Delia hummed softly as she stood before the stove, preparing breakfast for the morning. The events of last night happened so quickly that she barely even remembered getting home. She remembered calling Professor Oak and asking for his Alakazam's assistance in bringing her, Ash, Brock, and Seth/'Serena' home and then they pretty much all went to sleep after that. Having Ash carry that Ring Target around with him at all times came in handy or else Ash would have had to fly back the long way on Pidge.
"I hope they slept alright down there…" Delia muttered to herself as she looked at the door leading to the basement. While it was quite the large and comfortable basement, having a large bathroom that neither she nor Ash used as well as Ash's jungle gym that he used to get better dexterity with his tail, most of it was just empty, unused space. Yet Seth was adamant about sleeping down there no matter what because 'they look scary when sleeping' or something.
Deciding that she would unravel that mess of trauma later, Delia turned her focus on the problem more evident. "How in the world are we going to keep those kids together…"
"Why not just have them all move in with us?" A voice softly spoke from behind Delia, causing her to turn and spot Ash walking through the front door in his pajamas with a bloody… something in his hand. Her son's mouth had blood smeared on it as he had most certainly hunted and feasted on whatever it was he was currently midway through eating. "I mean… we have the space, right?"
"Ash… it's not that simple. Adopting all those children all at once draws attention. A lot of attention and a lot of paperwork. I've had it on my mind but… let's just say that it's a backup plan, alright?" Delia tried to explain to her son as best she could as she turned back to focusing on the eggs.
Seeing her son covered in blood was something Delia had surprisingly gotten used to. Though the two guests staying with them likely weren't as accustomed to it so, "Ash, can you please finish that… that… actually- what even is that?" Asked Delia, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Ash gave a big, toothy smile with his teeth stained red with blood. "It's a possum! I think…"
"Well, can you finish your possum outside and clean up before coming back in, please? I don't want you scaring Brock or Seth." Delia politely asked her son, though her tone made clear that it was most certainly a demand.
Ash seemed a bit disappointed as he had just sat down at the table but nodded. "Alright, Mom…" Her boy grumbled but did as he was told, leaving the house not a moment too soon as Delia heard another door swing open as Ash closed the front door.
Turning towards the direction of the basement, Delia smiled as she saw the young child with the appearance of Serena enter the room. "Good morning, Serena, dear. How did you sleep? You know that you could have sleepy in one of the guest rooms." Delia politely reminded the girl with a worried, caring look.
"I slept good, miss Delia. And um… It's okay. I just didn't want to accidentally scare anyone if um…" The girl trailed off as she looked down at her feet, leaving her in an awkward silence.
Deciding that she had had enough of the silence after a few seconds, Delia gently replied. "Why don't you come sit at the table? Breakfast is almost ready." Letting the topic of sleeping arrangements go for right now as Delia changed the subject.
"Oh! I get to eat with you all?" Serena asked as she moved to sit at the table like she was suggested to. The girl was looking around Delia's kitchen as if it were a completely different world. "You get to live here, miss? It's so big! And so nice. Oh! Where's Mister Brock? Is he up yet?"
Delia giggled at the girl's awestruckness and curiosity. "Brock is still asleep. Let's let him sleep in, alright? Who knows how long it has been since he got to do that…" Delia trailed off with a frown as she thought of Brock's situation before remembering that Serena had other questions. "And yes, sweetie. I live here with Ash and all of my Pokemon."
"Wow… this is so… wow." The girl continued to be in awe of the house. Serena was so lost in her trance that she didn't even notice as Bibby approached the new arrival with a tilted head. "How many Pokemon do you have- woah!"
The girl's shock caused Delia to whip around to see if everything was alright, only to smile as it seemed that Bibby was just being himself. "Well, I have lots of Pokemon. That right there is Bibby, my Bibarrel who helps out getting the fields ready for spring. I also have Mimey, Pidge-Podge, Kangy, Timbby, and some others but they're old and stay with Professor Oak a lot."
"W-wow!" Serena exclaimed with excitement as she gently patted Bibby's head. " You have so many Pokemon, miss! How can you afford them all? I spent everything I had on the vitamins for Mawile. It… was hard finding food for him too so that's why I got that mailman job. I hope they won't be mad at me for leaving to help Mister Brock."
Delia frowned at that. While it was certainly true that newborn Pokemon such as Serena's Mawile greatly benefited from vitamins, someone in this girl's situation shouldn't be forced to care for a newborn Pokemon. Especially if it means resorting to crime, such as this poor child had done, even if they didn't realize it. "Well you're doi-"
"Mailman job?" Another voice called from the stairs, causing both Delia and Serena to look and see a very groggy Brock with a Pichu on his shoulders stepping down the stairs. Pichu had wanted to sleep with Seth last night but settled for Brock when Seth had told him no.
"Well, good morning, sleepyhead." Delia smiled at the very groggy duo as they entered the kitchen. Pichu jumped onto the kitchen table as Brock went to stand by the counter.
"Morning…" The boy grumbled lightly as he rubbed his eyes with a yawn. "What do you need me to do for breakfast?"
Delia frowned lightly at that, though her face brightened back up quickly. "Nothing, dear. Nothing at all. Breakfast should be done in a few minutes so why don't you go sit and relax with Serena, okay?"
"Are you sure? I don't mind cooking or anything. Could I at least make you some coffee or tea?" Brock offered again, causing Delia to shake her head.
"Brock," Delia stated with a more stern tone than usual. "Go and relax. Please? You can go call your siblings if you want." She didn't like that he seemed too uptight. All that Delia wanted at the moment was to help the Harrison family in any way that she could, and that included making sure that Brock was properly cared for and given adequate rest.
"Um… you could maybe look at Mawile, Mister Brock? I remember that you wanted to do that yesterday, right?" Serena offered a small smile as both of her hands were occupied. One scratching Bibby and the other scratching Pichu.
"If… if you're sure," Brock verified with Delia after he nodded to Serena.
Delia just smiled and waved Brock off casually. "I am. Breakfast will only take a few more minutes."
With that, Brock relented and went to sit at the table with Serena. Delia had the opportunity to fully focus back on her cooking as she hummed softly, only to be once again interrupted by the back door opening. "Ash? Did you finish your… meal?"
"Yeah, Mom!" Ash called as he rounded the corner. Now looking blood-free and with a wet shirt since he most likely used the garden hone in the back of the house to wash the blood off. "It was pretty good. Oh hey guys! Hey Pichu!"
"Pichu Pi!" Pichu called out as he jumped at Ash, causing the boy to giggle as he caught the jumping mouse.
"Morning, Ash." Brock smiled with a wave at Ash as he turned from looking inside the tiny Mawile's second mouth.
"Hi, Mister Ash!" Serena waved happily at the boy with her other hand still resting on Bibby's head.
Delia laughed at that. "Serena… you don't need to call everyone mister or miss. We are all friends here."
"Yeah." Ash nodded as he went to sit at the table with the other two. "It feels weird to be called 'sir' when we look pretty much the same age. That and the read Serena doesn't call me 'sir' so it's double weird!"
Ash's comments were meant to be lighthearted but they seemed to have the opposite effect as Serena frowned. "Oh… Should I um… should I change back to Seth so it isn't confusing I just felt like being Serena today but I'm super sorry-"
"Serena." Delia patently called to her. "You are fine. Ash was just trying to make you feel comfortable. You can look like or be whoever you want. Anything is fine here, alright?"
"Yeah, I never had a problem with you changing before, why would there be any difference now that we are here?" Brock tried to comfort Serena as Ash nodded.
"I… alright. I like to be Serena… she's really pretty and I like feeling pretty." The girl gave a smile as she looked down at herself in the dress that the real Serena had worn for the magazine.
"Yeah? Well, you picked a good one! Serena, erm, the… other one is really cool and pretty!" Ash stated as she smiled wide. Though the boy gave a hum as he began to rub his chin while continuing to stare at Serena. "Serena… Serena…"
Delia turned to her son with a look of mild concern. "Ash? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah…" Ash spurted at his mother before he turned back to Serena. "It's just that it'll be hard to tell the difference when talking about them… Hmmm…"
"Oh…" Brock joined in on the chin rubbing as well. "So you're thinking of maybe changing this Serena's name?"
"Or a nickname. Whichever she prefers." Ash continued Brock's statement while gesturing to the very confused-looking Serena.
"Well…" She trailed. "I don't mind changing it all that much… what did you have in mind?" She sounded rather interested to know what the two had in mind for her new name.
Ash gave a loud 'Hm' as he continued to rub his chin. The Mawile and Pichu currently sitting on the table now looked between the two boys with very judging expressions. "What about… Se… viper?"
Brock turned and gave Ash an unamused look. "Seviper? Really? That's just a Pokemon." Ash merely rubbed his head in embarrassment due to Pichu's disappointed glare as Brock turned his attention back to Serena. "What about Topaz?"
"Um… probably not…" Serena shook her head. "I um… I know it's a minor thing but I like my two names to sound- I don't know- similar. I like the 'Se' start, if that's okay. I'm sorry…" The girl trailed off while sounding a bit guilty about her preference.
"Hey, that's okay." Delia smiled as she plated the food which she had been preparing for the children. "I think that Serena is a pretty name. You didn't expect to have to change it like this so it's okay. We can take it slow."
"Yeah," Ash agreed with his mother with a nod. "Serena is a nice name… Hm… What if we keep the name, but change how we say it?"
At Serena's, Brock's, Pichu's, and Mawile's looks of confusion, Ash chuckled lightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Like… We say 'Sirena' or something? Hehe…"
"Pi… chuchu…" Pichu muttered with his head in his hand. Causing Ash to scoff lightly.
"Hey!" Ash cried. "It isn't that bad of an idea!"
"Actually…" Brock added while rubbing his chin. The morning sunrays came through the window and hit his ruby eye, causing it to sparkle. "I agree with Ash. I think he's on to something. We just aren't calling her 'Sir'. I think we can do better than that."
Delia had had enough of the banter for now. She was finally done with breakfast and was excited to see her two guests' reaction to the near mountain of food she had prepared. "Okay, you three, this is exciting but first, we need to eat." Delia smiled as she turned and placed the largest plate in front of Serena.
The only thing to escape Serena's lips was a light gasp at the large plate she was presented with. "This is… I…" Serena just trailed off as she stared at the plate, causing Delia to gently lay her hand against the girl's back with a smile.
"Is something wrong, sweetie?" Delia asked gently as Mawile hopped into Serena's lap to look up at his trainer.
"It's just um…" The girl started while continuing to not tear her eyes away from the plate. "It's a lot of food."
Brock seemed to frown slightly before speaking up. "I'm sorry that I couldn't offer you more when you ate with me and my family. Lots of mouths to feed and I didn't earn enough as a gym leader to give such big portions."
While the idea of a 14-year-old having to singlehandedly care for and feed 9 other children disgusted her to her core, Delia merely nodded in response to Brock. "Well, while you're here, you can eat as much as you want, Serena. Okay?"
"Okay!" The girl nodded, a small smile having formed from Delia's affirmation. "Can I share it with Mawile and Pichu?"
Delia couldn't help but smile at that. However, Ash was the first to speak up before she had the chance.
"We have dedicated Pokemon food here. That's all for you. Actually, I'll go make them a plate. Come on, you two!" Ash exclaimed as he hopped out of his chair to head towards the pantry while Pichu and Mawile hopped down to follow the cheery human.
Delia smiled as she watched her son take charge of feeding the Pokemon as he usually does before returning to look at Serena. "Go ahead and eat, sweetie. While you do, I'll try and find something Brock can eat." Her gaze turned to Brock.
"Oh! Please don't worry about me, Miss Ketchum. Seriously. I don't need to eat that often." Brock shook his head while waving his arms in front of his chest. Delia took note that watching the flower sprouting from his eye wave around as he moved was quite fun to watch.
"You don't need to eat often?" Delia asked as she tilted her head. "Well then how often is 'not often'?"
"Usually just once a week or so, if I had something good like limestone and get a lot of sunlight in the meantime," Brock exclaimed while pointing to the flower.
"Oh! So you photosynthesize?" Delia asked with a curious tone in her voice as she leaned in closer to examine the flower. "That is really neat! You are such a special young man. You should be proud!"
The unexpected praise certainly caught Brock off guard. His face soon flushed with red as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh um… T-Thank you, Miss Ketchum. But um… can we please talk about something else? I don't like to talk about myself much."
Delia didn't know if his response was cute or sad. Sure, embarrassing Ash with affection always made her day, but Brock's embarrassment seemed to come from a place of a lack of experience getting praise. "Well… alright, dear. I guess we should move to talking about your family and their situation next."
"Yeah!" Ash yelled out, nearly startling Delia as she had completely forgotten that her son was there as he sat back at the table. "What can I do to help?"
"Fee foo!" Serena called out with her mouth full of food.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, sweetie." Delia gently reprimanded the child almost on instinct, causing the girl to make a big gulp.
"Me too!" Serena once again sounded out, though much clearer this time.
The exchange caused Brock to chuckle. "Well… As much as I appreciate the excitement to help… I don't really know what we can do right now." Brock admitted with a small sigh as he rubbed his chin.
Ash frowned at that. "Aw man… we can't do anything? I was ready to like… go make fliers or something."
Brock smirked and Delia giggled at that. "We'll keep that in mind as a backup plan," Delia told her son as she turned back to Brock. "We could maybe go talk with Professor Oak? I'm certain that he might have some connections that he could use."
Brock seemed conflicted with that. The boy's expression turned to a frown. "As much as I appreciate that, I… well, I can't. That would be a big ask from anyone, let alone someone who I had never met before."
Ash shook his head quickly with his tail flicking the air like it usually did when excited. "Well, then you gotta meet him! Professor Oak loves to help people and I'm sure he'd love to help you and your family."
"Ash is right." Delia nodded. "Samuel is one of the kindest people I know. I'm sure he would consider it a pleasure to help if you explained your situation to him."
"I… I don't know…" Brock admitted as he rubbed the back of his head, though soon turned to Serena as she gently grabbed his other arm.
"Please, Mister Brock? You wanted to help me when you didn't even know me. Why can't someone else do the same for you?" The girl reminded Brock with a kind smile after finishing her plate in record time.
"I… Alright then. Let's go ta-" Brock was interrupted by a loud knock on the front door.
"I got it!" Ash excitedly yelled as he started making his way toward the door, only to be stopped by Delia grabbing onto his tail tightly. The woman had to remind herself every time that even though her son's tail looked hairless, it certainly didn't feel it due to the microhairs that encased the extra limb.
"Ash…" Delia reminded her son with a tug on his tail.
"Oh! Right!" Ash nodded as he began to tuck his tail into his pajama bottoms. Delia then turned to Brock as he made his way to the kitchen counter.
"What about your- erm… extra thing, Brock? Delia asked as she stood up from the table.
"Don't worry. I got it." Brock answered reassuringly as he lifted a pair of scissors and brought them to his flow. The boy winced lightly as a small 'snip' could be heard, only for the flower to fall to the ground as Brock closed his wondrous eyes. "It grows back."
The trio stared at the flower sitting on the floor for a few seconds with a sense of sadness welling in Delia's chest. The fact that Brock had to dismember such beauty so regularly just didn't feel right to her. Though she brushed off the feeling for now as she nodded. "Alright, dear." Delia nodded at Brock before she turned to make her way to the door.
Another knock at the door caused Delia to speed up. While she certainly wasn't expecting anyone to show up to her farm, much less this early, Delia tried not to be caught off guard by it. "Coming!" Delia yelled as she finally made it to the door with Mimey and her grabbing the door handle at the same time.
"Mime…" Mimey scoffed as he let go of the handle to let Delia take over, clearly disappointed that he didn't get there first.
"Sorry, Mimey." Delia smiled at her Pokemon before opening the front door and looking out. "Good morning! How can I help… you…" Delia's voice slowed as she stared at the man standing on her front porch in both awe and worry.
"Hello." The pink-haired, caped man greeted Delia in a pleasant tone. "Is this the Ketchum residence? I was told that Brock Harrison could be found here."
"I-It um… it is! Please excuse me…" Delia nervously chuckled as sweat ran down her forehead.
"Of cour-" The man was interrupted by Delia slamming the door on him. Her jaw was on the floor as she turned back to the kitchen.
"B-Brock!" Delia yelled. "You have someone here to speak with you!"
Brock poked his head around the corner with a raised eyebrow. "Who is it? Please don't tell me it's more police…"
"It um…" Delia stammered lightly. "It's Lance…" Delia's voice admitted with a squeak.
"LANCE?!" Delia's son screamed out in a squeal as Ash sprinted around the corner with an excited Pichu right behind him. They were out the door before Delia even had the chance to try and block it.
"Who's Lance, Mister Brock? I think I hear that name sometimes from the TV…" Serena asked as she poked her head around the corner just as Brock did. She was probably just copying him, as most young children do.
"He's um… a really important guy, Serena. I should probably go talk with him." Brock explained as he rubbed the back of his head while walking towards Delia. "He's probably here to say that going to the police was a bad idea."
"Brock… what else could you have done?" Delia questioned the boy, though he merely shook his head.
"Let's get this over with." Brock sighed before opening the door to see Ash staring up at the man with stars in his eyes while Lance stood there with a slight smirk and his arms folded. "Hey Lance…"
"And then I'm gonna train really, really hard and beat all- Oh hey Brock!" Ash was interrupted from his ranting to the amused man to wave at Brock. "Oh erm… where was I?"
Lance chuckled at that. "You were telling me about how you were 'Gonna get strong enough to kick my butt', I believe. I'll hold you to that, Ash. But please, I need to talk with your friend first." Lance reminded Ash while gesturing to Brock.
"Oh! Right! You're here for Brock! My bad." Ash chuckled in embarrassment as he suddenly looked extremely embarrassed. "So… what would you like me to d- gah!" Ash yelled out as he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and yanked back inside the house by Delia before the door slammed shut once again.
"Sorry about him. I think he's just excited to be a trainer. He tried to fight me for a gym badge before even having a League Trainer Card." Brock apologized for Ash's antics with a slight smile.
"That isn't a problem." Lance waved it off like it was nothing. "That excitement and drive is good. It shows that he's serious about taking on the gym challenge."
"Yeah…" Brock nodded as he glanced at the door to the house before going silent. The two remained in an awkward silence for a few more seconds after that.
Lance, probably deciding that the silence was too much to bear, spoke up first. "So… I wanted to apologize. Personally apologize." Lance added with emphasis. "On behalf of myself and the entirety of the Pokemon League. Your situation… it shouldn't have happened." The tone and cadence of speech were… off. It was apparent that this apology wasn't practiced or thought out thoroughly. However, that made it feel much more genuine.
Brock remained silent for a few more seconds after that. The 14-year-old merely crossed his arms as he looked to the ground. "I…" Brock took a few more seconds while he shook his head. "I take it that I'm fired?"
"Yes," Lance answered plainly with a nod. "As of now, you and your family no longer have any connection with the Pewter City Gym. You won't be tied down there any longer."
"Tied down?!" Brock looked up at Lance while grinding his teeth. "That gym has been in my family for three generations! You can't just take it away! You can't kick my family out!"
"I can, and I will," Lance stated plainly as he looked down at Brock, seemingly not phased at all by the boy's anger. "If your parents were so adamant about the Gym remaining in the Harrison family, they should have thought about that before running off to God-knows-where. And don't worry about your family. I am taking care of it."
"The hell do you mean 'taking care of it'?! You guys don't even take care of your gyms properly! I can't even remember the last time that the inspector came! And you just expect me to trust you when you say that you'll 'take care of my family'?!" Brock demanded answers from the man, pulling from rage and frustrations that he hadn't even known he had.
"I mean that I am personally making sure that you and your family stay together," Lance spoke clearly as he stepped forward while not breaking eye contact with Brock. "No getting split up. No going to separate homes. And absolutely not getting sent to different regions. This isn't The League taking care of it, this is me doing it. And don't worry about our gyms. That is changing. I promise you that." The man's voice leaked frustration for the first time at the mention of the gyms.
Such words certainly caught Brock off guard. The boy stammered and tried to find more words, more frustration to draw from but just.. Couldn't. The man in front of him seemed… genuine. "I… What do I do?"
A small frown formed on Lance's face as he reached out to gently lay a hand on Brock's shoulder. "Let adults take care of it. I understand if you don't trust that, but know that I mean it with every fiber of my being. I will take care of them. Let me carry your burden." Lance pleaded with the boy with a frown.
Brock remained silent for a time. The only things that escaped the boy were soft sniffles. "Alright… I… I trust you. I'm sorry about yelling before. Do I go with you now?"
Lance smiled lightly at Brock. "Not if you don't want to. I'm not going to force you to do anything. But I would like to speak with Miss Ketchum again if you're staying."
"I'll go get her." Brock nodded and backed away from Lance a little, causing the man to let go of his shoulder before Brock walked back into the house to see Delia, Ash, Serena, and all the Pokemon sitting in the living room. "Miss Delia, he um… he wants to speak with you."
Delia couldn't say that she was caught off guard by the champion wanting to speak with her again, but what did surprise her was the state of Brock. He looked to be near tears. Wordlessly, Delia stood up and made her way to Brock. "Okay, dear. I'll be right back." Delia gently wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close to lay a single kiss on his forehead while rubbing his upper back. After gently trying to comfort the boy for a few seconds, she gently let go and allowed Brock to sit on the couch, where Pichu hopped up onto his lap worriedly.
"You wanted to speak with me?" Delia asked as she walked through the front door to find Lance standing there and looking over her land as he watched Timbby and Kanggy carry a large wooden beam towards some project Timbby had started again.
"Hm?' The man turned his head to see Delia before fully turning himself to face her. "Yes, I just wanted to apologize and clarify some things."
Delia nodded a bit as she stepped forward while closing the front door again. "Alright. I'm listening."
"It seems that Brock wants to stay here with you. Is that alright with you?" Lance asked with a slightly worried tone and body language.
"Yes. I'm fine with that." Delia answered with a smile on her lips, causing Lance to seemingly relax.
"That's good. Thank you." Lance nodded as he smiled at her. "I'll make sure to get you the adoption forms as soon as possible."
If Delia had a drink, she would have just choked. Her face morphed into one of shock and panic. "O-oh! Y-you mean that! I- well, I-" Delia's mind was racing with panic and disbelief. She had never thought about adopting anyone before, much less an ex-gym leader!
Lance seemed to be fighting not to laugh at Delia's reaction. "Ah. It appears that I've misjudged. My apologies. I will just say that he's staying with friends then."
"N-nono!" Delia shook her head wildly. "It's fine! You just, well… you just caught me off guard. I honestly never thought about it like that…" Delia mumbled as she looked back towards the window to the living room. She had never thought about having- or adopting- more children after Ash. The idea… well, it's just an idea, of course, but one that caused butterfree to flutter in her stomach. "I'll talk with him."
Lance nodded at that. "Very well. And I wanted to apologize for showing up unannounced, especially when it is this early. You and Brock will be informed as new information comes to light but we- I- have a lot of work ahead of me… I don't even know where to start…" Lance admitted with a small scoff as he turned to look over at the fields in front of Delia's house.
"Well…" Delia walked up beside the man. "Why not start in Pallet Town? There are lots of families here and I know that many of them are good people."
Lance seemed to take note of that. The man rubbed his chin as he hummed. "That… certainly isn't a bad idea. Thank you, Miss Ketchum." Lance turned to the woman and graciously smiled at her. "Oh! And by the way, your property is beautiful."
Delia smiled at that. "Well, thank you! My mother bought it after selling her old Bed and Breakfast in the middle of town. She just wanted to get away from all the people, you know?"
Lance nodded with a satisfied grunt. "I certainly understand that. This is the type of place where you can live free. Be who you truly are without having to hide, am I right?" Lance asked while side-eyeing Delia with a light smirk, causing Delia to tense up lightly.
"Well, yes, I imagine so. It's what my mother wished for, after all." Delia nodded with her usual smile, just trying to keep calm and not panic. Surely he doesn't know. He had just met them, after all.
"Mhm! Well, your mother was a smart woman!" Lance nodded. "It might be best to follow in her footsteps and install some motion sensors around the property just in case someone might show up at the wrong time when you or your son are unprepared or being who you truly are. Do you understand?" Lance questioned Delia as it felt like gravity had doubled in power over the woman. A sense of dread blanketed her mind as she nodded.
"Y-Yes… of course. I'll do that right away. Thank you so much for the advice." Delia nodded as sweat rolled down her forehead and her breathing grew deeper. She didn't know how much he knew, but it was clear that Lance knew something.
"Good! Safety is something that I take seriously." Lance replied with a friendly smile. The sense of dread and worry seemingly escaping her mind he held such a genuine smile. "I would hate it if your family were unprepared for guests and caught you nude… or worse. I'm sure you understand."
Delia seemed to finally understand what the man was saying. It wasn't a threat or means of blackmail – it was advice! "Certainly!" Delia cried with a smile on her lips. "I understand completely! Thank you so much. You've given me a lot to think about."
Lance nodded at her seeming understanding of what he was saying. "Good! Well, I must be on my way. I'll send you whatever you need as soon as I can. Check your mail often and take care. From the brief interaction I had with your son, he seems quite special." Lance smirked at Delia knowingly as Delia held her hand in front of her mouth to giggle.
"Of course he is." Delia smiled. "He's going to be a Pokemon Master one day, after all."
That answer caused Lance to let out a large 'Ha!' as he tossed a Pokeball, releasing a Dragonite. "I look forward to seeing him again! And you as well. Perhaps over dinner sometime after the Harrison situation is over?" Lance asked as he walked down the steps of Delia's porch as Delia smiled.
"I must say that I'm flattered, truly. But I prefer my partners to be a bit more… exotic if you catch my meaning." Delia tried to let him down as gently as he could as he climbed onto his large Dragonite.
"Ah. I understand completely." The man nodded, seemingly not being that disappointed by the rejection. "Nevertheless, thank you for your time. Tell Brock that I will be giving this my full attention until the very end."
"I will." Delia nodded seriously. "Have a nice flight. Thank you for stopping by."
And with a last nod from Lance, the Dragonite launched into the air, leaving Delia alone as she was the only one outside now. "So… the government knows. Or, Lance does, at least." Delia nodded to herself before turning to walk back inside.
"Oof!" A grunt from Ash was the first thing Delia heard, causing Delia to rush back into the living room. "How in the heck are you so heavy, little guy?!" Ash questioned the tiny Pokemon currently standing on Ash's chest as he lay on the floor.
"Bonsly! Bonsly!" The rock-type Pokemon cried out cheerily while giggling lightly.
"Sorry, Ash. He likes to sit on people." Brock smiled, looking much better than he did when Delia had left to go talk with Lance.
"Is… everything okay in here?" Delia walked in with a confused look. "Why is Ash on the ground? Where's Serena?"
"Serena is following Mimey around," Ash answered while lifting Bonsly off his chest with a grunt so he could sit up. "And I am on the ground because Bonsly wanted to cuddle." Ash answered with a smile up at his mother.
"Oh! I take it that Bonsly is your Pokemon, Brock?" Delia asked as she turned to the smiling boy. Now noticing a tiny, pink Pokemon sitting in his lap. "Oh? And that one too, I take it?"
"Yeah," Brock answered with a smile. "That's Bonsly and this is Happiny. I have Onix as well but I didn't want to destroy your house." Brock answered, causing Ash to chuckle lightly. "What did Lance have to say?"
"Oh! Erm…" Delia thought for a moment, debating on whether she should tell the kids about Lance knowing about them. "He just wanted to make sure if you staying with me was alright. And it is, of course." Delia smiled as she sat down on the couch."
"Awesome!" Ash yelled. "So if we don't have to go to Oak's place yet, do you want me to show you around the farm, Brock?"
"Sure, Ash!" Brock answered with a wide smile before turning to Delia. "Is that okay, Miss Ketchum?"
"Of course it is, Dear. But Brock, please just call me Delia, okay?" Delia asked as she smiled at the two boys. Happy to see that Ash is so excited to be sharing the space with others.
"Oh! Okay, Miss- erm… I mean, okay Delia!" Brock corrected himself before nodding to Ash, who practically sprinted out the door with Brock not too far behind him.
Delia giggled at the two. "Well… At least they are getting along." Delia mumbled to herself as she looked out the window. She was happy that Ash seemed to have made more friends. Friends who were like him as well! They may even become as close as brothers if given enough time.
Still… Delia couldn't shake that thought from her head… Adoption. She had never even considered it a possibility before. She had always just thought that Ash was one of a kind and the chances of finding anyone who would accept her son for the way he is, much less a child who accepts him, were slim to none. Now, here she is with not one, but two children in her house who are not only incredibly kind, but also desperately in need of parents…
"I'll… have to talk with them later," Delia muttered to herself with a sigh as she lowered her head into her hands with a sigh. The past two days had been a lot. There was so much she needed to wrap her head around.
"Bib?" A sound caused Delia to look up to see, who else, but Bibby staring at her with a tilted head. The sigh of her dopey Bibarel always caused Delia to smile.
Opening her arms, Bibby seemed to get the message and walked over to gently place his head in her lap, allowing Delia to pet him. "I have a big decision to make, Bibby. One that will change our lives forever…"