Chapter 28: Avoiding Bad Company

Buneary stared at the brown pellets in the bowl in front of her, given to her by her new trainer, Luke. The heck was this? It was apparently food, but it looked pretty... weird. Smelled nice, though.

She picked up a pellet. She huffed and threw it back into the bowl. Ehh, whatever. Maybe later. For now, there was something else she'd rather be dining on. The attention of boys!

She looked around the bustling city square she and her team were eating breakfast in, wondering where her teammates were to flirt with. Her new trainer, Luke, was sitting on one of the benches near to her, eating sandwiches. He was a boy, but the thought of asking out humans was way too weird, so that was a straight up no.

Near to him was his riolu. He was a boy, too, but no way, José. She didn't want to date any baby pokémon. What would people think!? He was a pretty cute kid, though, so maybe she would hang out, later.

On the other side of the benches, Buneary saw something that made her heart explode in joy. The herdier, the dewott and the timburr. All boys from her new team.

She stood up and quickly hopped towards them. Ohh, this was so exciting~! Especially since they were the reason she'd joined this team in the first place!

Buneary stopped when Pikachu groaned with an amused, if not exasperated, smile. "[So you joined the team because of boys, huh?]" he asked.

"[Well... I was a pretty simple-minded bunny, back then, what can I say?]" she replied with a sheepish grin. "[I was already looking for a way to get out into the world for love hunting... and that way was by joining Luke's team!]"

"[Huh... and how'd you decide that?]"

"[Well, I saw Luke training with his... his dewott and his timburr, I think. I was watching from the bushes, and it was probably the manliest thing I'd seen, up to that point, no doubt!]" She winked at him. "['Course, I've seen manlier, since, but hey.]"

He blushed lightly. "[Heh, um, that so?]"

"[Heehee, yup~]" She tapped her paw against her chin in thought. "[Anyways, where was I...?]"

Buneary practically dashed towards the boys in leaps and bounds. She hadn't had a proper chance to do her thing, yet, so she couldn't wait!

Instinctively, she moved behind them while they were sitting around, eating their meals. She inwardly told herself off when she realized something, though. Tsk! Not only was that creepy, as she'd come to realize over the years... but she didn't even have to do that anymore! Her teammates weren't going to go running away from the team, anytime soon!

... Wait, was that line of thinking also creepy? Hmmm, oh well.

"[... So that's why you like getting smacked about by lightning?]" she heard the timburr ask before he took a messy bite of his pellet.

The dewott chuckled awkwardly, while staring down at his empty bowl. "[Well, y'know... I, um... it's not... it's not that I like it. It's just good training, and-]" he began to reply.

"[Oh. It's the newcomer,]" the herdier interrupted, glancing at Buneary. He didn't move from his laid-out position.

As the others turned around, Buneary took that as her cue to talk. "[Hey, boys~!]" she sang.

"[Yo,]" the herdier greeted.

"[Oh, um… hello?]" the dewott replied, sounding pretty nervous as he wiped food crumbs from his mouth.

"[Heyy, so you're alright, now, are ya?]" the timburr replied. He leaned against his wood block, which was laying flat on the ground. "[Sorry I put you in the pokémon center… but'cha freaked me out when you leaped outta the bushes and got in my grill.]"

"[Huh, so that's why I didn't see ya, yesterday?]" the herdier asked Buneary. "[Why'd you go and leap out at him, anyway?]"

She giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at them. "[Well… when I see two hot guys doing very attractive things… how could I not want to flirt with them? Right?]" she flirted.

The three boys gave her blank looks.

"[… H-… Huh?]" the timburr said, looking a bit shocked.

"[… Oh man, here we go…]" the herdier muttered.

The dewott blushed madly and looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't.

Buneary smiled widely. Aha, they were surprised speechless! Advantage!

Deciding to double down with the flirting, she continued. "[So, with that said…]" She winked. "[Which of you attractive men want to take me on a date?]"

The timburr and dewott stared at her with widened eyes. The herdier just gave a long drawn-out huff.

"[Yeah, no,]" he mumbled before taking a big mouthful of pellets.

"[… Aww,]" Buneary mumbled, disappointed.

"[I, um, er, that's… er…]" the dewott started flusterdly, the blush on his face still growing. He made some more weird noises, before quickly getting to his feet. "[I-I'm gonna go practice my W-Water Pulse for Burgh's gym. Bye.]" He quickly walked away somewhere.

"[… Ah,]" Buneary muttered, slightly less disappointed. Well, it wasn't a no, at least…

The timburr looked thoughtful. "[Er… dunno… Can we keep it casual and screw, sometimes?]" he asked.

She recoiled in shock. "[What!? Eww, no! I want a really romantic relationship where we nuzzle, and hug, and say really sweet things to each other!]"

"[Oh, right.]" He shrugged and picked up some more pellets. "[Nope, you lost me, sorry.]"

She blinked. She whimpered and burst into tears. "[Rejected by everyone on the team already! And when they're all so hot, too! Huuuu…!]" she sobbed.

Now working on the other side of the sandcastle, Buneary sighed nostalgically. "[Cried for at least half a minute before I stopped to eat,]" she said.

She glanced at Pikachu and saw him giving her quite a bit of a strange look. "[… That must've been a pretty good first impression,]" he joked.

She giggled sheepishly. "[I don't know if I said it, yet… but I'm glad I took a different approach with you.]"

"[Eheh, yeah… me too, honestly. I don't think my poor heart would've survived the encounter.]"

She giggled again, though this time in amusement. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "[Heyyy, handsome~! Wanna date?]"

He laughed. "[Pretty tempting, so maybe…!]"

She laughed along with him. When they calmed down, he fiddled around with the sand pile in front of him, as if to build it into something. "[So I guess the bad company was Timburr, or something?]" he asked.

"[Oh, no, no, no way,]" she replied, shaking her head. "[He just wanted a casual fling and dropped it when I said no. The person who was listening nearby, however…]"

Buneary huffed as she watched Luke using his herdier to battle against some round, red, fiery thing with a grinning face she didn't recognize. The rest of the team were watching from nearby, but Buneary had chosen to sit a bit further away to sulk.

Tsk… it had been half an hour since breakfast, and she still hadn't gotten anywhere with any of the boys. Not even slightly!

This was just great. She'd joined a team, just to have everyone turn her away, as per usual. That just sucked! Her only hope now was either managing to convince one of the boys to change their mind and go for her, or to wait until someone else joined the team. Something that was pretty dicey, because Luke only had one more pokémon to catch before he had a full team… and it could be anything, from a girl, to another uninterested boy, to maybe someone who was freaking gay, or something. She didn't know!

All the same, things weren't looking up.

She sighed. A quiet chuckle from behind made her unrolled ear spring upwards, though. Turning around to investigate, she nearly shrieked when she saw a giant, purple snake towering over her.

She had half a mind to run away, screaming. However, getting a good look at the snake's features, she suddenly realized something…

He was a boy!

"[Ooh, hello, there~!]" Buneary said to him excitedly.

"[Hey there, missy!]" he replied, grinning widely. From his language, Buneary guessed that he was an… ekans? She'd never heard of one of those, but he sure was hot, so it didn't matter!

"[What is an attractive boy like you doing here, talking to a little lady like me?]"

"[Heh, well, see… I was hoping to ask you something, real quick. Would you mind?]"

She paused. "[Ask me… something? What like?]"

"[Just a little request of mine. I was listening to you having a little issue with those friends of yours, earlier. Where they kinda rudely blew you off, when you were just being nice.]"

She gasped. "[R-Really!? I didn't see you there, at all!]"

"[Hah… they don't call us 'sneaky snakes' for nothing, now, do they?]" His smile faltered a little, but it came back quickly. "[Er, not that I was doing anything wrong, or nothing, so don't get me wrong. Just a bit curious…]"

"[Oh… Heehee, well, nice stealthy skills, there!]" she complimented. She sidled up next to him and leaned into him. "[Well, seeing as you were skillful enough to sneak around me… would you like to maybe… take me out on a date, or two~?]" She blinked. "[… Er, oh wait, sorry. What was your request, first?]"

He chuckled. "[Yeah, funny you should mention dating, actually. I was hoping for the exact same thing!]"

She blinked. She blinked again. She blinked several more times rapidly. "[… Wha…? Huh? Really?]"

His grin went wider. "[Oh, for sure! I know a nice girlfriend when I see one, so… if you're okay with it, then… would you be my girl?]"

She gasped hard enough to hurt her lungs. "[Oh, legends above, yes please!]" she practically screamed.

"[Haha, nice, nice! Well then, missy…]" He slung his tail around her shoulder, "[… consider us a cute couple, then…!]"

She stared at him in pure wonder. Tears of happiness flowed out of her eyes as she tackled him into a hug.

It was so amazing! Right when she'd nearly given up on finding love… a miracle happened~! Heeee~!

"[... So as you can imagine, I was a very happy bunny,]" Buneary said. She was about to continue, but the look of surprise on Pikachu's face stopped her.

"[W-Wait... so you did have a boyfriend before me?]" he asked, shocked.

"[Heehee, um... I guess so, huh?]"

"[Yeah... that's news to me.]"

She looked at him sheepishly. "[Sorry... I would've said it sooner… but it's not really the best idea to be talking about older boyfriends when you've just started dating, I don't think.]"

He smiled reassuringly. "[Heh, well, yeah, fair enough. Well, don't worry, it's not like it's a big deal-breaker, or anything. I'm just surprised. Legends know I wouldn't have liked talking about something like that, if it were me.]"

She breathed out a sigh. "[Heehee, yeah...]"

He poked at his section of the sandcastle. "[So, er... was he any good, or...?]"

She giggled again. "[Well, I'm certainly not dating him anymore, if that answers anything.]"

"[Haha, fair comment. What went down?]"

"[Heh, well... he asked me to come with him. Just to show off to his 'buddies' that he had a new girlfriend.]"

He looked at her nervously. "[... Buddies?]"

"[Um... well...]"

Buneary skipped next to her new, amazing boyfriend. She kind of wished he had a hand for her to hold onto, but it was okay. He was a boyfriend, and he was hers, so she wouldn't complain~!

He seemed really excited, too! He wanted to show her off to his friends as soon as possible, so if that wasn't a sign of true love, then she didn't know what was~!

She followed him as he slithered through Castelia City's streets. He was moving a fair distance away from Luke, but she didn't care. Love was more important than dreams and junk like that!

Eventually, the snake turned into a narrow alleyway. Smiling, she followed him into it.

As she went further in, she looked around nervously. "[Boy, um… it's a little dark in here, isn't it?]" she asked, taking note of how little sunlight was getting into the place.

"[Don't worry yourself any, missy,]" he responded, giving her a reassuring smirk. "[You've got a big, strong guy like me to keep you nice and safe, haven't you?]"

"[I… I guess…]" she mumbled, moving closer to him.

"[Anyway, we're almost at the hangout, so keep it together for just a bit. Alright?]"

She took a relaxed breath and nuzzled into his soft, warm scales. "[Okay…]"

They carried on for a little while longer, taking a corner into an even darker alleyway. The walls were coated in graffiti, and the floor was littered with various crates and boxes. Nowhere near the most romantic spot in the world, but it was certainly better than nothing.

Eventually, Ekans stopped in place and smiled at her. "[Alright, here's the place where my pals like to gather,]" he said, allowing his tail to drape over her shoulder. "[They're… nervous, though, so I've gotta let them know I'm here.]"

"[Ooh, okay then~]" she replied, eager to meet them. "[Heehee, they'll be in for a pretty nice surprise, won't they? Finding out that their friend's got himself a date!]"

He chuckled. "[Oh, that's certainly right. They'll be preeetty surprised.]" He glanced around. "[Hey, you guys! It's me, Ekans! You there?]"

There was a short pause. Buneary almost wondered if anyone was home, until she heard some shuffling around in the darkness. She unrolled her curled ear to get an idea of where it was coming from, and realized that it was coming from some of the open boxes.

She took a deep breath. Alright… she'd admit that this was more than a little creepy… but they were friends of Ekans, so it was alright, right?

"[Oi, yeah, we're here, man,]" a voice called out, all of a sudden. One belonging to a golbat, from the sounds of things.

"[Keeheehee! Oh, welcome back~!]" another voice, a rattata's, greeted. "[It's such a pity, but you just missed Master. He went away on an errand~]"

"[Ah. Oh well, that's cool,]" Ekans replied.

"[Master…?]" Buneary asked.

"[Yeah, our trainer, in other words. You know?]" he replied.

Oh, so a trainer, huh? Hmm… did that mean… if she wanted to stay with Ekans, she would have to swap teams?

Well… it wasn't like she had much to stay for on her team, so… maybe?

"[Heh, so you brought someone back, did ya?]" the golbat asked, finally emerging from where he'd been hiding. Though he was mostly hidden by darkness, she could still see a strangely wicked grin on his huge mouth.

"[Ooh, and she's a pretty girl, too!]" the rattata added from close behind. Turning to see where he was, Buneary saw him right behind her and nearly jumped out of her skin. "[Never seen a bunny with such nice, squinty eyes, before…!]"

Feeling more nervous than she probably ought to, she edged closer to Ekans. "[Um… h-heehee, hi, you guys!]" she said with a meek wave.

"[Wow, the master's gonna be a happy lad, when he gets back,]" the golbat said. Looking at him, she saw him lick his fangs, which sent a chill down her spine.

"[Yep! When you said you were bringing someone back for him to steal, you weren't lyiiing~]" the rattata said with a snicker.

Buneary blinked blankly. "[… Wait… what?]" she asked.

Ekans audibly clicked his tongue and- Wagh!?

Something constricted around Buneary, binding her arms and feet. She squeaked in pain and struggled to break free. Unsuccessful, she looked around frantically to see what was going on.

She gasped in horror when she saw something thick, purple and scaly wrapped around her body. Following it to the source, her heart dipped when she saw Ekans' face.

"[W-… What…?]" she wheezed out.

He sighed. "[Welp. I was wanting to keep you occupied until our owner came back for us… Maybe even encourage you to join us of your free will… but screw all that, right?]" he said, giving his teammates a light glare as they came closer.

"[Umm… whoops!]" the rattata said, shrugging exaggeratedly.

"[Oh, lighten up! You would'a done the same, an' you know it!]" the golbat retorted.

"[If I had no patience, then sure…]" the Ekans argued.

Buneary felt her eyes well up with tears. "[No, so… you… tricked me?]" she asked, desperately hoping that this was some misunderstanding.

Ekans looked back at her. "['Fraid so. Well… kind of. I do want you by my side, in a way…]"

The golbat laughed. "[As a member of Team Rocket, right, lad?]" he asked.

"[Yeah, pretty much.]"

Team Rocket!? Oh no, she'd heard about those guys! They were an evil organization that captured pokémon and did Lord only knew what to them!

She sobbed. "[Ohhh, you monster!]" she screamed.

Ekans smirked. "[Heh, well, whatever it takes, missy,]" he taunted.

"[T-Team Rocket!?]" Pikachu shouted in surprise.

Buneary jumped and made a move to shush him. "[H-Hey, not so loud, you'll freak everyone out!]" she said.

He yelped and looked around sheepishly. Looking with him, Buneary saw that nobody had heard him. They were too busy talking, working on their long sandcastle and messing around to acknowledge his shouting, thankfully.

She took a relieved breath and gave him a look of mock annoyance. "[Oh, Pikachu, you silly ninny…!]"

"[Eheh, um… sorry,]" he replied, blushing.

She stopped frowning to wink and stick her tongue out at him. "[All's forgiven~]"

He chuckled lightly. When he stopped, he gave her a concerned frown. "[So… you were tricked by… er, that 'organization'?]"

"[Yup. I should've trusted my gut instincts, but I didn't, so I got myself trapped. And it didn't end there, either…]"

"[Hoo boy…]"

Still constricted by the ekans, Buneary cried even harder amongst their mocking laughter. Of all the boys she'd had a chance with… why oh why did it have to be someone from Team Rocket!?

"[So yeah, looks like you'll be one of us before too long, eh?]" the golbat sneered.

Ekans… That is, the ekans, nodded happily. "[Ha, yep. Whether she likes it or not, she sure will,]" he replied.

Hearing that, her sadness turned to anger. Gritting her teeth, she looked up at him and charged some energy. "[N-No way! I don't want your dumb team!]" she yelled. She fired her Ice Beam directly at his face.

It scored a direct hit. Even through her tears, though, Buneary could see that it did freaking nothing. He just let it uselessly smack against his cheek with a small grin.

What the heck!? Why!? Was he strong?

She tried to pump more energy into her attack, but it was violently cut off when he gave a harsh flick of his head. "[Hehe, yeah, somehow I knew you wouldn't be much of a match, with how that timburr friend of yours described how you got caught,]" he taunted.

The golbat laughed. "[A weak little girl, eh? You really do know where to find 'em!]" he said, licking his fangs again.

"[Keeheehee! Looks like the master's going to have to give her an extra hard training session, huh?]" the rattata sneered.

Through her tears, Buneary frowned daggers at them and charged energy in her ears. Crying out in anger, she struck out at the ekans with Dizzy Punch using her ear, and then the next, over and over again.

Her ears smacked against the side of the snake's body again and again, as quickly as she could manage.

"[Ow, ow, ow! Hey, enough of that, now,]" he said, sounding annoyed.

She ignored him and went in for another punch. However, she was stopped by the tip of his tail before she could. She tried to shove past it, but he just overpowered her and painfully forced her ear back into a curled position. Owwww!

"[You okay, my friend?]" the rattata asked him.

The ekans huffed. "[Yeah… didn't hurt too much, but yeesh.]"

She thought about punching him again, but his tail was firmly holding both of her ears down. She was truly trapped.

She started to wail. "[… M… Mama…! Papa…! Delcatty…!]" she yelled in-between sobs.

The ekans scoffed. "[You think they'll find you in this deep, dark alleyway? Not a chance at all, I'm sorry to say,]" he remarked.

She didn't care. She kept calling out for help. No matter how much her voice echoed through the alleyway, though, it was starting to feel hopeless.

"[So…]" the golbat started after a small while, "[what do you guys feel like doin' to pass some time, 'till Master gets back?]"

The rattata moved closer, into her line of sight. He was grinning maniacally. "[Kee… Keeheehee, oh… I can think of something!]" he started. His grin grew malicious. "[Until Master gets back, how's about we three guys have a little… fun with her…?]"

Buneary's eyes widened and her blood went cold. "[N-No…!]" she muttered in horror. She thrashed around as much as she could and screamed. "[No, no, no, no! Help! Help me!]"

She struggled until she felt herself fall to the ground harshly. Ignoring the pain, she frantically tried to push herself up to her feet, but the weight of the ekans' body kept her held down.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, her breathing came out in frenzied huffs and she was having trouble thinking straight. No, no, no! She didn't want this…! She'd only wanted a boyfriend! Why was this happening to her!?

She inhaled deeply, ready to screech at the top of her lungs. She was interrupted when the ekans began to wheeze.

"[Wh… What!?]" he yelled.

"[H-Huh? Wh-What?]" the rattata said, sounding more surprised than he deserved to be.

"[What do ya mean 'what'!?]" the golbat yelled at him. "[What did ya imply just then, Rattata!?]"

Calming down, Buneary looked around in confusion. Huh…? What…?

Despite her blurry vision, she saw the ekans giving the rattata a very shocked expression. The golbat was joining in with an enraged expression.

The rattata just looked sheepish. "[Wh-What's with-? Er, I-I dunno… I just thought that… with the pretty lady being here, we could just… play around with her for a little bit, or something…]"

"[… J-Jeez, man…!]" the ekans stammered, sounding freaked out.

The golbat moved over and whacked the rattata repeatedly with his wings. "[We're bad guys, kid, but we ain't friggin' evil! Little punk, I'm gonna get your butt into time-out bad for this!]"

The rattata dropped to the floor and blocked his face with his paws. "[Ow, ow, ouch! Wh-What!? What did I do!?]" he asked. He hopped away to avoid being hit some more. "[I-I only wanted to have fun playing games like… like tag and… and hide and go seek, and stuff like that! I thought it would be okay, now that she's joining us!]"

Buneary blinked. Huh? … That was it? Really?

The other boys looked at him incredulously.

"[… For… For reals? Really?]" the ekans asked.

"[W-Well, yeah!]" the rattata yelled defensively.

Everyone stared at him. The other boys sighed in relief, though not as much as Buneary. Holy crud, that may have been the scariest frigging moment of her life…! She could only shudder at the thought of… well, what she'd thought was going to happen.

Buneary stopped telling her story when she saw Pikachu take a huge breath of relief. She giggled at him. "[Not quite what you were expecting to hear, huh?]" she asked.

"[Oh, eheh, y-yeah, thank the freaking lord…]" he mumbled, rubbing his forehead with the back of his paw. "[For a second, I thought I was going to hear something… very bad, to say the least.]"

"[Heehee, I don't blame you. How would you have even reacted?]"

"[… Don't know,]" he said, cringing. He seemed to shiver slightly. "[Hope I never find out, either, to be honest…]"

Buneary agreed, but she couldn't help but coo over him. It had been pretty cute, actually. While she'd told that part of the story, he'd pretty much gone as white as a sheet. What a darling he was~.

"[… Wait,]" he started, looking confused, "[why… did Ekans push you down to the ground and, er… pin you? I thought he wasn't gonna do anything.]"

"[Oh, actually, I don't think he did. I was too frightened to pay attention back then, but I'm pretty sure he just dropped me in shock, or something. And that pinning was him scrambling to keep me from running. Probably, I dunno.]"

"[Ah, yeah, makes sense.]" He took another breath and began to fix up his side of the sandcastle again. "[So what's next? I'm on the edge of my seat!]"

"[Heehee, well… that rattata still hadn't gotten what was going on, so…]"

While Buneary continued to try and calm her frightened heart, she noticed that the rattata had begun to pout angrily.

"[So what else? Is playtime banned, now? Am I not allowed to have any fun?]" the rat said angrily.

The ekans shook his head. "[N-No, man, you're good, just… y'know, don't sound so dubious next time, please, alright?]" he asked.

"[… Dubious?]"

"[Not good enough fer me!]" the golbat cut in. "[Not only do ya wanna give the girly a chance to escape by lettin' her loose… but you wanna introduce her to Team Rocket with playtime, like a babby!? That's not evil enough! You're still in time-out, you!]"

The rattata's ears flattened against his skull. "[Huh…? But…]" he mumbled.

"[H-Hey, c'mon, man, lay off him…]" the ekans responded awkwardly, waving his tail about, as if to calm the golbat down.

The bat huffed loudly. "[Not 'till the lil' punk learns his lesson!]" he spat.

The rattata's lips trembled. He burst into tears. "[W-Why is everyone always s-so mean to me!?]" he cried loudly. He buried his head into his arms. "[I-I-I hate this stupid team! I j-just wanted to make friends, but no one likes me! Why…!?]"

The golbat suddenly looked really sheepish. "[… Er…]"

The ekans groaned loudly. "[Oh, brilliant, now look what you've done! Way to prove our team's camaraderie, Golbat!]" he scolded while rubbing the rattata on the back with his tail.

"[W-Well… I… Whoops…]"

Buneary cringed. Oh dear… she wouldn't lie… she was torn between wanting to run away from the rattata for dear life, and wanting to hug him to make him feel better. For flip's sake…

Her eyes widened. Wait… Run Away! Her ability! If she used that, then…!

… Oh… but it would be really embarrassing… Not the most embarrassing thing ever, but…

"[Oh, Run Away? You have that?]" Pikachu asked, cutting her story short.

"[Oh, totally!]" she responded. "[I only ever used it twice in my life, though. Once while this was going on, and once when I first heard about it.]"

"[Huh, okay… I've never seen it, myself, but my old friend from the wild, Rattata, mentioned it.]" He let out an amused puff of air. "[Y'know, speaking of rattatas.]"

"[Heehee, oh, that so? Did he tell you what it did?]"

"[Heh, she did.]" He tapped his chin in thought. "[Um… what did she say happens, again, though…?]"

She grinned in amusement. "[Ohh, I think I might have a bit of an idea…]"

"[Oh yeah?]" He blinked. "[… Wait, and why did you think it would be embarrassing?]"

She tapped her paws together. "[Um…]"

While Buneary wondered if she should use her ability, the ekans on top of her shifted around.

Because of that, she realized that he was too distracted to hold her down properly. The golbat was busy trying to awkwardly apologize to the rattata, too. This was the absolute perfect time to get away!

Gah, nothing for it, then. It was now or never! She gathered energy in the areas on her body where her fluff was. When her fluff began to glow, she quickly wiggled around. Before long, she crawled out of the ekans' grasp.

"[Huh…?]" he murmured. When Buneary got to her feet, he gasped loudly. "[Ah! Get her, she's-]"

Not letting him finish, she hopped upwards, spreading her arms and feet out. Immediately after, all of the fluff on her body exploded outwards, shrouding the place in a messy, cream-colored cloud of fluff strands.

"[Oh, Hell, what attack was that!?]" the golbat yelled. "[Where is she!?]"

"[I-I don't-]" the ekans started before coughing violently.

"[R-Run Away!]" the rattata squealed.

"[What!? You coward!]" the golbat shouted.

"[No, that's not- Gahhh, forget it!]"

Buneary could hear the three pokémon stumbling about in a confused stupor. Not wasting a second, she bounded away from them. Yes! She was going to get out of this!

Once she got out of the cloud of fluff particles, she looked down at herself. The sight of her brown body with no fluff to speak of was the only thing to greet her. Not even on her feet.

She whimpered lightly and her face went warm. Ohhh, her lovely, lovely fluff. All gone in an instant. It would take weeks to make it look that nice, again… For now, all she had was her stupid, naked, fluff-less body to her name.

Ohh, but the other option was being a part of Team Rocket, so… it was a small price to pay. Even if it was awful and mortifying…

She hopped towards the entrance of the alleyway as fast as she could. As she got closer, her tears of embarrassment slowly turned into tears of relief. She heard their rapid footsteps a short distance behind her, but she didn't care. She was so close!

Yes, she was going to make it! She was almost there…!

Buneary let out a satisfied huff as she finished. "[… And that's how I made my getaway from those guys!]" she said. "[Never felt so relieved in my li-]" She petered off when she noticed how red Pikachu's face was getting.

She studied him for a second, wondering what was up. She burst out laughing after she realized it.

"[Huh!? W-What!?]" he stammered.

"[Pikachuuuuu…!]" she said in a teasing way. With her face going warm, she lowered her voice. "[You were thinking weeiiird things about my fluff-less body, weren't you~?]"

He stiffened and visibly panicked immediately. "[H-Hey, that's not…! Er…!]"

"[Heehee, who knew my Pikachu was such a perrrrv~?]"

Blush brightening, he sighed in resignation. "[… Alright, I did wonder a little bit…]"

She giggled again. "[Knew it~.]" She stuck her tongue out at him. "[Well, for your information, buster, there's nothing to see but brown fur when that happens.]"

He huffed amusedly. "[Noted.]" He gave her a teasing look. "[You're one to talk, though, with those dreams of yours…!]"

She blinked. Dreams…? … Oh, wait, he meant the dream about her and… Um, oh dear.

Embarrassed, she pulled her fluff up to cover her face. "[H-Hey…!]"

He sniggered at her, until she pressed her wet, sandy paw against his nose. He recoiled in surprise and flopped onto his back. "[Gah!]" he yelped.

"[Heeheehee, that's what you get, you bully, you!]"

He got back into a sitting position and huffed in mock annoyance. "[For telling the truth?]"

"[Better believe it!]"

They chuckled between themselves.

When they calmed down, she breathed out a satisfied sigh. "[Well, that's how the tale went, I guess. I…]" she started, pausing for a second to think of how to phrase things. "[… Yeah. I hopped all the way back to Luke, tried my darndest to train myself up, and acted extra cautious when it came to any more boys I found. Didn't find any good ones until you caught my eye, though~]"

"[Heh, fair enough. Explains that thing you told Meloetta, actually. The thing about… how 'love can hurt if you're not careful', if I got it right.]"

She glanced off to the side briefly. "[Yeah…]"

"[Well, all the same… that was quite a tale.]" He frowned sympathetically. "[I'm just sorry you went through so much…]"

She offered him a small smile. "[It's okay.]" Her smile grew. "[After all, it sure made me go through some improvements, huh?]"

"[Hah, I'll say. I guess life or death situations with Team Rocket will do that to a girl, right?]"

"[Right! Something you know all about, I'm sure~]"

He started looking sheepish. "[… That so?]"

She cheekily stuck her tongue out at him. "[Totally!]"

He huffed in an amused way, though with crossed arms. "[No idea what you mean.]"

She giggled mischievously and was about to banter back. Something on her mind stopped her, though. "[… Wait… how the heck does a rattata use Run Away with no fluff?]" she asked.

Pikachu blinked. He scratched his chin in thought, before clicking his fingers. "[… Wait, no, I remember what Rattata said. Something about the purple fur on her-]"

"[… Is that really all you did on the sandcastle?]" a voice started up from nowhere.

Buneary and Pikachu yelped and looked around, ear extended in her case. After a short while, Pikachu made a noise of surprise. Following his line of sight, Buneary yelped again and jumped to her feet when she saw Stunfisk, who was right behind her. He kind of blended in with the sand, but she could see him.

She frowned at the mudfish. "[J-Jeez! Stunfisk, did you have to do that?]" she scolded, curling her ear back into place.

Stunfisk didn't seem too fazed. "[… Apologies, but… you should really finish your part of the castle, soon. Don't want the others complaining…]"

Buneary stared at him briefly, then glanced back at the sandcastle. She saw that everyone seemed to have done a pretty good job on their sections.

… Um… uh oh. Everyone except for her and Pikachu, anyway.

Pikachu gave a panicked cry. "[Oh, crud, I can't believe I forgot!]" he exclaimed. He frantically began fiddling with his section of the sandcastle.

Chuckling awkwardly, she sat down next to her section of the sandcastle. "[Ah, s-sorry, Stunfisk. We just got wrapped up in talking and stuff. Eheh…]" she mumbled.

"[I don't really mind… but the others might do, so just sayin',]" Stunfisk replied before flopping away, past everyone else who was working on the castle.

When he was far enough away, Buneary sighed. "[Jeez…]" she mumbled.

Pikachu gave a sheepish chuckle. "[Your story was a bit too good, I think,]" he said, not turning away from his work.

Her ear drooped. "[Yeah. Sorry about that…]" She felt her eyes water. "[M-Maybe I should've waited until tonight, or something, so I didn't ruin your b-building time…!]"

He made a sound of surprise. "[N-No, it's fine!]" he said. Through her blurry vision, she saw him moving towards her. Shortly after, she felt his arm wrap around her. "[It was way worth it for a tale like that. Better than watching a movie!]"

She sniffled. "[Really…?]"

"[You bet! Now, how about we work together on this?]"

She wiped her tears away and beamed at him. "[Hee, okay!]"

Fully reassured, she and Pikachu worked double time on their sections of the sandcastle, smoothing things out and adding seashells or little details wherever they saw fit.

All the while, her heart was swimming with happiness, and not just because of all the fun they were having as they kept up the pace. Heehee, Pikachu was so kind and understanding! At this rate, she might end up telling him more things about the good ol' days.

Maybe…

With Buneary behind him, Pikachu was walking alongside the really long sandcastle everyone had helped to build, investigating the finished product. Everyone else was doing the same, wandering around and having fun eyeing the wonders of the huge sandcastle. Well… more like a huge sand wall, really, but all the same.

He was very impressed, to say the least. Everyone had done such a good job! That said, though, the results were crazy. It was looking like everyone had their own ideas of what made a good sandcastle, and nobody had particularly wanted to build on a theme.

Well, in a way, it made things more interesting, so he didn't really mind. Some sections had a frick ton of seashells on the side… some had lots of patterns scribbled onto them… some had windows carved into them… some had roofs… some had hollow middles… some had those medieval-styled grooves on the top he didn't know the name of… some were flat… some had moats… some just had ditches… some were just lazy mounds of sand… one in particular had been burned black… Oh, the variety was endless!

Smiling happily, he stole a glance at his girlfriend. She was currently praising Pachirisu, Axew and Scraggy on their work, all with a beaming smile on her face.

He felt his heart flutter at the sight. Wow, she really had such a great smile. Seeing her happy was always a treat.

Hm. He was suddenly reminded of the bunny's story, on how her boy hunting had turned rather sour. To think, that had been the reason she'd changed so much in just a handful of years. Of course, he'd done his fair share of growing in almost the same amount of time, but still.

… He wouldn't lie. The story made him wonder if the only reason she liked him - other than the whole 'cool potato stunt' thing - was because he was nicer than her last 'boyfriend'. Not that it was saying much, but it was a bit of a… disappointing thought? He didn't know, it left him feeling a little bit conflicted, honestly.

Oh well, it didn't matter. It wasn't like she was going to start dating someone else, just because they were nicer and cooler than he was… right?

He huffed through his nose. Well, he was glad she'd told him, all the same. It seemed that, ever since they'd started dating, he'd been learning cool new things about his girlfriend every other minute! She must have trusted him quite a lot to be so open about sharing.

Honestly, he was tempted to talk about his days back before he'd met Ash, too. Stuff like his awful deadbeat dad, his days in the wild and the few weeks he'd spent raising Chester.

… Hmm… nah, no way. At least, not now. Whenever an opportunity to tell a story came up, the mood was generally a little too happy for him to even consider it. He got the feeling anything he talked about would make her cry again. Like, actually sad tears. He'd never seen her get legitimately, heartbreakingly sad, like in the tale with Ekans… so he kind of didn't want to risk it. At least, not now.

… He wouldn't lie, either. Telling someone that he was an adoptive dad at some point was kind of embarrassing. Especially with her, since he knew she would gush over him like there was no tomorrow.

Oh well, he knew he would do it eventually. It was only the second day of their relationship, after all! Even if it had been a really eventful two days.

After another minute or so of exploring the really long sandcastle, they were at Oshawott's section of it. Which, unwisely, was right next to Piplup's. And it showed, too. Both his and Piplup's sections looked sabotaged to heck and back.

While watching the two water-types desperately trying to impress Meloetta with their ruined sandcastle sections - something that Buneary seemed to find amusing to no end - Pikachu overheard Ash, Dawn and Iris talking amongst themselves.

"Wow, everyone did great on their little sand project!" Dawn said, admiring the sandcastle.

"I couldn't make a better sandcastle if I tried," Iris agreed.

Ash chuckled. "Looks more like a 'sand wall' to me, Iris," he joked.

Pikachu huffed in amusement. Heh, that was the same thing he'd thought, earlier. His trainer sure had his moments.

Iris giggled. "Just like that Great Wall of China, huh?" she asked.

"Haha, yeah. All it needs, now, is a woman who's pretending to be a guy."

She gasped in delight. "Oh, I get that reference! That was my favorite movie when I was still growing up in the Dragon Village!"

"Mine too! Er, but in Pallet Town."

Pikachu tilted his head. Huh, whatever movie they were talking about was lost on him.

"Y'know, Iris…" Dawn started, "I hear that China is well known for all its dragon festivals."

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Iris replied excitedly.

"Maybe you should go over there and get your second ever dragon-type!" Ash said with a chuckle.

Dawn looked vaguely sheepish. "That might be a good idea, for a dragon master…" she said.

"Hey, I told you, I'm an aspiring dragon master!" Iris argued.

Dawn held her hands up defensively. "I know, but… you don't seem to be working on that dream much, to be fair."

Iris went slightly red in the face. "Th-That's…" She crossed her arms. "I'm… just biding my time, until I'm ready to get more. That's all!"

Ash's face lit up. "'Cos you want to train Axew to be the very best, before getting any other dragons, right?" he asked.

Iris grinned. "Y-Yes, exactly! A true dragon master takes it one step at a time."

Clearly not believing her, Dawn sighed. "Well… I guess it's better than Brock, with only having Sudowoodo," she said.

While Iris gave her a confused look, Pikachu mentally shrugged. Well… he wasn't really a gym leader anymore, because he'd changed jobs twice, but whatever.

"Yeah! Or Cilan, with just Pansage! Even though he's a grass gym leader!" Ash said loudly enough for Pikachu to get worried.

The mouse looked in the chef's direction. He was a fair distance away, but he still had his head slumped over in clear depression.

Face warming from second-hand embarrassment, Pikachu huffed. Oh, for crying out loud…

Despite having his head slumped, Cilan clanged his ladle against his grill. "… Lunch is ready, everyone…" he mumbled loudly.

Pikachu heard gasps of excitement from Ash and Oshawott. They immediately ran over towards where all the food was, whether that be the table near Cilan, or the bowls of pokémon food on a blanket nearby.

Pikachu sighed lightly, though not without a small smirk. He heard Buneary giggle from behind him, so he could guess that she was having similar thoughts.

"[Heehee, just like being back on Luke's team…]" Buneary mumbled, sounding nostalgic.

"[Heh, every team needs a foodaholic, I guess,]" he replied, looking back at her.

"[Yeah…]" She huffed and shook her head lightly. She motioned towards the food bowls. "[Anyway, how's about we get ourselves some food?]"

"[Er… yeah, sure,]" he replied. He walked towards the food, with Buneary in tow.

As he moved along, he started thinking. Huh… what had that been about? That light shake of the head. Had she been trying to clear her mind of something? He couldn't help but wonder what she'd been thinking about…

… His eyes widened. Wait, no, he knew. Was she thinking about how he used to be one of those exact types!?

… Wait, did she even know about it? He couldn't remember if he'd told her before, or not. Then again… there was the incident before the day Ambipom and Buizel had been traded around, where Pikachu and Ash had overeaten to the point of having bulging bellies…

Well, regardless, he wasn't proud of how chubby he'd been, once upon a time… and he was sure she wouldn't be impressed by it, either.

He had to watch his diet, no matter the cost.

… Alright, that might have been a bit melodramatic. Still, though.

Pikachu was sitting down on the picnic blanket, eating some tasty cream-filled pellets. Everyone else was around him, doing the same. The humans were eating some various things on a table nearby, while apparently discussing Brock. Such as his cooking, and how he was trying to be a pokémon doctor now, and whatnot. Surprisingly, they weren't talking about his old onix at all, despite the island they were on right now. What a lost opportunity.

Chewing his lunch, the mouse hummed in delight. Oh, these pellets Cilan was experimenting with were utterly delicious. The cream was really smooth, and had a 'melt in your mouth' feel to it. Not to mention the taste was mesmerizing! It tasted… well… creamy, for lack of a better word.

As much as he liked it, though, he was making sure to eat as slowly as possible. His natural instincts told him to take a pawful at a time, but no! He had to restrain himself, damn it!

While chewing, he looked upwards to glance at Buneary and Meloetta, who had decided to eat directly across from him. They seemed to be enjoying the meal, which made him happy to see. Especially since Meloetta had almost managed to sneak away to eat by herself, being the shy one she was. That is, until Buneary had dragged her back to the group for her own good. Something the singer notably hadn't resisted against, much.

Just as Pikachu swallowed, he noticed somebody moving closer to Meloetta from behind. Before he could decide who it was, a white paw tapped her on the shoulder.

The singer shrieked and turned invisible. Buneary also yelped and swiveled around to see what was going on.

Through the singer's invisible body, Pikachu saw Oshawott, with a bowl in hand. He looked pretty shocked.

"[N-No, sorry, it's just me! Oshawott!]" the otter said flusteredly.

Meloetta slowly came into view again, now floating off the ground. "[Oh, um… h-hello, Oshawott,]" she said. She rubbed her neck. "[What… brings you here?]"

Seeming to take that as a cue, Oshawott brightened up and presented his food bowl to her. "[This is for you, gorgeous~]"

Meloetta gave a drawn-out sigh. Pikachu couldn't stop himself from doing the same, either. "[Hey, Oshawott, what did I tell you, yesterday?]" he said, giving him a slightly stern frown.

The otter gave him a curious look. "… What?"

"[Were you gonna give all of your food to Meloetta, again, without eating any yourself?]"

Oshawott paused. He smiled sheepishly. "[… Oh… um… heehee… maybe…]" He tried to look innocent. "[I-It's not the same this time, though! I won't starve this time, because I ate a few… this time!]"

Pikachu huffed in amusement, though he tried not to show it. "[… You did 'this time', did ya?]"

"[… Yeah. This time.]" The otter's stomach growled loudly. He gave a blank stare. "[… Yeah.]"

Pikachu snorted and let a smile escape. For frick's sake…

Meloetta actually giggled at Oshawott's antics, though she too seemed to be trying to hide it.

Buneary openly laughed. "[You silly little sausage, Oshawott~. You don't have to go hungry to impress girls, you know. She won't appreciate someone who she can't hear over his grumbly belly, will she?]" she said.

"[W-Well… Meloetta's happiness is worth it!]" Oshawott argued. He held out the bowl of pellets to her. "[Here you go~]"

She delicately held a hand up to her chin. "[… So… you really did give me your food, even though you were hungry, yesterday?]"

"[Yeah, yeah! And I'll do it again, too!]" He blinked and glanced at Pikachu. Probably noticing the raised eyebrow he was giving him, the otter gave the singer a flustered smile. "[… Er… but… not as much. Yeah.]"

Meloetta giggled lightly again. "[Oh, well… um, th-thanks, but I really don't need-]"

"[Oh no you don't!]" a shrill voice called out from behind Oshawott.

Recognizing it immediately, Pikachu frowned in concern. "[P-Piplup, don't-!]" he started.

Oshawott was suddenly encased in ice after something hit him from behind.

"[Gah, Oshawott!]" Buneary shouted out in concern.

Piplup moved around him with a bowl of pellets in his flipper. He looked pretty smug. "[That's revenge for Water Gunning me, you lady-stealing jerk!]" he shouted. He cleared his throat and offered his bowl to Meloetta. "[… So, Meloetta… I have a present for you~]"

The singer stared at him awkwardly. "[… Um…]" she mumbled, looking a bit perturbed.

Pikachu frowned and got ready to say something. However, the ice around Oshawott's head shattered before he could. "[What the heck, Piplup!?]" the otter yelled, glaring daggers at him. "[I was gonna give her food!]"

"[Yeah, exactly!]" the penguin replied. "[Being the lady-stealing jerk that you are, I'm not surprised at all. So that's why I'm gonna beat'cha to it!]" He stuck his tongue out at him.

Oshawott grit his teeth in rage. "[Oh, that's it! I'll… I'll…]" He growled. "[… I'll Ice Beam you back!]"

Piplup laughed. "[Oh, keep dreaming, kid. Unless you get Mamoswine and Buneary on your team, you have no chance!]" he taunted.

"[No way! I'll show you, just you wait!]" Oshawott began straining, as if trying to charge something.

Piplup waved him off dismissively. "[Yeah, yeah, sure. Now, why don't you go flirt with a krabby again, or something? I've got a date with-]"

He was suddenly frozen solid out of nowhere.

Pikachu and Meloetta gasped and looked at Oshawott in shock. He looked just as shocked.

"[Heehee, let that be a lesson, Piplup,]" Buneary said. "[If you bully, you get bullied.]"

Though he could only see the back of her head, Pikachu could still see frost lingering in front of her. Ah, right. That explained that, then.

Oshawott looked smug for a second, though it soon faded into a disappointed look. "[Aww… Well, thanks, Buneary,]" he said. He frowned lightly. "[… I'm still gonna Ice Beam him, though.]"

"[Oh, don't worry about it, hon,]" Buneary replied. "[I think he's had enough for now. After this, and that kingler who pinched him for laughing at you, I think he'll have learned his lesson.]"

"[Heh, you say that when it's Piplup…]" Pikachu mumbled.

She gave him a slightly sheepish grin. "[… A bit of hopeful wishing, but you know…]" She turned to Oshawott, who was still halfway incased in ice, and made her ear fluff glow. "[Er, here, let me help you outta that.]"

"[Oh, um… I'll help, too,]" Meloetta added, concentrating, as if to use Confusion.

"[Oh, heehee, thanks~]" Oshawott chimed, clearly pleased at having two girls cater to him.

Pikachu wondered if he should help Piplup out, instead. Before he could, though, Togekiss wandered over.

"[Er… shall I take Piplup away to… thaw for a little bit?]" Togekiss suggested awkwardly. "[Literally and perhaps a bit metaphorically?]"

"[Huh? Oh, sure, Togekiss,]" Pikachu replied.

She smiled lightly. "[Oh, thank you, sweetie.]" She began to slide Piplup's icy body elsewhere, with a push.

"[No problem. After all, the less time he spends around Meloetta, the better…]"

"[Oh, yes, definitely. Most definitely…]"

As she pushed the smaller bird away, and Buneary and Meloetta got to work on freeing Oshawott, Pikachu noticed that most of the others had been watching the fiasco, including the trainers.

His face warmed in embarrassment. Tsk, he hated being at the center of drama. It wasn't as awkward as yesterday, when he'd publically announced his new relationship, but still…

"Man, are those two ever gonna stop fighting?" Ash said, exasperatedly looking between the two water-types.

"Somehow, I doubt it…" Dawn muttered.

"They're almost as much of a kid as you, Ash," Iris said, shrugging cheekily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash said with a pout.

Cilan chuckled. "It's okay. I'm sure Piplup and Oshawott will simmer down once we get ourselves going to find some onix!" he said.

Ash paused. "… Oh yeah… I forgot that's why we came here," he said with a chuckle.

Iris, Dawn and Cilan gave him a look of disbelief.

"… It's the whole reason you wanted to come in the first place…" Cilan mumbled.

"Why am I not surprised?" Dawn muttered, giving Ash a raised eyebrow.

"Not just a kid, but a goldfish, too," Iris snarked.

Pikachu cringed lightly. He was glad the trainers didn't know about his bad memory, then. He could only imagine what they would say…

Ash frowned at them. "Hey, I spent so long swimming and stuff that I just forgot! I don't even remember the last time I was at a beach and I didn't do any training."

"That's for sure," Dawn said.

"Heh, well, we did have a lot of fun," Iris replied. "It's fun hanging out with you when you're not obsessed with training and travelling."

"Same at you, Iris," Ash remarked. It was hard to tell if he was being sassy, or if he meant it. "That said, I can't wait to see myself some onix!"

"Well, once everyone's cleaned their plates…" Cilan started, "we'll go look for some! And I'll bet there'll be a smorgasbord of the big fellas!"

"I hope the special one's there, too!" Ash added.

Iris chuckled awkwardly. "Y-Yeah… maybe…" she muttered.

Pikachu huffed through his nose. Well, as fun as playing on the beach had been, he had to admit that he was pretty interested in this onix safari, too. It would be the perfect chance to hang out with everyone. Especially Buneary!

Yeah, in fact, he could feel his excitement growing already! He was going to love this trip!

TO BE CONTINUED!

Finished: 01/09 (September)/2019

Word count: 8,848

VGS2's pointy notes: What a wacky life that rabbit has lead! Lord only knows what would have happened if those guys had succeeded in getting her onto Team Rocket. Probably no shipping with mice, that's for sure. Unless it's one of those realities where Ash does something completely different in his adventure, yet everything goes the exact same way, somehow. You know the kind I mean. XP

Y'know, I forgot to mention it last chapter (as I often do, lol)… but I went back and fixed up Meloetta's section in chapter 10: Listening To Wisdom. I did this because, when this fic was Game-Changer, I didn't think she would be very important, so I didn't give her much personality.

Ever since the fic evolved into Difference-Maker, though, Meloetta's been vastly changed and made more important for reasons. 'Cos of that, the chappie became a bit outdated, hence why I went back and took a sledgehammer and some glue to it. If you have some spare time, feel free to go back and look at the timid vocaloid all you want. :D

Shameless promotion: Today, I'm gonna give another shout out to ya boi J'LoBuizel! Right now, he's doing a co-written fic with a friend of his from Deviant Art. It's called 'Let's Go Rubberchu', and features a Pikachu made of rubber, who no one in his home likes. It has angst and may eventually have drama, so it's lookin' good, so far! There may even be shipping at some point, so here's hoping!

Other than that, he's made quite a lotta stuff which is in desperate need of reviewing, for sure! His fics generally go for goofy, fun times with a fair share of fluff. Kind of reminds me of MewLover54's older stuff in a way, so if you like that guy, I'm sure you'll love J'Lo!

Be sure to go read and review his stuff!

Fun mistake/s of the day: #1: *VGS2 forgets to note that the humans are wearing swimsuits in the previous chapter*

(Whoops… Guess they're going swimming while clothed. XD Unless they're skinny-dipping…? O,o Either way, I should go fix that.)

#2: "[Eheh, yeah… met too, honestly.]"

(Pikachu knows the mind of a common Megaman enemy all too well.)

#3: 'From his language, Buneary guessed that he was an… ekake'

(Is he from Team Meanies, or what? "Kekekeke!")

#4: 'She followed him as he walked through Castelia City's streets.'

(Lol, he grew feet and walked, apparently. Is he a snivy?)

#5: "[Anyway, we're almost at the hanging]"

(Look what happens when I get mildly distracted while writing. Buneary gets taken to a public execution. XD Guess this is how the first chapter of that betrayal fic I made began.)

#6: '"[Ooh, and she's a pretty girl, too!]" the rattata added, stepping into view from behind her.'

(So what, can she can see out of her ass, now? What the hell… XD Must be a similar case to Daisy's trophy in some versions of Melee, with that third eye of hers.)

#7: 'Of all the boys she'd had a chance with… why oh why did it have to be Team Rocket!?'

(The one she crushed on was the Team Rocket? She must have really bad taste to go for those three. That said, maybe they were in disguise? XP)

#8: 'Still constricted by Buneary, She cried even harder.'

(She constricted herself with some appendage, or another.)

#9: "[Until Master gets back, how's about we three guys and the girl have a little… fun with her…?]"

(The girl's going to have fun with herself? No wonder that rattata was so excited, eh? :P)

#10: 'All the color had drained form his gface.'

(Only once the color drained must you form the gface. Whatever that means. XP)

#11: "[Ohh, I think I might have a bi of an idea…]"

(Right after hearing about Pikachu's old friend, Rattata, too. I can only imagine what's going on in Buneary's head right now.)

#12: "[You were thinking weeiird things about my fluff-less boy, weren't you~?]"

(If you mean his future kid with you, then perhaps so! As an egg or a pichu, of course. And not a naked buneary… I hope.)

#13: "[Heehee, ho knew my Pikachu was such a perrrrv~?]"

(Oh, I'll bet. XD)

#14: 'Stunfisk didn't seem too phased.'

(He isn't in any hurry to go to the next phase, I guess.)

#15: 'All the while, her heart was swimming with happiness, and not just because of their faster speed,'

(Buneary loves nothing more than going faster on her sandcastle.)

#16: 'With Buneary behind him, Pikachu was walking along the really long sandcastle everyone had helped to build, investigating the finished product.'

(Kind of makes it sound like he's walking on the sandcastle. Don't think that'll make him very popular with his friends. XD)

#17: 'Dawn said, admiring the andcastle.'

(After all, it's much better than the orcastle. )

#18: "I couldn't make a better castle if I tried sand wall"

(Another one of my 'cocked up after deleting something' mistakes! Sounds like an attack Mega Man could use, much like his Ice Wall. I even mentioned Dr. Zag- Er, Dr. Wily's castle in this sentence, too!)

#19: 'He had to watch his diet, no mater the cost.'

(When one has to stop spending so much money on costly prostitutes that they have to go on a diet...)

#20: 'That is, until Buneary had dragged her back to the group for her own group.'

(Buneary likes taking people from other groups to shove into hers. Even though she didn't like it when Ekans did the same thing to her. What a hypocrite!)

#21: 'The singer shrieked and turned invisible. Through her invisible body, Pikachu saw Meloetta'

(Oh, look! Now Piplup and Oshawott don't have to fight over who gets to date Meloetta. XD)

#22: 'Buneary also yelped and swiveled around to see what was going on. Through her invisible body, Pikachu saw Oshawott,'

(Invisible Buneary, huh? Oh dear. XD Then again, it's not like she would see much. What is this, Spiritual Successor?)

#23: "[If you bully, you get bullies]"

(Buneary's about to get her gang to mess Piplup up. That is, her gang of Mario enemies who like shoving people into lava.)

Well, thanks for reading, you guys! Hope you review, and tata for now! c:

Next up: Rocking with some Onix!