Author's note: Heya!

Friendly reminder to always comment on your favourite stories! Reviews create motivation, and motivation creates more chapters! So spread the good feeling!

"Good-a job!" Luigi said, leaving a review about all the things he liked.

"I'm really feeling it!" Shulk said, getting pumped up to write a second chapter.

It's so easy, even Smash Brothers can do it!

The other way it can swing, however...

"Your range is one fist short," Ryu said, mentioning only what he didn't like.

"You'll get no sympathy from me," Ike said, leaving a scathing review.

"I can't... go on..." Shulk said sadly, cancelling his fic.

So don't be a Ryu or an Ike. Be a Luigi and spread the good feeling today! :D

... Also, hope you enjoy the chapter! Be sure to bring your insulin shots!

Chapter Thirty-three: Jokes

Pikachu and Buneary headed back to the campsite, one carrying her new doll and the other carrying the cardboard box it had been bought in.

They saw that Ash was busy training Gible, and Togekiss - as she'd promised - was protecting Piplup from any stray Draco Meteors. Instead of exploding in his face, they were exploding harmlessly on the grass.

Pikachu smiled. He was glad that his friend wasn't getting hurt by them anymore. Especially after that time when nobody had noticed how much it had been upsetting the penguin, to the point where he'd ran away.

As they approached the group, a few heads briefly turned in their direction. They immediately did a double-take.

Pachirisu's eyes lit up. "(Ooooh, what's that?!)" he asked excitedly.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu asked. He glanced at Buneary and noticed what the squirrel was looking at. "(Oh, the doll?)" He smiled back at Pachirisu. "(It's a present I got Buneary!)"

"(What?!)" Piplup cried in surprise. He spun around, looking mildly offended. "(Why didn't you get me a-?)" He paused, his eyes widening. "(Is that a Jibanyan doll?!)"

Buizel raised an eyebrow at him. "(Jiban... yan?)" he asked.

"(Yeah!)" The penguin rushed over, inspecting the doll in Buneary's grasp. "(From that Determination movie! I didn't know they were making dolls of these!)"

"(Me neither, 'til recently!)" Pikachu replied.

"(Aww, now I'm even more annoyed that you didn't get me one!)" Crossing his flippers, Piplup turned away and pouted. "(Hmph.)"

Pikachu's smile turned awkward. "(Well...)"

"(Dude,)" Buizel said, "(she's his girlfriend.)" He smirked. "(She has higher priority over you.)"

"(Hmph!)" Piplup replied. "(I should get all the priority...)"

"(Okay!)" Pachirisu said happily. "(Then I'll be sure to steal from your food bowl first at dinner!)"

Piplup whirled on him, looking aghast. "(What?!)"

Pachirisu burst out laughing. "(Just kidding~!)"

The penguin heaved a sigh and slumped his shoulders in exasperation.

Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. "(Sorry, Piplup...)" he said. "(I just, you know... wanted to make Buneary happy. I made a lot of screw-ups lately and wanted to make up for 'em.)"

Piplup straightened himself out, putting his flippers on his hips. "(Well, I guess you've got a point there.)"

Pikachu deflated a bit. "(Hey...)"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh, it looks like the doll was for Buneary!" Dawn said happily from nearby. "How adorable~!"

Pikachu looked over to see her linking her hands together in glee. Beside her, Brock was smiling and nodding knowingly, his wrists on his hips.

"I'd wondered if that was the case," he said. "Looks like she likes it."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah," he replied. "Guess she likes Ji..." He looked confused. "Jiboo... Jiban? Uhhhh..."

"Jibanyan."

Ash beamed. "Right, that!"

Dawn giggled, unlinking her hands. "Yeah," she replied. "By the way, I forgot to ask! Who was your favourite character, Ash?"

Ash put his wrists on his hips in thought. "Gee, that's a tough one... Hmmmm..." He paused, then smiled. "Well, Helmsman and Armsman were pretty cool! They were really strong and brave, and... kinda quirky!"

Helmsman and Armsman... The yokai that had fused together to become Reuknight, only to fall to a Moonblast...

Dawn giggled again. "Why am I not surprised? How about you, Brock?"

Brock clenched a fist in passion. "Cupistol, easily!" he replied. He clenched the fist harder, a strange fire in his eyes. "That man can make any girl he wants fall madly in love with him! If I had that kind of power..." He trailed off.

Cupistol... The yokai who had fused with his family's treasure, the love busters, to become Casanuva, only to fall to yet another Moonblast...

Suddenly, Brock started laughing maniacally. He'd probably had some sort of disturbing daydream about being surrounded by girls, by the sound of things...

Dawn smiled pleasantly at him. "That love pistol works on boys, too, remember?"

Brock unclenched his fist, looking horrified. He went silent, probably daydreaming up a different scenario.

Ash chuckled. "Never change, Brock," he said. He turned to Dawn. "So, Dawn, who was your favourite?"

She beamed. "Oh, Clefairy, easily!" she replied.

Something cold dropped into Pikachu's stomach at this answer.

She continued. "She was so cute! And watching her befriend all those yokee thingies was just the sweetest thing!" She linked her hands together. "And so inspirational! It made me want to spread so much peace and love~!"

Ash chuckled. "That's so cheesy, Dawn."

She pouted. "Hmph. Killjoy..."

Heh... it was probably a good thing that she'd never watched the sister movie, then. Otherwise, her view of Clefairy would be just as tarnished as Pikachu and Buneary's were.

Pikachu glanced over at Buneary and paused when he noticed her also listening in on the conversation. She turned to him, blinking silently.

He smiled at her awkwardly. "(Good thing she never watched it, huh?)" he asked.

"(Yeah...)" she replied. She looked down at her Jibanyan doll contemplatively.

Pachirisu giggled. "(Don't let any clefairy near Jibanyan, will ya?)" he teased.

Her head snapped up. "(Huh?)"

Buizel smirked. "(Yeah,)" he agreed, "(wouldn't want him to disappear in a cloud of smoke, right?)"

"(Well, no...)"

"(Yeah, so keep him safe!)" Pachirisu said.

"(And watch out for Moonblasts,)" Buizel added.

Pachirisu blinked. "(What even is a Moonblast?)"

Buizel shrugged. "(Beats me. Is it even a move?)"

"(I dunno! And what type is it? Is it the same type as Moonlight?)"

Buizel raised an eyebrow. "(... What is that, anyway? Normal-type?)"

"(I dunno!)" Pachirisu turned to Piplup. "(What do you think, Piplup?)"

The penguin threw his flippers up in exasperation. "(How am I supposed to know?!)" he asked.

Pachirisu giggled. "(I thought you knew everything!)"

Piplup paused. "(Well... I know a lot of things, but maybe not everything...)"

Buizel smirked. "(More like nothing,)" he said.

Piplup glared at him. "(What did you just say?!)" He ran over and tried to swat at Buizel, but was held back by his paw. "(I will end youuuu!)"

Buizel laughed at him. "(I'm kidding, jeez... Take a chill pill once in your life.)"

Giving up, Piplup huffed, folded his flippers and turned away.

Pikachu chuckled at his friends' shenanigans. "(Oh, those guys...)" he said to Buneary.

"(Heh, yeah,)" she replied.

He turned to smile at her. "(Though they're right, I guess. Keep him safe!)"

She blinked. After a moment, she gave him a soft smile in return. "(Yeah.)"

"(Let no harm come to him!)"

She paused a long moment. "(... Yeah. I won't.)"

"(Hmm?)" Pachirisu asked, coming closer. He was staring at the doll. "(What's that thing on his paw?)"

Pikachu perked up. "(Oh, it's really cool!)" he replied. "(You press it and it says stuff!)"

Pachirisu's eyes lit up. "(Really?! Can I try?! Can I?!)"

"(If Buneary's okay with it, sure!)" Pikachu turned to Buneary. "(Buneary?)"

Her head snapped up. "(Huh?!)" she asked. "(Oh.)" She smiled. "(Oh yeah, sure!)" She held out the doll.

"(Sweet!)" Pachirisu replied. He pressed the button.

"Jibanyaaaan!" the doll yelled.

Everyone fell back in shock.

Pikachu heaved an exasperated sigh. Every time... Why did it always have to land on that quote every single time?

"(Whoa, that's cool!)" Piplup said. He snatched the doll away, staring at it.

"(H-Hey!)" Pikachu said with a slight frown.

Buneary gave a light giggle. "(It's okay,)" she said. "(He can play with it.)" She paused. "(If he hurts it, though, he'll get a beating.)"

Pikachu, Buizel and Pachirisu chuckled, whereas Piplup looked a bit pale.

"(I-I'll be careful!)" the penguin said.

"(Better be,)" Buneary replied jokingly.

Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle again.

Later, once everyone had finished playing with the Jibanyan doll, the group had parted ways. Pikachu and Buneary had decided to settle on the grass and watch Ash continue trying to train Gible's Draco Meteor. He still wasn't having much success, but Pikachu admired his trainer's tenacity.

Beside him, Buneary was holding onto her doll. The two of them watched as Draco Meteor after Draco Meteor fell from the sky, only to be swatted safely away by Togekiss.

"(Heh,)" Pikachu said. "(You know, they kinda look like Moonblasts. You know, before it became a beam of death.)"

"(Heh,)" Buneary replied. "(Yeah, I guess so...)"

He turned back to the battle and they continued to watch in silence.

Later that night, Ash was tucking himself into his sleeping bag. Pikachu lay on the grass nearby and waited for Buneary to join him.

She quietly put down her Jibanyan doll and tried to make herself comfortable.

He watched her. Strangely, she seemed to be spacing out a bit, not really paying much attention to his presence at all.

"(Hey, Buneary?)" he asked. "(You okay?)"

She lifted her head in surprise. "(Huh?)" she replied. "(Oh, yeah, yeah...)" She went back to nestling herself on the grass.

Hmm. How strange. He glanced down at the Jibanyan doll.

... Maybe she was still uneasy over the whole movie debacle? After all, the memories had been dredged up full force today, first with the doll and then with all the jokes the others had been making.

It gave him a sudden urge to try something.

It wasn't often at all that he got urges. It kind of reminded him of the few times he'd randomly gotten an urge to show off. Like with catching the potato the day he'd met Buneary. Or with battling Roark's onix the second time, with his new spinning technique. Or when they'd been entering a dress-up contest, and he'd cockily reminded Ash of his stretchy skin that could mould into any shape he wanted.

Buneary had looked particularly impressed with that one, though he had to wonder what had come over him that day. It had been very unlike him.

Shaking off the thought, he decided to test out his idea. Reaching over, he picked up the Jibanyan doll.

Buneary gave him a surprised look, apparently not expecting that.

Welp, time to try it out.

He kept hold of the doll as he stood it up on the grass. Shaking it around slightly to emulate movement, he gave his voice a strange, slightly lower pitch as he spoke.

"(Human! I must capture you and bring you to the yokai king!)"

Buneary blinked for a moment, then quickly covered her mouth in amusement. "(Pfft!)"

Yes! It was working!

Smirking, he continued. "(But first... we must engage in puzzles!)"

Buneary couldn't hold her laughter anymore and burst into giggles.

He swelled with pride, then continued. "(What do you mean my seafood froze?!)"

Buneary fell over laughing.

He moved the toy closer to her, gripped hold of its paws and made them do punching motions. "(Prepare yourself!)"

Through her giggles, Buneary held her paws to her face dramatically. "(Oh noooo!)"

He made the doll punch as fast as he could manage. "(Paws of fury!)"

"(Eep!)"

"(There's no... uh, nyo way you can dodge!)"

"(No way, I'm gonna dodge it!)" Buneary moved from side to side, ducking and swerving.

"(Argh, curses! How are you avoiding my attacks?!)"

Buneary continued giggling. "(Pure skill!)"

"(Is that so? Then prepare for my blue attack!)"

"(No, not the tuna!)"

"(Yes, the tuna! Rawr!)"

"(Argh! I'm gonna smell like fish for weeks!)"

"(Ha-ha! Surrender, human!)"

"(Neverrrr!)"

"(What's this?! She's resisting! No... no!)"

"(Got ya now!)" Buneary bopped the doll lightly on the head with her paw. "(Boop! Ha-ha! Now be my friend, please.)"

"(Darn... I have been... defeated...)" Pikachu let go of the doll and let it flop to the ground. "(... By friendship! I guess there are worse ways to go.)"

Buneary giggled. He smiled at her, oddly pleased with himself.

After a moment, she picked the doll up. "(Thanks, Pikachu. That made me feel better.)"

"(No problem! Was something wrong?)"

She paused. "(Ah, no, just... thinking...)"

"(About the movie, right?)"

"(Uh... yeah...)"

"(Well, no worries! Let's not think about how sad it made us and, instead... well... make jokes like this!)"

She smiled gently down at her doll. "(Hmm... could work.)"

He beamed. "(How about you try?)"

She lifted her head and blinked at him. "(Me?)"

"(Yeah!)"

She looked back down at her doll. "(Well... okay.)" She held it out and wiggled it to emulate movement, then raised her voice to a strange pitch. "(Komasan! Did you lose my socks in the dryer again?)"

Pikachu covered his mouth in amusement. "(Pfft!)"

"(Or was it Komajiro? Or was it you disguised as Komajiro?! Or Komajiro disguised as you?!)"

Pikachu burst out laughing. Quickly getting into character, he lowered the pitch of his voice. "(Ya got me! It was I, Komajiro! I covered myself in milk to look like my brother!)"

Buneary looked like she was holding back a laugh. "(Gasp! You two have taken your love of milk too far this time!)"

The two of them burst into laughter again. None of that had even happened in the movies, yet Pikachu was having so much fun with it. It was like they'd invented their own little game, just for the two of them.

Once the laughter died down, Buneary gave her doll another soft smile. Snuggling closer to Pikachu, she nuzzled up against him.

"(... Should we make jokes about the other movie, too?)" she asked.

He blinked at her. "(Well... only if you want to, sure.)"

"(Mm. If I think of something, maybe.)"

He smiled warmly at her, proud that she was trying to overcome her fear. A familiar cosy feeling, like a low heat, bubbled in his chest.

"(Hmm...)" she continued, "(maybe something like...)" She raised the pitch of her voice. "(Human! Please don't do a violence!)"

Something exploded in Pikachu's chest at that. The fact that she was quoting the movie she'd hated - the movie that had scared and depressed her - was overwhelmingly admirable.

After a moment, she continued. "(... Or you can obliterate me, that works, too.)"

"(Pfft!)" Okay, that had caught him off-guard. Recovering, he changed the pitch of his voice slightly and responded. "(Beware my pink orbs of doooom!)"

"(Curses! Pink is my one true weakness!)"

"(Ha-ha, yes! Next will be cheerleading outfits!)"

"(Oh no, not the cheerleading outfits! Then I'll look fabulous!)"

They both burst into giggles again.

A strong warmth was spreading across Pikachu's chest. He felt happy. Content. At the same time, something was fit to burst inside of him. Like there was something he needed to say.

... Oh. Right. In fact, there was something he wanted to say, wasn't there?

It had been two weeks since he'd decided to hold off on telling her. Maybe now that things had calmed down, though - now that she was smiling so brightly - he'd finally be able to say it.

Because heaven knows he wanted to...