Author's note: Heya, guys and gals!
Guess what? I've got a new PikaBun fic that's ready for posting! Yay! It's called Shallow Waters and it has no connection whatsoever to this fic. It even has a completely different Pikachu and Buneary! So do look out for that in the next couple of days and I hope you enjoy it!
On that note, I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!
P.S. This chapter also references a chapter of VGS2's fic, Game-Changer, that hasn't (at this point) been posted yet. Yay! It'll be fun when people make that connection.
Chapter Nineteen: Contemplations
It had been several days since Pikachu's conversation with Buizel. Since then, the mouse hadn't had any more dreams about the eevee, and he dearly hoped it would stay that way.
In the meantime, Ash had caught a new pokémon. A gible who knew Draco Meteor, but still had a way to go towards perfecting it. So far, every time the shark had practiced with it, it had somehow struck Piplup, though that was probably just a horrible coincidence.
"(Aheh,)" Pikachu said awkwardly, "(good job on the training today, Gible.)"
Beside him lay the smouldering body of his penguin friend.
Gible, who was blankly staring at him, didn't respond.
The awkwardness only increased. "(Um... Gible?)"
The shark turned to stare in another direction. "(... I'm hungry,)" he said.
Pikachu sighed. That was another problem with Gible. He was rather difficult to communicate with, at times.
It was rather strange, considering that Khoury's gible, Ursula's gabite and Cynthia's garchomp had all been fairly normal pokémon. He supposed it was just this gible that was a bit odd.
Ash suddenly approached, a smile on his face. "Good work, Gible!" he said. He pumped a fist. "We're gonna have that Draco Meteor mastered in no time!"
Gible slowly looked up at him, stared for a long moment, then leapt up and bit him on the head.
Ash flailed around in pain. "Argh! Gible!" He tried to pry the shark loose. "Come on, cut that out!"
Pikachu sighed again.
"(And then he bit down on Ash's head,)" Pikachu explained. He slumped in exasperation. "(... Again.)"
Buneary giggled. "(Oh wow...)" she replied. "(He's, uh... quite the character.)"
"(No kidding... I mean, no offence to the guy, but he's, uh... well, he's not... you know.)"
She giggled again. "(Yeah, I know.)" She paused, looking elsewhere curiously. "(Oh, speak of the devil...)"
"(Gible, what are you doing?)" Buizel asked flatly from a small distance away.
"(... You know that's not edible, right?)" Pachirisu asked curiously.
Sighing, Pikachu turned around. Just as he'd thought, Gible was chewing on a large rock. His drool was trailing down the side of the rock, but none of it was breaking off.
... Apparently, his teeth were better at cutting through metal than rock. If the park and Barry's bike had been any indication.
"(Urgh, darn it, Gible...)" he muttered.
Buneary giggled again. "(Oh dear...)" she said.
The sound of her giggling was somehow enough to lighten his mood. Turning back to face her, he smiled.
"(Hey, you wanna go on a date today?)"
She clapped her paws together, beaming. "(Ooh, really? I'd love to!)"
Pikachu's smile widened. "(Okay, great! I know the perfect place, too!)"
"(Wow!)" Buneary said, staring at the view in awe. "(You're right, it is perfect!)"
"(Heh, thanks,)" Pikachu replied proudly.
In front of them was a large pond, its bank lined with daisies and dandelions. The water sparkled in the afternoon sunshine, and various bird pokémon were floating on the surface of it.
Directly in the middle of the pond was a tiny island with a small tree sprouting from it. Dotted around the island were some strange duck and swan pokémon that Pikachu didn't recognise. Up above, a myriad of bug pokémon were dancing around each other in a sky ballet.
It was beautiful.
"(So!)" Pikachu continued. "(How about we sit somewhere and, well... get on with the date!)"
She beamed at him "(Sure! Lead the way!)"
"(Okay!)" Pikachu began walking forwards, Buneary following behind him, when he suddenly spotted a nearby bush. "(Oh! Hey, do you want a snack?)"
She blinked. "(Hmm? But we just had lunch.)"
"(I know, just... something small.)" He stopped walking and looked over at her. "(You know? It could be like a... dessert or something!)"
She also stopped walking to smile at him. "(Well, alright, sure.)"
He smiled back. "(Kay.)"
Sitting by the pond, Pikachu leaned against the nearest tree. Buneary, also leaning against it, sighed in contentment.
Pikachu, once again, looked out at the lovely view as he bit into his berry.
The first thing to hit his tongue was a delightful sugary sweetness. Immediately after, it was followed by a dry, chalky texture.
He swooned. Oh, legends, it was delicious.
He knew Buneary would like it, too, since she loved sweet food, and didn't seem to mind dry food. It was the perfect snack for them to share.
Smiling, he turned towards Buneary. He paused at what he saw. The entire front of her mouth, inside and out, was covered in black stains.
... Oh right. It was bluk berries they were eating.
"(Pfft!)" he said, quickly covering his mouth.
She turned to him. "(Hmm?)" she asked. "(What is-?)" Her eyes widened. After a moment, she covered her mouth. "(Pfft!)"
They both tried their best to hold their laughter in, but the more they looked at each other, and saw the black stains on their mouths, the more hopeless that became. It eventually exploded out of them in a wave of mirth.
"(Oh my lord!)" Pikachu cried. "(You look ridiculous!)"
"(You too!)"
Buneary turned away in an attempt to calm down, so Pikachu did the same. Once his guffaws turned to chuckles, he chanced a look back at Buneary. Apparently, she'd done the same. The second they locked eyes again, however, more guffaws exploded from their mouths.
It kind of reminded Pikachu of the first time they'd shared bluk berries together, where a similar thing had happened. Thanks to Meowth, they'd lost track of their friends and had been wandering around a forest, trying to find them. Coming across some bluk berries on the ground, just as they'd complained of hunger, they'd eaten them and continued on their merry way. It had only been afterwards, when Buneary had asked him which way they should go, that they'd noticed the black stains.
They hadn't been able to stop laughing for around five minutes.
Once Pikachu eventually calmed down, he wiped the stains off his mouth with his arm. Looking up at Buneary, he noticed that she was doing the same, though she was looking at the grass with a really soft smile on her face.
He paused, unable to stop staring. The expression was starting to remind him of that day, many weeks ago, when she'd directed a soft smile his way. Something about being proud of him. Back then, he'd thought it looked cute and that was no different now.
She looked up suddenly, locking eyes with him. "(... Something wrong?)" she asked.
He jumped slightly. "(Uh, no, no!)" he replied hastily. "(It's just, you know... you were doing the thing and it looked really... yeah!)"
She blinked, tilting her head. "(Huh?)"
He blushed. "(Uh, the... the thing... You know! With the... yeah.)"
Curses. Had he always been this bad with wording? He didn't recall being quite this bad, until he'd met Buneary.
... Then again, he hadn't had much reason to get flustered before meeting her, had he? He always tended to stutter more when he was flustered.
He heaved a sigh. "(Never mind...)"
She giggled lightly at him.
That night, Pikachu lay curled up on the grass, leaning against Ash's sleeping bag with his eyes closed. Next to him lay Buneary, who was curled up into her own little ball.
He snuggled in tighter, enjoying the immense comfort of all three things brushing against his skin. The soft grass, the warm nylon, and the cosy fluff. It was heavenly.
He was slowly starting to drift off when he heard a voice.
"(Mmm...)" Buneary mumbled sleepily, "(goodnight, Pikachu...)"
A tiny smile worked its way onto his mouth. "(Goodnight, Buneary...)" he replied.
He could hear them behind him. Their hurried footsteps chasing him. He began to hyperventilate. Who were they? What did they want with him? What were they going to do to him?!
He didn't want to find out.
He kept running, as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't want them to catch him. He couldn't let them catch him.
He was scared. So scared. He needed to get away.
On and on, he ran. He could hear their voices behind him. They were closing in.
He tried to speed up. He tried with all his might. Instead, he started slowing down.
His panic rose. His breathing increasing. Oh no. He was going to die!
His feet felt so heavy, but he had to keep them moving. He couldn't let them catch him. He just couldn't!
Why wouldn't his feet move?!
He slowed to a crawl, dragging his feet like they weighed a tonne. Oh no. No! They were going to catch him for sure!
His heart thudded painfully in his chest, desperately urging him forward. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop!
He heard a branch snap. Whipping his head around, he saw them. Shadowy figures, chasing him. Closing in. He wanted to cry, he was so scared.
He wasn't looking where he was going.
He suddenly crashed into something and fell backwards, landing on the grass. His panic intensified as he looked into the face of another shadowy figure. It reached down, one hand extended.
He screamed.
Pikachu jolted awake. Breathing heavily, he took a quick glance around him. Okay. Okay, he was in a forest. Next to him was his trainer, Ash, and over yonder were his friends, Dawn and Brock. Turning his head, he caught sight of his girlfriend, Buneary. He breathed out slowly, relaxing as he took in her sleeping form.
Man... he hadn't had that dream in a while now. When had been the last time? He couldn't really remember.
Calming his breathing, he closed his eyes again. Good grief. Was it somewhere in his subconscious that he was afraid of shadowy figures, or something? Well, he supposed they were pretty scary. They were so faceless, and he could never remember what they'd said.
Perhaps they symbolised Team Rocket, and how they always wanted to capture him?
Well, that would make sense if he actually found Team Rocket scary. Sure, they were annoying, but they were about the furthest thing from scary.
... Admittedly, though, it was pretty scary how good they were at disguising themselves. How did they manage to fool him and his friends every single time? He'd praise them for that if it didn't involve him ending up in cages constantly...
Regardless, he really didn't want to go back to sleep, only to have that same dream again. He'd probably need to calm down a bit first.
Changing his sleeping position, he looked over at Buneary again. She was currently fast asleep, and gently clutching the fluff around her waist. She twitched a few times, then rolled over. He could now see her face more clearly.
He watched her for a moment, observing the curve of her mouth. His eyes travelled up the line connecting it to her pink button nose. Looking upwards, he began to watch her tiny, cream-coloured eyebrows.
Were they just as fluffy as the stuff on her waist and ears? They certainly looked like they were made from the same material.
He was tempted to reach out and touch them, but he refrained. He really didn't want to risk waking her. She looked so peaceful.
He hoped she was having some nice dreams.
He smiled to himself. She was so cute. He had no idea why he'd never really noticed it before they'd started dating. Well, he'd noticed that her species was cute, but not her in general.
... Heh. If only he was this good with words outside of his own mind.
Shrugging, he curled back into a ball and closed his eyes. Take two, he supposed.
The rain came down in buckets, soaking the landscape. Pokémon of all kinds were scurrying away, out of the downpour. Heading to drier locations.
Snug inside the hollow of a tree, he settled back against the bark and looked out at the forest. As disruptive as Mother Nature could be, it could also be beautiful. The way the small water droplets fell in a soft pitter-patter on the leaves. The way it rolled down them and splashed onto the grass. The slight whooshing noise when all the droplets fell together.
He turned to look at a passing pokémon, who was soaked through to its skin, before looking back out at the lake.
Drip-drop, drip-drop went the rain as it landed on the water's surface, creating tiny ripples in its wake. Up above, the clouds were dark and foreboding, but not enough to raise concern. This was no thunderstorm, thankfully.
Suddenly, a voice piped up from beside him, commenting on the rain. He turned to his companion sheepishly, apologising for the sudden change in weather.
She didn't seem to mind. In fact, the eevee seemed almost happy to be in this tree hollow with him.
Well, if she was, then the feeling was certainly mutual.
Pikachu cracked open his eyelids to the sounds of singing starly. He blinked a few times, looking around him. Everyone was getting up and stretching, ready to start a new day. Even Buneary.
He blinked again.
After a moment, he suddenly remembered the dream and his eyes shot open. Oh no. Not again! He'd hoped to be past this after talking to Buizel!
Apparently not, though. Instead, his subconscious was continuing to torture him with it!
He clenched his eyes shut. It was okay. It was just a dream. Just a dream. It didn't mean anything. That was what Buizel had said. A dream about a figment of his imagination.
As long as he didn't cheat on Buneary in real life, it didn't matter. Right?
... Wait a minute. Cheat.
He opened his eyes in surprise. In the dream, he hadn't even thought about Buneary, had he? Why was that? One would think the first person he'd think of, while dating someone, would be his own girlfriend. So why had she not been on his mind at all?
... Did she not exist in the dream world? Or had his dream self already broken up with her? Did that mean he was looking for greener pastures? Or he was going to in the future?!
Maybe his dream self was cheating on her, but didn't care at all?! Did she mean that little to him?!
He groaned and clenched his eyes shut. No. Bad. It was just a dream. That was all it was. That was all it had ever been. That was what Buizel had said. He had to keep reminding himself of that.
He slowly opened his eyes again. Ash was putting on his hat, Brock was preparing breakfast, and Buneary was helping Dawn apply her hair gel.
He supposed he'd better get up.
Pushing himself into a seated position, he stretched his limbs. After a few moments, though, he paused. Now that he thought about it, he'd had the eevee dream directly after having a nightmare, hadn't he? Something about shadowy figures chasing him.
Huh. At the time, he hadn't wanted to go back to sleep, in case the nightmare had returned.
... Honestly, though, looking back on it, he would have preferred if it had.