Episode #84: Manny and...Buneary?!

On their way to Sunyshore City and Rain's final gym battle, they noticed the sky getting darker on the horizon that they were facing. They were still on Route 222, which was the only way to get to Sunyshore City, and it was almost nightfall.

"We should rest here," Rain said.

They all agreed as they set their belongings on the ground. Jessica almost knocked over her Ribbon Cup, which she had in her backpack and saved it. She smiled, knowing that she did a good job at the Grand Festival.

"I'm proud of you, Jessica," Donovan said.

"Yeah, you were incredible out there," Rain said.

Jessica was flattered that she did a good job, despite the challenging circumstances. Rain pulled out a wrapped up tent from his backpack and began to set it up.

"Hey, Manny," Rain said. "Get us some firewood, will you?"

"Why do I have to do it?!" Manny asked.

"Because every time we set up, you're stuck with the tent while I have to get firewood. This time, you're getting it."

Manny sulked and walked off, doing what Rain told him to do. Donovan decided to help out with Rain while Jessica thought of a way to carry her Ribbon Cup so that it wouldn't get damaged. Manny continued through the forest while still being a bit mad at Rain for acting like he was boss of him.

"Man, when did he become boss of me all of a sudden?" Manny asked himself. "I'm a good guy, but I hate going out at dusk. Man when I get back with the wood..."

He suddenly heard some Pokémon fighting in the distance and heard numerous cries of "Bun, Buneary" coming from the same spot.

"Buneary?" Manny asked.

He decided to take a look at what was going on over in the distance. He saw numerous Pokémon, all of the same species; brown-colored rabbit Pokémon with tan patches of fur along its lower body, feet and the tips of its ears, one of which was standing straight up, while the other was flopped onto its head. One Buneary was fighting another, and the one with the gray band across her left arm was tiring out fast.

"This has to be a leadership fight!" Manny thought.

He noticed the gray band on the tired Buneary's arm and immediately recognized it.

"No way," he thought. "It can't be!"

The tired Buneary was knocked against the tree by the leader's Jump Kick attack, falling to the ground, unable to battle. The leader laughed and insulted the weakened Buneary as it walked off. The rest of the group soon followed, while Buneary just lay there, knocked out. It regained consciousness and rolled over, looking up at the nearly night sky. It soon saw Manny looking down upon it. Buneary, like Manny, recognized him immediately.

"Buneary?" Manny asked.

Buneary was happy to see him. She jumped up, but flopped over, still weak from her battle earlier.

"Relax," he said. "I know you're excited to see me, but you need a rest."

Buneary lay on the ground, doing what he said.

"It has to be at least five years since we met. I remember so much from back then. It was because of you that my old Nosepass evolved into a Probopass. Say, would you like to meet my friends?"

Buneary looked up at him in confusion. They made a promise years ago, but since they were here now, she might as well hold her end of the promise. She stood up, nearly falling over and hopped over to him. Manny picked her up and placed her on his shoulder.

"If it's all right with you, I'd like to get some firewood for my friend's campfire. Is that okay?"

"Bun, buneary!" she replied.

The two went off in search of firewood, since Manny was already wasting time. Buneary smiled, excited that her old friend found her again. Once night came around, the rest of the gang was still waiting for Manny to get back. Rain was impatient as he wondered why he sent him after all.

"Maybe I should have gotten the firewood after all," Rain said to himself.

Suddenly, Manny came back with firewood in his hands and a Buneary on his shoulder. He and Buneary both smiled, but Rain wasn't pleased.

"All right, where were you?" Rain asked, annoyed. "An hour you were gone looking for stupid...er...What's that you got there?"

"Oh, this little gal?" Manny asked. "This is my friend, Buneary."

"Bun bun," she said.

Rain opened his Pokédex to check her out. He had no clue why Manny would bother to search for one, though.

"BUNEARY: THE RABBIT POKÉMON. BUNEARY SLAMS ITS FOES BY USING ITS EARS, RELEASING ENOUGH FORCE TO MAKE EVEN THE TOUGHEST OF MEN CRY IN PAIN. ITS EARS ARE ALSO USED TO SENSE DANGER, PERKING THEM UP TO SHOW THAT ITS AWARE OF SOMETHING. ON COLD NIGHTS, IT'LL TUCK ITS HEAD INTO ITS FUR BELOW."

"Wait," Rain said, realizing a very shocking fact. "MANNY LIKES A POKÉMON THAT ISN'T HIS PROBOPASS?!?!"

"AND SINCE WHEN WAS THAT A CRIME, JERK?!?!?!" Manny snapped.

"BUN, BUN!!!" Buneary snapped as well.

Jessica giggled while Manny sat down, letting Buneary rest next to him. He began to set up the campfire.

"She's not mine," Manny said. "She's a friend I knew a long time ago, when I was thirteen. I met her when my Probopass and I were training on top of Mt. Coronet. I found her being abused by a pack of her own kind and now this is where we stand.”

“So what was that moment like?” Jessica asked.

Manny sighed as he looked at Buneary, who didn't mind him telling his story.

“Well, it was five years ago," Manny said. "I captured a Nosepass, since I was aware of the awesome might of my Probopass....”

---------------------------------------

Manny began his story when he was thirteen at his small house at Floaroma Town. Kira was there as well, mocking him for evolving his Nosepass. She wanted him to have something cute, like her Pichu, but he wanted a Probopass, and nothing else.

“Why do you want a Probopass?” Kira asked Manny. “They're ugly, gross, and absolutely weak!”

“They are not!” Manny snapped with his Nosepass next to him. “They are awesome beyond words! Soon, I'll have the greatest force on the entire planet, and you're not going to stop me!”

Manny's Nosepass was his previous top partner, prior to evolution. He was a big, blue Moai statue with black, squinty eyes and a large, red nose, as well as holes on the sides of its head, the inside flat part of its arms, and the soles of its feet. Manny and Nosepass were good friends and they wouldn't go apart for nothing.

“Why can't you have a cute Pokémon for once, like my darling Pichu over here,” Kira asked.

She pointed to her Pichu, who was playing with a big, red, rubber ball as it rolled away, while Pichu went after it.

“Aww, isn't she cute!” she said happily.

“You know, I don't have to have cute Pokémon like you. Heck, I think Probopass is as cute as he is already!”

“Puh-lease! Probopass? Cute? Yeah, Nosepass is ugly enough.”

Manny stormed off to Mt. Coronet, where he needed to train his Probopass for battle so he could evolve. Kira went to Pichu, as she played with him some more.

Manny took a long trek to get to Mt. Coronet, which wasn't too far off from where he was. The range of Mt. Coronet, and its evolutions, stretched to the bicycling path nearby. He arrived there and prepared to battle with other Pokémon nearby.

“All right, this should be good enough for where you can evolve!“ Manny asked. “Do you feel any magnetism here?”

Nosepass nodded a little.

“Good, so we'll battle here!”

They soon saw a white horse Pokémon with fire along the back of its body, mane and tail. It resembled more of a baby pony, than an adult one.

“Ah, a Ponyta!” Manny said. “You can handle him! Use Thunder Wave!"

Nosepass fired a Tnuderwave that paralyzed Ponyta, who couldn't move now.

"Now, use Tackle!" Manny ordered

Nosepass charged in with a tackle attack, knocking Ponyta over.

"Now, finish it with Zap Cannon!"

Nosepass fired a powerful electric ball that struck Ponyta and knocked it over, knocking it out.

"Good job, Nosepass!" Manny cheered. He soon realized that nothing was going on. "Nothing, huh?"

Nosepass shook itself, saying no. Manny sighed as they went further towards the mountain. The farther they went, the more Nosepass felt the magnetism near Mt. Coronet. They kept going ahead until they heard a battle going on with other Pokémon. They took a peek as they saw a group of Buneary battling. One Buneary was wearing out, while the other, most likely the leader, was still fresh as ever.

"Wonder what's going on here."

The leader jumped up and knocked the weak Buneary into a nearby tree, knocking her out. The leader laughed as he kicked her into the tree some more.

"This is just cruel!" Manny said. "I don't care what she is, no Pokémon deserves to be treated like that! Nosepass, use Discharge!"

Nosepass released an electrical shock at the Buneary group, who jumped back in shock at the sudden attack.

"All right, you giant balls of dust!" Manny snapped. "Leave that little poor Buneary alone!"

The leader just shrugged it off and ordered the rest of the group to leave. The weak Buneary slowly got up and saw her savior before her.

"Bu-Buneary?" Buneary asked.

"Yeah, I saved you," he said. "Don't take it personally, all right? I like you, but I don't like you THAT much."

Buneary smiled as she hopped off. Manny wondered why they were fighting her, but he didn't care. He just wanted his Probopass to evolve. They went off elsewhere, most likely further towards the mountain. After a long walk, they approached the cycling path.

"We're literally right near the mountain range!" Manny said. "All right, we need to find a good Pokémon to battle with!”

They suddenly saw a small Stunky pop out, leaving Manny to feel a little nervous.

"Nosepass," Manny asked. "Can you get this thing out of my sight?"

Probopass nodded and shot a Zap Cannon at it, knocking it away, but Stunky wasn't out of it yet. It turned around while Manny fled in fear. Nosepass shot a Discharge at Stunky, hitting it hard and knocking it out. Manny saw this and ran back to his Nosepass.

"Nothing yet, huh?" Manny asked.

Nosepass shook its body in response. Manny was getting annoyed that it was taking so long to get his prized Pokémon. He then heard the same group of Pokémon that he heard earlier, causing him to go over and see what the whole commotion was about. He snuck over to see the Buneary Gang attacking a poor, defenseless Geodude. Geodude, despite overpowering them in type, were all getting mauled by the Buneary gang.

"Why are they attacking that Geodude?" Manny asked.

One Buneary, probably the same one they met before, was a little nervous about doing this, but one Buneary pushed her ahead. She gulped nervously as she Jump Kicked the Geodude, resulting in her falling over. The Geodude ran off while the Buneary gang laughed in victory, save for one. The weak Buneary wasn't much of a fighting Pokémon. The same Buneary who attempted to get her to battle reprimanded her, leaving Buneary to feel a little bit upset. The same Buneary pushed her down and jumped on her. The other Buneary followed suit, leaving Manny to become a little angry.

"I know I don't like cute Pokémon," Manny said. "But this is just wrong! Nosepass, use Discharge on them, but spare the one they're attacking!"

Nosepass fired a Discharge attack that struck all the Buneary, but spared the one that was being attacked. Buneary looked up at her gang members who were being attacked. They all fell to the ground.

"I told you before to knock it off with that!” Manny snapped. “She did nothing to deserve this!”

They all looked at him and his Nosepass, as if they wanted another fight. Manny smiled as they both prepared for the worst. The Buneary gang charged after Nosepass while the weak Buneary went off to hide somewhere.

"Nosepass, use Sandstorm!" Manny ordered.

Nosepass spun around and released sand that slowly became a tornado, picking up all the Buneary and sending them into the sky. The sandstorm stopped, while all the Buneary were floating in the air.

"Now, use Discharge on all of them!"

Nosepass released electricity and zapped all of the Buneary in the air. The weak Buneary was amazed at their strength. The gang fled in fear of the powerful Nosepass, but the weak Buneary decided to stay by. Suddenly, Nosepass began to glow brightly, leaving Manny amazed that his dream was coming true.

"Nosepass?" he said excitedly.

Nosepass began to change its form, turning into his favorite Pokémon: Probopass. The evolution was complete, leaving Manny to jump onto his back, but unfortunately, his privates seem to have connected with the pointy mini nose on its back.

"I...forgot about...those..." Manny said in pain.

Manny fell over while Buneary giggled in the distance. She hopped out and went over to her hero, smiling at him, knowing that she was safe because of him.

"Bun, buneary!" Buneary said happily.

"Oh, it was nothing!" Manny said, getting up from the fall.

Buneary admired him so much that she wished she was brave like Manny was. She pointed to the only Poké Ball he had, leaving Manny to wonder if she really meant what she was trying to tell him.

"Do you...Do you want to come with me?" Manny asked.

"Buneary!" she said happily.

"Well...I was only here to evolve my Nosepass. I don't really have any other Poké Balls with me, I'm afraid. But, I will keep you in mind."

He pulled out a gray band and strapped it around Buneary's arm.

"If I ever go on a journey, then I want you to be on my team! How does that sound?!"

"Bun, Buneary!" Buneary said, jumping up and down.

"I'm sorry I can't take you with me right now. I promise, the next time we meet, you're going on my team!"

Buneary jumped up and kissed him on the cheek, bouncing off into the distance afterwards. Manny held his cheek where he was kissed, wondering if he really wanted a cute Pokémon to share the spotlight with Probopass.

"It's a thought," he said to himself. "Come on, let's head home!"

He went on Probopass's back safely this time and rode off to Floaroma Town with it. Manny cheered in success of his super awesome Pokémon, one that he could consider “cool.”

--------------------------------------------------------

Manny sighed as he finished telling the story about how he met Buneary. He looked over at her, watching her sleep after a long story.

"Well, she's going to be mine now," Manny said, "I guess I should put her where I know she'll be safe."

Manny took out his spare Poké Ball and poked her with it, sending her inside as it wiggled around. Rain choked on his marshmallow in shock at Manny's new capture. The ball stopped, confirming the capture with a ping.

"MANNY CAUGHT A CUTE POKÉMON?!" Rain said in shock. "No, this is just...GAH, HOW COULD HE BE SO..AH! This is just a dream; a bad dream! I can wake up from this....OH WHAT'S THE USE, I CAN'T GET UP FOR THE LIFE OF MEEEEEE!!!"

"Uhh, Rain, I can catch Pokémon besides my Probopass, you know," Manny said. "He's godly awesome, but I promised Buneary that she'd come with me when we reunited."

"I hope you're aware that Buneary evolves into a Lopunny, right?" Donovan said.

Manny looked at Buneary's Poké Ball, wondering if he was willing to accept a Lopunny should she evolve into one.

"I'll make sure that won't happen," Manny said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be somewhere."

Manny took Buneary's Poké Ball and walked off.

"Aren't you going to bed with us?" Jessica asked.

"I'll join you later," he replied. "Good night, anyway."

They both wondered where he was going off to, but they had a good idea of where he might be heading off to. They continued along the dark forest, full of Murkrow, which they could hear their cries in the distance, as they eventually saw the Buneary gang from before. Manny smiled as he let Buneary out safely. Buneary gave off a happy welcome, but Manny shushed her.

"Your 'buddies' are beyond that patch of grass," Manny whispered. "You want revenge, don't you?"

Buneary looked over to where the gang was sleeping, but she was nervous about this.

"Come on, do you really want to join up with them?" Manny asked.

Buneary knew that she hated them, but she wondered if this was right or not. She could remember the abuse she got with them and really wanted payback, despite it not being her thing. She nodded in response and smiled, knowing she would have fun.

"Good," Manny said. "Here's what I want you to do..."

Manny whispered in her ears the plan that he had. Buneary smiled as she bounced high and Jump Kicked the nearest Buneary hard. She bounced around a Jump Kicked any Buneary that was nearby. The leader tried to get his minions to attack, but he was knocked in the face as he fell down. Manny laughed in joy as he took out Probopass's Cherish Ball.

"My awesome Probopass,” Manny said. "I'd be stupid to leave you out of all the fun! Go out there and use Discharge!"

Probopass came out and shocked the whole Buneary gang, save for his own. The gang retreated while Manny's Buneary went after them. Manny laughed in joy.

"Buneary, come back!" Manny said, laughing.

Buneary hopped back and kept jumping up and down excitedly.

"That was so awesome!" Manny said. "Ah, revenge is so sweet. Let's head back, I'm tired."

They all headed back to camp on Manny's Probopass and prepared for tomorrow morning. It would come very quickly, as would Rain's gym battle.

---------------------------

Once morning arrived, the gang set off to Sunyshore City as they saw it in the distance. Rain went ahead and saw the solar powered roads that went through the city. They also saw the lighthouse that was on the coastal shore of the city. Everyone was excited to see this famous Sinnoh City.

"Sunyshore City!" Rain said.

"Are you ready to get your final badge?" Manny asked.

"You bet I am!"

Rain was so excited to face the strongest Gym Leader in Sinnoh for his last badge. The Sinnoh League was a week away, leaving Rain no time to spare. With a Gym Badge and a boat ride away from the league itself, Rain was determined more than ever to get his battle started!


To Be Continued!