Alright, sorry it took so long, but I worked really hard on this one! Lots o' romance, lots o' humor, lots o'...um...writing! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Darn.

The sun shone brilliantly on the morning after. Mew sighed. At least someone was somewhat happy. Azelf, the self-declared head of the Phione search party, had decided that their group would split into two and cover more ground. She started to organize the teams. "Uxie, Party One," she called. "Mesprit, Party Two." At the sound of Mesprit's name, Mew blushed. Realizing this, she desperately tried to shake the redness away. Then she started praying as Azelf shouted, "Jirachi, Party One. Umbreon, Party Two."

"Please, please, please," she muttered to herself quietly. Celebi went to Party One while Lucario was assigned to Two.

"Manaphy, One. Kiki, Two." Mew crossed her fingers. "And Mew will be Party Two while I am in Party One." The pink Pokémon's cheeks weren't very pink any more. Instead, they were a shocking scarlet.

"Crap," she said inaudibly, and ducked under her mahogany table before anyone could see. That is, before anyone but Lucario could see. He walked over and followed her under.

"What's wrong, Mew?" he asked. She said nothing, shaking her head instead. Lucario looked out at Mesprit, who was also a deep shade of crimson. "You know," he said, "this is a great way to spend time with Mesprit." Mew shook her head again.

"It's too hard," she answered. "He doesn't like me." Lucario slapped his head.

"Women," he sighed to himself. He dragged her out, saying, "Well, I'm gonna make you talk to him by today or, so help me, I'll eat fifty of Kiki's Poffins of Death!" Mew let out a small chuckle. "That's the spirit!" shouted Lucario. "Now, let's go!" Mew, now back to her regular coloring, followed him out, brimming with confidence. Then, she took a step toward Mesprit. He looked at her, and all her newfound self-belief drained away. Lucario turned toward the shivering ball of nerves. "This is going to take longer than I thought."

Phione could barely breathe. The air in here was humid enough, and the bandana around her mouth didn't really help. "Enjoying your stay?" came the frigid voice again. With telepathy, she streamed curses at the man in front of her that would make Weavile shudder. "Now, now," he replied coolly, "a 700-year-old shouldn't say those things."

"Your mom shouldn't say those things, Ciar," she shot back. Phione saw Ciar flinch. Any mention of the words "your" and "mom" together in a sentence got under his skin. She laughed tensely.

"You may be laughing now, gnat," Ciar threw at her, "but try that when I capture your friends as well as you." Phione gasped. That was his plan! "And also remember, I'm the one who brought you into being, and I can certainly take you out of it."

"You wouldn't dare!" But Phione knew differently. He wasn't above killing his victims. When she was hatched inside his laboratory, she had seen two Zigzagoon and a Starly fall to his grasp. But not only the weaker ones, but also strong Pokémon like Ursaring and Luxray perished. Oh, he wasn't joking. "You're going to die for this," she muttered.

"Oh will I?" Ciar let out a barrage of sinister cackles. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and appear at Miss Fluffywuffs's and Mr. Snuffikens's tea party." With that, he left the room. Phione rolled her eyes and wished that she had been captured by a more impressive foe.

Kiki desperately tried to contain her laughter. This was the funniest sight she had ever seen. Three hours into the search, Lucario picked a lone iris and gave it to Umbreon, who slightly blushed and put it behind her ear. This probably wouldn't have been hilarious, except for the fact that Lucario made a not-so-secret cue to Mew, who then gathered up a few daisies and headed toward Mesprit. But, because of her constant shaking, she tripped halfway there. Umbreon helped her up, but Mew was so red that she said that she was going to "look up ahead" and left the party. A giggle escaped from Kiki. Umbreon turned and glared at her, piercing red eyes boring through her. That shut her up. The black fox walked over to Mesprit and started to chat with him. Once her back was turned, Kiki started chuckling again. She stuck her hand into her bag and pulled out a video camera. This was going to be good.

"I told you she likes you!" Mesprit smiled. "Ha!" Umbreon cried. "A smile! And not a blush! Great progress! Now you just have to tell her how you feel!" The Emotion Pokémon's grin disappeared.

"I...can't," he said finally.

"Aw, come on! Give me one reason why you can't."

"Because," he began, "I..." Mesprit searched for the right words. "I'm too scared."

Umbreon thought a moment. This situation reminded her of herself while she was still an Eevee. "Then don't talk to her," she told him.

Confused, Mesprit asked, "How do I tell her, then?" A sly look appeared on Umbreon's face.

"Write her."

Lucario ran to catch up with Mew. "Hey!" he called. Mew stopped for a moment and turned back. "What's wrong, Mew?" The pink Pokémon turned away again.

"I can't do it," she said somberly. "I've tried, believe me, I've tried, but..."

"But what?" asked Lucario.

"I'm just not good at this."

"Not good at what?" Lucario sighed. "Talking, confronting...?"

"The whole thing," Mew interrupted. "The entire romance deal. It's just...not working."

"You've barely spoken a full sentence to him, and you're saying it's not working?" The fighting Pokémon sat down on a nearby rock. Mew followed his example. "Come on," he insisted. "All you need to do is tell him." The pink kitten Pokémon looked down at her head. Lucario put his arm around her. "Look," he said, "I know this is something you might feel more comfortable talking with a, uh...female with, but you two belong together." He stopped for a moment. "Now, I want you to talk to Mesprit by tomorrow, okay?"

Mew hesitated. "Okay," she said finally. "But don't force yourself to eat those Poffins if I don't." The two stood up and started back toward the rest of the group.

"Perfect!" came a voice from behind him. "Amazing! This is gold here, peoples!" Kiki, holding her video camera to her eye, appeared from behind the rock. "The drama, the tragedy, the...what was that about my Poffins?"

"You recorded the entire thing?" Kiki nodded. Mew stared at her in disbelief. She looked at Lucario. "May I have the honor?" she asked.

"Be my guest. May I join you?" Mew nodded, and the two headed toward Kiki.

"Hey, what are you doing? Come on, you've got to admit it will make a great movie! Violence solves nothing, you know!" But Kiki's words were lost as the fight began. In the confusion of the brawl, though, no one saw a yellow-orange tail appear and then disappear behind a nearby bush.

Night had fallen. The friends had set up camp; Lucario and Umbreon in one tent, Kiki, Mesprit, and Mew in the other. Long ago had they all fallen asleep.

A twig snapped. Umbreon's head shot up. Being a creature of the night, she was a light sleeper. There was a rustling outside of the tent. Cautiously, Umbreon peeked out.

"Hi!"

"Aagh!" Umbreon flew backwards as she was greeted by the face of a Raichu. Regaining herself, she recognized him. "You," she sneered.

"Yes, me." The Raichu smiled. "The one and only!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I...I-I-I-I-I-...," he stuttered. Umbreon sighed. "Can I come in?" the electric mouse said finally.

"I don't see why not. Just be quiet," the black fox replied. Raichu stepped into the tent. "So, what do you want?"

"I came to warn you."

"Of what?" Umbreon asked.

"Of an attack," he answered. "At morning." Then he looked outside. "I'd better get going," he said finally. "If Gideon finds out I'm here..." Raichu shuddered.

"Gideon?"

"My trainer." Raichu started to make his way back outside.

"Wait!" called Umbreon. "Why are you doing this?" A sly smile appeared on Raichu's face.

"Let's just say...I have my reasons." With that, he exited the tent. Umbreon put her head down and tried to fall back to sleep.

About a minute later, Raichu popped his head back into the tent. He glanced first to Lucario, then to Umbreon, then snuck back inside. He leaned down and planted his lips onto Umbreon's. Her eyes snapped open.

Seconds later, Raichu was lying on the ground outside, his face in the mud. "You little...!" Umbreon shouted. Lucario lifted his head up.

"What is it?" he asked groggily. Umbreon turned to him and smiled sweetly.

"Nothing," she said. She leaned over and hugged him, then stuck her head out of the tent and yelled, "Don't even think about that again, or there's gonna be an Aura Sphere with your name on it, you pervert!" Lucario sighed and went back to bed.

Jirachi finished setting up the last of the IRCs. He sighed. "They're ready," he said.

"Good," came the reply. "We'll use them in the morning." Jirachi looked to the north, the direction in which Party Two had gone.

"Mew," he said softly. Then he went back to his tent and lay down.

"Mew."

As always, R&R, please! Hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter should be up...I'm not exactly sure, but it will be up.

-Umbreon Mastah