A Mother's Duty

Chapter One: Slice of Life

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Nintendo & Game Freak do.

Hey, fellow Pokemon Fan,

Welcome to my tale, I wanted to write a story where a Pokemon has to raise a human. Sort of like Mr. Peabody and Sherman, at least unknownly at first. This will be a mix of lore from Games/a bit of Anime/some Manga lore, to create a world for this fic. This will come into play later.

I hope you enjoy.

Sinnoh

In a moderate sized house, on the outskirts of Jubilife City, there lived a duo of trainer and pokemon. A woman, her infant son, and her Gardevoir. Night had fallen and it was bedtime for the infant child.

Gardevoir set the sleeping infant Jackson into his crib. She kissed his forehead, stood up, turned and went to the door. Others may not want their pokemon, no matter what species they were, to be trusted with such a precious lifeform, but the Ralts line have proven their protectiveness and care for their trainers and their children. Bella knew Gardevoir could be trusted, both because they grew up together, and Garde was beside her when Jackson was born. She specifically told the doctors to both let Garde be next to her and to place him in her arms first.

Hitting the light switch, Gardevoir quietly closed the door to the nursery. A gentle smile on her face, as she went back into the living room where her trainer was sitting, reading a book. Two glasses of wine, non-alcoholic wine, sat on the coffee table. Garde sat on the couch opposite her trainer, and picked up her glass. Despite being a relatively new mother, Bella liked a drink every now and then, even if it was non-alcoholic wine, when it was likely that she wouldn't need to feed Jackson on her milk. She always made sure there were enough bottles in the fridge to ensure the wine passed out of her system first.

"Did he go down easy?" Bella asked, looking up from her book.

"Yeah, sometimes I wonder how much trouble he would be without me around," Gardevoir said, taking a sip. Being able to send soothing emotions and thoughts to the baby with psychic abilities really helps at bed time.

"I think he thinks of you as his mother, considering sometimes he is fussy for me and is good for you," Bella said.

"Well, considering the fact that you leave him with me all day, I would assume so." Garde rolled her red eyes, and both laughed. "He will grow up calling both of us mom," Garde smirked as she took a sip of her glass. What she did not notice was the look she briefly got from Bella, but the look disappeared by the time Garde set her drink down.

"I will say, if he doesn't think of you first as his mother, then I will have done something wrong," Bella said with a smirk. Garde shot her a confused look. "I'm joking, Garde. Though, I know it will happen."

"I have to admit, there is one thing I envy you for," Gardevoir said, taking a sip of wine and setting it down, leaning back on the couch she was sitting on.

"Oh, pray tell?" Her trainer asked, she had a feeling she knew what this was going to be about.

"The feeling of nursing an infant on yourself, as I can't, as you can tell." Gardevoir motioned to her chest area.

Bella laughed, she should have known."It is understandable, considering you are the one that takes care of the feeding most of the time. It makes sense you are attached to him enough that you wish you could nurse him as if he was your own." Bella took another sip of her wine.

"On that topic though, I do wish this blasted heart spike was smaller. So I can sleep easier on my back, that my business suits fit better, and most importantly, so I don't have to hold Jackson so low and awkwardly," Garde said, a bit exasperated. Her own biology made a few things harder or impossible.

"If you are interested, I have heard that there is a surgeon in Hoenn that supposedly is an expert in elective pokemon surgeries, something to think about if you want," Bella offered. In Bella's eyes, Garde was worth every cent if she went through with it.

"I'll think about it," Garde said. There was a bit of a controversy about whether or not a pokemon could consent to such things. Bella would say yes, considering Garde could speak the common tongue, but legally it was a bit of a battleground for many things regarding pokemon rights.

"As I know what you are thinking about, remember what we talked about the other day, about being legally human?" Bella asked, hoping Garde would be interested in that.

"Yeah, a bit of a 'what if talk', a flight of fancy," Garde said, dismissively, not expecting what Bella would ask next.

"Do you want to be?" Bella asked. That took Garde by surprise.

Her brow creased in question, was Bella being real? Bella didn't mess around with this kind of thing, so it had to be true. "Are you serious?" Garde had to make sure.

"Yes, I am serious," Bella said, hoping Garde would take her up on the offer.

Garde thought for a moment and then had her answer. "Yes, I do want to be seen as a human."

"Then I will put in the legal request for a hearing, I already know most of what they will test you for, and I know you will pass it, considering our upbringing 'sister'" Bella smirked a sec as she said the word. Garde rolled her red eyes, they had indeed been raised together. No doubt, they would need to explain that to the courts.

"So, what would they test me for?" Garde asked, hands on her knees as she leaned forward in interest.

"First and foremost, communication abilities. Speaking, Writing, Reading, that sort of thing. Second, human laws and history, which is a bit more of a written test. Not entirely sure if there is more than that." Bella tried to think if there was anything more that Garde would be tested on.

"All of which I know because I am your secretary at work," Garde said.

"Yep, you already act human, and everyone else in the company sees you as one. This is just a formality, Garde." Bella smiled at her.

"No doubt there will be resistance out there, from those that want to keep the status quo?" Garde asked, rhetorically. Shaking her head, she already knew about the kinds of people that would oppose such a thing.

"Why do you think I fired anyone that was problematic years ago when I took over the family business and made you my secretary/right hand?"" Bella also asked rhetorically.

"True," Garde grabbed her glass and sipped. That was an interesting day to say the least.

"Speaking of the business, "our" meaning of your maternity leave is up in a few weeks," Bella told her. While Bella should have been the one to take time off work and be with Jackson more, she let Garde take care of him. Garde didn't fully know why, but wasn't going to press her about it right now.
"Good to know, I guess we will need to figure out what to do about Jackson at that point." Garde looked in the direction of the nursery, thinking about the baby she was helping to co-mother. There was a weird legal loophole that Bella knew about, and she knew how to exploit it so that Garde could still get paid while being at home. Mostly it involved Bella bringing home the worth of two paychecks. The Sinnoh government was not entirely happy with the arrangement, considering how much money it was, but what Bella was doing was perfectly legal with current laws about Pokemon in the workforce that their labor is paid with either food or extra pay to their trainers/owners.

Bella was about to take a sip from her glass and light laughed. "Remember the delivery room debacle when Jackson was born?"
"Oh, don't remind me," Garde rolled her red eyes. That was a hassle in itself.

"How many times did I have to tell them to have you there with me?
"More than needed, even more to put him in my arms." Garde shook her head.

She downed the rest of her glass and set it down. "Well, I am going to bed. I have had a tiring day, taking care of things around here, and I want to have a few hours of sleep before Jackson wakes up again. Night, Bella."

"Night, Garde. Love you," Bella said as Garde got up and started to head to her room.

"Love you, sis," Garde said and walked down the hall toward her room.

As they parted for the night to their rooms, Garde got a brief feeling from Bella that concerned her. Something was not right. A part of her wanted to ask Bella about it right away, but experience told her not to. Bella would tell her when she is ready.

After Garde went to her room, Bella had a moment of contemplation. She knew that Garde felt her moment of thoughts about the future.

"Garde, I meant it when I said that if he doesn't think of you as his mother, I have failed. I will not be here much longer, and it will fall to you to do everything," Bella was thinking out loud. Shaking her head, she finished her glass and went to bed too. Bella slept through the night, but Garde did not. Jackson woke up during the night and Garde had to get out of bed to go tend to him.

Next Morning

Bella walked into the nursery that morning to a sight that warmed her heart. Gardevoir was asleep in the rocking chair with Jackson asleep in her arms.

She stroked her pokemon's cheek to which she awoke. "Go get some real rest, I got it from here." She took her son into her arms and let Garde go to bed for a few hours.

"Thanks," Garde said sleepily, as she got out of the rocking chair and went and crawled under the covers. Thank Arceus that it was a weekend day. She woke up a few hours later at lunch time.

As Garde came into the kitchen, she stretched all her muscles out. "Your coffee is ready," Bella told her as she made food. Garde poured herself a cup of coffee and got her creamer out to put in it. Taking a sip, she enjoyed the taste of caffeine that she needed right now. Garde leaned against the counter as she drank her coffee, watching Bella cook. She had taught Garde to cook as well, but Bella was definitely the better between the two.

"I think we should get out of the house, after lunch we should go to the park, and get some fresh air," Bella said.

"Sounds good to me," Garde took a sip of her coffee. "I do need a shower first."
"I'll wash your dress while you do that," Bella said. It was a bit weird to think about, while Garde hatched from her egg wearing that white and green dress signature of her species, it was also removable and washable. It was useful to know as it makes it easier for Garde during the workweek to wear her business suits that she didn;t have to worry about the natural dress. "IS your casual suit clean?"

Garde thought for a moment, "I think so, want me to wear that?"

"Yeah, that would be best. I was going to wear mine as well," Bella said. They were interrupted by the sound of a baby's cry.

"Jackson's awake, I got it," Garde said as she set her mug down, and went to the smirked as Garde walked away, happy that Garde and Jackson have such a bond. "Bella, can you warm up a bottle?" She heard Garde call.

"On it," she opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle and warmed it up.

After changing him and all, Garde brought Jackson out to the kitchen and sat at the table to feed him. She propped his head on her arm and set him on her lap, because of her heart spike and held the warm bottle of milk in the other hand. The look of trust and love that Jackson gave the Pokemon was all Bella needed to see to know everything will be alright in the future. A benefit of psychic powers, Garde could eat while she fed Jackson with bottle in hand. Any time Garde did that, it elicited a laugh from Bella.

Garde rolled her red eyes at Bella's laugh, it was her that made it so that Garde had to do things this way, then again she wouldn't have it any other way. Jackson finished his bottle and Garde set it down. She raised him to her shoulder and burped him. She then positioned Jacson to be comfortable and safe and secure in one arm while she used her free hand to eat.
After lunch was finished, Garde handed Jackson to Bella and went and showered. She came out of her room in her casual weekend suit and found that Bella had changed as well and got Jackson already to go as well.

"Ready?" Bella asked. Garde nodded at her as she got her shoes on. Garde placed a hand on the handle of the stroller and the other took Bella's hand. She closed her eyes, channeled her psychic might and they teleported to the park.

As they walked through the open breeze, they were glad for this day of peace, and they were glad for being left alone to enjoy things. Garde did have to stare down someone that was looking at them weirdly, but other than that it was a nice day.

As they enjoyed their day, a thought did cross Bella's mind, after that small incident earlier. I hope she will be okay when I am gone. I need to tell her soon, but not today. Let her enjoy this wonderful day. After a few hours and a nice late picnic, the two moms and their son returned home and enjoyed their evening.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to what I have planned, we are going places, stay tuned.

If it wasn't obvious before, I will warn you, I will be getting a little real in later chapters, but it is in the pursuit of what I am trying to go for.

I hope you all stick around for this ride.

The Emperor is out, Peace.