Arc I: A Different Meeting

Chapter 1: Starting The Story

Pikachu couldn't stop beaming, no matter how hard he tried. He was sitting in the pleasant living room of Cynthia's beach villa, along with many others. Cynthia, her butler, Jervis, Ash, Iris, Axew, Cilan... and most surprisingly of all, Dawn and Piplup, too! Two friends he hadn't seen since he'd been in Sinnoh a few months ago!

The mouse was so happy he could barely stand it. What a great surprise! He'd thought that coming over to Undella Town for the tournament would've just been a boring event for more endless training... but clearly he'd been wrong! As far as friends went, his friends from Dawn's team were easily his closest, too, so he was psyched!

Having gotten their usual introductions out of the way, Dawn began to speak. "I've gotta say, it's really cool to see you again, Ash!" She winked. "I'll bet you're really becoming an A-class trainer, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm doing awesome!" Ash replied hot-bloodedly.

"Indeed. His recipe's really coming along!" Cilan agreed, smiling pleasantly.

"Y'know. When he's not being a little kid," Iris snarked, shrugging sassily.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash replied, sounding vaguely irritated.

"You know exactly what that means, you little kid."

Cilan smiled sheepishly. "Yes, he's… perhaps a little bit of an incomplete salad in that department," he said. "Missing some ingredients…"

Dawn giggled. "Sounds about right~"

Ash huffed half-heartedly. "Enough...! I'm going to the bathroom..." He got up off the couch and walked towards the door.

"Do you know where it is, Ash?" Cynthia asked.

He nodded eagerly. "Of course! Be right back." He left the room. Moments later, the front door could be heard opening and closing.

Everyone in the room stared after him, pulling various looks of exasperation. Pikachu especially. Good lord, he really needed to get that guy on a leash.

Cynthia sighed. "Jervis, please could you go and fetch him?"

"Of course, Madam..." he replied, starting to get up.

"Ughh, no, don't worry about it," Iris replied, getting off the couch. "I may as well go get him. I am basically his babysitter, after all…"

"Very well, Madam," Jervis replied, sitting down again.

The dragon master in training - as she liked to be called - got up and left after Ash. The other humans began to talk amongst themselves about Dawn's contesting.

Coming over to sit next to Pikachu, Piplup scratched his head. "[... Er... is Ash okay?]" the penguin asked.

"[Yeah, don't worry,]" Pikachu replied with an exhale. "[He's just gotten a bit... um... 'whatever word you wanna use for it' since we left Sinnoh. No biggie.]"

"[Oh... Worrying.]" Piplup huffed. "[Clearly, being away from me and Dawn has done him no good at all!]"

"[Heh, clearly.]" Pikachu shrugged. "[Oh well. How's everyone doing? No thanks to Ash and his apparent fear of phones, I haven't heard from you guys in ages!]"

"[We've all been great, thanks! I'm as much of a shining star as always.]"

The mouse snorted. "[I'll bet.]"

"[Pachirisu's as... her as usual. I'm sure you know what I mean.]"

"[Hehe, all too well...]"

"[Quilava's gotten a bit sassy lately, but- Oh! He evolved, too.]"

Pikachu's eyes brightened. "[Huh, really? So quickly?]"

Piplup rolled his eyes. "[He always did love trying to get one up on me all the time.]" He huffed and crossed his arms. "[It means nothing, though! It takes more than that to top me.]"

Pikachu slowly shook his head. "[Still keeping your rivalry streak strong, pal?]"

"[Hey, I didn't start it! He did, by being a jerk.]"

"[Piplup, he was literally just a day old. He didn't know what he did was wrong, yet.]" Unlike Piplup, who should've known better, being around three at the time. Something that most considered a 'young teen age' for pokémon...

"[I was a saint when I was born, so I expected no less from him.]" The penguin paused before tapping his flippers together sheepishly. "[... I mean... I guess I did get a bit out of hand with things, but... you know...]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. Considering how mean he'd been to the baby for the rest of the day, that was a bit of an understatement. Thankfully, Cyndaquil had been a rather hardy baby, everything considered. If he'd been more like other babies Pikachu had taken care of in the past, things might not have worked out so well...

"[A-Anyway!]" Piplup continued. "[Mamoswine's as lecture-happy as ever.]" He looked slightly awkward. "[... Something Togekiss, Pachirisu and Quilava found out about the hard way a few weeks ago...]"

"[... Huh?]"

"[Y-Yeah, and Togekiss is as radiant in contests and as sharp in mind as ever! As one would expect, of course.]"

Shrugging off the dropped subject, Pikachu nodded happily. "[Sounds about right.]"

"[I've even managed to make her come out of her shell a bit more, too! Still a little work to go, though...]"

"[Her... shell?]" Pikachu chuckled and grinned. "[Um, did she devolve, or something?]"

"[Veeeery funny,]" Piplup replied sassily. "[No, I mean she... Ehhh, actually, you'll find out, don't worry. She's not exactly subtle when you poke the right buttons, so to speak.]"

"[Er... alright?]" Honestly, the mouse hadn't known there was a 'shell' for her to come out of. She'd always been so refined and confident. Still, it sounded like good news, so he was glad to hear it all the same.

"[And... yeah! That's about it. We're all doing good!]" Piplup said, smiling.

Pikachu blinked. "[Umm... err...]"

The penguin looked around innocently. "[Something the matter?]"

"[Oh, no, no...]" He slowly tapped his fingers together. "[Um, it's just that... y'know...]"

"[Yeees?]" Piplup asked, gazing at him expectantly.

... Oh. Pikachu saw what he was trying to do, now. Oh no... "[... You forgot Buneary, buddy,]" he sighed.

Piplup gasped with a flipper to his beak. "[Oh, so I did! Man, you noticed it more than me, her own teammate! You must be very, very close indeed! Almost like your hearts are one, or something! Maybe you should act on that!]"

Pikachu felt his face heat up. "[C'mon, Piplup... you're still going on about this? You know she doesn't have any feelings for me.]"

Piplup flailed around flusteredly. "[Yes, she does, Pikachu! Don't tell me that you're still ignoring them!]"

"[Th-There's nothing to ignore, Piplup!]" Pikachu replied awkwardly. "[You've never gotten any good evidence that she does, and neither have I.]"

The penguin dejectedly flopped down onto the couch. "[Ughhh, I can't believe it... you're still being stubborn...]"

"[I-I'm not! I'm being logical! There's a difference, man!]"

"[Yeah... sure...]"

Pikachu slumped in his seat. For crying out loud... Just like in Sinnoh, the penguin still thought that Buneary had a huge crush on him. It didn't make any sense, though! She was affectionate, sure, but that was just in her nature!

His cheeks warmed even more at the thought of the nuzzle-happy rabbit. Most likely because of all the teasing that seemed to follow him whenever she was around. Whether it be Sinnoh or Unova or wherever.

Piplup pushed himself back up. "[Oh, whatever. You'll figure it out soon enough. Anyway, yeah, she's alright. She's really been missing you, though. I swear, the day you left, she cried a literal river!]"

Pikachu smiled softly. "[Heh... sounds like her. She always had been the type to cry at the drop of a hat.]"

Piplup chuckled lightly. "[You're not wrong. I think she cried when Quilava evolved, too. In joy, of course.]"

Pikachu beamed at that, an odd feeling of excitement swelling in his heart. Man, it sounded like she was exactly the same as she'd always been, even after all these months. It was... nice to know. Heck, he wouldn't lie. It was getting him really eager to see her again!

"[Hey there, Piplup!]" Axew said all of a sudden, clambering onto the sofa Pikachu and Piplup were sitting on. "[I'm Axew! Pleased to meet ya! Can we be friends?]" the little dragon said.

"[Huh? Well, sure, kid!]" Piplup replied, smiling. "[Always happy to make a new buddy!]"

"[Heh, I'll leave you two to it, then,]" Pikachu interjected. "[I'm gonna-]"

"[Go find Buneary and talk to her!?]" Piplup asked excitedly.

"[... Go get a drink,]" Pikachu finished, pulling a face. "[Everyone's still in their pokéballs, remember?]"

"[You could still get hers out!]"

"[You're so obsessed, buddy,]" Pikachu replied.

The penguin rolled his eyes. "[You're not obsessed enough…]"

Axew just tilted his head in confusion. "[Huh? Is that a friend of Pikachu's?]"

"[Oh, you have no idea...]" Piplup grumbled. He started talking about the rabbit's apparent feelings. He paused briefly as something seemed to grab his attention in the air above him... but he quickly shook his head dismissively and carried on.

Face warming again, the mouse took that as his cue to escape. The last thing he wanted was Axew innocently pestering him about Buneary.

Making his way down a hallway and up some stairs, Pikachu sighed again. It wasn't like he was against dating the rabbit. It was just that... well, he wouldn't mince words. He was very awkward. If he tried dating someone randomly, he just knew he'd screw it up. So if he ever wanted to plunge into that, he'd need a pretty good reason to do so. Such as him liking her that way and vice versa, which probably wasn't the case. Especially since he'd have to face his friends, afterwards... which would be embarrassing to no end, knowing all of them...

It didn't matter, though. There was no way someone like that would have feelings for him. Well... not secret feelings, anyway. Good lord, no. She was usually very open about her general feelings on matters, so... it just didn't make sense for her to keep something like that hidden.

He smiled. Well, whatever. He was still glad that he was going to see her again. He'd been great friends with her for a long time, and he was sure that wasn't going to change any time soon!

Reaching what appeared to be a bathroom, he went inside and jumped onto the sink. Balancing on the edge, he made a move to turn the faucet on to get at that precious water. He paused, however, when he noticed movement outside the window.

Curious, he jumped over to the window sill and peered outside. He saw Ash wandering around aimlessly.

Because the window was open ajar, Pikachu could hear what his trainer was saying. "Bathroom…! Where are ya!?" Ash called, looking flummoxed. "Man, did they have to put this huge greenhouse room in the way of the bathroom?"

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu called out of the window. "[Ash! Up here!]" he yelled.

Surprised, Ash looked up towards where Pikachu was. He brightened up upon seeing the mouse, who waved at him. "Huh, hey, Pikachu!" he called out. "Any idea how to get outta this room?" His eyes widened. "Wait, that thing you're in kinda looks like a bathroom! Hold on, I'm coming!" Much to Pikachu's amazement, he began to scale the wall, slowly but surely.

Pikachu sighed, though mostly in amusement. Well, nobody could ever call Ash bad at thinking outside of the box, that was for sure. Even if thinking inside of the box wasn't exactly his greatest strength.

… Heh, and suddenly, he knew the first thing he could talk to Buneary about. When she wanted to, she could put out a real good sass, which was always fun to hear.

"Ash…! Where are-" he heard Iris call from outside. She cried out in surprise. "What the heck, Ash, what're you doing up there!?"

"What does it look like, Iris? I'm trying to get to the bathroom!" Ash called back.

"By acting like a mankey?"

"Whatever gets the job done, Iris!"

She groaned exaggeratedly. She huffed, afterwards. "Well, I'll give you one thing. For a complete kid… you're good at climbing!"

"Thanks! … But what's that supposed to mean?"

"Y'know what? I refuse to let such a novice out-do a wild child, like me! Move over!"

Scuffling noises followed. Peering even more through the window, Pikachu saw Iris following Ash's lead on scaling the wall.

The mouse pulled an exasperated face. Maybe he needed two leashes instead of just one...

TO BE CONTINUED!

Finished: 18/05 (May)/2018

Word count: 2,039

VGS2's pointless notes: Surprised to see this fic again? I don't blame ya. It's certainly gone through a rollercoaster ride of changes, hasn't it…? XD

For the longest time, I've been wondering what to do with this fic, as ya know. It began as A Game-Changing Day… then I changed it to Game-Changer… then I cut it short so I could make a completely rebooted version (which you can find on my profile, if ya didn't know already!). Cutting this one short, I gave it a parody ending, but kept all the old content… but then I got childishly salty and cut everything and then made it a self-parodying fic… but now, I finally know what to do with it to make everyone and myself happy. I'm finishing it! With a little extra/altered content, at that!

"What the frick!?" you ask? Well, Game-Changer's changed (fufufu) so much that it barely even resembles the older content that you'll see in this fic. There'll be many similar moments and elements, o'course, but for the most part, it's so different that I figured… why not? I shall complete this, though with a different ending to what was originally planned! As a result, it is now a completely different beast to Game-Changer. Ergo, it is no longer the older version of that fic. It is now Difference-Maker! A fic with a different plot and a different ending to the other fic!

In any case… I hope you enjoy it! c:
(… Though if you've already read most of it, then… I hope you continue to enjoy it, I guess. XD)

Shameless promotion: In this section, I'll be talking about many different authors who also write PikaBun, or similar pokémon stories. or simply those who frequent my reviews section. Whatever I feel like at the time! Though some forewarning: I'm a huge poser, so half the time I'll just read a chapter or two to decide how to describe 'em. So you might not get the full story from just me alone! It'll be up to you to read and review 'em!

For today, however... I shall encourage you to read more of my fics (which makes this more of a self-promotion, but heyho)!

I usually write sappy romance, wacky shenanigans (both in serious fics and in parody fics), heart-pounding drama, and sometimes even oddly lewd stuff, depending on which fic we're talking about! Come and check me out today! After you've finished reading this fic, anyway. Don't want you finding excuses to ditch me, you rascals. XP

Fun mistakes of the day: #1: '"Cilan smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, he's… perhaps a little bit of an complete salad in that department," he said.'

(Cilan's greatest compliment yet. Even with the shoddy grammar.)

#2: 'Ash huffed half-heated.'

(Oh dear. Ash in heat. What a strange and scary image... XD "Awesome! Pheromones!")

#3: "[Man, you noticed it more than I, her own teammate!]"

(Why does he sound so grand, all of a sudden? Is he Spiritual Successor Piplup in disguise?)

#4: "[Oh, whatever. You'lll figure it out son enough.]"

(Pikachu confirmed for Piplup's son! No wonder he was so upset to see him leave at the end of Sinnoh. XD)

#5: "[I'm Axew! Please to meet ya!]"

(If you please Axew, he'll let you meet Ya. Whoever Ya is. XP)

Alrighty, you guys, thanks for reading this grand rubbish! :D And an extra special thanks to everyone who reviews, favourites and follows the fic, too! I may not be able to respond to everyone who does it, but believe me, it's really, really appreciated. Thanks! :P

Tata for now! c:

Next up: Waking up!