Welcome back to the newest chapter, folks. Enjoy! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! If I did, places like Lavender Town would get more screen time in the anime.

''Meloetta'' Speech

'Meloetta' Thoughts

In the pokemon center of Lavender Town, Ash, Pikachu, Meloetta and Sylveon were all watching with awe at the faintly glowing egg they received in Cerulean.

''It's almost hatching, isn't it?'' the raven haired trainer whispered, excitement practically oozing from his lips. He'd wondered almost non-stop what pokemon could be inside, and now, he was about to find out very soon.

''Melo!'' His legendary pokemon replied affirmatively. She was pretty curious herself, sitting on Ash's shoulder as she watched with bated breath how the egg twitched and glowed brighter ever so slightly. This was the first time she would see an egg hatch, so this was a new experience for her as well.

''You excited, squirt?'' Pikachu quipped with a small chuckle. The young Sylveon had her snout literally against the egg, her bright smile unwavering while she watched with astonishment in her eyes how the few first cracks appeared on the shell.

''Uh-huh! My little brother is about to be born. I wanna wrap him in a big, soft hug and give him all the love in the world and tell him how happy I am to be his sister!'' Sylveon squeaked. Her tail wagged happily in the air while her feelers were dancing all around the egg like she was caressing it.

''Oh, hun,'' Meloetta cooed. She had clasped her hands together at the adorable scene while nuzzling Ash's cheek softly. ''Your little brother is very lucky to have a big sister like you.''

Sylveon giggled, her eyes turning big like saucers when more cracks emerged on the shell while the egg started to wiggle more strongly.

''It's hatching! It's hatching!'' Sylveon sang cheerfully.

Pikachu looked on in amazement how the light enveloped the egg fully. He had never seen an egg hatching before either, so it surprised him how awesome it was when it happened right in front of him.

Ash gasped, holding his breath and waiting for the sharp light to die down. When it did, and he opened his eyes to look, a very adorable water-type pokemon was in the egg's place, looking around in confusion.

His body was almost round, with a white belly. Two very cute, round ears adorned the top of his head, while the insides of said ears were red. He had two short arms, while his legs were equally as short. His zigzagging tail ended in a round, bubble-like ball. His beady eyes were filled with innocence, while he gave a cute cry of his name when he was done checking out his surroundings.

''Marill!''

Instantly, Sylveon squealed in happiness, gently wrapping her feelers around the newly hatched water and fairy-type and giving him a warm hug.

''Hi, Marill!'' she squeaked, unable to keep her emotions in check. ''I'm Sylveon, your big sis!''

Marill giggled at the ticklish fur on his own, enjoying the warm embrace of the fairy-type. ''You're my big sis?'' he asked innocently.

''Yes! And this is uncle Pika and auntie Melly,'' she introduced.

''Hey there, lil' man.'' Pikachu waved and gave him a sweet hug of his own, which the Aqua Mouse pokemon eagerly accepted and reciprocated.

Meanwhile, the psychic legendary had the biggest smile on her face; seeing Sylveon and Pikachu so happily hugging their newest family member made her heart ache with love. ''Aren't you the most adorable little pokemon?'' Meloetta chirped. She wrapped Marill in a big hug next, softly kissing him on his cheek. ''There's someone I want you to meet, sweetums.''

''Who?'' he asked, his beady eyes staring back at her in curiosity. He hadn't seen Ash yet, who had watched the scene silently and with a big smile. Slowly, she turned him around, until he was staring straight into the brown eyes of the raven haired trainer.

''Marill, I want you to meet your daddy,'' she spoke sweetly.

For a moment, Marill's face was that of pure awe, until he let out a joyous cry.

''Daddy!'' he happily exclaimed, leaping into the arms of Ash, who giggled as he held his new pokemon close.

''Hey, Marill. I'll be your trainer from now on. We'll take good care of you and I promise to make you very strong, so let's do our best, okay?''

''Marill!'' he agreed wholeheartedly.

Meloetta smiled emotionally at the scene. Ash was such a sweet guy; it made her heart flutter and butterflies erupt into her stomach. She loved the raven haired trainer dearly, and so, when he had put Marill down, she couldn't help but show him how much exactly.

''Congratulations, Ash,'' she spoke lovingly, knowing fully well he would get the gist of what she said. In one delicate motion, she had planted her lips on his own in a deep, intimate kiss, not caring if anybody saw them. She loved his startled reaction; caressing his cheeks as he slowly melted in her embrace.

When she moved back, both Marill and Sylveon were looking at them obliviously; their young age contributing to their innocence and the fact that they had no idea how bold Meloetta had just behaved. Pikachu however, was flustered all over. That wasn't something chaste like she normally would do, like a peck on the lips. No, this was passionate, and with a lot of emotion behind it.

Meanwhile, Ash wasn't faring any better. He was a stuttering mess, a fiery red blush adorning his cheeks. He could still taste her, her sweet cry that brought him out of his stupor afterwards making his cheeks burn even brighter.

''Meloetta? Did you just—'' he stuttered cutely, unable to comprehend what just happened.

''Meeel?'' she answered back innocently, her body swaying from side to side like she didn't know what he was talking about.

This cheeky pokemon knew exactly how to press all of his buttons. Ash couldn't help but chuckle when his senses returned to him. He gave her a loving, gentle kiss in return.

''Thank you.''

She giggled, her rosy cheeks making her the most adorable thing Ash had ever seen. The raven haired trainer smiled, and then turned his attention to his other pokemon.

''What do you guys say we give Marill a quick check-up with the nurse to see if he's all healthy?''

His pokemon's happy cries in agreement was the answer he got.

Pikachu gave a sigh of relief; the water and fairy-type was finally asleep. After Marill's check-up—which went without a hitch as he was completely healthy—Ash decided to train his Dragonite's power output in a remote part of the forest. Since he didn't have a pokeball for his Aqua Mouse pokemon yet, and since he didn't want to scare him with Dragonite's massive attacks, he opted to leave him at the pokemon center until he had returned.

This meant that somebody had to babysit him. While Meloetta would've been the perfect candidate, Ash needed a fail check to make sure Dragonite didn't destroy the whole forest, or accidentally hurt wild pokemon. That left Sylveon or Pikachu, and while the fairy-type desperately wanted to babysit her little brother, Ash realized that wouldn't be very responsible.

Naturally, that meant Pikachu had no choice but to do the job. He didn't particularly mind, because Marill was simply adorable, but he was pretty active as well. As such, he asked for a lot of attention and made sure Pikachu had to play along with his silly games. His nature was probably adamant, because no matter how hard the electric rodent tried, Marill somehow always managed to get him to play along.

'Thank the heavens he's finally asleep,' Pikachu thought, grabbing a ketchup bottle Ash had left him as his reward. 'That lil' guy has more energy than Sylveon on sugar.'

Idly licking the bottle, Pikachu reflected on his travels with Ash so far. 'I can't believe it's been five months since I met him and Meloetta already. It almost feels like yesterday.'

He smiled fondly at the memories. 'Ash is such a level-headed guy, though I guess I can thank Meloetta for that. She's his anchor if I ever saw one. Yet sometimes, it feels like Meloetta needs Ash more than the other way around,' he thought.

'Meloetta. She's strong, smart, cute and very affectionate, while Ash is kind, brave, eager and passionate. It's no wonder that these two attract each other,' Pikachu concluded. 'She's very easy to tease, too,' he added with a small smirk.

'Then my favourite pipsqueak joined the gang. I have never seen such a strong-willed pokemon before. She's frighteningly quick and powerful when she wants to be, though since she evolved, she traded a lot of that speed for special defense. I love her like she's my own daughter, though. I bet Meloetta does too,' Pikachu thought.

'Dragonite is such a kind soul. He acts all tough, wise and mighty, but in reality, he's a big softie with a heart of gold. I wouldn't be surprised if he's apologizing profusely to Ash right now for almost obliterating half of the forest.' Pikachu chuckled.

'As for me, I've gotten slimmer, faster and stronger. I learn new things every day I travel with Ash. He's my good friend that I wouldn't trade in for anything in the world.'

Pikachu paused for a moment, clarity hitting him like a ton of bricks.

'He's more than that. He's my family. Meloetta, Sylveon and Dragonite; they're all my family.'

He couldn't help but feel his eyes beginning to water at how much he loved his trainer, Meloetta, Sylveon and Dragonite; his family. A family that kept on expanding.

'And now, Marill has been adopted into our cozy little family,' he sniffled.

''You're lucky, sprout,'' Pikachu whispered while putting his ketchup bottle away, checking if Marill was still sleeping. ''You'll be getting so much love you wouldn't know what to do with—''

Pikachu stopped his sentence, his eyes widening in horror. Marill's bed was empty. ''H-hey, sprout? Where are you? This isn't funny, okay? Come on out!''

The electric rodent looked around in panic, but the only reply he got was the howling of the wind. ''Oh no.'' He cursed himself when he spotted the open window. How could he not have noticed the wind bristling his fur? Did it lull him in a nostalgic slumber when he was reminiscing about all these good memories? How did Marill escape his superior sense of smell and hearing while he wasn't even sleeping six feet behind him? Pikachu was mentally scolding himself over and over again.

''Oh crap, this is bad. I'm so dead if Ash finds out. I need to get him back before something happens to him!''

He sprinted towards the open window, hoping to find any trace of the water and fairy-type. What he saw made him gulp audibly. Right in front of him, was the pokemon tower, the one to be rumored to be haunted. Ghost pokemon had taken their residence inside; it was the one place Pikachu vowed to stay far away from.

His eyes threatened to almost fall out of his skull when he saw a small blue pokemon in the far distance walking to the entrance of the tower. ''Oh no... no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh shit, oh crap,'' he cursed. ''Marill!'' Pikachu screamed. The pokemon didn't hear him.

'Quick, you dolt! Get after him before it's too late!' he thought, full on adrenaline as he was. He did not want to find out what would happen to a pokemon who wasn't even a day old entering a tower like this all by himself.

Pikachu's Quick Attack activated in the next instant. at full speed, he ran to the tower to intercept the young Aqua Mouse pokemon. ''Marill!'' he yelled again.

However, it was already too late. When he arrived at the gate, Marill was already inside. With a shivering spine, Pikachu looked at the ominous tower. 'All right, Pikachu. You've got no choice now. Be brave for once, face your fears and get your little nephew back,' he encouraged himself.

With a nod, he evened his breathing, tried to suppress his growing nerves, and slowly opened the creaking door.

There you have it, people! A Marill was inside the egg. And now, that Marill is inside the pokemon tower! XD Did you guys like it, love it, hate it? Review, please. Next chapter the conclusion in Lavender Town. Until next time. ^^

~Syrup-Waffle