Several days later, the group reassembled at the Oak Pokémon Preserve in Pallet Town.

"How's Latiasu doing?" asked Brock as he, Ash, Misty, and Delia came up the hill behind the Oak lab.

"Take a look for yourself," Professor Oak smiled as he pointed to a boulder in the middle of the rock Pokémon section of the preserve. Atop the rock, Latiasu was attempting to build a nest.

"I can't believe how much stronger she's gotten since she arrived here," Tracey said as he came up behind his friends. "I've been taking care of her since she got here."

Latiasu, sensing that her child was near, hopped off of the rock and made her way over to where the little group stood watching her.

"She's been learning how to walk on two feet," Tracey explained. "She's getting pretty good at it. And yesterday, she moved her wing for the first time."

"Hooray! That's great news!" Ash exclaimed as the huge Pokémon approached.

Togepi leapt out of Misty's arms and toddled towards Latiasu. "Togepi…togepi…togepi…" it sang happily as Latiasu nuzzled it. Togepi then turned and ran back towards Misty.

"No, Togepi," Misty said firmly as Togepi held up its stubby arms, wanting to be picked up.

"What are you doing, Misty?" asked Ash.

"I've been thinking about it a lot the last couple of days," Misty said with a serious expression. "And I think that Togepi needs to stay here with its mommy. Its real mommy."

"Misty, what are you talking about?" Brock exclaimed. "You're Togepi's real mother. You're the one who raised it and took care of it."

"Yeah, but only because we thought that it didn't have a mom. But now that Latiasu is here, it's time for her to take care of Togepi," Misty continued as her eyes started to well up with tears. "Go on, Togepi. Go stay with Latiasu."

"Misty, are you sure this is what you want to do?" Professor Oak asked.

"Yes, Professor, I'm sure," Misty nodded as she wiped the tears away. "Togepi needs to be with its mother so someday it can learn to be a Latiasu."

Delia put her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Misty, that's a very brave thing to do. I know how hard it is to let someone you've loved and raised all their life go," Delia said with a look back at Ash. "Even if you know it's for the best, it's still hard."

"Besides, it's not as if you won't ever see Togepi again," Tracey said. "You can call here whenever you like, and I'll put Togepi on the videophone to talk."

"And you're always welcome to stop by the lab whenever you want," Professor Oak said with a kind smile.

"And I'll stop by every day to visit Togepi," Delia said as she gave Misty a hug. "I promise."

"Thank you," Misty sniffed as she wiped away her tears once more and bent down. "Togepi, I'm going to miss you, but I want you to know that I'll never forget you."

"Toge?" the little Pokémon said worriedly as it saw how upset Misty was.

"I'll always love you, Togepi," Misty sobbed as she gave her Pokémon one last hug. Suddenly, Togepi disappeared in a flash of white light.

"What the…?" exclaimed Ash.

"Togepi's evolving!" gasped an equally astonished Brock.

Misty quickly put down her glowing Pokémon and when the light had faded, in Togepi's place was a larger Pokémon that still had an eggshell, but now also had sprouted a neck and wings.

"Togetic!" Misty exclaimed. "You evolved just for me!" She gave her new Pokémon a huge hug. "Oh, thank you!"

"Togetic," the Pokémon said happily as it hugged Misty back, then wiggled out of her arms. Togetic then went over to Latiasu and hugged it as well.

"Latiasu," the larger Pokémon sighed happily.

Togetic then went over to Brock and pointed to its mouth.

"Oh, you want some Poké Chow, Togepi…I mean, Togetic?" Brock said as he reached inside his backpack. He handed some of the brown nuggets to Togetic, who took them over to Latiasu and began feeding them to her.

"Look at that," Ash said. "Togetic is taking care of Latiasu."

"It sure is," Misty smiled. "Now that I know that Togetic doesn't need my help as much as it did before, I don't feel quite as bad now about leaving it here."

"I think Togetic is capable of taking care of itself now," Professor Oak smiled.

"Take good care of your mommy, Togetic," Misty told her Pokémon as she gathered up her backpack. "And I'll be back soon to see you again."

"Togetic," the Pokémon waved happily as Misty and her friends began to resume their Pokémon journey.

The little Pokémon then headed back to Latiasu's side. It stretched out its arms to support the injured Pokémon's wing, and the two slowly walked back to where Latiasu was building its nest.

"Hang on guys, I'll go get you some more Poké Chow." Tracey headed back up the hill to the lab.

"That's so sweet," Delia said, brushing aside a tear. "Togetic is going to watch out for Latiasu now."

"Unlike me," Professor Oak sighed.

Delia turned to her friend. "What do you mean, Samuel?"

Professor Oak smiled sadly as he watched Togetic hand Latiasu sticks for its nest. "Looks like little Togetic is doing a better job taking care of someone it loves than I did."

Delia was puzzled. "I don't understand, Samuel. What are you talking about?"

"What I mean, Delia, is that I blew it again. I was supposed to keep you from harm and I failed again. Looks like I'm three for three now. First, Shamuti Island, then Greenfield, now this. A helicopter crash, being kidnapped by Entei, then getting beaten up and nearly shot by a poacher. I think you'd be better off if I weren't around. Safer, anyway."

"Samuel, that's not true." Delia reached for his hand. "You helped me get out of the helicopter safely when it crashed in the Orange Islands. Your research helped save me, Spencer, and Molly from the Unown in Greenfield. And you tended to my wounds after I got banged up in Grandpa Canyon. I'd say that I definitely need you around." Delia smiled as she squeezed his hand. "Did you really mean what you just said?"

"Mean what?"

"That you love me? Is that why you've been looking out for me all these years?"

Professor Oak's face began turning red. "I…well…I mean, we've always been friends…and it's just that…well, it's important to watch out for someone you care about."

"I love you too, Samuel." Delia said as she kissed him.

---

"That was a wonderful thing you did, Misty," Brock told her as the three started down the road leading out of Pallet Town.

"Yeah, Misty. I know how hard it is to say goodbye to a Pokémon," Ash said as he thought about some of his old friends – Butterfree, Pidgeot, Charizard, Squirtle.

"Yeah, but I think Togetic and Latiasu will be happier together." Misty brushed away a tear. "They need each other."

"And so do we," Ash smiled as the three friends headed down the road to a new adventure.

THE END

Author's Note – This whole story came about when my older son was looking at a web site for Pokemon 5. He took one look at Latiasu and asked me, "Is that Togepi's mother?" It may or may not be true, but it's fun to think about it.