A/N: Life took a crazy turn and I got really busy all of a sudden with work. So this chapter is later and shorter than I would have liked it to be. But don't worry loyal readers ^^ more to come of course!
I received a lot of real thorough and in-depth comments recently and I appreciate their writers very much. You guys inspire me to write more and improve what I'm doing, thank you.
Chapter 6: Coalescence
Ash was sprawled out on his stomach, chin resting on his hands. He was lying on his bed, absorbing everything that had happened earlier that night. His eyes were focused on the pair of brown ones across the room shining from the shadowed closet.
The door was wide open and Pikachu was curled up in his book bag, her unblinking stare directed back at his. She was beyond exhausted, barely having the strength to perk her ears, but you would never be able to tell by her eyes. Bright and alert, Ash smiled at the content look she was giving him.
He craned his neck slightly to try and see past her tail. Not that he needed to see to know they were there, but he found himself checking every few minutes.
As if knowing it was what he was doing, Pikachu complied by just slightly moving the thick edge of her tail, revealing the three squirming little forms huddled up as close to her as they could get.
His smile grew and he settled back down as she recovered them. He couldn't get over how small they were. He bet they could each fit in the palm of his hand.
Their eyes wouldn't open for another day and their fur was nothing more than peach fuzz, but already he could identify each one by their slight color variation. He'd stayed next to Pikachu for the last two hours, but resisted the urge to do anything more than just comfortingly pet her head.
But unlike everything people had been telling him, she didn't seem to want to be left alone. If he moved she'd lift her head in alarm and wouldn't relax until he was back within her eye sight. He was happy to stay though, not wanting to be anywhere else and glad she needed him.
He had contemplated going downstairs after she had finished to relay the news, but he couldn't tear himself away. He was torn; he wanted Misty and Brock to see. He wanted Brock to look them over, maybe even tell him what the genders were. It was all incredibly exciting, but the quiet in his bedroom at the moment was so nice.
He'd keep it that way a while longer.
He propped his arms up on his elbows, talking softly, his smile never wavering. He gently praised his Pikachu, his tone making her smile. She shifted just slightly to crane her neck back, nudging each of the small bundles with her nose, running her tongue over their ears and head. Seemingly satisfied, she then settled back down to continue to stare at her trainer. She released a long silent sigh and her eyelids started to droop.
Ash smirked and pushed himself down off the bed. "You needa rest, pal," he said, crawling over to the closet to sit down by her again. She lifted her chin to rest it on his knee, purring when he started to scratch behind her ears.
His eyes once again found their way to the three feeding pichu. "Misty is gonna explode," he chuckled lightly as Pikachu rubbed her cheek against his knee.
He leaned against the door to think about the reactions of other people. About what it would be like when they started getting active. That brought up a thought and he tilted his head at Pikachu. "Going to have to name them, won't I?"
She looked up at him, "Pika."
Ash glanced up in thought. Naming hadn't even occurred to him. He was never very good at coming up with them, which was why he steered away from it. "Can't call all three of them Pichu, that's kinda weird, huh?"
Pikachu shrugged, not completely following the conversation and more interested in him petting her ears. She indentified each of them via scent anyway, it didn't matter what he called them.
"Oh! What if they rhymed? That'd be cool, huh?"
Pikachu opened her eyes, suddenly finding a reason to listen to what her trainer was suggesting.
Ash was grinning as he went over a list. "Bolt, Volt, Jolt…"
Pikachu raised an eyebrow at him, wrinkling her nose. He couldn't be serious. There was no way her offspring were going to 'rhyme'.
Ash didn't seem to catch her scathing look though, convinced he was a genius. "You like those, girl?"
"I think she'd almost rather you call them all Pichu…"
Both Ash and his Pokémon glanced up as Misty cautiously stood at the bedroom door. Pikachu sighed in relief. The water trainer would talk to Ash and then she wouldn't have to shock some sense into him. She was much too tired to fry his brain cells at the moment. The maiming could be left to his mate.
Ash gave her a questioning look though. "What? Why?"
Misty's mind was off that specific subject though, forgetting his poor choice on names, her eyes on the nest, her hands clasped together, and an anxious look on her face. While Ash stayed clueless, Pikachu beamed at her. She was still exhausted and could really go for a nap, but the urge to show off was far too great.
Seeing the Pokémon smile was invitation enough for Misty. She quickly made her way over to the closet, slowly kneeling down and leaning over to see as Pikachu moved aside her tail.
It took everything the red head had to keep her voice at a whisper, but Pikachu took the long squeak of an "awwww!" as a compliment.
"Oh Ash, look at them!" Misty cooed, cupping Pikachu's cheeks in her hands. "Your babies are beautiful!"
Pikachu purred, agreeing of course.
"Brock, come see the babies!" Misty whispered a little louder to the breeder standing at the doorway. Ash turned around, just noticing him.
"Hey Brock, what do you think of the names-"
"How you holdin' up there, girl?" Brock ignored Ash, cutting off his question and nudging his friend aside so he could kneel down in front of the nest. Pikachu was brimming with pride as the two other humans surrounded her, moving her tail and even nudging the pichu slightly to alert them of the new presence.
Brock stroked the new mother gently before gesturing to her litter. "May I?"
Pikachu needed no convincing, slowly getting to her feet to carefully crawl out of her nest and into Misty's lap. The blind pichu squeaked their disapproval of their mother's absence.
As Brock carefully examined each pichu kit, Ash looked to Misty who was cradling the tired Pikachu in her arms.
"You really don't like those names?"
Misty rolled her eyes. "Seriously Ash? They're like on the top of this list for most cliché names for electric types."
"Did he want to name them something stupid like Bolt or Jolt?" Brock asked, squeaking pichu in hand.
Ash groaned, shoulders slumping and looking defeated. "See this is why I don't bother with names."
"You're just lazy," Misty scratched under Pikachu's chin. The Pokémon was close to falling asleep in the girl's arms. "We'll think of good names, right Pikachu?"
"Ka-chu…" she yawned, resting her chin on Misty's shoulder.
Brock set the last pichu to be examined down before gently taking Pikachu from Misty. He wanted to give her a small check up before insisting she sleep. "We'll keep an eye on them, girl," he reassured her, setting her in the back pack nest. Her offspring hurried to cuddle back up against her once they detected her warmth.
Pikachu barely noticed, tucking her tail around them and closing her eyes as if she'd done it a thousand times before.
Ash and Misty looked to Brock for a diagnosis, but he waved off their concerned looks. "She's going to be tired the next few days, that's inevitable. Otherwise they all look fine and she's doing exactly what she should."
Ash sagged in relief, the worry in the back of his mind quelled. Misty smiled and took her boyfriend by the arm, pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, she needs to sleep. We can research names that won't embarrass them so much they revolt against you."
"Oh! Revolt! That's a good one!"
Misty groaned and dragged him towards the door.
Brock smirked at the two of them before turning his attention back to the Pokémon. He ran his hand down Pikachu's back once more before getting to his feet. She was dead asleep and the three pichu were quickly following her lead.
The largest of the three, an almost orange-ish tint to its fur, was tucked under her back leg. Its tail was curled around itself in a mimic of Pikachu's position.
The middle sized pichu, fur as bright as its mother's, was lounging back against her midsection. It released a long yawn before turning over on its side to nuzzle against her stomach.
The youngest and smallest of the three had the lightest coloring, almost cream in tone. It had wedged itself under Pikachu's chin between her forepaws.
Seeing the new small family sleeping soundly, Brock decided to take his leave. He stepped out but kept the closet door slightly ajar.
Pikachu opened one eye and lifted her right ear once Brock's footsteps disappeared. Confirming that she was alone, she lifted her head to watch the door. Seeing she was truly by herself, she smiled and took a moment to softly groom the pichu between her paws.
She pulled back to look at each of the three resting comfortably against her. She tilted her head, a wide smile across her maw and a dreamy expression over flowing in her eyes. She was brimming with pride and a warm sensation that bubbled up inside her.
She was tired, but couldn't help but stay awake just to watch them sleep. She needed this quiet moment, listening to them breathe and feeling them beside her.
Proof that they were actually there.
---
His mind was screaming in protest. His actions were going against everything he knew.
This was not to say he knew a great deal; having been alive for only three weeks does limit one's knowledge of things. But he considered himself to be advanced for his age.
Though really, advanced or not, this was somewhat audacious.
But despite the warnings going off in his brain, he pushed forward. Ignoring his doubts and mustering up a bit more courage from the voice that only encouraged this sort of boldness. He continued on unsteady legs.
He liked that voice. True, it was the voice that had gotten him stuck behind a few boxes in the closet. And the same voice that had him lost in a tangled web of the video game controller cords. And the very voice that knocked him into the end table that tipped over a rather large glass of water, sending a waterfall off the side and soaking him completely.
But regardless of the fact that said voice often lead to trouble, it also helped him uncover new and exciting things. A whole nother world beyond the backpack. Beyond the closet.
A place only known as 'Ash's Bedroom'.
He'd been the first to venture outside the closet. His siblings had watched with disapproving gazes, their mother having left to a place unknown to recharge her energy supplies. Something she did often. It had been the perfect opportunity to heed the voice's need. His own need to see more.
Sitting in the nest was all well and good, but treasures didn't come to those who hide under a bedding of t-shirts.
His siblings squeaked their warnings, but they were just jealous. Especially when he had returned with the tissue that had provided hours of fun for the three of them. True, the shredded scraps littering the closet den had their mother giving them contemptuous looks, but it had been more than worth it.
Besides, they had been less apprehensive in joining the next expedition he made to 'Ash's Bedroom'.
But the room had lost its appeal of being new. For almost a whole week their mother had stopped trying to confine them to the nest and allowed them free range of the bedroom. A day or two of being permitted to investigate had been fun but after their mother had given them the okay, excitement turned to boredom. Things were just less fun when one was allowed to do them. But where the room had once brought thrill, it now brought something else…
… a new door.
A brand new challenge, a new portal. The humans and their mother were allowed past that door, it was only fair they be able to follow. And it's not that he thought their caretakers and mother were withholding anything from them; in due time they would probably opt to letting them pass through the door. But who knew when that would be. Especially with them still uneasy about letting he and his siblings climb the bed spread.
He glanced back at the two heads of his siblings peaking over the edge of the mattress. They had all been napping up there when he had become bored of napping. He became bored from things very easily and much quicker than the other two. His mother had told him this and he had taken it as a compliment. She'd mentioned something else about sarcasm, but he was still unsure what that meant exactly.
The human his mother called their trainer had left a little while ago, bringing her with him and leaving the bedroom door open just slightly. An ideal time if he wanted to crawl down the comforter without anyone annoyingly pulling him back away from the edge.
Thank goodness for his pin needle nails. It had been slightly more difficult than he thought it would be, and a few times he had understood exactly why the humans and his mother stopped him from doing that exact thing. But he had made it and laughed at them for doubting his abilities.
Okay, so technically he fell the last foot, but that still counted as making it.
He caught the look of his older brother, a doubting but curious look. His sister was shaking her head, convinced he was a lunatic.
So be it. He was a lunatic. But he was going to see the world outside that door before them, so nya.
Ruffling his fur a little, holding his nose high, he stood up on his hind legs. Wobbling a bit, he decided perhaps four legs was a smarter way to go until he mastered walking on two. Crouching back down, he took a deep breath and headed for the crack in the door.
It took almost all his strength to push it open a bit more in order to squeeze his head through. He tumbled out in a summersault once he was able to. Startled only slightly by his stumble, he shook out his fur and looked around the hallway.
Not what he expected, but he couldn't be choosey about new worlds. He lifted his nose, sniffing at the air a bit before crawling along the wall to sniff at the molding as well. Plenty of familiar scents; his trainer and his trainer's mother were plentiful.
Glancing up from his aroma feast he stared at the edge of this world; the stair case. He grinned brightly. Already something new.
Breaking into his fastest run, which looked odd with his ears and paws still too big for his body and flopping about sloppily, he padded towards the carpeted steps. But his excited expression fell as he watched the large form ascend from the stair case.
Putting his front paws out in an attempt to stop himself, instead he slid, the back half of his body still moving forward. He awkwardly tumbled into the sneaker that prevented him from falling down the steps.
"Sprite!"
The little pichu shook his head, clearing his vision before looking up at a surprised Ash staring down at him. Sprite smiled sheepishly, but it faded to an ashamed expression when he saw his mother on the trainer's shoulder.
Instead of getting angry, Pikachu hung her head with a defeated sigh. She crawled down the front of Ash's sweatshirt, hopping down next to her son.
"Piiii-chuuuu!" Sprite whined, arms extended in an attempt to enhance his excuse. Pikachu ignored it though, simply leaning down toward him. Sniffing him a bit, and convinced he was fine, she clutched the scruff of his neck in her jaws, lifting Sprite off the floor.
Sprite folded his paws, glaring at the ground as he was embarrassingly carried back to the bedroom by his mother, dangling from the light hold she had on him. He winced when he heard the giggles from his siblings.
Ash held the door open for Pikachu, smiling at her two other offspring. He had remembered leaving all three napping on top of his bed. But only the youngest, the little girl they had named Ribbon, was still on his comforter.
He wasn't surprised. While her brothers' were slightly more daring, Ash had noticed that Ribbon would wait for them to test the waters of new things first. That way if they got in trouble or hurt, she could learn from their mistakes and avoid it herself. Misty had commented that it was because she was a girl and therefore the smartest.
The orange colored oldest was off the bed, standing on his hind legs and beaming up at Ash. He had made it down the comforter with no problems, but opted to stay inside the room. While the middle pichu, Sprite, was the first to do things, his older brother had a tendency to be the first to do things successfully.
Ash grinned down at the pichu attempting to stretch to its highest length in order to look bigger. This was Pulse, always trying to impress and let it be known that he could follow orders, but wasn't above showing off.
Pulse was slightly bigger than his siblings, just enough so that Pikachu didn't bother to carry him whenever she insisted on herding her litter where she wanted them. Instead Pulse was given a firm look from his mother, which instantly had him darting up the comforter and back onto the bed.
While they had to scale the blanket, using tiny claws to amble their way up, it took Pikachu one bound to make it. She set a pouting Sprite back next to his sister who gave him an 'I told you so' look. He stuck his tongue out at her. She glared and tackled him.
Pikachu sighed; attempting to break them up with a warning 'chu!' but Pulse had made his way up onto the bed finally and was now joining in the scuffle.
She groaned, smacking a paw to her forehead.
Ash laughed, enjoying the spectacle. Pikachu gave him a dirty look for laughing at her expense, but he ignored it and instead ruffled her ears. "Chill Pikachu, they're just playing."
It was a good cop/bad cop routine the two had started and Ash was content to play the role of the officer the three pichu preferred. He plopped down on the bed, sending the kits bouncing a bit. Stunned for only a moment, they recovered from their short flight and quickly scampered over to their trainer to climb all over him.
Ash smirked and sprawled out on his stomach, flipping on his TV and allowing the three of them to use him as a jungle gym. Pikachu had given up trying to demand order and instead curled up next to Ash's head to watch TV with him.
It was nice to relax, but Ash wasn't paying attention to the news station he had turned too, just liking the background noise. He chuckled as he felt Sprite attempting to pull off his cap, not having the strength to do so, but trying anyway.
The last three weeks had flown by for the Pokémon trainer. The litter was growing rapidly and he loved every minute of watching them do so. Only three weeks old and they were so active. They had even started showing signs of vastly different personalities after the first few days of having their eyes open.
After doing some research with his girlfriend and determining the traits of each pichu, Misty had suggested they name them each after different types of lightning patterns. Pulse; strong, concentrated beams. Sprite; erratic and uncontrollable streams. And Ribbon; rare and photogenic bolts that flickered across the sky.
He liked the names and every day they proved to be more and more appropriate, and apparently less embarrassing than the one's he would have chosen left to his own devices. All in all it was a learning experience, but while the pichu were growing like weeds, Ash still felt impatient. His anxiety for them to be born was now replaced with a growing excitement to take them out into the world. He wanted to bring them outside, to meet the rest of his team, over to the professor's lab to show them off, to start training, to bring them on his journey to be a master.
But Brock was adamant that none of that was going to happen until they were at least five or six weeks old. And training would have to wait even longer. Pikachu was apparently on the breeder's side, not even wanting them out of the bedroom let alone outside.
Brock explained their immune system was still vulnerable and susceptible to viruses and bacteria that wouldn't affect older Pokémon. They needed time to build it up. Not to mention waiting till they ate solid food would help as well.
Baby steps. Ash sighed and reached over to pet Pikachu's head. "How about we take them down to the kitchen, girl? Brock said we could try mashed up fruit this week."
Pikachu opened one eye and raised a brow at him. He had to be kidding. She was definitely not thinking that far ahead, barely having the energy to plan out the next five minutes. She'd been pretty lethargic the last few weeks, more so then she had been while pregnant. It was normal. She was feeding and tending to three demanding pichu, plus recovering. She didn't have the patience or energy to deal with Ash's petty pleading to take them downstairs. Didn't he realize that downstairs opened a whole new array of stuff they could get into?
She bopped him on the head with her tail.
Ash scoffed, batting her tail away and pulling Pulse off his shoulder to play fight with him. He rolled the little pichu on his back, letting him gnaw on his fingers. The creature was dwarfed in comparison to the size of his hand, but put up a good match, little excited growls escaping Pulse as he attempted to battle the offending foe.
Ash laughed, letting him win and push his hand off and then attempt to tackle it. "Atta boy! That was a good tackle, Pulse."
Pleased with the praise, the little pichu repeated the action, jumping onto Ash's hand and pulling at his fingerless glove. This brought over Sprite, who did a dive off the brim of Ash's hat to join in the fight. Ribbon was a little more cautious, trying to sneak up on her trainer's left hand instead since that was the one not moving.
Ash smirked and caught her off guard by slightly twitching his fingers. It was enough to spook her, fur fluffing up with a startled 'PI!' before darting to the safety zone behind her mother's tail. Pikachu smiled fondly though, pulling Ribbon closer to her body with her zig-zagged appendage.
She was already content with the fact that her youngest was probably not going to be as interested in battling as her two sons. Though a battler herself, enjoying the rush and thrill of the fight, she knew it wasn't for everyone. While her daughter nuzzled closer, she glanced at her sons with a smirk.
Sprite would be a difficult one to train. The hyperactive pichu would give Ash trouble, that was for sure. Pulse on the other hand seemed more focus. He'd make a strong battler, she was sure.
Pikachu ceased her musings as Ribbon cooed for attention, rubbing her cheek against her mother's. Pikachu purred, instinctively washing the kit's face and eliciting a happy squeak from Ribbon. Whatever her children really decided to do, she'd be okay with. But for the moment she would enjoy their young antics and the fact that they preferred to stay close to her.
Allowing Ribbon to play with one of her long ears, Pikachu rested her chin on her paw to watch Ash interact with the other two pichu kits. She adored her trainer. Her best friend without a doubt. But he could be very impatient.
Ash laughed as Pulse attempted to head butt his arm. He scooped the kit up, bringing it up to his face and smiling widely as Pulse nuzzled against his cheek.
Pikachu sighed and smiled. Impatient or not… she was extremely pleased with his closeness to her litter. She wouldn't want it any other way, really.
Not that she doubted he would take to them as he took to her. If it was a Pokémon, Ash was pretty much instantly in love. She watched him roll over onto his back, Sprite and Pulse crawling across his chest and chasing his hands, trying to get him to pet them.
Ash tilted his head back, grinning at Pikachu upside down. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled back.
Goof.
"C'mon," he pestered, still grinning.
She sighed. "Pika-chu…"
He attempted a puppy dog look, but being upside down, the effect was not only pathetic, but also comical. Pikachu snickered, Ribbon poking her head over her mother's tail to see what made her do so. A short scamper around the lightning bolt tail had her following her brothers, attempting to shove them out of the way so their trainer would pet her as well.
Pikachu slowly rose off the comforter, stretching her front paws out and arching her back. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take them downstairs. They were, after all, just as anxious as her human companion. Perhaps it would win her points as the 'good cop'.
But JUST to the kitchen. Ash could whine and complain all he wanted to, but they weren't going any farther than that.
To be continued...
