In Unova...
"Well, Ash, we've finally reached Unova! Does it bring back any good memories?"
"Yeah, memories of constant criticism and food puns."
"I couldn't help myself! Being a connoisseur, food is everything to me!"
"But, being a gym leader, shouldn't battling be important too?"
"I don't really think about battling that much."
"I can see that..."
Ash and Cilan had made it to Unova. No one was waiting for them this time, so Cilan was there to keep Ash company.
"So, how does it feel to be the champion of three regions?"
"It feels fantastic, but just because I'm the champion doesn't mean I'm a Pokemon Master. I have the feeling that to truly be a Pokemon Master, I have to be the champion, complete the Pokedex, and establish unbreakable bonds with each Pokemon I catch."
"That sounds about right...but either way, let's go to Professor Juniper's lab. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."
In Hoenn...
"Silver, can I speak to you alone?"
Silver stopped with Umbreon, and gestured to the others that they'll catch up.
"What's wrong?"
"I know that Amelia's the spy and all that, but I just hope that Espeon's not in on it."
"That's understandable."
Up ahead, Amelia and Espeon also stopped.
"So, when do we go after Serena?"
"In time. We have to wait for her to get closer to Kanto since she's following Ash. He's in Unova now, so it would be too early."
"Yeah...do you think that-"
"What?"
"Maybe Silver and Umbreon will come with us?"
"..."
At the question, both Espeon and Amelia blushed. Meanwhile, Silver and Umbreon had caught up.
"All right, let's go!"
"Espeon, let's talk about this later."
Umbreon resumed his position next to Espeon.
"Umbreon, walk with me, please," Espeon requested. This time, Umbreon was the one to blush as he and Espeon walked side by side behind their trainers.
"So, did you figure out a plan to get Amelia and Silver together?"
"Yeah! At the rate we're walking, we should make it to a Pokemon Center by sunset. After they fall asleep, we can sneak out and collect flowers."
"Wow. Pretty AND smart!"
"What?"
"Nothing."
However, Espeon had clearly heard what Umbreon had said, and a little smile was forming on her face. Simultaneously, Umbreon was turning red.
"Let's do it!"
In Unova...
"OK, Ash, I'm heading back to the gym. Will you be all right?"
"Yep! See ya!"
After Cilan left, Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
"He really doesn't know how annoying those food puns are. Anyway, let's get started. I've got Pikachu, Oshawott, Snivy, and Pignite right now." With that, Ash was off. Ash made use of a pattern he used in Sinnoh. Every time he went after a Pokemon, he trained up any under evolved Pokemon like his starters. He caught a Patrat, Watchog, Lillipup, Herdier, and Stoutland. As he tried to catch Stoutland, his Snivy evolved into a Servine. When he went after Purrloin and Liepard, the starters gained so much experience that by the end of the battle, they were all fully evolved into Emboar, Samurott, and Serperior. Anyways, in a forest, Ash caught the Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour. He made a mental note to get a leaf, water, and fire stone to evolve them.
In Sinnoh...
It was midnight. This was the time Espeon and Umbreon agreed on to get Amelia and Silver together. However, Espeon was asleep, so Umbreon decided to start without her. He went out and found a flower patch and started collecting. He used a couple of vines to put the flowers in a bunch. After about four hours of collecting, Umbreon started to get tired. His eyes were much redder than they already were and he collected more flowers than he knew what to deal with. He knew he was up late when the sun was starting to come up. He then saw a silhouette in the distance. In his mind, he didn't know what it was, but he thought it was Espeon. He walked up to her, and stared into her blue eyes.
"Espeon?"
"..."
"You're so beautiful."
What happened next made him completely lose it, mentally, of course. The 'Espeon' used Sweet Kiss, and fled. Umbreon became dizzy and saw her run away, and tears started to flow.
"ESPEON! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! COME BACK!"
At this point, he was completely hysterical. Little did he know that the Espeon was actually just a Zoroark in disguise, who was laughing at him in the distance. He couldn't stop the tears and he was shattered inside. He hung his head down and went back into the Pokemon Center with the flowers. Luckily, Silver and Amelia were still asleep. He saw the real Espeon and almost started to cry again. He quickly left the flowers next to Amelia, signed it with Silver's name, and ran out. Espeon woke up, and saw him run out of the room in tears. She instantly ran after him. Umbreon turned around and saw Espeon follow him, and ran faster.
"Umbreon, what's wrong?"
"Why? What did I do to you?!"
"What are you talking about? Umbreon, wait!"
Both of them had made it to the entrance of the Pokemon Center and ran out. Umbreon was still ahead, Espeon close behind. His eyes were blinded with tears, so he didn't know where he was going.
"Umbreon, stop! Tell me what's wrong!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"You didn't hurt me!"
This wasn't enough to make Umbreon stop running. Due to his tears covering his eyes, he ran straight into a tree, head first. The contact now made him hurt physically other than emotionally. He looked up and saw Espeon walk up to him.
"Umbreon? Tell me what's wrong."
"You're so beautiful-Espeon..."
Umbreon fell asleep, with tears rolling down his face. Espeon had a tear rolling down his face herself. Instinctively, she ran back to the Pokemon Center and awoke the trainers. Serena and May ran out immediately, but Amelia stopped Silver.
"Silver?"
"Yes?" Did you leave these flowers for me?"
"Did you leave these flowers for me?"
As she asked the question, she started to blush. Silver stayed silent, while blushing as well, knowing that since he wasn't awake, it was Umbreon's doing.
"They're beautiful. Thank you."
She then ran out and Silver followed to see what Espeon wanted. Umbreon was still at the tree he had collided with. Serena, May, and Amelia gasped as Umbreon picked up his partner.
"Silver, is he ok?! What happened?"
"Espeon...Espeon..."
"It's ok, buddy! You'll be okay!"
Espeon couldn't hold back the tears, and started to nuzzle her trainer's leg. Amelia responded by stroking her purple fur.
"It's ok, Espeon. He's going to be just fine."
"Silver," Serena asked, "How did Umbreon get out here?"
"I don't know. But let's go find out."
They walked inside the Pokemon Center, and handed it to Nurse Joy, who allowed Amelia, Espeon, and Silver to come watch Umbreon.
"We found him outside when I could've sworn that he was right next to me last night!" Silver explained.
"Hmmm...we can do something about this bruise, but I have a Pokemon that can help figure out why he was outside."
Nurse Joy then released a Musharna that immediately started to extract Dream Mist from Umbreon. When it was done, she showed the group Umbreon's dreams. Espeon looked on as Umbreon dreamt about the previous night. She saw him leave to pick the flowers for four hours straight until his eyes were bloodshot. That's where Nurse Joy started to piece things together.
"He must have been up so late that he was starting to hallucinate."
Musharna then started to show the part where Umbreon thought he saw Espeon. Espeon blushed as he saw Umbreon call her beautiful and started to tear up when the Pokemon used Sweet Kiss, and Umbreon started to go hysterical. Silver and Amelia looked in shock as he left the flowers next to Amelia and signed it with Silver's name. When they saw Umbreon escape and Espeon chasing him up to that point, they looked on in silence. Espeon, however, had tears flowing down her face, and her face was turning redder and redder every second. Umbreon was starting to stir, and he opened his eyes to see everyone looking at his experience. When he saw Espeon, he blushed again. Espeon noticed he was awake and walked over.
"Espeon...I'm sorry..."
"Shhh...go back to sleep."
"You're going to leave again, aren't you?! Please, don't leave! I won't go back to sleep unless you promise you won't leave!"
They noticed Umbreon was awake. He jumped off the table.
"Espeon, you're one of the nicest and most beautiful people I've ever met! I just don't want to miss any chance I have of being with you! I won't make any more mistakes!"
Espeon jumped off of the table and started to go towards Umbreon who was backing away.
"Umbreon, calm down!"
"He didn't get enough sleep," Nurse Joy said, "He's been up all night picking those flowers! I have a theory: the Pokemon that used Sweet Kiss wasn't an Espeon. It was probably a Pokemon that transformed into Espeon. When it fled, he thought it was Espeon leaving him. Musharna, use Hypnosis on Umbreon!"
Musharna flew over to the frantic Umbreon and used Hypnosis to send him to sleep again. Amelia walked over to a sobbing Espeon and picked her up. Nurse Joy walked over and used a Potion on the bruise, which made it instantly go away.
"Umbreon's okay. Just let him get some more sleep."
"Thank you."
They walked out, and found Serena and May waiting for them.
"So? What happened?"
Amelia put Espeon down next to Umbreon and, with Silver, explained what they saw in Musharna's Dream Mist. Espeon lead down next to Umbreon and went to sleep.
In Unova...
Ash was completely exhausted. He stopped in a Pokemon Center and checked his progress. He had one-third of the Unova Pokedex done, and was completely proud of it. He fed his Pokemon and went to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED...