I was going to make this as a chapter of a humorous fanfic about strange pairings within the Field egg group, but this story ended up longer and more serious than expected, so it seems a lot better as its own short fic.

These two are based on my own pokemon, who would be adorable together.

Scrafty and Musharna happen to have the exact same height in the Pokedex, in case you were wondering.

Under the cool shade of Village Bridge, Musharna regarded her reflection thoughtfully. The tunes of the local musicians floated through the village and leant the place a romantic feel. Her Trainer was occupied with some part-time waitress job, so she had an hour or two just to relax in peace, away from loud and frightening Pokemon.

She floated a foot or so above the water, watching her image warp in the shallow waves of the river, contemplating life. Musharna felt so at peace, as if nothing could break her concentra-

SPLOOSH!

A slightly wounded red-striped Basculin made a hasty retreat, in the process hitting Musharna with a spray of water.

She squealed, and fled as fast as she could. Her eyes irritated by the unwelcome shower, she blindly scooted in a direction that seemed safe.

THUD.

Musharna ran into something fairly solid, and to her surprise, it fell over. Lightly callused, three-fingered hands grasped at her and tried to push her off, and panic rose in her stomach.

"Hey! Get off! You're getting me all wet!" shouted a familiar voice.

Musharna blinked a few times before her double-battle partner, Scrafty, blurred into view. Scrafty grunted irritably, wriggling under her weight and trying to keep a sandwich from being dampened.

"Eek! Sorry Scrafty!" Musharna blushed, and levitated off of her and floated a few feet away.

"What are you-" Scrafty stopped mid-sentence as Musharna suddenly sneezed, spraying accidentally-inhaled water from her blowhole. Scrafty was completely drenched from head to tail, and her crest drooped slightly.

There followed a long, uncomfortable silence in which Scrafty stared blankly at Musharna.

Just as Musharna was about to apologize again, Scrafty spoke.

"Uh… I didn't know Musharna could learn Water Spout," she remarked, blinking.

Musharna blushed. "Not so far as I know. I just had a lot of water up my nose… a Basculin came out of nowhere and splashed me!"

Scrafty grinned impishly. "Oh, heheh. That must have been the one I got right on the nose."

"W-what?"

"I'll show you, hang on a sec." Spotting a whirlpool, Scrafty picked up a small rock and forcefully tossed it at the unsuspecting Basculin. The rock hit its mark, and the Pokemon thrashed around desperately, making an impressive splash, which drenched the singer standing on the other bank of the river.

"It's a new game I made up," Scrafty announced proudly.

"Really?" said Musharna quietly, "What's it called?"

"It's the 'throw rocks at Basculin and make them splash people' game."

"Er, well, that's not very nice," Musharna whispered. This was typical behavior for a Scrafty, but it seemed strangely charming coming from her battle partner. Musharna stifled a smile and tried to look angry.

"Hey, I wasn't TRYING to splash YOU! I thought you were some snot-nosed little kid who needed a wave to the face!" Scrafty objected, missing the point.

"Oh no, your sandwich," Musharna observed suddenly, changing the subject. "It's ruined."

Scrafty turned her attention to the handful of mushy bread. "Oh."

"Sorry!" Musharna squeaked, turning her gaze to the ground.

Scrafty regarded the sandwich thoughtfully. "It's ok, it was a nasty sandwich. Pecha berries… ugh."

Musharna was puzzled. "Well, um, why were you eating it then?"

Raising an eyebrow, Scrafty squinted at the remains of the sandwich. "I… eat food," she replied slowly. "I don't know."

Musharna would have shrugged if her biology allowed it. She started feeling a little tired.

Scrafty's grin slowly returned. "I have an idea."

"Hm?"

Scrafty pointed at an island in the middle of the river. "If we can get over there, it'll be an even better spot to play the game from!"

"Uh, I don't want to play," Musharna said uncomfortably. "How are you going to get over there?"

"Think you can carry me?" Scrafty whispered.

"What?"

Scrafty hopped off the ground and scrambled up Musharna's side. "Woah, you're kind of slippery. I guess you're still wet."

"W-why didn't you ask Swanna? She knows Surf…" Musharna stammered, blushing as Scrafty's still-damp tail hit her in the face, a strange but not entirely unpleasant sensation.

Turning around, Scrafty peeked her head upside-down close to Musharna's face. "'Cause I knew you'd be cool with it. Right?"

Musharna was lost in Scrafty's gaze. She hadn't been this close to her before, and something she suspected about her feelings for Scrafty was quickly becoming very clear. "Um, sure."

Scrafty drew away, her belly scales rubbing against Musharna, making her shiver. She started poking at her hide experimentally. "Wow, your skin is kinda rubbery. I was expecting it to be all fuzzy or something."

"Oh," Musharna sighed self-consciously. "Sorry."

"What? No, no, I'm just surprised! It's kind of like my pants," Scrafty exclaimed, putting her face against her rubbery back. "Except you're warm."

Scrafty lay like that for a little while, when Musharna suddenly coughed.

Scrafty sat up and blushed. "Right, well, let's get over to that island and throw rocks at stuff! Yeah!" she shouted, pumping her fist into the air. She pointed at the island. "Mush!"

"Pardon?"

"Nevermind. Let's go."

Musharna had hovered a few yards away from the shore when she was hit by another wave of drowsiness. Her eyelids fluttered a few times before closing.

"Musharna? What are you doing?" Scrafty asked, looking concerned.

"Just… just resting my eyes…" Musharna curled up and fell asleep, still hovering in midair.

Atop the dozing Musharna, Scrafty began to panic.

No matter what Scrafty did, that silly purple fetus would not wake up. She tried shouting, but to no avail. She tried scooping up some water and splashing it in her face, still with no results. Scrafty even tried punching her, which was unsurprisingly not very effective.

Out of ideas, Scrafty swiveled around to face Musharna's blowhole. Ominous purple mist had already begun to emerge.

Scrafty thought for a moment she saw herself in the swirling mist. She moved closer to investigate, which turned out to be a mistake. In moments, she was enveloped in the dream mist. Her vision turned to purple, and she fell unconscious.

And so it begins.