Chapter Text
"And so, Lucas, with his mighty empoleon partner by his side, stopped the evil Team Galactic from creating their new world!"
Sitting on the grass of the breeding centre's yard, Piplup stared up at his breeder - a man clad in a green apron and matching green bandana - in absolute awe. Wow, Albert told the best stories!
"And just think!" Albert said, standing up straight with a beaming smile. "Lucas' empoleon was born here! At this very breeding centre!"
Many of the piplup that were listening to the tale voiced their surprise and intrigue, including Piplup himself.
Albert continued. "One day, once all of you have your own trainers, perhaps you, too, can become a mighty empoleon!"
"Yeaaaah!" one piplup yelled excitedly. "I wanna be super big and strong like he was!"
"I wanna save the world!" a second piplup said eagerly.
"Yeah, and be a hero!" a third piplup agreed.
"I wanna train and train, and be the very best at battling!" a fourth piplup declared.
"I'm almost old enough to be a starter, too!" a fifth piplup said happily. "Yay!"
"Dang, I wish I was..." a sixth piplup grumbled.
A lot of the piplup looked very interested in the idea, though there were some that were only mildly curious, and others who didn't seem to care.
Piplup couldn't say he had much interest in the training and battling part of having a trainer, but the adventure? Nothing sounded more exciting! Seeing new places and pokémon, and no longer being cooped up inside this breeding centre with nothing but other piplup!
He couldn't wait!
... It was a pity he was also too young to be a starter yet. Darn...
A while later, Piplup was lying back on the grass, limbs spread out as he stared up at the clouds. Just when was lunch, anyway? He was getting bored and hungry. Growing impatient, he began to sway his feet back and forth, in a feeble attempt to distract himself.
Turning his head, and feeling the grass tickle his feathery cheek, he glanced over at the other piplup in the yard. They were all either napping, chatting or playing in their usual groups. Excluding him, as usual.
Feh, whatever. He didn't need 'em!
Turning his head back towards the sky, he observed the clouds. They drifted slowly on the breeze, heading who knew where. One kind of looked like a lightning bolt, and another looked like a ribbon.
He continued to watch the sky, steadily growing more impatient, until a flock of passing starly caught his eye. His thoughts halted, his eyes following their path. The way they glided effortlessly below the clouds, flapping their wings every few seconds to stay airborne. It was magical. Mesmerising...
It reminded Piplup of his favourite stories revolving around Lucas' mighty staraptor. Albert would often talk about how Lucas would soar across the skies, riding on the back of his trusty bird, whose massive wing beats could be felt in the air around him. They would travel all around the region, across seas and over mountains, going anywhere and everywhere they wanted.
His felt his heartbeat increase in excitement. That's right! Flying! It was the ultimate form of freedom!
Sitting up, he looked at his wings. Every other piplup in the breeding centre called them flippers, but no. They were his wings! His ticket to freedom! To adventure!
If he could fly, he wouldn't even need a trainer! He could travel anywhere by himself! There'd be no need for any of that training and battling stuff!
With determination filling his veins, he stood up. The other piplup had said it was impossible, but that couldn't be true! He had to believe!
Looking upwards, and concentrating on the sky, he started flapping his wings.
"Oh, look!" one of the piplup said mockingly. "Flappy's at it again!"
"Flap harder, Flappy!" another said, before laughing.
Piplup ignored their taunts, and their stupid nickname. Their words didn't matter. All that mattered was achieving his goal. He flapped harder, focusing intently on the clouds.
He was just like a starly! Just like Lucas' mighty staraptor of legend! It didn't matter that it hadn't worked the first few times he'd tried it. This time, surely, it would finally work!
He flapped harder and harder, willing his feet to leave the floor. Was he rising any higher? Was he making any progress?!
He felt his body tumble, and he landed on his front with a thump. He lay there, disgruntled and defeated. Darn it...
The other piplup in the yard howled in laughter, pointing their flippers at 'Flappy the weirdo'. Hmph. Just because they had no dreams of flying...
Pushing himself back into a sitting position, he glanced longingly at the sky. His gaze drifted, looking around the surrounding area, until he saw the roof of the breeding centre. His eyes widened. Of course! If he couldn't achieve lift off from the ground, then maybe it would work from the air! It was definitely worth a shot.
He took off running, ignoring all the other piplup, who were too busy laughing to pay attention anyway. Whatever. They weren't what mattered!
Rushing around to the side of the building, he skidded to a stop, analysing the brickwork for any way to get up.
... Actually, now that he was here, how would he even climb it? He hadn't thought that far ahead...
Not seeing anything that would help him, he made his way around to the front.
"Ah, hello!" Albert's voice said, startling him. He frantically looked to and fro, but oddly didn't see the breeder anywhere. "Good to hear from you, Mrs. Daykin! How are the two roserade doing?"
Confused, Piplup looked up, only to see a partially open window. Was that where Albert's voice was coming from?
Albert continued. "Ah, is that so? Well, congrats to the happy parents!" There was a pause. "... Ah, yes! Well, the reason they had an egg so easily is the fact that they're both roserade! Two pokémon of the same species are very compatible!"
Shaking his head, Piplup looked around for something to climb.
"Yes! That's because some species are similar enough to still be compatible! The luxio and weavile you mentioned have close enough DNA to be able to breed, though it won't be quite as easy with them as it was with the roserade!"
Piplup's gaze stopped on the nearby ladder, and his smile widened. Aha! Perfect! Albert had been working on fixing the roof lately, so of course there was a way to get up! Dashing over to it, he held onto the metal with his wings and carefully worked his way up towards the roof. One foot, two feet...
"Mm-hmm. Yes, all pokémon can breed with each other! Though, for some, it'll be much harder. Let's say... one of the roserade tried for an egg with the luxio. It wouldn't be easy, as their species aren't very compatible at all... but, with enough patience and dedication, a miracle can happen!"
Piplup felt the ladder wobble a bit. Whoaaa, maybe he should have kept it steady with something! Though he couldn't stop now! His dream was so close! Holding it as still as possible, he kept climbing.
"Yes, I've seen it myself! Once, I had a prinplup who took quite an interest in a kricketune!" Albert laughed. "She refused to help out the breeding centre anymore after that." There was a pause. "... Well, love eventually prevailed and a beautiful baby kricketot was born! So I let her leave, to live with her family in the wild."
Just a few more steps! Then Piplup was home-free! One, two, three... He hopped up the remaining distance, and felt roof tiles under his feet. He'd made it!
His grin was wide as he hurried up the sloped roof. He almost slipped a couple of times, but that wasn't going to slow him down!
As he finally reached the peak of the roof, he stopped in his tracks, gazing around him in awe. Wow! He'd never been so high up before! Looking down, he could see all the other piplup below, looking much smaller than usual.
Gosh... up here, he already felt like he was flying! But no. He wouldn't truly fly until his feet left the ground!
Taking in a deep breath and concentrating hard on the clouds, he started flapping his wings.
"Hey, is that Flappy?!" one piplup called out.
Many shocked voices rang out in response, but Piplup ignored them. They weren't what was important. Instead, he focused all of his energy on achieving his dream!
"What's he doing?!" another piplup shrieked.
Alright. He was flapping pretty hard now, so he was bound to take off! Now, all he had to do was leave the ground and freedom would be his!
Angling himself, he took off running along the highest part of the roof, continually flapping his wings. Finally, it was time to fly!
Once he reached the edge of the roof, he leapt off it, flapping extra hard. Yes! He was finally airborne!
... Wait, why was everything flying upwards?
With a painful thunk, he hit the ground.
"Flappy!" a piplup cried in distress. "Flappy!"
He lay there, his face buried in the grass, dazed and in complete disbelief.
"Oh no..." another piplup muttered.
He'd failed...
"Albert! Albeeeert!" a third piplup screamed.
He really couldn't fly...
... And now everything hurt. Owwww...
Sitting on the kitchen table, Piplup winced as yet another bandage was placed on him, covering one of the many wounds he'd sustained.
"I can't believe you jumped off the roof!" Albert said in disbelief as he pulled another bandage from the packet. "Just what were you thinking, young man?!"
"Sorry..." Piplup muttered.
He knew Albert couldn't truly understand him, but humans did tend to pick up on a pokémon's tone and body language.
"And look, you really hurt yourself! Please be careful from now on. I know you have a bit of a thing for wanting to fly - and that's really cute, most times! - but you've taken it too far this time. I'm going to have to tell you that piplup can't fly."
Piplup grumbled to himself. Perhaps he'd known that all along, but refused to acknowledge it. But he'd wanted to believe, darn it!
Albert applied the bandage to another sore spot. "There we go." He stood up straight, smiling brightly. "Now you can go back outside. Lunch will be ready soon. And no more jumping off roofs, okay?"
"Okay..."
Pichu wrapped the large leaf around the three berries he'd gathered. Tying it up with a smile, he hefted the heavy leaf onto his back.
Okay! Time to head back!
Navigating around the trees and bushes, he made his way back home. All the while, the heavy leaf weighed him down, but he didn't let that stop him!
Past the spiky bush, around the tree with dark brown bark, hop over the river... He stumbled a little as he landed, but he was able to correct it quickly enough and keep moving. He had a job to do, after all!
When he saw the patch of daises, he knew he'd made it home. As always, the walk had been tiring, but it would all be worth it! Pushing through the soft bush, he smiled as he saw a familiar face.
"Mama?" he asked quietly, just in case she wasn't awake yet. She often slept past noon, after all. "I'm back."
Raichu - who was lying on the softest leaves Pichu had been able to find, with a much larger leaf covering her for warmth - turned slightly to smile weakly at her son. There was very little light in her eyes.
"Hey, sweetpea," she replied.
Pichu's smile dropped in worry. "Oh no!" He hurried over, carrying the heavy leaf on his back. "Was your sleep bad?"
Her weak smile slipped. She glanced away sadly. "A little..."
Once he was close enough, he dropped the leaf onto the grass, his gaze not shifting from his mother. "Did you dream of Dad again?"
"Yes... I-" Raichu suddenly fell into a coughing fit.
His worry increasing, he ran over to his mother's side. "Mama!"
"I'm..." she wheezed, "I'm okay..." There was a stretch of silence, as he waited for her to recover. "... I... just wish he was here right now..."
Pichu could only look at her in sadness, his heart heavy. His mother had really loved his father, but the gliscor hadn't expected a child. Hadn't wanted a child. So he'd flown away, leaving her all alone.
Pichu had never even met his father. He wasn't even sure what a gliscor was, but that was what his mother had always called him.
Raichu turned back to look Pichu in the eyes. "Oh, don't look so sad, sweetpea." She weakly raised a paw to stroke his cheek. "It's alright."
He found it hard to be happy, seeing her so sad. "But Mama..."
"Come on. A sad face doesn't suit you." She attempted another weak smile. "Can you smile for me?"
He blinked at her, recognising the phrase she liked to use a lot. She always said that smiles were contagious, as well as happy moods.
He understood the mission.
Fighting back the ache in his chest, he put on the biggest, brightest smile he could. "Okay, Mama!"
In only a few seconds, her smile widened and the light returned to her eyes. "That's my boy. Your lovely smile always brightens my day." She gave him another stroke on the cheek. "Never stop smiling."
"I won't, Mama!"
Raichu strained herself to look behind him. "You brought the sitrus berries?"
"Yep! You want one?"
"Yes, please."
Dashing back over to the leaf, Pichu began untying the knot he'd made. "I even got you one of those ag... agoo... uhhhh, ag-goo-av? ... aguav berries you like!"
"Thanks, honey. You're a peach. Did you get yourself something?"
Untying the knot, Pichu let the leaf fall open on the grass. "I ate while I was out!" Grabbing a sitrus berry, he brought it over to his mother and held it out for her. "Here you go! Eat it, and grow big and strong!"
Raichu managed a weak laugh. "I'm the one who's supposed to say that." With both paws, she gently took the berry from him. "Thanks, sweetpea."
Pichu kept beaming, wanting to transfer all of his happy feelings into his mother. As he watched her bite into the sitrus berry with a loud crunch and gratefully chew it, he felt hope well in his chest.
With enough of these healing berries, she was sure to get well again!