Disclaimer:Sorry, I don't own pokemon.

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Chickorita streched and opened her eyes, looking around the den that has become her home. She glanced at the egg sitting near the bed, then at the other bed.

Empty.

Chickorita looked towards the entrance, and saw her mate, Pikachu, standing guard. Chickorita walked over to his side.

"Good morning," she said.

Pikachu looked over at her. His eyes were half closed, and he had some dark circles under them. It was obvious he didn't get any sleep.

"Pikachu, you should get some sleep,'' she said. "You can't guard me all day and all night. You need rest too."

"But..what about...the Vulpix...?" he said.

The Vulpix was a pokemon that was planning to attack and rape Chickorita. Chickorita tried to ward him off with Vine Whips, but wasn't strong enough. She screamed for Pikachu, who was collecting food. He dropped what he found and ran for her aid.

Upon arriving, he instantly assessed the situation, and let loose a Thunderbolt. The zapped and injured Vulpix decided to run off and find someone easier. Neither one was injured, but Pikachu has been staying up the last two nights, in case he came back.

"He's probably long gone by now. And in your current situation, you'll be lucky if you could take on Jessie and James," Chickorita said. "Come on."

She gently herded him inside the den, and he literally dropped on the bed of leaves and fell asleep. Chickorita had to giggle at the comical scene that happened in front of her, then rubbed a paw on the egg.

"You'll be a beautiful child, a living symbol of our love," she whispered. "And with Pikachu's genes in you, you should be a powerful fighter as well."

Then she started to sing:

Love is one powerful force

That can bring two together.

From it comes new life

The life of a beautiful child.

---

A few hours later, Pikachu woke up. He was still tired, but somewhat more alert than before. He looked around, but Chickorita was nowhere to be found.

"Chickorita?" he said, looking around.

He was starting to get worried. It was his job to protect her, and he hoped nothing happened to her while he was asleep. He walked outside, and to his immense relief, saw her approaching from the distance.

"Where were you?" he asked, as they walked in.

"I needed something to do, and you were asleep. So I took a walk," Chickorita said. "I know you feel it's your job to protect me, and I know I needed it when I was pregnant. But I can take care of myself."

They walked in, and rekindled the fire inside the cave. In the light of the fire, Chickorita noticed something.

"Look," she said, pointing towards the egg. "I think it's about to hatch."

Theyt both watched, as the egg was moving back and forth some. They saw this happen before, but this time, it was more forceful. They moved to stand on either side, to make sure it doesn't tip over.

Then cracks started to appear in the shell.

"It is starting," Pikachu said.

The cracks started to grow, and go down the lenth of the egg. Pieces started coming off, as the child inside struggled to get out.

"Pikachu, you should step back in the shadows for the first couple of minutes of it's life. The first thing it sees it thinks of as it's mother. I want to make sure our child knows I'm it's mother," Chickorita said.

Pikachu nodded and stepped back, as the egg cracked open, revealing the child inside.

The child was a Chickorita.

Or, at least, it's body was a Chickoritas. The color, instead of a lime green, was so light it was almost yellow, and there were faint brown stripes on it's back.

The newborn looked around, then walked over to Chickorita. The newborn nuzzled up next to her, while Chickorita gently stroked it with it's vines.

Then it pushed harder, and Chickorita understood what it was trying to tell her. It was just born, and probably hungry. She laid on her side, and the newborn went over and started suckling.

Pikachu then decided to step out of the shadows to have a closer look. It walked slowly, not wanting to spook it too badly.

The newborn saw him coming, and immedietly stopped suckling and ran behind Chickorita for protection. They both laughted as it peeked out from behind.

"So, is it a boy or girl?' Pikachu asked.

"Boy," Chickorita answered, then looked over at the newborn. "You don't need to be scared, little one. He won't hurt you."

The newborn slowly crawled out from behind. He tilted his head as he looked at Pikachu, curiosity in his eyes.

"So, what should we name him?" Pikachu asked.

"I'm not sure...Thunderleaf?" Chickorita asked.

"No, too long. How about...Leafhead?" Pikachu said.

"Too stupid. How about...Pikarita?"

"That sounds even worse. What about...Leaflet?"

"That doesn't sound too bad," Chickorita answered. "Okay, you now have a name, Leaflet."

The Chickorita gave a happy squeak, then remembered he was still hungry and went back to suckling.

"Pikachu, can you go and get some food? I'll probably be stuck in this cave until he can eat solid food," Chickorita asked.

"We should have some food in reserve. Let me take a look," Pikachu answered.

Pikachu walked into another part of the cave and searched around. He soon came back with a slightly brused but still edible apple.

"This is the last of it. I'm going to go lok for more. Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself?" he asked.

"I should be. If the Vulpix comes back, or something else attacks, I'll scream," she said.

"And I'll come defend you, because I'm your knight in yellow armor," Pikachu said with a smile.

Chickorita laughed and said, "Just go. I'll be fine."

As Pikachu left, he didn't notice the eyes that were watching him, and watching the inhabatants inside the cave.

"That kid can be the instrament of my revenge," the being behind the eyes thought, as he slipped away unnoticed.

To be continued...