when enough is enough on whatever. XP

Today's shameless promotion: Divergent Stories: Too Late

Author: Synopsiss

Universe: Mystery Dungeon (Though seemingly with 'Made in Abyss' elements)

Main species: A pikachu, a buneary, a pawmot

Summary: Loving someone for so long, just to have them love someone else, and become their bride. Atlas, a Pikachu, cowardly ran away from this, requesting his friends to give her a letter to say goodbye. Taking a moment to look at the past and see what great memories he had with her.

Romance: Lots, but...!

Wackiness: Mostly straight laced, but with plenty of comedy mixed in!

Lewdness: Not really!

Action: Not much!

Grittiness: Somber!

Length: Long one-shot (but with a continuing sequel)!

Every now and again, I enjoy reading a nice angsty story, to get the feels reeling in! That's what stories like this are for! It's a semi-tragic tale of what it's like to lose your chance, due to running out of time!

Even better, it seems like the sequel will bring it around full circle, and make love happen, after all! Sequel's only just started, though, so we'll see! I'm excited to see what might happen if they meet again, though!

For real, though, story has a lot of charm, and its flashbacks are quite cute and enjoyable, indeed! I'd recommend giving it a try


Fun mistakes of the day:

#1: "Why p0ut it away?"

(You tell me, Buneary! Drop the l33t speak, though!)

#2: "Hey, Umbro!"

(Lol, I like this, actually. XD I've gotta use it some other time! Makes him sound like a Broforce character, or something!)

#3: 'He ran rom the scene, tears pouring down his face.'

(He's one of those buggers who believes that playing roms is piracy.)

#4: 'She was greeted with the sight of a stunky with a large chest and sparkling red fur, who was smiling sheepishly at her. She was standing next She was standing next She was standing next She was standing next She was standing next She was standing next to some odd rock with a face on it.'

(I left the computer to grab a coffee, and next thing I know, it does this fecking odd mantra! I feel like I'm in some sort of fucking creepypasta! Spiritomb, unhaunt my computer this instant!)

#5: 'Banette clicked her tongue.'

(Banette had already left the scene by this point, so I don't know why she's back again. XD Did she really stop chasing Umbreon to come back and click her tongue at Stunky? What a sassy lady!)

#6: 'She kicked her foot into the sand wand meekly put her paw behind her back.'

(Buneary steals that one item from Zelda: Spirit Tracks that lets you create sand pillars.)

#7: 'The Bun Brothers'
(I had no idea what to call the azumarills or what their team name should be, so I went through some names. This was a potential team name, but ravengal said it sounded either like they run a bakery or they're some sort of gay porn incest duo. I, uh... changed it after that. XD)

#8: 'The Bum Brothers'

(I didn't write this, but ravengal misheard me when I said the potential team name aloud to her, which didn't help matters, as you can see!)

#9: 'Soft Smasher Azumarill'

(This and 'Soft Smash Azumarill' were two of the many names I considered for the bugger, and easily the worst. XD Maybe I should just make them a porn duo, at this rate. I'm sure Dream Survivor wouldn't mind... (As long as they do things with other pokémon, and not each other, anyway...))

#10: "Little brother, I always tell you told you this sort of thing would happen"

(It's too late... he's already broken down...)

#11: 'and you're still up your philandering ways."'

(All so he can go up yours, amirite?)

#12: 'Stunky, instead, giggle.'

("Are you... demanding I giggle? Oh... so forceful, darling~ Oh...~" *Fans face while giggling sensually*)

#13: "Wait... are you Politeness Marill and BabyAzumarill from the story!?"

(Apparently, he was one of those babies that evolved super quickly!)

#14: "That's the spirit, big bro!" Dream Survivor Azumarill. "Then let's get going!"

(It's like some weird sort of script writing. '"Wow! It's so cool to meet the Azumarill brothers!" Buneary.')

#15: '"Oh, that's... god," Buneary replied, smiling unsurely.'

(Buneary knows she's going to be judged for her sinful ways...)

#16: "With my sensitive ears, I could already tells she was a mean one."

("'Cos I'm Popeye the sailor rabbit! Argegegegegege!")

#17: "Little mouse, I'm afraid you've come"

(That's pretty gay of you, Paldean Ducklett.)

#18: 'As she gazed at the mouse - who was wondering behind a row of large stone, spiky hedges, out of view'

(He does tend to ruminate a lot, so I guess it makes sense!)

#19: 'like he was some sort of sci0fi hewro..'

(OwO)

#20: 'Ability Static Lightning Rod Static go bzzzzz Lightning Rod when orrifice aimed upwards can absorb lightning'

(I was writing notes for myself to continue later, and mucked up! I meant limb! Whoops... XD Now he can absorb it into his ass, I guess!)

#21: 'with Ben hunched over a nidorina, nestled comfortably between the spites on her back.'

(I guess a lot of spite was involved, so...)

#22: "Would you like a turn? You are a virgin, still, after all."

(Wait, a turn with who? Ben...? O,o)

#23: He saw that Ben's leg muscles were contacting,

(Who are they contacting? Aliens? *Cue the UFO ending from Silent Hill, but for this fic, instead*)

#24: 'He saw that Ben's arms leg muscles were contracting from strain,'

(He has legs growing out of his arms!? The joys of being able to grow things on your plant-like body, I guess.)

#25: 'Her skin seemed to dry and sag, and she went visibly pail.'

(She's been tuned into a bucket...)
(A cum bucket, lol - ravengal)

#26: "I'll need to write a letter and shove an empty elixir bottle into it."

(I don't think that's how you're supposed to do it...!)

#27: 'With regards, from Mr. DirectorPo'

(I knew it. Mr. Director is a teletubbie!)

#28: 'Buneary smiled gearly.'

(She's actually a rabbit robot.)

#29: "One day... the police came knocking. They made a hasty retreat, and we never saw them again."

(Those sure were some cowardly cops! What is this, Britain? XD)

#30: 'Their rampant acts of thievery lead to me'

(They kept stealing pencils to give to Grumpig. (Classical ones, that is, not the graphite ones we have today!))

#31: 'She would've never guessed their relationswhip bond had taken such a running start from nowhere.'

(They use whips in their friendship, do they...? Kinky.)

-Catching the Waves chapter 8: A Hidden Truth-

#32: 'Well, of course he did! The story of hoe'

(It involves trains and riding things.)

#33: 'The story of how he'd met Ash was one that should god'

(Every Ash-centric story on this site in a nutshell.)

#34: ["afterwards, Brock started peeing potatoes"]

(Ouch... guess this explains why they never have to pay money for food!)

#35: "When he eventually hit him, the heat rushed to his face"

(You should feel ashamed for hitting Riolu for no good reason! Even if he did embarrass you, at the time. XD Buneary isn't going to like this...)

-PikaBun One-Shot Wonders story 43: Out Of Sight-

#36: 'Then he seemed to have stopped HEAT'

(Thank God, Arceus has finally stopped that bloody lemon trope everyone does. XD Now pokémon can get horny whenever they want, like normal people!)

#37: 'Apparently, though, whoever won this ear would be granted the title'

(Don't do it, Ash. Don't rip off Buneary's ear, just to win the prestige!)

#38: 'Although it had nothing to do with Buneary, she couldn't deny bing a little.'

(She wants to love Google more, but she just can't.)

#39: 'Cud he manage it?

(Ash is chewing cuds, now? I knew he was a cash cow for The Pokémon Company!)

#40: 'But... but... didn't Len still have his cinderace?!'

(NerdoodLen from Deviantart has his Galar starter choice called into question.)

- Shallow Waters chapter 30: Lone Lovebird -

#41: 'Looking at them now - playing tag, throwing balls around, and messing around in the lower beds'

(I'll bet Buneary's friends were 'throwing balls around' in the lower beds...)


Welp, that'll do it! Thanks for reading, friend! I appreciate you keeping up with this thing for so long! Especially if you dropped a fave/follow/bookmark/kudos/comment at some point!

Well, 'till next time, tata for now! c: