Ace Trainer Sydney rested her hand on her stomach with a weary sigh. Being a mother to pokemon was rough work.

From the vantage point in her bedroom, she could clearly see the new addition being built on her property. Since she was carrying six pokemon eggs inside of her, that was a lot of needed space, especially since she was already housing a full team of her own and her children with Arcanine.

Rising with a grunt, Sydney cradled her tummy as she slowly made her way to the window. Gods above, but she was heavy, almost impossibly so; every step seemed to set the weighty eggs inside of her knocking against each other inside of her womb. Despite the fact that they were encased securely in eggs, sometimes she fancied the pokemon within were acting up and that she could feel them move in anticipation, wriggling with excitement. They’d waited long enough—her and them both. The birth was coming soon, and then everything would change.

Resting against the windowsill, Sydney watched the sun rise. Dawnslight was peeking over the trees and woodlands that blanketed her ranch and those nearby. Down on the grass, her two Growlithe children—Blaze and Zen—frolicked through dew-specked grass with their other mother, Arcanine, who was spry despite her own egg-laden belly. A smile touched Sydney’s face as she watched them. She’d been raising pokemon for a while—but only once she’d given birth to the creatures had she really come to view them with maternal bliss.

She rubbed her hand absently over her swollen globe of a tummy. Yes… the ones inside of her she would love, even despite their origin.

Her rival, Vion, had decided that if he couldn’t best her on the battlefield, he’d best her a different way. Allowing his pokemon to force themselves on her, he’d bred her full of their babies before going on the run. The knowledge that she was carrying the offspring of her hated rival’s brutish pokemon should have been anathema to Sydney, yet…

She caressed her tummy again, feeling the satisfying lump of the eggs under her touch, nestled her deceptively smooth-skinned belly. It wasn’t their fault who their fathers were, and they were still hers. In a way, raising these pokemon to be better than Vion’s team alongside Arcanine and Charizard and the rest of her pokemon would be the ultimate revenge. She’d show them what it meant to be a trainer.

Yes… if she had any regrets, it was that she’d spent so much of her time away from the battlefield lately. She was growing rusty. Well, that and… even though it was silly to blame herself, she still couldn’t help but feel like she’d betrayed her loving partners, Charizard and Arcanine.

She could tell Charizard, especially, was upset. He was doing his best to hide it, to avoid causing her distress or making her feel bad—but it was apparent in the angrily protective way he hovered about her or the way he sulked at the edge of her property. This had upset him. With a sigh, Sydney returned to her bed, well aware she would be spending most of the next few days resting before the birth.

Or, well, she should have spent it resting. She, like anyone, had needs to attend to.