Act I: Simple, Awkward Beginnings

Chapter 1: About a Girl

"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded with a clenched fist in front of his face.

It was early in the morning and Ash had decided that he should do a little training with Dawn while Brock prepared breakfast. It was so early in fact, that the sun had just come up over the horizon. The group had decided to do their training in a small field in the middle of the surrounding forest where they had set up camp.

Pikachu ran on all fours as fast he could towards his Water-type opponent before quickening his pace. "(Alright! Here we go!)" He declared before charging at Piplup at a blinding speed.

"Now Piplup, dodge it!" Dawn quickly yelled in response.

"(No prob!)" Piplup yelled as he sidestepped the attack.

"Drat!" Pikachu internally screamed, turning his head to see where his opponent's new location was. He continued to berate himself as he tried to regain control of his movement by slowing down as fast as he could.

"Now's our chance, use Bubble!" Dawn commanded.

"(Right-o!)" Piplup confidently said as he unleashed a torrent of bright blue, sparkling bubbles at Pikachu.

"Pikachu try to dodge them!" Ash yelled in haste.

Heh, easier said than done but alright. Pikachu moved as quickly as he could, dodging and weaving, trying to outmaneuver the inexplicably threatening bubbles.

Sidestep, turn, jump, crouch, sidestep again, jump again. It was a hassle but he was doing it. He was giving it all of his focus and his brain was going at a lightning-fast pace. It wasn't long before the bubbles ceased coming at him, though he still continued to dodge and weave before he fully realized it.

When he finally understood that the attack was over, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, having looked like he was just dancing in the middle of a battle.

"(You've got this Pikachu! A few bubbles aren't gonna do anything to you!)" A familiar girly, somewhat tomboyish, voice rang out from the sidelines.

Pikachu felt his heart drop a little. He immediately knew who the culprit was. Oh boy. He was getting all too used to this. He looked over and saw Buneary jumping in place. She had only been with them for maybe a week and already it was like she was his biggest fan. It was a bit bizarre given that outside of cheering, she was still rather quiet around him, often barely able to form coherent sentences whenever they talked.

Still...he couldn't help but admit that it did feel pretty comforting to know somebody was always cheering him on, aside from Ash of course. And it made for one hell of a confidence boost!

"(Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?!)" Piplup yelled, turning to his teammate with quite the annoyed look on his face.

"(Oh umm...whoops!)" Buneary said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "(Yeah, you too Piplup, you can beat him!)" She said, albeit with a hint of obvious improvisation. Off to the side Pikachu could hear the snickering of their teammates while others gave her weird looks.

Joining their reaction, Pikachu also continued to look at her. She was a strange one alright. Willing to cheer him on in battle instead of her own actual teammate? It reminded him of the kind of comments the others would make. In the span of only a week, all of them had mentioned something about her having a crush on him. It didn't help that sometimes the humans would also make the same kind of comments about "love" and how "cute" they looked together, mainly by Dawn and Brock.

And of course, Aipom would add on to it with her teasing comments. She had always been mischievous as long as he'd known her but it seemed that ever since the start of this new adventure in Sinnoh, she'd channeled all of her mischief into making teasing remarks. Ugghh, she was a good friend and all but legends above it was embarrassing! What's even worse was that Piplup seemed to always tack on with Aipom in teasing him about her. Speaking of which, the purple monkey in particular seemed to be having the time of her life snickering at all of the cheering for the yellow mouse.

"(Give it your all and I know you can do it! Yeahhh!)" Buneary cheered on, snapping Pikachu out of his thoughts. He looked at her and saw her excitedly jumping in place. Even though her comment could have been towards Piplup, Buneary's focus was clearly on Pikachu.

He felt his heart beating ever-so slightly faster. N-No they were wrong, all of them were. She didn't have a crush on him, she was just affectionate. It must be in her nature...right?

Pikachu shifted his attention back to the battle with a confident smile, trying to ignore his thumping heart. Regardless of the teasing, he didn't want to let his biggest fan down after all now did he?

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled at his best friend.

"(Try to dodge this!)" Pikachu yelled as he unleashed his signature electric attack at the blue penguin.

Piplup's eyes widened in fear but right when Pikachu began to unleash his attack, Dawn was already on it.

"Piplup jump back!" She commanded.

Piplup did what he was told and jumped far enough to dodge the attack which only struck the ground, causing fragments of earth to momentarily become airborne.

As soon as Piplup landed on his feet in front of Dawn, a smile suddenly appeared on her determined face.

"Okay, now it's time to use what we've been practicing!" She confidently said.

"(Oooh this'll be good!)" Piplup said smiling, staring down at a visibly confused Pikachu.

"Okay, let's do it, use Bubble Bomb!" Dawn yelled.

"(Right!)" Piplup affirmatively replied and began to get into position.

"(Huh? Bubble what now?)" Pikachu asked aloud, before looking back at his trainer who only blinked in equal confusion. Seeing no help coming from him, Pikachu looked back to Piplup only recoil in shock from what he saw.

Piplup was leaning forward and holding his beak open, just as how he did with Bubble only this time, instead of a stream of smaller bubbles coming out of his beak, it looked like one giant bubble was continually coming out!

Pikachu could only blink as he saw the massive bubble finally emerge from Piplup's beak and gently float in place in front of the penguin. The bubble was somewhat transparent and the light's refraction caused Piplup to look like some kind of wavy, dream-like being.

"Only one huh? No problem! Pikachu use-" Ash began to say before he was interrupted by Dawn.

"Piplup, sidestep it and use Bubble Beam!" She yelled.

Piplup did what was commanded and stepped to the side of the newly created massive bubble and unleashed a fresh stream of smaller bubbles.

"Dodge!" Ash screamed as quickly as he could. Pikachu did just so, this time jumping out of the way from the entire attack. But just as he did he heard Dawn's voice again.

"Now kick the Bubble Bomb at Pikachu!" She cried out. Piplup smiled and kicked the massive bubble like a soccer ball. Pikachu had just landed on his feet when he saw the thing coming towards him. Both he and Ash could only gasp in shock as the giant bubble closed the distance and struck Pikachu, exploding upon impact.

Pikachu flew backwards and the immediate area was drenched in water. It was so strange how a bubble could actually hurt but that's exactly what was happening. Pikachu landed on his back and slid a few feet before coming to a stop.

"Pikachu, get up!" Ash yelled, trying to not make his voice sound shaky. Pikachu tried as quickly as he could to get back to his feet but felt a shot of pain go through his shoulder. Immediately he figured that he couldn't take too many of those attacks before he was in real trouble.

As he shakily got back up, he saw Piplup continuing to stare him down, a look of both confidence and determination on his face. As much as Pikachu was determined to win, he couldn't help but feel proud that his friend was doing so well in battle. Especially since he only just started out as a trainer's Pokémon!

"Pikachu's weakened, use another Bubble Bomb!" Dawn cried out.

Jeez, no mercy in this battle huh? She must really want to win this time.

Piplup began to form another large bubble, this time even faster. Pikachu looked back at Ash who was contemplating something.

Once the bubble was formed Dawn was already on to her next move.

"Alright, kick it to him!" She yelled. Piplup did what he was told and once again kicked the massive bubble towards Pikachu.

"Alright Pikachu, use Iron Tail and swat it back!" Ash commanded. Oooh how interesting. The electric mouse was curious to see how this would turn out.

Turning his tail a brilliant white, Pikachu swatted his now iron-sturdy tail at the bubble as gently as he could. The bubble bent but didn't pop and suddenly went back in the opposite direction towards its creator.

"Piplup, kick it back!" Dawn yelled before Piplup did so.

"You too Pikachu, keep using Iron Tail!" Ash shouted back. Pikachu did just that and before anyone knew it, the battle suddenly became more like a game of soccer or bizzarro-volleyball. This back-and-forth exchange went on a little longer than anyone expected before Dawn decided to change things up.

As the giant bubble headed towards Piplup, Dawn got a new idea. "Alright Piplup, kick it, but this time, upwards into the air and then jump along with it!" She shouted with an arm extended in front her.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu could only say before he saw the blue penguin do what his trainer asked. He looked on as Piplup kicked the bubble into the air and immediately jumped alongside it.

"Now use Peck and make it rain!" Dawn yelled with a confident smile. Piplup immediately did so and popped the bubble with his beak. The resulting explosion caused a mini-pool's worth of water to cascade down below on to the electric mouse.

"Pikachu, get out of the way!" Ash cried out as Pikachu fled the immediate vicinity. He could feel and hear the water behind him smash into the ground, enveloping the area with a cacophony of noise louder than anyone had expected. Pikachu mostly avoided the brunt of the fallout but the force of the water slamming into the ground caused him to fall onto his face, soaking his back.

As he got back up, Dawn pointed at him. "Now Bubble Beam!" She cried out to the penguin still in midair.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the Bubble Beam!" Ash yelled as Pikachu got back on his feet.

Almost simultaneously, the two Pokémon unleashed their attacks which connected in the air between them. The resulting explosion released an enormous amount of evaporated water that enveloped the area in mist and clouded Pikachu's view of Piplup.

Piplup had managed to land safely back on the ground in front of Dawn before she gave another command. "Okay, they can't see us, one more Bubble Bomb for good measure. Just like last time, use Bubble Beam first then kick it towards Pikachu!" Dawn confidently said. Piplup nodded in agreement and got into position.

This was it. This was the moment. Their best chance at winning!

Pikachu squinted his eyes to see through the mist for the familiar silhouette of his opponent.

"(You've got this Pikachu! I believe in you!)" Buneary yelled out, jumping in place again.

Pikachu rolled his eyes a little but still he couldn't help but smile. Yeah, he was definitely going to get teased about this later but oh well. For now, he was going to give it his all! He looked towards her and waved his paw to which she smiled and waved back.

He hated to admit it, but he could feel his cheeks warming up from all this cheering and attention. Trying to ignore it, he looked back towards the general direction of his opponent.

Suddenly the mist was parted by another stream of bubbles coming towards him.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled, somewhat caught off-guard. Pikachu didn't need to be told twice and jumped back as quickly as his muscles would allow and evaded the attack. Unfortunately, perhaps from being caught off guard or because the ground beneath him was soaked with water, Pikachu landed on his feet backwards and immediately felt himself losing control of his balance. He felt himself sliding and stumbling back further than he expected, and in his effort to regain control of himself, his entire body turned 180 degrees before coming to a full stop and he was staring right at his trainer.

As soon as he came to a stop, he looked up and saw Ash's concerned face. His ears pricked up as he heard Dawn's voice off in the distance.

"Now kick it!"

Oh jeez, that could only mean one thing. Before he could do anything, he heard something large approaching him.

Pikachu's eyes darted towards Ash who only stared off into the distance beyond his friend with a look of shock. He didn't give any commands but only held his mouth agape and managed a gasp.

Oh great, Ash wasn't going to give any help in time. Pikachu could hear the massive bubble getting closer, it would only be a few more moments before it made contact with him. Gotta think of something fast!

He could practically feel the giant mass of water coming his way, about to hit its mark. Closing his eyes and not allowing for another moment of hesitation, Pikachu channeled all of the strength that he could muster into his legs...and jumped backwards as high as he could.

Feeling his body turning in midair, Pikachu opened his eyes and realized that he was upside down but he could see the giant bubble below him. Continuing to improvise, he got another crazy idea. He dove towards the bubble, extended his right arm and – steeling his nerves – landed right on top of it, causing it to immediately stop moving.

Pikachu held his breath as felt the surface of the bubble bend inwards. He exhaled in relief as the elastic surface began to slowly bounce back towards its normal shape. Pikachu used all of the strength in his body to tense up his muscles and balance himself with his one arm. He craned his neck upwards to look at his opponent, the mist having mostly dissipated. Both Piplup and Dawn looked at the spectacle in absolute shock. Pikachu couldn't help but smile that his crazy, last-minute idea had worked!

He couldn't see her, but he could hear Buneary cheering even louder from the sidelines. "(Yeah! I knew you got this!)"

Pikachu could also hear another familiar voice from behind him. "Alright Pikachu! Great thinking on your feet buddy!" Ash excitedly yelled, punching the air. "Now, jump off the bubble and let's really finish this!"

Using all of the dexterity he could manage, Pikachu channeled all of his strength into his arm to push himself off the bubble. The force of pushing himself off caused the bubble to move in another direction. Pikachu spun through the air but soon he managed to tense up his muscles and regained control of his body.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash declared with a fist pump.

"(Right!)" Pikachu yelled as he unleashed the attack at Piplup down below.

"P-Piplup, dodge it!" Dawn stuttered. Piplup managed to jump backwards to avoid the attack but he was much slower than the last time. The Thunderbolt slammed into ground where Piplup once stood and the resulting force was so powerful that it caused him to lose his balance and land on his behind. A massive cloud of dust shot up into the sky from the attack.

"Alright Pikachu, let's do this!" Ash declared.

Piplup winced and opened his eyes only to see Pikachu break through the dust cloud, steadily falling towards him. His eyes only widened in horror as he saw a dark, menacing look plastered on the mouse's face. Sparks of electricity continually emerged from the red sacs on his cheeks.

"(I have you now!)" Pikachu yelled in a deeper-than normal voice.

Piplup's beak hung open in shock. He waited to hear something, anything, from Dawn. But instead all he got was silence. The lack of response could only mean that his trainer was just as shocked as he was.

Piplup could only look on as his opponent approached him. Caught off guard and not getting anything from his trainer, the blue penguin couldn't think of anything to do. His mind racked with fear, Piplup could feel his muscles tense up, unable to move him to safety.

Before Pikachu landed in front of him, Piplup could only scrunch up his body, his flippers to his face, and tightly closed his eyes, bracing himself for the final attack. It was all he could think of.

He could hear something land in front of him with an audible thump followed by the crackling of electricity.

This was it, brace for it!

...

It was coming!

...

Any...moment...now?

Piplup slowly opened his eyes. The sun was shining in his direction but his face was protected by the dark silhouette of a familiar-looking electric mouse. The figure was merely standing in front of him and was so dark that Piplup couldn't make out its features. Almost immediately, the figure leaned forward towards his face. Piplup was so frightened that he didn't even think to close his eyes again. He could only stare at it.

As the figure leaned towards him, the darkness gave way and Piplup could see...Pikachu's smiling face? Piplup only looked at him dumbfounded. The warm, happy look that Pikachu gave was one that Piplup had seen so many times before. It was as if the terrifying face from before had never even existed.

Pikachu continued to smile before closing his eyes and gently reached a paw out and tapped Piplup on the forehead.

"(Tap!)" Pikachu said with a gentle voice before leaning back.

"(Huh?)" Piplup wondered aloud blinking, repeatedly.

"I think that calls it!" Brock said from the sidelines. "The winners are Ash and Pikachu!" He declared with an arm extended towards the duo.

"Alright! Great job Pikachu!" Ash cheered, pumping a fist in the air in sheer excitement.

Pikachu and Piplup could hear their friends cheering from the sidelines with a certain bunny cheering louder than everyone else.

"(Great battle man!)" Pikachu said, extending a paw to help Piplup off the ground.

"(Er, thanks.)" Piplup said as he reached out and grabbed his friend's paw, the shock and confusion draining from him.

"Aww man, I really thought we had it that time!" Dawn complained. Piplup looked up towards her. "Jeez, we almost did too but I got caught off guard at the last second." She grumbled.

"It's okay Dawn, sometimes that happens, heck it happened to me earlier!" Ash remarked as he walked towards the group. "You just gotta be sure to think quicker next time!" He said with a look of confidence. "And besides, that was awesome how you came up with that Bubble Bomb thing, I've never seen anything like it!"

"Heh, thanks Ash, and I'll be sure to remember that." Dawn softly said, feeling a little better.

"And with that, breakfast is almost ready!" Brock declared.

"Alright! I'm starved!" Ash happily yelled as he turned towards the campsite.

As everyone walked towards camp, Piplup couldn't help but solemnly start to get lost in thought. He was suddenly brought out of it by his trainer's voice.

"Hey..." Dawn said gently towards her starter Pokémon. "You did great! We're only getting stronger and we'll get them next time!" She said with a smile.

"(Yeah I'll say! You nearly got me with that Bubble Bomb thing! That was really something else!)" Pikachu said reassuringly, ignoring the pain that was still circulating in his shoulder.

Piplup took a moment to take it in. For the blue penguin, it didn't take much for his pride to make a comeback as he felt a surge of confidence enveloping him. He placed his flippers on his sides and nodded his head.

"(Yeah, we'll get you next time! You'll see, my Bubble Bomb will be ten times as terrifying! Heck, I didn't even get hit at all in our battle!)" He pridefully declared before pausing. "(Though, I do wish I could've thought on my feet a bit better back there.)" He said somewhat sadly.

"(Hey don't sweat it! You guys totally caught Ash off guard, and I really had to improvise at the last second there. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, I just went for it...)" He said with a sheepish laugh before continuing "(and like Ash, said, you just need to be quicker next time! And you definitely will as long as you keep it in mind.)" Pikachu said smiling.

Piplup couldn't help but smile back and nodded his head again. Yeah, next time he'll be sure to think quicker. And next time they'll win!

Sometime later, everyone was enjoying their breakfast, the humans at a picnic table and the Pokémon eating their specially-prepared pellets scattered around the campsite. Pikachu had decided to eat with his teammates: Turtwig and Starly. The three were talking about different things but mainly what they'll do with their upcoming gym battles.

"(I can't wait to perfect my Aerial Ace; I think that'll totally give me an advantage in most battles!)" Starly said as he popped a pellet into his beak.

"(Yeah, and I need to make sure my Razor Leaf is extra sharp. The first gym is Rock-themed so Ash'll need me.)" Turtwig responded smiling.

"(Yeah totally, you guys will do great!)" Pikachu declared as he reached for another pellet.

This was nice, the sunrise had caused the sky to turn a bright orange, no blue in sight. This and the pleasant breakfast made the day look even more serene. He could see how bright the sky had become. He could smell the sweet aroma of the surrounding nature. He could feel...someone watching him?

Instinctively, Pikachu turned his head towards the source of whatever was looking at him. He thought how strange it was that one could somehow sense this without being a Psychic-type. As he turned to face the culprit – for a moment that was just long enough for his mind to register – he could make out their face. Or rather faces.

In that brief moment, Pikachu could see the three faces of Aipom, Piplup and Buneary all staring at him before they suddenly turned back towards themselves. Still, Pikachu could make out their expressions. Buneary's was one of admiration with a hint of a sparkle in her eyes. Aipom and Piplup's however looked more teasing, as if they had just heard a funny joke. Oh great, no doubt they were making some kind of snide remark about him, probably about Buneary...to Buneary. Ugghh he just had to ignore it, and not give them what they want, that being an embarrassed reaction.

Pikachu turned back towards his teammates although now he couldn't pay attention to what they were saying, their voices tuning out. When it came to Buneary, it's not like she really did anything wrong or did something that bothered him. He just wished the teasing would ease up a bit even though he knew it was harmless and coming from friends. Shaking the thought from his head, Pikachu tried to focus more on what his two teammates were talking about.

Sometime later, Pikachu was making some progress on his food but he found himself more distracted than usual, no doubt due to the unwarranted attention he was receiving. He didn't even notice that Starly and Turtwig were getting ready to leave until they grabbed their bowls and began to stand up.

"(Well, I better get ready.)" Turtwig declared.

"(Yeah, me too.)" Starly replied, stretching his back.

"(Huh? Ready for what?)" Pikachu asked as he was jolted from his thoughts.

"(Like I just said, Ash will probably want to start training again soon so I want to make sure I do my stretches first.)" Turtwig remarked.

"(Oh...right...)" Pikachu said. Huh, must've missed that part.

"(Alright, see ya later Pikachu!)" Starly said, waving a wing at him before the two departed.

"(Yeah, see ya.)" Pikachu said waving back. Since he just trained, Ash will focus on getting the others ready, so he could just sit back and finish his food.

Well at the very least he can go back to admiring the sunrise. So he would!

As Pikachu continued to appreciate the orange beauty that was the sky, he couldn't help but hear some talking coming from Piplup's group again. He tried not to eavesdrop, and made sure not to turn his head in their direction. While he couldn't make out what they were saying, he could distinguish Piplup's voice. It sounded like he was speaking in a half-whisper with a stern tone to somebody.

Oh well, he would just shift his focus back on the beautiful sight. After a few moments passed, he once again got lost in the peacefulness of it all. He could feel the warm breeze course through his fur, he could see the brilliance of the shining sun, he could hear...someone approaching him?

Before he could look up, he noticed another bowl slide next to him that was filled with pellets. He looked up and saw Buneary standing next to him. As per usual, she was fiddling with her fluff, looking at the ground.

"(Oh hey!)" Pikachu cheerily said.

"(Um hi...mind if I join you?)" She asked, still not making eye contact with him.

"(Oh uh...sure!)"

"(Cool.)" Buneary said before she sat down next to him.

A moment of silence passed between them before she spoke up.

"(So umm...great battle back there.)" She said as she eyed her own food bowl, still hanging on to her fluff.

"(Thanks! It was kind of...umm...touch and go for a sec.)" Pikachu said with a slightly sheepish laugh.

"(Still, you did really good. I mean, I-I don't know if I would've had the idea to just jump on top of the bubble...b-backwards.)" She stuttered though it sounded like she was getting a little more comfortable.

"(Yeah, I really had to improvise that one.)" Pikachu said smiling as he reached for a pellet. A sudden thought came to him. "(By the way, thanks.)"

"(Huh? For what?)" Buneary asked, looking at him for the first time.

"(You know, for your cheering and all. It really helped me get through it! Kind of...umm...gave me some confidence.)" He happily, if not a bit awkwardly, said.

"(Oh...I-I...umm...)" She said, her face getting redder, trying to resist the urge to hide behind her fluff. She took a moment to take a deeper breath to better compose herself. "(Y-You're welcome.)" She shakily said before suddenly thinking of something else. "(Say...uh...at the end of the battle...)"

"(Hmm?)"

"(Why didn't you use an attack to finish things? I mean...Piplup was just sitting there.)"

"(Oh...well I guess I thought there wasn't any need. He wasn't putting up any real defense. And besides, we were just training. It wasn't like we were fighting for our lives or anything.)" Pikachu said, shrugging his shoulders before biting into his pellet.

"(So...you were just being merciful and didn't want to hurt him?)"

"(Hmm, yeah I guess so! I mean, he is a friend after all. No need to go too far with things.)" He said with a slight chuckle.

"(Oh...good to know.)" She said, trying not to let a smile appear too obvious on her face.

Pikachu reached out for another pellet. She sure was a strange one alright. Here she was, acting shy when back during the battle, she had all the energy and charisma of a cheerleader.

Then again, she was always kind of shy like that wasn't she? The first time they met, she acted exactly that way around him. Then the second time they met – when they were about to battle – she also came across like that.

Even the day they met was an unusual one for getting a new friend and teammate. What happened again? He almost got run over, then Buneary saved him. Then she ran away but they met again later that day. She beat the snot out of Piplup and then they were supposed to fight but again, she wasn't exactly up for it. He was still kicking himself for not hearing what the humans were saying, maybe it could've explained her strange behavior.

What else? She froze everyone and then basically Pokénapped him. Then he said something a little too stern and made her cry. Ooh boy that didn't feel good. He only felt worse when his attempts to calm her down failed...and Starly witnessed the spectacle. Then Team Rocket showed up as usual and when they were dealt with, Buneary and Piplup battled again before Dawn caught her.

Yup, from beginning to end, she was a pretty peculiar one. Then again, who was he to really judge? After all, he was a pikachu that had no intention of evolving and was obsessed with ketchup! So maybe he wasn't exactly normal himself.

Realizing that some time had passed without saying anything, he decided to pick the conversation back up.

"(The guys on my team are really excited for training.)" He said, hoping this will get things going again.

"(Oh yeah, for your gym battle right?)" Buneary inquired, starting to let go of her fluff and beginning to reach for her own pellet.

"(Yeah, they're looking forward to getting stronger for it.)" He said with a chuckle.

"(Or in case Team Rocket comes back.)" She muttered as she bit into her food.

"(Huh? Oh those guys? I mean yeah, it's always best to be stronger but they're not too much trouble. We handle them all the time.)" He said shrugging.

"(Yeah, I suppose it's best to-wait what?!)" She asked in surprise as she suddenly turned her head and dropped the pellet she was working on.

"(Hmm?)" Pikachu asked, a genuine look of confusion on his face as he turned towards her.

"(You handle them all the time? Like how much all the time?)" She asked, legitimately curious.

"(Oh ummm lemme think...)" Pikachu said as he put a paw to his chin in thought and turned away. After a brief moment he turned back towards her. "(At least a few times a week, it's usually more but they've been a bit lazy lately.)"

"(What?! Really?! How long has this been going on?!)" She practically screamed in shock.

"(About as long as I've been with Ash I guess.)" He said rather nonchalantly.

Buneary's mouth held open as she continued to stare at him. "(But why?)" She finally asked.

"(They've been wanting to capture me since practically day one, sometimes they go after others but usually it's me they want to join their team or give to their boss.)"

"(...And you handle them all the time?)"

"(Yup!)" He said, popping another pellet in his mouth.

"(That's...so...) She began to say with her paws on her cheeks (...amazing!)" she said with much more exuberance in her voice than before.

"(Huh?)" Pikachu confusedly asked. He turned towards her and noticed that her eyes were sparkling accompanied by a look of pure adoration.

"(I mean not the whole 'kidnapping you' part but the fact that you fight them off so often. I thought they were pretty scary when I saw them...)" She said as she turned to look away from him, a faint blush starting to dust her face.

"(Haha, oh umm...nah they're not too bad I guess. Truth be told Jessie and Meowth are pretty bad but that James guy isn't really. In fact I think he's mostly scared of the other two and just does whatever they tell him.)" Pikachu said with an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"(So we should expect to see them again sometime soon?)" She asked, reaching for another pellet.

"(Oh yeah, like clockwork.)" He confidently said.

"(Jeez, that must be so hard to do though. Having to put up with them or getting kidnapped every now and then.)" She solemnly said as she stared at the pellet in her paw.

"(Oh not really, I got used to it a long time ago.)" He said, hoping to cheer her up a little. Seeing her continue to frown, he wanted to make her less worried by remembering something that was much worse by comparison. "(Besides, I've been through way worse. I'd rather deal with Team Rocket every day for the rest of my life than get possessed by the spirit of Groudon like that one time.)"

"(Yeah, that's a real prob-wait...WHAT?!)" She shouted, once again turning towards him, the pellet again dropping from her paw. Her eyes were as wide as they could go.

There was a brief pause before a realization came over Pikachu. "(Oh right, I guess I didn't tell you that...)" He smiled sheepishly. "(I told Piplup about it before but I guess that was before you joined our party.)"

"(You...have got to tell me all about it!)" Buneary said with a firm confidence, scooting up to him just a little closer, her full attention on him now.

"(Err, well...it wasn't too long ago back in Hoenn...)" Pikachu said with a shy smile as he began to tell the oh-so fun tale of how he got possessed and lost control zapping everything.

Little did Pikachu know; two individuals were focusing on his conversation with Buneary.

As Pikachu regaled Buneary with his tale of legendary Pokémon and other evil organizations, Piplup and Aipom sat next to each other, observing them from a distance.

"(Told you she could do it.)" Piplup said with a satisfied smile.

"(Okay, okay I guess you made the right call telling her to go talk to him.)" Aipom said shrugging.

"(She just needed a little push is all.)" He replied somewhat smugly.

"(Well I'm glad, they look like they're really hitting it off!)" She said, a classic smile overtaking her face.

"(So you're serious about this? I mean trying to set them up and all?)" Piplup inquired as he grabbed a pellet from his bowl.

"(Definitely!)" She replied with the utmost confidence.

Piplup started to bite into his food, taking on a more neutral expression. "(I mean, she's only been with us for like a week...seems like it's a lot of effort for someone we practically just met.)"

"(Look, I know you're friends with Pikachu and all but lemme tell you, I've known the guy a lot longer than you have. I've seen him in all sorts of situations but I've NEVER seen him the way that he is around her. Heck, I've never seen someone turn so red so often before!)" She replied with a confident tone, her paws on her hips. "(It's funny, he can go into battle and take on bad guys no problem but when it comes to girls and romance he's the shyest guy in the room!)" She said with a smile before continuing. "(Besides, she seems like a really nice girl and I see potential with them! Why let something like that slip through the cracks?)"

"(Yeah, I can see it too.)" Piplup said as he chewed his pellet, a smile reappearing on his face. "(So it's official then, we're in this for the long run!)" He declared as held up his half-eaten pellet to her.

"(Yeah!)" Aipom giggled as she grabbed her own pellet and tapped them together.

As Piplup finished his food, Aipom paused for a moment. "(But...)" She started. "(One thing we need to keep in mind...)"

"(Huh?)" Piplup asked as he looked up at her. She suddenly got closer to him and with every following word, tapped him on the chest with her paw.

"(Pikachu...cannot...ever know about this...)" She said in a low, serious voice.

"(Hmm? W-Why's that?)" Piplup asked, feeling somewhat nervous.

Aipom scooted back a little. "(Like I said, I've known the guy for a while now and I can tell you that he gets embarrassed sooo easily! If he finds out, he might not want to talk to anyone again! Maybe he wouldn't even want to keep talking to her.)" She said with serious concern as she bit into her pellet.

"(Ohhh I get it. Plus Buneary's still kind of shy around him anyway. So it might make her nervous too.)" Piplup said with a look of realization overtaking his face.

"(Exactly! So we'll need to be on the down low about this. I'm talking reeaaaallll shadowy stuff!)" Aipom said with a smile.

"(In that case, we'll need to dial back the teasing just a bit.)" Piplup confidently replied, closing his eyes and looking away. "(Don't want to take it too far and make him too embarrassed to talk to her anymore right?)"

Aipom's smile began to falter upon hearing his words. "(Awww I guess you're right but still maybe just a little bit for fun's sake?)"

"(Of course, we need to enjoy ourselves too after all!)"

"(Heh, I can live with that then!)" She said shrugging her shoulders, her smile returning.

"(Then it's decided! Operation Pikachu and Buneary Forever is underway!)" Piplup declared in a half-whisper.

"(Sounds like a plan!)" Aipom happily said as she finished off her pellet.

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of what will undoubtedly be a very long project for me. This fanfic is mainly inspired by ravengal and VGS2 the sexy sausage whose works and encouragement have helped me start this in the first place, with the first two chapters of this fic strongly influenced by them. If you're looking for high quality works (especially anything to do with Pikachu and Buneary), I highly recommend checking what they've written. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Speaking of VGS2, just like him I will be adding Author's Notes here at the bottom as it might help ease you into the story a little more than if it were at the top.

I will be sure to give credit to other authors who have also helped to influence this fanfic as well, especially if a chapter is directly inspired by them.

I'll also be attempting to stick to the anime as best as I can although obviously there will be times when I have to deviate here and there. Like for example, I don't think Piplup knew Bubble and also Bubble Bomb isn't a thing (to my knowledge, but apparently he uses something like that in an episode of B&W way later down the line). But no harm in minor changes like that eh?

In case anyone is wondering this far ahead of time: yes, I am determined to complete this fanfiction. I already have the timeline of the narrative set, it's mostly a matter of putting things to paper (including dialogue) and if any new ideas suddenly pop up.

Anyway, thanks for checking my work out. Hope to update soon!