" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Misty screamed as she threw it to Ash.

" WHY ARE YOU THROWING IT TO ME?!" Ash shouted

" BECAUSE YOU'RE THE MAN!"

" OH, I'M SORRY! IT'S NOT EVERY DAY I RANDOM BABY THAT LOOKS LIKE YOU AND ME COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WITH A NOTE SAYING IT'S OURS!"

The orange haired, multi- eye colored girl with blue and brown eyes giggled.

" GIVE IT TO ROWAN!" Misty screamed.

" GOOD IDEA!" Ash yelled back.

Misty and Ash both stared at the tiny, wide-eyed baby who had somehow appeared on the doorstep. The baby giggled, seemingly unphased by the chaos unfolding around her, her strange mix of orange hair and mismatched blue and brown eyes shining in the sunlight.

"Okay, okay," Misty huffed, her hands on her hips. "This is a little bit much, don’t you think?"

Ash was pacing, wringing his hands in frustration. "You’re telling me? I was just trying to go out for a walk, and now we have a random baby! What do we do with a kid, Misty?!"

The baby continued to giggle, seemingly delighted by their arguing.

"Alright, alright!" Ash waved his hands in the air dramatically. "Take a deep breath, Ash. Think. What do we do? I mean—"

"ROWAN!" Misty screamed, her voice high-pitched as she yanked the baby away from Ash's reach and, without missing a beat, tossed her into Ash's arms. "You take her! You do something with her!"

"WHAT?!" Ash screamed, staggering as the baby landed securely in his arms. "YOU CAN’T JUST THROW A RANDOM BABY AT ME!"

"YOU’RE THE MAN!" Misty yelled back, not missing a beat, her finger pointing at him accusingly. "It’s your responsibility!"

Ash turned a deep shade of red, a sweatdrop forming on his forehead. "Wha—what?! You seriously think that’s how this works?!" He looked down at the baby, who was still giggling like she thought this whole thing was some sort of game.

In the background, Gary, Brock, Dawn, and the rest of the campers all stared in confusion. "Uh, what in the world is going on here?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dawn shook her head. "Is this some kind of weird prank?"

Rowan, who had come out of his lab to witness the spectacle, crossed his arms with a bemused smile. "Well, this is... an interesting turn of events."

"ROWAN!" Misty yelled again, her voice practically cracking with panic. "You’re the professor! You should know what to do with a baby that’s ours! What are we supposed to do with this kid?!" She was practically hyperventilating now, her panic rising.

Ash, still holding the baby awkwardly, shot a look of pure confusion at Misty. "Y-yeah, tell me, Misty, why are we the ones stuck with this thing?!" He pointed at the baby, who was now clapping her hands and giggling louder. "I’m not even prepared for this! I don’t know how to—"

The baby reached up, her tiny hands grasping for Ash’s face.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Rowan said, stepping forward with a sigh, trying to keep things from escalating further. "Let’s all just take a step back. We need to figure out what’s going on here. First of all, who gave you this child?"

"THE NOTE!" Ash cried out, fumbling through his pockets to pull out a small piece of paper, crumpled and barely legible. He handed it to Rowan, who read it aloud.

"To Ash and Misty Ketchum, for you to raise together. Love, Unknown." Rowan looked at them, confused. "This note doesn’t really explain much."

Misty stared at it. "Who would leave us a baby... and WHY?!" She looked over at Ash, still holding the child awkwardly. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"I DIDN’T ORDER A BABY!" Ash practically shouted. "WHY WOULD I ORDER A BABY?!"

Rowan let out a deep sigh, holding his head in his hands. "This is... this is going to be a lot more complicated than I thought."

The baby giggled again, and this time, both Misty and Ash froze. They glanced at each other, then at the tiny giggling girl in Ash's arms, who looked completely unbothered by the chaos she had just caused.

"I think we need to take her to the town’s daycare," Rowan said, his voice calm despite the insanity. "It’s the safest bet for now."

"Great idea," Misty said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And you can take her, Rowan!"

Rowan blinked, taking a step back. "I—uh—no, no, I’m not the one who got her here."

"Then who is?!" Ash and Misty both screamed in unison.

Gary, looking increasingly amused, spoke up. "Well, I guess the only logical conclusion here is that you two are now parents."

Everyone in the group fell silent. Ash looked down at the baby in his arms, then at Misty. Both of their faces went pale.

"No." Misty said quietly.

"No way," Ash echoed.

The baby giggled again, oblivious to the panic she had just caused, and everyone around them sighed in unison.

"Well," Rowan said with a resigned look on his face, "I think we can all agree that this is going to be one interesting adventure."