So. This idea sparked as a story to be written for Valentine's day. And to be fair, it was first written only a week after the holiday. After which it was subsequently ignored, and only months later I completely redo and post it. But still. For all you OshawottxMeloetta lovers, this is the start of their relationship that would eventually lead to my Meloetta, Airalin! Enjoy and please review!

Nightime in a city can be interesting. In some, nearly everyone drops off and goes to sleep in their homes. Other cities never sleep, and the bright lights and activity keep on from dusk till dawn. Striaton city was somewhere in between. The town in Unova had quieted, but lights were still on in the marketplace, and some people still wandered the streets. The restaurant that doubled as the city's gym was dark.

Inside on the top floor was where the Gym Leaders made their residence. Rather than purchase an apartment or two, or even a house, Cilan and his brothers had decided to simply live at the gym, renovating the ornate, semi-circle attic into a home.

This is where Ash Ketchum and his friends were spending the night. Just before Ash was going to leave for the Kalos region, Cilan had received an urgent call back home to help Cress and Chili. The group had resolved the issue, and now they all slept, soon to resume their plans.

Cilan and his brothers slept in their respective rooms, but not before setting up the two guest rooms for Ash and Iris. In Ash's room, all that could be heard was quiet snoring from the trainer. Pikachu lay on his back on top of him. The little mouse was looking up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. If there was one thing Pikachu hated more than his Pokeball, it was being awake and bored. Especially in the dark.

Suddenly, the sound of an opening Pokeball broke the silence. Pikachu sat up and looked around for the source of the noise. What he saw was a little blue Pokemon starting to sneak out of the room.

"Oshawott? Are you okay?"

Oshawott turned to Pikachu. Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, "I have to go."

"Go where?"

"I don't know for sure. But I have to leave. I've put it off way too long."

Pikachu jumped down next to his companion. He said, "You're leaving me and Ash? Why?"

Oshawott looked down. "Could we talk about this outside?" He whispered. "I don't want to wake Ash." Turning, he walked toward the door, followed by Pikachu. The hallway lights were on, but dimmed for the night.

"Well Oshawott? We're here, why are you leaving?"

The water type was still looking at the ground. "I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. Ash's journey in this region is about over, and that means all us Unova Pokemon are going to be taken to Professor Oak's laboratory to live while Ash goes who-knows-where with you."

Pikachu smiled. "Don't be worried about that! His Pokemon there are really nice! There are all sorts of things to do at Oak's Laboratory."

"I know." Oshawott looked up. "But Unova is my home. I want to find a home here. Maybe I'll find someone special, and start a family."

Pikachu cocked his head, saying slowly, "Family? I've never heard you say anything like tha–" He paused. His yellow face developed a grin. "Oh. Oooohh. I get it."

"Get what?"

"You're lovesick."

"What?! No!" Oshawott cried before immediately hushing himself. He whispered frantically, "What makes you think that?!"

"Because it makes more sense than what you're saying."

Oshawott folded his arms and said, "And if I'm serious?"

Pikachu was about to make another witty remark when he saw something. Oshawott wasn't just defending himself in the silly, childlike way he normally did. His face was red, but there was a definite resolution to his tone. Oshawott wasn't making this up.

"Okay," Pikachu started, "Let me think. You sure look like you're telling the truth, but that would be a serious change of character for you. So...ooh! I know!"

"And what has Pikachu the detective deduced?" Oshawott groaned.

"You're not leaving with nowhere in mind. You're looking for someone. Otherwise you could just look around Professor Oak's laboratory or something."

"…..Fine. You got me."

Pikachu jumped up next to Oshawott. "Great! So who is it? An Emolga? A Petilil? That Meinfoo we met a while back?"

"Could we not talk about this?"

"No, no, who is it? What about that Frillish we-no, she tried to kill you. Maybe it's the Purrloin that wasn't a guy?"

Oshawott sighed, his face deep red. "Since you're determined to make me relive every embarrassing crush I've ever had, let me speed it up and say that she's a lot rarer than any of your ideas."

Pikachu paced back and forth. He stared down at the ground, ignoring the Oshawott while he thought aloud. "Rare..rare…we haven't met a lot of shinies, unless he has some kind of weird thing for Onix… OH! My gosh I'm an idiot; it was too obvious!" He looked back up. "MELOETTA!"

Oshawott sighed again, nodding slightly with his hands behind his back. "That's the one."

Pikachu stood up and said, "Now that makes sense. I mean you were constantly fighting with Piplup for her attention; I could hardly talk to you for days after she left. Wow, if it were any other Pokemon I would try to get you to stay, but Meloetta.."

Oshawott just looked down. He didn't say a word.

"Okay, Oshawott, I understand. You really miss her. But how will you find her; last you saw she was flying away on a Golurk!"

"I'll figure that out. I'm going to find her, Pikachu."

Pikachu dropped to all fours. "Okay. Okay. Alright then. I'm not going to stop you. Oshawott, you've been great. You've been fantastic!"

Oshawott smiled and hugged Pikachu. He said, "Thanks Pikachu. There's no way I'd be where I am if I didn't have you to cover for my dumb moves."

"No problem," Pikachu responded, "Now go find your dream!"

"So you're just going to up and go into the wild?"

"I said I'll figure it out. And you might want to work on your closing lines."