"Alright, Buneary, let's battle! Piplup, I'm counting on you!"
Seeing such a cute Pokémon, Dawn couldn't contain her excitement. She sent out Piplup, ready to catch her first Pokémon.
"Piplup~"
Hearing Dawn's call, the little blue penguin, who was enjoying its delicious breakfast, reluctantly walked over and let out a mighty cry at the Buneary. It just wanted to end the battle quickly so it could get back to its food.
"..."
But after a long moment, Dawn's battle request got no response from Buneary. Buneary's big eyes were glued to Pikachu, its face filled with admiration. It completely ignored Dawn.
"Pika?"
When Pikachu looked over, Buneary's cheeks immediately turned bright red. It covered its face with its paws and fidgeted in place.
"Just as I thought, it's mesmerized by Pikachu's charm!" Ash said, scratching the back of his head. He was amazed that this Buneary, just like in the original series, was immediately smitten with Pikachu.
"Waaaaah!"
Suddenly, Brock burst into tears, startling both Dawn and Ash.
"Even Pikachu can find love, but where is my beautiful lady?!" Brock cried out, his voice filled with envy and sadness.
"Oh, come on! Being jealous of a Pikachu? Brock, that's a bit much!" Ash said, shaking his head and patting Brock's shoulder to comfort him. Getting jealous of a little yellow mouse was just ridiculous.
"It loves Pikachu? But they're not the same species. Can they really do that?" Dawn, being a girl, could see Buneary's crush. After all, if the two boys could see it, how could the more perceptive Dawn not?
"Love doesn't need a reason! How touching is it that Buneary can cross different species to fall for Pikachu!" Brock clenched his fists and yelled with a powerful voice, which startled Dawn.
"Brock, don't yell all of a sudden!" she said.
Meanwhile, Ash observed the shy Buneary. If he remembered correctly, this Buneary's strength was not low. Based on its level, it was definitely much higher than Dawn's Piplup. This meant Dawn had no chance of winning. He wondered if he should use Pikachu's good looks to help Dawn catch Buneary.
Just as Ash was thinking, Dawn and Piplup walked directly up to Buneary and issued a challenge.
"Let's battle, Buneary! I'm going to catch you!"
"Bunny~"
Buneary gave one last loving look at Pikachu, then noticed a human blocking its view. Seeing the Poké Ball in Dawn's hand and Piplup next to her, Buneary considered it for a moment. Then it saw Pikachu watching it. Buneary's face turned red, feeling like this was an opportunity to show off. It accepted Dawn's request.
"Piplup, I'm counting on you! Use Peck!"
Piplup's sharp beak glowed white as it charged towards Buneary. But this Buneary was strong. It first gave a little wink towards Pikachu, then, just before Piplup got close, it used Jump Kick to send Piplup flying to the ground.
"You can do it, Piplup! Use Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Piplup!" Piplup got back up and fired a stream of blue bubbles at Buneary.
"Bunny!" Buneary created a ball of ice-blue energy in its mouth, which then turned into a beam of light that froze the incoming Bubble Beam. The bubbles were immediately popped, but the attack still had enough power to hit Piplup and freeze its feet.
"Oh no!" Dawn panicked, not knowing what to do.
Buneary took the opportunity to use Bounce, leaping high into the air and quickly approaching the panicked Piplup. Its two long ears glowed with a rainbow of colors, then curled up like fists as it sat on the immobilized Piplup. It punched Piplup, sending it flying and breaking the ice on its feet.
"You can move now! Let's keep battling, Piplup!" Dawn yelled happily, seeing that Piplup was okay.
But Piplup didn't respond. It swayed unsteadily, its eyes dazed as if it had lost its sense of direction.
"That's Buneary's Dizzy Punch! It makes Piplup confused!" The experienced Brock immediately recognized what was wrong with Piplup.
"Ah! What do we do?" Dawn asked in a panic.
"Just return it to its Poké Ball. It'll get better after a while!" Ash suggested. Unless they had a specific berry that could cure confusion, the only thing to do was to return it to its Poké Ball. Reluctantly, Dawn recalled Piplup.
"Oh, I lost again. It looks like I won't be able to get my first Pokémon," Dawn said, looking down sadly. With Piplup unable to continue, she couldn't catch Buneary.
"That's not necessarily true. You don't always have to use force to catch a Pokémon," Ash said mysteriously, pointing subtly at Pikachu. Buneary was happily doing a victory dance and even winking at Pikachu from time to time.
"Huh?" Dawn touched her chin in thought, confused by Ash's hint.
"Of course!" Dawn's eyes lit up as she clapped her hands. She gave Ash a grateful look and immediately understood what he meant.
"Pikachu, my first Pokémon is all up to you!"
Dawn smiled strangely and walked toward Pikachu, talking to it.
"Ash, are you going to use Pikachu's charm to help her?" Brock asked, realizing Ash's plan as he saw Dawn dragging a reluctant Pikachu toward Buneary.
"That's right. You don't always have to battle to catch a Pokémon. I know for a fact that my first Pokémon wasn't caught in a battle," Ash said with a laugh. He clearly remembered that the first Pokémon he "caught" in the original series was a Caterpie. Unfortunately, it evolved incorrectly into a Butterfree and was eventually released at sea.
"Buneary, look! This is Pikachu!" Dawn approached the shy Buneary with Pikachu and introduced it.
"Bunny!" As a die-hard fan, Buneary's face was beet red, and it hid its face in its hands.
"Pika~" Pikachu had a bead of sweat on its forehead, a little unsure of how to deal with the overly enthusiastic rabbit.
"Isn't Pikachu handsome? Don't you want to be with Pikachu? If you just..." Dawn, like a little devil, tempted Buneary and explained the benefits of being with her in a simple and clear way, acting as if she was only thinking of Buneary's best interests.
"Bunny!" Hearing that she could be with Pikachu, Buneary became even more shy and timidly moved closer to Pikachu. By the time Ash and Brock came over, Dawn had already caught Buneary in a Poké Ball. It shook twice and was successfully caught. This made Dawn incredibly happy, and she raised the Poké Ball, yelling to Ash and Brock, "Yes! I caught Buneary!"