Chapter 3: Losing to a Diaper?
The scene on the screen changed once again.
Inside the nursery, Misty was changing the baby’s diaper in the crib. Although her movements showed signs of having practiced many times, she was still somewhat clumsy when doing it for real.
She bit her lip as tiny beads of sweat formed across her forehead, muttering continuously under her breath.
"Be good, Raina... Don’t move... Mommy will be finished soon..."
Standing beside her with a bottle in his hand, Asher did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Honey, why don’t you let me do it?"
"No! This is my first battle as a mother! There’s no way I’m losing to a diaper!"
The moment she finished speaking, the baby girl in the crib burst into tears and began kicking her tiny legs wildly.
Misty immediately panicked, her entire expression collapsing.
"Don’t cry, Raina! Mommy was wrong! Honey, hurry up and help me!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Brock]: Pfft.
[Ash]: Brock, did you just laugh?
[Brock]: I did not.
[Gary]: You obviously did.
[Brock]: ...Fine. I couldn’t hold it in.
[Misty]: You guys! Stop laughing!
[Lorelei]: It seems the Misty of the parallel world still has a long way to go when it comes to raising a child.
[Bruno]: Hahaha! Changing diapers really is a difficult battle! Back when I took care of young Pokémon, I also—
[Lance]: ??? Bruno, what did you just say? You changed diapers for Pokémon?
[Bruno]: I didn’t have much choice. I’m often training deep in the mountains. Besides, you could consider it another form of training.
[Daisy]: Look, Misty. Even after becoming a mother in the parallel world, you’re still as adorable as ever~
[Misty]: Daisy!
[Violet]: Seriously, though, that Asher man seems to have a good temper. You order him around constantly, but he never gets angry.
[Lily]: And he offers to help without being asked. Men like that are actually pretty rare.
[Misty]: That’s enough! Who asked you three to evaluate him?!
[Leon]: Um... This might not be the most appropriate time to say this, but I’m suddenly curious about how Raina eventually becomes a Water-type Elite Four member.
[Iris]: Me too! I want to see how she catches Lugia and Suicune! They’re Legendary Pokémon!
[Steven]: I’m more interested in discovering who her father really is. I have a feeling that man is anything but ordinary.
[Cynthia]: Steven is right. A father capable of raising a Water-type Master... His story may be no less extraordinary than Raina’s.
[Professor Oak]: It seems this is no longer an issue that concerns only a few individuals. The existence of parallel worlds and the true identity of this man named Asher could have implications for the entire Pokémon world. Both matters deserve our close attention.
[Misty]: In any case, the choices made by the parallel-world version of me have nothing to do with the real me. Don’t confuse the two.
[Brock]: Misty, aren’t you curious at all? About the life of another version of yourself?
[Misty]: ...
[Misty]: ...A little. Only a little!
[Ash]: I understand! I also want to know whether the version of me in another world has already become a Pokémon Master!
[Gary]: You? The version of you in another world is probably still an idiot.
[Ash]: What did you say?!
The video continued playing, but time appeared to move much faster now.
The cradle was replaced by a larger crib, and the swaddled newborn had grown into a baby capable of sitting and crawling.
Her orange hair had grown thicker since her birth and lay softly against her head. A pair of large golden eyes gazed curiously at the world around her.
Asher sat cross-legged on the carpet. In front of him was a row of palm-sized dolls depicting Squirtle, Psyduck, Poliwag, Shellder, and several other Water-type Pokémon.
Little Raina sat opposite him, waving her tiny hands through the air while making incoherent babbling sounds.
"Raina, look at this."
Asher picked up the Squirtle doll and waved it in front of his daughter.
"This is Squirtle. It’s a Water-type Pokémon. It can evolve into Wartortle and then into Blastoise. Once it becomes Blastoise, it’ll grow two water cannons on its back. It’s incredibly cool."
Raina reached for the doll but failed to grab it. Her entire body tipped forward, and she fell face-first onto the carpet.
"Waaah!"
Asher did not know whether to laugh or cry as he scooped his daughter back up.
"You haven’t even learned how to walk, but you’re already trying to snatch things?"
Misty’s voice came from nearby.
"Honey! She’s still a baby, and you’ve already started teaching her about Pokémon?"
"It’s early education," Asher replied confidently. "Haven’t you heard of it? You have to start training a Water-type Master from infancy."
"What Water-type Master?!"
Misty walked over, picked up her daughter, and glared at him.
"Raina can become whatever she wants when she grows up! You’re not allowed to decide her future for her!"
Asher spread his hands helplessly.
"I was only saying..."
Held in her mother’s arms, Raina poked half her head out and stared at the Squirtle doll lying on the floor. She stretched her little hand desperately in its direction.
"Yah!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Professor Oak]: This man named Asher truly does seem rather unusual.
[Cynthia]: When he mentioned Raina becoming a "Water-type Master," his tone sounded perfectly natural, as though achieving something like that would be effortless for him.
[Lance]: Just who is this Asher? If he also exists in our world, there is no reason we should be completely unable to find any information about him.
[Leon]: Perhaps he comes from somewhere extremely remote? An unknown island, for example?
[Wallace]: That seems unlikely. A family capable of raising a Water-type Elite Four member could not remain completely unknown forever, unless...
[Cynthia]: Unless he deliberately concealed his identity.
[Steven]: Interesting. Why would a powerful Trainer deliberately hide himself? Does he have some strange sense of humor?
[Cynthia]: Mr. Steven, please do not discuss this in such a frivolous manner. This is important information concerning a parallel world.
[Steven]: Hahaha, my apologies. Still, I genuinely want to keep watching. This Asher is definitely no ordinary man.
The scene changed once again, this time revealing the swimming pool inside Cerulean Gym.
Misty stood beside the pool with Raina in her arms.
"Watch carefully, Raina. This is one of Mommy’s favorite Pokémon~"
The moment Misty finished speaking, a Staryu leaped out of the water and spun through the air. The spray it created refracted the sunlight, forming countless tiny rainbows.
"Ah!"
Raina reached out with her chubby little hand and began giggling.
Misty’s eyes lit up as she turned toward Asher.
"Honey! Did you see that? Raina smiled! She reacted to a Water-type Pokémon!"
Asher sat in a chair with a thermos in his hand, his face filled with helplessness.
"I saw it, I saw it... But honey, she’s only two years old. Wouldn’t she laugh at anything that moves?"
"You don’t understand! Her bloodline is awakening!"
"Yesterday, you said her crying was caused by her bloodline awakening. The day before that, you said her hiccups were also caused by her bloodline awakening..."
"Asher, shut up!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Brock]: ...What in the world is a "bloodline awakening"?
[Ash]: I don’t understand it, but it sounds amazing!
[Gary]: Of course you don’t understand. There are far too many things you lack.
[Ash]: ???
[Ash]: What’s that supposed to mean, Gary?! Are you saying there’s something wrong with my bloodline?!
[Gary]: I am merely stating a fact.
[Lorelei]: Hehe. Personally, I find the phrase "bloodline awakening" rather amusing. Misty, did you invent it yourself?
[Misty]: I don’t know! The parallel-world version of me said it! It has nothing to do with me!
[Cynthia]: ...Writes it down silently.
[Wallace]: Wait. The angle at which Staryu leaped out of the water and the path of the refracted spray just now would make a rather impressive Pokémon Contest performance.
[Steven]: ...You always focus on the strangest things.
[Wallace]: You’re the strange one. Everyone else is watching a heartwarming family video, while your mind is always filled with stones.
[Steven]: My mind is not always filled with stones.
[Steven]: Raising a child follows the same principles as cultivating a stone. You must provide a suitable environment for growth rather than interfering excessively.
[Wallace]: You’re still talking about stones.
[Phoebe]: Pfft.
[Glacia]: Wallace is right.
[Steven]: ...That’s enough from all of you.