June 9th, 1995, 9:40 A.M:
Several days after the truth was revealed to Nick about his mother, the young pup eventually adjusted to the information given to him and got used to living at the orphanage with the other children. He is currently 8 days old. All the children liked playing with him, even though he couldn’t do much.
His private basic lessons with Miss Mabel have gone well since he enjoyed being taught by her. The pup has made a bit of progress with basic movement training, but wasn’t able to walk since his legs couldn’t support him yet. Nonetheless, she was proud of any progress that was made.
Liam and Nicholas bonded further in their friendship and were often seen in the Activities Room, making finger paint pictures or watching some educational television. Alphabet Avenue became a favorite show that Nick enjoyed because of how friendly the main characters acted towards each other, and from all the colorful visuals. The young turtle became a protective big brother to the young pup since they were both abandoned before they were born. He even read children stories to him at times.
At this moment, Nick was spending time with his best-friend and a three-year old Vulpix in the main hall on the first floor. She had a uniform that was similar to the one that everyone else wore, but it had a skirt to it. Her name was Melaine. This little fox had her own little club called The Little Musketeers: a fun little group that consisted of children aged one to four. They’d meet up before bed and talk about what they did today. These were called Musketeer Meetings.
Even though Melaine was older than the two kids, she wasn’t potty trained and still wore diapers. She didn’t want to give them up just yet because of how cozy and convenient they were. The little fox didn’t mind not being potty-trained for a while longer, it allowed her to enjoy them until she got tired of them.
“So… how is the Nickster doing today?” asked Melaine.
“He’s doing well, just finished breakfast recently. He was fed Pecha Berry Carrot Puree, which he didn’t mind having. He thinks the Oran Berry flavor is better for taste.” said Liam as the young pup gave off some approving babbles. Which meant that he agreed.
“That’s very good… you’re the talk of all the children here at the orphanage. After all, it’s been a while since we had an infant orphan here. The last one was adopted a long time ago.” said the little fox as she gently patted Nick on the head. “In a way, you bring a friendly aura to the whole place. You’re a rather energetic pup infant, and I hope you get adopted over the next couple of days… I’d hate to see you spend the rest of your childhood here.”
Lady Drevelle walked by them without saying a word, since she wasn’t interested in speaking to them. She headed to her office to manage some financial documents on her computer, not intending to hang around for very long. She just wanted to make sure things were in order.
“How about we take a walk around the playground, and get some fresh air for a bit? I’ve got time before classes start for me at ten-thirty.” asked the squirtle.
“Sure, I don’t mind that at all. My class starts later on…” said Melaine as she turned towards the young pup and asked him. “Want to ride on my back, Nick? I don’t mind if you’re a little heavy.” Nick was rather curious since he never went for a ride on someone’s back before.
He crawled over to the Vulpix as she lowered her back slightly, to allow the pup to climb up. The infant crawled up onto her back and got into a sitting position where he was the most comfortable. Nick was a bit heavy, but she didn’t mind it. Before they headed out, Marsha and Angelina approached them.
“Hey kiddos, whatcha up to?” asked Angelina.
“We wanted to take Nicky for a walk around the playground, he’s on my back right now.” said Melaine.
“That’s very sweet of you two. Allow us to escort you for the sake of supervision,” said Marsha.
“Yes, we don’t want you kiddos getting into trouble.” said the grass snake. The vulpix nodded as she allowed Marsha and Angelina to lead the way as they opened the entrance door. The gang exited the building and headed towards the playground. The young pup enjoyed riding on Melaine’s back. They walked around it slowly, allowing Nick to have a view of what it had to offer. This playground had a swingset, a tire-swing, a merry-go-round, and a big playset themed to a pirate ship. There was also a wide open space for any other activities.
“Well Nickster, this is the whole playground. I like the Merry-Go-Round myself, even though it’ll make you dizzy after spinning on it for a while.” said the vulpix.
“I like the big playset, it allows me to climb around and have fun!” said Liam. Nick babbled along happily as he enjoyed the tour of the playground that he was being given. While this was happening, Angelina was thinking of something else she could do with Nick today. That’s when a lightbulb figuratively appeared above her head.
“Hey Marsha, I just got an idea of what we can do with Nicky today.” said Angelina as she stopped moving. The rest would stop as well.
“Whatcha got, Angie?” Marsha asked.
“Why don’t we… give Nick a tour of Striaton City?” the snivy suggested.
“That is a radical idea! I am on board with it! But first… we need permission from Lady Drevelle.” said the pikachu.
“Then let’s get that permission!” said Angelina.
Nick tilted his head to the right in confusion when he heard the word ‘City’ but didn’t have a basic concept of what it meant. Liam looked at the pup and noticed that the pup didn’t quite understand what it meant. So he decided to give him a short-hand definition of it.
“A city is a large town that houses hundreds of people, and this orphanage is located right outside one.” said the young squirtle. After hearing the answer, the shiny puppy was curious to see what Striaton City looked like in person as he let out some babbles of excitement. Indicating that he indeed wanted to go there.
“That’s right, Liam.” said Marsha. “You’re quite smart.”
“Thanks ma’am. I’ve read picture books about different locations around the region,” said Liam.
“Let’s head in kiddos,” said Angelina.
Once they were back inside the orphanage on the first floor, Marsha and Angelina went up to Lady Drevelle’s office. Making sure to knock on the door since it wasn’t open, it’d be impolite to just barge in. From behind the door, the gothitelle said “Come in… and make it quick please. I’ve still got financial files to manage on my computer.” She didn’t want to dally for too long when it came to getting work done.
The two interns entered the office, which surprised the owner quite a bit. She doesn’t usually see those two in her office unless she actually ordered them to be there at a specific date of time. There was some paper-work on the desk with some paper folders that held important documents. She stared at them with an emotionless look on her face.
“Mis- I mean Lady Drevelle. May we please give Nick a tour of Striaton City?” asked Marsha.
“It won’t be for the whole day, just a few hours…” said Angelina.
Lady Drevelle thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t a bad idea, as long as the child didn’t escape anywhere. Because if something bad happened, it’d all be on her for allowing the excursion to take place. She nodded and said in a strict tone “You may go and give that child a tour of the city. However… you must be back by at least eleven-thirty on the dot. No more—no less.”
“Yes Lady Drevelle!” said both interns in unison.
“Good… now get out of my office and get prepped for the excursion, I’ll call the security guards ahead of time and tell them the details.” said the owner as both interns exited the office immediately. Not wanting to anger Lady Drevelle. From there, they’d start prepping for the trip into the city. Angelina went to the Nursery to prep the Diaper Bag while Marsha went down to the first floor to get a stroller.
Nick and the others saw as Marsha headed down the stairs and entered the Supplies Room. The infant was rather excited as he babbled happily. Liam was pleased that his young friend would be able to expand his horizons, since the pup hadn’t really seen much of the world around him. He wanted to go with them, but needed to be present for his morning class.
It only took three minutes for Marsha to find a stroller, and exited the room with a blue and light-blue striped stroller that had a black medium-sized canopy. This came in handy during those hot summer days since it helped with keeping a young occupant shaded from the sunlight. It also came with a big storage basket.
“Alright, ready to go little pup?” asked the pikachu as she picked up the young pup and put him in the seat. Making sure to buckle him in. The seat had very soft padding inside of it, so the occupant wouldn’t be uncomfortable for a while. Nick babbled happily as he moved around a bit, slightly kicking his little feet paws. “Well.. you’re certainly raring to go, while looking fly in your onesie!”
Angelina returned from the Nursery with a white diaper bag filled with changing supplies. This included a bottle of milk, a toy rattle, a light blue pacifier with a strap, and a separate bottle filled with water. They didn’t much since they were only going to be gone for a few hours. She’d put the diaper bag in the storage basket.
“We’re prepped and ready, let’s go girl!” the grass snake said.
“Right behind you, let’s roll!” said the pikachu.
The three made their way out of the building, pushing the stroller down the path that was by the garden. The two Machop security guards nodded to them as they headed out, they were told about the excursion by Lady Drevelle through their walkie-talkies. These two were well informed.
“Oh Nickster, you’re going to have a wonderful time seeing the city!” said Angelina as she pushed the stroller.
9:55 A.M, Striaton City
After fifteen minutes on traveling on foot, the three arrived in Striaton City. They made sure to stick to the sidewalk and only cross to the otherside when it was safe. Marsha gave the pup his pacifier ahead of time, before arriving in the city. The young infant suckled on his pacifier as he took in all the sights he was witnessing. People walked on by while cars drove down the street at twenty-five miles per hour. That was the city speed limit.
“Welcome to Striaton City Nicky, one of the largest cities in the Unova region. Were going to stop by some places that I’d like to show you. Going to expand that horizon of yours. First stop: City Hall!” said Angelina as she pushed the stroller down the sidewalk. In order to reach City Hall, they had to walk three additional blocks and cross the crosswalk when they were able to. It only took five minutes to do.
Once they finished going across the crosswalk, they arrived at the gray marble steps that lead up to the main building. The exterior of the City Hall had two white marble statues of happy dragonites that towered over the civilians and employees that walked these steps. There was also a ramp for those who were using wheelchairs or strollers. The statues were created in this style to appear friendly. There were also two marble pillars that stood outside the entrance to the facility as well. The main doors were glass revolving doors.
Nick looked at the City Hall building as workers walked by the stroller, some even curiously stared at the pup before continuing on their way.
“Welcome to City Hall, this is where many of the city services are managed. People in fancy business suits also work here as well, they are called workers or employers.” said the grass snake.
“It’s also the place where Mayor Reinman resides since he lives in a luxurious office of his own. He’s such an honest man with great integrity.” said the electric mouse.
The gang made their way into the City Hall by taking the ramp and going through the glass revolving doors when it was their turn to do so. The inside of the building had a fancy lobby with a small waiting area, a receptionist desk, and elevators that went to the other two floors of the building. To use the elevators required an employee identification card or an apointment card to be inserted in the digital card reader off to the side. The floor was a brown and white checkerboard design.
“Well… this is the inside of City Hall. But we can’t quite go beyond the Lobby Floor without an appointment.” said Angelina.
“But its a fancy place, not much fun though.” said Marsha. Nick took his time to look around, but it didn’t really have his interests for long. He wanted to see more of the city. The two interns took this as a sign to head on out as they exited the building. It was a rather short stay. There wasn’t really much to do other than watch as people lined up at the receptionist desk.
The next location they were heading to was Pearl Mart, a popular shopping center that everyone shopped at. They were well known for selling goods at the highest quality. It was owned by a Grumpig named Pearlie. She was the most friendly owner, always doing her best to help out customers when they needed it.
The inside of the shopping center had a black and white marble floor with pink and purple checkered walls. Popular music from artists like Braviary Six, Pink Groove, and many others played throughout. It was quite clean, and it had bright pink neon signs over each section of the store. It was easy to see, and quite glamorous.
“Welcome to Pearl Mart… the best place to shop. I like to get most of my hair products from here.” said the pikachu. “The owner is right over there, she likes to make sure the floors are clean and everything is in tip-top shape. So it can be a hip place for everyone to shop. Perhaps next time we go shopping, we’ll bring you with us.” The owner looked at them and smiled, gently approaching them. She had known these two because they were frequent shoppers. Pearlie was in a pink vest with a tie-dye shirt underneath it, along with a pink and yellow zigzag skirt.
“Howdy, good to see you two. Welcome to Pearl Mart! How’s the internship going?” said Pearlie as she was distracted by the young pup in the stroller. “Who’s this little cutie you got here?”
“This is Nicholas, he’s the newest addition to the orphanage. He hatched from his egg days ago.” said the grass snake.
“May I hold him for a moment?” She asked.
“Go ahead, I am sure he won’t mind.” said Angelina as she unbuckled the pup from his stroller and gently handed him over to the Grumpig. The infant babbled happily as he was being held.
“What a cutie! I hope you get adopted soon!” said the Grumpig as she tickled his stomach a little. “After all, it saddens me when children get abandoned.”
Nick let out a small amount of giggling as he was being tickled for that moment. He was then handed back to Marsha, who put him back into the stroller seat and buckled him back in. She was happy to see the young pup having good interactions with other people so far.
“Yes, it’s very saddening indeed.” said Angelina.
“So… need anything while you are here? Food? Hair Product? The latest CD album from Braviary Six?” the Grumpig asked as she put in some suggestions.
“We don’t need anything right now, were just showing Nick around the city. It’s a little excursion.” said the grass snake. “But I do appreciate the offer.”
“Actually, I do have a small gift for you. Wait here.” said the owner as she walked away for the moment and made her way to the ‘Baby’ section of the store. She’d return five minutes later with a small pack of diapers called ‘Jeanies’ and placed them in the storage basket. These diapers had a picture of a diaper with a denim-like design to it. It was like a small pair of denim jeans for babies.
“Jeanies? Are these a new brand of diapers?” asked Marsha.
“Yeah, and they are the most popular brand right now. Mothers like how fly their babies are when they are romping about in these diapers.” said Pearlie. “They also have a lot of padding in the front and back. Very absorbent. Don’t have to worry about any leaking for a while.”
“Wow… thank you! That’s totally rad of you!” said Angelina.
“You’re welcome, I figured it’d come in handy since you’re caring for an infant at the moment. A comfortable diaper is a good diaper.” the grumpig stated. “Heck, even my own kids like them. That just shows how great they are!”
“Amazing! Well… thank you for the extra diapers! We’re going to head out now!” said the grass snake.
“Yeah, we only have a few hours to be in the city.” said the pikachu.
“Understandable, I’ll see you two next time!” said the grumpig as she watched them head out of the store.
While the two could’ve explored the store a good bit, they didn’t really have a lot of hours to spend. The gang had to be back in time after all. It was onto the next destination: Cilan’s Food Botique. This was a popular restaurant in the city, and usually reservations had to be done ahead of time. However… customers can get a table without one. The building usually emanated pleasant smells of freshly cooked meals, with the most common scent being fried potatoes.
10:25 A.M
It took about eleven minutes to reach this restaurant on foot since it was ten blocks down from Pearl Mart. The young pup, who didn’t have his pacifier in at the moment, began drooling and relaxing after he smelled the gracious scent of food. Marsha giggled as she looked at how relaxed the infant was. She got out a baby wipe and gently wiped the drool from around his mouth.
“Hungry Nickster? Don’t worry, we’ll have lunch when get back.” Angelina asked as she got a baby bottle filled with milk and handed it to the young pup. He immediately took the bottle gently and began drinking it down. “Woah little buddy, slow down! That milk won’t disappear on you.” The grass snake giggled as a man exited from the restaurant.
“Here to make a dinner reservation? Or just enjoying the smell of the greatest meals ever made?” asked the man. This was Cilan, a slender twenty-five year old young man with green chartreuse slicked back hair and grass-colored eyes. He wore a black pin-stripe tuxedo with a dark-green tie. “Awww…. Who’s this shiny little puppy? I think its Evaluation Time!” The man then checked him over for a moment.
“Hey Cilan, good to see you.” said Angelina as she smiled. “This is Nicholas, but you may call him Nicky. I’ve been caring for him at Blisswood Orphanage since he hatched days ago. Were currently out on an excursion.”
“He’s got healthy and shiny yellow fur, no injuries, and those brown eyes really bring the cuteness factor up to a ten!” said Cilan as he watched the pup slowly drink his bottle of milk. “He appears to be well cared for by my evaluation.”
“Thank you, I’ve been like a big sister to him.” said the grass snake as she watched the pup finish his bottle. Marsha took the empty bottle and put it back in the diaper bag as Cilan crouched down in order to get to eye-level with Nicky. He then gave his left paw a gentle handshake as he said “A pleasure to meet you, Nick. I don’t often see shiny pokemon like yourself. You’re a unique pup!” The infant babbled happily in response as his left paw was given a handshake.
“We’d like to come over for dinner sometime, but… Nick can’t eat solid foods yet since he doesn’t have any teeth.” said Marsha as the man gave the pup a gentle pat on the head.
“How about this? I could make some fancy baby food puree and bring it over to the orphanage tomorrow morning?” He said to them.
“We’d appreciate it, if you don’t mind taking time out of the day.” said Angelina.
“I’ll make the time. It will also be the perfect challenge to try and make something that can appeal to Nick’s appetite.” Cilan said to them.
“Thank you so much… I am sure Nicky will appreciate it the most!” said the pikachu.
“Not a problem! It shouldn’t take too long at all. So tell me… what’s his favorite flavor of baby food?” He asked them.
“He really enjoys the Oran Berry flavored baby food puree. It has that perfect amount of sweetness while giving him plenty of Vitamin C and D.” said Angelina. “I really care for his health, so its definitely important that he had a good nutritional diet.”
“Good to know, I’ll have to make something like that.” said the man. “You sound like the perfect mother for him.”’
“I appreciate the compliment, me and Marsha want to be nurses one day. That’s why we took on an internship at Blisswood Orphanage.” said the grass snake.
“I am sure you’ll both become fine nurses. You both have fine qualities of gentleness and friendliness.” said Cilan. “Being a nurse is a great profession. Even if it’s not easy at times.”
Suddenly… a loud gurgling was heard from the pup’s stomach. This infant knew it was time to relieve the pressure in his bowels and bladder. He started grunting as he clenched his paws and scrunched up his face. Marsha went over to him and gave him a gentle pat on the head as he did his business.
FRRRRRRRT! BLORT! BLRT! SMUUURSH! PSSSSSSSSH! CRINKLE!
Nick let out a sigh of relief as the back of his onesie bulked up from the mid-sized mess that he deposited into his diaper, along with it being soaked in the front. The young pup had a dopey grin on his face. It was definitely time for a diaper change! A stinky and familiar scent wafted up from the stroller.
“Oh dear! Well… you’ll have to change diapers on occasion. It comes with the responsibility of being a Nurse.” said Cilan as he chuckled and pinched his nose. Both interns giggled as they saw the expression on the infant’s face.
“I’m almost used to the stench…” said Angelina as she covered her nose along with Marsha. “Are you all done, Nickster? You’ve made quite the big load.”
“I think he is… what kind of pokemon is he?” asked the pikachu.
“Fighting type, I believe.” said the grass snake as she chuckled.
“For a fighting-type, he makes the biggest messes.” said Marsha. “We should get him changed in the nearest bathroom. He may be content right now, but he’ll be whiny later on.”
“You can change him inside the restaurant, we have the most cleanest restrooms. I make sure they are cleaned every few days. You don’t need to be a customer to use them.” said the man as he lead them inside the building. Nick relaxed in his stroller as they went inside, not minding how messy his diaper was.
When the three entered the bathroom, Cilan went back to managing the kitchen in the back of the restaurant as the two interns got the diaper changing supplies prepped. The bathroom itself smelled like pecha-berries since it was cleaned recently. The floors had a shiny white tile while the walls were a pastel white color. Marsha got the changing table set up so it was ready to go.
“Time for a diaper change, Nickster.” said the snivy as she unbuckled the stroller straps and gently took the young pup out of the seat using her vines, gently laying him down on the changing table. She then undid the fasteners on the bottom section of his onesie and pushed up the flap.
It was then changing time: she untapped the dirty nappy and slid it from underneath the pup’s rear. Throwing it in the trash. Angelina then got out some baby wipes and began wiping his rear with gentle movements. It seems that Nick didn’t mind the slight chill from them. Afterwards, Marsha handed her a Jeanies brand diaper instead of the usual that were packed.
“Let’s give these diapers a try, perhaps Nick will like em. They also have maximum absorbancy.” said the pikachu. “Want to test that out?”
“Sure, let’s do it.” said the snivy as she slid the denim-jean diaper underneath the pup’s bottom and pulled it up to the front so it was in-between his little legs. She then applied some Oran Berry scented baby powder to the front and back of the nappy. Securing the tapes shortly after. It didn’t take too long since the infant wasn’t really squirming a lot.
“All clean, Nickster!” said Angelina joyfully as she washed her leaf hands. Marsha put the diaper changing supplies back into the white diaper bag while Nick was being put back into the stroller. The snivy made sure to buckle him in before they headed out of the bathroom and exited the restaurant. The pup would kick his little feet around as they went out of the building.
The small excursing had gone pretty well, both interns were able to show the young pup what Striaton City looked like, including a couple places that were in the city itself. Nick was rather satisfied as he babbled happily to himself. Angelina asked her friend “Ready to head back? We can surprise Lady Drevelle with an early return. She did say return by eleven-thirty.”
“That is a totally rad idea. I’m all for that!” said Marsha.
The gang began making their way out of the city, making sure to take the proper crosswalks when they needed to since they couldn’t just take one road to the city exit. It was a bit of a long trip back, but the young pup didn’t have to worry since he was being pushed in a stroller.
10:37 A.M, Blisswood Orphanage:
The three arrived back at the orphanage where Miss Marin and Lady Drevelle were waiting at the entrance. The two interns were surprised to see them outside.
“So… did you three enjoy yourselves?” Miss Marin asked them.
“Yeah, it was totally hip!” said Angelina.
“Ahuh, Nick totally had a wonderful time. We showed him City Hall, Cilan’s Fancy Food Boutique, and even Pearl Mart. We actually got some free diapers from the owner as well, as a gift.” said Marsha.
“That’s great, I am glad you three had a wonderful excursion.” said the audino.
“I will say… I am a bit impressed that you two decided to arrive earlier than I expected and thus have surprised me. You may have a break for now,” said Lady Drevelle.
“Thank you Lady Drevelle.” said the two interns in unison.
Both Marsha and Angelina went inside the orphanage, taking Nicholas to the Nursery until lunch time came around. Making sure to take him out of the stroller as they allowed him to play with some toys that were on the floor. The young pup was very happy that he was able to get out and see more of what was beyond the orphanage.
