Happy IkariShipping Day! *throws confetti* Anyway, while the genres are mainly family and romance, there is some humor and a little something spiritual in there. I only own the storyline and my OCs, so without further ado…
The Bet
(Veilstone City. Wednesday. Normal P.O.V.)
"Paul, could you help me out?" a pink-haired woman says. A plum-haired young man and a bluenette enter the room.
"Oh Dawn, you're here too. Anyway, I have to go to a gym leader's meeting. I don't know when Reggie will be back, so do you think you two can watch Andrea for me?" the pink-haired woman says, placing a pink bundle in a crib.
"No need to worry, Maylene. Andrea is in good hands," the bluenette now known as Dawn says.
"Dawn, this is serious," Maylene begins, trying not to cringe at the coordinator's phrase. "Although I'm on maternity leave, I still have to attend the meetings," she finishes.
"We've got it, Maylene. Just get going so you're not late," the plumhead says to his sister-in-law.
"Thanks, Paul. I put a bottle in the fridge in case she gets hungry. Bye!" Maylene says, quickly kissing the baby in the crib on the head then leaving.
"So you can watch her while I practice for my Contest," Dawn says to her boyfriend.
"I have to practice, too," Paul says.
"Ladies first," Dawn trills, going out before Paul can protest. Unfortunately, Paul's peace doesn't last as Dawn closed the sliding door a little too loudly. The pink bundle began to wail.
"Troublesome girlfriend," Paul says under his breath. He walked over to the crib and picked up his niece. She wasn't wet, so that wasn't it. Paul headed to the fridge and opened it. He grabbed what he needed.
"Lass? Froslass," Paul's Ice-type says.
"Sorry Froslass. Troublesome beat us to it," he says, proceeding to feed the seven-month-old.
'She's a beautiful baby. You'd like her,' Paul thinks to himself. Andrea finishes the bottle instantly and begins to hiccup. Paul sighs, puts the bottle down and puts a rag over his shoulder. He proceeds to gently rub her back.
"Pa," Andrea says, beginning to babble. Andrea Michelle Rebolledo inherited her mother's hair, eyes and appetite, according to what Candice told him. She was mostly smiling and happy, so that was something she inherited from Reggie. Paul placed her back down and Dawn came in.
"Okay, you can train now," Dawn says.
"Done already?" he asks, pecking her on the cheek.
"We'll take turns," she says. Paul explains that he just fed her, so she should be fine. Once outside, he nodded to Electivire and an Ampharos that had been placed in Reggie's care. Dawn finds it hard to believe that Paul is the owner of said Ampharos, to Paul's confusion.
"How's Thunder Punch coming?" Paul asks the Light Pokémon.
Ampharos focuses and aims a punch at Electivire, but is soon stopped by Dawn opening the door.
(Dawn's P.O.V.)
I open the door to see Paul with Ampharos and Electivire, Andrea in my arms, fussing.
"Paul," I say to my boyfriend. He puts his arm out, a signal for me to wait.
"Hit Electivire with all you've got, Ampharos," Paul says. I then look down and see Reggie's notebook of all the Pokémon he takes care of. He keeps a notebook separate for the ones he breeds that don't belong to him. Maylene's are written in pink, his are in purple and Paul's are in blue. I look at the list, which is alphabetical.
Ampharos. Blue.
Bibarel. Purple.
Cloyster. Blue.
Drapion. Blue.
Drapion. Purple.
As I'm going through the list, I go back to the top. Ampharos is in blue letters.
"What are you doing?" Paul says.
"When did you catch Ampharos and Cloyster?" I ask, Andrea still fussing.
"So you were reading. If you must know, I caught Cloyster when I first journeyed through Kanto and Ampharos in Johto," he begins. His gaze shifts to Andrea. "Why is she crying now?" he asks.
"I don't know. You just fed her and I changed her," I say, trying to calm her down.
"Pachi?" Pachirisu asks, coming over. Poffins. I was going to make some poffins.
"I can't make the poffins without Oran Berries. Oh, please stop crying, Andrea," I say.
"Go find some Oran Berries and I'll get her to stop before you get back," he says.
"I've tried rocking her, humming her a lullaby," I begin.
"I'll get her to stop," he says. I'd fold my arms, but I can't. I get an idea.
"Alright. Why don't we make a small bet?" I say.
He raises an eyebrow. "I'm listening," he says.
"If you can't get Andrea to stop crying before I get back, you have to participate in the Hearthome Contest with me. Dressed up," I say, feeling a sense of relief as the weight comes off.
"If I can?" he asks.
"If you can, then I'll enter the Hearthome Tournament with you," I say.
"The Tag Battle Tournament or the Free-For-All?" he asks.
"The second one. Deal?" I say, stretching out my hand.
"Deal," he says, smirking.
Before I go off, I look around for Andrea.
"Electivire took her out of your hands when you weren't looking," he says, pointing to Electivire, who is in fact holding her.
"Wanna come, Pachirisu?" I say. He nods.
(Paul's P.O.V.)
"I'll be right back," I say, going inside. I open the freezer and get what I need out, but it's barely cold. I open the door, grabbing something else as well.
"Froslass," I call.
"Lass?" she asks.
"I need you to make this colder," I say, throwing it up in the air. Froslass fires an Ice Beam on it, freezing it solid. Ampharos whacks his fist on it, breaking the extra ice. I catch it as Electivire hands me my niece. I sit down, feeling the presence of my guardian angel. I put it in her mouth and she begins to suck on it.
I let Froslass and Ampharos practice. She grabs the plushie I had.
"This is a gift from my friend Fantina. I already gave her the Misdreavus," she said, handing me the plush Gengar.
"Thanks, mom. I keep getting asked if I dyed my hair," I said, taking the Gengar.
"Oh, you and Reggie got that from me, sweetie. Your sister got her hair from her father," she said.
"Didn't she get her eyes from you?" I asked. I was four.
"Yes she did," she said, ruffling my hair.
I've kept Gengar ever since. Misdreavus I got a little later. Andrea's pink orbs meet my onyx ones. 'You'd like her, Drea,' I think to myself.
"When did you get a Gengar plush?" Oh great, Dawn's back.
"It was a gift. I've had it since I was a little boy and it was given to me if I ever felt alone," I say.
Before she can say that Andrea's stopped crying, I hear the front door open.
"Maylene? Andrea? I'm home!" Reggie's voice calls. Dawn opens the door and I trail, Froslass not too far behind.
"Maylene went to a gym leader meeting. I still can't believe you got her to stop!" Dawn says.
"So she's teething. Hey baby girl, look who's home," he says, taking Andrea out of my arms.
"How did you know she was teething?" Dawn asks.
"I didn't. I just took a wild guess," I state flatly. I smirk. "Looks like I win the bet," I say.
"Bet? What bet?" Reggie asks.
"Paul and I made a bet. If he couldn't get Andrea to stop crying when I got back, he'd have to enter the Hearthome Contest with me and dress up. If he could, I'd enter the Free-For-All with him," she says. He cringes at the mention of the contest, but Dawn doesn't notice.
"No fair! You used Froslass, didn't you?" she asks, folding her arms. My smirk widens.
"You didn't say I couldn't use a Pokémon," I say.
"It's still not fair. Why didn't you go back inside? Wh," she begins, but I manage to shut her up before going outside.
"That's one way to get Dawn quiet: kissing her," Reggie says. I go out and pick up my Pokétch and look at the calendar. Froslass goes back to train on her own. I see the date of the contest.
'So that's why he cringed. The date of the contest marks twelve years,' I think to myself. I say a small Hail Mary and look up at the sky.
"I miss you every day," I say to the clouds.
"I miss you, too," a voice says softly. The day we lost her changed our lives. Dad became a workaholic. Mom began to drink occasionally, but soon turned into a workaholic. Reggie stopped training for a few months. I isolated myself.
"Fros?" she asks, having stopped working with Ampharos.
"I'm okay, Froslass. I just need to think and make some calls," I say. I'll let it surprise Troublesome that I'm entering. It'll be in her honor. It'll be worth it. Besides, I made my promises and I intend to keep them.
Phew, that's done! So, it seems Paul and his family suffered a devastating loss. Perhaps of a loved one? You'll see soon enough. Obviously, this one doesn't relate to His Distance. However, the one topic will be present in future stories. Anyway, I'm 95% sure that this is the youngest I've written Andrea. Cloyster just seemed to suit Paul and I thought I'd give Paul another Electric type. Oh and in case it didn't occur to you, yes, I made Paul Catholic. So enjoy IkariShipping Day, everyone! As always, read, review, fave, follow, vote and ask! Bye!