New Beginnings - A Pokemon Slice of Life. [OC/Isekai/Move Tutor/Breeder] - Chapter 42
Ethan shielded his eyes from the bright white light. It didn’t take a genius to know that the egg was hatching, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised by the gleaming light which was identical to an evolution. He heard sounds of cracking eggshells, excited murmurs from all the surrounding pokemon, Nurse Joy squealing like a little girl in happiness, and lowered his arm just in time to see the white light morphing into the shape of a pokemon.
Ethan waited for the shining light to dim, revealing the colors of the new, baby pokemon, to truly feel pure happiness and joy. He didn’t dare get his hopes up too early, for fear of them being squashed, but in this case, his worry was unwarranted.
His favorite pokemon was there, just a few feet away from him.
“Emol?”
The small, adorable, newly hatched Emolga moved its arms about in experimentation, causing its winged membrane to wave and flap with the motion. It giggled and sped up his waves, causing the flapping to intensify. Emogla took a few experimental steps on the blanket it found itself in, then unceremoniously fell forward onto its face—earning itself a face full of fabric.
Unknowingly, Ethan took a few steps forward and knelt down in front of the electric flying squirrel. As his shadow eclipsed Emolga, Emolga looked up at Ethan in wonder. A single droplet fell onto Emolga’s face, causing it to scrunch up in confusion. It blinked rapidly and crossed its eyes to look at the wet spot which suddenly appeared.
And that was when Ethan realized he was crying.
For the first time in twenty-nine years, Ethan cried from pure, unadulterated joy.
After joy came a deep sense of gratitude. Cynthia had given him this egg, and with his mind racing to connect the dots, Ethan realized that the first time they’d met, he was looking up Emolga on the Pokemon Center’s PC. She remembered, and when she saw the chance, put this egg aside for him to care for.
And care for it he will.
Ethan scooped up Emolga into his arms as he took a shuddering breath, trying his best to calm his emotions. Looking down, he felt Emolga grasp onto his shirt, flexing its hands wildly as it had grasped something for the very first time. Then, with his free arm, Ethan wiped his tears away and turned to face the room.
Joyce was crying, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief that Chansey had somehow materialized. Pachirisu was chittering to Chatot, who watched the scene unfold before her with a curiously tilted head. Shuckle was staring, mouth agape. His head looked from Ethan to Emolga, then to the two remaining eggs on the bundle of blankets.
Smeargle peered at Ethan from above his easel, painting a picture of the moment that would last, and Munchlax stood next to him, utterly confused but smiling nonetheless—just glad to be a part of whatever this was.
Then, as joy and gratitude passed, worry rushed in like a tidal wave. Ethan looked to Joyce with fearful eyes, an unspoken conversation passing. Nurse Joy wiped her eyes once more, then huffed out a laugh. She walked forward and took Emolga from Ethan’s arms. “Give me a moment. Then, we’ll talk about what to do.”
Ethan nodded, more than willing to let the expert make sure Emolga was okay. He ushered out the rest of the pokemon, sans Chansey, and collapsed onto his sofa, staring at the ceiling.
Pachirisu scrambled up Ethan’s leg, then up the side of the sofa to sit next to Ethan’s head. “Pachi pach?”
Ethan raised his hand and ran it through Pachirisu’s fluffy and luxurious fur. “I’m okay. I was just… so happy.”
He took a deep breath and tried to explain his emotions. “Before I continue, I want you to understand that I love you all equally… but Emolga is my favorite pokemon species. Seeing one—having one… It’s a dream come true. I never thought this day would come, and with so much happening in one morning, I’m just a little overwhelmed.”
Pachirisu nuzzled his head into Ethan’s neck, understanding and happy for him, which caused another whole host of emotions to rise up from within.
“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫”
Chatot did a single hop up from the floor and landed softly on Ethan’s lap. She gently nudged her feathered head, eighth note and all, into his chest lovingly.
“Shuuu!” Seeing the other two pokemon comfort Ethan, caused Shuckle to flail his noodle arms from the ground. That was the tall tale signal for ‘uppies’. Ethan snorted and picked up Shuckle, placing him onto the sofa beside him.
“I love all of you.”
“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫”
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“Pachi!”
“Shuuu!”
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When Nurse Joy exited the guest room, Ethan stood up a little too hastily. Chatot squawked as she was upended, Pachirisu rolled down the sofa from the sudden movement, and Shuckle just waved his noodly arms in happiness.
“She’s in perfect health.” Joyce said with a brilliant white smile as Chansey strolled out of the guest room, her nurse’s cap back on her head. In Chansey’s arms, she carried the curious, wide-eyed Emolga out into the living room. She promptly walked to the kitchen and started rummaging around.
“She’s going to make Emolga something to eat.” Nurse Joy explained as she pushed Ethan’s shoulders down, forcing him to sit back down. She sat next to him, then started her explanation. “Caring for newly hatched pokemon is a daunting, but rewarding experience. You’ll need to ease them into their foods, not train them, and make sure they explore their capabilities. I don’t see you having any issue with the food, as mushed berries would be perfect for her, same with the training, but each pokemon must explore their abilities themselves. For Emolga, this will be her unique flying style. Emolga’s flight membrane is primarily for gliding, but they can fly under their own power. She’ll have to experiment and learn her own way on how to do this, and you’re going to have to be her safety net. Unlike normal flying pokemon, like Chatot, who flap their wings using physical force to fly, Emolga uses energy.”
Joyce made sure Ethan was following along before finishing. “Besides that? Treat her like you would any of your pokemon. Love them and care for them. You’ll be fine.”
Then, Joyce took out her phone and tilted the screen toward Ethan, revealing a snapshot of the moment Ethan knelt in front of Emolga while crying. “I’ll be sending this to everyone I know as payment for services rendered. Also, I’m having Smeargle make me a copy of his painting to hang up in the Pokemon Center.”
Ethan groaned but wasn’t too bothered about it. All things considered, if she wasn’t here, he would have panicked. He honestly expected worse. But, upon seeing the phone, it reminded Ethan of a call he needed to make.
Ethan excused himself from the couch and the pokemon, grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter, and then walked out onto his patio. Ethan held the phone up to his ear as it dialed away, reaching the person he needed to thank.
“Hello, Ethan.” Cynthia’s voice teased knowingly from over the phone.
“She sent you the picture already, didn’t she?” Ethan asked, knowing the answer.
“Oh, yes, she did. You’re welcome.”
Ethan was quiet for a moment, causing Cynthia to speak again. “Ethan?”
“Thank you. This means a lot more to me than you realize.”
Cynthia must have heard his shuddering breath as her teasing tone faded away. Now, it was caring. He could hear her faint smile as she spoke. “You’re welcome, Ethan. Take good care of Emolga.”
“I will. I was just calling to say thank you. Stop by when you have some free time, and I’ll introduce you.”
“I’ll make the time. Bye, Ethan.”
“Bye, Cynthia.”
Click
“Munch?”
Turning around, Ethan saw Munchlax looking up at him with a tilted head. Apparently, it had followed him outside without him noticing. Ethan looked around his ranch, then back to Munchlax. “You like it here?”
Munchlax nodded as he rubbed its side, then with a look of surprise, pulled a berry out of its fur, which it promptly plopped into its mouth with a satisfied smile. “You’re free to stay, but pace yourself when it comes to berries. Don’t overeat, or I will have to put you on a diet. You may not be my pokemon, but I care for all of those who call this place home. That will include you.”
Munchlax nodded hurriedly, more afraid of the diet than anything else.
“I’ll be keeping my eye on you…” Ethan pointed at his eyes, then pointed at Munchlax. “So, I don’t know much about Munchlax’s, but where do you sleep? In trees?”
Munchlax shook his head, then pointed at Ethan’s house. “You want to sleep inside?”
Munchlax nodded and then walked up and hugged his leg, staring up at him with puppy dog eyes. Ethan sighed and ran his hand down his face. “My house is getting a little cramped. You okay with the couch?”
With rapid nods as his answer, Ethan shrugged. “Fine then, the couch is yours… as long as you don’t over eat.”
Munchlax gave his leg a final squeeze, then ran over to the patio door, opened it with ease, then ran inside with arms raised high in victory.
Ethan sat down on the side of his patio, dangling his legs over the edge as he stared at the dozing Oddish. Apparently, there were no pauses in the pokemon world. Pokemon were coming and going, and it was already emotionally draining. It had only been three hours, and he’d found a Munchlax, hatched an Emolga, and three of his residents were leaving.
Hopefully, he’d get used to this. The ‘hellos’ were welcome, but the ‘goodbyes’ were rough.
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“Goodbye you three!” Ethan waved as Gogoat, Blitzle, and Growlithe walked off down the trail exiting his ranch with their trainers.
The three pokemon each turned and gave him smiles, but turned away and excitedly joined their trainers side—happy to be reunited.
Once they were out of sight, Ethan lowered his hand and rubbed the Skiddo egg left behind. Both Bliztle’s and Gogoat’s trainers decided to leave the egg behind with Ethan. For Gogoat’s trainer, it was because they already had Gogoat. For Blitzle’s, they had just filled out their roster with a sixth member, and didn’t have any place to keep an extra pokemon. As it was a unique scenario, as both of the trainers’ pokemon were a part of the egg making process, Ethan gave them both the fifty percent discount, as it was only fair. Thankfully, both Gogoat and Blitzle seemed to want Ethan to keep the egg as well, so there were no issues there.
He had only known them for a week, but Ethan was going to miss them—not the puppy slobber wake-ups, but everything else. As he turned around to head back to his home, he spotted Dunsparce off to the side of the cobblestone path, with Shuckle by his side. They had watched the parting, and it looked like Dunsparce was talking to Shuckle about him leaving soon.
Shuckle looked sad, reaching his noodly arms toward Dunsparce as he shook his head from side to side, but Dunsparce shook his head as well. It was hard for Ethan not to go over and comfort his berry buddy, but this was a part of life he needed to learn. He would be there for Shuckle when Dunsparce left, but for now, the two pokemon needed to talk it out. Dunsparce noticed Ethan walking by, and gave him a solid nod. Ethan gave the pokemon one in return, unbeknownst to the saddened Shuckle.
Goodbyes were hard.
