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It was currently late into the night, but Emmet was still diligently awake.
It would be fine. It was going to be a weekend tomorrow, and so he could reasonably sleep in to catch up on the lost sleep. This was not the first, and most likely not the last, time he had stayed awake far past what was normal.
Besides, given his experience, he should be going to sleep soon.
He was helping Galvantula tend to her first clutch of eggs.
Both of them knew that they were going to hatch anytime soon.
He primarily stayed on the side, watching Glavantula scuttle around her web. Chandelure stayed with him, having stopped her job as a portable heating incubator in favor of floating over to him and snuggling into his arms. Her warmth was amazing– she masterfully had full control of her temperature– and was softly lulling him to sleep. That was probably intentional on her part to get him to go to sleep, and he will after helping Galvantula out.
While he is a pokemon breeder, and one who specializes in Joltiks, he had taken somewhat of a break from it. Mostly due to Ingo return and the subsequent storm of tasks that came with it. And also due to the moving and having the new and old pokemon familiarize themselves with one another– it would be harder if Emmet suddenly sprung a bunch of baby Joltiks on everyone.
Although thankfully these eggs appeared after everyone was well and truly comfortable and used to one another. Mostly. Alakazam still refused to go near Galvantula, undoubtedly due to her Unnerve ability. Although she doesn’t seem to take it personally. At least when Gliscor is in the room with her, Alakazam is a bit braver.
He doesn’t know where those eggs came from, but given how close to a forest they live to, perhaps she simply fancied one of the bugs there while exploring.
And that was what he was thinking about to pass the time, though he was still present enough to keep an eye on any new developments.
Any of the possible (and possibly deceased) fathers only brought new potential combinations for the baby Joltiks.
He has seen some Yanmega buzzing around here, so maybe this batch of Joltiks are going to be particularly adept at speed and spacial awareness.
Or maybe it was a Dustox of some kind. In that case their venom is going to be particularly potent, though thankfully he won't have to worry about that anytime soon. Also his poison immune brother is going to enjoy that one.
Although the most likely answer would be either a Whirlepede or Scolipede. A Whirlepede would mean sturdier chitin, while a Scolipede would make them faster. Either way, he hopes that the Joltiks get some kind of Poison type move.
Though it looks like he won’t theorize for much longer, as the first egg shook much stronger.
Emmet leaned a bit forward to get a better look, although he made sure to stay out of Galvantula’s way. He may be her trusted trainer, but that won’t mean he won’t receive a shock if he gets too close, especially since this is her first time.
A few more shakes later, and some encouraging clicks from Galvantula, and the first Joltik was born.
And then the second soon after.
Then the third. And fourth.
Baby Joltik’s still remain absolutely adorable, no matter how many times he’s been with them.
And there was one final egg remaining.
It was slightly larger than normal, however it was nothing unusual. Sometimes eggs end up larger than necessary, so Emmet would most likely need to monitor that Joltik in particular, to ensure no complications.
Although given that Chandelure showed no signs of concern nor made any fuss, it was unlikely they wouldn’t be healthy. Chandelure has always been a verrrry helpful partner when it came to tending eggs, much to Ingo’s annoyance.
The final egg finally shook strongly.
It was time.
It shook a few more times.
The egg cracked-
And a tiny, purple claw broke through.
What.
A long, segmented tail tipped with a stinger shot out.
What.
And finally, the egg shells fully parted, and a tiny gligar rolled down onto the web.
WHAT.
Emmet sat there completely shocked as Galvantula started cooing and tending to the new hatchlings. Chandelure peaked up to look at him with amusement as Emmet sat shock still.
At least he knew who the other parent was.
Where was that overgrown bat anyways?
Before Emmet could begin to genuinely be worried over his potential fate, the nuisance decided to at that moment materialized behind Emmet (or rather just silently glided over), the only thing informing the others of his presence was the curious chitter he made. Galvantula responded back, and Emmet could only imagine that it was an invitation closer since Gliscor wasted no time swooping over to also coo over the new hatchlings.
The audacity.
Is he happy that Galvantula and Gliscor are happy together, apparently? Yes.
But also how dare he.
Wait, he just noticed one of the Joltiks was oddly colored. A bit more green with purple accents.
Ok, he may forgive Gliscor just a little bit. A tiny amount.
That won’t mean he won’t be on the receiving end of Emmet’s wrath later.
Definitely later, since he was verrrrry tired and did not have the brain cells necessary to process this revelation.
With one last hard stare at the completely distracted bat, he stumbled back to his room and collapsed in bed.
Emmet woke up the next morning, surprisingly before Ingo and at a fairly reasonable hour. Ingo has always been a heavy sleeper, and that unchanging fact made him smile a little more.
Not bothering to change out of his pajamas, he padded into the kitchen, fully intent on starting the coffee machine and kettle of tea for Ingo.
At least he would’ve, since he saw the web on the way there and promptly remembered last night's events.
Walking over, he could see all the related pokemon still resting. All the hatchlings were sleeping in a pile on the web, while Galvantula and Gliscor were cuddled together in a makeshift nest of stolen blankets and couch cushions, no doubt a creation of Gliscor.
In hindsight, he realized that they really weren’t hiding their relationship in the past. Emmet just always chalked it up to a close friendship.
With a huff, he looked over all the new passengers. All the Joltiks looked healthy and strong.
The gligar was still there, curled up in their – her? He will have to double check later– slumber. Given their mother, he doubts that they will stick to the web.
He will need to look into how to properly care for a gligar, but for now-
“Ingo!” He called out, semi quietly. “Get over here!” The noise still woke up the two new parents, Gliscor immediately tensing with a small growl before relaxing at Galvantula’s reassurance.
A few moments later, Ingo walked into the room, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the last traces of sleep. “Mm… good morning…” He yawned.
“Ingo!” He violently pointed at the full web. “Ingo, what is this?”
“Hm?” Finally lucid, Ingo peered at the web for a moment, before his eyes widened a little. “Oh, did the eggs hatch? Bravo!” Galvantula gave him some proud clicks.
Then Ingo noticed the spot of purple on the web, which given the contrasting colors really should've been the first thing he should've noticed. “Oh! A Gligar!”
“Yes, it's a baby gligar.”
The implications seemed to finally catch up to Ingo, as he glanced between the web and the couple in the nest for a few moments. Then, he had the audacity to say; “Oh! Congratulations, Galvantula, Gliscor!”
“Ingo.”
“Emmet?”
“Ingo, how dare you bring this home wrecker into our home!”
Ingo burst into laughter as Emmet proceeded to assault him with jabbing pokes. “I am Emmet, I trusted you!”
“H-How is thiiiis my fault?!” Ingo laughed, trying to squirm away from Emmet to no avail.
“How could you let your pokemon take Galvantula?!”
Ingo had no response to that, simply laughing in his face.
“And you!” He rounded on the bat pokemon with as much venom as he could muster. “You better take good care of your new brood and wife or so help me!”
Gliscor for his part took that comment seriously, giving him a stern nod and salute.
Emmet would make sure to give Galvantula all her favorite food for the week as a celebration. And maybe Gliscor too. Although he was still heavily considering if he should.
(He ended up doing that).