The gang walked a little ways out of Undella Town to the spot they had in mind. They saw it when they were doing some training awhile ago and thought it would be a great spot to have a picnic.

Iris pushed past some trees. "We're almost there, everyone!" She announced as she started to see the intended spot through the trees. After a little more walking and pushing past vegetation, they made it. "We're here!"

Everyone gaped at the beautiful area. Past the wood they were in was an open area near a cliff. It had enough space to run around and play at, while leaving enough room for tables and seats. The Pokémon couldn't contain their excitement and started to run off towards the area.

Ash was just as energetic and ran after the Pokémon. "Yeah, this is going to be awesome!"

"Ash, you're such a little kid!" Iris exclaimed at his usual behavior. "We need your help to set up for lunch, remember?"

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Um, yeah, I forgot."

"Well, let's get started!" Cilan said as he unpacked the table, chairs, portable stove thing, food, pots…that is a big backpack. They also released their bigger Pokémon out, which consist of Krookodile, Mamoswine, Crustle, and Dragonite.

Anyway, the Pokémon were either running around or relaxing as they waited for the food to be ready. Pikachu and Buneary were playing a game of tag with Oshawott, Quilava, Scraggy, and Axew. Togekiss was kind enough to make sure their egg stayed safe as she laid under the shade of a tree.

Pikachu was chasing down Buneary until he tagged her. "Tag, you're it Slowpoke!" He ran in the other direction laughing.

Buneary smirked and went after him. "Come say that to my face, if you have the guts!" She tried to catch up, but he was too fast. She decided to switch targets and went after Axew.

Oshawott ran as far away from Buneary as possible, laughing playfully. He ran up near the edge of the cliff and took a small breather. He wiped his forehead and took a look at the view in front of him, which ended up surprising him.

What he was looking at was some weird looking forest at the bottom of the cliff. It stretched a far distance across the area, looking like it went on for miles. Another strange thing about it was that it had odd colored leaves. They were all a dark purple and look slightly jagged. He found this to be strange, and slightly bone chilling. He looked off in another direction and saw another shocking sight.

About a hiking distance away and on a higher cliff that hanged over the forest was what looked like the remains of a building. Thick, dark roots that reminded him of Frenzy Plant were wrapped around the remaining parts of it that were still standing. And, despite the distance, he could clearly see black markings across the walls, as if they were singed by something deadly. The entire place looked like it had been decimated by an army.

Oshawott gulped. Who, or what, did that? He thought in terror. He looked back at the forest and saw an unusual red glow coming through it. He didn't know why, but as he looked at it, he felt everything get slowly darker and colder. He couldn't look away, yet he felt horrified by the sight, slowly starting to see terrifying images appear in front of him.

He snapped out of his trance when someone poked him. "Tag, you're it!" Scraggy exclaimed as he ran away.

Oshawott blinked and rubbed his eyes. When he looked back, the glow was gone. "What…was that?"

He felt something grasp his shoulder. He jumped and saw Pikachu, who wore a concerned look. "Oshawott, you alright?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I…just don't feel like playing anymore."

"Something wrong?" Pikachu asked. He could tell the Sea Otter Pokémon was visibly shaken by something. Oshawott shook his head. "Hey, if you ever need to talk about something, feel free to ask me anything."

"…really?" He asked hesitantly.

Pikachu smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I never let a friend down!"

Oshawott gave a small smile. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

A little while later, everyone got settled down for lunch. Emolga, Axew, Scraggy, Pachirisu, and Quilava sat together in a group, eating their food. Dragonite, despite his rough personality and new environment, was eating with Krookodile, Mamoswine, and Crustle. Snivy sat on a rock by herself to get some peace, not that she didn't enjoy her friends' company. Piplup, Oshawott and Pignite sat a little ways away from Pikachu and Buneary. The rest ate near where the trainers were eating.

Buneary laughed as Pikachu tried to feed her. "Pikachu, haha, stop!" She exclaimed with a giggly voice.

"Aww, but you look so cute when I feed you. Come on, please?" He pleaded teasingly. She smiled and opened her mouth, allowing him to place the food in her mouth. They both laughed at their fun.

Oshawott stared at them with a bit of a longing look on his face. He sighed depressingly, not even bothered by the fact Pignite took the last of his food. Piplup noticed his behavior. "Something bugging you?"

Oshawott cast him a small glance before going back to looking at the ground. "Remember when I said that girls leave or reject me?" Piplup nodded. "Well, I guess seeing Pikachu and Buneary over there, being happy and in love with each other, makes me realize that I'm nowhere closer to finding a mate than I was before. I've been rejected, teased, accidentally thought a Purrloin was a girl, no girl I've ever met took interest in me and never will."

Piplup show sympathy towards him. "Don't you think you're being too harsh on yourself?" Oshawott turned his head away. "Alright, I'll admit that I feel the same way you feel. I want someone to love and be with for the rest of my life. But, I can't do that if I'm sulking about it. Sure, I get sad when I'm rejected, but," He pounded his chest with pride, "that doesn't mean all hope is lost!"

"Easy for you to say…" Oshawott mumbled lightly. "…I've been struck down so many times that I ended up losing count."

Piplup thought for a moment. "Well, maybe you should change up your approach when you try to ask a girl out."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, you rush into things to quickly like when you first met Buneary. You didn't know that she was with Pikachu and you ended up making a fool of yourself. Maybe, instead of trying to just immediately ask a girl out, try to get on their good side first."

Oshawott stared a little hopefully at him. "How so?"

"Back in Sinnoh, I tried to get a Marill to like me by helping her out with a berry garden. This Elekid soon comes and tries to steal her away from me, so I fight for her love. Team Rocket comes to try and kidnap us, but we end up escaping and try to find our way back to the gang. After a series of events, we get back to the gang and send Team Rocket blasting off again!"

Oshawott smiled a little. "And, in the end, you managed to win Marill's heart?"

Piplup quickly shifted moods and stared to cry. "No, she chose the Elekid over me!" Oshawott face-faltered. Piplup immediately stopped crying and smiled cheerfully at him. "Did that help you?"

"Yeah, sure." He deadpanned. Piplup, being as oblivious as ever, closed his eyes proudly.

Pignite shared his thoughts. "If it's bothering you so much, why not ask Pikachu?" Oshawott and Piplup looked at him in confusion. "Well, why not? He's the only one of us who has a girlfriend, or in his case a mate. He may be able to give you some advice."

Piplup stared a little longer, before his beak started to quiver, then burst out in laughter. "Pi-Pi…Pikachu?! Hahahaha, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life! You…you actually think that…pft, HAHAHAHAHA!"

Pignite shrugged with a confused looked. "Yeah, Pikachu."

Piplup managed to calm down and gave an incredulous look. "Don't get me wrong, Pikachu is my pal and I'm happy he and Buneary are together, but that guy doesn't know romance if it hit him in the back of the head!"

"He certainly knows better than you." Oshawott muttered, which Piplup heard.

"Hey, just because I never had a girlfriend and he did, it doesn't mean that I don't know how to woo girls!"

"So, how come you're still single?" Pignite asked innocently, causing Piplup to look to the side and cry. Oshawott rolled his eyes. "Okay, so what do you mean Pikachu doesn't know anything?"

Piplup quit his crying and explained, "I don't have all the details about it, but all I know is that Pikachu had a little help with getting his emotional problems solved. So, that means that he doesn't know anything like I do!"

"But, again, you're still single." Pignite reminded, earning a death glare from Piplup.

Oshawott groaned. "This is ridiculous! Pignite's right, I'll have a better chance at getting romantic advice if I just ask Pikachu!"

Piplup immediately realized something and smirked at his friend. "Wait a minute, I see what's going on here. You have a crush on someone in the group!" Oshawott rolled his eyes and looked away, but not before Piplup could catch a glimpse of red on his cheek. "HA, I was right!"

Pignite chuckled. "It's probably Emolga, you've been hitting on her since Day 1." Oshawott didn't even react, keeping his eyes off them. "Wait, is it her?" He asked thinking that wasn't the truth. Again, Oshawott didn't say anything.

Piplup tapped his chin. "Is it Togekiss?" Still nothing, but a glare slowly started to form on his face. "Hang on, it's that Unfezant that travels with you guys?" His glare got deeper with his face turning red in anger. "Um…wait, please don't tell you're not over Buneary yet?" Steam started to rise out of his head. "Oh, oh, it's Snivy, isn't it?!"

His temper finally got the better of him. "Alright, I'M OUT OF HERE!" He yelled, causing both Pignite and Piplup to jump in fear. Oshawott marched off to the woods where he could go cool down.

His outburst wasn't left unnoticed by Pikachu and Buneary, who looked at the way he left in concern. "What's wrong with Oshawott?" Buneary asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but something is bugging him. I'm gonna go talk to him." Pikachu gave her a quick peck on the cheek before following his friend into the thin woods.

Oshawott viciously slashed a tree with his scalchop as he tried to vent out his anger. He stopped after a few moments and sighed. He created a huge gash in the tree that nearly reached the center of it. He puts his scalchop back on his chest and slides down against the tree.

He looked off to the side. The tree he was laying against was near the cliff edge, which gave him a perfect view of the same forest he saw earlier. He shivered and looked away. He ended up covering his eyes as tears dripped down his face. He shook his head, repeatedly saying, "…why…why can't I just tell her?"

The sound of a twig snapping caught his attention. He stayed hidden as he grabbed hold of his scalchop. "Whoever you are, go away!"

"Oshawott, it's me, Pikachu. I just want to talk with you. Where are you?" Oshawott sighed, glad it was only him, and lets go of his scalchop.

"I'm over here." He somewhat muttered. Luckily, Pikachu managed to locate him. "What do you want?" He mumbled sadly.

Pikachu sat against the tree parallel to Oshawott. "I heard you yell at Pignite and Piplup and wanted to make sure that you were alright. Is something troubling you?" He asked carefully.

He turned his head away from him and sighed. "Y-yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me."

Pikachu knew he was upset by something and refused to let this slide. "I'm sorry Oshawott, but I know something is wrong with you. Can you please tell me?" Oshawott gave him a small glance before turning away and shaking his head. "Well, why not?"

He let a few tear drops slide down his face. "Because…because I'm not sure if you do know how to help me." Pikachu grew even more concerned for his friend.

"Listen Oshawott," he said softly, "I said that if you have any problems whatsoever that you can tell me. I only want to help you out and try to make you feel better. Can you please tell me what is troubling you?"

Oshawott slowly moved his eyes over to look at Pikachu. "If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh or tell anyone?" Pikachu nodded. He fully turned his head to face the yellow mouse. He rubbed his paws nervously. "I…I need advice about…love."

Pikachu blinked, wondering if he misheard that. "Did you say…you needed love advice?" Oshawott nodded. "How come?"

He sighed. "The thing is, I'm getting sick and tired of being rejected by every girl I've ever asked out. I tried to ask Piplup and Pignite, but they ended up teasing me to the point where I lost my temper. Pignite did, however, suggest that I should ask you since, well, you already found love."

Pikachu scratched his head. "Well, I can understand that and all, but there's one thing that I need to know. Do you have a crush on someone?"

Oshawott's cheeks turned pink as he fiddled with his scalchop. "Well, yeah, but I'm too embarrassed to say who."

"Is it Emolga? Because, if it is, I'm not sure she's your best choice. She's nice and all, but I think she can be a little manipulative and greedy. Also…" He stopped when Oshawott raises his paw.

"It's not Emolga." He mumbled.

Pikachu looked genuinely surprised. "Oh, well, who else is there?" He tapped his chin in thought. "Is it Unfezant?" Oshawott shook his head. "What about Togekiss?" Oshawott replied the same way. "Hmm, well…" A thought crossed his mind, which caused him to furrow his brow. "Wait, is it Buneary? If it is, so help me…!"

Oshawott calmly, but quickly, raised his paws in defense. "Chill dude, it isn't Buneary. I wouldn't go as far as stealing away girls from other guys."

Pikachu calmed down and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Right…sorry about that."

"It's cool." Oshawott shrugged.

Pikachu crossed his arms. "Well, if it isn't Emolga, Unfezant, Togekiss, or Buneary, the only other girl I can think of is…" His eyes widened with surprise. "Wait, is it…?"

"…yeah." Oshawott's cheeks reddened deeper.

"It's…it's Snivy?" He asked softly, still shocked by the truth.

Oshawott, feeling the cat was out of the bag, nodded his head. "Yeah, it's Snivy. I…have a crush on her, a big one." His cheeks were as red as a Tomato Berry.

Pikachu leaned back against the tree as he tried to process all of this. He would have never suspected the Oshawott, the romantic goofball of the group, to fall for someone like Snivy. Those two had completely different personalities, Snivy being the serious one and all. Sure, Snivy did occasionally play games with everyone, but you usually see her watching over them to make sure no one gets hurt.

Pikachu took in a deep breath and asked, "How long?"

Oshawott fiddled around with his scalchop when he answered. "The day she became part of the team."

Pikachu's eyes were the size of dinner plates upon hearing that. "You had a crush on her…for that long?!" He made sure to keep his voice low, but it was still pretty loud. "I…I don't get it!"

"Allow me to explain." He placed his scalchop back on his chest and cleared his throat. "At first, I thought of her nothing more than an opponent when we first met her. However, after hitting me with that Attract, I saw her in a different way, sheer beauty. But, even after the effects wore off and when she was captured, I kept looking at her the same way. It just never left my mind.

"When we were starting to become friends, we seem to have grown closer. But, whenever I was alone with her, I would end up feeling hot and sweaty around her and felt tongue-tied when I tried to speak. I passed it all off that it was just the heat, but still. Then I started to realize her other traits. She wasn't just beautiful, but smart, loyal, kind-hearted, calm under pressure…" Oshawott sighed dreamily. "It was then that I started to realize that I was falling for her."

Pikachu calmed down after his earlier outburst and smiled at his friend. "Well, I'm happy for you." He then frowned. "But, if that's the case, why have you been hitting on other girls this whole time?"

Oshawott's eyes immediately started to water. "Because I knew she was too good for me. She was out of my league and I would never have a chance with her. I tried to always push those feelings aside and get the next girl I see to fall for me or at least go on a date with me. You can see how that turned out." He wiped his eyes of any incoming tears. "I feared that if I asked her out, she would say no, she would hate me for the rest of my life, and she would find some other guy to be her boyfriend and possible mate."

"Don't you think that's a mild exaggeration?" Pikachu questioned. Oshawott slid down the tree in embarrassment. Pikachu shook his head smiling. "I'm sure that, if you asked Snivy out, she would say yes. She's your best friend after all, why wouldn't she?"

"Still, I get so nervous around her. I tried to practice asking her out by using some rocks…I ended up getting rejected." Pikachu raised a brow. "In my defense, I usually do this in the middle of the night and would be really tired. Point is, I need someone with experience in the relationship department to help me out. I need your help. After all, you have been with Buneary for awhile and managed to end up with a kid." Pikachu blushed a little. "So, what do you say, PLEASE?!" He asked with big eyes.

Pikachu smiled sadly. "I would love to help you Oshawott, honestly, but I'm not the best Pokémon to explain this kind of subject."

"But, I see you being all gushy and romantic around Buneary and you seem to always have that romantic passion with you. How can you not explain that?"

"Love is a tricky thing to explain, Oshawott. When around Buneary, I express my feelings to her from the heart, not even knowing what I'm saying half the time. It just comes naturally, I guess. I'm no expert on the subject, even when I first found out that I was in love with Buneary."

Oshawott's gaze turn to the ground. "Then, how did you ever tell her that you loved her if you didn't know how to express it?"

Pikachu crossed his arms and stared up at the trees. "The thing is, I didn't know I was in love with her. I had a small crush on her, sure, but I didn't understand my true feelings for her. It was just too much for me to take at the time and I couldn't figure it out on my own."

Oshawott instantly remembered something Piplup mentioned earlier. "Did you have any help from someone?"

Pikachu smiled softly. "Ryder, an old friend of mine back in Sinnoh. I met him there and haven't seen him since. He was unusual and always has some sort of trick up his sleeve, but he was a great friend nonetheless. He mentioned something about here in Unova, but it was so long that I can't remember what. Still, I'm hoping to see him here and help him with that something.

"Anyway, when I first met him, we got into this huge argument about who should be trusting who and ended up battling. But, I underestimated his skills and was completely overwhelmed. He creamed me with just a few bruises on him, and I now know that that wasn't even at his best. He could have beat me without any scratches. Things started to cool down and we talked. I learned that he was separated from his trainer and friends many years ago and has been living on his own.

"But, even so, he still knew how to keep going and never gave up, even if he got beaten to critical condition. After awhile, he talked about my feeling towards Buneary and picked them apart so accurately that he got my entire problem down by a mere look. After explaining everything, I soon realized where my feelings lied for Buneary. I realized that I was in love with her and it was all thanks to Ryder. I owed him for everything he did." He finished with a small sigh.

Oshawott was amazed by the story. "Wow…he sounds so…great."

"Buneary and I miss him, but he promised that we'll meet again." Pikachu stretched his arms out. "Anyway, the point is that I'm not the best choice to help you win over Snivy's affection…sorry, buddy."

"It's fine." Oshawott hugged himself and closed his eyes. "I just wish I could find some way to show Snivy how I feel about her."

"I said I didn't know, but that doesn't mean I don't know someone who does." Oshawott's eyes widened as he stared at the grin on Pikachu's face. "Buneary is a romantic at heart, she knows all about it. Plus, being friends with Snivy, she can probably tell if she has any special feelings for you. We can ask her to help us and you can get advice from her."

"Are your serious?" Oshawott asked with rising hope. Once Pikachu nodded, Oshawott couldn't help but jump up and squeeze him tightly in a hug. "Oh Pikachu, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

"…you're welcome…but you're…crushing my…spine…" He gasped for air.

Oshawott released the hug, allowing Pikachu to breathe. "Sorry." He then started to jump up and down like a child who just got a brand new toy with a large grin. "I'm going to finally tell Snivy my true feelings for her!"

Pikachu chuckled as he rubbed his sore back. "You might want to keep it down, unless you want her to hear you." Oshawott stopped his merriment and blushed sheepishly. "Anyway, let's head back to the picnic area and ask for Buneary's help."

"Right!" Oshawott agreed excitedly. He looked off to the side and flinched upon seeing the forest again. He looked away fearfully, something Pikachu caught.

"Something wrong, Oshawott?" He asked in concern.

He shook his head and smiled lightly. "Sorry, it's just that forest is giving me the creeps."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it just looks weird. I've never seen purple leaves before, especially ones that jagged. Plus, I saw this weird red glow and I suddenly started to get scared for some reason. It's just making me all jumpy looking at it. Not to mention, I saw some building on a cliff a far ways from here that was above the forest and it looked completely decimated." He shook his head. "Maybe I'm just imagining things."

Pikachu smiled lightly. "Don't let it get to you. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Come on, let's start heading back."

Oshawott nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's go!" He started to walk off. Pikachu stayed back for a moment to take a look at the forest himself.

He had to agree with one thing, it was certainly creepy. And…familiar. Something about this feels awfully familiar. I know I've never been here before, that's for sure, but still. Hmm…I wonder…

"Pikachu, you coming or what?!" He snapped out of it upon hearing Oshawott's shouts.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Pikachu took one last glance at the forest, a look of suspicion and worry on his face, before shaking it off and running after his friend.