Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Piplup POV:

"We need to get out of here!" Oshawott yelled as we ran through the thick vegetation. He was holding my flipper as we ran. Whatever his reason, I was thankful for it; the contact was making me feel safer.

"Yeah, no joke!" I replied, gasping for air. I slowed down, forcing him to slow down with me. I finally came to a stop in an open field, panting heavily. "I need a rest." I glanced at our surroundings. "And I think we're safe right now." I felt Oshawott let go of my flipper and I immediately collapsed onto the ground, face down in the dirt.

I was exhausted. We had been running full out for at least half an hour, trying to get away from the crippled, but not dead, king of the island. Chills ran down my spine as I remembered what it said before I left: "This isn't over, scum. My subjects will get you for me, as you're both unnatural freaks that must be eliminated."

I had immediately started running away from the Steelix and back into the overgrowth. Fortunately, Oshawott was nearby and saw me. He ran with me as I explained what had happened.

"So which way should we go?" he asked as I panted.

"I'm not sure" I replied in between gasps. I looked around again, trying to get some idea of where we were.

But nothing looked familiar.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crunching leaves, signaling something was coming. I quickly jumped behind a nearby tree to hide, Oshawott doing the same. Fear of a vengeful Onix flooded my mind as I peeked around it to see what was coming.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when it wasn't an Onix that emerged from the bushes. Instead, it was Ash's Snivy, whose vines were wrapped around Iris' Emolga. It looked like Snivy had a tight grip, too, as Emolga seemed unable to move an inch. Both were unaware of our presence, and I listened as they argued.

"All you care about is apples!" Snivy complained, a frustrated look on her face. "You can't just pop out of your Pokéball whenever you want some and leave everyone behind!"

"But those apples were so delicious and smelled so good!" Emolga argued. "How could anyone possibly ignore that enticing aroma?" Snivy shot her an angry look.

"There's more to life then apples," she argued back, "but that seems to be all you like! Apples, apples, and more apples!

"Not true" Emolga spoke plainly. "I also like getting laid; and I get laid a lot!" I felt my face heat up at her blunt remark. I looked over my shoulder and saw Oshawott wasn't faring any better; he had a massive blush as well.

"Seriously, who in their right mind would love you?" Snivy yelled, clearly upset. "You're such a selfish, ignorant Pokémon whose only real love is apples! Who wants that?!"

I saw Emolga grimace, but quickly shift to glare angrily at Snivy. "You don't need to love someone to have sex with them, miss prude" she spat venomously. Snivy snarled at her, clenching her fists and tightening her vines around Emolga, who started gasping for air.

"Shut it apple brain!" she growled. "Ash sent me to retrieve you. He didn't say anything about you being conscious!" She resumed walking away, although it was more of a stomp now.

"Kinky" Emolga gasped out, squeaking as Snivy squeezed her even tighter. They continued into the brush and disappeared. I emerged into the clearing and Oshawott did the same. I faced him, both of us still had a slight blush.

"Well, that was…interesting" I commented. Sure, I hadn't known them long, but I was not expecting such a bitter rivalry between them!

"Yeah, those two really hate each other" he said. "They've been rivals ever since they met. Lately, though, Emolga's been downright mean to Snivy. I think she's reached her limit with Emolga's Trubbish." He then looked thoughtful. "Hey, I bet if we follow them, they'll lead us straight to everyone!" I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I bet they will!" I replied. "Let's follow them, but let's stay out of earshot." Oshawott gave me a confused look.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we need to come up with a plan to get everyone off this island" I told him, starting to follow them. He followed my lead and looked at me curiously.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked. I sighed out loud. I did have an idea, but I had a feeling he wouldn't like it.

"I do, but it won't be fun for you" I told him. I heard him stop walking, and I did as well. I turned to meet his gaze which was full of worry. "First off, we need to tell Pikachu about the angry Steelix and its declaration to kill us. We need his help communicating to our trainers." I let out a long, sad sigh. "Secondly, we can't let anyone know about what happened between us. We have to pretend to still hate each other." Oshawott frowned.

"I never hated you," he revealed, "and I'm not going to pretend to now." I smiled as I felt my heart flutter. He never hated me, wow.

"Okay then" I answered. "But I need to pretend I still don't like you" I said, unwilling to say 'hate' now.

Honestly, I don't think I ever actually hated him.

"And that means calling you that name." He frowned and shook his head.

"No, that's too painful for me" he whimpered, looking down. "Don't do it." I waved my flippers in front of me.

"I won't mean it, it's only an act!" I tried to reassure him. He shook his head.

"No" he refused, still looking down. I sighed, feeling bad for upsetting him like this. I knew about having an emotional trigger when called a certain name. I had my own.

"Well, what if I called you Jerk-face?" I offered in a compromise. "It's not the same, but it should work. I won't mean it ei-"

I was cut off as he hugged me, his arms wrapped tightly around me. "Thank you" he said gratefully. I smiled and returned the hug, wrapping my flippers around him.

"Pip-butt."

I chuckled. A new name for him, a new one for me. Heh, fair is fair, I guess.

The hug lasted a good while, until I reluctantly let go. "We should go" I urged. "Before we lose them." He nodded, and we set off again, following Snivy's stomp-prints.

/

Like it? Constructive criticism? Have any suggestions for future chapters? Leave a review please!