I wonder how much suspense I built by not posting this chapter for so long after the cliffhanger. That wasn't really my plan but it is something I considered. I don't really have much else to say here so let's move on to the chapter.


Chapter 37: Change of Pace

An endless void of darkness. That was all Diamond could see as she lay motionless. Her body completely numb as she felt like she were floating through the abyss, gently swaying as if floating along endless waves. She could hardly even register her own thoughts as she were paralyzed with only one thought managing to reach her mind.

"Am I… dead?" She wondered. However, she soon began to feel something roll down her cheek, but was unable to reach up and feel what it was, the best she could do was assume it were a tear from the way it moved.

For a brief moment she felt something tightly grip around her head. A sharp pain like that of a needle piercing her arm. She wanted to pull her arm away from whatever was pinching her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't move at all. Soon she began hearing a very faint and muffled beeping on her left, though she couldn't turn her head to see what it was. Eventually, Diamond could feel herself grow heavier and her thoughts returning to her.

An image flashed before her eyes. The last thing she could remember before the empty darkness she was now in. The last thing she had seen, was Aura crying above her. Oh how she desperately yearned for the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. To be held by him and feel the warmth of his loving embrace.

She could feel her cheeks grow damp as she could feel herself able to finally breath again. A light shined down from above her. She could feel it pulling her closer. Was this it? Was this the afterlife?

Becoming engulfed by the bright light, Diamond blinked her eyes open. She couldn't move, but she recognized what she could see as the emergency room of the Pokemon Center. Diamond quickly realized she could feel something strapped around her face, but more importantly, she could feel something clasped around her hand. Struggling to lift her head, Diamond wanted to cry as she saw Aura leaning against the edge of the bed, his hair covering his dreary face as he silently sat with both his hands holding Diamond's.

Diamond managed to weakly smile at him, not caring about anything else in that moment as she quietly muttered, "Aura?"

Aura quickly lifted his head and froze with his eyes wide and bloodshot from crying. He turned to face her with a few more tears streaming down his face. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. "D-Diamond?" He choked. As if witnessing his love return from the dead, Aura suddenly drew close and embraced her as gently as he could in his emotional state. He could hardly control his emotions as tears flowed down his face. "I-I was so worried! When you collapsed at the gym, I… I…" Aura pulled back and placed his hands on her arm. "I love you so much, Diamond." He sobbed.

He lowered his head as his tears continued to fall. He sat back in his chair and hunched over the bed, his whole body shook violently. Not wanting to see him like this any longer, Diamond forced herself to move her arm over and place her hand atop of his. He sharply inhaled as he felt her lightly squeeze his hand, looking up to see her warmly smiling at him with tears of her own flowing down either side of the clear oxygen mask strapped around her muzzle. "I love you too, Aura." She told him, still speaking in perfect English.

While the two of them stared deeply into each other's eyes, the beeping quickened it's pace to match Diamond's heart-rate. But this didn't stop them as Aura pressed his lips against her's, drawing out a passionate kiss for a full minute before pulling away for air.

Aura noticed Diamond's ears weakly twitch before turning around to the door. It slowly swung open as Nurse Joy poked her head in. "I'm glad to see you're awake. We got a notification from the monitors and came to see what was happening." She stepped into the room with another nurse following close behind. "I know this is an important moment for you both, but if you wouldn't mind, we need to do a quick examination to make sure everything is in order."

Aura looked at Diamond with his hand still holding her's. "I'm guessing you'll need me out of the room for this?" He asked, looking back to Nurse Joy.

She slowly nodded, "It would probably be best to have no distractions, but you don't need to worry, it's nothing serious, just some basic procedures like checking her blood pressure and vitals before giving her a quick physical exam." Joy bowed her head, "I'm sorry to make you leave so suddenly when your Pokemon only just woke up."

Aura waved his hand and started to stand up, "It's fine. I just want to know if she'll be okay." He made his way to the door, willing himself to not get overemotional as he had to leave his love's side. "Please, let me know if anything happens." Receiving a "will do" from the nurse, Aura left the room and stepped into the hallway.

"So? Is Diamond gonna be okay?" Lilly asked the second Aura had shut the door behind him.

Aura actually managed to smile at the rabbit, "Well so far she's finally awake." Everyone let out a collective sound of relief from the good news. "Right now Nurse Joy is making sure she's okay so they asked me to leave the room."

"Why couldn't they let you stay by her side?" Stan asked.

"They don't want any distractions in there and there might be some more… "private" things they need to do. At least that's what I'd assume since it's probably the main reason for me leaving." They all watched as Aura defeatedly sighed and slumped down into the plastic seating. "I just hope that everything is gonna be okay." He muttered into his hands.

Lilly sat on the seat next to him and placed her paw on his shoulder, "I'm sure Diamond will pull through this. She's strong, she even managed to evolve after taking so much damage and beat a Mega Pokemon just to help you win that badge. And if she can do that I'm sure she'll be fine."

Aura genuinly felt a lot better from the bunny's words. He smiled at her and wiped his eyes, "You're right, we've been through so much together already, she wouldn't let something like this keep her down forever…"

"Know that you have my support through this all, Master Aura. I too feel Miss Diamond will make it through, your bond with her has proven that much already." Prince affirmed, sitting beside Aura more casually than normal.

"Me too." Tia sat by Aura's feet and faced him, "Diamond would do anything to make you happy. She cares about you more than anything else."

Aura looked upon them all and smiled, "Thank you guys. I'm sure she will be fine, but hearing how you all feel really helps make it a lot easier to believe."

Roughly fifteen minutes after Aura had left the room, Nurse Joy and the other nurse have done multiple checks on Diamond's health. They had thoroughly checked her blood pressure and heart rate at the start before taking a quick blood sample as well. Diamond cringing as she felt the needle poke into her veins.

After that, Diamond couldn't help but feel shy when Nurse Joy informed her they would have to examine her breasts, though she didn't understand why, Diamond allowed them to gently move her long fur to the side to expose her small C-cup breasts and begin to lightly poke and prod them, being as gentle as possible while slightly shifting them to fully examine them. Covering her breasts like normal with her long yellow fur, Nurse Joy began to make her way down Diamond's body. "Let me know if you feel any kind of pain as I go, okay? Even the tiniest bit."

"O-okay?" Diamond replied, having her oxygen mask removed after Nurse Joy had checked her breathing, finding it returned to normal after she had awoken.

"Here I go." Joy affirmed, beginning to lightly poke her belly with her gloved fingers, going over multiple different spots closer to the center and working her way out. "Anything yet?" She asked again. Diamond slowly shook her head, although just as she were about to open her mouth to speak, she let out a sharp gasp and cringed as Joy prodded her side. "Are you okay?" She quickly asked, moving her hand away from the area.

Diamond let out a muffled "mmhm" and blinked away a small tear. "Is something wrong?" She squeaked.

Nurse Joy lowered down and very delicately brushed some fur aside to look at her side, "Don't worry too much, it looks like I just touched a bruise a bit to hard, must have been from the battle we were informed about."

Diamond looked at the nurse as she stood, "The fight?" She asked.

"You're trainer had told us exactly what happened before you collapsed so we could know what to look for." She explained. "Now, there's one last thing we'll need to check before we get your trainer back in here. It might be a little embarrassing, but it's necessary for us to make sure." Nurse Joy nodded to the other nurse and she walked to the other side of the bed, "We need to check your genitals for any difficulties."

Diamond felt her face grow extremely hot as it turned beet red. The heart monitor she was connected too started to beep much faster. "Y-you mean my-"

Nurse Joy nodded, "I'm sorry if it's a bit of an embarrassing subject, but it's mandatory for this kind of examination." Nurse Joy began to explain how it was going to work and that it wouldn't hurt at all. After a few minutes of explanation, Diamond let the nurses do what they needed to do, though she felt awkward the whole time they prepped. With Diamond in her current condition, the nurses had to assist her in lifting her legs and setting them in a pair of cushioned braces on either side of the bed that kept them comfortably spread apart. Also having to shift her dress-like fur to either side as well to give the nurses a clear view of the fox's privates.

Slipping on a clean pair of latex gloves, Nurse Joy knelt down between Diamond's legs, "Just relax and take calm breaths. This may feel a bit odd but nothing bad will happen."

Nodding, Diamond prepared herself and took a deep breath. She felt Nurse Joy's fingers begin to poke and prod her inner thighs, slowly making her way towards her crotch and doing the same thing above and around her womanhood. Diamond had to resist the urge to gasp as she felt her fingers trace around the fox's vagina, soon feeling her lips being gently pulled open as the nurse examined the pink flesh of her womanhood.

Nurse Joy pulled away and stood up while removing the gloves she had been wearing. Her and the second nurse gently set Diamond's legs back to their original position along with her dress-like fur. "Okay, everything seems to be in order," she said, taking the chart from Diamond's bed, "Looks like you and your egg are both in good health."

Diamond's eyes widened as she wondered if she had heard that correctly. "W-wait. What did you say?" She asked.

It had been over half an hour since Aura had left Diamond in the nurse's care. The halls were empty as he sent his Pokemon with Dan to have something to eat after he had stopped by to drop off Diamond's necklace, having offered to pick it up instead so Aura could stay with his love. Aura lightly stroked the polished gemstone embedded within the shimmering socket. He pulled out his phone and turned it on, the background being a picture he'd taken of Diamond happily standing in front of a beautiful waterfall they had camped by one night. He held the necklace up to the photo and smiled, it looked exactly how it did when he first got it and he knew Diamond would be happy to finally have it back.

Hearing the door open beside him, Aura returned both his phone and the necklace to his pockets and stood up eagerly. "Is Diamond going to be okay?"

The nurse smiled, "Why not see for yourself?" She said, leading Aura into the room where Diamond laid with a large smile across her face.

"Diamond? How are you feeling?" He asked, standing by her side.

She smiled at him, "I'm doing much better."

"You'll be happy to know that she'll be perfectly fine and will make a full recovery within a few days time." Nurse Joy explained.

Aura held onto her paw and looked at the nurse, "So do you know what happened to her in the first place that could have caused this?"

Joy flipped a paper on the clipboard and nodded, "Well going off the information you told us, she had become very weak after suddenly evolving and using Blast Burn which already drains a large amount of the Pokemon's energy. She had taken quite a bit of damage prior to that as well so she became overwhelmed and collapsed from exhaustion. Not to mention there's one other thing."

"What is it?" He felt Diamond grip his hand and turned to face her, the fox smiling wide with tears coming from her eyes.

"Aura." She said, "I'm pregnant."

His eyes widened in shock as he tripped over his words, he could hardly believe what he just heard. "Y-you mean…"

Diamond nodded, "Yes. You're going to be a dad."


That night, after double checking a few basic things, Nurse Joy had helped Aura seat Diamond in a wheelchair as she could still hardly move on her own.

"I can't believe it, I'm going to be a dad." Aura repeated.

Diamond giggled at his reaction, slowly rubbing her stomach as he wheeled her into the elevator, "I'm so happy that my first ever egg is with you, Aura."

"I feel the same way. This really changes things, it makes our relationship really feel more serious than before, doesn't it?" He asked. Diamond nodded in return. "But, what if I screw it up? What if I'm not a good father?! Am I even ready to raise a kid yet?!"

Diamond reached up and grasped his hand tightly. "Aura." She said softly. "I'm sure you'll be a great dad." Aura opened his mouth to speak, but Diamond squeezed his hand to stop him, "Don't worry too much. It's not like we're raising a bunch of human babies. Pokemon don't take as much effort to raise, remember, we usually grow and learn much faster than humans."

"I- I guess you have a point. Even if it has human blood it's still a Pokemon after all."

Diamond nodded, "Exactly, so don't worry about it too much, okay? Remember, we're not alone; I'm sure everyone else will be happy to help us get through this together."

The two smiled at each other happily. "Okay." Aura said, slowing down as they approached their suite. "I'll have to remember to call my mom and tell her the news as well." Aura opened the door while carefully pushing Diamond through, and to his surprise, sitting on the sofa was none other than Darlene and Kibbs. "M-Mom?!" He stammered, hardly able to believe his own eyes.

Darlene turned around and beamed with joy, "Aura!" She cried, quickly standing up as Kibbs hopped over the back of the sofa. The two of them rushed over as he wheeled Diamond further into the room. Darlene pulled her son into a cheerful embrace while Kibbs jumped up with her front paws on their legs. "I'm so proud of you, honey! You're growing up so fast!"

Aura awkwardly returned the embrace, glancing at Diamond before pulling away. "Th-thanks, Mom. But when did you guys get here?"

"We only just got into town about twenty minutes ago!" She explained, crouching down next to Diamond and gently hugging her as well. "We came as soon as we could after Arceus told us the good news!"

Aura and Diamond looked at each other wide eyed. "How long has she known about it? When did she tell you?" Aura inquired.

Darlene smiled at her son, "I'm sure you'll be able to ask her yourself later, but for now why don't we sit down? I'm sure you two are hungry, and the couch might be more comfortable than a wheelchair." Agreeing with his mother's suggestion, Aura brought Diamond toward the sofa and began to very gently help move her to the sofa. Once the pregnant Delphox was sat on the soft cushions, Aura moved the wheelchair before sitting beside his mate. "Here, you two, dig in." Darlene said as she set down a special tray in front of the pair with two plates of food on top. "I made sure to make something extra healthy for the… you know." She said with a wink.

"Heh. Thanks, Mom." Aura said. He glanced at Diamond, "Will you be able to eat on your own? I can help you if you need." He asked.

Diamond shook her head, "That's sweet of you, but I should be able to myself. Thanks." Looking at the plate full of finely cut meat and vegetables, Diamond slowly lifted her arm and took hold of the fork set in front of her. She had recovered enough of her strength to at least be able to lift her arms properly, and with the numbness almost completely gone, it wouldn't be that difficult to feed herself.

With everyone growing more curious by the second about what was going on, Dan finally asked what they were all thinking. "So, not to be rude or anything but what's this all about? Your mom kind of just showed up here and said it was because of some big news that Arceus told her."

Aura looked at his mother, "So you didn't tell them?"

Darlene sat beside him and shook her head, "It wouldn't be right if I were the one to tell everyone, would it? This is about you and Diamond."

Aura grinned, "I guess you're right." He looked at Diamond, "You wanna tell them together?" The fox looked at her food for a moment, she set down her fork and nodded at her mate.

Taking each other's hands, Aura and Diamond took a breath and prepared themselves for the big reveal. Quietly counting down from three, both of them spoke in unison. "We're having a baby."

Everyone let out a gasp of surprise before collectively congratulating the couple. Lilly, Tia, and Nessa hurried over to Diamond's side, all of them happily giving the expecting mother their best wishes and commendations, Stan and Prince doing the same.

"Oh~ I'm so happy for you!" Lilly chimed, practically bouncing with her paws on the armrest.

"I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl?" Nessa said, standing beside Lilly.

Tia wiped a tear from her eye as this reminded her of the pup she had lost months ago. "If you ever need it, I'll always be willing to help you in any way I can."

Diamond looked around at her friends. "Thank you guys so much. I'd appreciate all the help I can get."

Stan's tail flicked rapidly from side to side as the star on it's tip flickered with small sparks surging across it. Being the energetic and outgoing Pokemon he was, the Luxio could hardly control his excitement. "This is so exciting! I can hardly wait to meet them!"

Prince bowed his head with a smirk, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. "This is truly a wonderful thing. I'm sure you'll be as good a father as you are a trainer, Master Aura."

"Thanks you guys. It's nice to know we have your support in this." Aura rubbed his head, "I'm still really nervous about it all."

"You every right to be nervous." Kibbs told him, placing her paw on his arm, "Being a parent is a huge responsibility and it can really change your life in so many ways. But I'm sure that you and Diamond will both be amazing parents and raise your child well." Aura smiled at the dog and pet her between the ears.

"So then, what do you plan to do?" Darlene asked, "

"What do you mean?"

She smirked. "Arceus told me that you'd be waiting to meet with Diantha before leaving. But with Diamond pregnant, are you thinking of staying here until the egg comes?"

Aura blinked, "I-I guess I never thought of that…" He looked at his mate, "Although now that I think about it, I'd rather us be where we can get help immediately if something happens. What do you think?"

Diamond paused. She looked down and held her belly contently, "I think it's a great idea. So long as we're together as a family."

Darlene and Kibbs looked at one another and nodded, "Well then, we'll be staying with you." Everyone turned to face the them. "What kind of mother wouldn't want to be with her son at a time like this if she could?"

Before anyone knew it, roughly an entire hour had gone by and things were quickly starting to quiet down. Stan and Lilly had completely worn themselves out from their excitement and were lying across each other on the soft carpet. Tia had fallen asleep close by with her head resting near Stan's. Dan and his Pokemon had retired to his room a bit earlier and Darlene had taken Kibbs to one of the unused bedrooms. Prince had fallen asleep sitting up in the couch's corner.

Meanwhile, Aura had made sure Diamond was lying comfortably on their bed as he moved her wheelchair against the wall. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can get you?" He asked for what must have been the fifth time already.

Diamond shook her head, "I'm fine, Aura. But it's nice to know you care so much." She told him.

"Of course I do. My girlfriend- I mean my mate- is pregnant with my child!"

Diamond blushed and looked away with a smile, "You know, Aura. I know humans don't usually call their partners "mates", so I don't mind if you call me your girlfriend. It actually feels kinda nice." She giggled.

Aura slid under the covers, his forehead glistening in nervous sweat though he smiled nonetheless, "O-okay then…" He stammered.

Once he was fully under the covers, Diamond reached over and grabbed his hand, urging him to come closer. As he did this, he was caught off guard as Diamond leaned closer and planted a kiss on his lips, pulling away with an almost sly smirk on her face, "Let's just get some sleep. I love you."

"Heh. Love you too." Laying on his side and resting his hand across her belly, Aura suddenly felt a strange wave of tiredness wash over him. He didn't even have a chance to register how exhausted he suddenly felt before suddenly falling fast asleep.


As if no time had passed at all from the moment they fell asleep, Aura and Diamond both awoke to find themselves sitting on a plush sofa together. "What the hell?" Aura groaned as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light around them. "You okay, Diamond?" Aura asked as he rubbed his eyes. Though they couldn't see each other, they could feel each other's presence.

He could hear Diamond sickly groaning beside him, "I-I think so. I just feel really dizzy."

"I'm terribly sorry, but the feeling should pass soon." They both heard a familiar, yet very different, voice speak up in front of them.

Aura forced himself to power through and open his eyes. Sitting across from them on a very regal yet simple sofa in an equally regal yet simplistic lounge was a peculiar looking woman that had a very similar appearance to Arceus. Her eyes were bright green and she wore a white and gold sundress over her curvy figure. Very short grey fur trailed up from her large bust all the way to her forehead where it became shrouded in her long silver hair. From what Aura could tell, the rest of her body was coated in clean white fur, though he assumed the grey fur wasn't only above her chest, but also covered her belly and possibly down to between her thighs.

"A-Arceus?" Aura asked. Though the woman looked like Arceus and he recognized the sensation of her contacting him through his dreams, he needed some form of clarification to set his mind at ease.

The woman nodded, "I am sure you're both confused about my current form and our location." Aura returned her nod. Arceus sipped from her cup, "I suppose we should have enough time for a brief explanation. The form you see me in now is known as a Pokemorph. Us legends are capable of taking on this form whenever we so desire. I had chosen to speak with you like this to create a more casual atmosphere for us."

"Aura? I don't feel so well." Diamond mumbled. Both Aura and Arceus looked to her as she slowly slid down the back of the sofa and rested her head against Aura's shoulder.

He quickly wrapped her arms around her in concern, "What's the matter? Are you getting sick?"

Arceus cleared her throat, "I-I believe that might be my fault." She said, setting down her cup of tea. "Minor dizziness and nausea is a side effect of having one's subconscious connected with another's. Your mind is more resistant to it's effects but Diamond hasn't fully adapted to it quite yet. That along with her physical body's condition it might have taken more of a toll on her than it would normally."

"What?!" Aura snapped.

Arceus recoiled a bit with an embarrassed blush, "D-don't worry. It has no affect on her physical form and it should pass very soon. Would you like something to drink to help you?"

Aura curiously looked at her, "Drink? Aren't we just in a dream right now?"

"In a sense, but at the same time it is also your very essence that I connect with during these visits, your body can still absorb nutrients here but little else can actually affect your bodies." She snapped her fingers with a fancy cart wheeling in from the next room with a fancy tea set on a tray. "Help yourself if you so desire." She said kindly.

Not entirely understanding how it worked, Aura decided no real harm could come from it so he quickly poured a cup for himself and Diamond, helping her sit up and handing her a cup. After a short break, Arceus began to explain that she chose her current form to hopefully make them see her more casually. "I'm going to be perfectly honest here," Arceus began as she carelessly lay back on the couch, "I don't very much enjoy the serious act I put on all the time, It feels so restraining. That's why I chose to appear like this and called you both to my lounge instead of the throne room."

Aura awkwardly rubbed his head, "I guess I can understand that."

Arceus smiled kindly at him, chortling a bit as she waved her hand, "I know it's a bit strange to see a god-like being act so unprofessional, but this is how all us Legendary Pokemon normally act when not around others. Personally I feel trying to keep that up with you would be pointless." She leaned forward, looking a bit more serious now, "Although this doesn't mean my advice has changed in the slightest nor will I ever treat any situation any differently, I only wish to have a more casual relationship with you, Aura. I realize you already have a lot of pressure on you from not only your responsibilities as the Grand Guardian, but now as an expecting father."

"I can understand that." Her replied. "It does feel a bit more relaxing to talk with you like this though." Diamond nodded in agreement, her head feeling much better than before.

"Now," Arceus began, "Time here moves slightly faster than the physical world so we should move on to the main reason I called you here. You have some questions for me if I'm not mistaken?"

Aura nodded, "Yes, we do." He paused and set down the cup he was holding, "I guess the first thing I wanna know is who else you told about our baby?"

Arceus rubbed her chin, "Oh yes. Well you are already aware of me telling Darlene, but aside from her I only told one other person. Alice." Aura and Diamond glanced at each other as they remembered the Healing Guardian nurse from Lumiose City. "She was the first one I contacted the moment I became aware of Diamond's pregnancy. I then recently contacted her again last night to request her assistance. I am aware you are still quite young and lack certain experience and knowledge of parenthood and caring for your mate, so I had asked her to help you take care of Diamond until further notice. In fact, she should arrive within another day or two at the latest."

Aura knew Arceus was right about asking Alice for help. He had no idea how to take care of a pregnant woman and they both knew they could trust Alice completely. "So I'm guessing this is why you had us get a VIP suite?" Aura asked a little condescending.

Arceus smirked, "So you found me out huh? Well I suppose I should explain that." To their surprise, Arceus brought out a champagne bottle and a wineglass from under the table, pouring herself a glass and taking a quick swig. "Truth be told I had always intended for you to progress with nothing but simple guidance from me like a mentor. I never actually anticipated the two of you being in a serious relationship like this let alone having a child, so I had made the decision to speak with Diantha about this. I requested you be given access to a more suitable place to raise your family and she suggested giving you a VIP status for it. You can ask Diantha more about it when you meet her."

"Wow… This is a lot to take in," Aura said as he scratched his head. "Thanks, Arceus. I'm glad you're looking out for us."

Arceus waved it off, "Please, it's my pleasure. Although it seems we are running out of time, is there any other questions you'd like to ask?"

Diamond and Aura looked at each other and shook their heads. "I guess we're okay for now?" Diamond said.

"Yeah, if we missed anything I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually, right?" He said, winking at Arceus.

The legend nodded, "Very well, I will unlink your subconscious and you will return to your normal slumbers. But before you go, please remember that if you ever need my guidance, now more than ever, don't be afraid to ask." Aura and Diamond began to feel themselves getting sleepy as their vision turned black. "Sweet dreams, my child." Arceus muttered before the two suddenly blacked out. Arceus sighed, taking the bottle of champagne and shamelessly drinking from it, "If only he could know the truth."


And there you have it. For the longest time I had been anticipating this portion of the story since very early on. I had actually been debating on some details though that would have probably caused some huge alterations to the plot, but I managed to come to a final decision before reaching this point in the story.

Hopefully you guys enjoy the story so far and are looking forward to see more. Until next time. Aura~