Notes: I finally got back into this universe and polished up this thing to publish it. This is the first part of two, and I have no idea when the second part is coming. Hopefully soon. I also have a completely separate one-shot for this universe in the works, which seems to be getting pretty long. This chapter really isn't my best work, but I decided it was best to just stop fretting over it and leave it be. This is meant to be a continuation of the last two chapters, picking up soon after "The Meeting".

Arceus had never been known for eccentric ideas. His daily life seemed to consist of sleeping, making sure that his fellow gods weren't killing each other, and briefly checking to see if the world he created was still in existence. If a person was to make a list of all of the gods based on their tolerance for odd ideas, Arceus would likely be near the bottom.

This was all thrown out the window when Arceus decided that it was necessary to hold a welcome-back party for Giratina.

Everyone thought he was joking. Even though the idea of Arceus joking was odd, it was more believable than him suddenly feeling the need to host parties, which he usually would have found to be somewhat amusing, but overall useless. (That was why Arceus never had birthday parties. The other gods often held them as an excuse to socialize a little, but Arceus always refused to participate.) It was only when Arceus insisted on gathering decorations and gifts that everyone realized he was serious.

The Great God of Creation hosting a welcome-back party. It sounded preposterous, even to a bunch who were used to the Great God of the Sea complaining about the food in Lilycove city.

And so, it was this strange scenario that had forced Uxie, Great Goddess of Wisdom, to go shopping with her two counterparts (because of course they couldn't just conjure up everything they needed, they just had to get the real thing because otherwise it's not "authentic" enough for Rayquaza. Stupid sky snake).

What was the world coming to?

"Hey. Hey Uxie," Mesprit giggled. "How would do I look in this dress?" She held the garment to her chest, as if to show off how it would look on her definitively human body.

"Clothes are an inconsequential part of human culture. Fashion is irrelevant," Uxie replied, finding that, now that she had them in plain sight, it was quite a nice feeling to roll her eyes.

"Oh, come on. You're such a spoilsport," the goddess whined. "Oh well, guess I'll have to ask Azelf. Hey, Azelf!"

Heads turned, staring quizzically at the girl who had just asked for a god. Uxie sighed quietly. If only Mesprit would learn discretion. If the humans somehow realized that they had gods in their midst, the shopping trip would likely come to an abrupt and unfortunate end. And then they'd have to find another department store and go shopping again and again until Mesprit learned to shut her mouth…

"Yeah, Mesprit?" Azelf yelled back from halfway across the store. Uxie inched away from Mesprit, attempting to look as if she had nothing to do with either of them, and that she was very obviously not another god, thank you very much.

"How would this dress look on me?" There was a minute's pause.

Uxie could hear the pattering of feet on the department store floor, slowly performing a crescendo. Uxie desperately hoped that the sound wasn't what she thought it was.

And then Azelf ran into sight. Yes, it was what she thought it was. Wonderful. Uxie wished that she could teleport away without anyone noticing, but everyone in the area was staring at them.

"You better not have knocked anything over," she muttered.

"Of course I didn't, Uxie," he replied. "Have a little faith, will you?" He turned to face Mesprit. "Wonderful, sister! It suits you perfectly."

"Ooh, does it? I wonder how much it is…"

"I do hope you realize that we are counterparts, not siblings, and that using such a term is improper," Uxie reprimanded. "Now. What are we here for, again? Mesprit, we're certainly not here to buy clothes, put that down."

Mesprit rolled her eyes, which were locked on the dress's price tag. "We're practically siblings, Uxie. We look nearly identical. Stop being so stuck-up. And we're here to get party supplies, don't you remember? Ooh, this dress is on sale…"

Uxie chose to let the remark about her being stuck-up pass as to not cause an argument. "Yes, but I do not recall clothes being on the list that Lord Arceus provided us with."

"It's a party. Everyone knows you need to wear good clothes to a party."

"Be reasonable. We likely won't even be in these forms," she sniped back, gesturing vaguely at her current body.

"Oh, you're no fun," Mesprit sighed. "Well, what do you suggest we do, then?"

"I suggest we find something that's actually on this list. Let's see… 'food, preferably to the liking of our guest'. Do you happen to know Giratina's tastes? Because I certainly do not."

"Wow, Uxie admitting that she doesn't know something. Amazing," Azelf muttered.

Uxie glared hard.

"Er, I mean no, I don't know, never knew the guy hahaha please stop glaring at me," he said quickly.

"Mesprit?"

"I have no idea. Can we do something else instead?"

Uxie sighed. "No, because if we don't do this, no one will. Come along. There should be food somewhere around here." She began to walk away, hoping that her counterparts would follow.

Mesprit reluctantly placed the dress back onto the rack and hurried after. "Where are we going?"

"The basement. I have a hunch that there will be food down there."

The basement was large, colorful, and lively. Stalls selling various goods were everywhere, their items ranging from poffins to exotic Pokémon. Scents and sounds blanketed the place, and Uxie was overwhelmed the moment she stepped in.

It was also in that moment that she realized she had left Azelf behind.

"Fuck," she said out loud.

"What?" Mesprit asked, looking at the Knowledge Pokémon in concern.

"We left Azelf behind," she responded. "I'll go back for him. Stay here." And with that, she hopped on the escalator and was gone.

Mesprit stared after her for a moment, then looked at the marketplace before her.

She walked forward.

It took two minutes for Uxie to get back to the floor of the department store where she suspected Azelf was. It took five minutes to get the helpful employees to stop asking her what she was looking for. It took fifteen more to find Azelf, five to convince him to stop examining the clothes and go with her, and three to get downstairs.

When they got to the basement, Mesprit was long-gone.

"Great Lord Arceus, can this get any more ridiculous?" Uxie sighed, barely restraining anger. "I told her not to move, but of course she had to. No one can ever just behave, because of course that would make my life too easy. If only people could just be sensible for once, then—"

"Hi Uxie," Mesprit said.

Uxie stared.

"Thought I'd get the shopping done while you were gone. See, I got these delicious poffins, and some lava cookies, and—"

"Oh, thank Arceus," Uxie said. "Never do that again. Let's go."

"But I didn't even get to buy anything," Azelf piped up.

"Well, that's your loss. Come on, we've been here for hours."

Azelf pouted. "I'm staying here."

Uxie knew better than to argue with the Great God of Willpower. "Fine. Stay here. I'm leaving. Good-bye." She twirled around, gesturing for Mesprit to follow. She cast a longing look at the marketplace, but followed. She knew better than to aggravate an already annoyed Uxie.

When the two teleported to the Hall of Origin, they were greeted by a dissonant chorus of screeching and small explosions. A large white blur passed through Uxie's field of vision, followed by a black one; she guessed that the pair were Reshiram and Zekrom, arguing as usual. She roughly took the shopping bags from Mesprit and bolted to a table on the edge of the room, praying to Arceus that nothing would hit her. As soon as she set the bags down, the goddess reverted back to her usual form with no small relief. She had always found the land-bound nature of humans restricting.

As soon as she did this, however, a small green body nearly knocked her over. "Sorry!" Celebi yelled behind herself, zipping away. Uxie didn't bother to respond. Chances were that the time travel Pokémon was already in an entirely different time period.

"Sorry for all the chaos," someone said behind her. Uxie turned to see Rayquaza in her human form, decked out in an intricate green dress. Rayquaza had never liked being in her serpent form in enclosed spaces; Uxie suspected that she found it restraining and awkward. Not for the first time, she was thankful for her tiny shape.

Uxie sighed. "It is to be expected at this point. If I hadn't noticed that all our gatherings ended like this, I couldn't call myself the goddess of wisdom."

Rayquaza laughed ruefully. "I suppose you're right. Why Arceus still thinks it's a good idea to have all of us in one place is beyond me. Anyways. Can you help me with the food? As you can see, Shaymin and Victini brought me some earlier, but I still haven't had the chance to get it all out yet."

"Of course."