"Happy birthday, dear Laurel! Happy birthday to you!"
It was Laurel Oak's tenth birthday, a day she had been eagerly anticipating for weeks. Today was the day she would receive her first Pokémon and begin her journey as a Pokémon trainer. The only problem was that she still hadn't made up her mind as to which Pokémon she would choose. She had been agonizing over it for weeks. She had asked everyone: Ash, Misty, Gary, Brock, and had even called Tracey in the Orange Islands for his advice. But everyone had a different opinion as to which Pokémon would be best to start out with, which didn't help her very much.
"Make a wish and blow out the candles, dear," Delia told her daughter.
Laurel closed her eyes and screwed up her face in concentration.
I wish I could decide which Pokémon to choose,
Laurel thought as she blew out the candles on her birthday cake."So what did you wish for, Laurel?" Misty asked.
"I can't tell you or else it won't come true."
"I bet I know what you wished for," Ash told his sister with a conspiratorial smile. "It's the same thing I wished for on my tenth birthday."
"Speaking of which," Professor Oak stood up. "Why don't we go to the lab, Laurel? I have something there for you."
Laurel followed her father to his research laboratory.
"I can't believe you're ten already, Laurel. It seems like yesterday you were just a baby."
She's growing up too fast
, he thought with regret."Nevertheless, since today's your birthday, it means that you're ready to begin your journey as a Pokémon trainer." He led her to the Pokémon storage area, which consisted of a shelving system that took up an entire wall of the laboratory. Every space on the shelf was filled with Poké balls.
"Laurel, because you know the Pokémon in this lab as well as I do, if not better than I do, you may choose from any Pokémon in this laboratory."
Laurel couldn't believe her ears. "Any Pokémon?"
"Yes. You've grown up in this lab and spent your entire life learning about Pokémon, so I'm comfortable with letting you chose from any of the Pokémon here."
Now Laurel's decision was complicated a hundredfold. She had spent weeks trying to decide if she should choose Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander. And now her father was telling her that she could choose from any of the hundreds of different types of Pokémon that were known to exist. Laurel was completely overwhelmed.
"Oh, Dad. I…I don't know which one to choose."
"Well, how about a Seel or Weepinbell? Maybe a Ditto or a Ponyta, perhaps?" he suggested helpfully. "And I know that Ash would be thrilled if you chose a Pikachu," he said, eyes twinkling.
How am I ever going to decide which Pokémon to chose now,
Laurel thought as she stood staring at the multitude of Poké balls. As she was trying to figure out which one would be best, she suddenly realized that there was one person's opinion that she had forgotten.She turned to her father. "Dad, which Pokémon did you start out with when you were a trainer?"
"Me? Oh, I started out with a Charmander." He momentarily lost himself in reminiscence. "I named it Char and raised it until it evolved into a Charizard. I still can remember vividly our first battle together. It was against a Geodude. Obviously, we didn't do too well." He smiled. "You will never forget your first Pokémon, Laurel."
Her mind was made up. "Then I want a Charmander, too."
Professor Oak was surprised by her choice. "Laurel, I told you that you could have any Pokémon you wanted. You don't have to limit yourself to just the beginner Pokémon."
"If a Charmander is what you started out with, Dad, then that's the one I want to start out with, too," Laurel said firmly.
Overcome with joy, Professor Oak hugged his daughter. "You've made your old father very happy, Laurel. Now let me go find you a Charmander." He selected one of the Poké balls and handed it to her.
Laurel pressed the button on the Poké ball, and a Charmander appeared in a flash of red light.
"Char!"
"Oh, Daddy," Laurel exclaimed excitedly at the sight of her first Pokémon. "It's a female Charmander! And judging by the coloration, she came from Cinnabar Island."
"Excellent, Laurel. You're correct." It never ceased to amaze him at just how much she knew. The girl was literally a walking Pokédex.
"Come on, let's go show everyone my new Pokémon!"
---
While Laurel was busy showing off her new Pokémon to everyone at the party, Samuel went off in search of Delia. She had disappeared while he and Laurel were in the lab. He found her upstairs in Laurel's room, sitting on the bed and clutching her daughter's stuffed Wigglytuff doll.
"Delia, everyone's getting ready to go outside and watch Laurel…are you all right?" He noticed that Delia's eyes were red.
"I can't believe my baby's getting ready to leave go off on her own Pokémon journey."
Samuel had been worried that Delia would take Laurel's leaving hard, especially in light of the events of the past two and a half years. During that period of time he and Delia had tried unsuccessfully to have another baby. After two disheartening miscarriages, Delia had reluctantly accepted the fact that another baby wasn't meant to be. Then three weeks ago, Delia realized that she was starting menopause. Considering that she would be turning fifty later that year, it wasn't a huge surprise…but it was still hard for her to deal with, just the same. The timing had been particularly bad because that same day Brock and May had announced that they were expecting their first child. (Children, actually. Since then, they had learned that they were expecting twins.)
"Do you remember when she was born?"
"Of course I do," he said as he sat down on the bed next to his wife and put his arm around her.
---
Unlike the rainstorm that had washed out their garden wedding a year earlier, the morning of their first anniversary was clear and sunny. The bright sunlight streaming in their bedroom window awoke him early that morning. He squinted and turned to face his wife, who was also starting to stir.
"Happy anniversary, darling."
Delia awoke at the sound of her husband's voice and smiled sleepily. Then suddenly her face contorted.
"Oh no, not again!" She gagged as she quickly stumbled out of bed and darted for the bathroom.
Poor Delia,
he thought as he heard her retching. She had been ill for the last three days with some sort of stomach bug. She had also been complaining lately about being tired all the time.Probably from all that vomiting,
he thought as he got out of bed and knocked at the bathroom door."Delia, sweetheart, are you all right?"
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a very pale Delia answered the door.
"I really wish you'd see a doctor about this," he worried as he led her back to bed.
"Actually, Samuel, I did. Yesterday."
"You did? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because my doctor had a late-afternoon cancellation. I had fallen asleep by the time you got back from your lecture on the supersonic abilities of bat-type Pokémon."
"Well, what did the doctor say? It's not anything serious, is it?"
"Maybe you'd better sit down, Samuel."
Something about the way she had said that both concerned him and triggered a suspicious feeling in the back of his mind. Obediently, he sat down on the bed next to her. She smiled and took his hand.
"Samuel, I'm pregnant."
He stared at her in shocked disbelief.
Pregnant? Did she say she was pregnant?
Even though they hadn't really been trying to have a child, he knew that Delia wanted another baby. He hadn't really entertained the thought much because he knew that at their ages (he was nearly sixty-five, she was almost thirty-nine) the odds of their conceiving a child weren't great to begin with.
But they had.
"Samuel? Please say something, darling. Are you all right?" She had noticed that he was quite pale.
"I'm just…I'm, oh my, I don't know what to say. Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm certain. Isn't it wonderful?"
"Well, yes, it's wonderful, but…pregnant?"
"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you want to have a child?" Her smile faded. She had thought that he would've been thrilled by her news.
"Of course I do," he said as he leaned over and hugged her. "It's just that the thought of becoming a father again at my age is a little overwhelming. I'm sixty-four now, sixty-five when the baby will be born. By the way, when is the little one due?"
"February. Valentine's Day, believe it or not. But Ash was born a week late, so I wouldn't count on that date being exact."
He sat there in stunned silence for a moment, reflecting on what she had just told him.
Me a father again at sixty-five? Most other men my age are grandfathers at sixty-five. Wait, I am a grandfather. And now I'm going to be a father again. Oh my…this is just so unbelievable.
He stood up to get a glass of water from the bathroom and felt his knees buckle. Delia quickly grabbed his arm.
"Maybe I'd better lie down," he said weakly as he sank back down on the bed. Delia moved over to make room for him next to her.
Oh my God, I've killed him
, Delia thought as he closed his eyes. He's having a heart attack."Samuel, do I need to call the doctor?" she asked in near-panic.
"Why?" He shot up. "Are you all right? Is something wrong with the baby?"
"No," she said, relieved. "I thought you were ill."
"Oh, no. I'll be all right in a minute," he said as he laid back down. "It's just that I'm surprised by this morning's turn of events."
"Well, at least you won't forget our first anniversary," she said as she laid her head against his chest. (Even though she wanted to cuddle, she did have an ulterior motive. She wanted to check to make certain that he wasn't having a heart attack.)
"No, I definitely won't," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Matter of fact, it's the nicest anniversary present you could've given me. Happy anniversary, darling." He kissed her.
"Happy anniversary, sweetheart."
---
Ash and Misty rode down to the edge of the water Pokémon preserve and tethered their Rapidash to a nearby tree. (One of the advantages of being Professor Oak's stepson was that Ash had access to all the Pokémon in and outside the lab.) As the horse-type Pokémon grazed, Ash and Misty sat down at the edge of the river that flowed through the southern boundary of the preserve.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Ash?" Misty asked as she released her water Pokémon in the river to get some exercise. Ash had been unusually quiet that morning.
"My mom and Professor Oak are going to have a baby."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Misty gushed. "A baby! Aren't you excited?"
"Yeah, thrilled," Ash said in a voice that indicated that he wasn't thrilled at all.
"What's wrong, Ash? Aren't you happy for your mom and Professor Oak?"
At fifteen, Ash was at the age when he was sure that his parents had made it their life's mission to embarrass him. He had had a hard enough time accepting the fact that his mom and Professor Oak were having sex, but now they were basically advertising it to the world by having a baby. Ash shuddered. "Misty, she's my mom, for crying out loud! And Professor Oak, he's like…old!"
"Ash Ketchum, you selfish thing!" Misty exclaimed in disbelief. "I can't believe that you're embarrassed that your mom and stepfather are going to have a baby!"
Ash scowled at her.
Misty continued her tirade. "You're the one who's acting like a baby! I can't believe you'd be jealous of a little brother or sister."
"I'm not jealous, Misty." Ash protested.
"Yes, you are! You've never had to share your mother's affection with anyone, and now along comes a baby to vie for her attention. You are jealous, Ash. Admit it."
Ash said nothing. Misty had touched a nerve.
"Why, I'd think that you'd be thrilled to have a little brother or sister to teach all about Pokémon and about becoming a Pokémon Master."
Ash perked up at this news. He had never thought about it that way.
"Hey, yeah, that's right. I can show them everything I've learned about being a Pokémon Master."
Misty smiled. She knew that appealing to Ash's ego would do the trick.
"And then maybe I can take them with me on my next Pokémon journey and help show them the right way to catch Pokémon! Hey, maybe he or she will become a Pokémon Master, too! Wouldn't that be something? Two Pokémon Masters with the last name of Ketchum!"
"Actually, Ash, the baby's last name will be Oak."
"Oh, you're right, Misty," Ash admitted. "But he or she will still be my brother or sister."
"Half-brother or half-sister, dolt. Get it right." Gary sneered as he came down the hill towards them. "So Grandpa already told you the news, huh?"
"Hey, at least I know how the baby will be related to me. And I'm still waiting for you to call me Uncle Ash," he said in mock sweetness.
"Well, don't hold your breath, because that'll never happen," Gary said as he tossed a handful of grass in Ash's direction.
"How will the baby be related to you, Gary?" Misty asked as she tried to figure it out in her head.
"He or she will be my half-uncle or half-aunt, something like that," Gary said as he sat down next to her on the riverbank. "It's already hard enough for me to be related to him," he said, pointing at Ash. "I hate to think how this poor kid's gonna feel when he or she is born."
"That's it!" Ash pounced on Gary and the two boys began wrestling.
Misty rolled her eyes.
I hope this baby's a girl
, she thought as Ash and Gary tumbled into the river. I can't handle another guy like these.