"Wow, wow, wow~ So adorable~ Daisy is just too cute~ When she grows up, she's definitely going to be a great beauty~"
Inside a hospital room in Pallet Town Hospital, Liam stood beside a cradle, teasing the baby inside with his finger. His face was full of pure delight, as though he had been completely healed by the sight.
"Hey, hey, hey! Move aside already! That's my daughter! It's my turn to play with her! And when did you even decide on her name? Did you get my permission?"
Max, who had long since reached the limit of his patience, shoved Liam aside and eagerly leaned over the cradle with a strange grin on his face.
However—
"Waaah! Waaahhh!"
The baby seemed to be frightened by the smile on Max's face and immediately burst into tears. Max froze on the spot, one finger still awkwardly extended, completely at a loss for what to do.
"Oh dear~ Don't cry, sweetheart~ Come here, Mommy's got you~"
Lying on the hospital bed nearby, Lina quickly picked up the baby and gently rocked her in her arms.
"Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!"
But despite that, the little girl continued crying.
"Max, Lina! Do you think the baby might be hungry?"
Watching the baby cry nonstop, Delia suddenly had a flash of inspiration and voiced her guess.
"Oh! That's probably it! It has been a while since her last feeding. There, there, sweetheart, Mommy will feed you now~"
Still somewhat flustered herself, Lina immediately realized Delia was right. Then, completely forgetting that Liam was still in the room, she began unbuttoning her clothes to nurse the baby.
Delia instantly blushed bright red. Without hesitation, she grabbed both Liam and Max and pushed them out of the room.
Max: "…Why did I get kicked out too?"
He stood in the hallway looking utterly speechless, glaring resentfully at Liam.
Liam: "…Ahem. Don't get hung up on the details. Let's discuss something more important—Daisy's future growth, education, career, marriage, and eventually leaving home."
Feeling uneasy under Max's stare, Liam coughed lightly and hurriedly changed the subject.
Unfortunately, Max's expression only grew darker.
Then—
"GET LOST! Daisy IS MINE! NOBODY IS TAKING HER AWAY!!"
Max's furious roar echoed throughout the entire hospital.
...
Night fell, and the stars filled the sky.
Liam and Delia walked home together. Delia held onto Liam's arm, resting her head lightly on his shoulder as the cool evening breeze accompanied them down the quiet road.
"Heh, I never expected something this big to happen the moment we got back. Just like that, I became an uncle. I wasn't mentally prepared for it at all."
Looking up at the starry sky, Liam sighed emotionally.
"Yeah, and I became an aunt all of a sudden. I feel like I aged several years in one day. But Daisy is just so adorable~ Hehehe~"
The moment Delia thought about little Daisy's chubby pink cheeks, she couldn't help giggling to herself.
"Oh? So Delia likes children that much? Hehe, don't worry. We'll definitely have children just as adorable in the future. Have you forgotten? We've already met Ash before."
Liam grinned as he reminded her.
"I know, but today I suddenly realized that having a daughter would be wonderful too! Just look at how cute Daisy is! And I've already thought of a name!"
Delia abruptly stopped walking and stared at Liam with sparkling eyes. Both hands gripped his arm tightly.
"We could call her Ashly! Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
Her tone carried a distinctly dangerous implication.
Liam: "..."
At that moment, Liam's spirit nearly shattered.
"Ash... how am I supposed to save you..."
Chatting and daydreaming about their future together, the two eventually arrived home.
Then—
"Hm? Who are they?"
From a distance, Liam noticed a black car parked in front of his house. Beside it stood two people dressed in black trench coats, silently waiting.
"What are you doing here?"
Liam and Delia approached, and Liam spoke first.
Before the two men could answer, however, Delia suddenly shouted—
"Hmph! Dressed all in black and lurking outside our house this late at night? You must be up to something shady! Lucario!!"
"Ruuuu!"
The front door suddenly swung open. A blue figure shot out like lightning!
In the blink of an eye, it arrived beside the two men in black.
Bang!
One punch.
Wham!
One kick.
Without even getting the chance to say a single word, both men were sent crashing to the ground.
Then the blue figure performed a stylish backflip and landed in front of Delia in a fighting stance.
Liam: "..."
Speechless, Liam looked at the eager Delia, then at the unconscious men who had been beaten before they could utter a word, and finally at the blue Pokémon standing proudly before them—
A Lucario.
Still wearing an apron.
At that moment, Liam genuinely began wondering whether encouraging Delia to challenge Gyms and compete in the Silver Conference had really been the right decision.
Looking at her now...
Her becoming this battle-hungry was probably his fault.
"Huh? What happened here? Uh... Liam? Why did you suddenly attack my people?"
The door of the black car opened.
Miyamoto stepped out wearing sunglasses and looked at Liam with complete exasperation.
Liam: "..."
A short while later, inside the house, Liam invited Miyamoto to sit at the table. Delia and Lucario immediately disappeared into the kitchen to prepare tea.
"Sigh, I didn't really have a choice. We've been trying to contact you for days without success. In the end, I came looking for Delia, hoping she could help us find you. We got here and found nobody home, so we waited for hours. Then, the moment we finally met..."
Miyamoto pointed toward the front door with a face full of black lines.
The rest didn't need explaining.
"Hehe~ You can't blame me, Sister Miyamoto. You were dressed entirely in black! I thought you were bad guys!"
Delia smiled awkwardly as she set a cup of tea in front of Miyamoto before quickly hiding behind Liam.
Since she had met Miyamoto at her engagement banquet, she had recognized her immediately after the misunderstanding.
"Ahem. Sister Miyamoto, what exactly brings you here?"
Liam suppressed a laugh at Delia's embarrassed behavior and turned back to the matter at hand.
"Well..."
Miyamoto glanced at Delia behind him and hesitated.
"It's alright. Just say it. I was planning to tell Delia about my affairs anyway."
Liam understood what she meant.
"Hehehe~"
Delia immediately covered her face and giggled shyly after hearing that.
"Uh... alright then."
Miyamoto took a breath before continuing.
"Actually, the first reason I came was to tell you that... it... escaped."
Her expression turned into a bitter smile.
"(⊙o⊙) Huh??"
Liam had no idea what she was talking about.
"You know... the experiment you asked Blaine to conduct. It succeeded... but... two days ago... it destroyed the laboratory and then... escaped."
Miyamoto scratched her cheek awkwardly and finally revealed the truth.
Liam: "…(⊙o⊙) WHAT?!!!"