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Chapter Text

Celebi was fast asleep ontop of the wooden shrine the people of Azalea City had built for her decades ago. Her thin wings and antennae were softly moved by the cool breeze brushing through Ilex forest. 

The forest had seen very little visit in recent times. On one hand, it made Celebi a little sad that her shrine wasn't appreciated as much as the beautiful craftmanship deserved, but on the other, the less humans came through here, the less she had to be on edge. 

Only a few months ago, when the Pokémon League's gym challenge was open agan, Celebi practically never got to show her face anywhere in the forest without risking getting spotted by a bypassing human. She remembered one particular child wearing a yellow and black cap carefully inspecting the shrine from all sides and even putting one of those blasted GS Balls inside, doubtlessly trying to get her attention.

She turned over in her sleep, bathing her tiny body in the little spot of sun shining through the treetops right onto the shrine and sighed in bliss from the cozy warmth. She could have slept like this for over a century, if not for...

SPLASH!

Celebi shrieked when a spout of water suddenly hit her from above, ripping her out of her sleep immediately. She instinctively flailed her arms and legs in surprise, causing her to lose balance and tumble down the shrine, landing in the grass below with a little thud.

She groaned before groggily pushing herself onto her feet, then looked around angrily. "Who did that?" She asked into the woods, but didn't receive an answer. She shook her entire body rapidly to dry off a bit, then flapped her wings to take off into the air, eventually hovering over the treetops, looking around for the one who disturbed her nap.

A she was searching, a pillar of water suddenly shot out from beneath the tree, lingered in the air like a gyeser, then slowly retreated back down into the forest. Celebi, who had narrowly managed to dodge the attack, quickly dove down to follow it back into the forest, eager to give the attacker a piece of her mind.

She came to a screeching halt when she suddenly heard a human voice yell through the forest. "Haha, that was great! Can you do an even bigger one?"

Celebi quickly hid behind a tree and carefully viewed the area. The clearing she was facing contained a large pond with a Pokémon she didn't recognize cheerfully splashing around in it. At the edge of the pond, a young trainer was sitting, dangling their feet into the water and cheering the Pokémon on. What appeared to be a camping site was constructed near the pond.

She leaned in a bit closer and gasped when she saw the tiny Pokémon in the pond gather a lot of energy, glowing in a bright blue hue. The antennae on their head then jerked up into the air, and with a triumphant yell, they summoned another pillar of water above their head, which shot into the sky and through the leaves above their heads.

The Pokémon managed to hold the pillar for a few seconds before it dispersed, leaving small drops of water raining down into the forest. The trainer and the Pokémon both laughed, and Celebi angrily puffed her cheeks. That attack could have hit some Noctowl sleeping in the trees!

She continued observing the two play around like this for a few more minutes before the trainer suddenly got up and slapped their forehead. "Shoot, I think I forgot my flashlight in the car... Manaphy, stay here while I go get it, kay? Won't want to get lost in the dark later!"

The Pokémon, Manaphy, cheerfully waved after the trainer as they rushed back into the forest, into the direction Celebi knew would lead back to Azalea City. Once she was sure that they were out of sight, she flew out of her hiding spot and hovered over Manaphy, crossing her arms and giving the blue Pokémon a sour expression.

Manaphy looked up at her and waved with a big smile on her face. "Hi! I'm Manaphy! Who are..." Her smile slowly vanished when she saw the water dripping down Celebi's antennae. "Oh no, I'm so sorry... did I hit you?" She swam a bit closer to Celebi, giving the fairy a worried look.

Celebi nodded, sticking out her tongue. She was still annoyed, but Manaphy's apology instantly took a big chunk of her anger out of her. "Uh huh. I was asleep when I suddenly got splashed to the face!" She swung her arms while telling Manaphy what had happened.

While she was lecturing Manaphy on why creating huge pillars of water like that in the middle of a forest was a bad idea, the frown on Manaphy's face slowly disappeared, and eventually turned into a sly grin, and she started giggling.

"What's so funny?!" Celebi snapped. She then shrieked when Manaphy moved her fins in a pushing motion, causing a big wave to suddenly hit her. Water splashed everywhere, and when it had settled, Celebi was once again completely sogged. Her mouth was open in shock, while Manaphy was exploding with laughter.

Eventually, Celebi couldn't hold in any longer and joined Manaphy's laughter. She then      concentrated really hard before pushing her arms to the side, suddenly causing all the water around Manaphy to get pushed to the side in a ring shape, leading to her falling down onto the now-dry ground at the bottom of the pond. Before Manaphy could say anything, she released her psychic power, allowing the water to quickly rush back into position, instantly submerging Manaphy.

After a few seconds, Manaphy emerged again, still giggling. "You got me!" She then answered by sending another wave at Celebi, who teleported out of the way and then dove down at the water Pokémon. The two took turns chasing each other across the lake, splashing water at each other and giggling all the way through.

As they were playing, Manaphy's trainer walked back into the clearing, and almost dropped the flashlight they were holding when they saw Manaphy and Celebi playing. After quickly checking their Pokédex, they readied a Pokéball and aimed at Celebi, their heart pounding in their chest.

But then their gaze fell on Manaphy, who seemed to have more fun than ever before in her life. She spent most of her time hidden away in her ball to her safety, so she didn't have a lot of friends. It was nice seeing her have fun with another Pokémon for once. They sighed and slid the Pokéball back into their pocket. She wouldn't want her new friend to be ambushed this way. The trainer just ducked down behind a bush and observed the two mythical Pokémon from a safe distance.

Over the next few days and weeks, Manaphy practically dragged her trainer back to Ilex Forest as often as she could, wanting to meet Celebi again. And each time, once her trainer had found some excuse to leave the campsite, the green fairy would descend down from the sky and they would spend time together, chatting and playing with each other. Eventually, the trainer just decided to sleep in their car so the two could feel comfortable spending the nights together as well.

On one night, Manaphy and Celebi were lying in the grass next to the pond, looking into the night sky above them. Manaphy tilted her head to look at Celebi. "This is so exciting!" She chirped, pointing her fin at a star constellation that vaguely resembled a Magikarp. "Usually I'm asleep around this time... I didn't even know what I was missing! Are you usually awake at night, Celebi?" She nudged Celebi for an answer. "...Celebi?" She asked again, raising up from the ground in confusion.

She then gasped when she saw that Celebi had fallen asleep already, softly snoring in the grass. "I guess that answers that, huh..." Manaphy thought to herself. She then smiled down at Celebi and laid back down again herself before slowly moving a bit closer to Celebi until she was touching her. She then wrapped her cool, smooth fins around Celebi's body and snuggled herself against the grass type, quickly falling asleep as well.

About an hour later, her trainer emerged from the trees, holding a lit flashlight. They looked around for Manaphy and almost dropped their flashlight when they saw the two Pokémon snuggled up against each other. "D'aww..." They muttered under their breath before kneeling down next to Manaphy, trying to lift her up.

But Manaphy's breathing grew unsteady, and she further clinged to Celebi, who had a little blush creep over her cheeks in her sleep. The trainer scratched their head. Seperating them was definitely not an option, but they didn't like the thought of leaving them here out in the open either.

They then gathered some courage and, with the utmost care, scooped up both of them into their arms, paying extra attention to not disturb their sleeping position, then slowly carried them back to their camp. They weren't going to catch Celebi out of respect for her status as guardian deity, but they had a feeling that she would want to stick around anyway after tonight.

Chapter Text

Celebi left Ilex Forest when the first rays of sunshine hit the area. She wouldn't be gone for more than a day at most, and she had traveled forward in time to check if the forest would still be standing without her supervision, so she wasn't worried about its well-being in the slightest.

Soaring through the sky, she made her way towards the route right next to Ilex Forest, Route 34, and fluttered in place for a bit. It was still very early, so the route was mostly empty. Most of the trainers wouldn't start showing up until a few hours later, and the Daycare was closed on this day, so there was much less traffic here to begin with.

As she looked around, trying to find Manaphy and her trainer, she absentmindedly almost flew into a flock of Pidgeotto, who threw her annoyed glances, but didn't dare to pick a fight. Eventually, she spotted a pillar of smoke in the distance and flew over to investigate.

And indeed, when she arrived at the spot the smoke was coming from, she saw Manaphy's trainer working a portable grill, whistling to themselves as they presumably made breakfast. "Bii..." She announced her presence, and the trainer looked up at her.

They grinned and waved. "Good morning, Celebi!" They pointed at their grill, where a bunch of vegetables were currently being cooked by the fire. "Want some?"

Celebi flinched slightly. Her and fire never really agreed with each other. She also wasn't very hungry at the moment, so she just wanted to get as far away from the grill as she could. She shook her head.

The trainer shrugged, then pointed at the nearby tent. "Manaphy's in there, by the way. Though she's in her Pokéball right now, so wait until I..." 

But Celebi just ignored them and flew into the tent, looking around. Eventually, she spotted the trainer's travel bag and rummaged around in it until she found a green ball with orange spots on it. She lifted it out of the bag, almost tripping in the process. Her physical strength truly wasn't the best. She then put the Friend Ball down on the floor and excitedly pressed the button in the center.

The ball opened up, and shortly after, Manaphy manifested on the ground next to her, yawning loudly. "Is it time to get up already? I was... Celebi!" She shrieked when she saw her girlfriend infront of her, and rushed forward to pull her into a hug, tripping in the process and sending both of them to land on the floor with a thud.

Shortly after, her trainer poked their head into the tent. "I guess you could also just... release her yourself." They scratched their chin and mumbled to themselves. "Didn't know Pokémon could open Pokéballs... am I becoming obsolete?" 

Celebi blushed deeply when Manaphy tackled her over, but made no attempts to get her off of her, instead just leaning into the hug and enjoying her cool body. Eventually, Manaphy released her and smiled brightly. "I didn't expect you to come this early!"

She sighed. "But I told you when I would arrive..." She then waved for the exit, and the two left the tent side by side.

Manaphy giggled. "Sorry. Not everyone can be as great with time as you!" She playfully smacked Celebi's back with her fin.

Celebi smiled back. "I guess not." It took them a while to make it back to the trainer due to Manaphy's slow land speed, but Celebi didn't mind. The trainer waved cheerfully with their grill tongs, then turned back to the grill. 

Manaphy sniffed the air and Celebi could have sworn that she saw some drool in the corner of her mouth. "Oooh... smells good! Come on, Celebi, let's eat together!" 

But Celebi flinched. "Uhh... no, I'm good, I think." She trusted Manaphy's trainer enough that she felt comfortable showing herself around them, but she didn't want to get too close yet.

Manaphy just quickly nodded. While she wasn't perfectly able to understand the struggles and feelings of a wild Pokémon like Celebi, she knew her well enough by now to respect her boundaries. Nontheless, she also noticed that Celebi looked hungry. "What if I shared mine with you?" She eventually asked softly.

Celebi tilted her head to the side. "Hm?" She asked. In the distance, Manaphy's trainer was busy chowing down on an entire corncub.

"You don't want to be too close to my trainer yet, right?" Manaphy went on. "We could eat together over at the lake!" She gestured towards a nearby body of water. "What do you think?" She said, eagerly awaiting Celebi's response.

She thought about it for a second before smiling back at her. "That sounds good."

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The two mythical Pokémon were now at the lake, eating their breakfast. Manaphy had brought a canteloupe for Celebi, who was silently eyeing the fruit in her hands.

Manaphy finished her food quicker than Celebi and jumped into the water, swimming in circles while she waited for her girlfriend to be done eating. "DO YOU LIKE IT?!" She yelled across the lake, splashing water everywhere as she excitedly waved her fins.

Celebi just stared down at the canteloupe before carefully taking a bite out of it, slowly chewing on the fruit. Almost immediately, her face brightened up, and she hastily took another bite. Until now, she hadn't even realized how hungry she was. 

From the center of the lake, Manaphy grinned triumphantly. She was proud of Celebi for, figuratively, putting her feet into cold water. She then swam up to her and turned the saying literal by playfully splashing the grass type with water, to no reaction. Confused, she tried a second time, with a lot more water. Her girlfriend was soaked now.

But Celebi didn't even look up. She was enthralled by the taste of this fruit. Just where had that trainer gotten it?! She had to know. When Manaphy splashed her a third time, she just absentmindedly raised one arm, using her psychic powers to shield herself from the incoming water, all the while keeping her eyes fixated on the canteloupe. She took another bite out of it. Then another. Then another. Soon, it was completely eaten, leaving only the peel behind.

Manaphy climbed out of the water and shook Celebi with a look of worry on her face. "Hey, what's up with you? Don't ignore me!" 

Eventually, Celebi looked up again, staring at her lover with widened eyes. "I need more of that."

"What?"

"That fruit." Celebi gestured to the empty peel. "I haven't ever eaten anything better than this." She grabbed Manaphy by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Where did your trainer get this?!"

Manaphy laughed out loud. "You can be so silly sometimes, Celebi."

Celebi just grinned and pulled her into a hug.

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When Celebi left Manaphy behind in the tent to sleep, the sun had almost set. She flapped her wings and was about to return to Ilex Forest when she heard a voice from behind. "Hey, Celb."

Celebi flinched, not only out of surprise, but also at that terrible nickname. She spun around to find Manaphy's trainer leaning against a nearby tree with a smirk. "Had a nice day?" They eventually asked.

She nodded. "Bii..." 

The trainer laughed. "Good to hear, good to hear." They then winked. "And from all that juice on your mouth, I take you enjoyed the canteloupe as well?"

Celebi gasped. How did they notice such a small detail? She quickly nodded. "Be bi." She then fluttered a little closer with a pleading look on her face.

Another laugh. Not a mocking laugh, mind you, but a warm and friendly one. "Wanna know where to find those? I can tell you..." They raised their arms in a mystifying manner.

She came even closer. Maybe this was foolish, but she just had to figure out...!

"The place I found the canteloupe at..."

Celebi held her breath. This was the moment of truth...!

"...was the store!"

The trainer looked at her proudly. Eventually, their smile slightly faltered. "What's wrong?"

Celebi just stared back at in disappointment. This reveal didn't help her at all. Surely the trainer was aware that Pokémon, much less wild ones, couldn't just enter a store and buy something, right?

With that, she turned her head upwards and flew up high into the sky. On her way upwards, she couldn't help but giggle a little. Maybe that trainer wasn't so scary after all. Who knows, maybe they would buy another cantaloupe for her if she befriended them?