Disclaimer- I don't own Pokémon

Gale force winds shook the trees to their roots during the fierce storm that had the whole town seeking shelter. In the small town of Littleroot which resided in the Hoenn region, one small house on the edge of town was shaking terribly. The house was in terrible condition, the roof was falling in, the windows were broken, paint was chipped and the yard was covered in weeds. The storm was pulling the old house to pieces. Boards were slowly being pulled off the wall and it looked as if the house would cave in at any moment.

Inside the unsuitable home, a small woman cowered in the corner, away from the door and any windows, clutching two small bundles to her chest. The woman looked to be no older than twenty-five, but she did not in any way appear healthy. Her eyes were sunken in, her skin pale and her blond hair was so filthy that it almost appeared to be brown.

One of the bundles clutched to her chest wriggled and let out a cry. The woman looked down and smiled when she looked into her son's eyes. Her son stopped crying the second he saw her eyes and laughed when she allowed him to clutch her finger. The woman smiled when her ruby eyes met with her son's ruby eyes, the only feature that he inherited from her.

Something crashed into the wall and the woman clutched her son tighter when he started to cry once again. The woman wanted to cry herself, but she didn't have enough energy left in her to cry. She felt her illness sap away her strength and she knew in her heart that she would die. But, she couldn't leave her son alone in the world. The boy's father had long since passed, and if she died then her baby wouldn't be far behind.

She waited until the storm passed before she moved. She clutched her baby and the second bundle closer to her body and weakly walked out of the house. The damage to the already damaged house didn't register to her as she slowly walked towards the center of town. All of the streets were deserted, and debris from the storm was everywhere.

Finally after close to half an hour of walking, the woman made it to the home she was looking for. The house was large enough, and despite the storm, it looked lovely. The two story house was painted a light brown, had a reasonable sized yard with a fence running around it and the roof was not falling in on the occupants. The woman felt her body tremble slightly, but she had to have the courage to do what was right for her baby boy. The whole reason she chose this family was because she knew that they would love her boy and would make sure that he never went hungry, which was something that she herself could not offer.

With her ruby colored eyes shining with unshed tears, she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. She stood there shaking for a moment before the door opened a crack. A woman about the same age as herself poked her head out to greet the visitor.

"Oh dear!" she gasped when she saw the state of the woman on the porch. "Abigail is that you?" Turning back into the house she cried out. "Norman! Come help quickly!"

Abigail was ushered inside where she was quickly given a warm blanket and something warm to drink. While she sat down on the couch, she refused to let go of her baby and the second bundle. The woman who answered the door was known as Caroline, and she lived together with her young husband Norman. The young couple had married only months ago, but they were very much in love.

Caroline gently put her arm around Abigail's shoulder. "What happened Abigail?" she asked softly. "We haven't seen you since the end of your pregnancy. You look terribly ill; we should take you to the hospital."

Abigail shook her head and chuckled bitterly. "My husband passed away, his ship went down at sea right before the baby was born, and I couldn't support myself and my son." She turned to Caroline and stared at her with a fierce intensity. "It is too late for me Caroline, I'm dying. I have known for some time now."

Caroline jumped to her feet and felt tears begin to run down her cheeks. "We have to get you to a hospital now." She turned to Norman to tell him to bring the car around, but a barely audible 'no' stopped her.

"I can't go to the hospital yet," Abigail said with what little strength she had. "Not until I know that he will be cared for." She gazed tenderly at her son who was fast asleep. "I want you to raise him when I'm gone. Raise him as your own son and don't let him know another moment of hunger or cold for the rest of his life."

Caroline looked at Norman who appeared just as shocked as she felt. They had been trying to have a child of their own, but they had been unsuccessful so far. Caroline looked desperately at Abigail who was still gazing intensely at the couple.

"Abigail I can't agree to that," Caroline said. "Because that implies that you are going to die and I won't allow that. We're going to the hospital now."

"Promise me that you will raise him if something happens to me," Abigail insisted.

Caroline seemed to struggle with the promise when Norman stepped forward and put his arm around his wife's waist. "We promise to raise him if you die," he said with his quiet confidence.

Abigail visibly relaxed and she gently brushed a strand of brown hair from her precious son's face. With a sigh she pulled out the other bundle she was carrying from under her loose jacket. It was a shoulder bag with a slight bulge to it. Gently, she placed the bag on the coffee table in front of her.

"That belonged to his father," she said, panting slightly as if her little energy was quickly draining away. "If you raise him, make sure that he takes care of what resides in that bag. His father wanted nothing more than to give that to him himself, but he can't anymore and I don't believe that I will be able to either."

Caroline rushed forward and put her hand on Abigail's forehead. "You're burning up," she exclaimed. "We're leaving now. Norman take…um…"

"Brendan," Abigail said softly. "My beautiful Brendan."

Caroline sat alone on her couch clutching a ragged shoulder bag to her chest weeping silently. A few days had passed since Abigail had died of pneumonia at the local hospital, and Caroline had not been able to stop weeping or even look at Brendan yet. She sat there by herself for a while until Norman walked downstairs with baby Brendan dozing off in his arms.

She looked up and felt more tears pour out when she saw the tiny baby whose life she was now responsible for. Shakily she loosened her grip on the bag and placed it on her lap. "I suppose it's time to open her bag," she said quietly.

Norman nodded sadly and sat in an armchair across from his wife. His eyes were red and puffy from both crying and lack of sleep, but he had immediately fallen into the new found role of father and he was more than willing to pick up the slack while his wife grieved.

With shaky hands, Caroline opened the bag and gently emptied its contents on the coffee table. A couple of pictures of Abigail and her husband were there along with a few small trinkets including two small wedding rings. Norman frowned when he looked at the biggest bundle which was wrapped in a dirty cloth.

"What's that big item Caroline?" he asked.

Caroline leaned forward and picked the bundle off of the table. She removed the dirty cloth and felt her mouth drop when she recognized what it was. "It's a Pokémon egg," she gasped. She looked Norman in the eye. "This is Brendan's gift from his parents? A Pokémon? But he's just a baby!"

Norman smiled and looked down at Brendan. "Now he'll have a constant companion from his parents. That Pokémon will grow up with him and will keep the memory of his parents alive."

Smiling sadly, Caroline stood up and took Brendan from her husband. "I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you sweet baby Brendan," she said softly. "I promise to raise you to be the man that your mother wanted you to be." She paused for a moment and gazed at Norman with love. "I promise to raise you to be the man that my sister wanted you to be."

Caroline gently set Brendan down for his nap while Norman took care of the egg downstairs. She smiled and brushed away a tear when she saw Brendan's ruby eyes begin to close. Every time that Brendan locked eyes with her, Caroline felt like she was looking into the eyes of her recently departed sister. When Brendan closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, Caroline quietly exited the room and shut the door behind her.

She walked in the kitchen to find Norman standing by the sink, gently wiping the egg down with a slightly damp cloth. Norman, who was training to be a gym leader, had raised his fair share of eggs. So naturally, when they discovered the egg Norman had taken care of it while Caroline began to care for Brendan.

"How's the egg?" Caroline asked while she opened the fridge to grab something to eat.

Norman looked over his shoulder and gave her a small smile. "It's dirty, but it seems that Abigail managed to keep the egg in reasonably good condition while caring for Brendan. If it's from Brendan's father, I'd imagine that the egg will hatch pretty soon."

Caroline walked over to Norman and put her hand on his shoulder. "Any idea what kind of Pokémon it is?"

"Not until it hatches," Norman chuckled. "Once it hatches, I can run to the store to get some stuff for it."

Caroline shook her head and gently nudged Norman out of the way. "You need to train for your gym leader test. I can finish cleaning the egg and then I'll put it in the basket in Brendan's room."

Norman smiled and kissed his wife while handing her the damp rag. "Cleaning a Pokémon egg requires the same gentle touch that bathing Brendan takes. When you put it back in the basket, make sure that the blanket is arranged to the egg won't move too much while remaining warm."

Caroline took the rag and playfully nudged Norman out of the way. "Go train," she said with a small smile. She gave Norman another small kiss and began work on cleaning the egg. Even though it had only been a couple days since her sister had passed away, Caroline felt closer to her than she had in months while she cared for Brendan or washed the egg.

The two sisters had been close growing up, but after Abigail had gotten pregnant they stopped talking. Now the guilt that Caroline felt for not checking up on her sister threatened to overwhelm her unless she was busy with Brendan.

"I wonder what type of Pokémon you are," Caroline mused to the egg. "I remember Abigail telling me that her husband raised a particular type of Pokémon, but I can't remember what type. But, I'm sure that you'll be a great companion for Brendan while you both grow up."

Once she was done cleaning the egg, Caroline gently dried the egg and brought it upstairs to Brendan's room. She opened the door quietly and peeked in the new crib to see that Brendan was still asleep. Taking care, she wrapped the egg in the blanket and put it in the basket on the floor. Once she knew that the egg wouldn't go anywhere, she straightened up and walked back over to the crib.

Brendan proved to be a very sound sleeper. His had a small smile on his face which melted Caroline's heart. She leaned over the crib and planted a small kiss on Brendan's forehead. Still smiling sadly, she walked back downstairs and sat back down on the couch. She had the contents of the bag spread out on the table.

The two pictures of Abigail and her husband were now framed, and Caroline planned to put them in Brendan's room when he was old enough to know who his parents were. Caroline smiled bitterly at one of the pictures and she traced Abigail with her finger. The picture had been taken months before, and it was becoming obvious that Abigail was pregnant. Caroline felt more tears come to her eyes when she saw how happy her sister and brother-in-law looked. The tragedy that befell the two of them was almost too much for Caroline to bear.

Norman came back a couple hours later, covered in sweat and attaching a Poke ball to his belt, to find his wife sobbing quietly on the couch. He immediately rushed over to the couch and pulled his wife into his arms. They sat like that for a while until Caroline shakily pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes.

"Thank you Hon," she said with a small smile. She leaned over the table and picked up the picture she had been looking at. "They look so happy don't they?" she asked quietly. "I keep playing it in my head, how jealous and angry I was. She got pregnant practically overnight and I couldn't get pregnant at all. I always wanted to be a mother, and she never wanted children. It didn't seem fair, and because of that I acted like a child and stopped talking to my sister. Now it's too late for me to tell her how sorry I am for all the terrible things I said."

Norman put his arm around Caroline's waist and squeezed tight. "She knows how much you love her," he comforted her. "I know that you're angry that we can't get pregnant ourselves, but you will be a wonderful mother to Brendan, and who knows maybe one day we will get pregnant. But, we will raise Brendan as if he was our own, and by raising him you are telling your sister that you are sorry and that you love her."

Caroline smiled and kissed her husband. Next she leaned forward and picked up the two rings off the table. "I want to give Brendan his parent's rings when he becomes old enough to start his Pokémon journey, assuming he wants to go on a journey."

"I think that's a great idea," Norman said with a loving smile on his face.

The married couple sat there together on the couch for another half hour before they heard laughing on the baby monitor that they kept by the couch. Caroline smiled and stood up to go get Brendan and grabbed Norman's hand to lead him upstairs to Brendan's room. They entered the room and saw Brendan wriggling in his crib with a huge smile on his face. Norman reached over and picked Brendan up. Brendan's ruby eyes were shining and they brought an immediate smile to Norman's and Caroline's faces.

Suddenly a soft whine interrupted their moment. Caroline spun around, alarmed, and gasped when she saw that the basket that held the egg was empty. Caroline immediately dropped to her knees and began searching for the newborn Pokémon who was left in her care by her sister. After a couple seconds Caroline yelped in shock when she saw a pair of yellow, red eyes staring at her from underneath the crib.

"It's okay," Caroline cooed while she reached under the crib. She gently grabbed the Pokémon and she noted the softness of its fur while she pulled it out. The baby Pokémon cried out in protest, but Caroline didn't let go.

She held it up to the light and she inspected the Pokémon while it began to gently gnaw at her wrist. The Pokémon had a mixture of gray and black fur, a bushy tail and four stubby legs.

"That's a Poochyena," Norman noted next to her. "It's a dark type. Didn't Abigail's husband train Mightyena?"

"That's the Pokémon," Caroline sighed. "I've been trying to remember what Pokémon he trained. This little guy seems feisty."

Norman laughed when the Poochyena continued to try to bite his wife. "Those guys are gnawers; I have a feeling we're gonna have to replace some furniture. It's a good thing that his teeth aren't completely grown in; otherwise you wouldn't be letting him bite you like that."

Caroline giggled and lifted the Poochyena to her face. The puppy like Pokémon looked at her with wide eyes before he quickly licked her nose causing Caroline to giggle some more.

"He's a sweetie," she cooed. Turning around she held Poochyena up to Brendan who laughed in glee and grabbed a small fistful of fur. Poochyena didn't bark or bite like Norman and Caroline expected him to; instead Poochyena wagged his tail and leaned forward to lick Brendan on the face.

"We're a family now," Caroline said softly with a smile on her face. "Brendan will grow up happy and we'll all be one big happy family."

Norman nodded in agreement and Brendan squealed in delight while Poochyena continued to wag his tail. Their adventure was just beginning.

A/N- Thanks for reading! Please review! Does anyone have any suggestions for Poochyena's nickname? REVIEW!!!