I wanted to get something up in time for Pokemon Day...and then I got crazy busy and couldn't finish anything by yesterday. But considering this is only a day late, I think that's pretty good!

Aiden and Michelle: 5 and a half years old


Bedtime Talks

"Ash, would you mind tucking Aiden and Michelle into bed?"

He looked up from his phone, where he'd been reading an email Lance had just sent him. Misty was staring patiently at him, already settled into bed herself.

"Yeah, of course!" Ash replied, turning his phone off and placing it on his nightstand.

"I feel so bad," Misty groaned, causing Ash to stop and turn back towards her. "It's been days since I helped put them to bed. They probably think I don't care about them anymore."

"Hey, they don't think that," Ash assured her, watching as she mindlessly caressed her rounded stomach. "They know you haven't been feeling well! Those two are pretty good at figuring that kind of stuff out for a couple of little kids."

Misty shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe, but I still feel guilty."

"Well, I'll make sure they know just how much you love them!" Ash crowed. "Then you'll feel better, right?"

Although she didn't at the moment, Misty couldn't help but to smile. "It wouldn't hurt. Thank you, sweetheart."

Ash smiled and leaned over the bed to give Misty a quick kiss. Pikachu, who had been lounging on top of Ash's pillow, jumped down and instead snuggled himself against Misty's side, causing her to giggle and stroke his back.

"You're the best, Pikachu!" Ash chuckled before leaving the room.

His first stop was into Michelle's room. Ash always started with her first, because she was the easier of the twins to get into bed…something that couldn't have been said when the two were younger. It amused Ash to see just how much his children had changed in their short little lives, and also made him wonder how much more they'd change as they continued to get older.

Poking his head into the room, Ash was unsurprised to find Michelle sprawled across her bed, entertaining herself with a coloring book.

"What're you coloring in tonight, little princess?" Ash asked sweetly.

Michelle looked up at her father and beamed. "Eevee!"

She held up the book for proof, showing off a drawing of an Eevee that had been filled in with all different shades of blue and green crayon.

"Wow, that sure is a pretty Eevee!" Ash marveled.

"I'm making it for Mommy," Michelle commented, placing the book back on her bed. "As a present!"

"She'll love it!" Ash exclaimed. "She was just telling me she's very sorry she hasn't been tucking you into herself."

"It's okay!" Michelle chirped. "Mommy's just tired cause of the baby."

"Yes, she is," Ash confirmed.

"And the baby's big now!" Michelle added.

"Right, that makes her even more tired," Ash agreed with a smile. "You ready to go to bed?"

This question caused Michelle to pout. "I wanna finish my picture of Eevee."

"You can finish it in the morning!" Ash suggested brightly. "How's that sound?"

Michelle thought about it for a moment before begrudgingly replying, "I guess…"

"Perfect!" Ash cheered, taking the coloring book and box of crayons. "I'll put these somewhere nice and safe, kay?"

"My desk!" Michelle cried, pointing at the white piece of furniture in the opposite corner of the room.

"Sure thing," Ash chuckled, walking over to place the items there. For her fifth birthday, Michelle had begged and pleaded for, of all things, a desk for her bedroom. Ash had thought it was a bit of a strange request at first, but Michelle had won both him and Misty over by convincing them it would be perfect for her to use for drawing and coloring and homework once she started school.

Michelle might be the only kid who's thinking about homework before she's even in school, Ash thought amusedly. But that's my daughter! Very mature and always thinking ahead.

Turning around, Ash was surprised to find Michelle standing on the floor by the side of her bed.

"What're you doing out of your bed?" Ash asked playfully.

"So you can tuck me in!" Michelle squeaked.

"You've gotta be in bed for me to tuck you in," Ash chuckled.

Michelle shook her head. "Not for you to pull my covers down!"

Ash sighed and walked back over to the bed. "You know I can't win an argument against you, huh?"

Giggling, Michelle nodded her head before watching her father pull down her aqua colored quilt and mermaid printed bed sheets just enough so the little girl could slip beneath them.

"Alright, hop back in!" Ash instructed.

Michelle crawled into the bed and rested her head on the pillow, glancing down as her father pulled the sheets and quilt back over her. Once she was all tucked in, Ash knelt down and began to toy with his daughter's hair, the little girl staring at him with thoughtful eyes.

"Are you ready to be a big sister?" Ash asked whimsically, reaching out with his free hand to grab the stuffed Pikachu in the bed and hand it over to the girl.

"Uh huh," Michelle murmured, wrapping her arms around the plush.

Ash smiled and tilted his head. "I think you're going to be great at it! You're so sweet, and you care about other people a whole lot!"

"Mmhm," Michelle intoned. "Is it gonna be soon?"

Letting out a long breath, Ash finally responded, "I think so."

At this, Michelle's eyes lit up. "My baby sister!"

"Yep, yours and Aiden's," Ash chuckled.

"How do you know it's soon, Daddy?" Michelle questioned.

"Mommy knows better than I do," Ash admitted. "But I think that's why she hasn't felt so good lately. The same thing happened before you and your brother were born."

Michelle frowned and shifted under her covers. "Poor Mommy."

"Yeah, poor Mommy," Ash agreed. "But we're all doing a really good job of taking care of her and making her a little happier! She was laughing a whole lot at the little show you and Aiden performed before with Pikachu and Vaporeon."

"That was my idea!" Michelle cheered. "I made it up myself, Daddy. I wanted to make Mommy feel better!"

"Really?" Ash gasped. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised! You're so talented, Shelly!"

Michelle blushed and laughed nervously, obviously a bit overwhelmed by her father's compliment. Ash's smile widened at the girl's reaction, and he slowly withdrew his hand from her head.

"Alright, time to go to sleep," Ash declared, gently kissing his daughter's forehead. "Good night, princess."

"Night night, Daddy," Michelle murmured, slowly closing her eyes as she nestled her cheek against her stuffed Pokémon.

Standing up, Ash walked towards the door and flicked the light switch off before exiting the room and leaving the door slightly ajar behind him. Now it was onto his next target, and his eyes were already locked onto the room directly across the hall.

"Alright, let's see what we're dealing with tonight," Ash muttered to himself.

Aiden was a very sweet boy who never had any malicious intentions, but he was far more rambunctious and energetic than his quiet, unassuming twin. Whenever trouble did manage to spring up, Aiden was almost always behind it…not fully understanding what he had done.

It amazed Ash how completely different two kids who grew together and were born at the same time could be.

Letting out a long sigh, Ash stepped forward and gently pushed the door to Aiden's bedroom open, immediately receiving a plush Staraptor to the face.

"Brave bird!" Aiden cried, his arm dramatically thrown out in front of him.

"It's not very effective," Ash teased, walking fully into the room.

"Yeah it is!" Aiden scoffed. "Brave bird is always super effective!"

"What if you were battling a steel type Pokémon?" Ash asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

Aiden sighed and unfurled his legs from beneath him. "Then it's not super effective."

"Atta boy!" Ash chuckled, leaning down to ruffle his son's hair. When he did this, he saw the sea of plush Pokémon surrounding the boy, strewn all over the floor. "Oh man, what happened here?"

Aiden hummed and looked around at the same mess before grinning up at his father. "The Pokémon League!"

"Right before bedtime?" Ash asked weakly, his eyes not leaving the floor.

"Yep!" Aiden chirped, picking up a stuffed Gyarados.

"Sorry, little guy, but you're gonna have to finish this league up tomorrow," Ash stated. "It's time to go to sleep!"

"But I'm not tired," Aiden whined, putting on a pout for good measure.

"You will be once you lay in bed for a little bit," Ash tried.

"Where's Mommy?" Aiden suddenly blurted. "She'd let me play more!"

Ash shot his son an incredulous look. "Bud, you and I both know that's a big fat lie."

Aiden burst out laughing, and Ash couldn't tell if it was because he had been called out or because he thought the last part of that statement was just that funny. Either way, it got a smile on his face too, and that only seemed to egg Aiden on even more.

"Alright, come on," Ash chuckled despite himself. "Let's clean up these toys, okay?"

The boy sighed, but finally got to his feet and began gathering the stuffed Pokémon up in his arms. He scurried over to a nearby blue fabric bin and dumped the toys in there before running back to collect some more. Ash was picking some up as well, although he carried them over to the box far more calmly than his son. With the pair working together, it didn't take long to clean up the mess, bringing Ash a great sense of relief.

"Guess it looked worse than it actually was!" Ash crowed. "That's a good thing, huh?"

"No, cause I'm not tired," Aiden repeated.

Ash sighed and lifted the boy up in his arms. "Okay, then you don't have to go to sleep just yet! We'll hang out for a little bit. Sound good?"

"Okay," Aiden murmured, watching as his father pulled the covers of his bed down. Once that was done, Ash placed the boy in the bed and pulled the covers up over him.

"I was just talking to your sister," Ash informed his son, sitting down on the side of his bed.

"About what?" Aiden squeaked, tilting his head.

"The baby," Ash replied. "I asked her if she's excited about becoming a big sister."

Aiden twisted his mouth and muttered, "I bet she said yes."

"She did," Ash confirmed, nodding his head. "What about you? Are you excited to become a big brother?"

The boy's mouth untangled into a slight frown, and he shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno."

That answer was a bit troubling for Ash. Leaning forward, he kindly asked, "how come?"

"I don't know anything about babies," Aiden replied. "And she's not even a boy!"

"That's okay, you don't have to know anything about babies to be a good big brother," Ash reasoned with his son. "I didn't know much about babies when you and your sister were born, but that didn't make me a bad dad! I loved and cared for you guys, and that's what really mattered. Besides, Michelle's not a boy either, but you two like lots of the same things!"

"Like Pokémon?" Aiden muttered.

"Yeah, like Pokémon," Ash chuckled.

The boy, however, still looked unsure. Sheepishly looking away, Aiden admitted, "But I don't want to let you and Mommy down, either."

Ash sobered up very quickly as soon as Aiden uttered those words. "Hey, you could never let me and Mommy down! We're always really proud of you!"

"But I'm scared I'm gonna mess something up," Aiden grumbled, still refusing to look at his father.

"You're not going to mess anything up," Ash assured him, reaching out to gently move the boy's face towards him. "Besides, it's okay to make mistakes! Don't ever think Mommy or I would be upset with you for making a mistake."

"Really?" Aiden murmured.

"Of course!" Ash replied. "We love you, Aiden. You don't have to worry."

This finally brought a smile back to the boy's face, which in turn put one on Ash's. When Aiden first found out about the baby, he'd been wildly upset about it. The reason for his reaction turned out to be his fear that his parents would love him and Michelle less. Ash and Misty had managed to convince him that wasn't the case, and he'd warmed up to the idea quite nicely now, but apparently that concern of his wasn't totally gone. Ash felt bad that this was even a thought his son had, but he was also glad the boy felt like he was able to talk to him about it.

"I think I'm tired now," Aiden declared, solidifying that statement with a small yawn.

"You're ready to go to sleep?" Ash asked with a laugh.

Aiden nodded his head as he reached up to rub his eyes. Ash smirked and leaned over to kiss the boy's temple, pulling away in time to see his eyelids falling.

"Good night, champ," Ash breathed, patting the child's covered shoulder as he stood up.

"G'night," Aiden mumbled, already sounding half asleep.

Just as he had done before with Michelle, Ash turned off the lights in Aiden's room and slowly pulled the door behind him. With both children now settled in their beds, Ash was free to return to his own room and continue reading Lance's email. Before he could walk in, however, he heard a gentle snore, and realized that Misty herself had fallen asleep.

Ash smirked and shook his head. Ash snored quite a bit, he had been told…by his wife, at least. Misty only snored when she was sick or pregnant, and it was still much quieter than his, so he couldn't even say anything, although he had to admit it was kind of cute. Either way, he definitely didn't want to wake her up, so he tried to step in as quietly as possible.

As soon as Ash crossed the threshold into the room, however, Misty's eyes fluttered open, much to his dismay.

"You were just sleeping," he chuckled weakly. "Why do you always wake up when I walk in?"

"Because you have the loudest footsteps in the world," Misty moaned, earning a displeased look from her husband. "Also, because I like seeing your face."

"Nice save," Ash teased, playfully rolling his eyes as he climbed back onto the bed. "Is that the thanks I get for putting our children to bed?"

"No," Misty replied simply, grabbing Ash's shirt and pulling him down so she could kiss him squarely on the lips. "That is."

Pikachu, who had gotten caught right beneath the two, grumbled unhappily and squirmed his way back to the top of Ash's pillow, causing both Ash and Misty to laugh.

"Sorry about that, Pikachu!" Misty earnestly apologized. "And after you were so sweet to keep me company, too."

With a sigh, the electric type smiled meekly at his trainer's wife and murmured, "pi-ka, Pikachupi."

Misty giggled again and snuggled her head deeper into her own pillow, gazing up at Ash. "So? Do the twins think I'm the worst mother or what?"

"Of course not," Ash scoffed. "I told you they didn't!"

"Well, I never know if they're feeling something different than what I can see," Misty sighed. "I have a lot of mom guilt."

"Michelle knows you aren't feeling well, and she feels bad about it," Ash elucidated. "She told me she made up that whole little show everyone did for you today herself, just to make you feel better."

"Aw, really?" Misty cooed, her lips twitching into the biggest smile.

"Yeah!" Ash chuckled. "She was also making a little gift for you, but I'll let that be her surprise."

Misty's grin somehow managed to increase. "How sweet!"

Ash nodded in agreement before continuing, "And Aiden actually wanted you instead of me because when I walked into his room, he was playing with literally every single stuffed Pokémon he owns and insisted you would've let him keep doing that instead of going to bed."

Misty shot her husband a dubious look. "He's a little wise guy, isn't he?"

"That's pretty much what I told him," Ash snickered. "And he knows it, because he started laughing like crazy after I said it!"

"I will admit it can be hard to say no to that adorable little face," Misty sighed, shaking her head. "And to not laugh at the things that come out of his mouth."

"Aiden's not upset with you," Ash assured her. "If anything, he's worried about upsetting us."

This caused Misty to furrow her brow. "Why would he be worried about that?"

"I think he's still a little nervous about the baby," Ash admitted. "He told me he wasn't sure he was excited, but only because he's afraid of not doing a good job and disappointing us."

Now Misty was sporting a prominent frown. "That doesn't sound like our confident little guy at all."

"I told him that he could never disappoint us, and that we don't expect him to never mistakes," Ash sighed. "I think he listened. He definitely seemed a little happier by the time I got him to go to sleep."

"Well, I'm going to spend some extra time with him tomorrow," Misty decided. "I think a little one-on-one might make him feel better! It'd probably make me feel a little less guilty, too."

Ash smirked sadly and shook his head. "You don't have any reason to feel guilty, Mist. You're a great mom!"

Misty sighed and smiled at her husband. "Thanks, Ash. I think I know that, but it can be kind of hard sometimes. I'm really grateful that you're around to help me out! It makes me feel better to know that they've always got at least one parent looking out for them."

Chuckling, Ash sunk down next to her and rested their foreheads together, assuring her, "I would do anything for you and our kids!"

"I do love that about you," Misty giggled. They both lay in silence for a moment, until Misty broke it with a simple question: "were you doing something important on your phone before I pulled you away from it?"

Ash blinked, allowing his eyes to float towards the ceiling. "You know what? I don't even remember!"


I wanted to write some Ash and Misty fluff + some Ash and the twins fluff...and came up with this! Also, I wanted this to show that as an adult, Ash can think about more than just Pokemon. He even forgot about what he was supposed to be doing for his job as Pokemon Master because he got so caught up with his family!

Hope you all enjoyed everything Pokemon Day had to offer! Me? I'm going to get back to watching Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution!