#johnnyd2

The Cerulean Gym was almost exactly as it was the last time they came. The amber of the amber-and-raspberry dome shone a bit more brightly, perhaps, and the Dewgong seemed to have gotten a fresh coat of paint, but it stood out as always, a colorful cake of a building in an open field. And Pikachu couldn't wait to get inside.

"Pikachupi! Pikachupi!" the Mouse Pokémon cried excitedly from his perch on Pikapi's shoulder. His Trainer chuckled softly and reached up to scratch under Pikachu's chin.

"Excited to see Misty, buddy?" he asked with a big, toothy grin. "She'll love seeing you again. And I can't wait to surprise her!"

Ah yes...the plan. The stupid plan. Pikapi had gotten wind from his mother that Pikachupi's sisters were out of town on some photo shoot or other. Instead of calling her up to make plans together, Pikapi thought it would be fun to drop by unannounced. As far as surprises went, it was innocuous enough, but "sneaky" wasn't something that Pikapi could often pull off without things going wrong.

At the moment, however, Pikachu was too thrilled at the idea of seeing Pikachupi again to care. So he held his tongue as Pikapi raced around the Gym to the back door, made their way inside with the key that Pikachupi's mother kept "for emergencies only," and crept through the halls as quietly as he could.

Pikachupi was not to be found in the kitchen. She wasn't in her room upstairs. The living room and the basement aquariums were empty. That left only one place she could be: the main Battling pool. As they approached it, they could hear splashing, laughter, and any number of Pokémon calls.

"She must be training," guessed Pikapi. He tiptoed the rest of the way, and when they reached the doorway, he quickly ducked behind a bench covered in stacks of towels. He and Pikachu peaked out from behind the tallest stack to take a look at what Pikachupi was up to.

She had seven Pokémon with her in the pool, and they weren't training. They were playing. Starmie leapt from the water onto the floating platforms scattered about its surface and then back into the water again, spinning rapidly all the while. Corsola and Kingdra floated lazily along the surface, contented and sleepy smiles on their faces. Azurill, too small to swim still, bounced excitedly around the pool's edge. Psyduck, too incompetent to swim still, stared blankly at the water lapping up on the shallow end, his water wings apparently giving him no confidence to test his luck. And Gyarados and Milotic swam beneath the surface, one sharply, the other elegantly, but both quick in their movements and precise whenever they had to turn around.

Pikachupi was on Milotic's back, a breather in her mouth. Even with her under the water, Pikachu could spy some changes in her. She wore her hair longer now, and it swept forward over her shoulder at the ends even when wet. It seemed she'd grown a few inches too, though Pikachu guessed Pikapi was finally taller than her. And there was something strange about her swimsuit: she didn't have one. Odd. While Pikachu never quite understood humans' need for clothing, they seemed to put great store by it, yet Pikachupi didn't appear bothered. Maybe it's one of those 'fashion' things...

From out of the corner of his eye, Pikachu caught Pikapi's reaction. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly. He'd had this reaction to Pikachupi before, but there was something different this time. A flush ran across his cheeks and nose, and there was a glassiness to his eyes that hadn't been there before. His breath also seemed trapped in his throat. Interesting...maybe he's finally grown up...

"Pikachu?"

The Mouse Pokémon jumped, as did his Trainer. Neither of them had seen Azurill hop over. Her call hadn't drawn anyone else's attention, but Pikapi was nervous all the same. "Hi, Azurill," he whispered. "Go away now. Keep hopping," he made a shooing gesture with his hands, but the little polka dot stayed put, regarding them with a puzzled look.

"Go on, Azurill," said Pikachu. "We want to surprise everyone!"

"Oh...why?"

"Because Pikapi thought it'd be fun."

"Why?"

"Because he's dense."

"Why?"

Pikachu sighed. Togepi may have gotten into trouble, but at least she didn't talk back like this. "Because-"

"Pik? Mistress's Ashboy?" Psyduck had waddled over. And unlike Azurill, he wasn't quiet.

Starmie, Corsola, and Kingdra turned in their direction, Milotic and Gyarados broke the surface, and Pikachupi, once she saw them, let out a deafening cry: "Ash!?"

The gig up, Pikapi crawled out from behind the towels. "H-h-hi, Misty," he stammered, offering her a nervous wave. "I, ah...surprise!"

"Yeah...surprise," Pikachupi said cautiously as she slid off Milotic's back onto the floor. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just...well, a surprise. How did you get in?"

"My mom's key," Pikapi held it up. "So...um...what are you up to?"

"Oh, we're just taking a day to relax. Milotic and Gyarados like to swim together, but they don't always play nice, so I like to be around just in case they..." Pikachupi trailed off. Pikachu could see her taking in the full picture of Pikapi standing before her, blush on his face, mouth agape. She glanced down at herself. A light went off behind her eyes, as if she had just remembered something. With a high-pitched "eep!" she dashed behind Milotic. "Get out of here, Ash!" she screamed.

"Huh? What..." realization came to his face too. "Oh. Oh. OH! I'm sorry, Misty! I didn't mean -"

"How long were you sitting back there, you little creep!?"

"I wasn't - I - I mean, I just wanted -"

"You-you saw everything!"

"But I-I-I-I...what are you doing, anyway!?"

Pikachupi stuck her head - just her head - out. "It's none of your business, Ketchum!"

"She's got a point, Pikapi," Pikachu observed, but Pikapi didn't seem to hear.

"Well, it's really weird!"

"It's just something I like to do sometimes when it's just me and my Pokémon! Excuse me if I have something private I do to calm down!"

Pikapi opened his mouth to argue, but something held him back. He finally turned his head away from Pikachupi. He seemed embarrassed and ashamed. When Pikachu looked over at Pikachupi, he saw that she had looked away too, her scowl softened into something pensive.

"They never change," Psyduck whispered to Pikachu, a snicker to his voice. Pikachu shoved him aside; he wanted all his attention free to keep an eye on his two favorite humans.

The silence between them seemed to hold for five full minutes. It was Pikachupi who broke it: "I...could you hand me a towel? We can talk in the locker room."

That was easier said than done; it seemed Pikapi had decided not to look at Pikachupi anymore, which made for a clumsy effort handing over a towel. Pikachupi had to step out from behind Milotic and snatch it from his hands before she could wrap it around herself. "Let's go," she grumbled, taking Pikapi by the hand.

That made his face go completely red, and he still wouldn't look at her. "I, uh - I brought some of my Water-types to...to meet you. Could I let them out before we t-t-talk?"

"Go ahead."

"T-thanks," he stammered, before releasing Greninja and Oshawott. He and Pikachupi disappeared behind the door to the lockers.

"Howdy, folks," Oshawott greeted Pikachupi's Pokémon. No one replied; all their focus was trained on the door. Even Greninja, not knowing Pikachupi, had picked up on the situation, and eyed the door with a tense look and folded arms.

"They aren't going to fight again, are they?" asked Azurill.

"All day," Psyduck chuckled. Gyarados blasted him into the wall with a Hydro Pump.

Psyduck was wrong. Though the muffled conversation coming through the door did get loud at a certain point, it lasted no longer than ten minutes. When they came back out, Pikachupi still had the towel wrapped about her, and Pikapi had changed; he now had a towel wrapped around his waist, and nothing else on. "So...you're sure you want me to do this with you?" he asked. His stammer had gone, but there was still a shaking quality to his voice.

Pikachupi seemed nervous too; the smile she gave him was small, and her cheeks were red. "Yes. I'm sure," she turned to face the Pokémon. "Back in the water, everyone!"

The water of the Cerulean Gym pool was unlike any other water Pikachu had swam in. It was salty and treated with just a bit of chlorine. And always filled with good friends. Greninja and Gyarados fell into a rather epic water battle. Milotic delighted Azurill and Oshawott by giving them rides around the pool. Starmie resumed its spins. Corsola contented itself with pushing Psyduck around in his inner tube. And Pikachu enjoyed a rousing game of tag with Kingdra.

Pikapi and Pikachupi seemed nervous when they shed their towels and stepped back into the pool. They swam around and occasionally dotted upon one of the Pokémon, but they always maintained a good distance from one another. Pikachupi tried to focus on getting to know Greninja and Oshawott.

"Well, I'm sure Ash is glad to have you back," Pikachu heard her say to Greninja as he swam by, "but it was good of you to stay to help finish off the Giant Rock." The Ninja Pokémon gave her a polite nod before diving back into the water. Oshawott, free from any competition for attention, jumped into Pikachupi's arms and snuggled his head into the crook of her neck.

"Oh, you are the cutest little thing!" she cooed at the Sea Otter Pokémon. He was delighted, but Pikachu couldn't help but feel a pang in his chest.

"What about me?" he cried.

Pikachupi giggled, reached out, and pulled Pikachu into her embrace. "Don't worry, Pikachu," she assured him, "you're still my Pika-pal!" All was forgiven. Pikachu and Oshawott snuggled her face from either side.

"Well, Ash," she called out between giggles, "it looks like now there's two of your Pokémon who like me best."

Pikapi glared at her. "Says who?" he snapped.

Pikachupi glared back. "Says me."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yea-AAAUGH!" Pikapi had dove under the water and swam over; he pulled Pikachupi down by her legs. She let Oshawott and Pikachu go as she sank, and they watched from the surface as Pikapi pushed down on her shoulders to launch his head up out of the water. Pikachu feared, when Pikachupi swam up as well, that they would start to fight, but she came up laughing. They began their own game of tag, splashing at each other and giggling all the while.