Manaphy Returns!

A/N: A sequel to Heart Swap. Warning: Ash's stupidity may cause head traumas.

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"Paul!" Ash yelled, running up to his rival. "Long time no cheese! I mean, long time no…carrots? No, no, that's not it…"

"…"

"Are you in a bad mood again?" Dawn asked, walking up to Paul like a normal human.

"No, I'm pretty sure it had something to do with cheese…" Ash continued.

"…"

Dawn cursed under her breath at Ash's stupidity and Paul's antisocial-ness. "Paul, Ash and I need you help with something."

"Yes, young grasshopper, this shall be your first lesson."

Paul looked at Dawn and pointed to Ash. "What did he just call me?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Who knows? He could've just spent too much time in LaLa-Land. Now, can you help Ash and me find my hairclip? I lost it on the beach."

"Pathetic."

"Sounds like a yes to me!" Ash cheered.

Dawn, also happy with Paul's 'decision,' grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the beach. Paul's expression didn't change. As soon as his purple-and-black shoes sunk into the sand, all three of them stopped in their tracks. A small blue figure stood where the water hit the sand, facing the orange sunset. Paul's mouth opened slightly in shock. The light blue body turned around.

"Daddy?"

"Manaphy?"

"Daddy!"

"Manaphy!"

"MILEY CYRUS!" Ash yelled. Dawn elbowed him in the side.

Paul and Manaphy, losing their minds because of happiness, ran toward each other in a giant hug. The hug lasted for a good few seconds, along with the time for Paul to realize that he was hugging a living being and shove Manaphy away.

"I missed you," Manaphy whispered. "I love you, Paul, Daddy."

Too low for anyone else to hear, Paul whispered back, "I love you, too."

A silence overcame everybody. So quiet that the authoress was twitching just by writing it. Becoming uncomfortable with the silence, Ash spoke up. "So…" he muttered. "Does Manaphy really know that you're a guy, or is that just a wild guess?"

A few seconds later, Ash was bleeding from the nose. "It was just a question, Paul…"

A random lucario dropped to the ground, drunk. "Yayz."

Ash kicked the Lucario. "No one can pay me enough!" he yelled at it. "Now, leave, they're having a moment!"

"What do we do now?" Dawn asked, for some reason full of despair. "We still haven't found my hair- Ow! Never mind…"

"Manaphy stay with Daddy this time?" Manaphy asked, eyes glittering.

Something in Manaphy's eyes moved Paul. He had never had the vision to see a helpless Pokemon that missed its parents, or one that had grown up on its own. Before Manaphy could be lectured on her terrible grammar, Paul nodded slowly. "Paul is going to have a Manaphy?" Ash whined. "No fair! OWWW! Jeez, Paul…"

Manaphy, not bothered by seeing Paul's fist in Ash's mouth, snuggled into Paul's arms. "Thank you, Paul, my Daddy."

"…"

More silence.

"Manaphy, remember me? And Ash, too?" Dawn asked, cheerful for no reason.

Manaphy looked at Dawn and smiled brightly. Then she turned to Ash and stuck her tongue out. Ash glared. Both Dawn and Manaphy giggled.

"I hate girls…" Ash mumbled. "Wait. Are we…Shoot. We're back in the Hoenn region."

"What???" both Paul and Dawn shouted. Manaphy didn't understand.

"Stupid authoress…"

"How did Manaphy find us again?" Ash asked, not knowing the first simple fact about Manaphy.

"All Manaphy know how to get back to where they hatched," Paul explained, still glaring. "…and it's obvious that Manaphy wanted to come back for me."

"Wait just a minute!" Dawn yelled. "What do you mean by that? You mean just you? Manaphy needs a loving, caring mother to take care of her as well."

"Do you know where I can find one?" Paul asked.

"What???" Dawn said through bared teeth, cheeks turning red. "Yes, I do, and she's standing right in front of you!"

Paul looked from side to side.

"Paul, me!" she shouted.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I get to be a grandpa!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

"…"

"Sure, Ash…" Dawn murmured. "But I'm not kidding you! Manaphy can't only have the likes of you to look after her! I say I help you."

"I don't need your help."

"Yes, you do! All you'll do is pelt Manaphy with your Torterra's Leaf Storm!"

As Manaphy began to picture this in her mind, tears formed in her eyes and slowly ran down her face.

Ash, Dawn, and Paul all jumped. Ash recoiled. "She's going to use Heart Swap again!" he shouted.

Dawn grabbed her and rocked her in her arms as her weeping grew louder. "It's okay, Manaphy, I'm here…So is Daddy…You'll be just fine."

At these assuring words, Manaphy stopped weeping and looked up at Dawn with the slightest hint of confusion in her expression. Ash and Paul stared in awe. All of a sudden, Ash exploded into anger. "Why didn't you just do that the first time???" he yelled. Manaphy, jumping in fright, used Bubblebeam at Ash's face, knocking his hat off and revealing his terrible hair. Dawn giggled.

"That's my girl!" Dawn said through giggles., tickling Manaphy's nose.

"Okay, okay, I get the message that you're a better mother than I'm a father. Sue me," Paul grumbled. "So just take her and leave."

Dawn turned to look at Paul. "That wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted us to raise Manaphy together." Dawn looked at Ash, who was pleading with his eyes. "No, Ash, you can't be a grandpa!"

"No way."

"Yes way. Come on, Paul!"

"Absolutely not."

"Don't you want what's best for Manaphy?"

Paul thought about it long and hard. "I guess I do."

"That's cute," Dawn teased. "So will you let me help you?"

"One condition."

"What?"

"I get to be the daddy."

Dawn laughed. Manaphy still didn't understand what they were talking about. Maybe it was Ash still mumbling about being a grandpa, maybe it was Manaphy's clueless look on her face, maybe it was the stupid joke he made, but something made Paul laugh along with her. And bam. Like that, there was a connection. Some sort of strange connection that made people do weird things. Like, for example, Paul leaned into Dawn, grabbing her wrist, and kissed her. Ash stood in the background, pointing.

"Paul…Dawn…They…"

"Wow, a real kiss!" Manaphy cheered.

Paul took a deep breath. "You shouldn't laugh at that stuff," he told her quietly. "It wasn't funny at all." Dawn giggled once more, and they continued kissing.

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How cute! Wait…What did Ash say about the authoress??? Screw him! ~Furyfur