The trees waved kindly overhead with the gentle breeze that was pulling autumn into summer. A few leaves even littered the stone walkway beneath her feet. Sadly, to her dismay, Laura found that none of them were crunchy yet. Clomping through one such pile, she let her gaze wander off the path to the view in front of her. Before her, a little ways up the path, stood the daycare house. Most of it was obscured by thick chesto trees, full of light green leaves turning yellow. The trees added to the beauty of the stone building. It was a one- story ranch house with a nice rustic red roof and great windows to the left of the door. The right wing of the house had smaller windows, higher up near the roof. Laura had been in it enough times to know that this side of the building housed the pokemon. The front was designed for pokemon waiting to be picked up while the back held those pregnant. Further back was the space allotted for when trainers sent certain pokemon to mate during the winter. It was hidden from all outside view and none were allowed entrance into it. But Laura didn’t mind. She much rather preferred the back room on the left side of the house that held those pokemon who had hatched early and their mothers. Some trainers also left behind hatched eggs and the orphans were looked after by the daycare couple until they were old enough to be sent off to professors or adopted. Laura loved that room the best. As she drew up to the house, Laura ran her hand over the large and oddly shaped gray stones of the building. They were still warm from the afternoon’s sunlight and smooth as ever to the touch from years of weathering. Yes, Laura was looking forward to her time here. She passed over the stones and stood before one of the waist-high windows to the left of the main door. She glanced over her reflection before her eyes readjusted to look past it into the room beyond. Her shoulder-length straight brown hair was tied up in a ponytail at the back of her head. A few wisps had escaped with the help of the wind’s playful tug and hung around her forehead like mini-bangs. Her green eyes looked pointedly back at her from behind thin rimmed glasses, but she ignored them. She should check her appearance before going in for her first day “on the job.” Her casual short-sleeved gray blouse suggested business, but hinted at the rambunctious job she was signed up for. No need to go too fancy only to have her shirt burned, puked on, soaked, or singed. Her blue jeans matched the style and she felt comfortable. A familiar gray-haired woman appeared on the other side of the glass and Laura rapped on the pane above her head. The woman turned around from adjusting pamphlets on the reception desk and smiled at Laura. She beckoned for her to come in before disappearing into the shadows of the room once more. Laura grinned and backtracked to the door, careful now to not stomp through the lovely rawst bushes that were full of the ripe berry. Coming up to the dark wood-paneled door, she pushed it open with a bit of force and stepped inside to the welcoming room. The door to her right, the room was open and inviting. Sturdy blue carpeting covered the floor where comfy waiting couches, chairs, and coffee tables sat about. The reception desk stood at the back wall where a door led to another room behind it. A few lamps were lit on the tables and desk in the dying sunlight to make the room even more cozy and comfortable. ”The daycare center was all about welcoming,” Laura recited Mr. Hanshu’s main philosophy and smiled to herself. Mr. Hanshu ran the daycare center with the help of his wife, Mrs. Hanshu, and volunteers like Laura. Lately, things had become a bit more rushed as more and more trainers began dropping off their pokemon. Some for breeding, others because they had gotten pregnant on the road and didn’t want them travelling with them. The Trainer Laws didn’t allow a pregnant pokemon to be carried by a trainer at any time, anyways, but this was such a huge influx and called for extra hands. Thus had Laura been hired. “Oh, Laura-dear! Thank you so much for coming to help out tonight! I know you weren’t scheduled until tomorrow, but something came up and we could greatly use your help!” Mrs. Hanshu came rushing around the corner in front of Laura, her arms full of white towels. It was almost impossible to see the short gray-haired co-owner behind the huge stack. All that was visible was her straight lilac past-the-knees skirt and flat white dress shoes. If Laura hadn’t been there as long as she had, she might not have known who the woman was at all. “Of course, Mrs. Hanshu, I don’t mind at all.” Laura smiled kindly back and moved forward to take the towels from the over-burdened woman. Mrs. Hanshu shook her head, “No, dear, these aren’t for you. Mr. Hanshu needs a little help in the back,” she tilted her head to the hallway behind her. “Some new rowdy growlithe pups are on the prowl. Who would have thought that Richie’s Arcanine’s pups would all hatch at the same time?” she wondered aloud to herself. Laura just grinned and maneuvered around the laden Mrs. Hanshu. “I have no idea,” she supplied, but already her mind was excited at the prospect of playing with all the new tiny little puppies. Baby pokemon animals were always the cutest. Especially puppies and rodents. As Laura made her way around the dim corner into the brightly lit hallway beyond, she heard Mrs. Hanshu call after her. “Watch for the wartortle vomit on the floor! Poor dear got out of her room and lost her lunch when the bright lights gave her a migraine….” Laura paused for a moment to wonder why a pokemon would puke under bright lights. As far as she had been told and seen, pokemon had it relatively easy when pregnant; no morning sickness or swollen ankles like human mothers. In her mind’s eye, she tried to conjure an image of a pregnant pokemon, but all she could picture was an egg. Bunches of eggs of different colors, textures, and patterns, but no pregnant pokemon. She shook her head as she continued down the hall, stepping over the near water-like vomit neatly. She almost missed it because it blended in with the blue-tinted tiles that ran the length of the hallway. She began reciting the process for a baby to hatch. It must be held by the trainer and guarded carefully – pokemon eggs were very fragile. The trainer had to travel with the egg on them for a certain amount of days. Each pokemon varied in the length of time it took for it to hatch: Pachirisu, 106 days; Poochyena, 160 days; Cyndaquil, 213 days. Once hatched, the pokemon was, albeit young, but ready to battle other pokemon. Even its size didn’t change much between the hatching period and level growth. Only evolution did that. The recollection of this information calmed her confusion just in time for her to reach the thick wooden door that led to the nursery room, or as Laura dubbed it, the Play Room. Through the narrow crisscrossed glass insertion, Laura could make out a handful of pokemon babies playing with their moms as well as Mr. Hanshu’s bent frame. His back was to her, so she decided to let herself in. Out of habit, she stood on tiptoe and looked at an odd angle down at the bottom of the door inside. No babies blocked her view of the plush maroon carpeting, so she quickly opened it and slipped inside. Once inside, she closed the door until it clicked and turned around to be bombarded by a rattata baby and a totodile baby. Together, the two clamped onto her legs with their mouths. Laura smiled at the duo’s Bite attacks and swooped down to lift them up. Neither had injured her because their Bite attack was just a play version, one that wouldn’t hurt another baby pokemon or their mothers. Mothers, after all, were very fierce when it came to retaliation and would strike back with more force than their babies could handle. Usually this quickly discouraged any more violent attacks. Usually. As Laura touched noses with the quivering rattata’s, she watched out of the corner of her eye as a growlithe came around from behind Mr. Hanshu and made a beeline for a little plastic slide. The slide stood in the near middle of the room, off to her left a bit. “Now see here!” Mr. Hanshu called to the pup as it barreled past a happiny. The little pink tyke was shoved face first into its block pile and began to cry. The rambunctious growlithe continued on without noticing. Ahead of it on the slide stood a little charmander that was about to go down at the top. Immediately Laura saw the problem. She shuffled the rattata over into the arm that held the totodile and with two giant steps got into the path of the pup and scooped it up with her free arm. The pup yelped in surprise and wiggled around, but Laura had had enough practice managing wiggling babies to keep it firmly locked in her hold. After a moment, the growlithe’s surprise died down and it turned to her with its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. It yipped at her and proceeded to lick her face as its tail wagged. Laura laughed. “You’re tickling my chin, pup!” “Oh, Laura! Glad you could make it,” Mr. Hanshu appeared before her and took the pup from her arm gratefully. “Of course, Mr. Hanshu. Wouldn’t want to miss out on being of some real use for the first time.” She followed him over to the plastic fence that had been hidden behind him when she first looked in. It stood at waist high and was made of varying colors that showed signs of chewing and sported a few burn marks. Mr. Hanshu leaned over it and placed the pup with four more of its kind before straightening up. “Nonsense. You’re always of real use when you visit. Unlike some of those other young ones.” He looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed, but his brown eyes twinkled in that joking fashion. “Like that Joey boy who just plays with the rattata all the time,” he pointed at the rodent in her arms in mock scolding. “I have half a mind to just give him one to get him out of here.” He took the furry purple rat from her arms and maneuvered around her to place it gently beside its sleeping mother in a pillow bed. Laura shook her head, suppressing the smile that rose to her lips. Joey usually spent most of his time playing with the rattatas, but he always had a head for making the pokemon obey him and picking out the best of the best. Although sometimes his chatter got a bit annoying. “So what would you have me do for you, Mr. Hanshu?” Laura asked as she took the totodile over to a mini pool guarded by another plastic fence. She set it down in the water and it promptly began to splash around. Mr. Hanshu ran a hand through his thick salt and pepper hair. Without the bustle of pokemon to distract her, Laura noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the way his usually straight stance was a little slouched and worn. In a word, he looked exhausted. For once, he seemed to show the 48 years of his age in his khaki slacks and white long-sleeved collared shirt with a gold and brown checkered sweater vest over top. “You look tired, Mr. Hanshu.” Mr. Hanshu straightened a bit at the comment and moved his hand to straighten his hair instead. He paused halfway. “Well, yes, I suppose I do. It’s been quite the harrowing day. I’m sure Beth informed you on the early hatching of the growlithe pups,” he gestured to the pen where two pups wrestled and another two were leaning against the fence on their hind legs, trying to knock it down. “Yes, of course,” Laura nodded, heading over to shoo them away from it. Mr. Hanshu joined her, ball in hand. “Add on to that the sudden Confusion of a few pokemon mothers-to-be by a birthing golbat and chaos breaks loose.” Mr. Hanshu threw the ball as soon as Laura had ushered them off the fence. The two quickly scampered over themselves to fetch the ball that had settled near a shelf at the back of their pen. “A golbat loosed a Supersonic attack at you?” Laura asked in surprise, turning to watch Mr. Hanshu while keeping an eye on the pups fighting over the ball now. “Well,” he grew evasive, not catching her eyes, “not exactly.” Laura stared at him quizzically. He ignored it and went over to the happiny that was still sniffling in the middle of the room. Gently he picked it up and tossed it in the air a few times. Happiny giggled in delight as she was lowered to the ground after the last toss. “George-dear, the wartortle vomit still needs to be cleaned up,” Mrs. Hanshu’s voice drifted in from outside the door. It stopped short any questions Laura had left to ask. “Ah yes. I was hoping to avoid that, I believe, by playing with those rascals,” he pointedly looked at the play pen Laura still stood in front of. “But after having my hands full of them all day, I think I’d rather take the vomit.” Laura felt a tug at the bottom of her pants’ leg toward the fence. Mr. Hanshu reached the door and briefly turned around before opening it. “Just keep an eye on everyone here. Since the mother was taken as soon as the pups were birthed, we just need someone to keep an extra eye on them while we sort out the rest of the house.” Laura nodded in understanding and watched as Mr. Hanshu performed a bottom sweep identical to hers before slipping out the door and closing it behind him. Another tug came stronger on her pants’ leg and she lost all thoughts as she squatted down to remove the puppy’s teeth from her jeans. For the next two hours she was kept busy by the pups as they attempted numerous break outs and some of their wrestling matches got a bit out of hand. A few Flamethrowers and Bite attacks later and she was ready to call it quits. These pups were more than a handful. They were an aerodactyl mouthful, seeing as how only the bite from an aerodactyl would probably keep them in line. Luckily, at that moment, the baby happiny began humming out loud and though the Sing attack was muffled, managed to put most everyone in the room to sleep. With a sigh, Laura straightened up from leaning over the fence and stretched her arms above her head. She shook out her arms and head to keep herself from falling under the attack’s power. Spinning around, she tiptoed over to the happiny calmly putting blocks in a row and scooped it up in her arms. The happiny squealed in happiness and surprise. “Sshhhhhhh,” Laura shushed it as she brushed her forehead against its. “No need to go undoing all the work you just did. How about we just rock for awhile, hmm?” Laura talked in a low soothing voice to the bundle in her arms as she made her way over to the straight-backed green rocking chair nestled near a window and settled into it. The happiny cooed its name as Laura began the rocking motions that would hopefully put it to sleep as well. As she did, she looked up at the clock and noticed the time reach 7:30 PM. She sighed as happiny’s eyelids fluttered up and down in a sleepy manner. Maybe today was finally over. Most babies when put down for the night were out until 5 AM the next morning. Or at least, that’s what Mr. Hanshu always complained about every time she arrived early to help with the morning feedings. She smiled and leaned back in the chair as the rocking sensation drew her into a state of peace. If this was what working here was like, she thought she could get used to it. Before she was only allowed to stay until 5 PM, then the daycare center would close up for the night so that the babies could settle down and the owners could do the last runs around the house to get things ready for the next day. There had only been one time she had stayed past 5, and that was when a girl called to say she was running late and would be there in 15 minutes. Laura, being the oldest and most experienced helper, had persuaded the Hanshus to let her stick around and wait with the baby in the welcoming room while they went about doing their night rounds. Worked like a charm. She got some free time to spend with the baby azuril and the trainer was excited to be able to pick up her pokemon at such short notice. Laura wished that maybe one day, she’d be a great trainer like that girl. But for the moment, playing with baby pokemon was more fun and exciting. And it was safer than travelling out on the road these days. The door sliding across the plush carpeting grabbed her attention and woke her out of her musings. Mrs. Hanshu stood at the door smiling softly, her short hair sticking out at all sorts of angles. She motioned for Laura to come out as she shut the door again. Careful to not wake the sleeping happiny, Laura climbed out of the chair and strode across the room to the pens behind the slide. She lowered the baby into the mass of other pink babies – cleffas, igglybuffs, and one more happiny – and stood up to survey the rest of the room. Next to the pink normal types was the pen holding the fire types, all soundly asleep in various corners of their pen. Around some shelves lined with toys were nestled some mothers and their babes in pillow beds. Beyond them was the sleeping pen full of the growlithes which took up the whole back wall. Another set of shelves and mothers with babies was lined up across from the other moms. Directly across from her and in the corner was the mini pool holding the sleeping water types. A lonely mudkip floated in it now, its flippers going up in down as it breathed. The rest slept in towels lining the floor between the pool and the fence and walls. All were asleep. With this last sweep, Laura glided to the door and moved out into the hallway where Mrs. Hanshu was waiting. As the door clicked behind her, Laura took in Mrs. Hanshu’s appearance with a start. Her usually straight white blouse was all wrinkled and ruffled; pulled up in the oddest places. Her brown eyes still held the same softness, but a tired edge rimmed them the same as they had Mr. Hanshu’s. “Sorry to disturb you, dear, but we have a little situation on our hands and could use the help.” As she said this, she eyed Laura carefully to see if she was willing to aid. Laura nodded vigorously, once again refreshed after seeing all those cute sleeping pokemon. “Of course, Mrs. Hanshu.” Mrs. Hanshu’s eyes lost their tired look as a smile lit up her face. “Wonderful, dear. This will require a bit of handling on your part, but I’ve got all the towels, water, and eggs set up for easy use.” Laura stared blankly at the back of Mrs. Hanshu’s head as she led her back up the hall to a door Laura had passed by all the time and thought was the supply closet. “What eggs, Mrs. Hanshu?” Mrs. Hanshu paused with her hand on the handle and simply stared at Laura. Laura felt like she was being sized up and she wasn’t quite sure why. What was still bugging her was the way Mrs. Hanshu had said eggs. As if the pokemon weren’t in them, but were some Easter decoration that needed filling. She crossed her arms over her chest in confusion. As if satisfied with that response, Mrs. Hanshu opened the door and ushered Laura quickly inside as sharp piercing mewls permeated the once silent hallway. “What is--?” Laura questioned loudly as her eyes adjusted to the even brighter lights inside the room. Behind her she made out the sound of the door closing firmly shut. Inside, Laura felt panic begin to well. This was all some sort of trap and Mr. and Mrs. Hanshu were working for the crime organization called Team Rocket and they wanted her to join and if she didn’t they’d— Another sharp mewl split the air and stopped all thoughts after that. Laura stared dumbly as a Persian lay in pain on top of a large table that was covered in towels. Its face was contorted in pain while Mr. Hanshu worked near the back end of the table. Near all the bloody towels. Oh my Mew, look at all the blood. Laura suddenly felt like the bright lights were growing very dim and the world was disappearing. “Beth! Beth! I need more—“George spun around, his hands still hidden behind him. His face froze for a moment in surprise as he caught sight of Laura, his eyebrows shooting up into his haphazard hair. “What did you bring her in here for? She’s too young for this kind of thing!” Beth nudged Laura forward gently before moving around her to a side shelf where a pile of clean towels and a couple pots of steaming water stood. “We don’t have time to argue the fine points, George. Laura is 16 years old and that’s old enough to learn the truth,” she spoke in a no-nonsense voice as she dipped a towel into a pot and wrung it out a bit. George looked at his wife for a split second before turning back around to whatever he was doing. “Here, dear, you’ll need this to clean up.” The sensation of the warm towel being shoved in her arms snapped her back to her senses. The persian growled in pain. Laura suddenly pushed past Beth and ran at George. “What do you think you’re doing?! This pokemon’s in pain and you’re just….” Laura lost her voice as she shoved George out of the way to find a small tail sticking out of the lower end of the persian. A small bloody tail that looked almost identical to a meowth’s. And the way it was coming out with a bloody butt behind it…. George quickly regained control though, shoving her calmly out of the way and getting back to work. Now Laura could see that George was helping the persian by maneuvering the butt of the baby meowth around in the persian’s lower section. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to a reality that seemed too bizarre. “Laura-dear, George is helping persian give birth to her litter,” Beth’s calm voice entered her ears over the sound of hissing from the persian. “We’re here to help clean the born babies and set them in their eggs.” A hand waved at a large ceiling to floor bookcase that took up the entire back wall. Lined on it was egg upon egg of varying colors. In her grasping mind, Laura bet that if she walked up to each one, each would have its own texture, too. “I’m so confused,” Laura whispered, clutching the towel to her chest. “It’s all right, dear,” Beth said as she moved forward to take a small mewling bundle the size of large watmel berry off the end of the table behind the persian. With her own towel, she lovingly began wiping it down. As she did so, she moved back over to Laura. “She’s way too young, I say,” George grunted as he struggled with something. Beth just tsk’ed him and spoke to Laura instead. “See how I’m starting at the head and moving down? You always want to clean the head first so it allows airflow through the nose and mouth. It also gets rid of any blood that may seep in to the baby’s eyes before they are fully developed.” Laura watched in mute astonishment as the bloody bundle soon came to resemble a small thriving cream colored pokemon. “It’s a meowth,” Laura breathed out in awe. She reached forward tentatively to touch it, but stopped and looked up at Beth instead. Beth shook her head. “No, Laura-dear, you can’t touch them just yet. Always use the towels to handle them.” With that, Beth wrapped the too small meowth up in the towel and moved over to the table with the rest of the towels. She motioned for Laura to follow and she did automatically. “Once you’ve cleaned it, you’ve got to set it gently in a dry towel and rub it off. The dirty towels go in this basket over here,” she pointed with her foot at a metal bin full to almost the top with more bloody towels. She tsk’ed at it, too. “George, you should have emptied this after the golbat birth. There’s just too many in it,” Beth dropped her towel in there anyway and began massaging the little meowth with a dry towel. A huff came from George’s direction with another growl from persian. “It’s been hectic today! You know that! If that golbat hadn’t used its Supersonic attack in the middle of birthing, things would have gone a lot smoother. You know that.” “Now, dear,” Beth spoke to Laura again as she scooped up the towel and meowth, “you take the little one over here,” Laura wordlessly followed her over to the back shelf, “and hold it up to the scanner.” Beth held the meowth up to a black panel on the wall that flashed with a red light. A silhouette of a meowth appeared on it briefly before disappearing. “The machine will pick out the right egg for it and drop it here,” she indicated a chute that emptied onto a cushioned platform. “Once it lands, it should open and you just set the baby meowth inside. Then tap the top gently closed and it’ll seal itself until the pokemon is ready to ‘hatch.’” Laura watched as a cream colored egg slid out of the chute and popped open upon landing. Beth lowered the baby inside and removed the towel. Then she tapped the top of the egg that looked too large for the kitten and it shut itself with a flash. She then cradled it to herself as she lifted it and moved to an incubation tank next to the table with the supplies. “Then you just set it down in here and move on to the next one.” “Beth! Got another live one!” George shouted in triumph. Beth nodded and Laura watched her face scrunch up. She knew that face. That was Beth’s calculation face. “That leaves two on the table, one in the tank, and—“ “We’ve got one more coming! This one looks just like its brothers; coming out butt first. Gonna be difficult.” The persian mewled sharply as if on cue and began thrashing around a bit. “I’m gonna need you to calm her!” “Right,” Beth nodded. She turned her gaze on Laura and looked at her sharply. “Do you think you could handle the last two, Laura? I’ve seen you work and know you can do this.” Laura stared at the woman in confusion. Of course she could work. But the whole idea and concept was throwing her for a loop. Pokemon weren’t meant to be born like this. Nor were they supposed to be so small. It was almost too…. “Beth!” “Laura-dear, we need you.” Laura looked into Beth’s eyes and nodded. “I can do it,” she gulped, straightening her shoulders. Just don’t focus on all the blood, she thought. Beth smiled. “Just get a fresh warm towel, yours is probably cold now.” With that, she made her way to the persian’s head. She began to pet it and whisper into its ear. Laura picked up where Beth had left off. She marched herself over to the table and set aside her towel, picking up a dry one and dunking it in the hot water. Pulling it out, she turned around to go to the birthing table when she belatedly remembered to wring it out. The water splashed all over her front and her shoes. She had just wrung it out while walking toward the blood. Not blood. Birthing…stuff. Just birthing stuff. “Laura, I need you to remove those meowth kittens before the persian starts kicking.” George’s command settled her nerves a bit. More important than her confusion was the safety of the pokemon babies. “Yes, sir,” she said as she moved around his and the persian’s back to scoop up a small wriggling bloody bundle. As she followed the steps Beth had just shown her, her mind shut down to just focus on what needed her immediate attention. Right now, that was the babies and remembering all the steps Beth had shown her for cleaning the kittens. Over and over she walked the blue-tinted tiles that gleamed in the bright light and recited in her mind’s eye what she was to do as she cradled the squirming bundles back and forth across the room. An hour later and Laura was staring down at the eggs bunched together in the incubator in awe. “Come along, dear. You don’t feel it, but you’re probably just as exhausted as we are.” That same pair of strong hands directed her back outside the room and into the dimmer lit hallway. Once outside, Beth blinked and took in a few deep breaths to calm her suddenly jangling nerves. “That’s the adrenalin wearing off. It’s been a long day and an even longer night,” George said in finality before closing the door behind him. “You’ll be fine after a quick sip of tea and a rest,” Beth supplied as she moved around Laura toward the front of the building. Beth’s advice had Laura nodding her head as she followed the co-owner down the hall. Out of the corner of her eye, Laura glimpsed George retreating to a door diagonally across the hallway with a poke ball in hand. Still a bit addled, Laura followed as Beth rounded a corner into the mini kitchen that sat on the other side of the wall behind the reception desk. Once inside the room, Laura set herself upon a high chair that perched near a high table as Beth moved about the room and gathered the ingredients for tea. George soon joined his wife and the room was full of shuffling feet. Even with the methodical tasks, all was weirdly quiet after all that noise in the, she guessed she could call it the delivery room. A mug of hot tea made its appearance before her and she gladly wrapped her hands around it, taking in the strong calming sent of belue berries. George and Beth sat across from her at the table. Blowing softly on her tea, she watched the two of them as they watched her. “All right, Laura, enough of the silence.” “George-dear,” Beth chided mildly. George ignored the glance his wife sent him, but his tone softened. “Why don’t you ask some of the questions we know you have.” Laura took a small sip of her tea and quietly gazed at them a moment longer. Then, the thoughts piling up in her mind could wait no longer. “Pokemon give birth just like humans?” “Yes and no.” Laura raised her eyebrow at George. Now was not the time for cryptic answers. “What George means, dear, is that pokemon that are mammals, like humans, give birth like humans. Others, like birds, reptiles, and dragons, actually do give birth to eggs.” “And fish,” George added. Laura set her mug in her lap, hands still around it, to give her courage. “What are those eggs like? And why do you put the mammals in eggs, too?” Beth smiled, patting George’s arm. “I’ve got this one, dear.” George just blew away the steam coming off his mug. “All pokemon eggs are the same on the outside. In fact, the eggs that are created to hold mammal-like pokemon were designed off of the other eggs. Those eggs are laid by the pokemon, and believe me, it’s a lot more painful at times than live births.” Laura opened her mouth to ask about the mammals being placed in the eggs, but Beth just waved her off. “Mammalian pokemon, mammal-like pokemon, are placed in eggs for many reasons. One is to keep pokemon seeming all alike. Another is to let the pokemon bond with the trainer, just as non-mammalian pokemon eggs do before those pokemon hatch. Baby pokemon, even in the egg, need a strong bond with trainers to be able to hatch. This is the main reason that pokemon are in eggs: the mothers don’t care for the young. Once born, mothers will not deal with their young until they are of proper size and ability. It’s their way of having the fittest survive. By placing the babies in eggs, we ensure that they have a chance, no matter what.” Laura furrowed her brow, spinning her cup around in her lap a bit. “You mentioned that eggs have to be bonded to hatch. But what about those growlithes in the Play Room? And the happiny and charmander?” George’s eyes twinkled again, “Play Room, eh?” Laura blushed. “Not a bad name for it, actually. Never did like nursery when all those little pokemon are full grown by the time they’re left in there.” Beth nodded her head in agreement as she took a sip of her own tea. “Well, with those little babes, one too many hands came in contact with the eggs for most of them. Others were just survivors and hatched on their own. In the case of the growlithes, the whole riled up lot of them were survivors. Should have expected that from Richie’s Arcanine, though.” George took a few sips of his tea. Laura took another sip from hers and watched the steam float off it. “So pokemon, these mammalians to be exact, give birth to baby pokemon the same way that humans give birth to babies.” Beth nodded. George set his empty mug down and folded his hands across his chest. “So, do they get morning sickness and nausea?” This time, both just watched as Laura answered her own question. “Of course. This was why there was wartortle vomit in the hallway. A loose wartortle mom-to-be got confused by the Supersonic and found her way into the bright lit hallway. Most human moms are sensitive to light and sound near the end of the term and are easily moved to puking.” “Throwing up, we say, dear.” Laura nodded her head in deference. “And since pokemon are still pokemon, when they ‘hatch,’ they put off the same light as evolutions because hatching is, in a sense, an evolution for them.” “Mhmm. Seems you’ve got this all figured out on your own now. Think you could manage to make it home or would you like to spend the night in the welcoming room?” George asked. Laura set her mug on the table and shook her head. “No, thank you. You’ve been kind enough to me tonight. I think I’ll head home.” She stood up and bowed slightly. “Thank you.” George just chuckled as Beth stood up with her and escorted her to the door. “No need to be so formal, dear. After all that’s happened tonight, I’d think we were past that.” Laura smiled shyly. “I suppose.” Once they reached the door, Beth’s next question caused Laura to pause in mid-stride out the door: “You will be with us tomorrow at 9 AM, right?” Laura looked at Beth for a moment and took it all in. The tired lines etched under her eyes; the small smile on her lips; the worried look in her eyes; a smudge of blood on her usually perfectly groomed white blouse; and a tear in the shirt sleeve where persian had snapped out in pain. Laura was sure she looked no better. A cool breeze brought in the night air. Autumn was fast approaching tonight. Even the leaves seemed to crackle in anticipation amid the trees. Laura stepped out into it and didn’t look back. “Yes, yes I think I will be,” she firmly stated over her shoulder as she let the dark night embrace her. – The end – ((Calculations done by taking the base step for hatching and, assuming they’re hours, dividing by 24 hours to get the days.))