Hello, my fireflies, and welcome to my debut story here on FanFiction! (insert applause here)

I wanted to keep this particular story more along the lines of how the official Pokémon writers and creators would have done it if Drew had been in it, so if you were expecting Ash to walk in on a steamy ContestShipping scene (and as much as I would have had fun writing that, because let's face it: that would've been hilarious), I'm sorry to disappoint you. Plus, they're supposed to be, like, ten. They don't need to be doing that stuff anyway. Ten-year-olds, stick to training Pokémon!

A-a-and, because of my love for May's Eevee, I'm going to give it a bit of a bigger role than it had in the original movie without taking away from the main focus of May and Manaphy's relationship. So expect that.

Also, I honestly wouldn't have changed a single thing about the opening scene where Jackie takes the Manaphy egg from Phantom and makes his escape, so I'm not going to rewrite that. I'm just going to go ahead and jump to the scene directly afterwards.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me.

"Just tell me again, Brock," the dark-haired boy grumbled for the fifteenth time. "Are you really sure this is the right way to go?"

The former gym leader of Pewter City opened up his map book to the same page he had the previous fourteen times Ash had asked. He licked his lips and tasted salt. "I used to think so, but now I'm not so sure."

"We haven't seen a town or anything," May whined, wiping the sweat off her forehead

"And the Pokémap's not picking up a signal at all," her little brother intoned in a voice that tried to hide his own fatigue as he stared at the small machine in his hands. The Pikachu on Ash's shoulder made a noise of sheer defeat at Max's words.

They all groaned in unison.

It appears that nature's protective arms have gotten quite a bit warmer than our heroes would like, and although hoping for a quick arrival in the next town, their hopes have been dashed as they sadly conclude they've now lost their way, wandering in a veritable wasteland.

"Man, I'm so thirsty," Max muttered, giving up on the "tough guy" façade, as he gazed up at the sun. There wasn't a cloud in sight to shield them from its bright rays.

He turned to his sister. "Give me some water, okay?"

"Just don't drink it all," she replied, a warning in her voice. They all stopped as she dug through her bag to find her thermos and handed it to him.

He assured he wouldn't and thanked her before opening it and tipping it back. Only a drop landed in his mouth.

May gasped and snatched the thermos away from him. "Max, I told you not to drink it all, didn't I?!"

"It wasn't exactly full, you know," he murmured, giving her a sideways look as she shook the container as if more water would magically appear.

"But now that I know there's none left, I'm even thirstier than ever!"

"Now, is that any way to treat a younger sibling, May?" a teasing voice inquired behind them.

They all turned to see a boy standing a few feet away, his eyes as green as his hair. Pikachu perked up at the sight of the boy's partner, Roselia, and waved at the rose Pokémon before returning to its former unenthusiastic state.

"It's Drew," Ash informed, stating the obvious as usual. May was already stomping in his direction.

A white light burst from around her waist, startling the brunette. It took the form of her beloved Eevee. The small mammal shook its head and stretched, as if attempting to wake up from a long nap, and, upon spotting its owner's biggest rival, lit up with excitement and bounded towards him, scampering up his body and coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Why couldn't you be as happy to see me as Eevee?" he asked in the same mocking tone as he scratched the fox Pokémon behind its ear, earning a mewl of approval. "You wound me so."

"Shut up! And what would you know about a younger sibling anyway?"

"More than you, that's for sure."

And that's when the yelling began.

Ash shook his head. "They've been around each other thirty seconds and they're already at."

"How can they even find enough energy to argue in this heat?" Max inquired, mildly exasperated.

"Why do you always have to be such a jerk?!"

"Why do you always have to be such an airhead?"

She opened her mouth to dispute that, but closed it as she took in the sight of him, her Eevee vaulting off his shoulder to go greet Roselia. He looked the same as ever except his usual black shirt he wore underneath his infamous lavender shirt, which he was still sporting and still typically unbuttoned, was missing.

He regarded her with a smirk. "See something you like?"

She flushed. "Of course not! I was just… What happened to you?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She looked down at herself. Her clothes were covered in sweat and dust, proof of how long she'd been in the harsh sun.

"I meant, what happened to your shirt?" she said, shooting him a glare.

"It's hot."

"Obviously, you jerk! Can you stop being such a…" She found her voice steadily leaving her as she took into account how close his face had suddenly gotten to hers.

Max tossed a confused look at the two. "Uhh, May, what are- Hey! Brock, what are you doing?!"

"This isn't something children should see," Brock said, ignoring the kid trying to pry his hands away from his eyes.

"D-Drew, what are you…?" May stuttered, feeling her cheeks heat up even more so than they already were. His emerald eyes, hovering just inches away from her own, sparkled with a playful glint, the same one he always got when around her.

Something soft abruptly pressed against her lips, and he chuckled at her shocked, wide-eyed expression before moving away. She plucked the thing away from his hand and released a breath she didn't know she was holding. The rose's flawless petals were as red as every other one he'd presented to her.

"F-For Beautifly, right?" she said, trying to regain her composure. She didn't need a mirror to know her cheeks were the color of cherries.

He smirked, flicking the hair away from his eyes in his trademark haughty manner. "Something like that."

For reasons she wasn't entirely aware of, her face fell, something that didn't go unnoticed by Drew. He studied her out of the corner of his eye.

"BROCK!"

They all turned at the unexpected commotion. The older boy, apparently realizing he was still clutching Max, quickly released him and muttered an apology. The youngster simply glared at him as he cleaned the fingerprint smudges off his glasses.

"Why were you holding him in the first place?" May asked, only to receive broken sentences and stammers from the blushing Breeder.

Ash grinned uneasily, until his Pikachu spotted something in the distance and unexpectedly regained its life. He followed its gaze to something crystalline blue in the horizon.

"Water."

A-a-and that's all we have time for today, because I have to be an adult and run errands to run in the morning before work. Why am I adulting? Who let me adult? I don't know how to adult! I'm seventeen; I'm not an adult yet! Someone heeelp!

I really wanted to make this chapter longer, but responsibilities are determined to prevent that… I will hopefully begin working on the next chapter Thursday (one of the few days I have off) and I will have it up as soon as I can. IT WILL BE LONGER!

Until then, my fireflies, remember to cast your light whenever and wherever you can, be it through music, art, or even just a smile.

XOXOXO,

Sky