Author's note: Well, howdy! Here's the promised sequel to my other fic, From The Heart.

... Yes, I know what you're thinking. Oshawott/Snivy? Well, I don't really know how I feel about the anime pairing, but I can say, with certainty, that I really like the PokePark pairing.

Also, yes, this fic takes place after the events of PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond. I'm going to try not to spoil too much, as this game actually does have some pretty big spoilers, but there will be the odd few. Read at your own risk.

And no, I don't currently know how long the fic will be. I'd hazard a guess at around the same length as the other fic.

Anyway... without further ado... I give you the shellPWNageshipping sequel.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Request

Despite it nearing the end of the summer months, it was a fairly warm day in the PokePark. Pikachu and his four friends, Piplup, Oshawott, Snivy and Tepig, were lounging on Seasong Beach, just watching the world go by around them. Pikachu, Piplup and Oshawott were all sitting up, Snivy was lying on her back and Tepig was lying on his front.

"So, you two will be leaving soon, huh?" Oshawott asked, turning to Pikachu and Piplup.

Pikachu smiled sadly. "Yeah, sorry," he replied.

"It's a real shame you can't stay," Tepig said.

"It's fun here," Piplup replied, "but we've been away for two months, so we should probably get back soon."

"Yeah..." Pikachu agreed, "it's been fun, though!"

"I should think so!" Snivy replied. She chuckled. "Seriously, though, it was a fun adventure. We should do it again, sometime!"

"Yeah, that'd be fun!"

"I especially liked kicking so much butt."

Oshawott smirked at her. "I'll bet you did," he said.

"Me too!" Tepig replied. "And I really liked the new nickname we got after winning the Battle Tournament!" he said. He gave a triumphant grin. "The Shining Power Pals!"

"Yeah, it was pretty cool..." Snivy said. She waved a hand dismissively. "Much better than the Eco Pretties..."

"Or the Zappy Rowdies..." Pikachu added.

"Or even the Stormy Collectors..." Oshawott added.

Tepig beamed again. "My personal favourite was the Thermo Gatherers!" he said.

"Really?" Snivy asked. "Mine was the Leafy Sprinters."

"Yeah?" Oshawott asked. "Well, mine was the Hydro Knockouts! It sounds powerful and intimidating!"

Pikachu chuckled. "Personally, I liked the Electro Aces," he said. "I thought it sounded cool."

"Wow..." Piplup said, "all those names sound really cool! I just wish I'd been around to hear the Pokemon call you that..."

"Well, it wasn't your fault you got stuck in Wish Park."

"Yeah, I know, but still..."

Tepig sighed. "I dunno what I'll do once you two go back..." he said. "There won't be much to do, except go back to Rockridge Fort and play with Victini..."

Pikachu smiled at him. "Well, maybe we can come back, someday," he replied. "I'd love to hang out with you guys again. The four of us make a great team!"

Oshawott, Snivy and Tepig all smiled back at him.

"You sure do!" Piplup agreed. "Hey and, next time we come, maybe you could bring Buneary!"

"Hey, yeah!"

"Buneary?" Snivy asked. "You mean the one in Windmill Way?"

"Nah... you don't know her."

"She's his mate back in the other PokePark!" Piplup said.

Oshawott nearly fell over in shock. "Wh-What?" he asked.

Tepig blinked. "You have a mate?" he asked.

Pikachu blushed. "W-Well... yeah..." he replied.

"Oh ho ho~!" Snivy said, shifting onto her side to prop her head on her hand. "Why didn't you tell us about her before?"

"Well... I didn't really think it was important and no one asked..."

"Pikachu doesn't really like to brag..." Piplup said, "though I know I would, if I were him."

"So, what's she like?" Tepig asked excitedly. "Is she nice?"

Pikachu smiled fondly. "Yeah, she's really nice..." he replied.

Snivy smirked. "Does she cry all the time, like the one in Windmill Way?" she asked.

"Snivy!" Tepig scolded. "You'd probably cry all the time, too, if you were constantly being bullied by a bunch of Pawniard..."

"Nah, I'd just kick their butts."

"She's really sweet and really kind..." Pikachu replied, "and no, she's not bullied, like the one in Windmill Way."

"Told you," Tepig said.

Snivy smiled. "Well, it sounds like you're happy with her," she said.

"Yeah, I am," Pikachu replied.

"... I think we should probably get going, before it gets dark," Piplup said. He stood up. "You coming, Pikachu?"

"Yeah." Pikachu stood up. "See you around, guys."

"See ya!" Snivy replied.

"Bye!" Tepig replied.

Pikachu turned and began to walk away with Piplup, in the direction of where the penguin had first landed their Pikachu balloon.

"Waaaait!" Oshawott cried.

Surprised, Pikachu stopped and turned to the otter, only to see that he was running towards them. "Oshawott?" he asked. Oshawott came to a stop in front of them. "What's wrong?"

"Can... Can I talk to you for a minute?" He glanced at Piplup. "Alone?"

The two childhood friends exhanged a glance. "Well... sure, I guess so, but-"

"Great!" Oshawott grabbed his paw and dragged him across the beach, far away from Piplup.

When they finally stopped, Pikachu looked at the otter. "What's wrong, Oshawott?"

Oshawott took a deep breath, glanced back at their friends, then looked at Pikachu with determination. "You said you have a mate, right?"

Pikachu blinked. "Well... yeah..."

Oshawott closed his eyes, folded his arms and nodded. "Okay, good, good... that means you're perfect for the job, then."

"... Job?"

Oshawott opened his eyes. "Yes." He paused for a long moment. "I need advice on something, but I wasn't sure who to ask."

"Oh?"

"And it had to be someone who already has a mate... but no one I really know has one."

"Well... you could have asked Krookodile or Darkrai..."

"No! Even though they're dating Audino and Gothitelle now, I'm not close enough to either of them to ask them for advice!"

"Oh... okay... so, what do you need help with?"

Oshawott closed his eyes, frowned and blushed. "Well..."

Pikachu blinked, then realisation hit him and his eyes widened. "You... like someone, don't you?"

Oshawott snapped his eyes open and flailed his arms around. "Shush! Not so loud..."

"Is it someone I know?"

"Well... kind of, but..." He paused. "Look, it's not important who it is! I just need advice on how to win her heart... You've clearly done it, if you're dating this Buneary of yours... so I wanted to know how you did it."

Pikachu blinked stupidly at Oshawott, who seemed to be trying very hard not to lose his dignity over this. It was silly, really, since there was nothing wrong with liking someone.

He smiled. "Well, sure, I'd love to help!" He paused. "But it might not be that easy..."

Oshawott blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I don't even know who you're trying to win the heart of... so it'd be a bit difficult to give you advice, when every Pokemon is different..."

Oshawott stared long and hard at him for a minute. "Darn it!" The exclamation made Pikachu jump. "Your logic is flawless. You should think about becoming a detective yourself..."

Pikachu chuckled awkwardly. "Well, thanks."

Oshawott took a deep breath, then slowly released it. "Okay... fine... I'll tell you, but you gotta promise not to breath a word to anyone! Okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise!"

Pikachu jumped again. "I-I promise!"

"Okay... well..." Oshawott glanced over at their friends. Looking away, he blushed again. "It's, um..." He mumbled something.

"Huh?" Oshawott mumbled slightly louder. "I can't hear you..."

Oshawott heaved a sigh. "It's, um..." He cleared his throat and looked away. "Snivy..."

Pikachu's eyes widened in shock. He really hadn't been expecting that, of all things. "Snivy?" He made sure to lower his voice. "You like Snivy?"

"Yeah, well... a lot happened in the last two months... I've grown really fond of her and... I wanna ask her to be my mate..." He glanced over at her, then quickly looked away again.

"Wow... I had no idea..."

"Of course you didn't! I wasn't just gonna blurt it out!" He paused, then started fidgeting. "I wanna ask her out, but... I have no idea how to do it... Man, I feel like an idiot..." The look he gave Pikachu looked quite pitiful. "Please help me..."

Pikachu blinked at him for a moment, then broke into a warm smile. "Of course I'll help you."

Oshawott beamed. "You will?"

Pikachu nodded. "Sure." He paused. "I mean..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I dunno how much use I'll be, but I can certainly give it a try!"

"You're the best, Pikachu!"

Pikachu chuckled. "Thanks." He lowered his paw. "Oh... and I guess I should tell Piplup that we'll be staying for a couple more days..."

"You'd stick around that long, just to help me?"

"Of course!" He paused. "I mean... I wanted to see my mate, but..."

"Hey, she'll manage a couple more days! The great Detective Oshawott needs your assistance!"

"Yeah, I... 'Detective Oshawott'?"

"Yup!"

"Since when did you call yourself that?"

"Since just now! It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I can't believe I didn't come up with it sooner!" Pikachu chuckled at him. "Alright, then! Let's go break the news to the others!" Oshawott began walking back when he shot Pikachu a look. "And remember... no telling!"

"I promise."

Oshawott beamed. "Good!" He continued walking back to the group.

Pikachu sighed and shook his head as he followed his friend. When he finally reached his other friends, he turned to Piplup, who had rejoined them while he waited.

"Hey, Piplup?"

Piplup smiled at him. "Ready to go now, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Actually... Oshawott needs my help with something, so I wanted to stay a couple more days."

Piplup's smile dropped. "Really? But... I thought you wanted to see Buneary again... and Charmander and Chikorita..."

"Well, yeah, but..." He glanced at Oshawott, who gave him a hard stare. He looked back at Piplup and tried to give him a smile. "Just a couple more days? Then we'll go back, I promise."

Piplup heaved a sigh. "Okay, okay..."

"So, you're staying?" Snivy asked, sitting up.

"Alright!" Tepig said, thrashing around happily in the sand. "Maybe we can play some more!"

Pikachu smiled. "Sure!" he replied.

"So, what's he helping you with, anyway, Oshawott?" Snivy asked.

Pikachu froze. Looking at Oshawott, he noticed that he, too, had frozen. Pikachu tried furiously to work his brain into coming up with a convincing story.

Suddenly, Oshawott chuckled. "The great Detective Oshawott has taken in Pikachu as his personal assistant, for a very important... and very personal... mission," he replied.

Snivy raised an eyebrow. "'Detective Oshawott'?"

"'Personal mission'?" Tepig asked.

Oshawott nodded confidently. "Yes!" he replied. "And, with Pikachu by my side, our mission will be over in no time flat!"

"... So, what's the mission?" Snivy asked.

"Can we help?" Tepig asked.

"No!" Oshawott replied. "I just said that it's a very personal mission!" He folded his arms. "Pikachu and Piplup may leave only when the mission is complete."

Snivy stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever, Sherlock," she said.

"Aww..." Tepig said sadly. "But I wanted to be an assistant, too!"

Oshawott folded his arms. "Well, too bad," he replied. "Electric mice only."

"That's no fair!"

"Take it up with Samurott."

"Why? What's Samurott gotta do with anything?"

"Everything, now shush."

"Did he give you the mission?"

"Maybe."

"So, why not share it?"

"'Cause I said it's personal!"

"You know..." Piplup said, turning to Pikachu, "I'm not too sad about staying here longer." He smiled. "I really like Seasong Beach!" He paused a moment. "Good luck with that mission, Pikachu... whatever it is. I'm sure you'll do great!"

Pikachu smiled back awkwardly. "Thanks, Piplup..." he replied.

Looking back at the bickering duo - as well as a smirking Snivy, who seemed to be enjoying the show - he couldn't help but wonder, not for the first time, just what he was getting himself into...