Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon.

A/N: Side-track chapter. Pokémon based really. It's in honor of my most hated holiday, Valentine's day. Woot!

Warning: Love stories -.- Well, kind of. I mean, no one REALLY gets together and does mushy stuff. But still. Be warned.


Shot Down By Cupid's Arrow


February 14th. February 14th. Valentine's Day. A most dreaded day in my opinion but hey! I'm just the narrator in this story! But anyway, Valentine's Day brings love, joy, happiness, to everyone – everyone being the lucky ones that have a bloody valentine that is – big and small, short and tall, stupid and smart, and so on.

Speaking of Muddy – k, so I didn't mention Muddy before – this was the day he was going to do it! Okay, so that sounded wrong, sue me for it.

But moving on, '' thought of this time of the year as the perfect opportunity to set up Brendan and May along with some other Pokémon couples. But how?

Muddy heard about the human holiday mascot for Valentine's day. Cupid was it? That Greek god or something. Or was it Roman? Could have been Egyptian. Then again Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Venus same thing 'cept it's the Roman goddess. Now that I think about it, Cupid was Aphrodite's son.

"Who the heck cares anyway?" Muddy shrugged it off.

Maybe Bemired-

"Oh, you did not just call me Bemired!" Muddy glared into space.

"Who are you talking to, Muddy?" Flare asked curiously.

Muddy grinned. "Myself, proud of it too!"

Fine, maybe Muddy-

"That's my name, use it!"

... could be this 'Cupid' guy.

"Is he the guy that wears a diaper with that hat on his head?"

That's Baby New Year, Bemired.

"I said don't call me that!"

As I was saying, maybe Muddy could play this Cupid fool – I mean, person. He had plenty of ideas roaming in his empty head. Blame it on Brendan, I don't know.

"They do say Pokémon takes after trainer."

Yeah, but you would be kind of stupid, like Sirius. You, on the other hand, whacked your head against the wall one too many times therefore making you stupider than you should be. Ah, I mean, the stupidest of the smartest geniuses.

"Yeah, damn right. I'm not just stupid anymore."

Yeah, whatever. Like I was saying, Muddy could play this Cupid guy-

"You've been repeating the same thing three million times!"

Nuh uh! It's only been three! There's a big difference. Now, as I was saying Muddy had big plans. BIG PLANS! I'm talking HUGE! GIGANTIC! VAST! MASSIVE! ENOR-

"I think they get the idea Breezy girl ... person ... lady ... thing."

Right, sorry. Yes, Bemired had big plans-

"NO MORE BEMIRED!"

Sheesh, fine. He was going to get everyone – everyone that had a crush on someone that is – together! From the humans, to the Pokémon themselves 'cause if he couldn't find a valentine, at least he could find one for someone else!

"Aw, I'm so generous. "

Remember this is only a side-track chapter. This doesn't really effect the main chapters, and you'll still be a jerk regardless.

"Dammit!"

But who to get together? the young Swampert thought.

"Ooh, are you a physicist?"

A psychic, Muddy?

"Yeah that!"

Anyway, Muddy began to think – an interesting task for this Swampert – about who to get together. Well, Cherry and Ninjask would be good. Thunderbolt likes Skittles, but Skittles like Sirius while Sirius likes cookies. Flare and her uprising fame has attracted some male Blazikens surprisingly to Muddy.

"Yeah, I believe that those Blazikens have been cast under an Attract attack and saw Flare on the T.V."

There was also Tai. Tai like ... something. Kadabra didn't seem to go with anyone either.

"No one seems to be smart enough for Kadabra."

Ah, so let us remember the first love problem Muddy has encounter, shall we? This love problem was like a love triangle 'cept you know, one point liked the other point and that point liked the other point and that point liked something not even in that point. Guess who it is!

"Who? That entire fiasco a month ago where some guy liked you but you liked someone else and the guy that liked you went all ... woo?"

I said shut up about that entire thing, BEMIRED!

"HAHA, LOSER!"

Oh, go look in a mirror and fall in love with yourself, Muddy.

"I tried, but it didn't work."

Like I was saying before I was interrupted by a foul mouth creature, here comes the first love problem that Muddy had to deal with: The entire Thunderbolt/Skittles/Sirius love triangle! Let us go back to that day shall we?


Skittles was busy licking her paw in front of the river's edge, looking at her reflection. If she were the opposite gender, her Cute Charm would of worked on herself. Yet . . .

Skittles looked up toward the opposite side of the river where a Mightyena named Sirius slept peacefully, his head resting on his front paws, his tail wagging as if he were running happily in a dream.

"Stupid dog," she muttered to herself yet she still stared at the dog.

Sirius's left ear twitched slightly as he blinked twice, awakening from his mid-day nap. He yawned and got back up on all fours. His eyes landed on Skittles who froze on the spot. He eyed her wearily as if he knew that she'd been staring at him all day before giving her a sly grin, trotting off to Brendan, his master, for some food no doubt.

Skittles took off her Cute Charm affect and scrunched up her nose. Failed again. But why?

"Does he have Oblivious or something for a characteristic?" Skittles mewed angrily to herself. "I use Cute Charm around him all the time and it never works! Never!"

Meanwhile, from behind the angry feline, the Discharge Pokémon peeked at her from inside a bush. Yes, it was Thunderbolt, May's stubborn but calm and collected Manectric. Yet he never seemed to be calm and cool around Skittles, his love.

"Please tell me that Cute Charm always affects me," Thunderbolt pleaded to himself. "Maybe my Lightning Rod effect takes in the Cute Charm effect easily too."

"Guess what, Thunderbolt! I think you have problems!" a voice said dully from behind him.

Thunderbolt jumped up a few feet in the air, almost catching Skittles's attention. "Sapphire!" he moaned. "How the hell did you get here? There is no water in this bush!"

"I can do wonders with Water Gun you know," Sapphire replied dully again. "Spying on Skittles again, T.B.? Give it up for your sake and mine! It scares me."

"This is none of your business!" Thunderbolt replied sharply, turning his head back to Skittles. "Don't you have like some Water Pokémon in that river to woo over?"

"No," Sapphire said slowly to her best friend. "But it scares me how much this little 'infatuation' has gotten to you, pal."

"Oh shove your beacon in your mouth!" T.B retorted. "Maybe it'll make you shut up."

"I doubt it," Sapphire said sardonically. "I talk a lot."

"How much I know," T.B replied, poking his head through the bush. "Now excuse me, I have some spying to do."

"Stalking," Sapphire remarked.

"No, spying."

"There is no difference for you." Sapphire flashed her beacon a few times. "Listen, you know that Skittles likes Sirius, right?"

"Feh. I bet it's just a phase."

"A pretty long one, T.B. She probably has liked that doggy Pokémon ever since he was a puppy Poochyena and she was a Skitty! You've liked her since-"

"-That fair day when we were spying on Brendan and May," Thunderbolt replied tiredly. "I remember that day clearly. We were paired up to spy on Brendan and May."

"How pathetic!" Sapphire rolled her eyes. "You remember the day you started to 'like' her for Latios's sake! Obsessed, my friend, obsessed."

"Oh, bugger off!"

"Fine, I will! I'll leave you to your stalking – sorry, 'spying.'" Sapphire shook her head and Water Gunned Thunderbolt to push herself out of the bush. Unfortunately for T.B, the Water Gun attack pushed him out of the bush and onto Skittles.

Thunderbolt gulped nervously. "Um ... Hi, Skittles!"

"Ouch! Oh! Hey, T.B!" Skittles mewed cheerfully. "Do you mind if you get off me?"

Thunderbolt laughed nervously. "Eh heh, right!" He rolled off Skittles and back onto his feet. "So, uh, how's life?" he said weakly to stir up a conversation. "Good I hope."

"Oh, yeah, it is," Skittles said absentmindedly as she watched Sirius run along the banks of the river, catching a ball in his mouth that Brendan threw. "Excuse me a minute." Skittles walked away, walking across the bridge that connected the two sides.

Thunderbolt sighed in defeat and laid down, his head resting on his forepaws.

For the time being, sat up in a tree, taking notes carefully, examining Sirius, Skittles, and Thunderbolt. "Hmm ..." he muttered to himself. "When did I learn how to write and read?" A slight cracking from underneath him caught his attention. "Uh oh." He frowned as the tree branch broke off, causing him to land hard of the forest floor. "Ow!" Groggily, he looked up, noticing Flare standing in front of him.

"Bemired Muddy Murky '' Swampert! What do you think you're doing?" Flare inquired, her two claws up in red and orange flames.

Muddy smiled innocently. "Nothing that concerns you, Flarember 'Flare' Blair 'SomanyBlazikensafterme' Blaziken!" he shot back using Flare's real name. "Just studying."

"I'm hoping for battles," Flare murmured. "Your last few battles sucked hard! Your form was off by a fraction and your Muddy Water attack could have been summoned faster than four seconds!"

"Whatever, you obsessed training chicken." Muddy rolled his eyes. "Actually I'm looking at Sirius, Skittles, and Thunderbolt. They seem to be in a love triangle. Want to help?"

"No thanks!" Flare answered as she began using her Fire Punch on a rather large boulder to train. "I'm training right now, and Latias only knows how many love problems I'm in right now." She sighed and punched the rock harder, cracking it in half under the pressure. "Latias only knows ..."

"You're so weird, Flare." Muddy shook his head as Flare began training on another rock. "Weird and strange." He walked out of the forest and into the clearing, crossed the bridge and over to camp.

"Muddy! Good of you to come!" Brendan exclaimed rather happily as he gave Muddy some Pokéfood.

Muddy gulped it down rather quickly as Sirius came back over to where Brendan and May were stationed.

"Good boy, Sirius." Brendan patted his Pokémon's head as Sirius placed the ball into Brendan's head. The Bite Pokémon then laid back down this time at the base of the tree.

"Sirius! Wait up!" Skittles mewed, worn down by trying to catch up with the agile Mightyena. "You run too fast, Sirius Orion Mightyena!"

"Dude, why is everyone using our full names?" Sirius asked curiously, rolling the light green tennis ball with his right forepaw, amused. "So, what up, Skittles?" the hyena Pokémon asked, flipping the ball up and catching it in his mouth. "Mwen e fwing wan mmr mwwy?"

Skittles understood every word despite the overly large tennis ball lodge in Sirius's mouth. She glanced into Sirius's dark red eyes that glowed as he grew angry, causing her to melt onto the floor strangely. His tail twitched as he stared back at Skittles, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Ohhhhkay," Sirius said slowly, tossing the tennis ball up and down. "You're weird, Skittles." And with that he released the tennis ball from his clenched mouth and jumped into the river to go swimming. "If you want to talk to me," he yelled toward Skittles as he swam in the slow moving river, "you're going to have to get in the water first!"

Hmph, I may like Sirius, but I'm not that crazy! Skittles thought to herself. Am I?

"Hour one," Muddy mumbled to himself as he wrote on a notepad. "Subject seems to have a thing for codename Dog Boy. Subject seems to be mumbling about water and swimming with Dog Boy to herself. thinks that the Subject is crazy."

Unknown to Muddy, Flare hopped out of a tree and behind the Swampert. Taking in a deep inhale of breath, she yelled, "Boo!"

The water and ground type sprung up a few feet, landing on his two bottom with a thud. He turned around and glared coldly at Flare who only smirked in return. "What was that for?" he asked angrily, fiddling with his notebook and charred black stick he used to write with. "I'm writing something important and you have to go and bug me!"

Flare reached out and grabbed the notebook out of Muddy's paw, flipping through the pages. "Muddy," she started, "these are just drawings of how to take over the world!" She shoved the notepad back into Muddy's chest. "And I seriously doubt that drowning the world so only water Pokémon could live can work."

"It's possible!" Muddy retorted, throwing the notebook and writing utensil behind his shoulder.

Flare groaned and slapped where her forehead should be. "Muddy," she started. "Muddy, Muddy, Muddy, Muddy, Muddy."

"Flare," Muddy smirked, "What, what, what, what, what?"

"Must you make fun of that?"

"Must you ask?"

Flare slapped her forehead again. "Just forget about it," she sighed. "You're not planning on getting Skittles and Sirius or Skittles and Thunderbolt together are you? Because one will get hurt or one will be unhappy and the other will be completely clueless."

"What?" Muddy asked as he retrieved his notepad and charred stick from the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I suppose to be paying attention?"

"Ugh."

"Just kidding, sheesh." Muddy began drawing on his notepad again. "Anyway, yes I am. But who to get together? Skittles and Sirius or Skittles and Thunderbolt?"

"I'm not getting into this!" Flare protested as she jumped back up into a tree. "I'm not getting my friends mad at me for doing something stupid to them. Besides, I'm in training, remember? We're going to Fortree City soon; it's only a day or two away. I hear that their gym specializes in flying types, so I'm training so that they don't kick my butt!"

"But as for me," Muddy started, "I don't need to train because I'm not part fighting so therefore, I'm getting Pokémon together! I'm playing Kool-aid!"

"Cupid, Muddy," Flare corrected him as she climbed up onto another tree branch. "Read your mythology better. He's Aphrodite's son in Greek mythology. Or is the name Cupid from Roman mythology? Whatever, but if that's whatcha wanna do with your free day, fine! As for me, I'm getting stronger. Later!" Flare disappeared into the thickets of tree branches and leaves.

"Subject is approaching Dog Boy who is currently swimming in the stream," Muddy muttered to himself, scribbling in his notebook every now and then.


Ooh, that dog makes me so mad sometimes! Skittles complained to herself as she slowly approached the water. She watched the Bite Pokémon doggy paddle his was back and forth in the stream. He does look cuter when his fur in wet though. Ew, I did not just think that, did I? How gross, but it is true. Ack! The feline put one dainty paw into the water and shuddered.

"It's cold!" she mewed in annoyance and terror. "You expect me to come in there?"

"Why not?" Sirius joked. "I'm in here, you know." He smirked; it was fun tampering with minds, especially minds that liked him. Despite the fact that Sirius was usually that playful and lovable canine, his dark side sometimes crept out too.

"Well maybe you can come out and the cat doesn't have to go in too," Thunderbolt retaliated angrily as he walked over to Skittles's side. "Not all of us like water. But as for me, I like water. When I jump into a stream, like this one, it shocks everything in it."

"That's great, Thunderhead!" Sirius swam toward Skittles and Thunderbolt. "Jump on in, shock me and the other fifty thousand Magikarps, Goldeens, and Feebas living here. But it's okay! I'm sure you can handle yourself when the Water Pokemon rampage against you!" He laughed, motioning his paw in the air as he climbed back up onto the shore and shook himself dry.

"You think you're hot stuff don't you, Sirius, but you ain't nothing but a waste of Mightyena flesh!" Thunderbolt replied coldly. "Your head is so big I'm surprised that the world hasn't fallen down from the weight! You think you're the most playful and lovable dog in the world but I know better! You're a demon on the inside!"

Sirius rolled his crimson-colored eyes. "Well yeah, most dark Pokemon have an evil, demonic side to them somewhere in them but some don't show it as much. But anyway. How's life, Lightning Bolt-"

"Thunderbolt."

"-Thunderbolt? Peachy I hope?"

"Oh yeah, it's excellent," Thunderbolt snarled. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Yeah, if Skittles leaves." Sirius smirked at her, causing Skittles to blush and obey his orders.

"I don't appreciate what you're doing to Skittles," Thunderbolt snapped as soon as Skittles was out of ear shot. "Making her do things because you tell her too. Like yesterday, telling her to find some bananas ... on a Tropius! Are you crazy?"

"Sometimes," Sirius admitted as he walked out of the water, shaking himself, sending drops of water flying from his fur.

"You're using her because you know that she likes you! She probably thinks that doing all these things that you tell her to do will make you fall in love with her as well!"

Sirius rolled his eyes again. "Oh, you silly, little Thunderhead you, thinking that I'm using Skittles! All that infatuation with her must have gone to your head honestly! Why would I use Skittles? She's my best friend. My best friend has a crush on me. You're just jealous because she doesn't like you anymore, aren't you? That explains the hostility when you're around me now."

Thunderbolt growled from deep inside his throat. "Just because you don't like Skittles like I do doesn't mean you can use her like that!"

"I'm not using her! That's just your mind thinking it! You're picking on me because you're insecure! So ha!"

"Huh?"

"I don't know. I heard May say it once." Sirius shrugged. "But like I said before, I'm not using Skittles. It would be against the Pokémon Code of Honor to use another Pokémon for their benefit, remember?"

"Like anyone actually obeys that code," Thunderbolt remarked, scowling.

"Whatever!" Sirius shook his head and walked past the angry electric type, chuckling a bit. "Using, liking, stalker, obsessed, puh-lease!"

Thunderbolt bit his tongue and focused his anger on the static in his fur. It jolted and crackled, causing the pearly white clouds to let loose a small bolt of lightning. The clouds thundered a bit and the wind blew more violently than usual on a clear, spring day.

"Odd," a voice murmured from the stream. "Clear, spring days usually don't have lightning."

Thunderbolt groaned and rolled onto his back, his paws dangling in the air like a bug rolled on its back. "Sapphire, go away! I'm thinking here!"

"Thinking, eh?" Sapphire laughed as she shot a small jet of water hurtling toward Thunderbolt, making his already electric fur crackle even louder. "That's a first, isn't it? Honestly, T.B. You think too much for your own good. I'm surprise that your head hasn't blown up yet. If what you thought was smart, you could give Kadabra a run for his rare candy."

Thunderbolt was silent. "Do you think I have a chance?" he asked a few moments later.

"Honestly, I hate to be mean, but if you really want to know ... no."

"But-"

"No, Thunderbolt."

"Yeah, but-"

"Nope."

"But-"

"Nope, nada, zero, diddly squat! Find someone else, T.B. You never liked her until she stopped liking you. So what gives?"

"I don't know!" Thunderbolt rolled back onto his feet and glared at the Lanturn. "She messed with my mind is the most easiest explanation I can think of! Before, I was this serious, quiet, determined Pokémon who only lived to fight! And now ... Now I figured out that life is so confusing!"

"The Jolter seems to be complained about life to the Beacon," Muddy muttered to himself as he watched Thunderbolt and Sapphire from afar, scribbling down notes on his notepad every few seconds. "No sign of the Dog Boy or the Subject. reminds himself to think of a better nickname for the Subject. How about-"

"The Idiot?"

"No, that would never fit the Subject," Muddy answered back, not noticing the looming shadow behind him.

"I was talking about you." Flare crossed her arms and shook her head. "Some people and Pokémon don't liked to be spied on."

"Like, for example, what you're doing right now?" Muddy murmured absentmindedly.

"Shut up," Flare retorted weakly. "Okay, Mr. Cupid. It's time to quit now. Spying is bad for your health. Hazardous even. You're messing with destiny, you're playing with fate, you're shooting arrows where you shouldn't! So stop already! What are you planning anyway? Do you even have a plan? Why do I keep rambling on and on about the same thing? Better question, what the heck am I asking you of all Pokémon?"

"Was I suppose to listen then too?" Muddy asked curiously, jolting down another note. "I'm trying to get Skittles and Sirius together. Thunderbolt is alright, but he seems to be more quieter and more boring than Skittles and Sirius. So all in favor of Sirius and Skittles say aye!"

"Aye!" Cherry fluttered down onto Muddy's head.

"Aye!" Hydro, the newest recruit to May's team, popped out of the stream, scaring Thunderbolt and Sapphire.

"Aye!" Tai chirped from a tree branch above Muddy.

"I what?" Ninjask buzzed, landing besides Tai, his wings beating uncontrollably as if Ninjask were on a sugar rush. "I see? I hear? I what?"

"Okay! Five against one, good enough for me!" Muddy smirked as he stomped off toward the clearing where Skittles and Sirius were currently. "Ah ha! There are those two!"

"I what?" Ninjask whined as Cherry and Tai flew away. "What I do? Did I do what? Do what? What the? What the hell? Hell is what? What is hell? Is what what? What do you want? What is that? What the fu-"

"Shut up, Ninjask."


"Why did you bring me here, Skittles?" Sirius asked curiously as he eyed his surroundings. "Kind of secluded, don't you think? I mean, our trainers might get worried."

Skittles advanced at Sirius, causing the Bite Pokémon to back up into a tree. "Secluded. That's how I wanted it," she purred.

"What?" Sirius closed his eyes and used Faint Attack, vanishing from thin air and reappearing behind the feline Pokémon. "What's wrong with you, Skittles?" he asked half-heartedly, edging closer to camp. "What have you done with my best friend, you demon kitty?"

"But I am your best friend!" Skittles mewed, licking her lips, walking closer to the Bite Pokémon.

"Don't make me use my Roar attack on you!" Sirius stated fiercely, a slight tremble to his voice. "I mean it, Skittles!" He gulped as the cat Pokemon advanced on him again. He took in a small intake of breath before booming a furious, glass-shattering Roar attack, enough to make twenty Pokémon run away in fear. Skittles wasn't one of these twenty Pokémon unfortunately or luckily, depending on the type of person you are.

"Even the loudest of roars couldn't keep me away from you!" Skittles said, her tail swishing left and right.

"Ah, ha." Sirius forced out a laugh. "This is a joke, right? All of you guys wanted to play a prank on me since I play tricks on you. Okay, joke's over! You can come on out now!" He waited a few seconds but found that no one came. No trees rustling, no bushes moving, no nothing. "Aah, well ... The joke's on me! Look! You guys got me! Fun! Now please come on out, please," he pleaded but got no response except for Skittles's breathing.

"This is no joke," Skittles piped up, batting her eyelashes a few times.

Sirius, fed up with Skittles sudden lovey-dovey attitude, growled from deep inside his throat. His eyes turned red. "Now listen to me, Skittles!" he barked. "You better stop this stupid, seductive approach because frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn even if you were my type! So shut up and go back to the old Skittles before I rip you to shreds! Got it?"

Skittles backed away from Sirius and blinked twice as if blinking out of confusion. "Well, sorry!" she hissed angrily, marching over to a tree and sitting under its shade. "I thought it was the only way to get your attention!"

Sirius sighed, his glowing, crimson-colored eyes going back to their regular dark red and yellow. He walked over slowly to Skittles and closed his eyes before reopening them. "Now why did you bring me here again?"

Skittles licked her paw in a nervous habit, avoiding eye contact with the canine. "This is stupid," she muttered under her breath, tears beginning to swim in her eyes. "I shouldn't have brought you here. Maybe you should go."

"Yeah, okay. You brought me here to tell me that I should go?" Sirius asked, bewildered. "Just tell me, Skittles. I'm here already! It can't be stupid as you think it is."

"It's not stupid!" Skittles snapped. "It's not at all stupid! It's ..." She sighed in defeat. "Yeah, it's stupid, so you don't need to hear it."

"Just tell me already!"

"I don't like telling things to Pokémon that are rude!"

Sirius sighed. "I'm sorry, Skittles. Now will you please tell me?"


"Muddy!" Sapphire cried from the a tree. "Kadabra was being mean and teleported me up here all because he said I was being annoying! At least, I think he did. He said it at all in big words! Anyway, get me down from here!"

Muddy looked up and saw the small whale on a high tree branch, sparks shooting out of her beacon. "Hanging around, Sapphire?" he laughed as he began to climb the tree. "Wow, what a lame joke."

"I know! Get me down from here!"

Muddy reached the first tree branch and needed to climb up to more to get to Sapphire. But meanwhile ...

Skittles looked down at the grassy ground, her tail flicking around nervously. "I uh ... I ... uh ... I don't know how to say this, Sirius! It's too hard, and I'm afraid!"

"Afraid of what?" Sirius asked, confused.


"Almost there!" Muddy reached out a paw and grabbed onto the branch that Sapphire was deserted on. "Okay!" He sat on the tree branch, pine needles pointing him on his back. He picked up Sapphire. "K, time to go!" He turned around and was greeted with the sight of angry Beedrills. "Uh, hi?" Muddy laughed uneasily, slowly going toward the edge of the tree branch. "Nice Beedrills, heh." The Beedrills advanced as Muddy and Sapphire got closer to the edge of the branch. A loud cracking was heard and Muddy noticed through all the black and yellow of the Beedrills that the branch breaking. "Oh shi-"

SNAP!

The branch broke off the pine tree and down to the mossy ground, taking Muddy and Sapphire along with it.


"Listen, Sirius, I'm only going to say this once." Skittles sighed to calm her beating heart. "Okay. I'm good. What I wanted to say ever since I met you is that I l-"

Skittles noticed a looming shadow from above and she looked up. She saw a tree branch with two Pokémon riding on it. She quickly jumped out of the way as the tree branch fell onto the ground, dirt uprising from the ground. A figure coughed and fell backward, the Pokemon he was holding being taken down with him. "Muddy? Sapphire?" Skittles noticed the two Pokémon were her friends as the dust cleared.

"Whoa, that was fun! Can I go again, mummy?" Muddy answered, swirls in his eyes.

Sirius ignored the fallen branch and the Pokémon on it as he turned his attention back to Skittles. "You were going to say something important and not stupid to me even though you said it was, Skittles?"

"Wha?" the Delcatty turned around and blushed furiously. "Oh I can't! Not here! Maybe with Sapphire here but not Muddy! He'll just blab the entire thing out!" she mewed nervously. "I better go get help!" She ran for it.

Sirius blinked twice as the feline run away back to camp. A low growl came from the pit of his throat as he began to advance on the Swamp Pokemon. "Muddy, she was about to tell me finally! Who knows when she's going to have the confidence to tell me again!" His eyes glowed red. "Now you must pay for that."

Muddy rubbed the back of his head and smiled innocently, clinging onto Sapphire for dear life. "It's not my fault exactly," he stated weakly as he picked himself up. He backed up into a tree, the Bite Pokémon a few feet away. "It's ... hers!" He dropped Sapphire to the floor and ran back toward camp. "Good luck, Sapphire!"

Sapphire and Sirius looked at each other before yelling in unison. "Get back here!"


"Oh yes, I remember that day quite well."

So do I.

"You're so weird, narrator person."

Having you as my Pokémon friend does that to me.

"Awesome! But can we go to the next story where I play Cupid again?"

Sure whatev – hold up. Did you say when you get to play Cupid again?

"Yes?"

You ruined Skittles's moment, you moron.

"So I fell in so to speak at the wrong time! Does that make me a bad guy?"

YES!

"Hmmph, you try so hard to get two Pokémon together, but you don't get any credit. Now that hurts."

Yeah, whatever, enough rambling. What can I say about that anyway? But moving on, we have got plenty of love problems coming Muddy's way and he had plenty more chances to ruin them. Take Flare for example. Never did seem to have a mate on either Brendan and May's team. But Muddy, with his love arrows at ready, wanted to shoot one of those arrows into a good mate for Flare. Maybe he shot too many.

"Okay. For starters, I don't have any arrows! Another thing is that I didn't get anymore potential 'mates' for Flare. She got them all by herself by making herself noticeable on the telly."

The ... telly?

"I've been hanging around Geiko too much. And thirdly, I just want to say I DID NOT screw up this one. Flare did that by herself!"

We'll see, Muddy, we'll see.


Flare, a fiery and sarcastic Blaziken, was training in the thickets of trees, using Blaze Kick on rocks to see if they crack in half on impact, using her Flamethrower on brush and quickly stamping it out before it spread. A typical day off for this young Blaze Pokémon. Muddy was scheming something stupid as always, Skittles was trying to catch Sirius's attention, Kadabra was meditating under a pine tree, and Tai, Ninjask, and Cherry were airborne right about now. Nothing new, nothing exciting until-

A Flamethrower that missed Flare's head by a feather caught her attention. She flared up all four claws in anger and annoyance and looked into the distance where the attack came from.

"Whoever shot that Flamethrower is SO dead!" she muttered angrily, ruffling her feathers.

A unexpected gust of wind caught her attention. A dark shadow shot straight upward into the heavenly blue sky and hovered about Flare. The Blaze Pokémon looked up to where the shadow flew from above. Seconds passed by, and the shadow swooshed down in a mighty sweep of his strong wings. It dove, spiraling down to Earth before swooping upwards again and landing in front of Flare.

"Who ... who are you?" Flare asked, bewildered by the stranger's actions.

He was tall, taller than Flare who was a tall, lean six foot one. His strong wings beat the calm air every few seconds, causing the trees in the background to rustle. The flame on his tail was burning brightly, and his tough orange hide glowed with power, confidence, and determination. This creature was no other than-

"A Charizard?" Flare questioned again. "I've heard of you guys before! Your first form is the fire starters in Pallet Town in the Kanto region, right? Flying and fire with dragon type abilities! That is awesome!" she gasped, starry-eyed.

"The name's Charcoal." The Charizard smirked. "And yes, us Charizards do have many more capabilities than your average Fire type. But I hear you Blazikens are fighting and fire. That's pretty cool too." His tail flame grew larger than usual. "Training are we?" he asked, pointing to the burnt brush and the broken boulders. "Bold nature with a hint of cute huh?"

Flare blushed but it was unnoticeable thanks to her red feathers. "Bold, sarcastic, but I don't know about cute."

"Why not?" Charcoal laughed. "I mean, you fit the description."

"If you're trying to flatter me-"

"Which I am."

"-It's not working. I hear boys are bad," Flare stated simply as she flared up her claw and punched a rock.

"Oh, not all of them are, my dear Flare. Not all of them are." Charcoal watched Flare train with amused eyes. "I see this is how you get so strong. Helps you get out the frustration too I heard."

"Yeah, that's – how do you know my name?" Flare looked back at the Charizard when she left a crack in the rock.

"My trainer watches the Pokémon Report when we head into town in the store windows," Charcoal said with a shrug. "You've been on it countless times. I've seen you. Powerful Pokémon that you are. I guess this proves that looks don't matter."

"Oh and what does that mean?" Flare glared half-heartedly at Charcoal.

"Nothing," Charcoal answered, putting his claws outward to show he meant no harm. "Just saying ..." he trailed off. "Anyway, how about I help you train? The fastest way is to battle another Pokémon after all!"

"That's true," Flare said. "Sure! I'd love to train against-"

"Me?" Another voice piped up. "Why train on a pathetic Charizard when you have me here?"

Charcoal turned around furiously and blew a Flamethrower at a nearby busy, burning the contents inside and out. A figure jumped out and landed in front of Flare in a flash. He was the same height as Flare and had a calm and cool demeanor about him. He preened his feathers down and smirked at Flare, his eyes glinting in the sunlight. It was no other than-

"Wow, this is great!" Charcoal muttered to himself sarcastically, "Great, just great."

"Did you say something, Chinese?" The Blaziken smirked, blowing a flame out off the tip of his claw.

"It's Charcoal!" Charcoal huffed angrily, smoke coming out of his nostrils. "What are you doing here, Taichi?"

The other Blaziken frowned. "It's Torch, alright? Get that through your tiny head, Chinese!"

"It's Charcoal, Toenails!"

"It's Torch!"

"Um ... hi?" Flare waved a claw, interrupting the two. "Who are you? I'm Flare by the way!"

"Oh, everyone knows you, babe." Torch winked at Flare but scowled at Charcoal. "I told you claws off! She's mine!"

"Who said I was anyone's?" Flare said, a low growl coming from the back of her throat.

"Uh." Torch smiled innocently and backed away a few feet. "He did!" He pointed an accusing finger at Charcoal. "He's the one!"

"You lie!" Charcoal glowered, the flame on his tail glowing a dangerous color of blue and white. "You said it first! Anyway, what makes you think you have a chance with her?"

Torch snorted. "Well duh! I am a Blaziken after all. Flare is a Blaziken; we were meant to be together! As for you, Chalk Hole, you should get together with, oh let's say, a Numel!" Torch burst out laughing. "You both are at each other's brain speed that's for certain!"

"Uh, I don't get it, and it's Charcoal!" Charcoal replied weakly.

"My point exactly." Torch smirked. "So, Flare, why don't you train with me so you don't have to train with Charco Loco over here?"

"IT'S CHARCOAL ALREADY!"

Flare blinked twice. "Well, if you two are going to argue all day, then I'm going to train by myself-"

"How about you train with me?" A Typhlosion appeared from the midst of the trees, the flames on its back growing with every step he took. "Hi, name's Burner, and I must say it's an honor to be in your presence, Flare." He smirked like the two fire types before him. "And seeing as how these two idiots are going to be arguing all day, you can train with me. I'm the most serious out of all the fire starters-"

"And the most immature at some points," Charcoal added. "I thought you were back at camp, Bunsen."

"Oh yeah, that joke never gets old." Burner rolled his eyes. "Bunsen Burner haha. Hilarious ... not!" He looked at Flare again. "So, do you want to train with me?"

"Oh yeah. Like she'll go for you!" Torch snorted. "With that lame entrance? At least both me and Charcoal over here did something. All you did was enter from some clearing in the forest, looking all mysterious .. wooooooo. Puh-lease."

"Unlike you, Tie Dye, I actually think I don't have to show off in front of hot chicks like Flare. I'm sorry that you two feel unconfident in your abilities and selves."

"It's TORCH!" Torch screeched angrily, causing the other Fire types to wince in agony. "T-O-R-C-H! SPELL IT WITH ME, BURGER! T-O-R-C-H!"

"It's BURNER!"

"I am soooo leaving," Flare said wearily, and she turned down the heat around her claws. She walked into another clearing to train. "See you guys late-" A Flamethrower at head caught her attention. She tilted her head, and the flame missing her by inches. "Nice try, Torch," she laughed, turning around to face the Blaziken. "I know it was you. I'd recognize that type of Flamethrower miles away."

"What about our sparing contest?" Torch asked, his claws being licked with blue and white flames. "You told us that you would train with all of us, so you want the best way to train, you got it!"

"Especially if you want to fight fire types!" Charcoal added, puffing his chest a little. "Our trainer is one of the best fire type wielders ever! He specializes in fire types! So you want a good fight, you're staring right at it!"

"Uh, what they said," Burner replied weakly.

"Three against one doesn't sound fair," Flare retaliated, "even if it does get me stronger. Can one of you be on my team too?" she asked, smiling. "Would gladly appreciate it."

The three male fire types looked at each other, and in an instance, Blaze Kicks licked the bottom of claws, Flame Wheels were formed, and Flamethrower were fired.

"I'm going to be on her team!" Charcoal roared, blasting a Flamethrower at Burner's head. "I was here first, so I should be on Flare's team!"

"You know what they say!" Burner ducked, the Flamethrower barely touching his own flames on his back. "First is worst!" he was engulfed in flames as he tackled Torch with all his might.

"Yeah, and second's the best!" Torch retorted, dodging Burner and using a roundhouse Blaze Kick to Charcoal's head. "Third's the nerd! Great description of you, Burger!"

"Its BUNSEN – I mean BURGER – I mean BURNER dammit!" Burner thundered angrily, using Fire Spin on the two other Fire types.

"Haha, loser!" Torch replied, chuckling. "He doesn't even know his own name!" The male Blaziken used his strong legs to jump out of the fiery tornado and into a clearing. He shot a Flamethrower to the ground to soften his landing. "Booger should be his next name!" He laughed, sending Charcoal flying with a powerful Sky Uppercut attack.

Charcoal was sent sky bound but was able to regain control with a mighty flap of his wings. In fact, he kept beating his wings in the air, causing the wind to pick up from below. The three fire Pokémon stationed at the forest floor stood their ground as they looked up at the Charizard.

"What the hell are you doing?" Burner remarked, the flames on his back flickering. With an angry roar, he sent a fire ball hurtling toward Charcoal, but with another massive flit of his widespread wings, he hurled the fire ball straight back at the Typhlosion. Burner caught his own attack in his arms, absorbing and disintegrating the fire ball's energy. "Ha!" Burner cried triumphantly."You're going to have to better than-" A star-shaped Fire Blast engulfed him in blue and white flames. The attack died down, leaving a very charred black Typhlosion. "That ... he finished lamely before falling over in exhaustion.

"Not only is he the weakest link out of all three starters," Charcoal flew back down towards earth, "he is also very lame at making comebacks." He glared coldly at Torch. "Well, it's down toward the two of us! Give it up! I don't want to explain to our master why two of his Pokémon are injured!"

"I never surrender," Torch answered, a hint of determination in his voice. "It's the Blaziken Code of Honor and I quote: Article 3, Section 4 – No Blaziken shall ever surrender when challenged to a battle no matter what the consequence is. The fight is not over 'til it's over, and guess what, Chinese? It's not over til the Charizard begs for mercy!" Torch threw a tremendous Fire Punch toward Charcoal who caught it in his own grip.

Charcoal winced slightly as the blue and white flames licked his claw dangerously. He countered using a direct Flamethrower to Torch's head. "Ha, look!" Charcoal laughed, his claw burning from the heat coming from Torch's claw. "I'm torching Torch!"

Torch ducked but managed to get caught partially in the inferno. He raised the heat in the death lock grip between Charcoal and himself. "I think it's time to heat things up!" he retaliated, smirking as both he and the Charizard was engulfed in bluish-white flames.

Charcoal bawled in agony before loosening his grip on Torch and falling backward to the forest floor.

Torch smiled jubilantly, very smug at the moment. "Looks like I win!" he stated, looking at his fallen opponents. "So Flare? How would you like to be my valentine-" He took in a sharp intake of breath before falling forward toward the earthly ground.

Burner, his claw in a Slash attack position, simpered, flames flickering in his eyes. "Ha," he said under his breath. "Taichi ... What a pathetic Pokémon, keeping his back unguarded like that." He looked toward Flare and reached out for her claw. "So, my dear Flare, will you be my valentine?"

Flare, who kept quiet for the past ten minutes watching the battle, smiling at Burner. "Um-" Her answer was interrupted as a double Flamethrower flew overhead. "You guys never give up huh?"

Charcoal and Torch glared ice cold daggers at the Typhlosion who only flared up the flames on his back in return. The three were in a deathly staring contest, all of them panting heavily from the exhausting battles. A tense silence was in the air. Three THUDS were heard as the three Pokémon fainted.

Flare, her eyes widening, gasped before stating quickly, "I didn't do it!"


"What?"

Nothing. Just ... sigh.

"Right. See! I didn't screw that one up now did I? Hell, I wasn't even in that story!"

If it makes you feel better, you can think that. Now, as our story comes to an end – thankfully – Cupid here used his last batch of arrows. Thank Latias and Latios and Rayquaza and all the other legendaries that I'm too lazy to mention.

"You've always been lazy – hey! I don't have arrows!"


Brendan Birch, Pokémon Master in the making, leaned against a tall oak tree, his eyes closed, the soft and gentle breeze brushing through his snow-white hair not safely tucked within the folds of his bandanna. He opened his dark, ruby eyes, peering into the distance, making him look mysterious and determined. The young trainer was in deep thought about the following day: Valentine's Day. He was worried though he didn't show it. A small frown escaped his lips as he stared into the serene stream. What was he to do?

Brendan wondered if he should get something for his valentine. What could he get in the middle of the forest? Tree bark? Rocks? Water? Leaves? He pounded a fist against the old oak tree, leaving a painful tingling in his hand. He turned his head and looked at his companion, May Maple, busy brushing though Skittles' fur. He then looked straight up toward the sky, branches blocking the blue hue from his sight. May was Brendan's valentine – well, she didn't know it but it was well planted in his head. He didn't like her in that certain way, but he liked her enough to make her his valentine.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Bread Head?" Sirius asked curiously, his favorite tennis ball rolling in between his two paws as he curled up around Brendan's feet, sighing. "Can you think at all first though?"

Brendan laughed. "Yes, Sirius. I can think as surprising as it is." He looked down toward the Bite Pokémon. "What's up with you, pal? Shouldn't you be running around or something or going on an adventure instead of lolling about, looking like a Slankoth? You've been napping all day. This isn't like you at all."

Sirius looked up at his trainer, confusion and worry in his eyes. "I'm confused, Brendan. Earlier today, Skittles came up to me and led me to some secluded spot."

"Really?" Brendan asked, putting his hands behind his head and gazing at the river again. "What for?"

"Not sure," Sirius admitted. "Does she want to confess or what?" He put his head on his two front paws. "That she likes me, I mean."

"Maybe, Sirius."

"Ah, well." Sirius sighed as he got back onto all fours. "That's her fault, not mine." He looked at his surroundings, spotting Muddy. "Wait, it's not Skittles fault ..." he trailed off. "It's ... Muddy's! Muddy! You get your butt down here right now! We're going to play a little game I like to call mailman!" Sirius laughed insanely as he began to chase Muddy.

Muddy turned around and saw the dog Pokemon sprinting towards him. "Oh crap!" He threw his notepad and stick into the air and dove into the stream.

"You're not getting away that easily!"

Brendan chuckled quietly to himself, watching the spectacle.

"Ninjask!" Sirius howled, and instantly, the speedy bug hovered to his side. "Help me!"

"Uh, why?" Ninjask asked, confused.

"Just do it!"

"Fine. Here Muddy, Muddy! Come out, come out wherever you are! I got something to show you! It's cookies!"

"You have cookies?" Sirius asked excitedly, jumping up and down. "Where?"

Ninjask sighed. "I was kiddin'. It's to get Muddy out, but since Muddy isn't as cookie-obsessed as you are, Dog Boy, we'll just have to get him out another way!" He charged up his wings with electricity and shocked the river. "That will get him!"

Sirius backed away from the stream, a nervous looked on his face. "And the other hundred Water Pokémon in there," he gulped. "Besides, the shock wouldn't have effected Muddy – he's part ground."

The stream crackled with electricity before dying out, and out rose a tall, looming figure.

"Ha! Muddy! I knew you would come out sooner or later!" Ninjask cried triumphantly.

Muddy only smirked as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, out rose twenty or thirty Water Pokémon, from Magikarps to Seakings. They all glared coldly at Ninjask and Sirius who smiled innocently in return.

Muddy snapped his fingers again. "You all know what to do I presume."

Jet upon jet of Water Guns hurtled toward the cowering two. They screamed in fright and ran for it, getting hit by the Water Gun barrage every now and then. They ran up a tree where the Water Guns could reach them still.

"Somehow, I think I should feel sorry for them," Muddy mumbled to himself as he watched the scene with amused eyes. "But I can do that later. As for now, time to find another love problem!" His eyes rested on Brendan who was leaning against a tree, taking casual glances at May. "Of course, how stupid of me!" He laughed. "I've been thinking of how to get those two to get together, and this is perfect! But what to do." He dug underground and reappeared behind the tree from where Brendan was leaning on.

"I don't know what I'm going to get May this Valentine's in the middle of a forest," Brendan complained to himself again. "If only somehow I can get her a present in town without her knowing. But how do I do that? Make a clone of myself?"

"No, but how about me instead?" Muddy said out loud to himself. "And I got the perfect plan!"

"Don't you think your plans are kind of ... stupid?" Flare regarded behind Muddy. "Two plans failed already. What makes you think this one will work? What's your plan? Drown the world in tears and maybe May will forgot about Valentine's day?" she laughed.

"Who told you my plan?' Muddy replied, turning around to face the Blaziken. "Nah, kidding. My actual plan will work, I know it! I can feel it in my bones. Anyway, where were you? You've been gone for a while. Out with someone, hint hint?" He chuckled. "Let me guess! A Charizard, Blaziken, and Typhlosion appeared out of no where in the midst of the forest, trying to win your heart while you were training and then someone brought up that you guys should double battle and the three male fire types battled it out to see who would be on your team but they ended up fainting in the end. How wrong am I?"

Flare was surprise but she didn't show it. "No," she coolly lied. "I was just training as usual. No biggie."

"So are you in on this plan too?"

"Nah. I think I had enough love problems for today, thank you very much! And as for you, Bemired Muddy Swampert, I would think things out before taking action. I believe you've got two angry Pokémon sitting in a tree because you ordered the water Pokémon in the river to attack them." She jumped into the air and landed gracefully on a tree branch. "Good luck with the humans, Mud Boy!" She disappeared completely in the thickets of the pine leaves.

"Whatever." Muddy shrugged as he dug back underground and out into the other side of the creek. "Now all I've got to do is get a present for Brendan to give to May! But it'll take hours to get back to a town, not mentioning the return trip back. I'm sure I'll be noticed that I'm gone." He noticed Tai looking dull as he flew slowly with Cherry who was whining about something. "Tai!" he cried loudly.

Tai noticed Muddy yelling, excused himself from Cherry and perched on his shoulder. "Thank Latios for getting me out of that, Muddy! That butterfly can complain about things forever! So wuddup?"

"See that?" Muddy pointed at Brendan taking small yet swift glances at May. "We need to get HIM a Valentine's gift for HER!"

"And why?" Tai asked. "What if I don't want my trainer with your trainer? What if I want May to find someone better? What if I don't want to do whatever you say? What if-" Tai was cut off as Muddy reached up one of his scaly hands and closed it around Tai's throat. Tai's eyes widened and his wings flailed about. "I'll do it!" he managed to gasp out.

Muddy let go of the bird Pokémon and smirked. "I thought you'd understand. Now here's what you do. You fly to the closest town, which is Mauville, Veranturf or Slateport, and get May something ... uh-"

"Cute?" Tai spat out the next word. "Yuck."

"Exactly!" Muddy replied. "Like a few Pokédolls or something or chocolate or something 'kyute!' like that." Muddy smirked in triumph. "Great plan, huh?"

"Okay, Mr. Genius. How do you expect me to pay for the gift?" Tai retorted smartly, pecking on Muddy's head. "And even if you do figure out a way for that, how am I suppose to go into some shop and buy it? I can't change myself into to a human form, smart one."

"Good point," Muddy replied, rubbing his chin. "Ah! I got it!" He walked over to May's bag that laid under a tree and pulled out a Pokémon Magazine from the middle pocket. "Look at this!" He flipped open the magazine to a direct page focusing of Valentine's Day gifts. "We can mail order! You can be like a carrier pigeon-"

"Swellow."

"Whatever. You can be like a carrier Swellow and fly this mail order to the shop! Then the guy will give you the gift!"

"And what about the moolah idiot?"

"Well." Muddy strolled over to the other side of the tree where Brendan's bag laid. He sat down and placed the bag behind him, slowly unzipping it. He pulled out Brendan's wallet. "I earned most of Brendan's money; I should get at least some of it. Besides, I'm sure that he will be happy to pay for a gift for May if he thought what I thought! That was a confusing sentence."

"Well, you're a confusing Pokemon, Bemired," Tai answered back, the magazine clutched in his beak. He dropped it on the ground and it opened to the Valentine's gift page, using his wing to point to a picture, directing toward a picture of a Torchic doll holding a box of chocolates. "May likes Torchic and chocolate, so this is the perfect gift!"

"Maybe one more gift too," Muddy remarked, noticing the price of the gift. "Too cheap if you ask me!"

"Fine! We'll get her something else too." Tai shook his head. "But what? That Torchic thing is the cheapest thing on the list and we barely have enough money for that!"

"I'll think of something." Muddy tore out the list of merchandise from the magazine and used his charred black stick to circle the Torchic doll and chocolate. He pulled out a light brown leather carrying case from May's bag that she used when she delivered mail to her other friends in the Hoenn Region and placed it around Tai, slipping some money and the merchandise list into it. "Now take this to Slateport's outside market! They'll help you from there!"

Tai shook his head as he jumped off Muddy's head and into the open air. "I'll be back in a hour!" he shouted as he flew up toward the puffy white clouds.

"Now as for the next gift," Muddy thought out loud as he watched Tai take off. "Since we're in the forest, I think flowers would be good. But where are these flowers anyway?"

"Talking to yourself again, Muddy?" Cherry said dully as she rested on Muddy's shoulder.

"Oh so you're at least talking to me now?" Muddy answered. "You're not mad at me for ... yeah?"

Cherry shook her head, her wings fluttering. "Nah, it wasn't the right time for Skittles to confess anyway, especially since I don't think Sirius likes her back. How long are you going to keep Ninjask up there anyway?"

"Who?" Muddy questioned. "Ah, anyway, you're a butterfly, right? Do you know where some flowers are? I need some to finish off May's present that Brendan's going to give to her."

"Aw that's sweet, getting a gift for Brendan that he can give to May!" Cherry cooed. "I wish Ninjask got me a gift but-" She glanced toward him. "Whatever. I know where the perfect flowers are! Be right back!" She swiftly flew off toward the forest.

"Okay." Muddy relaxed under the tree. "Well there's nothing to do but wait now."

"Muddy, what are you doing... doing nothing?" Brendan asked as he stood over Muddy. "You're planning something when you're not doing nothing which makes no sense whatsoever."

Muddy froze. "Doing ... nothing! Can't a Pokémon just relax, sheesh! What's up with you trainers today, always so frickin' worried these days! I heard back in the day that every Pokémon stood for itself, and if they had a trainer, they didn't worry about them!" he rambled, an alertness to his voice. "Heh, now go and do something! Study! Uh, go climb a tree!"

"Riiiiiight," Brendan said slowly. "Yeah well. I'll go ... climb a tree." He walked away, taking worried glances behind his shoulder at Muddy.

"Great, even more to do!" Muddy muttered as he walked over to the stream. "Hydro!" he cried into the stream. "Get out here now!"

A large form rose from the water, and Hydro appeared, water dripping off his scaly, blue body. "Yes, Muddy?" the newbie to the team asked. "Muddy right?"

"Yup, that's my name, don't call me Bemired!" Muddy said cheerfully. "Anyway, can you please keep May distracted?" He pointed toward May who was finished brushing through Skittles's fur. "I don't need her to ruin my plan."

"Oh?" Hydro asked, curious. "What's your plan?"

"Get a gift for Brendan so he can give it to May," Muddy replied smartly, glad that at least one Pokémon on the team didn't know about his mistakes but annoyed that he didn't know anything about the Brendan and May issue. "We think that Brendan and May are destined for each other, and we're just pushing them along."

"I see." Hydro nodded. "Okay, but for how long? I was busy napping under water. Evolving from a weak excuse of a Pokémon to someone so big and strong as I-" he puffed out his chest, "-takes a lot out of you."

"Oh, stop bragging already. You're part of a team." Muddy shook his head. "Anyway, keep her distracted for me, alright? I'll get someone to take care of B Boy." He turned around and was face to face with Beautifly, wild flowers balanced on her back. "Oh, you got the flowers!" He took them off Cherry's back. "Do you know how to make bouquets?" he asked hopefully.

Cherry looked at him dryly. "I have no arms, so what do you think?"

"You can't?"

"Exactly."

Muddy held the colorful wild flowers limply in his arms. "Now who's good at arranging flowers?"


Hydro dove underwater and popped up in front of a surprised May. "Hiya, May!" he chirped cheerfully. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

May smiled happily. "Why, thank you, Hydro! How very kind of you to say that! So, how do you like it with me so far?"

"Oh it's great!" Hydro stated, putting a little too much enthusiasm in it. "Just ... great!"

"Riiiiight. Well I have to go and find Tai! I need him to deliver a letter to my friend Hiro. Do you know where he is?"

"Sorry, I don't." Hydro noticed Muddy making motions of cutting his throat. "Uh, I mean, why don't you send that letter later and talk to me instead! You know, get to know me?"

May looked back toward camp and nodded. "Sure, Hydro. Go ahead."

Hydro smiled weakly. This was going to be a long day.


"Er, thanks, Kadabra." Muddy rubbed the back of his head as he held the bouquet of wild flowers in his paw, watching Kadabra sit in the shade of a tree and meditate again.

"Weird that Kadabra knows how to arrange flowers like that," Cherry noted. "But it's missing something." She motioned Muddy to hold the bouquet by the tip of the stem in one hand. "Ok, here it goes!" She fluttered her wings harder than usual, and silver sparkles flew out and clung onto the flowers. "Ah, Silver Wind is a beautiful attack when used on flowers. Heck, it's beautiful by itself." She sighed happily.

Muddy coughed, his arm glinting in the sunlight because of the Silver Wind. "Gee, thanks for the paint job," he said sarcastically.

"No problem, Mud Boy!"


Hydro fidgeted nervously in the water as he made up lies off the top of his head. Truth is, he couldn't remember diddly squat about his life as a Magikarp. "Well ... I, uh, was the king of the Magikarp," he lied, "and I was well known by everything else."

"That's so cool!" May gasped in delight. "My Gyarados was the King of the Magikarp!"

Hydro smiled weakly again. "Eh heh, right."


Tai flew awkwardly. The package was heavier than he thought, and besides he got berries along the way too. He spotted Muddy and dove toward him, gaining acceleration as he declined. Maybe he was moving too fast as he crash landed into Muddy's chest. Muddy threw the bouquet up into the air and Cherry caught them on her back as he fell backward, Tai on top of him.

"Get off!" Muddy yelled as he pushed the bird off him and stood back on two feet, brushing the dirt off him.

"How rude!" Tai stated as he hovered next to Cherry. "Well anyway, I got the present."

"Cool!" Muddy exclaimed excitedly as he opened the flap of the leather bag open and pulled out the Torchic Doll, a few Oran Berries tumbling out with it. "The hell?"

"A bird's gotta eat," Tai replied with a shrug as he landed on the floor and ate a berry before hovering again. "Anyway, we barely had enough money for that and a Quick Claw."

"Really?" Muddy answered. "Well that's – a Quick Claw? I didn't order a Quick Claw!"

"But I did!" Tai said, smirking as he pulled out the Quick Claw emblem. He tied it to a metal chain and hung it around his neck. "Now I'm faster!" he cried jubilantly, as he flew around in a circle. "Woot!"

Muddy shook his head. "Okay. Torchic doll and chocolate, check. Flowers, check. Now all we need is-"

"The person to give it to May!" Cherry finished, smiling.

"And the Pokémon to give the gifts to Brendan first," Tai added.

"Whatever."

"Anyway," Muddy started. "Tai, get Brendan. Cherry, you tell all the Pokémon not to interrupt Brendan or May with the petty – wow I didn't even know I knew that word! That word-of-the-day-calendar really pays off! But yeah, Cherry, tell all the Pokémon not to interrupt the trainers with their petty arguments!"

"Aye aye captain!" Cherry and Tai said in unison as they flew off toward their destinations.


Hydro was getting nervous by the minute, urging Muddy, Tai, and Cherry to hurry up with their gifts with his eyes. "Well, as the King of the Magikarp, I ... got to rule many things!" he said weakly.

"Oh?" May asked excitedly. "Like what?"

"Like the ... seaweed ... and some Goldeens and Seakings."

"Wow!"


"I got Brendan!" Tai said victoriously, his two claws clutching Brendan's red and black bandanna.

"And I told the Pokémon!" Cherry fluttered back to the group, smiling. "Ah, here comes Brendan now!" she stated as she watched Brendan run after Tai. Tai dropped the bandanna on the ground and flew up into the treetops along with Cherry. Muddy, with both gifts in paw, hid behind the same tree Cherry and Tai were stationed at.

Brendan ran over to his bandanna and picked it up. "Well that was weird," he stated as he tied the bandanna around his head. He spotted May. "Maybe now that I'm done climbing trees, I can finally talk to May!"

"So when you got older, you met the queen of the Water Pokémon?" May asked, getting more and more into Hydro's lies. "Wow."

"Er yeah," Hydro replied. "She even wanted to date me!"

"Amazing!"

Hydro spotted Brendan coming over toward May and Muddy motioning to go back underwater. "Well I must go!" he said suddenly. "Bye!" He dove back underwater.

"Hey, wait a minute!" May stood up from her sitting position and looked down into the stream. Hydro was gone by then. "Oh well," she said sadly. A pair of hands covered her eyes. "Ah! I'm being kidnapped!" she joked, knowing it was Brendan.

"Haha, very funny." Brendan rolled his eyes but smiled all the same. "Hey, May."

"Hey, Brendan!"

Brendan sighed as he put his hands behind his back. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't-" He was interrupted as May let out a small shriek of pain.

"Ouch!" she cried, rubbing the back of her head and turning around. "Okay, you guys. Who threw the rock?" No response except for the chirping of crickets.

Brendan looked at the back of May's head. He felt two items press into hands. "What the?" He turned around and saw his faithful Swampert.

Muddy shushed him as he smirked and dug back underground.

Brendan pulled his hands back to the front and stared at the gifts: A Torchic doll holding a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a bouquet of wild flowers sparkled with silver glitter. He gaped at the presents but got his face back together as soon as May turned her head back around.

"Oh! Are those for me?" she gasped at the presents.

"Er, yes."

"These flowers are beautiful, and that Torchic doll is soooooo cute!" May cooed as Brendan handed her the gifts. "How did you get these, Brendan Birch, without me knowing?"

"Uh, well. I guess you can say I have someone watching my back so to speak," he laughed.

May gently placed the gifts on the ground and embraced Brendan in a tight hug. "Happy Valentine's Day," she whispered into his ear, hugging him tight, not letting go.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." Brendan hugged her back tightly also. "My valentine."

"You know, that Muddy ain't so bad." Ninjask flapped his wings while he sat on a tree branch, his wings glinting in the orange-red setting sun. "Thinking of a plan to get a gift for Brendan so he could give it to May for Valentine's."

"Do you think he'll call off the water Pokémon?" Sirius ignored Ninjask's statement. "I've been sitting up here for hours. My buttocks is getting sore."

"Who knows," Ninjask replied, smirking. "Looks like you're stuck up here forever! Like a cat!" He laughed as he flew back into the endless orange red sky. "Later days, my friend, later days!"

"You get back here!" Sirius whined as he sat down grumpily on the tree again. "I want my mommy ..." he sniffled.


At least you did something good for once this time Muddy. Yet-

"Hey! I got one romance down at least!"

... Say good-bye, Muddy.

"Goodbye, Muddy!"

Latios.

"Have a Happy Valentine's day!"

What the hell makes it so happy in the first place?

"Who really knows."

Last Revision: 1/12/09