According to Dawn Hiranchai-Kuromiya, there were plenty of more fun and exciting places to go rather than going to an arcade. However, the same could not be said about her husband and four children. Paul Kuromiya-Hiranchai, her husband and the father of her four children, argued that arcades were an ideal place for families with children as they offer socialization and stimulation for the children. Truth be told, Dawn just did not want to deal with the hyper-competitive nature of her husband, which all four of her children have unfortunately inherited, resulting in her having to deal with five people fiercely driven by competition.
Her eldest child, a son by the name of Abel, was a well-mannered albeit reclusive nine-year-old, and fortunately for her, he was able to have some sort of self-restraint. Her second son, a six-year-old Peter, was a shy boy, but when it came to dinosaurs and mummies, his hyperactive and enthusiastic side appeared, and the arcade had lots of dinosaur and mummy-related prizes for him to claim. Lastly, there were the twins, a brother and sister pair, Finn and Lucy. At the age of three, they had minds of their own and were very expressive with their thoughts and wants. The older one, Finn, mostly wanted to receive praise from others for winning, while the younger one, Lucy, mostly wanted the delight of having bested others.
At first, Dawn dreaded what was to occur in the next few hours. Although she was sulking during the car ride there, when they finally arrived at Kinderland Family Arcade, she could not help but squeal at what awaited in front of her. This week was Piplup Week, and the entire arcade was decked out to the max in Piplup-themed decorations, with a multitude of Piplup-related merchandise being on full display. Additionally, scattered about were Prinplup and Empoleon-related items so that the entire Piplup evolution line was present. All in all, Dawn was rather pleased with what she saw, so much so that she jumped in joy. She even went so far as to run into Paul's arms, going in for a tight embrace and planting kisses all over his face.
"Oh my! Oh my! Oh me! Oh my," she exclaimed out loud before asking her husband, "Is that why you were insistent on taking us to the arcade today?"
Paul could only nod his head, not knowing what else to do since they were still under the public eye and practically everyone in the arcade had witnessed their public displays of affection.
"Everyone knows you hate going to the arcade, Amma…You suck at playing the games, and you never win," Peter answered honestly, "That's why Abba told us not to say anything to you. We wanted to surprise you."
"Now that the secret's out, I suppose you don't mind us spending a few hours here," Paul voiced, "Of course, I could always drop you off elsewhere if you want to go somewhere else instead."
Shaking her head, she told him off with a wave, "No, no, it's fine, no need to worry! You all should enjoy yourselves. Please, don't mind me, there's still the rest of the mall for me to explore and wander around. Besides, I could use a bit of shopping anyway."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded her head to answer, "I am sure." Waving at her husband and children, she chirped, "Bye-bye! I shall see you all later."
Before she left the arcade, she walked to the price center and gushed at the sight of the giant Piplup plushie placed front and center in full display. Of course, she could not resist sighing longingly at the thought of owning such a plushie. At home, she had her very own never-ending growing collection of Piplup paraphernalia, and she was always looking forward to adding more to the collection. This particular plushie now happened to be something she currently sought after. After taking one last look at the Piplup plushie, she finally left the arcade.
"Amma wants Piplup," Lucy announced, "We win Amma's Piplup!"
"Yes, we must," acknowledged Finn, "Amma will be very happy!"
Paul sighed in defeat, "I suppose we have to...Piplup is her favorite, after all."
At this, Abel retorted, "I mean, she did buy you all those Torterra things as a surprise set of gifts…It's the least you can do for her."
"Okay, how about this?" Paul proposed, "We all compete and see who can beat the game and win the Piplup plushie for your mother…If one of you wins, I will take you anywhere of your choice and buy you whatever you want…But, if I win, you four will have to be good children and stay with your grandparents for a weekend because I want to have your mother all to myself, even if it's just for a couple of days."
"Deal," said all four of the children as they ran to Dancing Starlight, the most popular rhythm game in the market.
To win the giant Piplup plushie, one had to win ten diamond stars when dancing to the song Gee by Girls Generation. No one has come even remotely close to beating the game, but perhaps one of the family members would be able to defeat the game and win the giant Piplup plushie once and for all.
Nonetheless, things were easier said than done because after twenty consecutive rounds between the five of them, with each member having danced four times, they were left sore and exhausted. It was high time for them to play another game because the chances of any one of them winning were slim to none. Lucy took the defeat to heart the most, refusing to play any other arcade games and instead choosing to enjoy a strawberry shortcake parfait as she watched her brothers play the other various games the arcade had to offer. Paul, of course, sat with Lucy in solidarity, the two of them eating their respective food, Paul with his slice of pineapple pizza and Lucy with her strawberry shortcake parfait.
"Lovely Luce, I am really sorry that we couldn't win the Piplup plushie for your mother. I know just how much you wanted to get that for her," Paul apologized to his daughter before handing her a few cut slices of apples, "But, no need to worry, we can always buy her a Piplup plushie of that size instead. I am sure that at least one of the Pokémon Center stores in the area would have something like that around."
"But, it won't be the same as that one, though," Abel pointed out, "The arcade's Piplup plushie was specially made for the occasion, it's one of a kind."
"You don't say," Paul sighed, shaking his head, "Well, this sure is a troublesome dilemma for us all, isn't it?"
Before Paul could say more, Finn called out, "Troublesome is here."
Abel snorted, "Amma's name is Dawn, not troublesome. If you're going to call her by her name, why not try calling her Dawnenura?"
"Who names their daughter Dawnenura," Peter questioned.
"You shouldn't be talking, Peter Gael Kuromiya," Abel said in response.
"At least my name isn't Abel Elijah Kuromiya," snapped back Peter.
"Be quiet," demanded Lucy, and immediately, there was silence.
After Dawn, who was the boss of everything for her family, Lucy, the youngest child and only daughter, was next in line in giving orders, and her father and brother would naturally follow them.
Walking over to her family, Dawn waved at them once more before asking, "So, I take it you all had fun at the arcade?"
"Not really," Abel answered with no hesitance.
"Aww, why is that, Bello?"
"We didn't win you the giant Piplup plushie that we all know you've been wanting since you first saw it."
"So what? It's not the end of the world…I have my family right here, and you are all that I could ever possibly need in my life!"
She pulled him into her arms, and the boy happily accepted to be in her warm embrace. She kissed him on the forehead and ran her fingers through his purple hair, which he inherited from his father, but there were some odd blue strands here and there.
Even though she was a short woman, her eldest was still taller than her, and he hadn't even reached double digits yet, but his tenth birthday was soon approaching. If he was anything like his father, he'd soon tower over her like his father did. Still, Dawn knew that, at heart, he was still her first baby, albeit a big baby at that.
"Besides," she continued, "the Piplup was already gone when I came over."
"Really?" Paul, Abel, Peter, Finn, and Lucy said at once.
"Yes, it was. One of the employees told me that they gave it to one of their veteran players some minutes ago before I arrived. Whatever, we could always go drive to thePokémon Supercenter and get a giant Piplup there…It won't be the same, but what can we do about it?"
"What if I might have something to do about it instead?"
Turning around, Dawn was face-to-face with a kind-looking elderly man who had a briefcase in one hand and held onto the giant Piplup plushie with another hand.
"This is for you," he announced, placing the giant Piplup in front of Dawn before confessing, "I saw just how competitive and dedicated your husband and children were on beating the game and getting you that giant Piplup plushie. I've been playing Dancing Starlight since the first version came out, and I was a young man back then. Gee by Girls Generation happened to be one of my mother's favorite songs, and I always danced along to the song with her. Of course, the song came out before Dancing Starlight did, but it did help to have prior experience with this particular song when it came to defeating the game."
"Gee's one of my favorites too! I am so glad that there are other fellow Gee girlies around here," Dawn gushed before saying, "You should give the Piplup to your mother instead, then."
"I would, but she's no longer with us," the old man explained, gesturing to Abel, he added, "Your eldest looks like he was around the age I was when she died…It was a few days before my tenth birthday, and she experienced a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy…I stopped listening and dancing to Gee, then…But, when I was thirty, Dancing Starlight came out, and I was brought back to the good old days. Even if she was alive, I think she would much rather you have it instead because she loved Buneary best."
"Buneary is actually Amma's second favorite, directly right after Piplup," Abel said, "I should know…All of her extra Buneary things are in my room. I sleep with five Buneary plushies...They're cute, I guess."
"Well, it seems to me that your mother and mine have more in common than we thought…She even looks like her a bit," the old man remarked.
"Really?" Paul raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, indeed." The old man handed the giant Piplup plushie to Dawn, who graciously accepted it into her possession.
Then, he pulled out a worn and torn photo of a young black-haired woman whose hair had a few blue highlights to it and adorned with multiple hair clips. She had large, round, dark eyes that sparkled with sheer delight as she held a small boy in her arms who was holding onto a tiny Buneary plushie himself.
Upon closer inspection, Paul could see why there would be a slight resemblance between the two as both of them had large, dark, sparkling eyes, an affinity towards wearing hairclips, and they even had the same cool, refreshing, and loving smile.
"She's beautiful," murmured Dawn, "Thank you so much for saying that I look like her, it's an honor, truly, to be compared to a beauty such as her."
"No, I should thank you for giving me the opportunity of appreciating motherhood. Through you, it feels like I am honoring my mother. She always did enjoy having gigantic plushies of her beloved Pokémon in the house."
Paul smirked, "Yes, that sounds just like our Dawn, all right. Me and our children constantly have to deal with her latest plushie purchases."
"Your name is Dawn?"
"Actually, it's short for Dawnenura, but everyone calls me Dawn…My husband calls me Troublesome, though…He calls me that so much, much more than my own name that for all of our children, they do not know my real name until the age of three years old," Dawn answered.
"My mother's name is Delilah…I was supposed to be named Dylan to match her, but I got her maiden name instead…I suppose Benvolio Rowan doesn't sound too match when paired with Delilah Rowan."
Dawn's eyes widened upon finally learning the old man's name. "Wait, did you just say your name is Benvolio Rowan, just like the local Professor Benvolio Rowan?"
"Well, I am the local Professor Benvolio Rowan, so I suppose I would be the only one around here around these parts to be named Benvolio Rowan and be a professor as well."
"No way," Dawn gasped, "I am a huge fan of your work! I even make my husband read your articles after lunchtime because they're that good!"
"It's true," Paul admitted, "Your work is very well-written and thoroughly researched, so it's not like it's a chore for me to read."
"Why, thank you." Professor Rowan placed his beloved late mother's photo back in his briefcase. "It's because of her always advocating for my education and always encouraging me to pursue my interest that I even became a professor in the first place."
"That's wonderful to hear," Dawn beamed, pointing to Peter, she continued, "Peter, my second child, is a big fanatic for dinosaurs and mummies. I say he has what it takes to become an archaeologist in the future."
"If that's the case, then I can always give Steven Stone a phone call and see if there's anything we can do for Peter. We can't have young minds not reach their full potential now, can we?"
"Certainly not," Paul agreed.
"That's settled then." Professor Rowan pulled out a business card from his pant pocket and handed it to Peter. "Here's my business card. Please do not hesitate to give us a phone call; we would love to see you become a fully-fledged archaeologist in the near future." Glancing at Abel, Finn, and Lucy, he added, "And, as for you three, I am sure you all have ideas and interests; don't be afraid of letting us know about them…I am sure that we can help you be who you want to grow up to be."
"This is all so very kind of you to do for us," Dawn expressed, "First, you let me have the Piplup plushie that you rightfully won, and now, you're helping the children explore their interests and enter the career paths they want to be a part of when they grow up. Seriously, is there anything we could ever do to repay your kindness?"
Waving her off, Professor Rowan told her, "Nonsense, please, do not think anything of it. It's just me being a nosy old man, that's all." After checking the time on his watch, he looked up to the family and gave them a warm grin. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all, and I wish I could talk to you all more, but I am afraid my time here has run short. But I expect to hear from you six very soon. Enjoy the Piplup plushie, even if Pokémon are nothing more than fictional characters imagined and created by a company, they still have a way of making an influence in our lives, don't they not?"
"Yes, they do," the six family members said in agreement.
"If the multiverse is indeed proven to be real, then I am certain that there is at least one alternate universe in which Pokémon exist…Perhaps I will be a Pokémon professor there and give children their very starter Pokémon, their very first Pokémon ever…Now, wouldn't that be something?"
"I, of course, would naturally choose Piplup," Dawn chimed in, "My husband would for sure choose Turtwig…Now, as for our children…I do not care which Pokémon they choose for their starter…As long as they love their Pokémon love them, and their Pokémon love them back, that's all that really matters to me."
"Yes, that is the right way of thinking things." Grinning at the family once more, he waved them goodbye for leaving. "This is not goodbye, as I will be with you all once more. Until then, may you all have a wonderful day."
With that, he left the arcade, leaving the family with grins of their own because he was infectious. The family soon followed in Professor Rowan's footsteps by walking to the parking lot as they would now be heading home. For the first time ever, the entire family was smiling during the drive home as normally; Dawn would be overwhelmed with the sheer volume of trinkets and knickknacks her family had won. This time around, she had a prize all to herself.
It was a few minutes before ten; the children were already fast asleep, and their parents would soon join them. First things first, they had to figure out where the giant Piplup plushie would be placed. Dawn and Paul had an entire argument, but eventually, they came to an agreement that the giant Piplup plushie would be best placed in the guest bedroom…Dawn's parents have dealt with their daughter's love for Piplup since she was ten years old, and Paul's family had quickly learned to deal with the many Piplup paraphernalia in the couple's house as Paul's childhood house already experienced having to deal with all of Torterra paraphernalia Paul had brought over the years.
Just before Dawn could enter the master bedroom, she heard the faint voice of her husband talking to himself.
"I wonder if we should start a Chimchar collection."
"I think we should," Dawn agreed, adding her thoughts to the conversation.
"Really?"
"Yes, I am all for it! You love Torterra, and I love Piplup…But what about poor little Chimchar? We should start including that little one in our household," she suggested.
"All right, we can start a Chimchar collection."
"Yay!"
Perhaps it was because of their conversation with each other and with Professor Rowan, but the husband and wife pair soon started conjuring up dreams of what their life would be like in the alternate universe if Pokémon really did exist.
Meanwhile, somewhere in an alternate universe, it was a quarter before ten in the morning, and Dawn Hiranchai-Kuromiya was sipping her morning cup of tea, which consisted of spiced Ceylon tea. Due to her current health predicament, she had to limit her daily caffeine if she knew what was good for her. Just as she was about to pour herself a second cup of tea, chatter could be coming from the hallway. Dawn's Lopunny appeared in the dining room, carrying Dawn's Piplup in her arms.
Immediately, she could sense that something was amiss based on the frantic expressions on poor Lopunny's face.
"What's the matter, Lopunny," she asked, pouring her second cup of tea and taking a few sips before beckoning Lopunny to come over to her.
Walking over to Dawn, Lopunny held Piplup high, placing him at eye level with Dawn. Normally, the small, blue, round-faced Pokémon would smile each and every time he saw her, but right now, he had a look of guilt on his face. She noticed that his cheeks were chubbier than usual, they were actually bulging now that she was looking up close.
"Let me guess, he's been eating a lot of something?"
Lopunny nodded her head, placing Piplup down to stand on the floor before attempting to form an oval shape with her fingers.
"Lop, lop, punny," Lopunny said, gesturing with her hands of her eating the oval shape. After eating the oval shape, she acted out a sigh of contentment.
"Are you saying that he's been eating poffins, is that right?"
"Punny!" Lopunny nodded her head.
"Okay, then, could you tell me who's been feeding him all these poffins then? And, just how much poffins do you think he's been eating?"
With her fingers, Lopunny made a square shape.
"He's had an entire box of poffins?"
Lopunny nodded her head once more.
"Oh my, I wonder who could have fed him then! Everyone in this household knows that Piplup is a greedy one when it comes to his poffins consumption, he gets especially hyper afterward." Pointing to the charm bracelet on Lopunny's wrist, Dawn suggested, "How about this? You can point to the charm bracelet for me to know who's been feeding him an entire box of poffins this morning."
Pointing to the charm bracelet, which contained four charms, each one being miniature figurines of Abel, Peter, Finn, and Lucy Kuromiya-Hiranchai that each child gifted to Lopunny respectively, Lopunny shook her head. She then acted out a giddy sigh, going so far as to bat her eyelashes and have heart eyes.
Dawn's eyes widened upon realization of what her Pokémon had just demonstrated to her.
"So you're telling me that Paul's the one who's done it?"
For the third time, Lopunny nodded her head, and this left Dawn to shake her head, frowning at the answer she'd been given.
Ever since Lopunny received her four charms, representing the four children of Dawn and Paul, she would point to the charm to signify that she was referring to a certain child. When it came to referring to Paul, she would pretend to have a deep and contented sigh, batting her eyelashes coquettishly and producing heart eyes because she's witnessed Dawn become a lovestruck fool around Paul. The same could be applied when referring to Dawn to Paul, Lopunny would fold her arms across her chest and have an annoyed look on her face. Sometimes, she would smirk or snort, other times, she would roll her eyes as these were actions she'd witnessed Paul doing time and time again, but he loved Dawn all the same. Even though it would make sense for Lopunny to mimic Dawn when referring to Dawn and mimic Paul when referring to Paul, she chose to mimic how Dawn and Paul act around each other…It was rather poetic in a way, and even Paul acknowledged just how complex, nuanced, and multifaceted Lopunny could be.
Fortunately for Dawn, she could hear the sound of Paul's car coming to their driveway. Unfortunately for Paul, he would come home to an exasperated Dawn.
After what seemed like forever, Paul finally entered the dining room, and behind him, Froslass and Weavile followed. Snapping his fingers, Froslass presented an expensive bouquet of flowers to Dawn.
"Froslass, lass," Froslass exclaimed, shyly smiling at Dawn, who eagerly accepted the flowers given to her.
"Why, thank you so much, Froslass! Aren't you always a good girl?" Dawn beamed, embracing Froslass and planting kisses on both of her eyelids. Then, she looked up at Paul to glare at him. "The same can not be said about Paul, unfortunately."
"What are you talking about, Troublesome?"
"Oh, don't you act like you don't know what you've done?" Gesturing to Piplup, who was now nuzzling their Chimchar in an overactive and speedy manner, she continued to scold her husband, "You, of all people, should know not to give poffins to Piplup!"
Glancing at Piplup, who was now kissing poor Chimchar's cheeks, Paul sighed deeply. "I know that I shouldn't have done that, but the twins have been rather fussy this morning…I was too tired of dealing with them to think right…Not only did I have to experience Lucy kicking me for waking her up for school, but Finn kept on running away from me when I tried to give him his backpack. So, when Piplup kept on bothering me for poffins while I was dealing with getting our four children ready for school, I did the only thing I thought was right at the moment…And that was giving him what he wanted so that I had one less problem to deal with."
"Oh my…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be too harsh on you, Paul…You know how it is now that we have a fifth child. This pregnancy has worked me to no end, and you've had to do more for the children since this pregnancy is a high-risk one."
"Think nothing of it, you and the baby are the most important, so if I have to put in all the work when it comes to childrearing until you and the baby both are healthy and fully recovered, then so be it."
At that, Dawn could not help but grin at her husband's words. However, she was not the only one grinning as her Lopunny was grinning as well. Paul's Weavile had awkwardly thrust a basket full of freshly cut berries into Lopunny's hands. The neat cuts were obviously a result of Weavile's precision cutting moves. Lopunny, of course, was obviously pleased by the romantic gesture done by her lifelong mate.
"Lop, lop, punny! Lopunny," squealed Lopunny in bliss, bending down to plant kisses all over Weavile's face.
Weavile could only blush and stammer upon the affection given to him by his lifelong mate.
Dawn chuckled upon the sight; sometimes, she was rather grateful that a few of her Pokémon were lifelong mates with Paul's Pokémon. Naturally, the married couple were committed to each other, and their Pokémon got along well, but it was always a welcomed bonus to have committed couples happening with their Pokémon teams. Not only was her Lopunny and his Weavile a pair of mates, but her Togekiss and his Honchkrow were a pair of mates as well. It never ceased to make Dawn and Paul smile upon seeing the two Pokémon couples together. So far, no offspring have been born yet, but things might change soon considering the fact that Dawn and Paul are expecting their fifth child, and Lopunny has been rather affectionate to the twins more than usual…Recently, Paul caught his Weavile sleeping with Abel and Peter in their respective beds. Sometimes, Weavile would ruffle their hair like he'd seen Paul's father, Brandon, do his sons, and Paul would do the same thing for his children as well. Perhaps there might be a child born from Lopunny and Weavile pretty soon.
"What do you are you hoping for," Paul asked his wife.
"I'm hoping for a baby Buneary," Dawn answered, "I mean, I missed the days when Lopunny was her cute old Buneary self…But, I do love her as she is right now…I still have her clothes from her Buneary days, so I hope they can be worn once more."
"No, I mean for the child we're expecting right now."
Dawn shrugged, "I couldn't care what we have, as long as it's healthy. I hope a baby Buneary comes really soon after our child is born…That way, we don't have to go to any Pokémon professors for a starter Pokémon!"
"Speaking of starter Pokémon, Abel's birthday is coming soon…Can you believe that our firstborn will be ten soon? It felt like only yesterday that he was born…Now, he will have a partner of his own! I wonder which region he wants us to go to for him to choose his starter."
"I know, right?" Dawn giggled, "I don't care which region he chooses to start his adventure, as long as he comes home to us, then I am one proud and happy parent!"
"I could say the same thing."
"Hey, let's enjoy the tea before it starts to get cold!"
With that, Paul sat down to join Dawn in the dining room, accepting the poured cup of tea from his wife. Since Dawn was pregnant, Piplup was unable to sit on her lap for the time being, leaving Piplup to sit on Paul's lap. Even though he and Piplup had their moments of conflict, he still loved Piplup as if he were one of his own Pokémon. As annoying as Piplup could be, Paul wouldn't change it for the world. Sometimes, he was grateful that Dawn had Piplup because he often thought about what it would be like in another lifetime if Pokémon never existed alongside humans…Perhaps Dawn would have an even crazier plushie collection than she already has. Fortunately, she had her Pokémon, so their storage space was dedicated to toys, clothes, and accessories for their children and Pokémon. Life is good because their guest bedroom had no giant Piplup plushie in sight.
The End.