Sorry for late update. Hope this is alright...

Disclaimer: Scizor X and I do not own the wonderful world of Pokémon. Sadly.

I gave a sort of happy hum to a tuneless song as I walked back to the Pokémon Center. After a crushing victory against Whitney, I opted to grab my next Pokémon. Hilbert already had three (not including Mewtwo) and I still only had two (not including Darkrai).

So while Hilbert stayed at the Pokémon Center to rest, I went back into Illex Forest and caught the third member of my part—a female Oddish by the name of Sunshine.

Currently she rested in her Pokéball, along with Pyros and Eternity and Darkrai and I were walking (well, he was floating) alongside each other.

Hilbert met us halfway to the Pokémon Center, smiling contently with Mewtwo alongside him. "I went to the floral shop—the lady there gave me a Wailmer Pale."

I cocked my head to the side. "Free?"

"Free."

"People here are so nice."

"Is your world not so readily generous?" Darkrai asked, a hint of sarcasm in his usually stoic voice. I had a sneaky feeling he was mocking me but I couldn't quite pinpoint in what way.

"No," I answered honestly.

Mewtwo's gaze swept over me before landing on Darkrai. "I trust all went well?"

"There were no… what did you call them? Hacked?" At my nod he turned back to Mewtwo. "There were no Hacked Pokémon."

"They only seem to appear at the beginning of every route," Hilbert said quietly.

Mewtwo's eyes landed back on his partner and he gave a curt nod. "Very well. We shall see for ourselves very soon. I take it you are ready to leave?"

"Yes," I answered for us.

"Then let us leave," Darkrai said brusquely, already gliding forward. I followed behind him meekly, adjusting my bag when I felt the egg move. It would be hatching soon. Of this, I had no doubt.

Hilbert gave a sort of shy smile as he walked alongside of Mewtwo instead of next to me. I hurried my pace to keep up with Darkrai, not quite managing to keep the smile off my face.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

Ecrutek City was, as I discovered, quite beautiful. Even though it was summer the leaves on the surrounding trees were a breathtakingly bright orange and yellow. Even the buildings seemed to be color coordinated with the trees.

I took a moment, pausing and basking in the beauty of it all before a certain movement called my attention. I haltered in my walking, Hilbert and Mewtwo continuing on without noticing. Only Darkrai paused, his single eye roaming over to me.

"What is it?" Darkrai asked. At his question, Hilbert and Mewtwo paused as well, turning back to look at me.

I blinked slowly, vapidly as I felt my bag. Once again I felt the jerky movement inside. With a frown on my face I said, "I think… I think they egg's hatching."

Hilbert was the only one to show an outward reaction. He gave me a beaming smile. "That's wonderful, Lyra."

I fought back the urge to grin silly in return, not quite managing to succeed. In the end I pulled my bag back and opened the flap. Carefully I pulled out the warm egg, watching it move and feeling it twitch in my hands.

"It would appear it is indeed hatching," Mewtwo observed, in same voice one would use to comment on the weather.

I didn't even bother to resist my grin. I grinned fully, anxiety and excitement churning through the pit in my stomach.

The egg glowed a bright white before it shattered.

In its steed, was a bright eyed male Togepi.

I squealed before clamping my mouth shut. It would not do to scare off the poor thing so early.

Togepi blinked his eyes up at me, tilting his head cutely. "Pi?"

I squealed again, immediately dropping my bag and clutching him to my chest. "He's adorable! Oh I can have him, can't I Hilbert? Please, please?"

Hilbert smiled at me. "Of course you can. You're the one who carried him."

"Yay! Okay, you're name is going to be... Valor," I said, picking up the first name that popped into my head. "Is that okay?"

Valor gave an adorable chirp and I squealed again, hugging him tightly. "Oh he's so cute… Can you say Momma?"

"He's not even five minutes old and you're already trying to get him to talk?" Hilbert asked incredulously.

I ignored him, choosing instead to snuggle with my adorable new addition to the team.

"With that matter settled… shall we press on?" Darkrai asked dryly.

"'Course. Let's go to the Burnt Tower. It's been a while since I played Heartgold but I'm pretty sure that's where we go," I said, noticing the tall scorched building. After shifting Valor in my arms for a bit, I pulled out the ball reserved for him, capturing him quickly. After the capture I released him and continued to cradle him in my arms before marching ahead of the others to the tower.

The tower, as it turned out, was rather depressing.

I mean, I understood it was a historical reference and such but seriously…

Darkrai slunk into the shadows, choosing not to be seen by others. Mewtwo drifted above all of us, knowing full and well it was unlikely any trainer would notice him there.

Upon entering the tower and taking a few steps in, Hilbert and I were immediately apprehended by Eusine.

I blinked up at the spastic man as he rushed over to us, practically squealing with glee. "My name is Eusine. I'm on the trail of a Pokémon named Suicune. And you are…?"

"I'm Hilbert and she's Lyra," Hilbert answered softly for us.

"Hilbert and Lyra? Glad to meet you. I heard rumors that Suicune is here so I came to look. Take a look at the basement through the hole in the floor. There. Suicune is down there. I could go downstairs, but I know it would run away in no time. I know. I have tried it many times…"

Eusine gave a longing sigh as he looked down into the basement.

I followed his gaze and sure enough, the three legendary dogs all stood there, forming a tight circle.

"Are they…?" I whispered quietly.

"They are not… Hacked. Due to the… Hacked… Pokémon though, they have been forced to flee together for a while now. Safety in numbers I suppose," Darkrai whispered quietly in my ear. A shiver ran up my spine from his cold presence but it was not entirely unpleasant. I was pleased he had bothered to answer my question at all.

"Poor things…" Hilbert murmured before shaking his head.

I held Valor closer to me before stepping around Euisine and beginning to make my way towards the ladder that provided as the means to reach the basement.

But I was stopped by a familiar red head.

Silver noticed me right away and approached me, his expression carefully neutral. Hilbert remained back, speaking quietly with Morty. That left me alone to deal with Silver.

In my arms, Valor squealed.

"Oh… it's you," Silver said, ignoring Valor. "You must be here to catch the legendary Pokémon to make yourself look strong. That is only a dream. You see, the legendary Pokémon suits a Trainer like me who has sworn to become the strongest Trainer. A battle with Team Rocket Grunts is just right for you!"

I felt a little torn at that moment. On one hand I was annoyed he refused to acknowledge me as a trainer after I defeated him two times. On the other hand I was incredibly amused by the irony of the situation. I had no intentions of capturing one of the dog legendaries—I already had my favorite legendary.

Silver shifted, pulling out his Pokéball in a smooth movement and enlarging it. I shifted Valor in my arms who was struggling to free himself while I called out my first Pokémon. Silver mimicked my movement.

He threw out his Gastly and I threw out my Pyros. Pyros snarled upon seeing Silver, his flames doubling in size.

"Flame Wheel," I whispered quietly.

"Dodge it," Silver commanded.

Though the first attack was successfully dodged, Pyros was relentless against Silver. He whirled in the air and doubled his speed to critically hit Gastly. The ghost-type Pokémon slammed against the weak wooden walls before slumping to the ground unconscious.

Pyros snarled menacingly.

Silver's eyes narrowed into furious slits as he recalled his beaten Pokémon. I recalled Pyros as he recalled his Gastly, knowing what he would throw in next.

My prediction was accurate as he threw in his Zubat and I threw in Eternity. A single electric shock was all it took.

I withdrew Eternity and he withdrew Zubat, his eyes flashing.

I threw out Pyros again and he paused. He then threw out his Croconaw.

Pyros gave a sharp grin, his eyes flashing and Croconaw growled.

"Smoke screen," I said.

Pyros breathed out fumes of black smoke, obscuring all our views of our Pokémon. Goosebumps rose up my right arm as Darkrai brushed against me.

"Quick Attack, repetitively," I said.

"Dodge it," Silver snapped.

But Croconaw was without luck or mercy, trapped inside the thick smoke and I could hear the relentless pounding Pyros gave him. A part of me felt proud and vindictively pleased at Pyros's aggression towards Silver and his Pokémon. Another part of me felt a little worried. Not too much, of course. Like Charmeleon, Quilava was a lot more temperamental than his other two forms. He would grow out of it.

I hoped.

When the smoke cleared, Croconaw was slumped over, unconscious and Pyros was breathing heavily.

I dipped my head as he recalled his battered Pokémon. When he threw out his last Pokémon, I nearly gave a humorless laugh. A Magnemite. Against my Pyros. No wonder he was saving it for last. It wasn't his trump card; it was his last resort.

"Flame Wheel," I said.

With a burst of flames and renewed energy, Pyros ended the match.

Gritting his teeth, Silver recalled his last Pokémon. But before either of us could speak, Valor gave a very loud squeal and lurched out of my arms.

"Dada!"

I watched, my face a mix of horror and amusement as Valor—my baby—tackled into Silver, forcing him to the ground before he began to coo and chirp with happiness. Silver stared at the baby in sheer horror.

"What. Is. This," Silver hissed, trying desperately to pry the baby Pokémon off him.

"My baby," I said, biting my lip to keep in the chuckle. I moved quietly and gripped Valor tightly before prying him off Silver.

"Momma!" Valor chirped, using his natural Psychic prowess to speak.

"That's right. I'm Momma," I cooed.

"Dadda!" Valor chirped again, wiggling towards Silver.

Silver blanched.

I snorted out a laugh.

"I'm leaving," Silver hissed, quickly rushing past me and fleeing the Pokémon.

Valor's eyes watered as he watched him go.

"Don't worry," I cooed. "We'll see… Dada… again."

Immediately the eyes dried and he chirped happily.

"I don't know whether to laugh or wish you luck," Hilbert said dryly as he walked behind me.

"Both?" I suggested.

Hilbert chuckled. "Come on… let's greet the other legendaries…"

I only nodded as I shifted Valor in my arms and headed down into the basement.

( ｡◕‿‿◕｡)

We stopped before the legendaries, Darkrai hidden in the shadows behind me—but not unnoticeable by the other legendaries—and Mewtwo hidden behind Hilbert.

The legendaries sniffed the air, all of them turning their heads to look at us.

"They cannot be seen with you so soon," Darkrai whispered in my ear. "We do not normally interact with humans, only if the situation is dire enough for it. If they interact with you in such a public place, suspicion will rise and humans will worry. We do not want to cause a massive panic."

The words he whispered carried loud enough for everyone else in the basement to hear, but no one above us.

I gave a slow nod to the legendaries, showing that I had indeed understood.

"They must flee now. They do not mingle with humans," Darkrai said quietly, softly. His voice velvety smooth.

At his words, the legendaries began to move. Raikou leaped high above and behind us, into the shadows. His head dipped down, acknowledging all of us before he leaped out of the hole in the basement and fled the tower.

Entei was next, he leaped but did not hide in the shadows. He stood tall and proudly before me, his warm eyes hardened with wisdom. He gave a slow, deliberate dip of his head to me.

My eyes widened and I sucked in a breath before he turned and fled the tower.

Suicune was last, landing lightly before Hilbert. His own red eyes flickered with patience as he stared at Hilbert. Hilbert met his gaze with a wide one of his own. Like Entei, Suicune gave a slow, deliberate nod to Hilbert before he fled the scenes.

A breath I had not realized I had been holding was released. What had just happened.

"It would appear Entei has marked you as his Ward," Darkrai murmured, mild amusement in his voice.

"Just as Suicune has marked Hilbert," Mewtwo observed.

"What does that mean?" Hilbert and I asked together.

Mewtwo gave a sort of humorless smile. "It merely means you can count on them as your personal allies. A legendary can only take a single Ward at a time. In laments terms, you could say they are your second partner. But that's not quite right either, is it?"

"What he means to say, and is only succeeding in going in circles," Darkrai interjected, ignoring the glare Mewtwo sent him. "Is that when a legendary takes a Ward they act as a sort of parent. I assume you two understand what a parent means?"

"Of course we do," I replied, slightly annoyed at his question.

"Can a legendary have more than one Ward?" Hilbert asked, looking at Mewtwo.

"No," Mewtwo said, his eyes and tone calculating. "But a Ward can have more than one legendary."

And the plot thickens... or does it?

Review for Daddy Silver. ;)