"Hey, Mew," Lucario said after swallowing down the last berry, "Just when you were about to leave now, I got the strangest feeling that I weren't going to see you again."

"Really?" Mew asked, subtly bobbing her head to the side, "Did you think I was going to simply abandon you?"

"No, no," Lucario mumbled while waving his arms dismissively, "I just had a feeling."

"Do you normally let random sensations dictate your judgment?" Mew asked with a serious tone, "It would be physically impossible for you to predict whether or not I would stay."

Lucario muttered something nasty, wondering why Mew had turned sour all of a sudden. He had been the one complaining about the disgusting berries, after all. It is not like she had cooked them or anything... The fact that he was still breathing was proof of that.

"... Hey," Lucario said loudly after a long time of thinking, "You're trying to get humans to stop catching Pokémon?"

"No," Mew answered, although secretly she wished for nothing more, "Just... Trying to make things the way they were before. As things are, all strong wild Pokémon will vanish... Or even worse, rebel..."

"Sounds like a human-Pokémon hybrid might come in handy for something like that!" Lucario said cheerfully as he pointed to himself, not wanting to stall things any further, "Count me in!"

"Afraid not," Mew responded quickly without even giving it a second thought, "I must act swiftly, and carrying you with me would slow me down too much."

"I can walk on my own, thank you very much..." Lucario huffed with annoyance.

"... That would take even longer..." Mew whispered sadly.

Things became quiet again, Mew wondering if feeding Lucario had been such a good idea. The first time he had gone completely ballistic, and this time he had simply gone sour. She knew that normal creatures can go for several weeks without eating and still survive, had she committed some kind of taboo by overfeeding him?

"It is not just on my account," Mew said, feeling the need to defend herself, "I was just about to inform Celebi about the meeting when you arrived instead."

"Oh, yeah..." Lucario muttered to himself as he thought back to the green fairy, "She's the one that sent me here to find you."

"Good!" Mew exclaimed happily, glad to finally get some good news, "I really do need to tell her about all this! Do you know where she is now?"

"... Uuhhh..." Lucario muttered while scratching his head, "... Not quite..."

Mew drooped once again, feeling down. She had yet to tell Celebi anything about Deoxys, Ethan or anything that had happened recently, and talking to Lucario about it had not been the same. Her mind was constantly turning to Celebi because of the lingering sensation emanating from the Pokémon sitting in her cave.

"From my perspective, she might as well be in your pants..." Mew said quietly while looking over at a confused Lucario, "Should I erase her aura from them?"

"... Nah, you never know when it might come in handy," Lucario responded after he figured out what she was referring to. He himself had no idea as to when such a thing would come in useful, and simply liked the idea that his pants were magical.

"In that case, should I add my aura to them?" Mew asked, trying to helpful, "Like you said, it 'might come in handry'."

"Handy," Lucario corrected her before tugging a little at his dirty and damaged clothing, "And, uh, honestly, I've been thinking about ditching these for something else, so unless you want your presence recognized in a landfill somewhere..."

"A new pair of Lucario-pants?" Mew asked with a confused expression, "Where would you find that?"

"... You don't know how to sow, do you?" Lucario asked in return, realizing that he had forgotten to ask Rukario where she had gotten her snazzy pair.

"In principle, but if you are asking me to make some new pants for you..." Mew said as she silently turned her head away, "... I could not."

"Really?" Lucario said with a snicker and a shrug, "All-powerful and all-knowing, yet a simple cloth is out of your reach?"

"No, not that, just..." Mew continued as she turned her head even further away, "... It would be too embarrassing."

"... You're NAKED, and you find PANTS embarrassing?" Lucario said while slapping his forehead, "Hoo boy. I guess underwear's out of the question, then."

Mew continued looking away, Lucario wondering why she was doing that. For a moment, he thought he could hear the faintest of snickers come from her direction, but dismissed it as part of his imagination.

"... If it helps..." Lucario said, realizing that Mew probably was not up to date on current events, "Celebi was just reunited with her sister."

"No, she was not," Mew replied as she shook her head and then turned it towards him again, "Zerobi has been dead for years."

"People keep saying that," Lucario said bitterly while shrugging his shoulders, "Doesn't change the fact that I spent at least a month traveling with her."

"You..." Mew said slowly while examining Lucario for signs of nervosity, "... Are you being honest?"

"Truly," Lucario replied as coolly as possible, "Celebi was overjoyed. Zerobi... Uh, annoyed, I'd say, but happy nonetheless."

"But... Those are splendid news!" Mew suddenly burst out as her eyes lit up, "Celebi has always dreamed of having a sister, and... That means, she must have... That is it! I know where they are!"

Lucario was about to say something, but was interrupted as Mew turned her tail and left the cavern at an amazing speed. He stood there for a few seconds, wonder if he had been ditched, when she returned just as quickly as she had left. Although she was still hovering in midair, her usual stillness had been replaced by short, excited motions in every conceivable direction.

"There is no time to waste!" Mew said with determination as she stared straight into his eyes, "I must reach the designated location before they leave!"

"Hey, as long as you're happy..." Lucario mumbled in response, feeling both annoyed and disappointed at how things were turning out, "... I'm-going-to-teach-you-how-to-use-the-aura-happy?"

"Are you trying to guilt me into becoming your trainer?" Mew asked bluntly, her excited midair movement slowing down a bit.

"... Is it working?" Lucario asked hopefully in return, "I mean, according to your story, I saved your life... Heck, I saved the entire world... Is a little tutoring too much to ask?"

"I... I suppose not..." Mew admitted and sunk a bit, finally starting to feel bad over leaving Lucario, "But I really cannot..."

"Come on! Otherwise, this whole thing has been nothing but a waste!" Lucario persisted as he put his hands together in a praying gesture, "Oh, great legendary Mew! Bestow your wisdom upon me!"

"I... I want to help you..." Mew replied slowly as she was visibly brooding, becoming more and more inclined with helping Lucario because of his pleading, "But... But..."

"What's the problem?" Lucario asked, unclasping his hands and crossing his arms instead.

"... I... I have never traveled together with one such as yourself..." Mew explained with disdain, "I do not eat. I rarely sleep. It simply would not work."

"What do you mean? I'm all down for the whole 'not eating' thing," Lucario said while shrugging and snickering at the same time, "Besides, I sleep very little, anyway. You snooze, you get captured!"

"Even so, we would have to travel to the most southern point of Kanto! It is not a distance you can simply walk!" Mew said harshly, before her most recent discovery came to mind once more, "... Although, I suppose that if Celebi is truly where I think she is, we would be able to make it in time for the gathering, anyway..."

"Yeah!" Lucario said cheerfully, happy to see that there was a chance after all, "Besides, I walk fast! My friends used to call me 'the nonchalant runner'!"

"Lucario, listen to me! This is impossible!" Mew insisted, her concerns piling up at the thought of actually going along with something so unthinkable, "You travel by ground in plain sight; if I were to do the same, I would be spotted right away!"

"That is..." Lucario said while raising a finger, "... Unless..."

"... Unless?" Mew repeated, wondering what he had in mind.

Suddenly, a very old idea came upon Lucario once more. He could not help but smile as he remembered the aged Zubat he had encountered, and the short-lived planning regarding their adventurous journey he had made. He knew that he had gotten the idea from his first encounter with Zerobi, and decided to show Mew what he was thinking about.

Mew looked at him with confusion, seeing the fighting-type make a strangely familiar gesture with his arms and torso. It took her a few moments to realize what he was referring to, and when she did...

"Y-You..." she stammered with a shocked expression, "You cannot be serious..."

"It would work, no?" Lucario exclaimed with a big smile plastered on his face, "Come on, Mew, you always said you wanted to get to know us humans better! This is the best chance you'll ever get!"

"... You have amnesia!" Mew snapped back, running desperate and having to resort to name-calling.

"On the contrary... I remember everything about being human," Lucario refuted while shaking his head, "Just nothing about Pokémon... Something I'd appreciate it if you could fill me in on."

"But... But..." Mew repeated slowly, finally having run out of any counterarguments. She was still feeling very reluctant to the idea, especially after realizing their method of transportation. But even so, the once unthinkable idea was beginning to seem possible... Even plausible. Unable to justify to herself why she would deny the man that had saved the world with his sacrifice a simple favor now that it was in her power, she finally conceded.

"... Until unforeseen circumstances prevents me from allowing it..." Mew said slowly after thinking things through for quite a long time, "... You may accompany me."

"And you'll teach me how to use the aura?" Lucario asked, thinking that to be the most important part of the deal.

"I will teach you how to use the aura," Mew answered, sinking down a little. As worried as she was regarding this deal, she started wondering if maybe she was reacting over nothing. She had never tried anything like it before, and if everything goes smoothly it might even turn out to be a valuable experience... Or at least a fun one.

"Hey!" Lucario suddenly said, as if reading her thoughts, "In return, why don't I train you?"

"T-Train me?" Mew stammered frightfully, realizing that by offering Lucario a finger he had proceeded to chew her whole hand off, "Absolutely not! I have not spent my entire life in hiding from trainers just to-"

"No no no, I mean, physical training!" Lucario replied while waving his arms around before flexing his muscles, "You're worried about how your body would hold up without your psychic powers, right? The only remedy for that is good ol' fashioned training!"

"Oh," Mew exclaimed as she calmed down, ashamed at having jumped to conclusions but still feeling interested, "... You can help me do that?"

"Of course! I've been training all my life!" Lucario said while pointing to himself and flexing again, wondering why the hell he was showing what he would normally seduce a hot girl with to what was essentially a small piece of pink fuzz with a tail. Mew seemed impressed, though.

"But... My body is not like yours," Mew said while looking down at herself, feeling a bit sad over her physical condition, "What manner of physical training can I manage?"

"We can start with pushu... I mean, situ..." Lucario said, stopping himself short each time he examined Mew's body structure, "... Let's, uh, start with standups, OK?"

"Those sounds difficult," Mew admitted carefully, "What are they?"

"It's a secret skill, passed down from generation to generation," Lucario said, trying to sound wiser but ending up only sounding older, "It is... The art of keeping one's balance with nothing but one's two legs."

Mew sighed out of annoyance, the implications of his words not having gone unnoticed. She began planning on how to tease him in return when it was she who was teaching him. She still had no idea how that was going to work, but so far she had been able to teach him a few things without any complications.

"Don't worry - I'll think of something, and then you don't have to die like..." Lucario started before realizing what he was about to say, "... Oh. Sorry."

"Actually... That is really thoughtful of you," Mew said in return while feeling a strange wave of relief wash over her, "I did not think..."

"Didn't think what?" Lucario asked, glad to see he had not ruined anything by speaking before thinking.

"Well... I mean, you came all this way, only to have me end your dreams of becoming human again," Mew explained while looking at him with sincere eyes, "I did not think you would care that much about me."

Lucario straightened himself up, his face suddenly turning serious as he looked at Mew.

"You know, while I wouldn't normally just let someone die, you I actually like..." Lucario said determinately before raising his thumb, "Consider yourself safer than safe when I'm around!"

Mew stared at him for a few moments, before starting to giggle at his silly display. However, earnestly she was happy to hear that someone actually liked her, much too happy to be able to fully grasp in this very moment.

"So... That whole us-being-in-a-hurry thing?" Lucario said as a thought hit him, "We'll have plenty of time to talk once we get moving."

"Oh, yes!" Mew exclaimed as she spun around in midair to scan the area of the cave, making sure there would be nothing remaining to alert others of their presence, "Are you prepared?"

"Well, sure, but if we're going to hide you..." Lucario said while crossing his arms, "Do you know where we can find one of those?"

"No," Mew responded quickly, "But I can easily make one."

"You mean by sowing, or by, like, forcibly altering the atoms of something?" Lucario asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"It will be harmless," Mew assured him, "And should not prove to be a problem unless you are planning on eating it."

"... How much worse than that thing you made earlier could it possibly taste?" Lucario asked, this time not knowing but very much fearing the answer.

"We will soon find out," Mew answered with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice, "Hurry up and pack your things, because we are leaving the moment it is complete."

"Done," Lucario said bluntly, suddenly missing the backpack he had lost with its warm sleeping bag and cold bottle of water.

"Also done," Mew chimed in as she looked at Lucario, giving her a blank stare in return.

"I created it outside," she explained without batting an eye, "It is on its way here."

"Right," Lucario replied, somewhat taken aback at how quickly things were moving along, "So... We're leaving, then? Hope you know the way, because I think I left my map on another continent."

Mew did not answer as she soared out of the cave, Lucario gulping loudly as he hoped she was simply being preoccupied with finishing their travelling equipment. He began walking after her, each step reluctant as he knew he was leaving the only place in this world he would ever be able to refer to as a "safe haven".

Soon he would be out in the big world once more, struggling and fighting to survive. He had been doing that a lot lately. Only this time, there was no purpose to it. No hope in sight. All dreaming aside, this was most likely to be the rest of his life. Sure, Mew was currently with him, but would they even make it to Celebi, Zerobi or the meeting of the Legendaries? Would Mew simply abandon him as soon as something did not work out between them? The future had never seemed so unclear before, and at the same time never had as many possibilities, either.

Following Mew outside, he was greeted by a moonlit night and finally noticed just how tired he was. The many weeks of rest following the battle against Blue did little to alter his daily rhythm, and as night fell his eyes were beginning to droop.

He saw Mew floating above the object that would be accompanying them for the trip, looking very excited for some reason. Realizing that she actually had no plans of sleeping before this night was over, and with the problems of the future feeling very distant when compared to his current situation, Lucario knew the only way he was getting through this journey would be with one step at a time.