Author's note: Hey, guys! Lucky chapter 13, coming your way!
... Just to clarify, any similarities you find between my fics and VGS2's fics are probably a result of us constantly getting inspiration from each other. XD
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
And remember: reviews are like Scooby snacks. They're tasty and spur people on to be bait for the monst- I mean write more chapters.
Chapter Thirteen: Distractions
Finally, after all the humans and pokémon had put away their tableware, Ash pumped a fist in determination.
"Alright, now it's time to do some morning training!" he cried.
"(Yeah!)" all the pokémon on his team replied. The only exception was Pikachu, who was still a little lost in thought.
Lyra laughed. "Morning, noon and night!" she said. "Don't you ever get sick of it?"
"No way!" Ash replied, grinning at her. "It's you who ain't training enough!"
"Yeah," Khoury agreed awkwardly, looking at Lyra, "shouldn't you be training for the Goldenrod gym?"
Lyra grinned proudly. "Pshaw!" she replied. "I'll be fine, you worrywart!"
He looked unconvinced. "Hmm..."
"Well, I wanna practice for the Lilypad contest!" Dawn proclaimed with a smile. "It's coming up real soon!"
"Why don't you and Ash practice together then?" Brock suggested with a smile.
"Alright then!" Dawn swung out an arm dramatically. "Buneary, spooootlight!"
With a cry of delight, Buneary hopped in front of her trainer. "(Ready for action!)" she replied, beaming.
"Using Buneary, huh?" Ash asked in amusement. "Alright then." He also swung out an arm dramatically. "Go, Pikachu!"
Pikachu's head jolted, his eyes widening as he realised what had been said. Glancing over at Buneary, he could see that her eyes were wide, too. Ash wanted him to battle? Against Buneary? Normally, he'd be only too happy to battle, but against his own girlfriend?!
"Uh, Ash?" Dawn said slowly. "Is that such a good idea?"
He gave her a confused look. "Huh? Why wouldn't it be?"
Should he really be doing this? Battling his own girlfriend? It seemed like something pokémon shouldn't do, but he wasn't sure. Would it make him a bad boyfriend if he hurt her?
Dawn looked exasperated. "Well, because they're dating!"
"Yeah, Ash!" Lyra added in amusement. "Get with the program!"
"... Huh?" Ash asked, looking utterly lost.
In fact, had Pikachu ever actually battled Buneary before? He cast his mind back, trying to remember.
Well, there had been that one double appeal battle with Aipom and Buizel. He'd partnered up with Aipom, and Buneary had partnered up with Buizel. Back before Buizel had been traded over to Ash, and Ambipom had left them for ping pong.
The only time he'd actually hit Buneary in that appeal battle, though, had been when Ash had told him to use Thunderbolt on the ground. The debris that had been kicked up had been used as a distraction, while Aipom had used Focus Punch. Other than that, though, he'd never actually battled her...
Brock suddenly clenched a fist. "Ash, you can't interfere in matters of the heart!" he cried, his gaze intense. "Why, if I had to hurt either Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny, I'd never live with myself!"
"... But, Brock it's just a pokémon battle."
Dawn heaved a sigh. "You can't just ask Pikachu to beat up his girlfriend, Ash..." she said.
"Yeah," Khoury agreed awkwardly, "it is a bit..." He didn't finish.
Ash gave an exaggerated shrug, still looking lost. "Then what am I supposed to do? Switch pokémon, I guess?" He heaved a sigh.
Also lost and confused, Pikachu looked over at Buneary. He doubted she'd want him to battle her. Perhaps she'd prefer to battle one of his teammates, instead? Maybe Buizel. She probably didn't have any issues with battling him.
His girlfriend's gaze locked with his. She stared at him for a long moment. He blinked at her, fishing for some kind of reaction. She blinked back, apparently doing the same.
Eventually, she smiled. "(Well, I'm game if you are!)" she said.
His eyes widened. She actually wanted to battle him? Really?
"... Buneary?" Dawn asked curiously, looking down at her.
"(Really?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Yeah! It'll be fun!)" Buneary replied. She winked at him. "(Right?)"
He blinked back at her in thought.
"Oh, hey!" Ash said, smiling. "It looks like she wants to battle him after all!" He turned to Pikachu. "Whaddaya say, buddy?"
Pikachu looked up at Ash, then back down at Buneary. Both of them were now wearing confident, determined smiles. Well, if they were both okay with it, he didn't suppose there was much of an issue.
Giving a determined smile of his own, he pumped a fist. "(Alright, let's go!)" he replied.
"Alright then!" Ash said. Running into place, several paces opposite Dawn, he swung out an arm dramatically. "Go, Pikachu!"
"(Right!)" He jumped in front of his trainer, landing on all fours.
Buneary flashed him a happy smile, then went back to looking determined. "(You better not go easy on me!)" she said.
He paused for a second. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered it. She was his girlfriend, after all, and he'd really hate to hurt her. However, pokémon were proud creatures. Battles tested their strength, speed and durability. It was disrespectful to go easy on one another.
... She was fairly strong, though, so she could probably handle it well enough.
He nodded. "(Alright, I won't! And the same goes for you!)"
"(I wouldn't dream of it, sweetie!)"
He blushed. Oh, good lord, she was giving him nicknames now?
"Well," Brock said, "if the lovebirds have no problem with this..." He clenched a fist dramatically. "Then who am I to intervene?!"
Lyra put a hand to her hip, looking amused. "A lovers' battle, huh?" she asked.
Khoury laughed. "Yeah," he replied. "Though, thankfully, a friendly one."
Calming down, Brock raised an arm into the air. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Pikachu and Buneary," he declared. "Is everyone ready?"
"Ready!" Ash replied.
"Ready!" Dawn replied.
"(Ready!)" Pikachu and Buneary both replied at once.
"Alright then," Brock said. He swung down his arm. "Begin!"
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called out.
Sending power to his tail, Pikachu charged forwards, determined not to let his girlfriend down. It would be weird hitting her, but he'd made a promise. Only a bad boyfriend would fail to keep that promise.
"Buneary, dodge it with Bounce!" Dawn called out.
As Pikachu got close, he swung his tail around, but Buneary jumped out of the way. A moment later, something slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground with a yelp.
... His girlfriend had just used him as a springboard, hadn't she?
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Getting to his feet, Pikachu charged up electricity in his cheeks, then unleashed it towards the sky where Buneary was.
"Buneary, Ice Beam!"
Pikachu suddenly felt a pressure pushing against his Thunderbolt. Increasing the voltage, he pushed back. It was a desperate struggle, with neither side giving an inch. Eventually, the two attacks exploded, the blast making him slide backwards across the grass. Squinting, he noticed Buneary land on the ground opposite him.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
Sending power to his legs, Pikachu dashed forwards at lightning speed. Being too fast for Buneary to react, he hit her square in the chest. She recoiled in pain.
Dawn made a noise of surprise, but she soon recovered. "Buneary, use Dizzy Punch!"
The fluffy tips of Buneary's ears immediately glowed a rainbow-tinted white. She leapt at him.
"Pikachu, dodge it!"
Pikachu tried to dodge, but Buneary was far too close. The ear tips smacked into him, one after the other. He shrieked at each hit. It was like she was wearing a pair of boxing gloves on her ears!
Suddenly, after the fifth hit, the world around him began to spin. Which way was up? Which was down? What even was down?
"Oh no! Pikachu!"
Was that Ash? He wasn't sure. It sounded like Ash. Heh, his trainer had a funny name.
"Come on, Buneary, break free!"
Break free from what? Was someone holding her? Well, he couldn't be having that! He had to be a good girlfriend... boyfriend... whatever he was and rescue her!
He stood on his two feet, wobbling slightly, then began walking towards where he could see her. The world spun around him with every step he took. Man, that was annoying. He wished the world... planet... thing would cut it out.
"Pikachu, snap out of it!"
Snap out of what?
He blinked. Then blinked again. Suddenly, the world wasn't spinning anymore. He turned to Buneary and was surprised to see that she was frozen in place, sparking slightly. She seemed to be trying very hard to move.
Ah. Static. She must have confused him with Dizzy Punch, but gotten affected by his ability at the same time.
After a few moments of struggling, she threw her arms out, the sparks flying off her fur. They twinkled slightly as they hit the ground.
"Alright!" Ash cried in delight. "Now, use Thunderbolt!"
Nodding in response, Pikachu built up electricity in his cheeks, then launched it towards Buneary.
"Time to experiment!" Dawn cried. "Buneary, Dizzy Punch again!"
Dizzy Punch? Against his Thunderbolt? How could that possibly work out well?
He watched as the stream of electricity flew towards his girlfriend, who was readying herself, her ear tips glowing again. Once it was close enough, she swung out her ears in a punching motion and punched the electricity away.
His mouth flew open as the punches continued. She was actually punching away his Thunderbolt! How the heck was she doing that?!
"Great job, Buneary! Keep it up!"
Nodding, Buneary began to run towards him, still making punching motions. The redirected electricity was flying everywhere, except towards its intended target. In fact, he could swear he heard a scream from Piplup nearby.
"Pikachu, dodge it!"
Pikachu blinked. It was a good job Ash had said that, as he'd been too entranced to think about it. Acting quickly, he cut his electricity and jumped sideways. Buneary's ears hit the ground where he'd just been standing.
"Now use Iron Tail!"
Sending power to his tail, he launched himself forwards, swinging towards Buneary. It hit her in the stomach, causing her to shriek in pain.
"Buneary, grab it!"
Reaching out her ears, Buneary grabbed hold of his tail. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Great! Now spin!"
Spin?
Suddenly, Buneary began to spin on the spot, lifting him off the floor. He shrieked as he spun in dizzying circles around her.
"Pikachu!"
"Alright aaaand... release!"
Uh oh. The second the command was given, Buneary let go. Screaming, Pikachu went flying into the air.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"
Righting himself in mid-air, Pikachu charged up some electricity in his cheeks, then fired it towards the ground.
"Buneary, Ice Beam!"
Buneary charged a ball of blue energy, then fired it as a beam of light. It apparently hit his Thunderbolt at just the right angle, as ice began to form all the way along it. Straight towards him.
He only managed to get out a yelp before he was frozen in a block of ice.
"Pikachu!"
Though he couldn't move, he could still see his girlfriend forming a base underneath him, to keep the ice structure from collapsing.
"Buneary, Bounce!"
Done with her task, Buneary bounced high into the air in his direction. The moment he lost sight of her, he felt something land on top of the ice block with a thunk. The pressure caused a crack to form beneath him. Oh no.
He was helpless to his fate as the ice block tumbled to the ground, him screaming the best he could inside it. It landed sideways, giving him a nice view of Buneary sliding down his frozen Thunderbolt like she was rail-grinding.
"Pikachu! Come on, you gotta break free!"
He wiggled. Then wiggled some more. The ice wasn't budging at all.
"Try a Thunderbolt!"
... Well, it was worth a shot. Building up electricity in his cheeks, he tried his best to fire it. It was difficult in the enclosed space.
In fact, the ice block was glowing a lovely yellow colour from all the sparks. He was sure that would have given him at least a few points in a contest, but it was irrelevant here.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he increased the voltage. When that didn't seem to work, he increased it even further. Eventually, he could hear cracks starting to form in the ice. Increasing it one last time, he was able to smash open the ice, shards of it flying everywhere. He could swear he heard a second scream from Piplup.
"(Wow!)" Buneary said, beaming. "(Nice job getting out!)"
Pikachu heaved himself to his feet, sighing in relief. "(Thanks,)" he replied.
She smiled warmly at him. "(For a second there, I thought I had ya... but you're too cool for that.)"
"(Heh. Hardly. I got lucky.)"
"Buneary, use Dizzy Punch!" Dawn cried.
Her ear tips glowing again, Buneary leapt towards him.
"Pikachu, dodge!" Ash cried.
Fast on his feet, Pikachu jumped out of the way.
"Now use Thunderbolt!"
Immediately as he landed, he charged up electricity in his cheeks and fired it at Buneary. Before Dawn could give a command to either counter or dodge, the attack struck, electrocuting her. She screamed in pain.
"Yeah! Way to go, Pikachu!"
"Buneary!" After a moment, Dawn recovered. "Give yourself some distance with Bounce!"
Flinching slightly, Buneary bounced high, then slammed back into the ground, kicking dirt into Pikachu's face. He cried out as he was momentarily blinded.
Spitting out dirt and brushing down his face, he blinked, trying to be able to see again. Once his vision returned, he noticed his girlfriend some distance away.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!"
"Buneary, Ice Beam!"
Building up their respective attacks, they fired them at one another. They violently clashed together, the electricity and icy blast both struggling for dominance.
Pikachu felt himself getting worn down. After taking so many hits, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. Looking over at Buneary, however, she didn't seem to be faring any better.
"More power, Pikachu!"
Pikachu increased the voltage, slowly pushing back the Ice Beam.
"You too, Buneary!"
Buneary did the same, trying hard to keep away his Thunderbolt. After an immense struggle, there was another small explosion. Since it was much closer to Buneary, it blew her backwards. Pikachu covered his eyes from the blast.
When he opened them again, he saw Buneary struggling to get to her feet.
"No! Buneary!"
Wow, he'd really injured her, hadn't he? Well, hopefully, the battle would be over soon, though he couldn't deny that it'd been a lot of fun.
As his girlfriend got back on her feet, he couldn't help but notice that bits of dirt were now coating her, muddying her natural colours. Her lovely brown fur and pretty cream-coloured fluff looked splotchy and dirty.
... Wait. Brown fur. Cream-coloured fluff.
"Alright, time to finish this! Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"
In a sudden daze, Pikachu got on all fours. He barely registered what he was doing as he sent power to his legs, then dashed at a lightning speed towards Buneary. As he ran, electricity began to build around him, until it completely surrounded him.
"Oh no! Buneary, dodge it!"
As he watched Buneary fail to move, due to wincing, he couldn't help but remember the dream again. The dream about the eevee. A hollow feeling began to worm its way around his heart, eating away at him.
The battle had distracted him from it for a while, but, now, his guilt was back with a vengeance.
The closer he ran to Buneary, the more he began to see the eevee from his dream. As she looked up at him, her fearful gaze meeting his, he faltered.
Immediately, he lost his footing. With a yelp, he landed on his stomach, but the momentum from his Volt Tackle kept going. He slid painfully across the ground, kicking up dirt and grass as he went.
"Pikachu!"
Eventually, after creating a small trench in the ground, he came to a stop. He lay there for a few moments, still dazed.
"(Pikachu!)" Buneary cried, hopping over. "(Are you okay?!)"
He groaned, too tired to respond.
There were gasps from the humans, followed by a long stretch of silence.
"... Pikachu is unable to battle!" Brock called out. "Buneary is the winner!"
"Wow..." Lyra said in awe. "What on earth happened?"
"It... looked like he tripped," Khoury replied hesitantly.
"(Are you alright?)" Buneary asked quietly.
"(... Yeah...)" Pikachu muttered.
Suddenly, he could hear hurried footsteps in his direction. When they stopped, the person knelt down and scooped him into their arms. He looked up into the face of Ash.
His trainer smiled concernedly. "Hey, buddy," he said. "You alright?"
He tried to smile back. "(Yeah...)"
"You did great out there! Now, you sit on the sidelines and take a nice rest."
"(Okay, thanks...)"
Placing him in a sitting position, Ash stood up and walked back over to Dawn and Brock.
"(... What happened out there, Pikachu?)" Buneary asked, sitting next to him.
Still tired, Pikachu stared solemnly at the ground.
"(... Are...)" she continued, "(are you upset that you lost?)" She paused a moment. "(Well, n-no need to worry, right? It was just one little slip-up! If that Volt Tackle had hit me, I'd be brown bread!)"
Pikachu barely registered Monferno and Cyndaquil melting the ice structure with Flamethrower as he turned to Buneary.
"(That's... not it.)"
She blinked. "(It's not?)"
He looked down at the grass. "(No...)
"(Oh.)" She paused. "(Then what is it?)"
"(... My... my dream... with the thing... and the... yeah...)"
"(... Um... sorry, what?)"
"(Sorry...)" He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "(I had a dream... It was night-time and... I was holding someone's paw...)" He turned his head away in shame. "(I was smiling... she was smiling... We were really happy... I even think she had a name...)" He forced himself to look at Buneary. "(But-)" He paused when he noticed her wide-eyed expression. "(Um... Buneary?)"
She quickly shook her head. "(Uh, yeah?)"
"(Are you okay?)"
"(Yeah. Carry on.)"
"(... Uh, sure. Anyway... I'm really sorry, Buneary. I thought it was you, at first... but then it turned out to be an eevee. I... I feel like I cheated on you.)"
"(... Oh. Is... that what distracted you during the battle?)"
"(Yeah...)"
"(... Well... don't worry about it!)" She forced on a smile. "(It was just a dream, right? It's not like you'd... actually do that for real!)"
"(N-No, of course not.)"
"(Then it's fine! No need to worry!)"
"(Well... if you say so...)"
"(Yeah, I do!)"
Still unsure, Pikachu turned to look over at Piplup and Buizel, who were giving each other some friendly trash talk. Probably because they were set to battle next. Buizel was smirking with his arms crossed and Piplup was puffing himself up, while smacking a flipper to his chest.
After a while of watching them, Pikachu glanced back at his girlfriend, who was staring off into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes.
Was she upset that he'd cheated on her in a dream? She'd said it meant nothing, but he wasn't so sure. Especially with the way she was acting right now. Maybe it had been a bad idea to tell her, after all...
... Either way, he hoped he never had that stupid dream again. So far, it had caused him nothing but problems, with him getting distracted and Buneary getting upset. It was putting his relationship at risk and he couldn't bear the thought of that.
Not wanting to think about it anymore, he turned away with a sigh, ready to watch the next battle. Maybe some action would take his mind off things...