Let's go Pikachu part three

I do not wait the award

I slumped into my seat, arms crossed, as the ceremony continued without me. Pikachu sat beside me on the chair, watching the stage with narrowed eyes, her ears twitching in irritation.

The others were still standing there, frozen for a moment after I jumped off the stage. I could feel their eyes on me, but I refused to turn around. Nope. Not happening. I was not getting up there to be paraded around like some sort of hero.

"Well," Steven said after an awkward beat, adjusting his tie. "That was… unexpected."

"Not really," Blue muttered. "I knew she'd pull something like this."

"Should we… should we try to get her back up here?" May whispered, though the microphone still picked it up.

"No," Leaf said, crossing her arms. "She’d probably just run faster."

They continued their conversation as if I wasn't sitting right there in the front row, clearly within earshot. I sighed and slouched lower in my seat.

Pikachu facepalmed. "Pika…"

I patted her head. "I know, but come on. They’ll get over it."

"Ahem."

I winced as Steven cleared his throat and turned back to the crowd. "Well, despite our esteemed leader politely refusing the stage, we’re still here to celebrate the champions of the PML. And, like it or not, that includes Mia."

I groaned and shoved my face into my hands.

"Mia," Steven continued, ignoring me. "Even if she won’t admit it, played an incredible role in leading her team to victory. She has, on multiple occasions, single-handedly stopped major threats from endangering people and Pokémon alike."

"Uh—excuse me—single-handedly is a strong word," I called out, waving vaguely at my Pokémon. "I’m pretty sure they were the ones doing all the actual work."

"She also refuses to take credit for any of her accomplishments," Blue said dryly.

"Because I didn’t do anything," I shot back, waving my hands. "Look, you all need to calm down and recognize that literally anyone could've done what I did."

"You befriended an actual psychic powerhouse," May said, crossing her arms.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that hard! You just—be nice to them! Like, what part of that is difficult? Be polite. Show them respect. Boom, they like you."

"You also took down Team Rocket’s entire operation."

"Uh, no, my Pokémon did. I was just there."

"You’re the youngest Kanto Champion in history," Leaf pointed out.

"And Red was before me, so really, it’s his achievement. I just copied him!"

"You led the most powerful PML team—"

"We led it," I corrected. "And again, my Pokémon did everything. I was just, you know, standing there. Shouting commands. It's like—like reading a recipe. You follow the steps. It’s not that deep."

The audience was dead silent.

Even Red, who normally had the emotional range of a brick, looked slightly baffled.

Pikachu muttered something under her breath that was probably a mix of "unbelievable" and "why am I even loyal to you."

Steven pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mia, are you seriously going to sit there and pretend that none of what you did mattered?"

"Uh, yeah, because it didn’t." I huffed. "You guys are making a big deal out of nothing!"

Blue scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh my Arceus, you’re actually impossible."

"You do realize we’re not stupid, right?" May added, looking at me like I was some kind of rare alien species. "We all know how much you’ve done!"

I waved a hand. "Look, this is very sweet of you all, but I don’t need a speech. Just—just do your ceremony thing without me, yeah?"

Steven sighed again, clearly running out of patience. "Alright. If you won’t accept recognition, then we’ll just have to give it to you whether you like it or not."

I groaned. "Nooo, don’t do that—"

Too late.

Steven turned back to the audience and continued anyway, listing every single thing I’d ever done as if I wasn’t sitting right there slowly trying to sink into my seat and disappear.

It was awful.

Worse, people were nodding along.

Agreeing.

I threw my arms over my head in agony as Steven wrapped up his speech. "So, while she may not want to take credit, we all know that Mia is a crucial part of this team—"

"Pika." Pikachu, ever loyal, crossed her arms and nodded in agreement with me.

"—and no matter what she says, she deserves to be up here just as much as the rest of us."

I let out a long, long sigh.

Then I gave them a thumbs-up without lifting my head. "Cool. You done now?"

Blue muttered something about "brat," Leaf sighed, and May just looked exhausted.

Red, as usual, said nothing, but I could feel him staring.

And so, despite all their speeches, I stayed firmly in my seat.

Nada.

Zilch.

Not moving.

And even though the ceremony continued without me, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time they tried to make me admit any of this.