It was a bright, sunny day when Ethan stepped out of his home, feeling refreshed and… happy. Spending time with his pokemon, bonding more than they ever had before, and speaking to them, had helped in more ways than they could know.

  They knew his secret, which admittedly wasn’t very well hidden, and accepted him for who he was. They were the glue that had held him together, even from way back when, and now they made him whole. Yes, he’d gone through hell and back, that was fact. Yet, now he actually felt like he belonged. It took over a year, but maybe he was accepting his new lease on life in a positive way.

  There will never be a day where he doesn’t miss his family, home, or life that he had, but there was no going back. What was done was done, and he should live this new lease on life to his fullest, with his new family.

  And, speaking of….

  Right at the end of his steps, pacing a rut into the earth was Gloom. As soon as the leafy grower heard his feet sp the wooden stairs, Gloom’s eager eyes tched onto him. With a run, Gloom came forward and grasped his hand, dragging him along out into the meadow, which was still damp with dew and glistening in the morning sun.

  “Gloom! Gloooooooooooooo!!!” Gloom cried out excitedly, eyes turned up in thin crescents as he continued to drag Ethan along.

  “I’m coming! I’m coming! Calm down a bit. I’m fragile.” Ethan let loose an exasperated sigh, smiling as one of his longest friends took him where he pleased.

  When they reached the damp meadow, Gloom let go of his hand and waddled off to some of the Oddish sprouts. This wasn’t the first time they had checked on them together, but this was the first time Gloom had been so adamant. If it was just that, Ethan would have ignored it, but when the other seven Oddish were dancing around? Something was up, and he dared not assume the reason.

  Today…? He thought, daring not to hope.

  He turned, looking at the Oddish, then Gloom, then the rge three leaf sprouts. It all led to one possibly.

  “No!? Now?!” He shrieked, earning happy smiles from the dancing Oddish and even a dopey grin from Gloom. Gloom reached down with both hands, firmly grasped the leaves of a nearby sprout, then yanked back. With an audible ‘Plop!’, a scream of “odd?!”, and a dull thunk of a nding, a tiny, freshly plunked Oddish y dazed. The other Oddish swarmed the newly… grown, hatched, born, whatever you were supposed to call it, Oddish with glee and danced with twirls and swirls.

  Not ten seconds ter, the swarm of Oddish had picked up the baby, carrying him around above their heads like a crowd surfer at a concert.

  *Plop!*

  Ethan barely had time to blink before another Oddish was plucked from the damp earth, soaring through the air for a second or two before nding with the grace of a Tauros in a house of mirrors. That Oddish was quickly abducted into the overhead surfing, and Ethan was sure the others were soon to follow.

  Gloom ran over, grabbed his hands, and forcefully led him towards another ‘ready to be plucked’ Oddish. Ethan knelt, hands still, as Gloom gave him a reassuring nod, a bit of drool seeping out from the motion. “Glooom!”

  Ethan looked at the vibrant sprout before him and slowly reached out, running his fingers over its waxy, yet firm and flexible leaves. He traced the slight ridges of their veins before gently grasping them. Then, with a titanic tug, Ethan yoinked the baby Oddish right out of the ground like a ripe onion.

  “Odd-Odd!?” The Oddish screamed as it was unched straight up into the open air, and upon reaching the apex of its height, it began to fall… right into Ethan’s open arms.

  “Well, good morn—”

  *Puff!*

  “ACK!!!” Ethan choked, spitting and spatting as a plume of sickly sweet power was sent right up his nose and mouth. He hurriedly pced the baby Oddish down, right into the open arms of Gloom, and dry heaved until the overwhelming scent and taste were gone.

  After a shaky deep breath, Ethan fshed Gloom and the baby Oddish a dirty look. “That’s your kid alright. The Sweet Scent even smells the same.”

  Gloom then puffed out his own pink bst—thankfully not in Ethan’s face—before a meadow wide torrent of Sweet Scents erupted across the meadow, turning the morning sky into a sea of pink in the span of mere seconds.

  For the next few Ethan plucked, he was more careful. Pokemon were hardy beings, but these were still babies. After an hour of rigorous reaping, Ethan sat on the ground, far back, and watched Gloom as he gave each one of his babies a pat on the head and a speech.

  Not including the seven original Oddish, who stood out noticeably from the babies, there were now fifty-seven new additions to his ranch. While he would, of course, allow them to stay at his ranch… fifty-seven new Oddish was a tad much to take care of. Ash had mentioned giving some of his baby Tauros away to an orphanage. It seemed like a good idea, but the choice wasn’t his to make.

  When Gloom finished talking to his children, he waddled over and plopped down next to him in the grass, watching the baby Oddish chat and prattle to one another. Ethan gave Gloom a pat on the leg, and spoke his thoughts. “I’m happy for you, but that seems like a lot of little ones to take care of.”

  “Gloooooom.” The new dad slowly crooned, nodding his agreement.

  Ethan shifted to face him more fully. “From my emotions, you can probably guess where I am heading with this.”

  Gloom nodded once again, still smiling—unbothered.

  “They can stay if they want to, you know that I wouldn’t make them leave… but if they want to go out and explore the world when they grow up a little bit… Well, I think finding their own trainers would be a good thing.” Ethan paused, making sure he wasn’t speaking out of bounds. Gloom wasn’t his pokemon. They were just friends. The final choice wasn’t up to him.

  Seeing as Gloom wasn’t deterred, and even seemed to be listening closely, Ethan continued. “I don’t know how much you know about humans, but the vast majority of them are afraid of Oddish. They’re oftentimes hard to see when asleep, and when accidentally stepped on, can release poison that can kill humans easily.” Ethan huffed a short ugh. “I’ve had to point you and your friends out to several people already.”

  Gloom smiled wider, a bit of drool plopping down to the ground.

  “But, that also means not many people will want your kids as partners.” Ethan said softly, causing Gloom’s smile to dim just a tad. “....But!” Ethan continued, earning even more of Gloom’s focus. “There are some humans that would do anything for a partner at all—orphans. Do you know what those are?”

  Gloom shook his head and turned his body to face Ethan. “They are humans without parents. They live in orphanages, which take care of them. Sadly, they don’t have friends or family to help them find a pokemon for them—A partner. If any of your kids grow up and want to try battling, or just want to explore… I think having them team up with an orphan would be best. To orphans, any pokemon would be better than none. They would accept the Oddish, and I would make sure of it.”

  Gloom raised one of his hands up to his mouth, looking like he was nearly sucking on it, deep in thought.

  Suddenly, a series of bright, warm lights soared into the air not thirty feet away, causing both Ethan and Gloom to look ahead in concern. There, in the meadow, split in two sides, were the Oddish. On one side, a group danced in hops and leaps, leaves springing up and down, bobbing in the breeze. On the other, they twirled and spun, green leaves whirling about without care.

  Twenty to thirty orbs of Sunny Day exploded towards the sky, each orb wobbling and fighting the others for the space in the sky. Those that lost burst in a bloom of orange and yellow, their color cascading down towards the earth in a whimsical, beautiful wave of power.

  Up above the fighting orbs, dark gray clouds coalesced into a grim visage of might. Fshing, strobing, blinding arcs of lightning raced and fought with each other for dominance, creating a fantastical backdrop to the firework dispy of Sunny Day. Rain followed, the thick droplets of water evaporating upon touching the orange and yellow warmth down below, creating something that Ethan hadn’t seen in a long time.

  A rainbow.

  Soon, the dancing stopped, and all looked to the heavens to gaze upon the wonderful, colorful, beautiful arch of the rainbow.

  Then, another blinding fsh of white appeared. Yet, this time it wasn’t the lightning in the sky. It was down on the ground, and in a familiar form. An Oddish, one of the originals, shone in the light of evolution, morphing and bobbing into something greater. Just like when Gloom came to be, this Oddish grew rger, more leaves, bulbs, and arms.

  Within what felt like mere seconds, the light of evolution burst forth, showcasing a new Gloom amongst their midsts.

  Man and pokemon stared in shock and awe at the beautiful sight—that of the rainbow and that of evolution—the two making each other all the more beautiful together.

  Then came the rapturous cheer.

  “Odd!”“Odd-Odd!!!”“OOOOOODDDDDD!”“Oooood!!! Oddish!!!”

  Dozens upon dozens of cheers and appuse erupted at once. Even Ethan stood to cp and congratute the now swarmed new Gloom, as the original Gloom ran forward to embrace his friend.

  Once everything died down, Ethan cupped his hands, smiled, and shouted. “Don’t pnt any babies! We have enough!”