Young Zeno, the Little Dad

The Wingull had just hatched and was full of curiosity about the world. Having only just gotten used to flying, it happily flew around Zeno's room, distracting Zeno so much that he could not study properly.

Yet, faced with such a tiny Pokémon, Zeno had no idea what to do, terrified that if he scolded it, it would start crying right away. He could only let it do as it pleased until it had burned off its excess energy.

When Zeno held it, he felt a slippery sensation on its body. Barring any accidents, it was most likely the Hydration ability. As for abilities, Zeno did not have any particular demands.

Noticing that Zeno was busy right then and had no time to pay attention to it, the Wingull simply flew outside on its own. As soon as it went out the door, it saw a fish in the pond greeting it. The Wingull was quite familiar with its aura and was not scared of its fierce appearance, flying over to it happily.

"Mii!" (Hello there!)

"Liya, liya!" (Hello! I got here before you, so you should call me big bro!) The Carvanha pulled a stern face, trying to put on the airs of an older brother.

"Mii!" (Hello, big bro!)

"Liya!" (Not bad, you're an obedient kid!) Seeing how quick-witted it was, the Carvanha could not help nodding in satisfaction. It had not waited around for so long in vain.

"Mii, mii? Mii?" (Big bro, does Daddy have something going on? How come he won't play with me at all?) The Wingull stood on a rock next to the Carvanha, tilting its head in utter confusion.

"Liya, liya, ya-ya-ya!" (He's not your daddy, you should call him master. It seems he has to take some kind of exam recently.) Although the Carvanha did not understand what an exam was either, since Zeno was being so serious about it, it definitely had to be an important matter.

"Mii, mii!" (Alright, then can you play with me, big bro?!)

"Liya!" (No problem!)

The two Pokémon began to frolic in the pond just like that. The Wingull was not used to swimming at first, but with the Carvanha's encouragement, it gradually grew to like the activity.

Zeno read his books in the room for a while before noticing that the room had suddenly grown much quieter. He looked up and glanced around, only to realize that the Wingull was no longer inside. A bit worried about it, Zeno quickly closed his book and went outside to look for it.

As soon as he pushed open the door, Zeno saw the Carvanha and the Wingull having the time of their lives, splashing around in the pond like two lively brats. Zeno felt this scene was quite meaningful and could not help recording it.

Seeing them get along so harmoniously, Zeno felt much more at ease. It was rare to see such a considerate side to the Carvanha, resembling an older neighborhood brother.

"Mii!"

The moment the Wingull spotted Zeno, it flew toward him happily, and Zeno reached out to catch it. Its body was soaking wet, dampening all of Zeno's clothes.

"I'm not your daddy!" Zeno tapped its little head, unable to resist correcting it.

Realizing that she had soaked his clothes, the Wingull felt a bit embarrassed, quickly climbing onto Zeno's shoulder and rubbing her little head against him.

After all, the Wingull had only hatched two days ago and still clung tightly to Zeno. Pokémon grew truly fast; in a mere two days, the Wingull had already learned how to take to the skies and dive into the water. Stroking the Wingull's head, Zeno intended to check what moves she had mastered so far.

"Growth, Water Gun, Quick Attack—wait, you even know Aqua Ring and Wide Guard?!"

Seeing the last two moves, Zeno felt pleasantly surprised. Both were egg moves, which its mother, a Pelipper, naturally would not be able to learn. Zeno guessed these must have been inherited from its father. To be able to inherit both moves at once, its father was most likely a Mantine.

"I didn't expect you to be quite so impressive!"

Zeno stroked her little head, unable to hold back his praise. Teacher Zhihe had really given him a huge surprise! Hearing Zeno praise her, the Wingull proudly straightened her posture.

"Junior Brother, getting all cozy with your little darling again!" Sapphire teased the moment she stepped into the courtyard and saw the two of them snuggled together.

"What, jealous? You can get cozy with Dorara, too."

"Forget it, I'm scared of being crushed to death." Knowing this was not a weight she could handle, Sapphire had completely abandoned that notion.

"Hahaha!"

"Junior Brother, you really look like a little dad right now. Not bad, pretty dashing."

"Can't help it, this kid relies on me too much."

"Junior Brother, you're so close with your little darling, aren't you afraid your big darling will get jealous?"

"You mean the Carvanha? It's got a lot of opinions these days and won't even let me hold it, always claiming it's already a mature, big fish."

"Haha, your Pokémon are all so interesting!"

"Shouldn't you be out playing right now? Why'd you suddenly come back?"

"Senior Brother told me to fetch you. He said to bring the Wingull over so he can give it a comprehensive checkup."

"Alright, thanks. I'll head over right now."

The Littleroot Research Lab was fully equipped and could analyze all sorts of data on Pokémon. Although Zeno felt the Wingull was perfectly fine, this health checkup was still necessary.

"You're here. Put the Wingull on that platform, and it'll be done in a moment."

"Alright, Senior Brother thought of everything."

The Wingull was carefree enough that even when placed on a strange machine, it was not scared in the slightest, keeping its eyes open as it stared curiously at the scanner's lens.

Once the full-body scan finished, the Wingull still refused to climb down from the apparatus. Seeing her take such an interest, Zeno simply let her be and ran over to his senior brother's side to look at the analyzed data together.

"The ability is Hydration, and as for the nature, it should be Sassy."

"I can tell..."

"Haha, she really is pretty bold. I don't need to spell out what moves she knows. She's developing very well, a bit plumper than a normal baby Wingull. Your feeding regimen is quite good."

Zeno: "..."

"There's nothing wrong with her physique either; maintaining this state is great. Wait one more day, and she can start normal training or battles. But since she's still young, letting her test the waters is fine, though I wouldn't suggest letting her get too tired."

"Got it, I'll keep that in mind."

"As for how to raise her, I won't offer any suggestions. I trust you already have your own routine."

"Thanks, Senior Brother."

"Mii!" The Wingull flew onto Zeno's shoulder, chiming in to agree.

"Haha, so, how does it feel to be a little dad?"

"It's alright. I think it's a pretty novel experience. She might be a bit mischievous, but she's still very cute."

"Looks like Zeno really enjoys this feeling. You're suited to be a Breeder after all. Good luck on the exam, I'll be going to cheer you on!"

"Yeah, definitely."