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/////Prologue/////
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Nobody expected this to happen. The very idea of it seemed ridiculous and impossible. But it had happened. A group of baby and toddler Pokemon had somehow taken over the daycare. As a member of the Expedition Society, I was the representative sent to assess and play a role in quelling the situation. Apparently there was a reason why I was selected, but I was told it would be explained to me the moment I got there…

I listened in to the briefing, before speaking up. “You want me to believe that a bunch of diaper-wearing babies took over a daycare? Don’t waste my time with these jokes, I have a very busy schedule.”

“This isn’t a joke. Today, there were only three caretakers on duty, and a lot of children. It turns out that some of the kids knew moves like Hypnosis and Nuzzle, it was enough to get the caretakers under control.” Dragonite, one of the local enforcement officers answered.

“Aren’t there restrictions on moves so that the kids don’t actually do something like this?” I asked. “What happened to all of that?”

“Someone disabled the move restriction fields ahead of time. It appears they somehow reworked it so it only affects the adults now.”

“And why, exactly, can we not just send more adults in?” I felt a little annoyed and impatient. I had put off my research for this, it was going to set me back a lot.

“Well, they’ve somehow managed to create a barrier around the daycare. They have stated that no adults or ‘big kids’ are allowed to enter. That’s uh… that’s where you come in.”

“…. What?” I did not like where this was going.

“How to say this without being insulting?” Dragonite pondered for a moment, tapping his wing to his chin. “Ah, well… You’re not evolved yet… and you’re rather small for your age, so…”

“No. I know what you’re going to say. The answer is no. I am not required to help you here with this. It was voluntary. Expedition Society members have the right to refuse any task, and this is not going to happen.”

“But if you just pose as a kid, you could get inside and find out more of the situation… maybe remedy it from within.” Dragonite protested. “You’re the only one that’s reliable enough that fit the criteria we were looking for.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere. You could not pay me to do this.” I got out of my chair, dropping to the ground. “We’re done here.”

“Wait, wait, please!” Dragonite hurried after me as I got ready to leave. “Please, we really need your help. You’re the only adult I know that could easily pass for a kid.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” I asked, shaking my head as I turned back around to face him.

“Well, no, more of a fact than anything…” he folded his arms. “All right… look. You said we couldn’t pay you, right?”

“Right. There’s no price you could ever pay me to do something this ridiculous.”
“Okay, how about this?” he sighed. “I’m going to get in trouble for this but… you’re a researcher, right?”

“Yes…?” I asked suspiciously.

“And a lot of research from other researchers is confiscated, if too dangerous or otherwise harmful…”

“Go on…” He now had my full attention.

“Sixty seconds. I’ll give you sixty seconds in the evidence locker. Any research you can hold within five minutes is yours.”

I paused, musing it over. There was a lot of collected evidence in there that would be fruitful for my combat research. But for something like this? Was it worth it? Yes. My research meant everything to me, if I could get my hands on sealed documents…

“Ninety seconds.” I countered.

“I can’t do that. Do you realize I’m already breaking regulations? It doesn’t matter if I’m the head, I’m going to get in trouble for this.”

“Too bad, then.” I pretended that I was leaving, hoping my bluff would pay off. It did.

“All right, all right, seventy seconds. I can do seventy seconds.”

I smiled, facing him again, stretching out my paw. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Let’s get you outfitted.” He shook my paw.

“Outfitted?” I paused.

“Well, yeah, we have to make this as convincing as possible. You could pass for… three years old.”

“Are you kidding me? This wasn’t described in the original-“

“I know, I know, but the younger we can pass you off as, the less they’ll suspect you.”

“Arrghhh.” I groaned to myself. “Only because we shook on this.”

“Don’t worry, I have a professional to handle dressing you for the part. I’ll um… just head out of the tent to give you some privacy.”

As he exited, a Zoroark entered. I recognized him as Vivi, one of the local babysitters. He had mistakened me for a lost child before. That’s how we met. I never saw him after that, though. Well, until now, that was. “Ah, so we meet again.” He bowed politely.

“Just… get this over with…” I covered my face with my paws.

“All right, lay down, please.” He patted one of the desks.

I leaped up lightly onto the table, doing as he said.

“Here we go.” Vi went into his bag, taking out a few items. There was a baby blue onesie with stars and moons on it, a pacifier with some swirly design on it, and…

“A diaper? No. No way. You are not putting that on me.” I sat up, glaring at the puffy garment, decorated with colorful pastel block outlines.

“Come on, do you really think they’re going to believe a three-year old doesn’t need a diaper?” Vi insisted. “I’m not asking you to use it. Well, I mean, not necessarily.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“Well… if you really have to go, it’s not like you can just ask to use the bathroom when you’re wearing this… And if you really want to convince them-“

“Okay, stop there.” I put my paws up, laying back down. “Don’t say anything else, just do it.”

I watched him unfold the diaper, tucking it under me. He hummed a little tune as he adjusted it, taping the tabs up when done. I felt the odd bulk spread my legs apart a pretty good amount. I tried not to blush as he slipped the onesie over my head, buttoning it around the diaper.

“Hold on, why couldn’t I have dressed myself?” I asked.

“Do you know how to put on a diaper?” he responded, attaching the pacifier to a clip, then putting it on my onesie.

“Well… no….”

“Then that’s why.” He helped me sit up, which was admittedly hard, due to the diaper’s bulk. “I know you could handle the onesie on your own, but it would be much more convenient if I did it all at once. Come on now, put the pacifier in, I want to see the full effect.”

“Talk to anyone about this…” I lifted the pacifier to my mouth. “… and I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to sleep safely when this is over.” I put the bulb in my mouth, holding it there.

“Is it really okay for an Expedition Society member to make threats like that?” he chuckled. “Ah, you don’t seem very menacing like that anyway. You make a very good pup.”

I blushed, taking my pacifier back out. “So what’s the plan? How are you going to get me in?”

“We’re going to bring you up to the barrier, and say we got a new friend for them to play with. They stated that any new little ones who want to join in on the fun are allowed in, so there should be no problems if they buy your disguise. But looks aren’t even half of it, you really have to play the part. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try my best.” I put my pacifier back in as Vi lifted me up, cradling me.

“Wow, you’re tiny.” He commented. “Ah- sorry, sorry, wasn’t trying to make fun of you!” he hastily added, seeing my face. “Just that… um, the stuff I got for you wasn’t exactly custom-made, I just picked it up from the baby store on the way here. You kinda fit perfectly into baby clothes.”

“Just gow.” I lisped from behind the pacifier.

“All right, let’s hope this works.” He carried me out of the tent, walking up to the colorful building. “Hello?” he called out, stopping at a shimmering barrier. It was empowered, somehow, it wouldn’t be easily broken. Hmm, it would be useful to research that, there was something energizing it. Maybe as a side task, I could find whatever they were using to power up the field.

“Hi!” a little voice chirped, as the daycare door opened. It was a small Ralts, a pacifier hanging around her neck, and a pink bonnet on her head. “Oooh, is he hewe to pway?”

“Yes, he is, wave hi to your new friend.” Vi urged me.

I had a feeling that he was having some fun with this, but I gave a friendly little wave at her.

She giggled, waving back. “Okay, but no gwown-ups. Gotta put him down, walk away. Dun worry, we gonna watch him so he not get hurt.”

“He’s only three years old, so no rough-housing.” Vi set me down, petting my head. “Seeya little buddy, go play with your friends, okay?” he backed away, then walked back down the path. Ralts waited until he was a good distance away before nodding at someone behind the door, and a small area of the barrier faded.

“Come on, cwawl to me.” Ralts called to me. “We gonna have so much fun!”

Thinking over my life choices, I obeyed, moving over to her on my paws and knees. Ralts giggled again, opening the door wide to let me through, closing it after I entered. It looked like a normal daycare, toddlers and babies playing, some eating or drinking, others sleeping… and the caretakers seemed okay. That changed as I watched.

“Come on now, you can’t have so many cookies, you’ll spoil your appetite.” a Blissey told a Pichu.

“Hehe, but if you stop me, I’m gonna leak your big, embarrassing secret.” He bit into the cookie, and Blissey sighed, defeated.

So that was it, they had some sort of secret over their heads. My thoughts were interrupted by Ralts poking me in the side.

“What’s yoo name?” she asked, in a friendly manner.

“Um… Dusk…” I answered, feeling awkward. Was my act working? Was she buying it? Nah, of course she was, she was a little kid, easy to fool.

“Nice to meet oo!” she hugged me before motioning around the room. “Go on, pway, be a kid! Gwown-ups not gonna stop us fow a long time. But dun worry, they still take good cawe of us.”

I nodded, crawling around. Well, this was where my investigation started. I was a member of the Expedition Society, I would not allow myself to get outwitted by children who couldn’t even use the toilet. I would get this problem under control. Well, that’s what I thought, anyway. What happened was actually completely different.

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/////Chapter 1 /////
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I had been wandering around for a few minutes, thinking of the best tactile choice. The straightforward way would be to find whatever was strengthening the barrier, and take it down. That way, the rest of the adults would be able to rush in and help take over the situation. However, in doing so, we would not be able to find out why the kids did this, or exactly how and who was involved. I needed to be patient and find out as much information as I could, before making any big moves. Maybe I could ask the kids around here about this…

“Hey, um…” I crawled over to a group of them, playing with a ball. “What’s up?”

“Hey there.” A Charmander answered, waving. He toddled over to talk to me. “Oooh, are you new hewe?”

I nodded. “Um… so do you know how this happened?”

“Not weally, the othews won’t tell us exactly. All I know is dat we could use our moves, and it only took a wittle bit of work to get da gwown-ups under contwol.”

“Do you know who lead it?” I asked him.

“Not awl, but I know one.” He pointed out Ralts. “She was one of dem.”

“Thanks.” I was about to leave, but he stopped me, poking me in the shoulder.

“Wait, come on, don’t you wanna pway?” he pointed out his friends and the bouncing, colorful ball.

I was about to refuse at first, but he seemed to read my answer ahead of time, starting to look sad. If he started crying, it would draw unwanted attention. Cursing my luck, I forced a smile. “Okay, then.”

“Yay!” he instantly cheered up. Wait, was that sad face just an act? I could not believe that I was tricked by a child. I felt completely foolish. But I was not one to break my word, so I crawled over to the group, taking a seat in the circle. The ball was rolled over to me as I arrived. I picked it up in my paws, examining it for a moment. Maybe it was my imagination, but for a moment, it seemed to sparkle, despite no glitter being on it. I shook my head, passing it over to a random baby. I put my pacifier back, in an attempt to avoid conversation.

Surprisingly enough, the simple activity started to get engaging. More time passed than I was able to keep track of, and my attention was only broken with someone poking me gently in the back of the head.

“Hewe you go, lunchtime.” It was Ralts, holding out a bottle for me.

“Oh, thanks.” I took my pacifier out to talk, allowing her to hand the bottle to me. Did I really have to drink from this? I didn’t even understand how these things worked, how could anyone drink from something that had such a tiny little opening? I was aware Ralts was watching me.

“Somethin wrong?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Er- no, nothing.” I placed the bottle tip in my mouth, trying my best to drink from it. It did not go well. Despite my best efforts, I could not manage to get a proper amount of liquid from the bottle, aside from a few dribbles. What I did manage to drink had a strange, but not unpleasant sweet taste to it.

“I’m gonna get a gwown-up. Wooks wike yoo need hewp.” Before I could stop her, she crawled off to one of the other adults, a Kangaskhan, tugging on her apron for attention. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Ralts pointed at me. The Caretaker walked over to me, petting my head.

“Hello, sweetie, little Ralts said that you needed help.” She scooped me up and cradled me.

“W-wait!” I spoke in a hushed whisper. “I’m Dusk, from the Expedition Society. I was sent here undercover to help.”

“I figured it was something like that.” She whispered back. “Not many Riolu I know have the same eyes and birthmark as you. Luckily, since you’re so secretive about your work, I don’t think any of the children know you.” Kangaskhan picked up the bottle, putting the nipple in my mouth. “Go on, drink up, I think Ralts is watching us. I’ll help you out.” She squeezed the bottle lightly, making it easier for me to drink.

As Kangaskhan predicted, Ralts really was looking over, but turned back to her friends after I drank a few gulps. “What is this stuff?” I asked, pushing away the bottle for a moment. “It doesn’t taste like any other kind of milk I drank.”

“Well, it’s some special mix made by the local Miltank farm.” She answered. “And the children put some berry juice into your bottle because apparently it would taste better that way.” She then nudged the bottle to my mouth again. “Drink it all, sweetie, or they’ll get suspicious.”

I reluctantly went back to drinking, until finally, the bottle was empty. She lifted me up and put me over my shoulder, patting my back. I faked a burp, hoping it would be convincing enough.

“Do your best, all right?” she whispered in my ear before setting me down, going to attend to the others. It seemed that most of the children were busy eating or being fed. This was my chance to do some looking around. I crawled around, checking some doors. I had to get onto my hind paws to reach some of the knobs. The diaper did not make it easy. However, most of them were locked.  I glanced behind me to check for any kids that were watching. The coast seemed clear, so I pushed the door open, sliding through before letting it close. I began to look around what appeared to be a changing room, checking for anything suspicious or off. It didn’t seem like anything was unusual. I took a few minutes to make sure, before going back to the door.

I reached up for the doorknob, turning it, before giving the door a light tug. It didn’t budge. I pulled harder, and it still didn’t move. Wait, was it stuck? I tried even harder to get the door open, but no luck. Well, this was unfortunate. I took a few moments to think about ways to get the door open without calling for help. If I called for help, someone would have to rescue me, which could attract possibly unwanted attention. I kept looking around, not for anything suspicious, but for a way out. There was none, as the window was one of those that didn’t open. The door was the only exit, and I could not, for the life of me, get it open. Well… there was a way. I could manipulate my aura to pry the door open. However, the moment I tried, my summoned energy flickered and went out. Oh, right, they had someone prevented adults from using their moves. This would be an annoyance. A good amount of time passed before I considered calling for help. As that thought passed my head, I felt pressure down below. Oh no, this could not be happening right now. I looked around for a bathroom. There wasn’t one for adults, but there was a training potty… Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. I crawled over to it, attempting to unbutton my onesie. It was quite difficult, as the buttons were on the lower back of the onesie, and they weren’t the snap-on, snap-off buttons. The need to relieve myself grew far more intense. For some reason, I felt like it was really hard to hold it. That was ridiculous, as I never had this kind of a problem before. However, this problem was getting worse, I knew I couldn’t last much longer. I desperately tried to get my onesie open, as the door swung open with a loud scraping noise.

“Oh, sweetie, did you get yourself stuck in here? Your friend was wondering where you went.” It was Kangaskhan. She picked me up, and I saw Ralts waiting by the door. She turned her back to block Ralts’ view of me.

“You made it just in time.” I spoke as quietly as I could. “I really, really need to use the bathroom.”
“Oh dear.” She glanced over at the training potty. “I could take you there, but if Ralts sees, she’ll think something is off.”

“Then just tell her you need to change me or something and close the door.” I answered, squirming. “Come on, I’ve needed to go for a while now, I can’t hold it any longer.”

“All right, all right.” She set me down, moving to the door. “Ralts, honey? Dusky needs a change, so could you wait outside?”

Ralts nodded, as Kangaskhan closed the door. She then attempted to get my onesie undone. By now, I had leaked a little, barely able to keep it in anymore. “Hurry…” I started to panic a little.
“I’m trying, but these buttons are stuck. Someone made the holes too small, the buttons go in easy, but not out. Wait, I got one!”

But it was too late. I felt myself flood my diaper, the garment sagging and warming up.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry…” Kangaskhan judged what happened by the look on my face and the soft hissing noise.

“I just… no way…” I whimpered a little in shock.

“Shh.” She gently pet my head. “I’ll get you cleaned up, don’t worry.”

The petting was soothing, quieting me down. She put my pacifier in, and I hesitantly suckled. It felt great, and I did my best to hold still as she got the onesie undone, untaping my old diaper. I blushed a bit, looking away from it.

“Nothing to be ashamed of, you just used a diaper for its purpose.” She assured me, taking out a container of wipes. I was about to stop her, to tell her that I could clean myself up, but she started wiping before I could do so. Those wipes were cold! I squirmed around a little, taking out my pacifier to inform her. “No no, I know they’re cold.” She gently pressed on my paw, making me put my paci back in. “Just relax, let me handle this, I’ve done this dozens of times.” It took her a minute or two, but she finished up, sliding a new diaper under me, before taping it up. This one felt even thicker than the previous one! “Sorry, we use extra-thick diapers here at the daycare.” She noted me looking down at it, as she buttoned back the onesie. “There, all done, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

I shook my head. I was clean now, and that’s what mattered. The faint smell of baby powder now hung around me. It made me feel relaxed for some reason. It was like my head was growing somewhat foggy, in my dozing state.

“Come on, Ralts wanted to play.” She lifted me off the training table, opening the door again. “Here he is, honey.” She set me down next to Ralts, who was smiling, happy to see me.

“Come on, pway!” she tugged lightly on my paw, leading me over to a set of blocks. “Hehe, isn’t Mommy Khan nice?”

“She’s your mother?” I asked, my words coming out a bit slow as I removed my paci once more.

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, chewing on a block for a while before stacking it. “You tawk good fow a thwee-year old.”

“I um… read a lot.” I hoped she would buy the excuse.

“Oh, okay.” Ralts piped cheerfully, going back to the blocks. “Come on, hewp me out.”

I did so, stacking up some blocks with her.

“Yoo awlso got good um…. Coor…. Coo-dinate?…” she tilted her head, trying to think of the word. “You good with youw paws. Yoo dun dwop stuff wike othews.”

“Er… yeah.” I was unable to come up with an explanation for that. I felt her eyes on me for a good minute as I stacked. I could pretend a fumble right now, but if I timed it directly after she said that, it would be all the more suspicious.

“Imma be wight back.” She put her block down, crawling off.

I realized my cover was possibly blown. I wasn’t sure what to do… I decided to wait it out, and hope nothing happened.

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////Chapter 2 ////
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I waited a few minutes before she returned. She was carrying a few cookies with her. “Just hadda get these.” She offered me one.

“Thanks.” I took the cookie from her. Well, hopefully, this meant that she wasn’t suspicious, and I was being paranoid. The cookie smelled pretty nice, and was still soft to the touch, it must have been recently made.

“Go on, twy it.” Ralts encouraged me, munching on one, setting the rest down on a napkin.

I nodded, taking a bite from the pastry. It was actually quite good, one of the better cookies I’ve had. It wasn’t too sweet, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the chocolate chunks inside were nice and melty. “Hmm. Not bad.” I nodded.

“Uh-huh, the aduwts hewe can cook nice stuff.” Ralts agreed. We ate some cookies quietly for a while, before she spoke up again. “So, what do you wike to pway?”

“Oh- me?” I paused, trying to think of something quickly. “Um, blocks are fun.”

“Hehe, I wike bwocks, too.” She wiped her mouth off with a napkin. “Hey, you got chocowate on your chin.”

I felt a little embarrassed that a child had pointed it out to me. “Thanks for letting me know.” I said politely, also cleaning myself.

“It’s stiww thewe!” she crowed, giggling at my failed attempt to wipe myself off. “You missed the spot!”

“Here, let me help.” Kangaskhan was suddenly there, using a damp cloth to wash my face. “How are you two doing?”

“We doing good!” Ralts was cheerful in her answer.

“Oof- I could have gotten it myself.” I protested, as I was cleaned.

“But you didn’t.” she replied, having a valid point. “There you go, honey.”

“Thank you…” I blushed a little as I spoke.

“Come on, pway wit me!” Ralts tugged at my paw.

“Okay, okay….” I followed her over to a large pile of blocks. They were multicolored, obviously to catch a baby’s attention, and made of foam, so they wouldn’t hurt if throw or chewed on.

“Bet yoo I can stack a tower highew than you!” she challenged.

“Oh, a bet? What’s at stake, then?” I smiled a little.

“Hmm, how about… losew has to do whatevew the winnew says until dinnew.”

“Fair enough.” I shrugged. “But nothing harmful.”

“Agweed.”

Of course, I had no plans of winning, she was just a child, I’d let her win. If it was with Vi or something, I’d try to be the victor, due to Vivi’s mischievous nature. However, I doubted that Ralts would ask me to do anything other than some silly things for fun.

We started stacking, me going deliberately slow and clumsy. She took the lead pretty quickly, her tower almost twice as high as mine before I ‘accidentally’ tipped mine over.

“Yay, I win!” she cheered. “Now you gotta do what I say untiw-“

“I know, so what’s your first order, Princess?” I played along, to keep her happy.

“Hmm…” she thought for a while. “Get us some cake fwom da kitchen.”

“Okay.” I nodded, crawling towards the kitchen. It was fairly empty, only one caretaker and two babies inside.

“Can I help you, dear?” The Blissey from before looked down at me.

“Um, I need some cake, pwease. Fow me and my fwiend.”

“All right, but dinner is soon, so don’t spoil your appetites.” She cut off two small slices, setting them on a plate. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” It wasn’t really possible to crawl while holding the plate. “Um… couwd I get some hewp?”

“Of course.” She nodded. “Lead the way.”

I let her bring the cake over back to Ralts.

“Onwy tiny wittle swices?” she sounded disappointed.

“Yeah, she doesn’t want us to spoil our appetites.”

Ralts frowned a little, but did not say any further complaints, taking a piece of the cake, starting to eat.

“Uh, I don’t have a fork or something.” I looked around.

“Just use youw paws, siwwy.”

“Does that count as having to do what you-“

“Uh-huh.” She smirked, chewing on her cake.

“All right.” I took up a piece in my paws, getting frosting on them. As expected, her orders so far were simply childish fun.

It was quite messy to eat, something I usually liked to avoid. I was one of those people who ate pizza with a knife and fork, simply because I did not like getting my paws dirty, unless it was for research or exploration purposes.

“Oh! And you awen’t allowed to cwean youwself up!” she added. “You gotta ask one of the gwown-ups!”

“Uh- okay.” That would be rather embarrassing, asking for help with something so simple. But a bet was a bet. I had to honor it.

It didn’t take long to finish my cake up, but by the time I finished, there was frosting and crumbs all over my paws and mouth. Ralts smiled at me, nodding to one of the caretakers. I reluctantly crawled over to Blissey, who, at the moment, was watching over some pots and pans.

“Oh, what’s up?” she asked, looking over at me.

“I um… Can you help clean me up, please?” I asked her.

“Of course.” She picked me up and cradled me in one arm, using the other hand to wet a towel, wiping my face and paws. “I think it’s best I feed you tonight, you made a mess of yourself.”

“Good idea!” I heard Ralt’s voice. I looked over, seeing her in the kitchen doorway. She must have followed me, and I just didn’t notice. I knew that was part of the bet.

“Um, how long until dinner?” I tried to hold still as Blissey cleaned me.

“Probably half an hour or so, I’m just finishing up.” She answered. “For the older children here, it’s biscuits with gravy, for the younger ones, it’s stewed wild berries.”

“I think he wouwd wike the bewwies mowe.” Ralts suggested. Now that she knew there was such a short amount of time left, she was starting to amp up her orders.

“Is that right?” she looked down at me, and I gave a nod in reply. “All right, berries it is.” She set me down. “All clean, dear. Now you two go back to playing, I’ll be done here soon.”

Ralts giggled. “Wow, this weally was a fun bet.”

“I’m not losing our next one.” I grumbled a little. I felt really silly right now, I had to ask for something I could have handled myself, and now I would be spoon-fed baby food.

“Aww, don’t pout.” She cooed. “I think a paci wouwd make you feew a lot bettew.” She took a pacifier from a nearby drawer. It had a light blue bulb and a darker blue guard, with a glowing moon design. I figured the glowing part was to allow babies to find it in the dark easier. Before I had a chance to protest, she popped it into my mouth. “And you gotta use that whenevew you can.”

“Wait, but the agweement-“ I blushed, lisping with the pacifier in. “The agweement was-“

“We agweed that you gotta do evewything I say untiw dinner. But we nevew said my orders couwdn’t last aftew dinnew.”

She was right… I should have thought more about this. But that didn’t matter, I could suckle a paci until bedtime. Once she and all the other babies were asleep, I could probably do some more investigating. Maybe then, I could get a chance to talk to the caretakers more, too.

“Hey.” Ralts snapped me back to attention by booping my muzzle. “Let’s pway some mowe.” This time, she led me to a massive pile of plush toys. “I think yoo need a new fwiend.” She crawled into the pile, disappearing for some time. For a moment, I could swear there was a glow, but I blinked and it was gone. She came out a few seconds after that, holding a blue teddy bear of some sort. It was an Ursa Minor, from a mythology book. “Hewe you go. I think he’s pewfect fow you.”

“Um, thanks.” I took the teddy from her. It was actually quite soft. For some reason, I felt a sort of attachment to the toy, giving it an experimental hug. The teddy was even better that way, bringing a layer of comfort, like a blanket wrapped around me.

“Yoo got a name fow him?” she asked, grinning as I cuddled the teddy.

“I’m not good with names…” I mused. I really wasn’t, back when I played Dungeons and Dragons as a Dungeon Master, half my time was spent thinking up of names for NPCs.

“It’s otay, yoo don’t gotta name him now. It’ww come to you in time. Oh, and befowe I fowget, you gotta keep him cwose to you at aww times.”

“Faiw enough.” I didn’t really want to get far away from him, anyway.

It wasn’t long before dinner, all of us called to the dining room. It contained a long table, lined with high chairs and booster seats. Ralts and I had to use high chairs, due to our smaller sizes. However, she was allowed to feed herself her solid dinner, while Blissey brought out a bowl of warm berry mush for me.

“Here, hang on.” She tied a bib around me, pulling out my paci, and setting my teddy to the side of my chair. “Open up, please.” She offered up a spoonful.

I let her feed me, the stewed berries actually not all that bad. The texture was the throw-off, though. Berries were supposed to be fresh and crisp, these weren’t even close to that.

“How is it?” she asked after the first spoonful.

“It’s… pwetty good.” I didn’t want to insult her cooking. But as I spoke, something occurred to me. Did I just lisp without my paci in? But as I looked over at my paci, the glowing moon lighting up, I felt that it was normal. I felt a little insecure without my paci, so I just squeezed the paw of my teddy.

“Really? I’m glad you like it.” She held up another spoonful.

She continued to feed me, but due to how gooey the mush was, I occasionally dribbled. The bib prevented any mess on my front, but by the time I was done, my mouth needed to be wiped off again. “Couwd you pwease-“

“Clean you off?” she predicted. “I will in a moment, everyone gets a bottle of milk before bed. You might spill some more during that.” She took a warm bottle of milk from a cart, plopping the nipple into my mouth. I suckled, after the previous bottle that morning, and having used the pacifier, it was easier to drink from. As she predicted, I dribbled some more, some onto the bib, but some around my mouth. “You really are a messy eater.” She smiled, waiting for me to finish before patting my back. “Ah, right, you’re not that young that you need to be burped, are you? Sorry, force of habit.” Blissey began to clean me up, before suddenly checking my diaper. I squirmed in surprise. “Still clean, just making sure. I wouldn’t want you going to bed in a wet or messy diaper.”

I was about to protest, but Blissey didn’t know I was here as a spy. I couldn’t tell her now, or the other babies might overhear. I decided to go with it for now.

“Thanks.” I answered, taking my paci back, suckling once more, as she lifted me out of the highchair. Ralts was done, too, cleaning herself off, before sliding out of her highchair as the table was lifted.

“Whew, I’m tiwed.” She yawned. “Bedtime!”

“That’s right.” Kangaskhan picked her up off the floor. “You two can play more tomorrow.”

We were carried off to a side room, with a few cribs. One baby, a Pichu, was already asleep in one.

“I can tuck them in.” Kangaskhan told Blissey as she put me in my crib, Ralts going in the other. She tucked me in, but stealthily unhooking the crib gate lock as she did so. I would be able to lower it at my leisure. “Good night.” She winked, before talking Ralts in. “Good night, you two.” She pet our heads before leaving the room.

Ralts yawned and rolled over in her crib to see me. “So… do you wike it hewe?”

“It’s pwetty nice, yeah.” I rolled over, too.

“Bettew than home?”

“A lot bettew.” To be honest, my hut was a huge mess, from all my books and notes scattered around.
“Hey, that Pokemon that dwopped you off isn’t your pawent, wight?” she asked suddenly. “A Lillipup fwiend of mine says that you don’t have his scent at all.”

“Yeah, he’s not my daddy.” I answered. “I um…” I couldn’t tell her I took care of myself, that would be impossible, as I was supposed to be a baby. “I’m um, an orphan.” That wasn’t entirely untrue, I was, up until I got my own home, and a job as a researcher.  “I dun wemembew my pawents.”

“Aww, dat’s so sad…” she sounded genuinely pitiful. “Don’t you have fwiends?”

“Not weally.” I shook my head. “But um, you’ve been a good fwiend today.”

“Hehe, thanks. And you got that teddy, too.” She yawned. “Well… I wanna pway with you mowe, but… sleepy… Pway tomowwow…” she promptly fell asleep midsentence.

I waited a few moments, to see if she would wake up, before gingerly lowering the side of my crib, sliding out of it. I listened carefully, I didn’t hear any activity outside the door, everyone must have finished dinner and gone to bed. Aside from the caretakers, of course, it would be too early for them.

“Hey, where are you going, buddy?” a voice spoke up, one I didn’t recognize. It was my teddy, getting up from my crib. “What’s up? My name’s Galaxy Star. What’s yours?”

My teddy was talking? How could that be? However, as this thought crossed my mind, a little star design on his forehead glowed. My head felt foggy for a second, before clearing. “Dusk. Dusk Shadow.” I whispered. Well, of course he could talk, it was only normal for teddies to do that. “Shh. I’m going to wook awound a bit, but we can’t make a lotta noise.”

“All right.” He lowered his voice, walking next to me as I crawled to the door. It was open, the tiniest crack. Kangaskhan must have left it that way. I glanced back at Ralts. She was still asleep. Good. I opened the door, moving into the hallway. It was dark and hard to see much. “Sheesh, it’s dark. Are you doing all right?”

“What do you mean?” I glanced back at Galaxy. “Of course I-“ I blinked as his star glowed again. A sudden uneasiness filled my body. I was scared of the dark, how could I have forgotten?

“You can hug me, I promise to keep you safe.” My teddy assured me.

I picked him up and gave him a tight hug, feeling slightly safer.

“There we go.” He looked up at me as I hugged. “Come on, let’s look around.”

////////////////////
////Chapter 3 ////
///////////////////

“So, are we looking for anything specific?” Galaxy asked, as I took a look around the hallway.

“Um, basicawwy…” I explained the situation to him. “So we gotta find a way to shut the bawwier down. And we need to find a cawetaker, we need to ask them what happened, and get mowe details.”

“I see. Well, let’s find a caretaker first, they might know where to look.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a pwan.” I agreed. “I dunno whewe they are wight now, though. And it’s too risky to caww out, some baby might heaw.”

“We can go room by room, you’ll find them eventually.” Galaxy assured me.

As instructed by him, I started checking various rooms. Some doors were locked, others contained standard nursery furniture and supplies, but one had a light humming behind it that I didn’t notice during the day. The quiet of the night now made the noise audible.

“Shh. You heaw that? Thewe’s something behind hewe.”

“Shouldn’t we find a caretaker?” Galaxy reminded me. “It might be unsafe to enter, you never know if they have some sort of protection on the door.”

“Hmm... But it’s on the othew side…” I shook my head. “I’m suwe it’ww be fine.”

“Well, okay. But be careful.” Galaxy stayed close as I reached for the knob.

“Hewwo?” a voice came from behind me.

I jumped a little, whipping around. To my shock, Ralts was there. When had she arrived? It was only a few minutes since I left the bedroom, had she followed me since the start? She toddled closer, looking at me with slight suspicion.

“You shouwdn’t be out hewe.” She frowned at me, folding her arms.

“Weww, neithew shouwd yoo.” I tried to fire back.

“I onwy left once I didn’t see yoo in youw cwib.” She answered. “Yoo need youw sleep.”

“I’m not tiwed, I just wanted to wook awound…” I bluffed.

“Oh, weww… you couwd have just asked befowe bed…” she lowered her arms from the folded position. “We need ouw sleep, we dun twy to bweak the bedtime rule the gwown-ups set. Othewise, we have no time to pway in the day.”

“I guess you’re right…” she was extraordinarily convincing.

“Come on. Fowwow me back to da bedwoom.” She held out a hand.

Something occurred to me. “Wait, yoo can walk?” I asked. “But how come-“

“I couwd always walk, silly.” She smiled, her words undeniable once more. “It’s yoo that can’t even stand without hewp. Yoo’ve been cwawling awound aww day, haven’t you?”

“Weww, yeah…” I took her hand, trying to stand with her assistance. I nearly fell over, but she steadied me. “Eep, sowwy.”

“Dun wowwy about it.” She smiled, leading me back to the bedroom. Ralts helped me back into my crib, before using her psychic energy to lift and lock the gate. “Now, stay in thewe untiw mowning, otay?” she asked, using an incredibly soft and kind tone.

I couldn’t say no. I simply nodded, watching her get into her own crib, levitating herself up and over the side.

“Good night…” I closed my eyes.

“Nighty night.” She responded.

***

I woke up a few hours later, dead into the night. For a few seconds, I wondered why I woke up so suddenly, but it occurred to me in a flash. I really needed to use the bathroom! I considered getting out of my crib on my own, but Ralts had told me not to. Could I call over a caretaker? It wouldn’t count as leaving the crib if a caretaker helped me, right? Then there was still the issue of how embarrassing it would be to call someone over just to get help using the bathroom… But if one of the babies overheard, they would know I didn’t actually need diapers… As I thought this over, the need to relieve myself intensified, to the point where I could barely hold it.

“Hey again.” Galaxy was awake, sitting next to me. “Oh- Need to go?”

“Yeah…” I whispered, squirming. “But you know… can’t weally let the babies know I’m toiwet-twained and all… I’m not supposed to be, accowding to my stowy…”

“Hear me out here. Ralts is already starting to grow suspicious of you. So you know what would be really convincing? If you just went in your diaper. It should help her believe you really are just a baby.” His star pulsed a soft glow as he spoke.

He was right… I sighed and just let go, letting my bladder empty into my diaper. The garment crinkled and puffed out, as it absorbed all the moisture. It took a while to finish up, the diaper sagging and squishing by the time I finished. “Yuck…” I groaned.

“Hold up, you’re not done yet.” He patted the diaper with a plushie paw, making it squish again. “You still gotta get those solids out.”

“Awe yoo sewious?!”

“What, you think it’ll be convincing if all that food you’ve had today just disappears? You have to put up the most convincing act ever right now, to get rid of all her suspicion at once.”

“Fine, anything ewse I need to do?” my tummy was hurting anyway, it would be painful to hold it.

“Yeah, cry for a change, or pretend you slept through your diaper usage.” He started rubbing my tummy, noting my discomfort. It only took a few seconds of this before I started messing my diaper, the already soggy garment squishing more. “That’s the ticket.” He praised, his star glowing again. I couldn’t help but feel a little happy at the praise. By the time I was finished, the diaper was even heavier, my mess filling the back of the garment. “Are you going to cry for a change, or…”

“I dun want to wake the othews up… and it’ww be weally embawassing to cwy… I’ww just put up with the diapew.”

“All right, just be careful, you might get a rash.” He gently placed a paw on my chest, pushing me back into my resting position. “Go to sleep now, you’ll need your energy for tomorrow.”

I obeyed, once more, falling into my dreams.

////////////////////
////Chapter 4 ////
///////////////////

“Whew, someone’s stinky!” I woke up to a voice. “And soaked!” I felt myself being lifted up, my sleepy vision focusing. It was Blissey, carrying some changing supplies.

“Eep…” I felt embarrassment all over, as she carried me to the changing table.

“Hehe, yoo weally had to go.” Ralts commented as we passed by her crib. She seemed bright and cheery. Galaxy was right. Wait, where was he? He was still in my crib! The thought of him being more than a few feet from me terrified me. I started whimpering, squirming.

“It’s okay, I’ll change you quickly.” Blissey misunderstood me.

“I think he wants his teddy.” Ralts told her. “Hey, did yoo evew get a name fow him?”

“Gawaxy Staw… He towd me that was his name…”

“Oh, he towd you?” Ralts giggled, as Blissey carried me back to my crib, picking up my teddy and passing him back. I gave him a tight hug, feeling the fear dissipate. “Otay then.”

“Now for your much-needed change.” Blissey brought me back to the changing table, setting me down. As she did, I felt a sharp pain in my bottom. I whimpered, the sudden discomfort catching me off-guard. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong? Hold still, let me check something.” She laid me down, untaping the old diaper, wiping a little. The stinging came back, and I squeaked in pain.

“I thought so… you’ve got a pretty bad diaper rash…”

I was internally screaming. I got diaper rash? Seriously?

“I’ll try to be as gentle as possible, but I need to get you clean, or it’ll be worse.” Blissey cooed at me softly. She began wiping again. I tried to hold as still as possible, but the combination of cold wipes, and the stinging of the rash more or less made me a fussy baby. After what seemed like forever, she finished up, taping a new diaper onto me. This one had to be as twice as thick as the last one. “I’m using some more protection this time, you really did a number on the last one.” She told me. “I’ve also used some rash cream, hopefully that’ll help your rash heal. It’ll numb it for a while, at the very least.” Blissey set me in the playpen, carefully, to not aggravate my rash. “Wait there, please, I’ll check on the others.”

She checked the other two’s diapers, while I waited there with Galaxy, suckling on my paci. Ralts was clean, and brought over to the playpen next to me, while the Pichu needed a change.

“Hey, you stayed in youw cwib.” Ralts smiled at me. “Good job.”

“Th-thanks…” I felt another pang of happiness at her praise. “Um, so, how did you sleep?”

“Pwetty well.” She nodded. “Othew than when you escaped the bedwoom…”

“Sowwy about dat. I just-“

“Ah-ah…” she gently shushed me. “I know, you were cuwious. I was joking.”

I attempted to speak once more, but she put her hand on my paci, keeping it in place, preventing speech. The pacifier glowed a little once more.

“Shh, silly.” Ralts giggled. “How about you let me do the talking? I can talk fine, but you can barely talk at all.” She pat my head. “But it’s okay, I understand your babble, I’ll translate for you if you need to talk to the adults about anything. It’s what older kids are supposed to do for the littler ones.”

I nodded, feeling compelled to obey her. She was older than me, after all.

“You know, that Zoroark that dropped you off said you were three? You two really are silly, three year olds can talk more than babble and simple words. You can’t be older than one.” She tickled me suddenly, before I could respond.

I giggled, flopping over onto the ground. I was naturally ticklish, and she found one of my weak spots.

“Aha! First try!” she tickled more, going on for a while, before stopping and giving me a moment to catch my breath. “Oh, looks like it’s breakfast.” While I was being tickled, Pichu’s change was done, and he was presently suckling on a bottle, holding it with his paws. Blissey was warming up two more in a bottle warmer. “Hey, Blissey?” she called out. “Can I feed little Dusky here?”

“Well… All right.” Blissey answered, testing the bottle’s temperature before passing Ralts both.

“Open up for the baba.” Ralts cooed at me. She popped the tip in once I obeyed, and I started suckling. The warm formula was inviting to my now-empty stomach, and made me feel happier. “There we go… just like that…” she encouraged.

It took some time to empty the bottle, Ralts immediately patting me on the back when I did. I burped, Ralts catching my spit-up in a cloth.

“You’re really good at taking care of the younger ones.” Blissey praised Ralts.

“Hehe, thanks.” Ralts started on her own bottle. “Hey, Dusky, why don’t you play blocks with Pichu while I drink up?”

I crawled over to the blocks. Movement, even crawling, was substantially more difficult due to the bulk of my diaper.

“Hey.” Pichu grinned at me. “New playmate, yay!”

“He’s really clumsy, hehe.” Ralts told him. “You’re gonna have to help him stack up those blocks.”

“Got it.” Pichu nodded, guiding my paws to steady some of the blocks. Despite his assistance, I still dropped some blocks, and knocked over the tower a few times.

“There, done.” Ralts set her bottle down, wiping her mouth. “Why don’t I join in, too?”

We played with the foam blocks for a while, but this time, with the combined effort of the three of us, we were able to build a pretty tall tower. It was wobbling, though, mostly due to the blocks that Ralts and Pichu weren’t able to fix from my clumsy paws.

“I think that’s a new record.” Ralts admired it. “But it doesn’t look like we could put any more on.”

“You all doing all right?” Blissey asked, returning to the room.

“Yeah, we’re doing great!” Pichu declared.

“I’m fine, and you, Dusky?” Ralts asked, nodding at me. I took that as encouragement to try to speak.

“Me… doin… gud…” I gurgled, managing to get out three words between babble.

“Glad to hear it.” Blissey looked us all over. “Anyone need a change? Dusky? You have a rash, so we need to make sure we don’t wait on changes.”

“I’ll let you know.” Ralts told her. “Dusky can’t tell when he needs to potty, or when he does, anyway.”

“Oh? Well… I suppose that’s all right.” Blissey hadn’t really seen anything to the contrary, so naturally, she believed Ralts’s words. “Thanks for watching over him so much.”

“Of course.” Ralts gently pet my head. “He’s just a little, drooly baby anyways, so he needs others watching him all the time.”

I started drooling past my pacifier, verifying her words.

“You three want to join up with the others?” Blissey asked.

“Yeah!” Pichu reached up, and was lifted out by Blissey.

“Not us two, but how’s Mommy doing?” Ralts looked up at Blissey.

“She’s making breakfast for the others, you three were the first up.” Blissey informed her. “You sure you don’t want to see her now?”

“In a bit, yeah. Dusky and I are just having too much fun right now.”

“Okay, just call me over when you’re all ready.” She exited the room with Pichu.

“You’ve been such a good little baby.” Ralts turned back to me, once again delighting me with her praise.

‘Tank oo.’

“Silly, that’s babble. But good. Just like the little baby you are.” Her words were encouraging. I felt that I should just babble from now on. “Too bad you don’t understand grown-up words.”

Wait, what did she just say? I didn’t catch any of it.

‘Oops, silly me.’ She laughed, now switching to baby babble. ‘I’m not very good at this anymore, but you can understand me still, right?’

‘Yeah, me undewstand.’ I responded.

‘Good. Now let’s play some more.’ She picked up a toy train and some tracks. ‘Come on, you can help me out.’

We laid out a rather complex railway, one with twists, turns, and I could have sworn I saw a loop-the-loop.

‘You can have the honors of starting the train up.’ She handed me the switch.

‘Yay!’ I pressed the button, the train beginning to move around the tracks. We watched it follow the rails, the train emitting the occasional ‘choo-choo’ as it pumped across the path. It was kind of mesmerizing, watching the circular movements of the toy vehicle.

‘Uh oh, Blissey!’ Ralts called out suddenly. ‘Dusky went potty!’

I blinked, snapping back to attention. I looked down at my thick diapers, the wetness indicators, a cluster of blue pacifiers, now faded to nothing. It’s a good thing Ralts noticed, I never would have.

Blissey hurried inside, picking me up. “All right, honey, time for more rash cream and a new diaper.” She brought me to the changing table for the second time that morning. This time, it went quicker, as Blissey had less to clean up. The rash cream from before still kept my rash numb, so there was no pain during this change. I was thankful for that. “There, all done.” Blissey cooed, booping me as she finished up. I giggled at the boop, covering my muzzle. “You’ve made good friends with Ralts, you two can play some more.”

“Hehe, of course. He’s just a simple-minded baby.” Ralts told Blissey. “He can’t even tell shapes from numbers or colors. Dusky is a cute little puppy.”

As Ralts spoke grown-up nonsense to Blissey, I felt my mind fog up, for just a moment, then it felt like things were so much simpler. I had come here for something, but I was unable to focus with my simple mind. I couldn’t remember what it was…
“And… Actually…” Ralts looked up at me.  “I’ll take down the barriers. Let the others know it’s okay, the password is ‘cupcake’. I think I found the baby sibling I wanted.”

“Oh- really?” Blissey smiled in relief. “So it’s over now? You won’t tell anyone my secret? Your mother won’t, either?”

“No, I won’t let anyone know you’re my big sister.” Ralts agreed. “And Mommy won’t, either, she’ll be happy I got a baby brother. That first accident she let him have was enough to make him subconsciously submissive to my suggestions.”

“Can I ask… why you two made him do that?” Blissey bounced me a little, getting a giggle out of me.

“Uh-huh. Because he tries to act so strong and grown-up, but potty training is our first real responsibility. Once he doubted that, it was easy.” Ralts explained to her.

I had lost interest in this grown-up talk long ago, and I was presently staring at the turning mobile in the crib. It was so mesmerizing… I felt drool on my chin, but I didn’t care.

“Well then.” Blissey set me down next to Ralts- my big sis- once more. “What will I tell the police?”

“Tell them Dusk managed to shut it all down, then disappeared.” Ralts hugged me as she conversed with Blissey. Big sis… always taking care of me. I hugged her back. “He does that every time he gets involved in public affairs, anyway. They’ll believe it.” Ralts faced me with a big grin. “And I’ll make sure Dusky here will always remain my baby brother.”

~~~~~END~~~~~