?sclaimer: I don't claim to own any characters in the story. The plot is mostly mine, with several events from Diamond and Pearl tying in, and any character you will never ever ever find in any Pokemon game in existence will probably be an original character. Depending on the character, I may claim to own him/her, but for people like Cynthia's parents, it's fine. No copyright violations intended. Specific other types of violations, maybe. *wink*

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A year had passed since the incident with the trainer, and shortly after, Cynthia had been given a poke ball for Spiritomb by her parents, who realized that if Cynthia lost Spiritomb, she would become actually depressed. Spiritomb had refused to enter the poke ball. *I want a dusk ball,* it had told her. *Much cooler.* So he had gotten one. Around Delibird Night that year, after she had unwrapped all of her presents (a CD by System of a Down, a black cloak, a teardrop-shaped pin to go with the cloak, and a spell tag for Spiritomb), they had eaten dinner and she had gone to sleep.
The following morning, she awoke, got dressed, and was about to go into the hallway when her foot bumped into something hard. She looked down and saw a wrapped box. Cynthia picked it up and read the label on it. It was addressed to her, and she carried it into the living room, where her parents sat on the couch.
"Mommy? Daddy?" she asked.
"What is it, Cynth?" her mother asked.
"First, why do you keep calling me that?" Cynthia asked her.
"Because it sounds like the name of a flower," was the reply.
"Well, anyway, thanks for the extra present."
"What extra present?" her parents asked together.
"This one." Cynthia held up the box.
"We didn't get that," her dad told her.
"But if Delibird brought it, wouldn't it say 'to Cynthia, from Delibird' on it?"
"Yes, it would."
"All it says is 'Cynthia'."
"Well, what's in it?"
Cynthia carried the box to the middle of the room and set it on the floor, sitting next to it. Spiritomb came floating through the wall.
*What's all the fuss about?* it asked, then spotted the present. *Oh, that.*
"What do you mean, 'oh, that'?" Cynthia demanded out loud.
"You already knew about it?" George asked it.
*Yep.* Spiritomb said, speaking to all of them.
"Do you know who it's from?" Cindy asked.
*Nope.*
"Oh," Cynthia muttered. She tore open the wrapping paper, then opened the box. She held up a round, blue object with a black stripe around the middle. "Daddy, what is this?"
"It's a pokemon egg!" he exclaimed, unable to believe his eyes.
"What kind of pokemon?"
"I've never seen an egg like this," George told his daughter. "so I don't know."
"Neither have I," Cindy agreed.
*It's a Riolu egg,* Spiritomb told them.
"Riolu?" Cindy asked it. "You mean like a baby Lucario?"
*That's the only Riolu I can think of.*
"I told you!" Cynthia exclaimed happily. "I told you I'd get a Lucario!"
"How does she keep getting these rare pokemon?" her mother asked her dad.
"Well, we gave her Spiritomb," he replied.
"Oh, that's right."
"Cynthia," he said, turning to his daughter. "Do you know how to take care of an egg?"
"I'm seven," she replied. "What do you think?"
"Good point."
"If you want, we'll take care of the egg for you," Cindy told her.
"No thanks," Cynthia replied. "It's my egg, so I'll take care of it." She carried it and the box to her bedroom and set the egg inside the box before realizing something. She went back to the living room, where her parents were waiting as if expecting her to return. "Can you teach me first?"

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Eight Months Later

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Cynthia woke up with a huge yawn. She stretched her arms, then got out of bed.
"Good morning, Spirit," she greeted the sleeping Spiritomb. She'd nicknamed it two months prior.
*I hate mornings,* it replied from inside its rock. *Too bright.*
Cynthia giggled. "But it's not morning. It's still dark. Hello, egg," she said as she passed the box. She went into the kitchen to get a cup of water, still proud of herself for being tall enough, and noticed the fridge was open.
"Mommy and daddy don't usually leave the fridge open," Cynthia muttered to herself. She closed the fridge door and heard a yelp of surprise. Her eyes shot open as she opened the fridge again. A small blue pokemon was sitting in there, trying to tear open the wrapping on a Magikarp filet with its teeth. She grabbed it and pulled it out of the fridge, closing the door afterward. The little pokemon struggled to get free, and its fur tickled her fingers. She giggled and dropped it.
*Now what's the problem,* Spirit asked, floating through the wall. The pokemon squeaked and hid behind Cynthia's leg. Spirit's eyes glowed for a moment. *What the--? Cynthia, either Riolus aren't as rare as I thought, or the egg hatched.*
"What?" Cynthia asked, forgetting to speak silently.
*You heard me. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. The egg hatched. That's a Riolu hiding behind you.*
She looked behind her at the little blue creature, noticing it had black stripes just like the egg. She picked the Riolu up.
"Hello, there."
"Riolu lu ri," it squeaked, looking at Spirit from behind her.
*He's asking you to hide him from me,* Spirit translated.
"He's a friend, silly," Cynthia told the Riolu, and he relaxed.
"What's going on?" George asked, rushing around the corner. He didn't expect Spirit to be sitting right in front of the doorway, and tripped over its keystone, as Spirit called it. The Riolu buried its face in the front of Cynthia's pajamas, frightened by the sudden appearance of her father. Cynthia turned to face her father.
"The egg hatched," she told him, hugging the little pokemon in her arms like a very delicate teddy bear, trying to comfort him. "Daddy, meet...what's your name?" The Riolu mumbled something into her pajamas.
*He says his name is Luke,* Spirit told her.
"Daddy, meet Luke," Cynthia said.
He rose to his feet and looked at the baby pokemon, who was watching him warily. "Hello, little guy," George said, leaning over. Luke squeaked and covered his face again. "I think he's scared of me," Cynthia's father said.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Come on, little guy," she murmured to Luke. "Time to get some sleep." She carried Luke back to her room, leaving George and Spirit alone in the kitchen.
"Make sure she takes care of Luke," he told the Spiritomb.
*No problem,* Spirit replied, drifting toward Cynthia's room, where Cynthia and Luke had already fallen asleep on her bed.

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The following morning, Cynthia awoke in her usual manner: sit up, yawn, stretch, and get out of bed. As she got off the bed, Luke woke up. Cynthia got dressed and went to the kitchen for her usual cup of water, with Luke following close behind. Spirit remained asleep in his keystone. As she poured the water, Cynthia felt a small tug on her pants leg. She looked down and saw Luke pointing at the fridge.
"Are you hungry?" Cynthia asked. Luke nodded. "I don't think we have anything to eat at the moment, but let me go ask my mommy."
She picked up the hungry little Riolu and carried him into the living room, where her parents sat on the couch, as usual.
"Mommy," she called. "Luke and I are hungry. Could you make breakfast for us please?"
"Who's Luke?" Cindy asked, sounding concerned. George whispered something into her ear, and she looked up at the Riolu, who once again hid his face in Cynthia's shirt.
"Oh," her mother cooed. "He's so cute. I'll go see what I can do."
Cynthia moved aside to let her mom pass, and Luke watched Cindy warily as she exited the room. As she passed by, the baby pokemon drew back and tried to squeeze himself closer to Cynthia.
*He looks like he's scared of everyone except you,* Spirit told her.
*That's because I took care of him while he was in his egg,* Cynthia replied. *And because everyone else either jumped out of nowhere the first time he saw them or is a cloud of purple mist.*
*Fair enough,* Spirit chuckled.
Shortly afterward, Cindy notified them that breakfast was ready, and Cynthia carried Luke into the dining room to eat. Her mother had made a cheese omelette for them to split, since Cynthia never finished hers. Spirit, being a ghost, sat on the table next to them, watching in amusement as she tried to get Luke to eat.
"It's just cheese," Cynthia told the stubborn Riolu. "It's really good. See?" She took a big bite out of the omelette.
"Lu," Luke protested, pushing the omelette away. He pointed at the kitchen.
*He says he wants that chunk of Magikarp he was trying to open last night,* Spirit translated.
"Oh," Cynthia said. "Mommy?"
"Yes, Cynth?"
"Luke says he wants the piece of Magikarp in the fridge."
"Oh, dear," Cindy fretted. "I was saving that for something really special."
"Yeah," Cynthia retorted. "Because Luke hatching from an egg isn't special at all."
"Good point," her mother said, disappearing into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with the fish, which Luke eagerly grabbed and started tearing at with his teeth.
*You have to let them unwrap it first,* Spirit told him, earning a glare. Cynthia reached out and tore open the wrapping on the fish, and Luke immediately started to devour it.
"Goodness," Cindy sighed. "We're going to need a lot of fish."
Luke glanced at her momentarily, then returned to his meal as Cynthia finished her omelette.Chapter End Notes:I'm kind of surprised at how many people have read this story already. It's been up less than two days and I've already got a hundred and twenty readers. This is my first story, too! Well, not including Strength and Beauty