Completely Rewritten 10/25/22

Oh, look! A completely new chapter kind of! Enjoy it!

Ash was pleased to say he now had a friend.

It was this occurrence that led to the somewhat depressing realization that he had never actually had a friend before, and therefore had no idea what it was friends actually did.

This is how he and Pichu ended up staring at each other in the lab, neither one sure what to say.

"Alright, I'll bite, what exactly do the humans expect us to do?" Pichu was the one who took the plunge. "Stare at each other?"

"I think they want us to hang out?" Ash suggested. "I don't know how we're supposed to do that though, this is all kind of new to me."

Pichu crossed his stubby arms and harrumphed as he thought. "Maybe we talk about stuff? Or do more fighting but without being too serious?"

"I think that's called sparring." The Zorua mentioned offhandedly, "I guess we could start with the talking thing, what do you normally talk about?"

His new friend suddenly found the floor very interesting. "I… don't really talk to anyone."

That was a little surprising to him. "Really? It wasn't hard for you to start talking to me the other day." he hadn't even noticed the other Pokemon until he'd started talking to him.

"That wasn't talking, that was me insulting you because I thought you were a human. After that everything kind of spiraled because you were so confusing." Pichu shot him a side glance. "You're still confusing come to think of it."

"Thank you." Ash graciously accepted the compliment. "I do my best. But don't you talk to the other Pokemon here? Sometimes at least?"

His question was met with a scowl. "They don't like me much, but that's fine I don't like them either! Who needs stupid no good human-loving bumpkins anyway?"

Ash was tempted to point out that he loved his human too, but decided it would just be a cause for argument. Instead, he tried to keep the flow of conversation going, lest they fall into awkward staring again.

"Any idea why they don't like you much? I mean what did you do?" Ash questioned the electric-type.

There was a strange expression from Pichu, a weird sort of mix of pride and guilt. "I told them they were dumb for listening to humans and may have tried shocking one or two of them. There was this one Pidgeot who I thought I was getting through to, but…" he grimaced at whatever memory came to mind.

The words seemed to reinforce the growing trend Ash was noticing with Pichu. "I mean, maybe if you didn't start by insulting them?"

"But it's fun to insult them!" Pichu whined childishly. "Besides, it worked out with you didn't it?"

"Didn't we have to have a fight first where you realized that there was more to me than you first thought and I learned to respect your will to fight?" That was pretty much how it had all worked out.

Pichu nearly went cross-eyed trying to do the mental arithmetics. "I think I like my version better."

He thought about it. "Well, what if you insulted people without insulting them?"

"How does that work?" Confusion marked his tone.

"Think of it like this, when you insult someone, do it in a way that's not actually trying to hurt them. Like, if I called you 'big head,' does that hurt your feelings?" Ash suggested.

Pichu considered that. "No, I guess it doesn't. So when I come up with an insult I need to do it in a way that doesn't upset them?"

"It's probably easier if you know someone well, that way you know what lines not to cross." Ash pointed out. "Why don't you give it a try?"

With a determined look and a nod, Pichu gave it his best shot. "Alright, you scruffy-looking Hondour wannabe!"

"That wasn't bad, but it didn't feel natural either…" Ash thought about it. "I guess they'll flow more naturally the more practice you get."

"Whatever you… fuzzy." The electric-type petered out as he tried and failed to complete the barb.

"We can work on it," Ash promised him. "How about this, what do you normally do for fun around here? Besides picking fights you can't win?"

"Oh, that was a good one." Pichu nodded. "But not much to be honest, I try and stay out site mostly, eat whenever food gets left out, and debate the pros and cons of escaping back to the great outdoors. What about you?"

He thought about it, "What do I do for fun? Surprising people is always fun, but I also like practicing my illusions and practicing some of my moves."

"Illusions?" Yellow and black ears twitched at the word.

"Did I not explain that to you yet?" Ash wondered, "No time like the present then!"

With those words, he took the metaphorical center stage and began showing off.

"I have an ability called Illusion!" He declared, using it as he spoke, the glow of the ability surrounding his form. "With it, I can make myself look like anything or anyone!" He finished both his sentence and transformation at the same time, standing proudly as an exact replica of Pichu.

"Ta-dah!" He finished with a grin, feeling immensely proud of himself.

Now that Pichu was not actively being bamboozled by Ash's illusions, the other Pokemon inspected him. With a look that was both impressed and intrigued, he circled the dark-type. "Huh, you do look just like me." He faltered as he got behind Ash, "Well almost."

Dismay filling him, Ash twisted to verify the mistake. Sure enough, where Pichu's small jagged black tail should be, was his furry ash-gray one.

He scowled at the offending limb. "I thought I'd fixed that. Hang on." He took a sharp breath of air and concentrated on it. After a moment, it flashed and seamlessly took the appearance of the correct tail. "There we go."

"Still working out some kinks?" Pichu asked him.

"Yeah." He was a bit disappointed to admit his failings. "I sometimes forget the tail, at least I haven't skipped the ears in a while. Although there are some other problems I haven't figured out."

With genuine curiosity, Pichu pressed him, "Like what?"

Ash took a small jump into the air for some extra room and switched from his Pichu disguise to the human work in progress. He immediately stuck his arms out and heaved a sigh of relief when he didn't immediately collapse. "Balance mostly, but I haven't figured out the sound issue either, I still sound like a Zorua no matter who I look like."

Pichu took his time inspecting his human illusion as Ash carefully worked his arms down. "You certainly look like a human, although I'm not sure why you would bother. Humans aren't that interesting."

"Sure they are!" Ash disagreed instantly. "They have a lot of variety for being a single species. Like, no matter what, a Pichu is always going to be some shade of yellow right?"

"Or orange…" Pichu muttered but Ash continued.

"Meanwhile humans have all these different hair colors, skin tones, and eye colors. I think it's pretty interesting." He elaborated.

"It makes sense you'd be interested in the variety of it." His friend allowed. "But there are plenty of different Pokemon too."

"Yep!" Ash's excitement began to creep into his voice. "I'm gonna figure out how to mimic everyone! Humans are just the hurdle I'm working on right now."

"Hmm." Pichu hummed in thought as Ash took his bearing a bit more properly. He only had two legs to balance on so he had to keep his weight on his heels, but if he leaned back too much he'd fall over backward…

He almost fell over in the opposite direction though, when a weight crashed into his back and he stumbled forward, barely managing to keep himself from falling.

"What the-" he gasped waving his new arms wildly.

"Hold still, you're making this harder!" The other Pokemon complained as he climbed his way up Ash's back.

Eventually, Ash managed to right himself and Pichu reached his apparent destination, that being the top of Ash's head. "Alright, I take it back, humans are good for something, this is a nice view."

"Some warning would be nice," Ash complained.

"Now where's the fun in that?"

Ash had never really had a schedule before.

He normally woke up at some point in the morning. Although some mornings he would accidentally sleep in, usually when he had stayed up late due to being excited about the next day ironically. Delia would normally head to bed before midnight and he would typically follow suit.

Beyond those two points, the rest of the day was rather an open season. Sometimes he'd stay home and find ways to entertain himself, maybe run around the yard or play with one of the toys he had.

On other days, he would follow his trainer to work, normally in some form of disguise but not always. It did have the amusing side effect of many Pallet Town residents believing Delia Ketchum had a hoard of Pokemon living at her house.

Besides that, every once in a while the two would take a trip up to Professor Oak's lab, or spend a day doing some battle training (that was always lots of fun).

Now though, Ash had another activity he could spend the day doing, hanging out with his friend. This, of course, could be mixed with any of the other things he spent his time doing, or they could go and do something completely new and different.

It depended on their mood really.

But they had a few months of friendship under their belt now and were willing to experiment a bit more.

Particularly, in the pranking department.

Delia's Diner (which had not been the original name) was the premiere restaurant in Pallet Town. It was also the only restaurant.

She had inherited the place at a fairly young age, technically she hadn't even been a legal adult at the time. But some weird legal shenanigans with trainer licenses and the fact she was the only person named by her parents will let her gain full control.

At first, she had been reluctant to make any changes to the place, especially after she lost her parents, but as time went on she slowly started adding her own flair to the place.

The last two and half years she'd been trying her hand at themes. Nothing too overt, mostly some decoration or lighting changes. Just some things to spice things up and keep it interesting. None of her regulars had complained about it so she took it as a good sign.

Truth be told, she was under no delusions that she was running five-star accommodations here. She was a small business owner who occasionally managed to hire some help in the form of local teens.

There was a bit of amusement to be had when Professor Oak would stop by with foreign professors or league officials. Some took it in stride while others seemed completely out of their depth at the fact one of the most famous researchers in the world liked eating at her cozy little diner.

Today had been a slow day, up until the lunch rush of course. Then everyone decided to carpool together and come in all at the same time. Not really, but it certainly felt that way after barely seeing any customers for the entire morning.

As always, the rush was hectic and she was constantly in motion. She was so focused on taking orders and getting meals started that she barely had time to think. Such a state of mind did have its benefits, she had done this for long enough that she was basically on autopilot. Putting too much thought into it might have her second-guessing herself which could either slow her down or have her mess up orders.

With this in mind, it's easy to see how they had managed to slip under her radar at first.

The only thing that could have tipped her off was the flicker of yellow in the corner of her vision as she was taking orders. Delia had not paid much attention to it at the time, maybe a small part of her brain had supplied that it might be a Pokemon she had spotted but that wasn't too out of the ordinary.

People would sometimes bring their Pokemon with them to the diner, not too often but often enough that she stocked a few treats for them in the back so they could eat too. It also helped out when she brought Ash to work with her, the tricky fox could turn himself into a bottomless pit even without his illusions.

Bit by bit she whittled away the hungry customers of the lunch rush. As she did so more and more of her brain power could be turned to other things as she was able to relax just a smidge.

It was about at this point that she first noticed the child sitting alone.

He looked maybe five years old, wearing a black t-shirt, red shorts, and sneakers, with a nest of black hair that spiked to the sides. He seemed rather cheerful, looking around the seating area with a grin, his feet kicking under him.

Delia only glanced at him at first, not registering anything special about the child, but a couple of orders later a thought did occur to her. This apparent five-year-old was sitting by himself at a counter with no apparent adult supervision. This caused her to take a closer look at the boy. He seemed a bit familiar but she couldn't really put her finger on it, something about the hair and facial features maybe?

Before she could ponder it any further she got called for a refill by one of the tables and went instantly back into work mode.

The next time the long kid came to her attention was after the lunch crowd began to filter out. There were still a few people left but the unending rush of activity had finally begun to calm down.

Now that she could devote more time to the boy, she moved cautiously towards him on her side of the counter. He was leaning on it and seemed to be trying to see over it, as though he was looking for someone.

Using the same vice she'd used when meeting new Pokemon for the first time and trying to comfort them, she started talking to the boy. "Hi there honey, are you doing okay?"

Maybe 'honey' was a bit too familiar but she didn't have a name and it sounded a heck of a lot better than 'boy.'

He glanced at her, and if anything his smile seemed to widen. He nodded excitedly but didn't say anything.

Pressing her luck a little she focused on her biggest concern. "You're a little young to be by yourself, is your mommy or daddy here with you?" Or an older sibling, or a grandparent, or a babysitter, anyone at all.

Oddly enough rather than immediately give a yes or no answer, the boy looked puzzled, as though he wasn't quite sure how to respond. He put his hand on his chin and seemed to think about it. A few seconds later Delia could practically see the lightbulb go off and his grin re-plastered itself on his face as he nodded at her.

That was somewhat of a relief, though it seemed like he had still been left unattended for the most part which wasn't great. "Can you just point them out for me please and I can bring you over to them? I know the counter is cool and seems like the place where grown-ups get to hang out but it's better if you sit with your family."

His expression changed as she finished talking, it morphed into a smirk, which is not the typical expression for a five-year-old. Something about this specific smirk rang even more bells of familiarity in her mind, and she almost felt like she could put her finger on it.

And then he pointed at her.

Delia's brain ground to a halt and then proceeded to perform the gymnastics that her body never quite had the flexibility for.

Her? Why would he point at her? She didn't have any kids! Was he saying that she looked like his mom? Was he doing that weird kid thing where he decided he wanted a new parent and picked her for some reason? Maybe it was a joke? Maybe she had been teleported to an alternate universe where she had a son?

Was she in the twilight zone?

A squeak from behind saved her from the spiraling rabbit hole she was falling into. As she shook herself she realized it was recognizable as, "Pi! Pichu Pi!"

She turned and watched Pichu struggle with a (relatively small) bag of Pokemon Chow. It wasn't too much of a stretch to conclude that this was the same Pichu from Professor Oak's lab. Although what he was doing here was still up for debate.

With some effort, the little electric-type managed to make a few jumps that let him reach the countertop. Maybe she should have stopped him or helped him but this entire situation was so ridiculous she could be forgiven for her lack of action.

The boy welcomed the arrival of Pichu, who began excitedly quaking at him once he had dragged the bag over. As the boy worked to open the bag, Pichu climbed his way up and made himself at home on top of the child's head.

At this point, Delia was more a spectator than an actual participant in the events unfolding. This was a position she was happy to maintain for a bit longer, at least until she got some answers.

The popped open, spilling a bit of chow that she'd probably have to clean up. But the boy was undeterred by the mess, he reached into the bag and grabbed a couple of pieces of chow, he reached up and Pichu eagerly gobbled up the pieces.

He reached in again, and Delia barely had a moment to say "Wait stop!" as he shoved the pieces into his own mouth!

Rather than spitting out the Pokemon Chow the seemingly human child ate it as though there was nothing abnormal about it.

With their task apparently accomplished both Pichu and the child looked at her with matching expressions, full of mirth and teasing.

No one had ever claimed that she was a master class detective, but at this point, she had enough clues to start piecing everything together.

A lone human child arrived at her diner, presumably with Pichu. He sat alone at the counter without making a fuss while she dealt with the lunch rush but still paid a lot of attention to her. When she confronted him he didn't talk and instead answered nonverbally before identifying her as his 'mother.' Then Pichu, who didn't so much as like the look of humans, willingly climbed up onto his head. He then proceeded to eat food made specifically for Pokemon, and have some sort of inside joke about this with Pichu.

Delia's mind arrived at a conclusion, and she hesitantly opened her mouth. "...Ash?"

Pichu pouted but the boy… Ash, grinned and made an unmistakable snickering sound that she'd heard many times before.

As everything fell into place, her own laughter rose in her throat. "Now how did you manage this?!" She asked rhetorically.

The answer was obvious, it was an illusion, he could turn into Pokemon and humans. It seemed like he had finally worked out how to accomplish the latter.

"I suppose this is the one you've been sneaking off to figure out?" Delia asked him as he funneled more Pokemon Chow to himself and his friend.

Her Pokemon nodded but didn't stop eating, he'd been sitting here long enough that he was probably famished and just happy to finally have his lunch.

"Well, you definitely had me fooled there and gave me a bit of a shock. Which I guess was what your plan was?" Delia narrated. "I'm guessing you're gonna be using this disguise more?"

Ash barely paused to nod, giving Pichu a bit of a rattle.

"Color me impressed. But now that you have hands I could use an extra pair around the house, and maybe cleaning up here at night! I'll really appreciate having you help me out!" She laid it on a bit thick maybe but hey, she was allowed to be a little petty sometimes.

The words had the intended effect as Ash started coughing once they registered. He looked at her in alarm and she chuckled.

"Oh don't look so worried, I'm just teasing you, I won't take all your free time but I could use the help sometimes." She told him, she would have given him a pat on the head but Pichu had that spot occupied and she would rather not get shocked today.

"Just enjoy the chow, for now, I have to get the dishes started, I'll be back out in a minute." She told the pair and went into the kitchen proper. Immediately she was met with a mess of monumental proportions, all the way up the shelves to where she kept the Pokemon Chow.

Pichu, of course, had not bothered to be careful in his food retrieval mission.

"Ash, on second thought, I could use that help cleaning right now…" She called back. "And bring Pichu, since I'm sure this is his doing."

Having what to all outside appearances was a small human child running around her house took a bit of getting used to.

Ash didn't solely stay in his new illusion though, he still spent plenty of time as the fluffball he had always been. But he seemed more attached to the human disguise than most of his other forms.

Maybe it was the new freedom it granted him. Not to say he didn't have freedom before, but for one reason or another Ash had always seemed a bit shy about his real form, maybe it was the attention or maybe some genetic holdover but he seemed averse to showing himself off.

Now though he was much more eager to trail along behind her in public, sometimes with Pichu plopped on his head. Truth be told it made for a cute combo.

When Professor Oak found out about it he was probably just as excited as Ash had been, if not more so. Something about human-Pokemon relationships and whatnot.

To her, it was just a new part of daily life. Some days she would have a Zorua, other days she'd have a child. Either way, Ash still tended to act the same way.

This did lead to some interesting scenarios where Delia felt herself questioning whether she had a double standard or not. She was used to Ash jumping onto the kitchen counter at home and diving into nooks and crannies, but when she woke up one morning to see a child standing on her counter reaching for a plate she may have had a brief moment of panic.

Pokemon matured differently than humans, so it was a bit strange altogether, Ash was far more capable than an actual five-year-old, but it still made her worry sometimes.

But they slowly embraced the new normal. Ash and Pichu would still run off to play sometimes, she'd still work at the diner and sometimes visit Professor Oak and do battle training with Ash (and Pichu once in a blue moon). Life may not have gone in any direction she'd expected but it was hardly a bad thing.

Despite changes and new directions though, it was always nice to hear from old friends. So when a day came, nearly a year after Ash had worked out his human illusion, that Spencer Hale called and suggested a visit she graciously accepted.

Spencer was married now, and also had a daughter, Molly. Molly was still a baby but she was coming with him, but his wife was not. She was a little confused by this but based on a few context clues from Spencer this trip was doing double duty as a chance to give his wife a bit of a vacation. Taking care of a baby on top of research was hard work.

The day started out fairly normally, with her kicking Ash off of her bed. He basically had his own room, he didn't need to keep coming to her.

"Come on you, I have to make my bed and get ready for the day, get up." She roughly patted the bed, jostling it. For her efforts, all she got was a whine from the dark-type as he rolled over and gave her the Big Sad Eyes.

"That's not gonna work, come on." she gestured him down.

Ash gave up the eyes but didn't budge, instead putting his head back down on the covers. "Zorrrr." He protested.

She rolled her eyes at his antics. "Alright mister, I know the bed is comfy but you still gotta go. You have until I finish brushing my teeth and then I want you out!"

The bed was comfy, almost too comfy. But Ash was excited to meet one of her friends, and was curious about this so-called 'baby.' As he heard her start washing up in the bathroom he forced himself to roll his way off of the very comfy covers.

His own bed was comfy too (he had three), but there was something about laying on his trainer's that made him feel… safer? Comfier? Something.

But the day was ahead and he would get to meet new people which would be cool!

He'd never actually met a baby human before, he'd seen other human children before but they were loud and talkative so he had kept his distance. He'd love to join in with them and be just as noisy but given his current vocal limitations that would just get him exposed. This probably wouldn't be harmful for him but it was still something he would prefer to avoid.

While he was excited about this visit, (events like this were almost as exciting as holidays), he was more than a little put out to find out he couldn't have Pichu over too.

"I know it might not seem fair but Pichu can be a little rough, and you know better than I do how he feels about humans. I don't think it's safe for him to be around a baby, okay?" Delia explained to him.

"But Pichu is a baby Pokemon!" Ash's protests were both ineffective and not completely understood.

"You'll see him soon, besides I don't think he'd be that interested in meeting a human baby." She consoled him.

She was right of course and Ash knew it, but he still wanted to be upset about it. But she needed him to help dust some of the bookshelves while she took on the floors so he didn't have an easy way to go about letting out his displeasure. He took on his human disguise and with a duster in hand set to work.

He liked his human illusion. Most of his illusions were based on others, but this one was a bit more of an amalgamation. Bit and pieces he'd picked up from different places, trainer included. Although there were a few things about the expression and hair that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He knew he had gotten them from somewhere, but whatever half-forgotten memory it was eluded his grasp.

Apart from adding a bit of height every few months he didn't see much need to change it. He probably could pick one height and stay there but it seemed fitting to have it match his age. Ash had done his research on actual human children and they varied a lot in height. Some would look like giants to others.

Dusting was probably the simplest job Delia could have given him and she probably knew it. He felt a little bad because she was taking on the harder jobs for herself when he could do more, but he also kind of appreciated the fact she wasn't making him work too hard.

Between the two of them though and the work they'd done in the days leading up to this one the house was just about ready when the guests arrived. His trainer was putting away the mop when the doorbell rang.

Sensing an opportunity for some minor mischief, Ash leaped to the occasion.

He made a dash for the door, waited for a second to make sure his illusion didn't have any missing (or extra) pieces, and opened it.

The man on the other side opened his mouth to say something and then looked confused as there at first appeared to be no one there to meet him, he looked side to side before looking down and seeing Ash.

"Oh, uh, hello there young man" he shifted slightly and Ash's eyes were drawn to the stroller that was at his side. A small human-shaped blob was strapped in with pink straps and a Butterfree binky stuck in her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm looking for Delia Ketchum's house, did I come to the wrong address? I could have sworn this was hers but it has been a couple of years…"

With no other way to communicate, Ash just nodded enthusiastically and pointed inside, working hard to keep his expression blank. It was easier when it was the illusion, he could kind of just turn off the facial movements. It was weird but it worked.

"This is her house?" Spencer, because who else could it be, checked. Ash nodded once more, the man seemed more confused but accepted the information.

Ash stepped back to let him get inside, as he rolled the stroller in though, the Zorua quickly dropped swapped his illusion, from human boy to Voltorb, and quickly rolled out of sight under a table.

The man turned around again and did a double take. It took all of Ash's might to keep from snickering at his little prank.

As Spencer's mouth formed words without sounds Delia came around the corner and saw him.

"Spencer! Letting yourself in still I see, how have you been? Oh! Is that little Molly there? Look at her she's adorable!" She gushed as she saw her friend and his daughter.

"Delia!" Spencer's voice was relieved. "I'm sorry, I didn't let myself in there was this uhh…" He looked around, still trying to figure out what had happened to the child who had vanished.

"Someone let you in…" His trainer's voice was at first knowing and full of suspicion and he saw her eyes dart towards him. Blast! She had just cleaned the floors and would know there shouldn't be anything under this table!

But instead of immediately outing him, she played along. "I don't see how that could be Spencer, after all, I live alone here. No one else has lived here since the last family moved out six years ago, poor things." Her voice filled with soft sympathy as she gave an Oscar-worthy performance.

"Poor things? What happened?" Spencer was ushered inside along with Molly in her stroller. Delia led them down the hall and shot a glance back at Ash and made a gesture with her head to head toward the living room.

"Oh, it was just awful!" Delia continued her story as Ash shifted to his true shape and dashed towards the other room, "they had a son, a boy maybe five or six years old, and one day he just vanished! Disappeared as if into thin air! They searched for years but never found him, eventually they moved which is when I got the place, and at a bargain too!"

None of this story was actually true and she was just making it up as she went along. This had actually been her childhood home which she'd inherited along with her diner. If she had more time she could add some real mythology and lore to this tale but considering the short notice, she was doing pretty well.

"..a little boy you say?" Spencer asked quietly. Meanwhile, Ash made sure the lights were off in the living room and got up on the coffee table.

"Yes, it's funny you know, sometimes people will ask if there's anyone else living here just like you did, but it's just me, I don't know what they're talking about." They turned to the living room. "Well, that sure is strange, I could have sworn I left the lights on in here."

Trainer and Pokemon worked in unison, as Delia flicked the lights on, Ash used his ability and applied his human disguise, with a few minor alterations, like spiky teeth and completely red eyes. He might not be able to roar or mimic other human sounds so instead he just growled and used Scary Face for extra effect.

Delia's poor friend shouted in fear and fell backward, his daughter meanwhile just laughed around her binky and clapped at the show.

Ash let himself fall back onto the couch, letting his illusion burst as he landed. On the other side of the room, he could hear his trainer in similar hysterics.

After a few moments for everyone to regain their composure, Spencer was helped up by his friend. "I'm sorry about that Spence but that was too good an opportunity to pass up. You remember my Zorua, Ash right?" She gestured at him as he sat up.

Spencer blinked at him before slapping a palm to his forehead. "Of course! Zorua, they can disguise themselves with illusions! It didn't even occur to me, how could I have forgotten? That was quite the prank you two pulled on me."

"Bit of a spur-of-the-moment thing, sorry if we gave you too much of a spook, but don't worry, not ghosts here!" She assured him "How are you really though? Make yourself comfortable while I grab us some snacks."

The two adult's conversation chipped away at the afternoon. Most of the topics flew over Ash's head although they did discuss him and his illusions a little bit. Apparently, Zorua and Zoroark had been considered myths for a little while, 'a Pokemon that could look like anyone or anything? How ridiculous, you probably just saw exactly what you thought you were looking at.'

If anything that was a badge of pride for Ash and a goal. Illusions so perfect people would wonder if you were real or not? That sounded awesome!

But as the adults talked the dark-type made contact with Molly, who had been allowed out of her stroller to crawl around.

Ash cautiously followed the human baby as she explored his territory, partly to fulfill his own curiosity, and partly because he was worried she might get hurt.

Now that he could see her up close he began to understand what his trainer had meant about human babies being different. She seemed so fragile and squishy, he was worried that she might collapse if he so much as poked her.

Soon after that, she stopped finding the room so interesting and took interest in him specifically. She started reaching for him and he took a step back. But this seemed to be a mistake as her eyes began to water.

Fearing a wailing cry Ash semi-reluctantly moved back into her reach. Almost immediately the tears vanished and she reached out and started stroking his fur.

After this initial contact, he got a bit more used to the baby, who swapped roles with him and began following him around. He led her to one of his toys, a small blue ball. He gently rolled it to her and she caught it with both hands and pushed it back toward him. It wasn't the most exciting game but she seemed to enjoy it and it gave him a certain level of satisfaction.

He decided to experiment a bit though. Facing her on all fours, he tucked in and rolled over on his side before standing up again.

Molly tried to mimic his actions but only made it halfway, ending up rolling onto her back. She wobbled her arms but seemed to have gotten herself stuck. She began to sniffle again and Ash felt himself beginning to panic as he tried to think of a way to calm her down.

Thankfully, before the waterfalls could come down her dad noticed her plight and came over to pick her up. "Oops, looks like someone got a bit stuck, come here sweetie." Spencer picked up his daughter gently and carried her back to the couch with him.

"Nice job with her Ash, I was worried she would start crying a lot sooner than that," Delia told him as Spencer sat down. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, but he decided to take it as one.

"It's alright, she's pretty easy to calm down, for me at least. The nanny has a bit more trouble though." Spencer admitted as he gently bounced her on his leg.

"She's starting to get big now, is she talking yet?" Delia asked and Ash's ears perked up.

Spencer smiled gently. "Not yet, she's still trying out sounds. Her favorite right now seems to be baa."

Trying out sounds… wait, as in learning them? Can you just learn to talk? Why had no one told him this before? This was revolutionary!

Ash's brain immediately went to a million different places as the adults continued talking. Sometimes he'd find himself drawn back to the conversation by interesting topics, like trainers and battles but mostly it was boring stuff. Why were they so interested in the 'unknown' anyway? Wasn't there enough known stuff to be interested in?

By the time they left though Ash had a new plan and a new idea. It would take diligence and hard work but he was going to learn to talk!

How hard could it be?

Ta-dah! Completely new and original chapter 3!

Mostly this chapter was letting me do things I wish I had done the first time around that I was kicking myself for later. Like Ash introducing Delia to his human form and Spencer making a guest star appearance with Molly.

Now let's address a couple of things that people are probably wondering about.

Delia's Diner (original name do not steal) is not an original concept. In the Pokemon Light Novel (which apparently exists) it is mentioned that Delia is the owner of Pallet Town's only restaurant. It's apparently called Pallet House but I liked Delia's Diner better.

This same novel also details that as a child she wanted to either be a model or a trainer. I wasn't really sure how to work the model thing into this (nor did I really want to) but I decided to give her the best of both worlds by letting her be a trainer who now runs a restaurant!

Well kind of, I guess I could have made her an all-star league runner-up trainer or something but I didn't want to make her too overpowered or have to make up a bunch of extra Pokemon that I wouldn't use much.

As to the other thing, Pichu.

When I first started this story, Pikachu did not have a backstory. Then they gave him one as if to spite me. I have long since figured out how to mix both the canon story and the one I had planned but I haven't had it explained in full detail yet. It will come up (much) later.

So this is about the end of the rewrites, the next several chapters are also gonna get some more minor edits as I start reposting them to Ao3 (did I mention here I'm doing that? I'm doing that by the way). These edits will mostly just be grammar and sentence structure, although I'm debating adding a short scene to one or two of them to help them flow better. But nothing as drastic as what I've done to these first three.

That's about all for now, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all soon!

~FriTik

R&R