For the Pokemon kink meme: "Ethan/Lyra, with Marril as matchmaker"

It was a well-known fact that when a trainer and Pokemon were especially close, they could read each other like a book. And it was no exception for Marril and Lyra. Marril knew Lyra's favorite foods, her hobbies, her hopes and dreams, her deepest fears.

He also knew one thing about her that even she didn't realize.

"Ethan is just my friend!" she would protest every time her grandparents asked how that nice boyfriend of hers was, and she seemed quite adamant in this insistence. But Marril wasn't buying it anymore, not with the way she blushed and the intensity with which she spoke the words. It was as if she was trying to convince herself that was the case, rather than them.

And then there was Ethan himself. Sure, he seemed to act naturally around Lyra, but Marril had caught him blushing once or twice, or seen his hand linger a little longer than it should whenever they would touch. And whenever they parted ways there was no mistaking the look in his eyes.

Marril may have only been a simple Pokemon, but he knew his trainer's heart, and he knew Ethan well enough. It was time to do something about this.

And one rainy day, he stumbled upon the perfect opportunity.

-x-

"Boy, running errands sure is a hassle in this weather," Lyra sighed. "Come on, Marril, we need to get home before it gets any worse. Mom's worried enough about us as it is!"

And so they started on their way back to New Bark town. But suddenly, Marril spotted someone and began to nudge Lyra's leg.

"Marril? Marril, what is it?" Lyra blinked. Marril waved his tail in the direction of the figure, and Lyra gasped. "Oh...oh, my! It's Ethan, and he doesn't have an umbrella!" Marril made an excited noise, and practically dragged his trainer over to where a shivering Ethan stood.

At the sight of them, Ethan turned around and smiled.

"Hi, Lyra."

"Ethan, what are you doing out in this rain? Where's your umbrella?"

"I couldn't seem to find mine, so I figured my raincoat would be enough," Ethan said sheepishly. "At least I'm not getting wet." Lyra frowned.

"Well, you still shouldn't be walking around without an umbrella! Here, come with us." She held out the umbrella, and Ethan blushed.

"A-all right, if you're sure!"

"Of course I'm sure!"

Their hands closed around the umbrella, fingers touching, and they both laughed nervously.

"Um, Ethan?"

"Yeah, Lyra?"

"...I'm glad we ran into you. I wasn't looking forward to walking all the way home in this rain, but if you're with me..." She trailed off, and Ethan's blush deepened.

"To tell you the truth, that's why I was waiting here. I was hoping you might show up...even without the rain, I wanted to see you, and when I heard you were running an errand..."

"Oh, did you stop by my house earlier, then?" Lyra asked.

"Actually, it's the strangest thing. I found a copy of the town map under the door, with a little blue dot over Cherrygrove city," Ethan laughed. "Did you..."

"No, I didn't." Lyra's eyes widened. "...you don't suppose one of our family members could've done it, do you? They're always..."

"...trying to set us up," Ethan finished.

A pause. A slightly awkward silence. Then, Lyra smiled.

"We don't have to tell them it worked," she said. "Not just yet."

"Yeah." Ethan moved closer to her. "I'm sure glad it did, though."

-x-

The whole walk home, Marril danced happily among the raindrops. His plan had worked! But of course, no one would ever figure out it was him...on one hand, he felt a little sad that one of his greatest accomplishments outside of battling would never be traced back to him.

On the other hand, it was nice to have a little secret to keep.