Meanwhile, in a cave in the mountain...

  Cinderace paced nervously back and forth, keeping an eye on Audino, who was carefully watching the final section of the egg, connected to his ear antennae. It had been about four months since Cinderace had found him in the rocky galleries deep in the forest. Since then she had decided to adopt the creature inside her, taking care of it personally and watching it grow in size, refusing even to leave to train with Lucario, something normal on the one hand, since she had a strong maternal instinct, since she already had her two children: Eevee and Matt, a teenage Raboot, both had hatched from eggs as well, only Matt was a Scorbunny at first. Meanwhile, Umbreon and Vaporeon stood watching, to see what the fairy-type pokémon would say.

  "-Hmmmm... Okay..." Audino muttered while smiling. As time went on she was happier, the energy radiating from the egg was a very good sign. "There's nothing left for you to hatch, little guy!

  "- Audino?" Cinder had not heard her because of how low the comment "What's going to happen?" had been.

  She didn't answer him immediately, which made her even more restless, and she began to radiate an aura of warmth. She couldn't let them out of her sight, she was dying to know when the egg would finally hatch. Suddenly, she saw Audino nod to herself, disconnecting the egg's antennae and patting it affectionately.

  "- Well, how's my baby?"

  Audino turned around with a big smile.

  "- Cinderace, there's nothing left for the little creature to come out at last."

  "-YEEEES!" So great was her excitement that she did a big, very energetic cartwheel. She couldn't stop jumping up and down with excitement, she looked like an excited little girl.

  "-How long will we have to wait? - Umbreon spoke for the first time, approaching quickly.

  "At the latest, tomorrow. If we're very lucky this very night it will start to-"

  But she hadn't even finished when her opponent jumped up and down in excitement. She started celebrating and jumping up and down, very excited. Then she ran to the egg, sat down next to it and began to hug it while caressing it with her nose and cheek affectionately.

  "You're going to be a cutie, aren't you! You're going to have a great mommy!"" -And cool brothers too! I'm sure Eevee and Matt must be eager to meet him!" She cheered happily to Vaporeon.

  The cave where they lived was enormous: It was so big that they had even customized it a little in their style: on one side, a large pile of straw covered with thin sheets to withstand the heat. The same could be said about the sheets since they also slept there, although Lucario preferred to sleep on the floor, perhaps because he was used to resting anywhere, in addition to having to be alert at all times in case any danger lurked around them. Meanwhile, Umbreon also slept on the floor, sometimes on straw, as he pleased. And Vaporeon always slept near the lake, only to jump out as soon as he woke up. On the other wall, a large tube television with several antennas and cables connected to a solar electricity generator, outside the cave. As for food, the only thing they had were berries, fruits and foods that were generally pre-cooked and prepared, especially the first two, which since they could pick them from any nearby tree, there was abundance and great variety.

  The lake was at the bottom of the cave, with a descending bank of land. Quite large, on the left it was a little cooler, in the center warmer and on the right warmer, but never too hot. In the background, several holes that connected with tunnels to other lakes of the volcano, even with the great spring of the forest. There they bathed and cooled off, away from the outside heat.

  "-Haha, don't hesitate, Sapphire!" Cinder nodded enthusiastically.

  "- Well, now that there's nothing left for what's there to go out into the world, I guess you want give him a dad... Right?"

  She immediately blushed and the wide smile disappeared from her face. She remembered clearly what she wanted to say.

  "-Well, this...uh, it's just..." Cinderace hesitated and played with her fingers, looking down with some embarrassment.

  "-You made a promise, more like a deal!" Umbreon exclaimed, excited. "Aren't you going to back out now?" Her dark gaze was fixed on the reddish eyes of her opponent, who was blushing even more while she lowered her ears.

  "-It's just...it turns out...actually, I...uh...I..."

  "-You know very well that he will say yes!" Vaporeon stressed as he laughed.

  "-Excuse me for butting in, what's going on?" Audino asked curiously.

  Umbreon sat down calmly and began to explain.

  "-When Cinder found the egg and brought it here to us, Luc continued to be interested in it. You know how lately they've been having those best friend arguments that I consider young lovers' fights..."

  Hearing that, Cinder turned completely red as her withering, annoyed (irony) gaze fixed on him.

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  "Take that last one back!"

  "-You know perfectly well that it's true! Or do I remind you of that time you were arguing for hours because you just couldn't agree on where to train? Or that time you tripped over him while he was eating ice cream? Still I can remember how angry he became, he said he would never forgive you...

  Audino laughed out loud at that. At that, Cinderace knew she was right, turning his ears toward hers and dejectedly sitting down with them.

  "-Okay, I admit it, I really love Luc... a lot... Even if he puts it that way! Anyway, I'm very clumsy sometimes...

  "-But he forgave you later, plus, you were hugging and it seemed like you were finally proposing! Plus, whenever he sees you he blushes a little, even these last few weeks he's been very friendly!" Vaporeon said, joining in and sitting next to her. "I'm sure that despite everything he loves you!

  "-I don't know... What if not?

  "-Don't be like that with yourself, honey! You heard them, things don't just happen and that's it!" The fairy-type Pokémon stood up and patted her head, her reddish locks. "Love is sometimes complicated, sometimes we don't understand it and it asks us many questions, but in the end life is wonderful with it! Don't be afraid to reveal your feelings to him, okay?

  They both looked at each other and Cinderace smiled as she nodded. She felt better, maybe when Luc returned from training she would take him outside the cave for a second as dusk fell, and that would be when she would give him his first kiss, giving him the opportunity to start a family of four children, since Percy was son of Lucario.

  Suddenly, Audino heard something in the distance. These Pokémon are also known for their hearing ability, being able to hear a small stone fall on the ground within a radius of up to two kilometers. But it wasn't that far away, and to make matters worse, it seemed like it was a serious situation...

  "-Oh!" She stifled a cry of concern as she ran towards the cave exit. The remaining three were surprised to see her so worried.

  "-Hey, Audino! Is everything okay out there?" Umbreon asked him, surprised. "Something has happened, I'm sure."

  Suddenly, Audino was seriously surprised.

  "-By Arceus, oh!" And she started running.

  "-Audino, wait!" Cinder shouted, making to run after her followed by Umbreon and Vaporeon.

  Suddenly, cries of unbearable pain began to sound, although far away, but agonizing. Fearing that one of her children had hurt themselves badly, it only took her a few seconds to walk through the entire area. As she left her, the crying was more audible and she verified that, in fact, it was not Eevee or Matt. It belonged to a Rowlet whose right wing was swollen and looked very bad, helped to walk by Percy and Eeve, each one on one side and very carefully, although Audino was already with them, very nervous and alarmed. Eevee was in charge of carrying Row's bag hanging around his neck. Everyone was horrified at that and Cinderace ran with them.

  "-My, this is bad, very bad" Vaporeon exclaimed, going after Cinder.

  Row couldn't stand the pain of how strong and suffocating it was: every cry seemed like a scream and tears kept coming out of her eyes. Her breathing was rapid and very deep, cutting herself off every now and then to let out another sob.

  "-We have to treat him now, we can't take him up, he would get much worse!" She turned to Cinder and the other two. "You stay with the boys, I'll go get my briefcase!" And she shot upward.

  "Aaaaagh, aaaaaagh!" The Rowlet's vision was blurred by tears, he tried to control his breathing to endure the pain, which was impossible. "The wing, I broke it, I can't feel it, it hurts!" she said as she sobbed

  Cinderace couldn't stand him suffering so much. The truth is that his wing was very swollen and red under his fur, so it seemed like he didn't feel it. Was it really a fracture?

  "-Come on, I'm here, hold on, Audino will come back soon" she began to caress his head and see if Audino would return. Umbreon was shocked, he approached Row's wing to inspect it. "But what happened? Eevee, Percy, how did he get hurt?"

  "-It's true, what a strong blow!" Umbreon said. Meanwhile Vaporeon was still at her side.

  "-It was the Ranger team!" Percy said, hugging his friend tightly inside his healthy wing. "It was Braixen!

  "-That!?" She exclaimed horrified. "She has been able to do this!?"

  "-I was in front! Ger, that cheap Gengar, hit us with a Shadow Ball, then they came and started making fun of us. They took Row for being new and sent him against a tree because of how strong the Nitrocharge was. of that... that... UGH!" She couldn't finish the sentence because she was so angry, and Cinderace was shocked. How could her own sister have hurt a small Pokémon?

  Suddenly, Audino returned with what appeared to be a first aid bag. She knelt down next to Row, quickly beginning to search for something she could be useful with. Suddenly, she took out a kind of antidote, which she opened through the spray cap, pouring the contents into a vaccine syringe, while with her other hand she looked for the intermediate point for the needle. Percy was still hugging Row, and Eevee was next to her mother, trying to calm down.

  "-Umbreon, Sapphire, bring Matt and Luc as soon as possible!" With nothing more to say, they both nodded decisively and ran down the path.

  "-Okay, I got it, I'll inject this Full Heal into this point between the wing and the torso, that should ease the pain."

  As soon as Row heard the word "inject" she knew it was a needle. She had been terrified of him since he was a newborn, starting to shake.

  "-Please, not a needle, I'm afraid, it's going to hurt!" Row pleaded.

  "-It's just going to be a moment!" Audino said, making sure everything was ready. Percy wouldn't leave his friend alone, not now, when he needed him the most.

  "-No, anything but that, please don't do it!"

  Cinderace hugged him, careful not to hurt him, so she couldn't see the injection.

  ".Hold me tight, don't think anything, okay?"

  "Please, nooo!"

  But it was too late: Row felt a sting at that halfway point, filling him with anguish.

  And a very uncomfortable and almost sore feeling that lasted a few seconds before Audino took the needle and put a gauze quickly in its place. Row felt how pain began to anesthetize little by little, relieving it in that part, although feeling the heat of the strong and very remarkable made. He immediately broke to cry for all the fear that had happened, it seemed somewhat exaggerated, but he felt horrible to go with the wing in tow with that bad pain.

  "Shhhhhhhh, Shhh, it's up, it's up ..." Cinderace whispered as he stroked his head. "You're very brave, you'll be fine, you'll see!

  Audino was not happy even though he had solved the pain of an injured. Seeing him cry for fear and confusion did not stop worrying. He could also notice that he was very different from the others of his species, how was that possible? And as for Percy and Eevee, they tried to be strong and give strength to Row, although the Riolu had to make an effort to contain the tears without being noticed that he wanted to cry in penalty for his poor friend.

  "We better go up. I can finish checking in more detail"

  Everyone nodded and could go, this time with Row in Cánderace's arms, very careful not to cause any discomfort in the wing.