Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. I wrote this one during my "Chocolat" book inspired phase and also not too long after watching Detective Pikachu. I wanted to write something more back to basics and not only about an actual Pokemon, but for Pikachu to be more interacted with rather than a fly on the wall. I'm happy with how this one turned out. It's really light-hearted and family based. I hope you enjoy :3

Ages:

James: 35

Delia: 46

Katie: 8

Ash: 28

Misty: 28

Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!

It was one of those days that when I look back on, I feel the most fondest of and warmest in my heart. The sun was warm. The sun was very, very warm. After what felt like at last, summer had finally made its way to Pallet Town and the weather was glorious. It was hot. I was enjoying myself very much.

In the middle of joining Katie on a special playdate with her lavender haired Uncle James, he had received a phone call from Delia, asking him of his advice for something in the garden. I couldn't help but feel like that was just an excuse to chat; she seemed to always know everything!

But of course James offered to head on over to see her and bring Katie along with him. It was nice for Delia. It was nice for them both. It was nice for me too. And I wasn't complaining one bit as I assisted the lavender haired male with digging up a stubborn and troublesome weed, my paws really getting muddy and in on the action.

"That's it, we're almost there." James mumbled to me and we both grunted together, his foot in his boots pressing against the strong part of his gardening fork and using his body weight to try and lift the weed and all of its roots out of the ground. I stuck my tongue out in concentration and grunted with him, my paws removing any of the excess mud. The ex-rocketeer grunted once more. "We're going to be aching tomorrow!"

All I could do was show the male above me was a smirk along with a sweat decorated forehead and upper lip and following that, quite a large crunch could be heard. Luckily it was not the sound of the fork breaking nor was it any of our bones! We had reached the weed root for good and following that, after I used my back legs instead to kick the dirt out of the way, the troublesome breast was revealed.

It was then time for James to stop using the fork and throw it to one side before reaching for the spade instead. He just had to encourage the weed and all of its roots and mud clinging onto it for dear life onto the flat of the shovel with the help of my back legs once more and then the job was done. Together we tossed it onto the ever-growing pile of obstructions in Delia's garden. We had completed our task.

"Damn… I thought it was going to get the better of us for one second." James uttered in between panting slightly, the intense movement of the gardening and the Kanto summer sun getting to him. He remained graceful nonetheless and simply wiped his brow. I on the other hand flopped straight on the ground, almost enjoying the feel of the soil beneath me and knowing that we had helped my best friend's mother out. The lavender haired male's pant changed to a smirk. He knelt down next to me and gave me a pat. "Good job. When I tried to steal you all those years ago, I never imagined we'd end up like this."

I couldn't help but shoot him a bit of a glance. But soon enough, a smirk from within couldn't be prevented from taking over my own mouth. I tilted my head against the soil below. It was rare for him to bring up things like that. I thought of it all the time! But it was uncommon for him to be the person to hint that sort of subject, let alone make a passing comment about how much mischief he and the magenta haired female as well as the cat Pokémon caused me and my friends!

But as you know, a lot of time had passed since then and they were all my friends. The male ex-rocketeer stopped patting me and stood back up to his full height; somewhat acknowledging himself that he didn't really say that sort of thing. His subtle shake of his head indicated that so I made sure that my smirk softened to a smile. It was water under the bridge. Mostly. And I just had to focus on how kind I thought it was that he came over to assist Ash's mom at the drop of the hat.

Speaking of the vivacious and charming chestnut haired woman, it was then that she joined us in the garden, clad and looking very pretty (not to mention young) in her summer dress and white floppy hat. Needless to say, she had a grin for us both.

"I thought you two would need some refreshments after all of your hard work. How are you-" Delia came over to us – indeed with refreshments – on a floral pattern tray and she tried to ask how we were getting on in her garden but she was stopped. I knew why. She knew why. She blinked. "Oh! You did that very quickly."

I stopped lolling about near her flowerbeds in case that that was making myself too at home but after she balanced the tray on one hand and gave me a friendly dismissive wave of her other, I knew that it was acceptable and got back to it. Though I did it much more carefully than before, rubbing my back against the warm yet soothing soil. I listened as Delia continued rather girlishly.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you two got it done so quickly though, should I? Two strong gentlemen like yourself. You put me to shame in my own garden." The chestnut haired woman spoke innocently enough past a rosy blush and after she smiled at the lavender haired male, it was his turn to wave his hand dismissively. While I shook my head, he gave her a frown of his brow to disagree with her. Of course, he took the time to tell her as well.

"Nonsense. It takes a special kind of dedicated person to keep a garden as lovely as this one." He commented sincerely with a smile and seeing as the spade was still jammed gently into the ground and standing upright, he leaned against it while his spare hand ran through his long locks. Delia was still holding the drinks tray but she was looking over at her daughter in law's best friend while his eyes wandered around her garden in Pallet Town. "It's looking good."

Delia couldn't do much else other than giggle. Along with her son and my best friend, her home and her garden was another of her pride and joys. She wanted it to be beautiful. She wanted it to be welcoming. It was exactly that. You could tell it was exactly that from the way that someone who could be as unsettled as James felt at peace here. The chestnut haired female's brown eyes lingered on the younger male.

"Well, part of that is definitely down to you and dear Pikachu's work today so thank you for that. Now have a drink, both of you. I insist." Delia told us and it was then that she stopped looking up at the taller male and while she continued holding the drinks tray, she looked down at me as well. Now, I was very content on my little soil spot but I didn't hesitate to leap up and scurry over to the feet of my best friend's mother. She definitely caught on because she gasped softly and crouched down beside me, like James had done before. He took hold of the floral pattern tray for her when she reached out to tickle my chin. She had a special smile for me. "You have one first. You've been extra helpful all these years, haven't you? And not just with my boy and his girl."

I squeaked with delight at her words and her touch. They didn't even die down and change to amusement when I caught the way that Delia looked back up at James and gave him a comical smile of an apology! He just found humour in it. He held the drinks tray for a few more seconds and chuckled and then handed the refreshing fizzy and orange drink with ice over to me, not complaining that he got his second. I didn't hesitate to lap it up, still at Delia's side. After a couple more pats, she stood up to her full height once more and looked up at James while he looked down at her. He wordlessly thanked her with playful words.

"Lemonade? This will go down well. Much better than the drink last time that made me a bit too giggly." He teased the older chestnut haired female and while we both put the straws in our mouths and had a slurp, it was Delia that giggled. And though her cheeks were the ones turning red at the pleasant company and the summer weather, she found herself making it about James. She took her floppy summer hat off her head.

"You've worked so hard today and you don't want to end up feeling light-headed later on. Here." Delia told James in a way that wasn't motherly but it was very caring nonetheless. And with that, she plonked the hat right on his head! Needless to say, it didn't suit him very much at all and it flopped all over his face, disguising many of his features and drooping down his nose completely.

Even so, while I chuckled out loud after taking a break from guzzling my enjoyable drink that was a different colour to the lavender haired males, I saw a bit of a shy smirk peeking out from underneath the large hat.

"Wow. I feel very well looked after between the lemonade and the hat." He uttered and straight away, Delia giggled some more. And straight away, his shy smirk evened out to a relaxed smile and he lifted the hat off his head before placing it back on my best friend's mothers. He seemed to bow at her but it was probably my imagination (and Delia's!). He definitely looked at her earnestly though, his hand lingering on the top of her head on the hat before he moved it away. "It looks much better on you though."

And with that, while the lavender haired male went back to gratefully drinking his lemonade and looking around Delia's prized garden, though I couldn't help but think how closely to his grandfather he seemed with his trousers and braces that were the same colour and his garden knowledge too, I thought more about the way that the chestnut haired female softened in his presence. I tilted my head curiously. She didn't exactly melt. But she definitely softened. I understood.

Ash was her whole world. He really was her whole world and she worked harder than anybody I knew in raising him and giving him unconditional love and the best upbringing. Being so dedicated, she forgot about herself sometimes. But thankfully, she had good friends around to make sure that she was being thought about as well. Professor Oak. James. Myself. I pondered some more.

I was glad that she had found love. Though she hadn't exactly found lasting romance of that I was aware of, I knew that she had found love. She had found happiness. And most importantly, she had found contentment. I knew in my heart that she was happy in her life in that moment. She had an incredibly caring son. She had an incredibly loyal daughter-in-law. She had friends who adored her. She had four grandchildren that loved her just the same.

And I knew that that thought popped into her mind when I stopped thinking about her and focused on her with my eyes instead. The way that she smiled – the way that she showed off that soft, grateful and humbled smile – made it very apparent. And as I glanced over at the lavender haired male, I could tell that he was thinking of similar things as well. In fact, he was thinking of one of her grandchildren in particular.

Both Delia and James glanced back over to each other and smiled. Both of them – at least if not one of them – was about to open their mouth and comment and wonder where Katie had gone off to and occupied herself with while myself and the lavender haired male were gardening. But when we honed our ears in further, it became obvious enough. We could hear her talking to herself somewhere in the garden.

"O-Oh, you're such a cute thing, aren't you?" the orange haired female spoke quietly so it took a lot of effort for us all to hear her completely. I'll resist feeling smug in myself when I say that I probably could hear her most clearly of all. Delia, James and I had fondness in our hearts as we heard the child speaking absentmindedly. "I… I am here d-don't you wo…rry. I'm here."

Delia naturally didn't adjust the hat on her head after James had placed it there but she pushed some of her chestnut locks from her eyes even so. She scratched me on the cheek when I felt energised enough to hop onto her shoulder and then she smiled, full of curiosity.

"Do you know where she is? I wonder who she's talking to?" the chestnut haired female pondered and after James lifted the spade from being in the ground and tidied it with the rest of the gardening equipment, he had a quick and knowing answer for Delia.

"Oh, I wonder who it could possibly be?" he responded and for a split second, the older female blinked. Her mind was too busy being filled with intrigue and possibility that she had overlooked the obvious. But soon enough, she chuckled alongside me while James smirked. He finished off his drink in a few more glugs and after gratefully putting it back on the tray and on the ground, he turned around. But he looked at Ash's mother over his shoulder. "I should probably go find the little stranger. I'll leave Pikachu here with you though, yes? You two do know each other far better than you and I, after all."

And with that, the lavender haired male headed off to find the eldest Ketchum daughter with a twinkle in his eye and he left Delia and me laughing out loud at the words in response to the chestnut haired female's prior ones. She caught onto them straight away! We both shared a look. We both shared a nuzzle. But we both knew that I was going to follow after him.

It was true that I felt deeply loyal towards Delia as well as her son but I could be pretty close with James. And I enjoyed his company as much as the older female did. Well, almost!

She planted a quick kiss to the top of my head before I headed off as well and she was left standing in the garden, her hat shading her face and her hands on her hips as she admired her own garden. Yes, it was beautiful and welcoming enough even for her.

And despite me using muscles that I didn't know I had and feeling contentedly full from the fruity drink, I caught up with the male ex-rocketeer quickly and I scurried next to his side. As he walked, he pushed his hair from his eyes and he got freckles of mud in it but I didn't bother to tell him. I don't think he'd have cared. He was too busy finding his little friend.

He was proud of Katie for being so easy-going with him interrupting their one on one time to help Delia for the afternoon because he knew (but didn't understand) that she treasured days like that. But needless to say, he felt the same way. In fact, he held their days and her as near to him and as dear to him as she held him when they embraced. He thrived on their talks and their time and their imagination. I wasn't surprised when he started playing a pretend game in the middle of trying to find her. He spoke a bit louder than usual for her benefit.

"Renowned explorer Katie Ketchum has gone missing. I do hope she's not been left in the jungle! Far too many caterpillars around here. And not to mention the jungle furry beasts that could jump out at her at any moment." the lavender haired male began and I couldn't help but grin when his pace slowed down and got lower to the ground. He pretended to prepare to pounce. He openly growled as he moved around to the pond in the back garden, pushing past the longer grass with his hands. James continued again. "Did you hear that? It's getting closer."

That time when the lavender haired male playfully growled under his breath like a jungle cat, I rolled my eyes and heard something else. Clearer and clearer and closer and closer, I could hear the sound of Katie talking to herself. I got the impression that James caught my eye rolling gaze because he straightened up to his true height and he stopped making noises. However, he didn't stop talking. He childishly continued with the game as he pushed past more of the grass, knowing that he was nearing his best friend's daughter. I hopped onto his shoulder as my way of an apology.

We both knew that Katie was certain to be playing with her beloved bear, Mr Hugsy, by the water and having a game of her own with him.

"I think I've found her! Miss Katie Ketchum has been located! And… Mr-" James paused saying his name for effect and when he caught sight of a flash of orange through the reeds, he then couldn't stop himself from pouncing and pushing through them. We both tumbled through the other side. We were left blinking when it was apparent that Katie was talking to a whole other creature. James concluded uncertainly. "…Surskit?"

The orange haired little girl no doubt heard her dear Uncle James coming but for once, it didn't cause her to leap up and give him an adoring hug. No, instead she just turned around to look at us both with blue-green eyes that were the colour of the earth and that could shake the earth. They were filled with soft concern.

"H-He… He is a Mr and he's my friend. And I think he's sick." Katie explained worriedly and for once, her eyes didn't lock onto her uncle's face for much time at all. Her head soon turned back to where she was cradling the Pokémon, stroking his little head compassionately while he squeaked forlornly. Even so, she whispered in a way that proved she would always turn to her James. "Help me help him…"

"Of course." James naturally responded very quickly and after I hopped back off his shoulder to give him more mobility, he didn't hesitate to go on all fours and lean closer to the Pokémon in the eight year old child's lap, getting a proper look of him. His own look – his own gaze – was gentle and concerned. But the injured Pokémon clearly was far too occupied with the pain to take notice of that. He tried to scurry away with his sore bits.

"Don't tha-at, you're hurt!" Katie cried out insistently but the eldest Ketchum daughter managed to keep her voice low and away from being shrill to as not to upset the little thing even more. She didn't let go of him in her hands. She stroked the top of his head all over. It was after Surskit stopped scrambling that she reassured him quietly but with all of her heart. "You can trust my Uncle James. I… I d-do. More than anyone. He will help you too."

James softened. He knew not too move or push anything too far at that point so he simply nodded and smiled, hoping that the sincerity within himself would show on his face. It usually did. While that was going on, I was caught up in trying to prevent my heart from soaring. Ash had never given up on me while I was injured and wary and it was evident that Katie had the same abilities. She was a sweetheart. She was family. I was emotional.

Surskit squeaked out some more in pain but he managed to shuffle closer to Katie, trying to enjoy her touch and her reassurance as best as he could while being a little bit wary and very much in pain. The water Pokémon still didn't give James many glances and stayed permanently fixed on the orange haired female but this gave the lavender haired male time to observe him. He breathed out.

"Poor little guy has injured his leg. He must have slipped somewhere and hurt it. Poor little thing." The ex-rocketeer uttered and shook his head and straight away, Katie heard his words. Her head turned back to her uncle. She couldn't hide her worried expression. Of course, James didn't hesitate to reassure her. He started preparing to stand back up slowly so as not to distress the injured Pokémon. "We'll help him, sweetheart. We can help him. He's going to be okay. Let's get him inside, shall we, and see what we can do?"

After Surskit relaxed a tiny bit more as he seemed to understand James' words and the lavender haired male was able to stand to full height along with Katie, his next words were to me and he told me to reassure the Pokémon in our own language that he could trust us. So I told him that. The mainly blue and yellow Pokémon feebly nodded his head and shut his eyes but he started to trust us nonetheless.

And so we headed into Delia's kitchen after filling her in with what had happened along the way and after she concernedly held a hand to her heart, she decided to stay behind for a little while to not overwhelm the injured Pokémon. We all knew what to do anyway. Katie knew what to do. The orange haired child held the Pokémon like it was a treasured and delicate thing and she made sure to mutter soothing words to it along the way. I picked up Mr Hugsy along the way after he had for once been forgotten about!

"You're going to be just fine, t-that's what my Uncle James says. B… But if you can't walk then I won't walk. We will do this together." Katie insisted softly but adamantly as she carried the water Pokémon into the kitchen and I followed her rather than the lavender haired male.

On the way to walking over to the kitchen cupboards, James walked past Katie and he touched the top of her head, reassuring her once more. He couldn't prevent himself from complimenting her genuinely.

"You are such a sweet thing, aren't you? But it won't come to that. After some care and attention, your little friend will be just fine."

And with that, while Katie made herself and her new friend as comfortable as they both could be on a chair in the kitchen, I hopped onto the counter to overlook things and James reached into the cupboard. He fetched bandages usually for people from one of them and special potions from another. With Mr Mime around and Ash visiting frequently, even Delia had to stock that kind of thing.

Humming absentmindedly to himself, James dampened the bandages with some of the spray and he dampened another with plain water to soothe Surskit's leg if it was feeling hot with the pain. Once he had prepared all that, he moved back in slow motions towards Katie and the little Pokémon. Surskit opened one eye warily. James just looked back at him, not showing much expression at all. Soon enough the blue and yellow Pokémon sighed and shut both eyes. Wordlessly, he started to trust the caring male all the more.

"Thank you…" he found himself mumbling in response to the Pokémon trusting him and he crouched down for the second time that day. He crouched in front of Katie and he looked at her more than the Pokémon in case he felt shy and overwhelmed under the gaze of yet another new face. He got the impression that Surskit would appreciate the cooling bandage on his leg first of all. He didn't react at all. But it was Katie that breathed out.

"T-Thank you…" she told her uncle and though her eyes had been open the entire time, they seemed to flutter over him while she held the Pokémon closer and tighter but gently nevertheless. She tried not to squirm on her seat and she didn't laugh out of worry of it all when some of the water dripped on and tickled her bare legs in her shorts. Katie held her breath. "Will he be o…okay?"

"He'll be okay." James told Katie quickly but quietly and after the orange haired girl simply nodded her head and looked back to Surskit, stroking his cheek to make sure that he was awake. His eyelids twitched so she knew that he was. She relaxed. The ex-rocketeer took the time to use his other hand to brush Katie's forehead. I imagined that his touch was cool from handling all of the water. He smiled at her. "You did a good thing today, I hope you know that. He's lucky that you found him."

The eldest Ketchum daughter was still looking down at her injured friend but even so, she ducked her head all the more. She didn't scrunch her nose up but it was evident that she was dismissing her uncle's words. I knew that she would have wanted Surskit to be helped by anyone but she felt lucky that he had been around for her to find.

The ex-rocketeer chuckled and he wanted to lean in and press a kiss to the child's forehead to insist that his words were true but he refrained from doing that for the Pokémon's sake. Anyway, Katie's head then snapped towards her uncle. She much preferred complimenting him rather than hearing his compliments. (Most of the time.) She kicked her legs just a little bit and Surskit's eyes started to open when James put the bandage with potion on his sore one.

"Y… You are so good at that Un…c-cle James. How do you know what to do?" Katie asked with a loving smile as the worry in her eyes gradually started to fade away. But I watched from the counter and with Mr Hugsy as after James just wordlessly smiled; the eight year old child had more words. She knew the answer anyway. She just liked talking to him. "It was helping your Nanny and P… Pop-Pop during the summer, wasn't it? When you… When you were a boy."

"When I was around your age, yes." The lavender haired male nodded his head and naturally had a smile, poking Katie on the end of her nose too for the way that she remembered and clearly so diligently listened to him. And when he looked down at her and saw the wonder in her eyes, he knew that she was expecting some more details. I was surprised but then glad when Surskit even allowed James to give him a reassuring poke too. "Nanny and Pop Pop took care of all sorts of Pokémon in their nursery. I of course liked the grass ones best. But I remember looking after a bunch of Surskit quite vividly as well."

The orange haired child nodded her head as she listened. While I jumped down from the counter top and left her bear there and joined everyone when the injured Pokémon was seemingly less wary, I noticed that although Katie was listening, her gaze had trailed back down to Surskit. She was tickling his cheek. She was stroking him. His eyes were open fully then and he was glancing back up at her. Adoringly. He already had so much love in his eyes. James couldn't help but comment on that with another chuckle, his hand reaching out to tickle Katie's cheek.

"I think you've made a really special friend there, bubbles. He is very lucky you found him today." James told Katie and revisited his previous point and because she heard it a second time, the child seemed to hear it more clearly that time. Though she scrunched her nose up, she then gave a few seconds for it to sink in. Then only one thing was on her mind. She couldn't help but ask, scooting a bit forward in her chair with hope.

"Ca-Can I keep him?" she asked and the lavender haired male had been too busy smiling at his best friend's daughter so he hadn't been preparing for a question from her. Automatically, he blinked. I titled my head on one side. I wasn't surprised by the question at all, though I turned my own head.

It was something that lots of children asked when they made a new friend with a creature. But I was curious how James was going to answer it without lying or stepping on toes. I found out after he paused and ran a hand through his hair, sprinkles of mud falling onto the floor.

"I… I think that he will need to have an eye kept on him while he gets better." James began and that time, Katie's eyes were locked on his face. I was very impressed with the way that he was seemingly unaffected! I always found it hard not to give in to sweet children – especially Ketchum one. The lavender haired male managed to disguise the softness in his eyes. "Katie… I don't want to say yes because it's not my place to say yes. You will need to ask your parents. I don't want to get your hopes up. But I know that they will care about him as much as you and they will make a fair decision."

We both noticed the way that Katie's expression soured ever so slightly. Then she frowned rather prominently. I could almost read her mind and I wondered if James could as well. I got the impression that she was thinking how she usually found it amusing how her uncle could say no in the politest and most unobvious ways. In that moment, she was hoping that that moment wasn't one of them!

The lavender haired male evidently caught on to her glance and the way that she looked down at Surskit, stroking his cheek a little slower while he continued looking up at her peacefully. James sat cross legged on the kitchen floor and told her.

"Sweetheart… It has to be your parent's decision. But we can work something out if they don't think it's a good idea. And I'm sure your Grammy will back you and myself up as well."

Out of stubbornness and concern about trusting him completely for once, Katie continued frowning. But she did nod her head slowly - once. It was at that moment that Delia decided to enter the room, taking her summer hat off her head to not appear too flamboyant for the timid Pokémon. Her eyes and voice were filled with natural concern.

"How is the poor sweet thing?" she asked and it was evident that the kindness towards Pokémon Ketchum genes were dispersed everywhere. James stopped sitting on her floor in case it was rude and stood up next to her and Delia listened while he simply told her what he had done to help Surskit out. She nodded her head and listened, her hand going back to her heart. Her head then tilted towards Katie. As I looked up at her, I knew that it would only get the same result asking her grandmother but I admired her for trying.

"Uncle… Uncle James said he will need… need an eye being kept on him so can I keep him? I-I promise I will look after him well." The orange haired child insisted with almost forlorn eyes and she scooted forward on her chair once more. Surskit wanted to reach out to her with his injured leg out of unconditional love but settled on using the other three.

I noticed the way that James' eyes twinkled at how Katie's words sounded. Surely Delia too noticed that it sounded like she wanted to keep her Uncle! Either way, the chestnut haired female managed to move past that and smile down at the child. Automatically, Katie pouted once more, getting the feeling she would have another similar answer.

"Well, that's something you'll need to ask your parents, my darling." She started and though the lavender haired male had done nothing much to soften her frown against him, his hand reached out to touch the top of her head to ease her one against Delia. Though she sighed, it made her patient enough to wait for more words. They came. It was evident that I was right about the Pokémon caring genes of Ash came from his mother. "I'm sure he could stay with me if he can't be under your watchful eye. But once more, sweet pea, that's another thing to ask your Mommy and Daddy. But oh! I think that's them now."

I moved over to the window and indeed saw my best friend and his wife's car pulling up. I breathed out, my fur tingling with a mixed feeling of relief and contentment and exciting all in one. It's a little bit silly that I reacted that way after knowing them all those years, isn't it? But it is what it is. I very much enjoyed my adventures with everybody else but I enjoyed those two joining us as well! I just hoped that Surskit would be all right with it.

Though I was certain that Katie felt the same love in her heart for her parents, she didn't dash over to the window nearly as quick as I did when I heard them. In fact, she didn't move at all! She went back to cradling the blue and yellow Pokémon, rocking him slightly and humming to him a song from a book that she learnt from Uncle James. I thought that when I looked to the lavender haired male, I could see softness in his eyes. But I didn't. Instead, he was looking over at Delia and sharing a bit of a look with her. It was a look that I didn't understand. And I wouldn't understand until the chestnut haired female had answered the door to her son and his wife and they had all entered the kitchen.

"It smells like potion in here. C'mon Mom, I know feeding and watering him over there can be a bit of a burden but surely giving him tap water is better than making him drink that?" Ash commented rather wittily a couple of seconds after he had entered and gestured with his hands over to the lavender haired male. In response to the raven haired male's playful glint in his eyes, James just raised an eyebrow back and folded his arms over his chest.

Delia, Misty and Katie all resisted having the same exhalation of breath. And this gave James time to respond. He unfolded his arms and gestured himself but he gestured to where Katie was sitting.

"That's oddly very clever of you; kid, but we've had a bit of an adventure here today. And evidently your lovely Katie takes after one if not both of you." James started saying and while I hopped onto my best friend's shoulder and nuzzled him when I got the idea that he suddenly wondered if the potion was for me, all eyes went over to the orange haired little girl. It was then that both Ash and Misty saw the injured Pokémon on the child's lap. And it was then that James explained everything.

I remembered alongside with him how James and I had been very content with helping Delia and then enjoying some playful chitchat afterwards. The lavender haired male had then gone on a hunt for Katie and I ended up rolling my eyes at the way that he got too into his imagination! Then of course following that, we had discovered the injured Surskit in the arms of the eldest Ketchum female.

Both Ash and Misty reacted with concern and worry yet pride at the entire thing. Misty touched her best friend lightly on the back for being so calm and keeping Katie that way too. My raven haired best friend instantly went down onto his own knees to try and make friends with the Surskit. And while this was going on, Katie only had one thing on her mind.

Her blue-green eyes like the earth from afar widened and they fixed and flickered between both of her parents. She held her breath but then let it go with hope. She very nearly pleaded.

"He can come home with us, can't he? I… I can look after him, can't I? He needs me. He really needs him and I want him to be around. So please… please say yes!" Katie concluded and at last, her eyes fixed on her father while her little hand reached out to her mother.

I hopped onto Delia's shoulder for a better view while both Ash and Misty glanced at each other, exhaling themselves. Ash rubbed the back of his own neck. Misty rubbed her temples. It wasn't a "no" straight away. They were thinking about it. Needless to say, they wanted to say "yes" and they wanted to help out the Pokémon as much as their daughter did.

But Katie wasn't their only daughter. Katie wasn't their only child. It could be a stirring thing to let one have a Pokémon and not the other. Misty joined Ash crouching and explained this. However, in Katie's ears, all she could hear was that it wasn't a "no".

"Well… It's going to be a lot of work, Katie. And not just making sure that Surskit is well looked after. You're going to have to share him with Ben if he wants or at least be sensitive if he feels jealous. He's the one always going on about getting a Pokémon early. And now you've got one!"

Katie exhaled and looked down at her lap. She looked down at Surskit. All she had thought about was her new little friend and how much she wanted to look after him. She hadn't even thought about how her twin brother might feel and that made her feel a little bit bad. But then she couldn't help but push those thoughts from her brain. It was about Surskit. The main thing was that Surskit was being looked after. And she knew that she had to be the one to do it.

From Delia's shoulder and being stroked on the cheek it was interesting to me how as Katie's eyes changed to being a bit more unmoving, her father and my raven haired best friend's brown orbs changed to be all the more softer. It was rare for him to purposely go against his wife. But he couldn't help it sometimes when it came to their children and Pokémon too. He stood up.

Ash didn't say anything and he didn't smile. But when Misty glanced up and into his eyes, she caught on rather quickly. A wordless look it was from Ash. But an obvious one. It was an obvious one to her anyway. The orange haired woman stood up next to her husband. She sighed but she put her hand onto the shoulder that I wasn't sitting on. Katie looked up to see her mother nodding slowly.

"Surskit can come home with us and we will work this out. We will make sure that he gets better and feels part of the family. He is awfully cute, isn't he?"

And with that, Katie was barely listening to the rest of Misty words after it was obvious that she had received her yes. The eight year old child let out a noise and a gleaming smile that was far different than what could be her shy self and instead of leaping into her parent's arms with gratitude, while she continued cradling Surskit carefully, she ran to collide with her uncle.

James gasped when his "niece" suddenly wanted a hug from him with her new friend in her arms but after a couple of seconds, naturally he didn't hesitate to comply. He picked Katie up into his arms and held her close. She held onto him tighter and more gratefully than ever. Misty commented on this, a dismayed smirk but a bemused smirk on her face. She shook her head, still leaning on Ash.

"I don't know. We're the fools who have said yes to our eight year old daughter but you're still the one who comes out as the hero. What else do we need to do?" Misty asked playfully and James' eyes widened slightly in case there was a bit of truth to her words but after Delia chuckled and moved to wrap both her arms around her son and her daughter in law, James soon chuckled too while absentmindedly rocking with Katie. He smiled gently.

"Katie takes after both her mother and father and she's going to do exactly what she's going to do." He reminded them and after he planted a kiss to the side of her head and put her down, encouraging her to hug her parents, after she had done that and given them both a kiss before inviting me to bond with Surskit for good, James couldn't help but give Misty a knowing look as he admitted. "I'm kind of surprised you said yes, though, Munchkin. I mean, I know the sweet thing is a Water Pokémon but-"

However before James could conclude his sentence and point out that Surskit was indeed a Water Type Pokémon and a Bug type Pokémon as well and Misty could wonder why her best friend would think she could say a downright no to her daughter's big heart, Ash moved away from his wife and his mother and gave James a bit of a pat. That in itself caused the lavender haired male to raise an eyebrow. But he hung around to hear his words while Ash gave him a close mouthed smile.

"Let this family have a win, yeah?" my best friend asked and after he patted the older male once more leaving him with more suspicion, he glanced over to where Katie was in the middle of encouraging me to do my impressions to Surskit! James always wanted Katie to win. He didn't understand. Ash had more words after he crouched and joined us all. He looked back at James and almost winked. "Let me have a win. It'll be pretty cool to have a new Pokémon around."

And after that, once Misty couldn't help but raise her eyebrows with confusion over what the two boys closest to her were talking about and once Delia had distracted her by wrapping her arm motherly around her, James simply held his hands up in gentlemanly defeat. Ash made a clicking noise with his tongue as if to make note of the momentary truce. However, James couldn't help but remind him, glancing over at the way that Katie was rocking Surskit to sleep like he was a precious baby.

"Ash… How much do you ever really win when it comes to those girls of yours?" James pointed out and out of agreement at how all of them at my raven haired best friend wrapped around their little fingers; I hopped onto the lavender haired male's shoulder in support of this. James grinned. Ash grinned. But the way that he glanced over at his family and his momentary family of girls in that room made it perfectly clear what he was thinking. He didn't have to say anything at all.

Both Delia and Misty had joined Katie and were crouching down, doting on their new sleeping friend while he relaxed in the child's arms, evidently feeling much better and trusting of them all. Ash looked over and felt more love than ever. And as James moved to his side and even briefly rested his elbow on the younger male's shoulder, it was obvious that they felt more on the same page than ever.

Anything was worth it as long as their families were happy. And it was clear that they were doing the right thing by the way that Katie had turned into such a caring, imaginative and kind-hearted little girl. James had joked that day about Ash not really winning but my best friend had won the moment that his paths crossed with his orange haired best friend turned wife.

And when Surskit was allowed to be Katie's Pokémon for good, all the more blessings were going to come. I knew that he was going to be a part of her journey for a very long time. And he would be. Until the very end. He was there for her and he was loyal to her and in the end, he would help her stand on her own two feet.

Surskit was lucky to be found by her. Katie was lucky to have found Surskit. Katie was going to be luckier with everything else that would come to her. And all of it would be with her dear Pokémon friend by her side.

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 So yeah, Katie's first Pokemon is a Surskit. She gets him before she can officially be a Pokemon trainer but of course, he becomes her Pokemon partner on her journey when she turns 10 years old. I'll definitely have to write a story about Ben reacting to it! I can't imagine that he'll be too impressed. But he's a sweet kid too. And maybe he'll understand that Surskit will be good for Katie :3 I liked the lots of different relations here. You can see the airy one between James and Delia and the snarky one between Ash and James. And of course the lovely bond between James and Katie. They're very similar in some ways. Probably why they get on so well :P Thanks again and I will be back again next Wednesday so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P