Author's note: Hey, guys! Another chappie for you fine folks!

... By the way, in my one-shot collection, I mentioned a thing in the works. I'd say it's progressing nicely. It should be fun eventually revealing that.

In the meantime, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Twelve: Conflictions

Ash, Dawn, Brock, Lyra and Khoury continued down the path to their next destination, chatting animatedly about contests, gym battles and breeding tips. The air was bursting with optimism as Ash and Dawn discussed various techniques they couldn't wait to practice later, and Brock taught Khoury various ways to cook food, while Lyra poked fun at the latter.

After a while, though, the conversations simmered out into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the footfalls of the humans' shoes on the dirt road. It was at this point that Pikachu - who was riding on Ash's shoulder - was left alone with his thoughts.

As he took this time to appreciate the silence and the lovely greenery around him, his mind couldn't help but wander back to what that café employee had said earlier.

'You look so in love' she'd said.

... Why had she said that?

He looked ahead, at the winding dirt road that the humans were traversing, as he thought about this. Perhaps the woman had just interpreted the situation wrong. Sure, he and Buneary were dating - and he liked his girlfriend very much - but to say they were in love was a bit much. After all, they'd only been dating for a couple of weeks, so how could it be love?

... Then again, he'd never felt this way about a pokémon before. He had literally no experience in the matter, so how would he know? Maybe it was.

... No, surely not. Surely, it would feel different than a crush. Surely, he'd be able to tell.

Then again, just what was love, anyway? How did a person - or a pokémon - identify it? Did you just know? Did you suddenly decide upon it one day? Maybe you needed someone to tell you?

... Did it even exist? If so, what did it feel like?

Urgh, this was all far too confusing. He'd been so certain that he'd gotten his feelings in order - so certain that he'd figured everything out - but now the whole thing had been flipped on its head again. Now he was questioning everything again.

... Why did relationships have to be so hard?

Later on that day, the humans and pokémon were working together to set up camp. While some worked on setting up the table and others worked on placing the food bowls, Pikachu was helping Buizel make a campfire.

As he carefully placed some rocks in a circle, he couldn't help but glance around him curiously. When his eyes landed on Buneary - who was walking on the table, setting up plates and cutlery - he paused, remembering his thoughts from earlier.

Just how did he feel about Buneary?

After a moment, the rabbit in question looked up, locking gazes with him across the campsite. She blinked once, then beamed and waved at him.

The mere sight caused a burst of fire to erupt inside his chest. Blushing slightly, he smiled and waved back.

Apparently satisfied, Buneary went back to setting up the dinner table.

... Was that what it felt like? He still couldn't be sure. Since he'd never experienced a crush before, there was no way he could possibly know what love felt like. He glanced around aimlessly as he tried to think of a solution, until his eyes landed on Buizel.

Hmm. Maybe it would be best if he asked about this.

He edged closer to the weasel, who was arranging the firewood into a neat pile, and cleared his throat. Buizel looked up at him curiously.

"(Hmm?)" he asked. "(Something wrong, Pikachu?)"

"(Uh, well...)" Pikachu replied, moving a rock into position around the firewood, "(I was just wondering something.)"

"(Oh yeah?)"

"(Yeah.)"

There was pause. "(... So, what is it?)"

Pikachu jolted. "(Oh! Right, sorry! Well, um... so, when you start feeling... something more than 'like', how do you know?)"

Buizel stared at him. After a moment, he smirked. "(Sorry, can you run that one by me again?)"

Pikachu blushed again. "(S-Sorry...)" He paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "(So, uh... you've had a crush before, right?)"

"(Yeah.)"

"(Yeah. So, uh... how do you know when it's not that?)"

Buizel kept the smirk, though he looked confused. "(... Huh?)"

"(Uh, I mean...)" Darn it. His speech always got more messed up when he was flustered. "(How do you know when it's more than that?)"

Buizel blinked at him, the smirk falling away. "(What, you mean, like...?)"

"(Yeah. How do you know when it's...)" Pikachu quickly glanced in Buneary's direction. She didn't seem to be paying attention, but he lowered his voice, regardless. "(Love?)"

"(... Huh.)" Buizel fully turned to face him, crossing his arms over his chest. "(What, you think you're...)" He paused, also lowering his voice. "(In love with Buneary, or something?)"

Pikachu blushed harder. "(Well... I dunno. That's why I wanna know what it's like.)

"(... Well, like I said, I've only had that one crush.)" Buizel shrugged, his arms still crossed. "(I wouldn't be able to tell you what love is like.)"

Pikachu's ears dipped slightly. "(Aww, really?)"

"(Yeah, sorry. Do you think it's love?)"

"(I have no idea... Is there anyone else who can help?)"

"(I doubt it. Piplup liked that one marill, sure, but I don't think it was love.)"

"(Why's that?)"

"(Well he got over her fairly quick and I... don't think that's how it works...)"

"(Oh...)"

Buizel paused for thought. "(Hmm... and Brock's always saying he's in love, but you can never really tell with that guy.)"

"(Hmm. Yeah, I guess so...)"

"(So I dunno what to tell ya. I guess you'll have to figure it out yourself.)"

"(Oh... well...)" Pikachu glanced back over at Buneary, who was chatting and laughing with Pachirisu, before looking back at Buizel. "(Thanks anyway, Buizel.)"

"(No problem. Sorry I couldn't be more help.)"

"(Nah, that's alright.)"

"Alright, guys!" Ash said excitedly. "After we eat, it's time to do some training!"

Unfolding his arms, Buizel pumped a fist, looking determined. "(Alright!)" he said. "(My favourite time of the day!)"

Pikachu gave his friend an exasperated smile. Ash had certainly made the right choice when he'd traded Aipom for Buizel, way back before Ambipom had left. They were like two peas in a pod.

As Pikachu settled down to eat his pellets, he noticed another bowl being shoved up against his. This wasn't unusual, yet it still made his heart thump in his chest nervously. After a few moments, he felt something warm and fluffy nuzzle up against him.

"(Hey, Pikachu~)" Buneary said happily.

"(H-Hey, Buneary,)" he replied, trying to hide his nervousness as he nuzzled back.

"(Hee~)" Picking up a pellet, she quietly began to nibble on it.

Picking up his own pellet, he too nibbled on it, admiring today's taste. It had hints of spice with a strange herby flavouring. It was quite nice.

After a few moments of chewing it, his mind was brought back to his conversation with Buizel. Unable to help himself, he glanced sideways at his girlfriend.

Her large brown eyes sparkled as she ate the pellet, small noises of contentment escaping her mouth.

His heart began doing the weird somersaults again, so he quickly turned away and thought of something for them to talk about.

... Well, he supposed he could ask her the same thing he'd asked Buizel - what it felt like to be in love - but no. That was far too embarrassing. Besides, what would she even think if he asked a question like that?!

His insides squirmed like a tangela was trapped in there. How incredibly awkward. Not only was it a ridiculously strong word to throw around, they weren't exactly in a secluded area, so everyone would likely overhear him.

Oh, legends, he could already picture her dropping her pellet in shock, holding the pose for several seconds, then yanking up her fluff to hide her face.

... No. No, he absolutely was not going to ask that.

"(... So!)" he said, putting on a smile. "(Looking forward to practice later?)"

She beamed at him. "(Oh, certainly! I can't wait to try some new tricks with my Ice Beam!)"

He smiled back, more genuinely this time. "(Should be fun.)"

Later that night, once all the pokémon had been put away, and the humans were tucked into their sleeping bags, Pikachu lay awake, staring into the darkness.

Over and over again, he couldn't help wonder about this 'love' thing. What was it? What did it feel like? Was it important to feel it? Suddenly, he began to feel anxious. Would he be a bad boyfriend if he didn't feel it?

Rolling over on the grass, he gazed forlornly at Dawn's small yellow bag. Inside lay the pokéball of his girlfriend. Did he love her? Could he love her? He couldn't really be sure.

It probably wouldn't be fair to say he did love her, when even he wasn't sure...

Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the sky above. He managed to distract himself when he noticed how cloudy it was tonight. He couldn't see a single star in the sky for cloud. Huh. How about that.

Closing his eyes, he sighed as his thoughts returned to Buneary. Just what was he to do?

He tilted his head back, admiring the cloudy, starless sky above him. It was a lovely night out.

Suddenly, he felt a paw cover his own. Pleasantly surprised at the sudden warmth, he turned to smile at the creature beside him.

The creature, with her long ears, brown fur and cream fluff, smiled back at him.

The two of them remained in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying each other's company under the night sky.

After a while, however, the clouds began to part, and a beam of moonlight shone down onto the grassy plain, bathing the pokémon in its glow.

He now had a clear view of the creature holding his paw. Still smiling at him, the eevee opened her mouth to say something.

Pikachu blinked awake. He blinked again, trying to register the dream he'd just had. Once he did, he stared in shock at the sky above him. Why had he dreamt about an eevee?!

Sure, he'd seen plenty of eevee in his life, but why would he suddenly dream about one in such a romantic light?! When he had a girlfriend, too?!

... Oh, legends, did this count as cheating?! He had no desire to do that, but, if his dream self was doing it, did that mean he was capable of doing it, too?! Did it mean he had the thought in the back of his mind somewhere?!

No. No. He wasn't his dream self. He'd never do anything to hurt Buneary. He knew that. He and dream Pikachu were two different beings.

In fact, it was quite like the time his dream self had watched Ash fall off a building, with no one down below to save him, and he'd laughed in sadistic joy. He'd needed to be comforted when he'd woken up, as he'd never do such a thing in the real world.

The mind could be a strange thing, sometimes...

Speaking of which, he had to wonder again about that eevee. He couldn't recall ever crushing on one, so why would he dream of one, instead of his actual girlfriend? He was pretty sure his dream self had known the eevee's name, too, though it was escaping him at the moment. Reese, or something.

He heaved a sigh and rolled over, once again glancing at Dawn's small yellow bag before closing his eyes.

The following morning, Pikachu yawned as Brock set out the food bowls. He wasn't completely exhausted, but it'd certainly take him a while to wake up properly. He smiled gratefully as a bowl was placed in front of him.

Nearby, Ash slumped across the table. "Broooock..." he complained, "when's breakfast ready?"

"In a few minutes, Ash," Brock replied.

"But I'm gonna starve to death if I don't eat soon!"

Dawn threw him a light smirk. "Don't be such a drama queen, Ash," she said.

He threw a light frown back at her. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not Piplup, ya know."

"(Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!)" Piplup cried angrily.

Lyra laughed. "Wow, Dane..." she said.

"It's Dawn," Dawn corrected. She smiled apologetically at Piplup. "And no offense, Piplup."

The penguin folded his flippers and turned away. "(Hmph!)"

Khoury laughed awkwardly. "It's never boring with this group, that's for sure..." he said.

Brock could only chuckle to himself at the shenanigans.

"(Morning, Pikachu~)" Buneary said, setting her bowl down.

Pikachu turned to her. When he saw her adorable brown face smiling at him, all he could see in his mind's eye was the face of an eevee. Immediately, he began to recall last night's thoughts of whether or not he actually could love her, all while imagining the eevee smiling at him, instead. He began to feel awkward.

"(Oh, uh... hi,)" he replied. He suddenly realised his lacklustre response. "(... Morning, Buneary.)"

She gave him a quick nuzzle. "(You seem tired.)"

A part of him didn't feel like he deserved to nuzzle her back, but he did it anyway. "(... A little.)"

"(Aww. Well, I'm sure you'll perk up later!)"

"(Yeah...)"

He turned away to pick up a pellet and began to slowly nibble on it, his mind swimming. After a few moments, a nagging feeling forced him to glance back over at her again. She was smiling and nibbling obliviously on a pellet, which caused his gut to twist into guilty knots.

She had no idea at all about what thoughts had been plaguing his mind. She had no idea that he'd fretted over how he really felt. That he'd even asked Buizel for help.

... That he'd dreamt about dating someone else.

He shook his head. No. He'd been over this. His dream self was someone entirely different. His mind worked in a different way.

... So why was he feeling so guilty over it?

Well, he supposed that, if he couldn't figure out his feelings and he was dreaming about some random eevee, he probably didn't love her, after all. At least not yet. His ears drooped slightly at the thought.

"(... Hey, something wrong, Pikachu?)" Buneary asked gently.

He jolted. "(Huh?!)" Turning quickly, he smiled at her. "(Oh! No, it's nothing!)"

She gave him a concerned look. "(Are you sure?)"

"(Yep! Man, these pellets are nice, huh?)" He nervously shoved the rest of it into his mouth and chewed.

She continued to give him that concerned gaze.

Anxious, he tried to think of something else to say. "(... Dey cuh rearry do wiv some keshup, dough.)"

She gave him a small smile of amusement.

Swallowing the pellet down, he smiled sheepishly and picked up another pellet.

"(... So, you're sure you're okay?)" she asked.

"(... Yeah,)" he replied. "(I'll be fine.)"

For his own sake, he really hoped that was the case.