Chapter 31: H.H
"Moving right along, next up we have the Wallace Cup champion: Dawn!" The master of ceremonies named Marian announced. As soon as she did, the young coordinator stepped forward, calming her nerves as she stood in her pink dress and her hair in buns. It wasn't long after the group's little ice adventure did Dawn enter the Celestic Town Pokémon Contest.
"Stay cool! You'll do great Dawn!" Ash exclaimed from the stands as their Pokémon cheered in front of him.
Pikachu, dressed in his kimono outfit, enthusiastically waved his fans in the air, eagerly hopping from one foot to the other.
Dawn took a steady breath before giving a confident smile and taking out her Pokéball with a sticker on it. "Now, Buneary, spotlight!" She announced as she threw the ball, opening in midair and releasing the star of the show.
"(Let's do this!)" Buneary declared as she soared through the air before landing in the arena.
"Use Bounce!" Dawn commanded with a large grin and her arms extended outwards. Buneary did just as she was told and propelled herself rather high. "Now spin on your ears!" She shouted as Buneary turned herself upside down in midair and began to effortlessly spin with a smile.
"Those moves sure allow Buneary's adorableness to shine through!" Marian announced.
Everyone continued to cheer, Piplup and Pachirisu dressed as cheerleaders waving pom-poms while Swinub balanced one on his head.
"Nice work Buneary!" Ash exclaimed.
"Keep it up! Just like that!" Brock followed with a smile.
"(Yeah, you got this Bun! Take home the ribbon!)" Pikachu practically sang.
Still extending her arms outward, Dawn took a step forward. "Ice Beam, go!"
Adjusting herself in midair, Buneary stopped twirling and used Ice Beam on the arena floor, quickly creating a large ice slide of which she landed on top and promptly began to slide down! Taking it in stride, Buneary gave a little smirk and extended her arms and legs out as she continued to slide along the ice on the floor.
"Skating like that really looks like a lot of fun!" Marian declared.
Taking on a new prideful pose, Dawn gave her next command. "Alright, use Dizzy Punch!" She shouted.
With that, Buneary made a little twirl and landed with her ears sliding on the ice, her fluff shining from her move. Satisfied, she closed her eyes and folded her arms for a few moments before she purposely began spinning.
"Great!" Dawn exclaimed.
The gang was going wild in the stands.
"(Keep going you amazing bunny you!)" Pikachu cheered, louder than everyone else.
"(That's what I'm talking about! That's my teammate right there!)" Piplup declared, waving his pom-poms from side-to-side.
"(Go Cherry go!)" Pachirisu happily shouted.
"(I'm still hungry but I'll wait to see you win before I eat first!)" Swinub yelled.
"Just look at that form!" Marian announced.
"(Yeah I got this!)" Buneary exclaimed, continuing to move forward. "(I...wait...why can't I feel the floor anymore?)" She wondered aloud, feeling her body beginning to twirl even faster! Unable to control herself, she could only gasp in shock, her face contorting into both worry and discomfort as she practically began to take off like a helicopter.
"Uh-oh! Looks like Buneary's starting to lose that form!" Marian concernedly said.
Likewise, Dawn gasped, a hand to her mouth. "What happened?! Buneary!"
"(Can't...stop!)" Buneary yelled, her eyes squeezed shut as she felt her body uncontrollably twist in the air.
Pikachu gasped, unable to take his gaze off her. "(Oh shoot, just hang in there!)"
"Buneary!" Dawn shouted before running forward. As Buneary began to fall right side up, the azure-haired coordinator reached with her right hand and caught her! Landing with a soft thump, the bunny quickly opened her eyes in confusion, not a hair out of place. "Now, just smile and pose!" Dawn muttered as she maintained her grin and extended her arms outward for the crowd to gawk at.
"(Err...yeah! Ta-da!)" Buneary managed to squeak as she waved to the audience, a little bead of sweat on the side of her head.
As the judges voiced their satisfaction, the audience continued to applaud while the rest of the group sighed in relief.
"Oh man, that was a close one." Ash muttered, leaning back in his seat.
"(Tell me about it.)" Piplup said, plopping on his rump.
"(Yeah...but they still pulled it off pretty great!)" Pikachu said with a relieved smile.
After making it through the round, it was Ambipom's turn and needless to say, the purple monkey wasn't looking to be shown up anytime soon!
...And so only a few hours later, Dawn and her team were holding the Celestic Ribbon!
Soon after that, more excitement was to come as Turtwig evolved into Grotle but not all was sunshine and smiles. It was only a matter of time before the group ran into Paul again and what's worse is that he showed that he had already earned the Relic badge. It didn't help that even after Grotle's evolution, Ash still lost against his purple-haired rival in a one-on-one match. Jeez, it's like they can't get rid of this guy and no matter what, he just has to keep showing them up. This entire thing between them was actually making Pikachu a tad anxious. Sure Gary got on his trainer's nerves and Team Rocket was a pain to deal with from time to time, but Paul...he was starting to actually get to his best friend...in a way that the mouse had never really seen before. He thought it couldn't get worse than Oreburgh and what happened with Chimchar but now...
Not wanting to fall behind anymore, Ash was more determined than ever: it was high-time that the gang came back to Hearthome City to finally earn that gym badge!
"Alright, finally back...again!" Ash declared as they arrived on the edge of town, stepping up on the curb of the sidewalk, his excited stroll quickly evolving into a run. Despite how fast he was moving, Pikachu stayed on his shoulder, just as eager as him.
"Yeah, let's just hope Fantina's ready." Dawn muttered, clearly not sharing the bottomless enthusiasm with Ash who was already far ahead of them.
"Well...she said she would be last time." Brock replied as he walked beside her.
It didn't take long for Ash to reach the gym and come to a screeching halt at the front doors.
Dawn and Brock were still a ways off but they could clearly see Ash reading a note on the front door. Before they could call out to him, they instead heard him shouting at the top of his lungs.
"WHAAAT?!" He cried out, leaning forward.
"Uh oh..." Dawn pondered aloud with a grimace as they approached him.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Brock asked only to be met with the boy pointing at the note on the front door.
Together, they read it.
PLEASE HEAD TO THE HEARTHOME HOTEL TO SCHEDULE A GYM BATTLE WITH FANTINA.
Alors désolé mes chéris!
Blinking in unison, Brock and Dawn turned back to Ash who merely folded his arms in a huff.
"Schedule a gym battle? But why?" Dawn wondered aloud.
"Well Fantina's been gone for a while; I'm guessing she has a lot of overdue battles to attend to." Brock replied.
"It's not fair! This is the third time already!" Ash complained, flailing about.
Rolling her eyes, Dawn pointed back to town. "C'mon Ash...let's go to the hotel."
Ash, together with Pikachu, let out a frustrated sigh.
"B-But...why?" Ash stammered, completely dumbfounded.
"Sorry sir, like I said: no Pokémon allowed past this point." The burly security guard said as he stood in front of a large conference room that was connected to the hotel lobby. "We've had incidents in the past where trainers are just too eager to get their badge so they challenge Ms. Fantina to a battle right then and there. After last month's monferno fiasco, the new policy was put in place."
"I...I..." Ash muttered as he looked into the conference room and noticed a fairly long line of people filling out paperwork.
"Are there really no exception sir?" Brock asked only for the guard to shake his head.
"Nope, sorry. Your Pokémon can be anywhere else except past this point." He firmly said.
The three young trainers looked at each other.
"Well...guess we should get a room to put them in then." Dawn said.
Half an hour later, Ash was making sure that he didn't leave anything in Dawn's hotel room. It was decided that Ash and Brock get one room while Dawn got her own a few doors down.
"Okay buddy, I don't know how long we'll be gone, so just stay put 'kay?" Ash said as he briefly took off his hat to comb through his hair in mild frustration.
"(Alright, no problem.)" Pikachu responded with a wave. Dawn looked over at the two of them.
"Say Ash, I'd hate to keep him in here all day alone..." She muttered, causing them to look at her.
"Huh? So what should we do then? We can't take him with us." Ash replied.
Dawn gave a knowing grin and shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno...maybe bring Buneary out just to give him company?"
Pikachu tilted his head a little upon seeing her slightly open one eye, practically winking at him.
Ash smiled back at her. "Ohhh I get it. Yeah, works for me!"
As if on cue, Dawn took out her Pokéball. "Alright then, Buneary come on out!" She declared as she tossed the ball into the air.
Opening with a thunderous sound, the Pokéball released a bright light which soon produced the brown bunny's form.
"(Hi there!)" She announced with a smile.
"And hey, while we're at it, why not just let them go out and about? You know, explore the city?" Dawn inquired.
Ash turned to her, a look of concern suddenly appearing on his face. "Go out? I...I don't know."
Pikachu grimaced a little. Hoo-boy, he knows where this is coming from.
"C'mon Ash, it's a nice city. You can't keep them locked up in a room for hours at a time!" Dawn insisted.
Brock nodded his head. "Yup, I agree. Pokémon need some fresh air every now and then."
Ash looked between them and then at the couple. He crossed his arms and took a moment to think about it. After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes and gave a gentle, if not somewhat hesitant smile as he leaned forward.
"Okay tell you what, you two can go out and see the town but only for a little bit alright?" Ash said before he suddenly stood back up and rifled through something in his pant pocket and pulled out several Pokémon Dollars and the keycard to Dawn's room. "And if you decide to go out, use these to buy things." He said, handing Pikachu the money and the keycard before raising his finger. "And I mean it, not too long okay? We wanna get ready in case Fantina is available really soon!" Ash said with a wink and smile.
"(No problem Ash!)" Pikachu said with a salute.
"(Yup! You can rely on us!)" Buneary cheerily replied.
"Alright, if we're all set, let's get a spot in line." Brock announced as he made his way to the door.
"Still not sure why you're coming along with us Dawn." Ash said as he began to walk out of the room.
"Fantina's a great contest battler, I wanna get a few tips. You're not the only one who's eager to meet her again Ash!" Dawn laughed as she followed behind him.
"I guess that makes sense." Ash muttered with a shrug as he stepped into the hallway.
"Hey, it's a lot better than Brock's excuse!" She firmly replied.
"Well...I need to ask Fantina some questions too. About...uhh...breeder...things." Brock sheepishly muttered.
"Uh-huh...yeah. Breeder things." Dawn snickered, causing Brock to turn away in absolute shame.
Ash smiled before he turned around and gave the couple a wave. "Okay, see you later guys! Stay safe!" He said before closing the door.
"(You got it!)" Pikachu said, waving back at them. As soon as the door closed, he turned to his girlfriend and gave a little grin. "(Hey.)"
"(Hey.)" She said with a gentle smile.
"(So...)"
"(Sooooo...)"
"(Sooo...wanna go out and do something?)"
Buneary put a paw to her cheek in faux surprise. "(Pikachu! Wanting to go out and explore?! Why...this isn't like you at all!)"
He rolled his eyes in amusement. "(Tsk, I know, I know, big shocker. But we finally have some down time and we've been here like three times already. Might as well see what the city has to offer!)"
Quickly grabbing her vest and putting it on, Buneary smiled at him. "(Hee~! Well...if you insist!)" She said as she latched onto Pikachu's arm and with that, they made their way out of the room.
The hustle and bustle of the city was definitely a lot more lively than the tiny towns they were used to visiting on their journey. Cars often driving past them and many people walking by, often so engrossed by their own conversations that they didn't even notice them, resulting in a few near-collisions. The buildings at times were of familiar sizes and proportions while others were actual skyscrapers! A shopping center here, a corporate building there, it was practically overwhelming! At times, the area reminded Pikachu of Celadon City though not nearly as modern-looking. Nevertheless, it was still an exciting place to explore for the couple as they held paws and went down the sidewalk.
"(Oooh, just look how tall that building is Pika!)" Buneary beamed as she leaned her body back to get a full view of it.
"(I know, and look at the size of the mall! It's like several blocks long!)" Pikachu exclaimed in sheer awe, leaning forward to get a better look.
"(Well, do you wanna stop somewhere?)" Buneary asked, taking a moment to glance at him.
"(Sure, but where? Take your pick!)" Pikachu bemusedly said as he looked around. Indeed, there actually seemed to be too many options to check out this time!
"(Hmmm...I don't...)" She trailed off before looking over to their right. "(Oooh! How about that?)" She exclaimed as she lifted both of their paws to point at a nearby building.
Pikachu followed to where she was pointing to and saw a shop with a sign.
THE GOOD STORE
He blinked upon reading that. Huh? What kind of name for a place is that? A bit strange but interesting enough he supposed.
"(Sure why not?)" He said with a shrug as they made their way over.
Inside the building, they could see items and trinkets of all sorts, each one progressively looking stranger and more exotic than the last.
"(Wanna split up and check it out?)" She asked.
"(Like Solare Island?)" He replied with a knowing smirk.
She giggled. "(Yup, like Solare Island!)"
With that, they let go of each other's paws and started to check out the place.
Pikachu walked down an aisle, his gaze shifting from side to side. Huh, there's bound to be some sort of...
He stopped in place upon noticing something. Taking a moment to register what he was seeing, he took a few more steps towards it, then he leaned over to get a better look.
Is that...? Could it...? Could it be...?
His curious gaze was immediately replaced with one of sheer jubilation.
IT IS!
He quickly reached forward and grabbed it to inspect. His smile only growing, he already knew that he wouldn't find anything better than this. Heh, ten seconds in and he got something good! Well...might as well check the rest of the place out although there really wasn't much point as far as he was concerned.
Ten minutes passed and Buneary was at the front of the store, surveying the place to see where her boyfriend was. She could barely contain her excitement as her eyes darted around to see a familiar flash of yellow. Her hard work of exploring paid off when she finally caught a glimpse of his face. Practically bursting, she got on her tippy toes and waved over at him.
"(Over here Pika! I found something!)" She called out.
His ears pricking up, Pikachu looked over and saw her. Returning her smile, he put his treasure behind his back and started walking towards her. As he did, he saw her jump on top of the counter where a man handed her something before she got back down to the mouse's level. Curious, Pikachu tilted his head a little.
When he finally got there, he saw that whatever she got, she too was holding it behind her back.
"(So I take it you found something then?)" He asked with a wink.
"(Teehee~! You know it! And you?)" She beamed.
"(Yup! So how about it then? On the count of three?)" He asked, his excitement building up by the second.
"(Okay! One...two...)" She said as they simultaneously moved their paws forward. "(Three!)"
Buneary looked down at what Pikachu was holding and it actually took her a moment to register what she was seeing. In his paws was a keychain. A keychain of...a pikachu and a buneary? Holding paws together and smiling?
Not expecting that at all, Buneary looked up and saw his smiling face, clearly lapping up the reaction she was giving.
"(I-Is that us?)" She asked, still barely grasping what she saw.
"(Yeah! There was an entire section of keychains with all sorts of Pokémon combinations. So obviously I just had to choose the best one!)" He beamed, clearly trying to suppress a laugh.
Starting to understand the humor of it herself, Buneary giggled a little. "(I love it Pika, it's really cute!)"
"(Thanks!)" He replied before looking down at what she was showing. Once again, he tilted his head a little upon seeing what she was holding: a letter bracelet that showed a heart symbol followed by the letters "BB". Now it was his turn to look up and he saw her face reddening with each passing moment. "(A letter bracelet Bun?)"
"(Yeah! You know...something to wear around town?)" She said, nearly stammering.
He smirked. "(Heh, something to show off then? Like reminding the world of my amazing girlfriend perhaps?)"
Buneary immediately made a dramatic pose, the back of her paw against her forehead as she leaned back towards the ceiling. "(Oh of course! The world must know of who snatched your heart!)"
Pikachu amusedly rolled his eyes. "(You goof...)" He chuckled before waiting for her to look back at him. He gave her a gentle and sincere smile. "(Thanks, I love it. I'll wear it all the time!)"
Looking rather proud, she nodded her head. "(Glad to hear it! The shop owner designed it for me!)" She said, pointing to the gray-haired man behind the counter who quickly took notice of him staring.
"Like what she got? Only here at Mr. Goods' Store will you get the most unique items in all of Sinnoh!" He declared, before pointing at the letter bracelet in her paws. "I may not remember my name, but I do know when an item is special, and that there is something very, very special indeed! Made of materials not found in this region, y'know? The kind of stuff that looks different depending on the angle you view it from. And that keychain? Good luck getting it scratched. I don't know what it's made out of but whatever it is, it's quite the sturdy little trinket!"
Pikachu looked between them and shrugged his shoulders, his smile not leaving quite yet. "(Well...when you put it that way...)" He said before handing Buneary the Pokémon Dollars that Ash gave them.
Taking the hint, Buneary took their gifts and hopped onto the counter for Mr. Goods to scan. Jumping next to her, Pikachu looked at the items being processed.
"(So what now? Go back to the hotel?)" He asked, looking at her.
"(Yeah...or maybe...we can keep exploring?)" She said with a sly smile, causing Pikachu to jerk his head back a little in surprise.
"(Keep going? But Ash said-)"
"(Ash-Shmash! I say let's keep having fun! Besides, if we're back in a reasonable amount of time, there's no harm!)" She exclaimed, her smile progressively becoming impish.
Feeling a somewhat roguish smile crossing his lips, Pikachu raised an eyebrow at her. "(Like our first date?)"
"(Like our first date!)" She enthusiastically replied.
He laughed. "(Okay, so where to then?)"
Adopting a thinking pose, Buneary looked out the store and into the city. "(Hmmm, hadn't thought of that...)"
Suddenly, Mr. Goods spoke up as he gently placed their items on the counter next to them.
"Say, I may be mistaken but are you two together?" He asked, clasping his hands together. They looked at him for a moment before nodding their heads in unison. "Heh, I figured. I've been around long enough to see a spark!"
Feeling a tad self-conscious, both of them looked elsewhere, both of their faces turning pink.
"(Well I mean...)" Pikachu muttered, holding his arm.
"And if you two are on a date or something, have you visited Amity Square yet? I'm sure both of you would be allowed in no problem!" He said with a grin.
"(Amity Square?)" Pikachu muttered as he looked at the man.
Seeing the mouse's confused look, Mr. Goods pointed out of the store. "Yeah, it's down that way, just look for the park with a bunch of trees. You can't miss it!"
Pikachu looked back at his girlfriend. "(Well, whaddya say?)"
"(I say...why not?)" Buneary laughed as she took their gifts. "(Onwards!)" She declared as they headed out, their destination clear. After all, they couldn't miss it!
Somehow they missed it. As they continued walking, all they saw was tall building after tall building, no park with trees anywhere.
"(We should've asked for a map...)" Pikachu muttered as he continued to look every which way, his new bracelet on his arm.
"(Yeah...seriously how does this place not have a directory map or something?)" Buneary replied as she too looked around. Her paw was intertwined with his while the other one held her new keychain.
After wandering around some more, they finally stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to get a stronger bearing.
"(Hmmm...)" Pikachu wondered aloud as he put his paw up to his chin. "(I don't...)" He muttered as he looked up at a particularly tall building. He stared at it for a long while before his ears stood straight up.
"(I'm not really seeing anything different.)" Buneary said, looking from side to side. "(I don't think that-)"
"(How about that?)" Pikachu interjected, pointing to the top of the rather tall building in front of them on the other side of the street.
"(Huh?)" Buneary muttered as she looked at it starting from the bottom. She could see that it had a rotating glass door that opened into a lobby. Above that she could see something written on the building itself.
HÔTEL DU CIEL
Blinking, she continued to look further upwards and took notice of something rather odd. Along the building's balcony she could see several Pokémon statues, all of which were facing outwards. They appeared to be correctly colored and strangely, didn't look to be made of stone or marble as statues normally are. They looked to be...what was it...plastic maybe?
"(I say let's get up there.)" Pikachu firmly said. Buneary took her eyes off the building and confusedly looked at him.
"(Huh? What do you mean?)" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Smiling, Pikachu shrugged. "(Well we could keep aimlessly wandering around or we could get up there and look down to see where the park is.)"
She turned back to the building. Huh...well it was something she supposed. It's not like they were making much progress just walking around after all.
"(Well...I guess.)" She finally said, clear uncertainty in her voice.
His smile not faltering, Pikachu ushered them towards the hotel's lobby.
The hotel itself was rather nice, fancy even! As soon as they entered the lobby, they immediately caught sight of a few elevators. As they approached the metal doors, they saw a little sign off to the side.
A RECENT EXTENSION OF THE POKÉMON HOTEL, HÔTEL DU CIEL PROVIDES EVEN MORE SPACE AND LUXURIES FOR VISITORS AND POKÉMON ALIKE!
Next to that, they saw what several of the floors possessed: gym, pool, movie theater and...a Pokémon balcony!
They carefully looked at its title.
L'ESCALIER DU CIEL
The two looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They weren't entirely sure what a Pokémon balcony is but it sounded like a good spot to get a view of the park. On cue, Pikachu jumped and hit the elevator button. Soon the doors opened and they got in.
"(Alright, it's gotta be around here somewhere...)" Pikachu muttered as they walked, paw-in-paw, down the hallway. Turning a corner, they stepped into another large lobby with nice-looking furniture complemented with a full bar.
"(Maybe it's back that way.)" Buneary replied as she motioned to where they came from.
"(Yeah, let's just-)" Pikachu said before someone stepped out from behind the bar.
"Excuse me." A man in a suit and tie said as he approached them. "Do you two have keycards?"
Blinking, the two merely looked at him. The man tilted his head as he silently inspected them.
"Doesn't look like it. Well, I'll need to see some ID. Where are your trainers?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Pikachu silently gulped as Buneary began to shake in place ever-so-gently.
Oh crap. Someone who's taking their job rather seriously it seems.
Clearing his throat, Pikachu put on a smile as a bead of sweat appeared on the side of his head. "(Oh, well...they're in room uhh...915! Yeah, we'll just go get them!)" He awkwardly laughed as he took a step backward, taking Buneary with him.
She looked at him with slight surprise before staring back at the man who seemed a tad suspicious.
"If you're going, I can escort you to your trainers." He dryly said, taking a step forward.
"(Uhh...no, no! That's quite alright!)" Pikachu said, clearly trying to quell the panic in his voice.
"(Pikachu...what're you...?)" Buneary whispered before Pikachu tugged her paw a little more.
"(We're just gonna be on our way now!)" Pikachu blurted before he quickly pulled Buneary towards him and with that, the two promptly began to run in the opposite direction.
"Hey!" The man shouted as he started to make chase.
Still holding paws, the two continued to maneuver through the hallways, bolting when it was a straight direction and skidding along the floor as they turned a corner. All the while, Buneary held her keychain which dangled to and fro from side to side.
"(Pikachu!)" Buneary shouted, her feet moving so fast that they were practically a blur. "(Where are we going?!)"
"(Anywhere else!)" He exclaimed.
Buneary blinked as she stared at him before looking forward.
And then...something rather unusual happened.
She felt like...laughing? Yeah...she was actually laughing a little bit!
Indeed, a tickling sensation arose from her chest and she felt the irresistible urge to smile as they continued to outrun their pursuer. But why? What was so funny about this? They could get caught at any moment if they slowed down for just a bit!
Unable to contain it, she started to giggle and she saw how Pikachu's ears twitched upon hearing that. Giving her a side-glance, he confusedly looked at her now smiling face. Taking a moment...he too smiled and started laughing.
It was strange...in a way that neither of them could explain yet somehow it felt both unusual and oddly familiar.
Laughing like two idiots, Pikachu and Buneary continued to make distance in the maze of hallways that made up the floor. They had no idea if they were going in circles or somehow making progress but one thing was certain: they were having the time of their lives!
At long last, after what felt like forever, they saw doors with glass panels that opened to a large balcony.
"(There!)" Pikachu declared, pointing at their destination.
Not having much time to slow down, the two pushed the doors open and closed them just as quickly.
Panting, they took a moment to catch their breaths as they both leaned against the wall. Pikachu closed his eyes. Phew...that was close!
"(Hey check it out.)" Buneary said, snapping Pikachu out of his thoughts. He looked to her and saw that she was pointing forward. Following her direction, he saw that there were several Pokémon statues facing outward along the edge of the balcony. Counting in his head, he realized how many there were including a few that he recognized and some that he didn't. The array of Pokémon included a shinx, a skitty, a pikachu, a buneary, a sentret, a...wait what?
His gaze returned to the two statues located in the middle. Yup, no doubt. One was a pikachu statue and the other was a buneary. They looked like they were made of some sort of plastic material topped off with rather convincing fur, not to mention that all of them were put in poses with adjustable appendages.
Huh...neat. Well for now they can just-
Buneary's ears uncurled as she spun back, a look of horror on her face.
"(Someone's coming!)" She practically yelled.
"(Crap...)" Pikachu muttered, frantically looking around.
What to do? What to DO?!
Frantically looking around, the couple noticed several green chairs with umbrellas to protect from the sun and some tables and outdoor ottomans. In a panic, Pikachu's gaze took notice of Buneary's new keychain. Something clicking in his brain, he looked down at the bracelet on his arm. Suddenly, as if a lightbulb went off above his head, the mouse got an idea. It was crazy and borderline stupid...but it was an idea!
Not wanting to waste time, Pikachu took off his letter bracelet and zipped over to his girlfriend and took the keychain from her paw.
"(What are you doing?)" She asked as she saw him hide their new treasures between the cushions of a chair.
"(Bun, take off your vest!)" He urged, looking back at her with an intense stare.
A fiery-red blush erupting in her cheeks, Buneary quickly gripped her vest in shock and half-turned around, her widened eyes still on him. "(Pika! Wh-What are you-?!)"
"(N-Not that!)" Pikachu blurted, immediately realizing the unintended implication with his face warming at his goof up. "(Look, just...follow my lead!)" He declared with a confident smile as he suddenly jumped on top of the balcony...
...And promptly threw the pikachu statue off the ledge.
"(Pikachu! Wha...?) Buneary managed to shout, too shocked to finish her sentence.
"Alright you two, nowhere else to go, you're coming with me!" The man declared as he pushed open the balcony doors and stepped through.
His confidence melted into mild surprise as he saw that nobody was around to look back at him in absolute terror. Nobody at all. Just him and those statues. Looking around, he sighed as he tried retracing his steps.
"Guess I lost them a few hallways back...knew I shouldn't have taken that left turn." He grumbled as he looked at the statues again. It's been months since they installed those things and he still couldn't understand why they didn't just go with regular stone statues. After all, he certainly didn't think it was tacky unlike his coworker. Disappointed, he began to turn away when he suddenly whipped his head back at the statues. "Wait a minute..." He wondered aloud as he began to approach the figures lining the balcony wall.
He approached the first statue on the far left, the man being so focused that he didn't even notice that, down along the balcony, the pikachu and buneary statues slightly shake in place.
Pikachu couldn't stop another bead of sweat from appearing on the side of his head again. He tried his best to subtly look over at the man. Once he saw that the guy was carefully inspecting the statue on the far left, his gazed moved to Buneary. He attempted to maintain the posture of the pikachu statue that he threw off the balcony, his arms extended outwards and a large smile on his face. Looking over at Buneary, he locked gazes with her and saw that she was just as concerned as he was and like him, she was also maintaining the posture of the buneary statue that she threw off the building.
They barely had enough time to hide their gifts and Buneary's vest within the balcony furniture and taking their statues' places before the guy came down the hallway!
Unable to do anything else, Pikachu looked ahead and saw just how high up they were on this ledge. Ten floors at least! Just don't look down...don't look down...don't-
He couldn't help but blink as he saw that off in the distance...was the park! Trying to suppress a squeal of excitement, his chest tightened as he waited for the right opportunity for them to escape.
The man let out a huff as he stepped back.
"Alright then..." He muttered as he turned to make his way back to the doors. Suddenly, the couple heard his footsteps come to a halt. "Hold on...something's not right." He said to himself, a concerned tone in his voice.
The two tried their best to not make a sound as they started to subtly shake in place again. Oh crap...CRAP!
They could hear the man walk up behind them. Buneary squeezed her eyes shut. They were caught! They were going get arrested and go to Pokéjail or something! This is it...they were so screwed!
The man gave a frustrated sigh. "I told them it needs to look like this." He muttered before reaching out at the "pikachu statue".
Pikachu blinked in surprise as he felt the man take a hold of the center of his tail...
...And quickly bend it at a ninety-degree angle, causing an audible snapping sound.
Pikachu continued to hold his mouth open in the same large smile as he felt his tail be forcibly twisted in a direction that it was definitely not supposed to go in. He let out a very, very quiet squeak.
"And the ears are messed up too." The man grumbled as he took one of Pikachu's ears and bent it at another ninety-degree angle.
Pikachu could only silently whimper in pain at the unnatural contortions that parts of his body were being subjected to. His big fake smile was replaced with a much smaller, very real restrained frown of pain.
Buneary looked over and saw that Pikachu was still maintaining his pose though with her superb hearing she could hear him very quietly make all sorts of sounds.
"(Ah...ahhh...ahhhhh...)" He whimpered with great, silent restraint.
Inwardly panicking, Buneary's gaze moved downward. She saw the pikachu and buneary statues that landed on the lower deck of the building, shattered into pieces. In a weird way, they still resembled the Pokémon they were based on, making the two look like murder or suicide victims.
"If I just drop the act and jump down, I could make it out of this...maybe without even breaking my legs." Buneary thought. The more she dwelled on the idea, the more appealing it started to sound. Yeah, she'll just take Pikachu with her, jump down and then-
"Look at this!" The man furiously shouted, pointing at the "buneary statue" and letting out another frustrated exhale as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "This one's messed up too!" He shouted as he reached forward.
Buneary's eyes subtly widened in horror. She braced herself.
"It's supposed to be posing like this..." The man grumbled as he gently pushed Buneary's back outwards a little before positioning her right paw to be on her hip while her left paw was behind her head. She could hear him stepping back.
It took everything in her very being to not let out a relieved exhale. Okay, she could maintain this pose no problem, she did it a few times when flirting with Pikachu before. She'll just stay here and-
"And her head is supposed to go..." The man said as he took a step forward and gently placed each hand on the sides of Buneary's head, "(...like this!)" he proclaimed before harshly forcing her head to rest upon her right shoulder, causing her neck to crack and her view to suddenly become tilted towards the sky.
Just like Pikachu, Buneary stood there silently whimpering as a part of her body was positioned in the most awkward and unnatural of angles. Seriously, who thought of this?! Have they ever even seen a Pokémon's before?!
The man took a few steps back and put his hands on his hips before nodding and making a satisfied sound, clearly proud of his work.
"Perfect!" He contently said with a cheery smile.
"Jerry!" A female voice called out from inside the building. "You there?"
The man turned around towards the glass doors. "Yeah, I'm over here Loretta!"
Appearing from around a hallway corner was a woman about the same age as the man and was likewise formally dressed. She gave a stern look as she walked up to him.
"The Ford-Thompson party is here and we need all hands-on deck." She firmly said.
The man named Jerry grumbled as he nodded his head. "Alright. Listen if you see a pikachu and buneary running around, tell security. They didn't have IDs." He replied as they began to walk down the hallway, towards the elevators. "And some joker messed with the statues again. If I've told them once, I've told them a thousand times!" Jerry complained as he pressed the elevator button.
"Tsk, did it ever occur to you that they look better repositioned?" Loretta replied, rolling her eyes as the doors opened and they stepped inside. A moment later, the doors closed behind them.
Pikachu and Buneary waited a few more moments to make sure that nobody was around anymore, still in their awkward and painful new poses.
"(Oww...)" Pikachu muttered as he lay sprawled out on his stomach along a trolley seat as Buneary rubbed his tail. As soon as the two humans had left, the couple raced out of the building and quickly hitched a ride.
"(There, there Pika.)" Buneary whispered in his ear, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. "(I'm sure you can still use Iron Tail...you might have to get used to using it at an angle from now on, but still!)"
Pikachu rolled his eyes in mild amusement. "(Thanks, you're so helpful.)"
As he heard Buneary's muffled laughter behind him, he looked down and stared at the letter bracelet which he had put back on his arm. Without thinking, he gently caressed it, a much-needed warmness spreading out from his chest. He stopped only when the trolley driver spoke up.
"Amity Square!" She announced as the vehicle came to a quiet halt.
"(That's our stop!)" Buneary cheerfully replied.
With some hesitation, Pikachu slowly got up and together they got off. As the trolley continued on, they looked at the wrought-iron gate and read what was on the top.
AMITY SQUARE
"(Ready?)" Pikachu excitedly asked as he extended his arm and elbow out.
"(Ready!)" Buneary exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his.
As they walked up to the gate, Buneary looked over to the side and made an amused sound.
"(What is it?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Check it out.)" Buneary said as she pointed at a poster on the nearby brick wall.
Pikachu squinted his eyes and read the title at the top of the poster.
POKÉMON ALLOWED IN AMITY SQUARE
Then he noticed several pictures below of various Pokémon, one of which was a pikachu and the other a buneary.
"(Huh...)" Pikachu muttered.
"(Guess they only allow the cute ones in huh~?)" Buneary giggled.
Pikachu smiled back at her. "(Heh, you got that right!)"
With that, they walked past the gate and into the park.
"(Oh Pikachu! It's so beautiful here!)" Buneary exclaimed as they walked paw-in-paw across the grassy field.
It had only been a few minutes and already they came upon a large lake, bright green grass giving way to a clean beach of soft sand.
"(It sure is.)" Pikachu replied as he looked around.
Soon, the two came upon the shore and they looked to their right and took notice of a kiosk on top of which was a banner.
FREE DRINKS AND TOWELS
Looking over at his girlfriend, Buneary gave a smirk. "(So what do you think?)"
"(I think...)" Pikachu replied before giving a little smile back. "(...Why not?)"
Before they knew it, they were on a towel, lying on the shore of a massive lake, an umbrella shielding them from the sun and enjoying the fruity drinks they had acquired from a cooler at the kiosk. Around the lake, there were trees on all sides and it was completely quiet save for the sound of a light warm breeze. From their view, the lake looked to be the size of an ocean and to their right, a massive cliff hung over the water, just as bright green as the rest of the area.
"(Not bad huh?)" Pikachu remarked.
"(Not bad.)" Buneary giggled. "(I'd say it was worth it. I mean, my neck is broken and all but this is nice.)"
Pikachu rolled his eyes and laughed. "(Oh your neck is broken? How about my tail and ear? At least only one part of you needs fixing!)"
She looked at him for a little bit and then put a paw up to her cheek. "(Okay...come here.)"
"(Hmm?)" Pikachu muttered as he looked over only for her to lean over and press her nose against his. Not expecting it, Pikachu's ears shot straight up and his face immediately warmed. Before he could say anything, she broke contact, walked behind him and started gently massaging his ear.
"(Boy, he really did a number on you huh?)" She said, trying not to laugh again as her paws caressed the sorest spots.
Holding back grunts of both pain and relief, Pikachu swallowed hard, trying not to let his blush overtake his face and become noticeable from outer space. "(Y-Yeah, gonna take a while for that ear to hear things I bet.)"
"(Teehee~! Oh stop you drama queen!)" She giggled as she continued the healing process. "(How's the tail feeling?)"
"(Honestly a lot better thanks to you.)" He said with a smile.
"(Good.)" She proudly whispered.
A few minutes of massaging passed before she stepped away. Pikachu's ears flicked a few times.
"(Oh man! That's so much better!)" He beamed, unable to keep the relief out of his voice as he gently rubbed his now-fixed ear.
"(I aim to please!)" Buneary said with a joyful shrug as she sat down next to him. After he got over the fact that he probably won't need reconstructive surgery for his ear, Pikachu gave her a side-glance.
"(And you're sure your neck's better?)" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"(Oh yeah, it's-)" She said as she moved her head to the side only to suddenly stop and wince.
"(Mhmm...)" Pikachu said with a grin. He gave a little sigh and smile before he quickly got up and walked behind her. Gently, he placed his paws on both sides of her neck and began to soothingly rub in circles.
"(Pika, you don't have to-)"
"(No way missy! You gave me one, it's only fair to return the favor.)"
Buneary paused, then closed her eyes and smiled, accepting his offer. "(Well okay, but only because you really want to!)" She laughed as Pikachu continued to massage her neck. She occasionally let out a small squeak and gasp as the mouse rubbed the sore spots.
Things quickly progressed to him massaging her back, with her lying face down on the towel.
"(How're you feeling now Bun?)" He asked as he continued to try and get a knot out from between her shoulders.
"(Mhpheels greet!)" She managed to mumble into the towel. Smiling, Pikachu kept at it.
After a few more minutes, he stopped and took a spot to lie down next to her. Out from the corner of his eye, he could see her still holding the keychain. He smiled as he gently rolled over to look her in the eyes.
"(Hey.)"
"(Hey.)"
"(Pretty good day so far right?)" He asked, a paw waving in the air.
"(Yeah it was alright.)" She said, laughter in her voice complimented by an eye roll.
"(Tsk, c'mon Bun...you know it was a good day!)" He laughed as he tapped her shoulder.
"(Well...)" She said before turning her gaze back on him, a small smile creeping across her face. "(Okay, yeah it was a really good day.)"
"(We got some new trinkets, got chased by a guy...)"
"(Got some body parts broken...)"
"(And now look where we are!)" Pikachu beamed, turning over to gaze at the beautiful lake. While his focus was elsewhere, he could hear Buneary move closer to him.
"(As long as I get to spend the day with you Pika, it's always gonna be a good day.)" She whispered in his ear before giving him another nuzzle.
Her cheek pressing against his, she could practically feel his blush take over his face.
"(Th-Thanks Bun...you too.)" He stammered, trying not to shake in place before he nuzzled back.
"(You're welcome babe~)" She practically sang as she hugged him.
Indeed it was a good day, spending it together, getting into misadventures and all.
They stayed like that for a good long while, upon the shore of that exquisite lake, never once letting go of each other.
Neither of them knew when exactly they fell asleep.
Gently, Pikachu's eyes opened. Immediately he could tell that he was lying on his back, having just awakened from the best sleep he's ever had. His vision was partially obstructed by the umbrella but he could see the wonderfully beautiful sky above. Slowly, he looked over and saw Buneary next to him, her cheek resting on his shoulder and gently snoring, still in a deep sleep.
Feeling his heart flutter a little at the sight of her, he carefully leaned over and lightly brushed her cheek. The sensation of his paw against her face didn't go unnoticed because as soon as he did, she gave a faraway smile and snuggled ever-so-harder into him.
He continued to admire her beauty in that moment. Man, it was only now starting to dawn on him just how every feature of her was truly immaculate, from her fur to the little movements that she made to how the moonlight bounced off her and made her appear ever more radiant. He wanted to lean over and kiss her forehead but doing so might wake her up. Inwardly, he shrugged and turned back to the sky. He'll do that when she wakes up.
For now, he was just admiring where they were. There really wasn't anything in that moment he would change if he was being honest with himself. His amazing girlfriend right here, still hugging him in her sleep, the sereneness of the spot they chose to visit, the beautiful stars shining down, the moon somehow bright yet not so much that it bothered him, the way the waters of the lake silently lapped along the shore, the way the wind-
...
...
...
Wait...the...stars and the moon...?
The...moon...
The...MOON?!
Pikachu's eyes widened in both shock and horror as a terrifying realization came upon him: oh legends above...they fell asleep! What time even was it?!
Without thinking, Pikachu quickly sat up and surveyed the area. While his vision had adjusted enough to see clearly, it was obvious that it was already dark.
Oh no...Ash!
Gulping quite hard, Pikachu leaned over and gently shook Buneary.
"(Mmm...no Piplup, that's MY poffin...!)" She muttered.
"(Bun...Bun wake up. We need to go right now!)" Pikachu whispered into her ear, his voice beginning to reach a panicked yell.
"(Hmm?)" She wondered aloud as her eyes gently opened and she stared at him. A moment passed before she lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "(Pika? What's wrong?)"
Paw-in-paw, the couple dashed out of the park and back into the city. The experience of rushing back to the hotel, thoughts racing through both of their minds and an ever-increasing panicky feeling in their stomachs was simply indescribable. In fact, the longer they ran through the city, the more that their surroundings began to look more like amorphous blurs of colors and very vague shapes.
Pikachu led the charge, trying to find something, anything to get them back faster!
"Crap, crap, crap!" He internally screamed as he continued to run. "We must've been asleep for hours! There's no way Ash and the others haven't noticed that we've been gone by now! How could I have let this happen?!"
They promised to be out for just a little while. Maybe if they had stayed out for an hour longer nobody would've minded, but...now...
Perhaps it was because he was on the verge of a full-on panic attack or because they had been asleep in the dark for so long, but the lights illuminating the way both by the street lamps and from the buildings seemed ever brighter, the sensation stinging Pikachu's eyes as they continued to make their way back.
All the while, they both tried retracing their steps of how they even got to Amity Square in the first place. Lord knows that the last thing they need right now is to get lost and take even longer to get back!
At one point, they made their way past what looked to be some sort of large, two-decker bus heading in the opposite direction. The vehicle was covered in bright lights and as the couple rushed past it, they could clearly see humans and Pokémon mingling or dancing in it, some were holding drinks and others sported bright neon rings around their bodies.
"Man that's bright!" Pikachu thought, wincing as he and Buneary tried averting their gazes. He looked around and noticed how the bright party bus briefly illuminated the streets in different colors such as pink, blue and green. Soon enough, they passed by it and the area was once again bathed in silent darkness save for the occasional street lights or warm glow coming from some buildings.
At long last, they caught a lucky break. As they rounded a corner, they saw a trolley stop nearby. Skidding to a halt, both of them heavily panted before looking at each other. As if some sort of unspoken conversation had passed between them, they nodded their heads and stealthily hopped onto the rear end of the vehicle. They struggled to catch their breaths as the trolley lurched forward and continued onwards.
Still holding on to each other, they looked around for their hotel building as the minutes passed. Occasionally, one of them would gently rub the other's paw and arm, hoping that it would bring some sort of comfort.
"(I can't believe this is happening!)" Pikachu nearly exclaimed, his paws on the sides of his head.
"(It's gonna be okay. It was an accident, they'll understand.)" Buneary calmly replied.
"(Ash trusted me...)" Pikachu muttered, clear distress still in his voice. He leaned over and buried his face in his paws. Buneary gave him an extra-long look, his absolutely crestfallen demeanor immediately making her heart feel like it was going to shatter into a million pieces. She gently rubbed his back and was about to open her mouth when something caught her eye.
"(Hey, there it is!)" Buneary exclaimed as she pointed to their right. Pikachu immediately looked over and saw a tall building with something written on top in big neon letters.
HEARTHOME HOTEL
His breath locking in his chest, Pikachu silently continued to stare at the building.
A minute later, the couple jumped off the still moving trolley and bolted inside the building. Reaching the elevators, Buneary jumped up and practically pounded the button into smithereens before anxiously waiting for the doors to open, the passing seconds feeling like hours. All the while, Pikachu tapped his foot and couldn't stop moving his leg.
They didn't even wait for the elevator doors to fully open before rushing inside.
Running down the hallway, Pikachu and Buneary nervously counted the room numbers until at long last, they reached Dawn's. Taking a moment to compose themselves, Buneary reached into her fluff and took out the keycard that Ash gave them. With that, she jumped up and swiped it in the slot, causing a little green light to appear on the door handle. Just as the light appeared, they gently pushed open the door.
They surveyed the room. Well...it certainly looked how they had last left it. The light was on but neither of them remembered if they had left it on before they had departed. Carefully looking around, they walked into the middle of the living room and listened. Buneary shook her head as the room appeared completely unoccupied and silent.
"(Okay...)" Pikachu whispered as he took her paw in his. "(Let's just wait it out.)"
"(Right.)" Buneary replied in a low voice as they walked into Dawn's bedroom.
They opened the door. They'll just wait in here, catch their breaths and act like they've been here the whole-
As the door opened, both of them stared in silent shock as they were met with Ash's unamused gaze, his arms crossed over his chest and standing in the middle of the room.
Feeling as if the world was crumbling around him, Pikachu could feel his chest tighten in sheer anxiety. Seeing that look upon Ash's face...well...it felt like his heart was practically breaking right then and there in this stupid hotel.
Oh...boy.
Author's Notes:
Special shoutout goes to author Mezamun and their fic "Another Road Repaved – Contemplation", specifically Chapter 6. This work really helped me get an idea for the setting and the dynamic between Pikachu and Buneary. Well written and fun, if you're a fan of Pearlshipping and of course PikaBun, why not give his works a look? You won't regret it!
Up next...well...let's just see.
Until then, Carson55 out!