---Andrew’s Little Day---

It was a hectic day at Viridian’s mall. Crowded as every weekend, the large structure housed so many stores yet at the same time seemed not enough to satisfy the thousands of customers looking around without an apparent destination.

Speaking of no apparent destination, such seemed to be the case of a little, fidgety pichu boy who didn’t seem to be any older than 6, whose pudgy frame put the fabric of his plain green shirt of choice to test and whose dull brown shorts did not get any more mercy from his plump butt. Uneasily looking around the shops, the tiny mouse pokemorph squeaked in his species’ trademark noise.

“Chuu…where did Maddie go?” he murmured, longing for his chaperone. The pichu, Andrew, was going through a very familiar and awkward mixture of anxiety, worry and embarrassment. He wanted to find Maddie, his 18 year old miltank team coach, as soon as possible, which considering her size and frame shouldn’t be that hard, but in crowded days like this one even a wailord could get lost between joltiks. What made it even worse was that, despite appearances, he was a 14 year old and a combat academy student, yet from his looks and demeanor he knew he would end up in the lost children area if any of the mall’s security guards caught him wandering alone. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all.

Another “chuu” escaped his lips as his patience began to wear down. Anxiety piling up instead, Andrew opted to do one of the things he didn’t want to: asking strangers. It was extremely uncomfortable to do this, and seeing most people continue on their way and not paying attention to his barely audible pleads made him even more insecure of the approach taken. He seemed to be stuck in the situation…

Until, finally, someone looked back. It was a larvitar boy, not much taller than Andrew’s three feet and five inches, dressed in a brand t-shirt and jeans and wearing shades and a baseball cap with his hair tucked inside the latter. He listened to Andrew’s "E-excuse me? H-have you s-seen a tall, c-chubby miltank a-around here?" and responded with a grin before turning and pointing in the direction he was facing. “There,” he said.

Andrew followed the finger’s trajectory and, to his surprise, found the rear figure of a miltank, whose size and generous figure seemed to be right what he was looking for. She was tall enough for the pichu to stand under her tail, and her raven hair seemed to be the right length too. Even her large, rounded bottom seemed to be right…and yet something was off to him. Wasn’t Maddie wearing something different? Could it be that she was wearing some of her new purchases?

Andrew’s ponder cloud popped as the larvitar’s hushing “Just what are you waiting for!?” snapped him back to reality…where he was being pushed towards the miltank by said larvitar. Before he could protest, the pichu was sent tumbling towards the bovine’s rounded seat, bumping against her lower body.

“Nicky, sweetie, I have told you to stick close to Mommy,” the miltank said in a gentle chastise tone, staying idle until a confused Andrew let out an inquiring “chu?”. “Nicky?” she asked as the unfamiliar voice drove her to turn around and subsequently falling for the infantile charm. “D’awwww! How adorable!”

If Andrew could have been mistaken for a 6 year old before, his current look with scared eyes and drooped ears now made him look even younger. A quick glance behind him led to discovering that the larvitar was nowhere to be found – now the unfortunate pichu could add ‘gullible’ to his list of things he was not proud of being. “H-hello? …chuuu…” he squeaked before being picked up lovingly and given a kiss in the forehead.

“Don’t be scared, sweetie, my little imp loves pulling this prank on me. How about we look for your parents together? Your mommy must be worried about you.”

While the comforting treatment would have helped soothe any child as young as Andrew looked, the pichu’s self esteem issues were playing their role into ensuring it had the opposite effect on him, digging deeper into the wound of his pride as an almost redundant reminder that, no matter what he said, he was just a lost little child in the eyes of the passersby. His light pink cheeks gained a reddish tint as fuzzy threads of a sentence strung together in his quivering, stuttering mouth. “I w-w-was... h-here... M-Maddie... chuuu...” he managed to babble before the feeling of futility won the round.

“Easy, sweetie, easy,” the bovine continued in her motherly lull, gently rubbing Andrew’s back in a rhythm akin to his words. “You're safe with Auntie Agnetha. Tell me now, is this Maddie your big sister? We can look for her too.”

“M-Maddie’s my…” the tiny mouse babbled, hitting a stop to hesitate due to the awkward embarrassment that came with finishing the sentence, then inwardly sighing as he pressed forward, “…chuu…b-babysitter… s-she's a m-miltank…” He didn’t like to admit it, but it was technically true: Maddie, his team coach, was only four years older than him, but she did look and stand her age and thus had the implicit freedom of walking around without having to worry about being mistaken for a lost child, unlike others like…him of course. So right then, staying next to Maddie was his safety leash since nobody would mind a little one waddling around in company of a guardian, and losing that was felt HARD.

Agnetha, meanwhile, took notice of the pichu’s words as she cuddled him for reassurance. “Ah, so you got the two of us mixed up. Don’t worry, sweetie, it’s a normal mistake and I guess she wouldn’t leave the mall without you, would she? Anyway we won’t find her just by staying idle, how about we check on the shops around?” The small mon could only blush harder at the cuddles and sweet talk, timidly assenting “o-okay chu?”

It was hard to assess Agnetha’s real child rearing skills at the moment when considering how little good it was doing to Andrew’s psyche, to be fair the pichu was more flustered by the eternal awkwardness of the situation; no matter how many times he would fall into them, a pat and nuzzle wouldn’t ease him one bit. On the other hand, even if he didn’t notice, Agnetha managed to nuzzle his cheek gently enough not to prompt a spark, so there was some skill to the cow’s credit.

“Don’t worry, we will find her soon,” she gently told him while starting to carry him around, Andrew’s blush accentuating now that he was being carried off like a toddler. “So sweetie, can you tell Auntie your name?”

“A-Andrew…chuu~”

“Andrew! Such a cute and fitting name~” Agnetha cooed, once again showing enough care to tease his cheeks without causing a reaction. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Andrew. I'm Agnetha but you can call me Auntie.” A more intimidated than reassured Andrew barely put himself together enough to respond. “C-chuuu... n-nice t-to meet y-you?” He was used to the coddling by strangers but this was definitely taking it to new heights.

“So Andrew, I’m guessing you attend pre-K, is Auntie right?” The pichu denied it with a timid headshake. “Ah, sorry, kindergarten then? Elementary maybe? You’re so cute it’s hard to tell~ my little Nicky has the same problem.”

“... t-the PCA... chuu...” From his tone it sounded like he himself was not convinced of the answer, even if it was the truth. And as expected, it took the miltank carrying him by surprise, enough to stop in her tracks and hold him up for a bit as if to take a better look. “PCA?  No way… all this time I believed my little Nicky was the tiniest student there.” Her face of surprise didn’t take long to warm up into the same gentle smile she seemed to default to as Andrew’s airtime was over and he was once again firmly held by her nurturing hug. “But you’re so adorable~! And it’s a little relieving that you’re not as young as you look…” The compliments weren’t doing much to ease him, if anything they were making the timid little mouse blush harder.

“Oooh~! Look at that~!” Agnetha shrilled in a pitch that didn’t match her broad throat, prompting poor Andrew to wince and wonder what could warrant such. To his dismay it was the shop window of a kiddie boutique…and he could already see what was coming. “So many adorable outfits... I'd love to get a few for my Nicky, would you mind being the model, Andrew?”

No. Just, no.  Last thing he needed was being undressed and redressed in stuff that would make him look even smaller, and by a complete stranger to boot. He was ready to protest this…and was beaten to the point by a well placed tickle on his chubby tummy, dissolving his protest into a precious squeaky giggle. Not that it was an intentional interruption; it was just what one does to a little gut sticking out, and unluckily for Andrew “one” included Agnetha.

-------

He really should’ve worked out those abs. If he had, he wouldn’t be on the changing room of the boutique, stripped down to his undies with toddler-ish pokeball prints that didn’t help his case any. He wouldn’t be shivering, blushing or whimpering as the feeling of smallness seemed to accentuate and make him wonder if the next thing to go were his undies.

“You have been so cooperative, Andrew. My little Nicky would've been fussy throughout all this. Now how about starting with some cozy pjs?” Of course, Andrew was out of it, embarrassment effectively clogging his receptiveness of outer stimulus, meaning he was little more than a dressup doll at the moment. “You’re a little shorter than my Nicky, so please bear with the bigger sizes, dearie.”

It didn’t take long for Andrew to be fitted into the first pick his torturer had chosen. “There, aren’t you adorable~?”Agnetha asked with kid-friendly rhetoric as she set the pichu in front of the mirror. Whoever the toddler pichu looking back was, he looked pretty silly wearing a full body spoink-themed peachy pink sleeper, one too big for him like hand-me-downs he was expected to grow into…if he was at least big enough for them he might’ve avoided a fair portion of this embarrassment. Like what was coming. “But considering his tail size I should probably pick a dropseat type,” Agnetha said as she patted the pichu’s bottom, causing him to squeak and perk up his ears in reflex: “Chuu!”

Soon Andrew was out of the piggy pjs, once again in his underoos as Agnetha brought up the next set. “Ready for the next one, sweetie?” she asked as she presented to him a new footed sleeper, this time with a piplup theme and including the previously mentioned dropseat. “D-do I h-have to? Chuuu...” he managed to protest through his embarrassment, only to fall to a volley plead: “Please help sweetie, these are the last pjs, I promise.”

Once again the pichu was as snugly fit as possible in a sleeper too big for him… at least this time the color was less demeaning since it stuck to the species’s natural palette. “You make all these clothes look twice as cute! Tell me, does it feel cozy and warm?” “... u-uh huh...” Andrew nodded, unable to deny that it did feel nice…until having the cool feeling that something was off. “…um... t-there's a b-breeze…” By reflex he reached the cool spot with his little paw... turned out that the drop seat was still open. “Chuu…”

“Oh my~!” the miltank said as she took notice of the pokeball-printed briefs sticking out of the open hatch, promptly closing it and leaving the tail out as she apologized. “Forgive me, Auntie can be forgetful at times.” Andrew just sighed and stayed in place to allow her a better view of the outfit – from her adoring face the verdict was clear. “I’m definitely taking one, my little Nicky will look sooo precious in it!”

“G-g-good f-for him chu?” Andrew wasn’t exactly giving much thought to the intended user of the clothes he was modeling; all he wanted was to get out of them quickly, he just was completely failing to deliver the message. “We're done with the pjs, you must be comfy in those but I'll need you out of them to try the next set of clothes okay?” ‘Okay’ would have been an understatement: Andrew eagerly cooperated with his undressing, even taking a moment to fold up the sleeper and hand it over to the miltank, unknowingly upping the cuteness levels in the process.

“Aw, such a little gentleman, my baby usually just tosses or drops the clothes. Oh, well, it's part of his charm, just like being so shy and polite is part of yours,” she commented as she reached for the pichu’s chubby cheeked face for another affectionate stroke… which didn’t end as well as the previous ones due to her dexterity being clouded by the cuteness, earning her a light shock from the pink cheeks that fortunately wasn’t strong enough to hurt and mostly looked like tiny sparks.

“Well, that's what I get for not being careful with my hands. You're not hurt, are you dear?”

“N-no…”

“Good, I wouldn't ask you to continue this if you were injured. Arms up for Auntie!”

The dressup session continued harmlessly as they moved on to trying out t-shirts. Agnetha’s first pick was particularly ‘sweet’, a white tee featuring solid colored candy canes and cherry topped muffins around a drooly cartoon munchlax; Andrew couldn’t help pouting as the star of the design felt like a mockery of his twin sister Jane. “Hmmm, you're right, it doesn't seem to fit my little Nicky's other cute clothes... but don't worry! I have better ones~” The pichu hung onto the pout as the t-shirt was taken off him, skeptical of ‘Auntie’s’ reassurance.

“What do you think of this one?” Agnetha asked after dressing Andrew in a new tee, unable to keep from burning him with an adoring glare that was somewhat unsettling. “B-better chuu?” the pichu managed to reply, a little nervous and not paying major attention to the baby blue shirt featuring a cute trio of vanillite holding hands. “Off to the cart then~! Next one?”

“H-how m-many more...?” Andrew asked weakly as he was freed from the baby blue…and realized to his horror the next t-shirt was a baby PINK. “Just three more~ d’awwww!” the miltank cooed as she fit the t-shirt on her little model; seeing him display a cherubi baby cherub surrounded by a few cherrim petals was too cute to resist picking him up and holding him in front. “You look so precious in this one! And look, the color matches your adorable cheeks!” The pichu sighed, the feel of embarrassment had already begun to push his known limits and didn’t seem to have a way out other than waiting for it to end: said end seemed to never come as the minutes of serving as a live doll felt like a year. “Can't wait to see it on my baby. Let's go for the next one!”

As if Murphy’s Law was in the neighborhood, Andrew’s horror only grew as he took a look at his next worn piece: a pastel lime t-shirt with solid green sleeves, featuring Bernie the purple dragonite and the word ‘FRIENDS’ spelt out in baby blocks. Horrifying enough to keep him from making out words any more coherent than a babble.

“Left you speechless, huh? It did the same to me when I saw it on a catalog last week. I've been wanting to get it for my little imp, and look if I wasn't right!”

“…chuu…”

“And you make it look even better! But don't tell my little Nicky I said that, he might get jealous~ teehee!”

“…chuuuu…”

The yellow mouse morph was closer to red by now as the coddling didn’t stop even after he was released from the horrifyingly babyish t-shirt; words of protest were simply evading his little lips. “Now sweetcake, ready for the last one?” he heard the miltank said, mild hope arising and struggling through the thought of something even worse than the last t-shirt being put on him… for all he knew next could’ve come a onesie.

“Here goes it!” Agnetha said perkily, fitting the chu’s head and arms through the holes of a pastel green t-shirt which unfolded to display a cartoon chansey standing next to a trash bin and a cartoon planet smiling at the other side, the phrase "GOOD KIDS RECYCLE" below in an outlined yellow. To Andrew’s surprise and confusion, the piece fit and hugged his little chubby frame, leaving a small bit of his chubby gut uncovered.

“…t-this one f-fits o-okay...”

“I know silly~” the miltank replied softly. “After helping me so much, the least Auntie can do is tip you a bit of her appreciation~”

“Chu?” Andrew squeaked, unintentionally pulling off his best impression of a toddler and earning an explanation in a proper tone, with Agnetha kneeling down and gently stroking his fuzzy hair.”What Auntie means, sweetie pie, is that this t-shirt is yours, for you to keep and wear, okay?”It was a rather embarrassing payoff, one that would join his drawer of Baby Gap-worthy apparel that his real mom often bought him at sales; to be fair it wasn’t any worse than half of what he already owned, so there was little point in arguing. “…t-thank you?”

“You’re welcome, sweetie~! And look! I have the perfect match for it right here~”

Once again defaulting to the confused toddler look – a mumbled ‘chu’ escaping him for emphasis – Andrew just stared up as the miltank covered him in a blue garment; only once his head went through it he could identify the piece as a pair of shortalls also in his size…and of the crotch-snapped kind. If this was some conspiracy to make him pass for a preschooler it was being way too successful.

“And just because your footies shouldn't be left out~” the big lady sing-sang right before kneeling and grabbing one of the chu's feet to fit in a velcro taped shoe; the move caught Andrew off-guard and made him lose balance, falling on his chubby rump. “H-hey!!”

“Andrew!” a worried Agnetha yelped as she quickly picked him up and started to lightly rock him while gently rubbing his seat. “Did you get hurt, sweetcake?” Of course, the whole thing was far more embarrassing than it could be painful: the pichu’s pride was being steamrolled as the fact that he was a teenaged combat academy student had been pretty much ignored in favor of his infantile looks. “I-I'm o-okay! Chuuu!”

“Oh, thank heavens!” a relieved Agnetha said, kissing the pichu’s forehead while putting him down and carefully slipping his other foot into its respective shoe. “I wouldn't be able to face your babysitter if you got an injury under my care.”

Andrew could only pout at his now prisoner little feet. “... n-not used t-to shoes...”

“…but you look so perfectly adorable in these… and they make a tiny squeak when walking that will make you easier to find in case you get lost, think you could keep them on at least while keeping Auntie company?”Andrew was never good at arguing, so unless he could have come up with some good excuse there was little to do besides sighing and nodding weakly. A hug from his captor didn’t do much good for his mood.

“You're such a big help! Now shall we get moving?”

“O-okay...”

---------------

Several minutes after leaving the boutique, Andrew was still having trouble getting used to the shoes. His walk had been forced into a waddle not unlike a diapered child... the squeaks with every step were not helping his case any… and being casually held by the hand was the lid of the coffin. His hopes were all poured into finding Maddie, wherever she could be. Meanwhile Agnetha, whose other hand was busy carrying both the purchases and Andrew’s old clothes, was taking her time looking at the store displays and taking brief scans of the insides of each shop as well as the surroundings. A particular store caused her to stop on her tracks, almost making the toddling pichu to lose his step and tumble. “Chu?” Confused as to what could cause the miltank to stop so abruptly, he took a look at the place and was immediately dismayed as he found out it was a toy store with an obvious early childhood focus; shelved everywhere were several rubber and rounded plastic toys in a color palette that played it safe by staying mostly basic, and from the look on the face of Agnetha she was already toying with the idea of her little Nicky playing with them. And, since he was serving as little Nicky’s stand-in, Andrew was soon subjected to the foreseeable doom.

“So many cute toys... would you try a few for Auntie, Andrew sweetie?” the miltank asked nicely… while already tugging her companion inside the store, once again almost causing him to lose balance since he had gotten lost in thought. “C-chu!?”

“I heard these are pretty rare to find,” she continued as she took the pichu next to an almost ball-like rubber gogoat, “could you please ride it for a moment? It looks like the perfect replacement for my Nicky's rubber arcanine that mysteriously disappeared a month ago…”

Still far from the right state of mind to argue, Andrew sighed and tried to comply… the ride just happened to be a little too wide for him to just put his short legs over, and the shoes weren’t helping his balance at all. “Woops, silly me~” Agnetha lightly scolded herself as she lifted the pichu by the armpits and set him adequately on the toy, as if he wasn’t feeling small enough. “Forgive Auntie for forgetting you're smaller than my Nicky, and such a treat by the way!”

Adoringly ruffling the pichu’s shaggy hair for added embarrassment, her next request would push the limit even more. “You look so adorable riding like that! Could you bounce it a little please?” Once again timidly complying, Andrew prayed nobody was watching him if he was meant to survive that much embarrassment. “D'awwww! I'd leave you bouncing it all day long if we weren't looking for my baby and your babysitter. But we need to keep moving. And I'm definitely buying this one~”

Andrew’s hopes of freedom lasted less than a hoppip in a hurricane as Agnetha took him off the gogoat and, rather than heading to the cash register, immediately set him in a nearby ride, a plastic stroller tricycle in basic colors with thick plastic wheels and multiple pichu decals all over it. “Isn't this one beautiful? It even matches you! I wonder if they have them with larvitar decals...”

Yep, Murphy was still around, and now was taking cheap shots. “…I c-can ride a b-big boy b-bike chuu…” Andrew mumbled under his breath as he pouted.

Suddenly the miltank scooped him up in one arm. “Look at that!” At least that agony was shortlived. A surprised Andrew could only let out a squeak at the sudden movement… that would take him to an even more demeaning ride than the previous two combined. He was put on a toddler swing, an almost too tight seat for his pudge that still kept his legs from touching the ground. “Forget the tricycle, this will be perfect! You are perfect for it! Oh, my Nicky's gonna love it~”

This was too much, even for Andrew. He began struggling for freedom, kicking and softly whining – not realizing he had put the swing in motion with his struggle and now looked absolutely adorable.

“D'awwwwwwww! I see you couldn't wait to try it~! When we get to your babysitter I'll tell her myself that you're more than welcome to come play at our home, my Nicky will surely appreciate company.” She paused for a moment to ponder, ignoring the pichu’s squirms for freedom. “Come to think of it, his other friends now visit less often. Kemmy still pops from time on time, but what's been of Carrie I wonder?”

The pichu’s continued struggle soon came back to her attention, prompting a playful ‘scold’ before tenderly taking him off it. “Uh-uh-uh! Easy on the swing, young gentleman. I haven't bought it yet~” Andrew sighed, starting to see why this ‘Nicky’ ditched his mom... he wasn't going to forgive the guy for leaving him to suffer. At least he had been released from the hanging throne of infantile shame.

“Now, I don't want to spoil my little Nicky too much or he'll grow up conceited, so how about we call it off? Two new toys are more than enough for now, I'll ask the clerk to ship them to my address. What do you say?”

“S-sounds good... chu...”

--------------------

After 15 or so minutes of window shopping and looking around, the miltank took her little company away from the displays for a moment. Looking to the proximities, she spotted a large room with a waist-high fence at the entrance and the bold yellow letters above reading "ROUTE THIRTY FUN" as if inviting the younger crowd. She smiled and turned to the pichu for a moment. "Andrew, would you like to take a break?" The offer took him, who had been looking the other way and not noticing the place, by surprise. “Chu… b-break?”

“You must be tired from all the shopping and walking around, want to take a break from that and do something fun for a change?”

Andrew timidly babbled in response: “... sure?” then realized he shouldn't have said that as he recalled the miltank’s perception of what was "fun" for him. “Then so be it! Auntie's had so much fun today, it's only fair that you get a good time yourself~” Andrew blushed with embarrassment and squeaked a long, exasperated “chuuu…” as he realized she was dragging him to the kiddie games.

Before they could enter the play area, a large meganium lady dressed in a uniform stepped in from of them as she gave them a slight smile "Hello there ma'am, I'm afraid I have to ask you if your little boy is diapered," she asked as pleasant as could be considering what she just said.

“Hello, miss. I'm afraid I don't carry any diapers, but despite his adorable looks little Andrew is potty trained, you don't have to worry.”

"I'm sorry ma'am, Route Thirty Fun rules. Young children need to be diapered before we allow them in. It's to prevent any messy accidents." The meganium motioned towards a nearby booth. "If you want to enter you'll need to put one on little Andrew, but we keep a package or two on hand. You'll find them and a changing table in there."

Agnetha sighed and nodded before heading to the booth. “Sorry sweetie, you heard the nice lady.” Andrew meanwhile had gone pale and was failing to make out any words out of sheer panic, his hopes of getting out of it crushed once the miltank conceded; best he could voice were squeaks and babbles and neither was exactly helping his case.

“Don't worry, sweetcake, even if you have to wear a diaper you're still a big boy, okay?” The reassurance fell empty even before Agnetha scooped the pichu up and laid him onto the changing table. Petrified with horror, for a moment Andrew’s mind drifted off to his friend and teammate Petie, he knew the teddiursa was incontinent and as little and babyfaced as him but only now was getting a real perspective of what he had to go through.

Agnetha meanwhile continued the diapering preparations, opening the crotch snaps of the shortalls. “Huh, never thought we'd get to use these like this.” She took notice of the pichu’s embarrassment and curl up reflex trying not to give up his undies. “Sorry honey, we could leave these on but you'll end up soaked in sweat,” she told him as gently as possible before tugging off the last proof of the pichu’s big boy status; what was left of Andrew was a sniffling, whimpering, butt-naked pichu nearly broken by the whole humiliation.

Agnetha went out of his sight for a moment before coming up again with a Cuddlebutts-brand disposable diaper seemingly the right size for Andrew. “Look at the bright side~! At least they have an adorable print, don't you think?” The ‘adorable print’ in question brought Petie to mind once again since it was a cartoon depiction of a baby teddiursa with a diaper and pacifier on; Andrew was aware at least that Petie was involved with this diaper company so he just sighed at the cruel irony.

The diapering carried on as Agnetha lifted Andrew by the legs with a firm but gentle grip, sliding the unfolded diaper under and smoothly slipping his jagged tail through the tailhole. With gentle care and without releasing the pichu’s legs, she grabbed a can of baby powder and sprinkled a bit on his rump. “Look! They're really considerate and serviceable,” she commented while laying down the embarrassed mouse to continue powdering his front carefully. Finally clamping the thick padding through his legs for some modesty, the miltank proceeded to tape the diaper and seal the sentence for a still sniffling Andrew. Taking notice of his sour mood, she tickled the pichu’s sides a little to get an adorably giggly pichu kicking his legs and making crinkly noises in the process. As the tickling ceased and gave way to blush in the tiny mouse’s face, the shortalls were securely snapped in place, tightly hugging the diapered figure as if intended to make it more obvious than it already was.

“Dooone~!” Agnetha singsang as the pichu in the changing table whimpered in lament of his newly stunted mobility, taking extra effort just to sit up. The miltank, busy with putting away his undies, obliviously gave him a verbal reassurance. “Cheer up, sweetie, it will all be worth it when you're squealing in joy later~ Let’s go now.”

“Chuuuuu…” Andrew could tell it wasn’t going to be the case, but his mind was already struggling with not giving in to the humiliation and crying like the baby he must have looked like…falling on his bottom as he was set on the ground wasn’t helping matters.

“Oh, dear,” the miltank said while helping Andrew up on his feet again and keeping him held by a hand. “I know what you're playing, you want Auntie to carry you, don't you~? But I told you, even with a diaper on you're still a big boy~, so let's walk like a big boy does, okay?”

It was clearly not okay for Andrew, whose easy to miss whines expressed displeasure at the accentuated infantile waddle that the combination of the thick padding between his legs and the shoes he wasn’t used to wear had caused together. He was against taking the steps he was being forced to due to the gentle tug of the miltank, maybe with a bit more of backbone he could have stopped her from dragging him back to the entrance of the kiddy games…

“Okay miss, he's all prepped up, can we go in now?”

“Mind if I check just to be sure?”

Things kept getting worse for the pichu. Not only he was put back in diapers, now the fact had to be confirmed. Part of him still held onto the hope of getting out of this with a shred of dignity…

“Well, if you must...”

…and it was promptly crushed by the miltank’s acceptance. A mere couple of gentle, swift pats on his bottom were granting him enough shaming for a lifetime despite taking no longer than a second.

“Okay then, he's good. Just in time too,” the meganium added. “In time you say?” Agnetha asked mildly surprised, “in time for what?”

“Bernie the Purple Dragonite just started posing with little ones for photos~” the grass type replied cheerfully as she knelt down to Andrew, “doesn't that make you excited little guy~?” The pichu was so caught on his embarrassment that he barely registered the question; meanwhile Agnetha seemed to take over the excitement he himself wasn’t displaying. “Bernie!? You're so lucky Andrew! If only my Nicky was here... but he isn't, so the golden chance is all yours~! Didn't I tell you~!? A little diaper won't spoil your fun~!”

“You might want to hurry,” the meganium added, “first few little ones get a free plush along with the photo~”

“Excuse us then, wouldn't want to miss those, would you Andrew~?”

----------------

After what seemed like an eternity for Andrew in Route Thirty Fun, they got to wave goodbye to the meganium lady at the entrance and head back to the rest of the mallgrounds. "Such a lucky boy~" Agnetha said while smiling at him, "getting to meet Bernie and even getting a free plushie~! It's all yours, by the way, my little Nicky will learn not to evade me once he finds out what he missed out on~" The pichu, only held up by her hand dragging him along by the paw as he, reluctantly, clutched the plush in one arm and toddled along bowlegged, desperately prayed Maddie would find him.

“Look Andrew!” the cow yipped as she spotted the mall’s food court nearby. “Maybe your babysitter is there~! And if she's not we could still enjoy us a little treat, don't you think~!?” The pichu was rather tired mentally by this point. “Chu... sure...”  He did not oppose any further futile resistance as the large lady led him and took her time to look around. “Hmmm... no other miltank in sight,” she added after some scanning, “know what that means~?”

Andrew went wide eyed as he could read her plans like a neon sign. He was promptly scooped up by the miltank while she looked around for a vacant table. “Exactly~! Sweet treats for both of us~! Do you like sundaes~?” Panic took over as the pichu could only let out a squeak upon catching a glance of the table she had decided on. “Chu!!!” In case he hadn’t gone through enough humiliation, his next destination was a highchair. Specifically built for toddlers his size and build.

“I'll take that as a yes~!” Agnetha cooed as she gently placed him on the highchair, leaving the bags on an empty chair nearby before stretching her hands to him. “Now, I know you like Bernie, but you don't want to get him dirty, do you~?” Needless to say, Andrew handed over the stuffed dragonite with haste, part of him hoping it'd somehow vanish if he did. The miltank didn’t seem to notice as she received the plushie and put it away with the bags. Immediately, though, she retrieved something from one of said bags: it was a bib featuring the same cartoon teddiursa from the diaper the pichu was wearing under his shortalls. “And of course I don't want you to get dirty, especially not on your new clothes~!”

“Chuuuuu...” Andrew squeaked surprised, “w-why d-did you h-have t-that? W-was it N-Nicky's?” The miltank answered his confused curiosity with a warm smile as she fastened the bib around his neck. “Didn't you notice~? It was a gift from the first shop~ buy three tees, get a free bib~ I was thinking on getting one for my Nicky anyway though.”

“Oh...”

Signaling the sundae booth for two big cups, Agnetha continued. “Yep, sometimes he gets fussy and doesn't let mommy be mommy... but you're a good boy who behaves with Auntie, aren't you~?” she finished with a coo followed by a nuzzle that made the tiny mouse squeak and blush.

Once they were served, Agnetha looked at the bowls of ice cream dipped in syrup. “They sure look tasty, don't they Andrew~?”For once, the pichu agreed, it might not have been his favorite but it was still tasty. “U-uh huh.” Agnetha placed his bowl on the tray of the highchair, then took a spoonful out of it and moved it next to his face. “Now open wide~! Incoming choo choo~!” It was demeaning, but at this point Andrew was expecting it, so he just played along in hopes of getting over with it faster.

“Such a good boy~! Wonder why my Nicky gets fussy at this...” The first scoop was gently fed to the pichu; he was actively trying to cooperate to avoid getting his face or bib full of mess. “How was it?” “G-good,” he timidly admitted as his eyes tried to look elsewhere, his captor tasting her own portion with her free hand before continuing to feed him.

By the fifth scoop Andrew was blushing with enough shame to melt any ice cream the feeding could have missed; it was only theoretical, though, since all the serves so far had been clean, helped by the yellow mouse’s cooperation. Agnetha gave him a kindly proud look before speaking. “Since you're being such a good boy, Auntie will let you take a few spoonfuls by yourself, what do you say?” The pichu was taken by surprise and couldn’t help suspecting the offer was a trick. “T-thank you a-auntie? Chu...”  “Just remember, sweetcake,” the miltank said while handing over the spoon. “you must eat the ice cream slowly or you'll get brainfreeze~! And I trust you won't eat large scoops at once like my little Nicky does, sweetie~”

In what seemed like an obedient display, Andrew took a small scoop and brought it close to feed himself, the awkwardness of the situation slowing his movements down due to him actually worrying he could expose himself to worse embarrassments if not careful. He took so long that Agnetha had enough time to scoop two bites for herself, following with a sudden pause that the pichu had no time to pay attention to, all his focus being on taking the simple task of feeding himself easy.

*SPLAT!*

Only for his efforts to be wasted as the pichu was startled by a couple of invading fingers stuck through the leg hole of his shortalls, causing him to go stiff-bodied and the scoop to land between his chin and the bib. Horrified by the indignant invasion, he shot a fearful stare at the miltank, who seemed to have her mind elsewhere. “Still dry,” she mumbled, making the mouse blush and try to break from his horrified stupor to chew at her for giving him a diaper check. Before he could, however, Agnetha seemed to snap out of whatever had taken over her and get back to reality. “Ah! Sorry, sweetie!” she exclaimed, “it was an old habit I thought dead but... well...” Sighing out of guilt, she wiped Andrew’s chin and with a napkin before moving on to do damage control on the bib. “Please forgive Auntie...”

Andrew didn’t really want to ponder on that any further.  “J-just p-please don't do it a-again chuuuu...” Agnetha responded his plea while trying to calm him down with gentle strokes. “I'll try not to.”

As they resumed eating, the pichu kept an eye on his temporary babysitter to prevent more unwanted diaper checks. That incident had pushed his tolerance for awkwardness and gotten him alert.  Agnetha meanwhile continued to enjoy her own dessert. Suddenly, though, she took a pause to shoot him a look, then to her sundae and promptly giggled.

“...w-what?”

“You got sundae over your liiip~”

“...chu?”

Andrew felt confused. He didn’t recall getting a single stain ever since ‘the incident’, but couldn’t help the curiosity reflex of his sight going cross-eyed to try to look at it.

Agnetha could barely suppress a giggle as she swiftly painted a dot of sundae on Andrew's upper lip using a cherry. “Theeere~!” Andrew turned a pouty red as he realized he fell under a trick on the same level as ‘I got your nose’.

“Do you want the cherry, Andrew~?”

“...n-no t-thank you chuuu... you c-can have it...” the pichu rebutted attempting not to play along any more than needed, while at the same time trying to wipe his upper lip on his own for the sake of keeping some self-reliance. “Let me at least help you there, I stained your cutie face in first place,” Agnetha replied responsibly, obliviously crushing his hopes as she drew from her purse a small box of Cuddlebutts brand baby wipes and used one to clean around his mouth. “My Nicky always whines and pouts when I get these out. But they are safer than sanitizer, and look at the irresistibly adorable faces in the box, see all the cuties we'd miss out~?” Andrew made a long groan inwardly at the sight of the cartoon baby teddiursas and riolu.

Once Agnetha was done she tickled Andrew’s now clean chin to humor him. “Okay, sweetie, no more interruptions now, enjoy what's left of your sundae~!” Andrew couldn’t help but giggle and wiggle a bit at the tickle before blushing more and resuming eating. They continued until being done, the pichu holding on to the hope of being taken out of the demeaning highchair.

“Mmmm, wasn't that yummy~!?” Andrew nodded, his hopes higher than ever as he could already see himself being freed. “So glad you liked it sweetie. Auntie knows you have had to go through a lot today...you still miss Maddie, right?” “Chu...” The pichu nodded again, after this humiliating day he missed Maddie a lot... she might have babied them a bit when she first became Pre-K's coach but nowhere near what he had just gone through. “Of course sweetheart...” the miltank continued in a soothing tone as she lifted him from the highchair, seemingly granting him the so-desired freedom…

…and sitting him into her lap instead, rubbing his back for reassurance. “But don't worry dear, we're definitely gonna find her.” The ‘reassurance’ did nothing but accentuate the blush on the pichu’s face out of embarrassment and cause him to make squeaking noises... giving the impression that he was about to cry –which, to be fair, wasn’t far off from the truth–. “Oh dear...” the bovine continued, adding a light rocking to her attempts to calm him down, “I understand that you miss her, that's exactly why you need to be patient dear, so she can see you smiling when we find her... can you do that for Auntie? For Maddie maybe?”

It was rather frustrating, but Andrew sighed in resignation, certain it’d get worse if he didn't comply, and forced a tiny, timid smile that didn't quite reach his nervous and embarrassed eyes. Yet the look of the mon holding him wasn’t of satisfaction, but of pity. “Sweetie, you're such a dear...” she said, holding him tight against her body and stroking the back of his head gently, “don't worry, Auntie can tell you're still uneasy...” Andrew could hear the miltank’s hand reaching for something behind him, but his mind was into the awkward point where he couldn’t deny a certain nostalgic comfort, blushing more and letting out a timid little "chu" as he was taken back to the times his own mommy held him like this, including some not that long ago.

Soon Agnetha brought her arm back in sight holding a vacuum flask, which she left on the table. The container had a metallic look that most people would associate with coffee or chocolate. “Don't worry dear, I have the perfect remedy for your nerves.” “...chu?” The announcement only grew Andrew’s unease as he fidgeted nervouly and squeaked a little... what was she going to do now?

To his dismayed horror, she opened the flask to take out a perfectly warm baby bottle full of milk and place it in proximity to his mouth. “I guess my little one will have to miss out on this too, but you need it more right now. Here comes a yummy~” The pichu’s panicked eyes were completely overlooked and his attempt to protest only helped the bottle’s rubber nipple dock on his lips. “Take your time, sweetie, you don't want to snort the milkie out~” she cooed, not unlike if a real infant was the one in her lap.

Andrew whimpered and struggled not to cry as he weakly sucked from the bottle, just about humiliated into submission at this point... and feeling he owed Petie an apology of some kind if that was what the teddy when through regularly. “You're so cute like this, just like a little cherub~“ the miltank added like a nail on the coffin, right on time as she began to accommodate him into a cradling position; her embarrassing compliments caused the pichu to curl up, unintentionally making the task easier. By the time she was done, Agnetha had Andrew’s back and bottom resting against her arm while her hand kept the tiny mouse securely held by the thickly padded crotch, leaving the chu’s little head to rest against her chest. Being that close to her heart, his large cute ears twitched and moved on reflex, one in direct contact feedbacking him with the cow’s steady soothing heartbeat and body warmth. Soon his eyes began drooping and his nursing became more steady and rhythmical; he had begun to relax against his will and get drowsy. Seeing him soothed prompted the miltank to begin rocking him gently, furthering the eye drooping and accentuating his body’s curl even closer to the famous fetal position; it was getting really hard for Andrew to stay awake.

Soon, Agnetha noticed the bottle contents were halfway down already. “Would you like to hold it on your own, sweetcake~?” she gently asked a half asleep Andrew, who merely responded with a groggy nod without missing a beat of his suckling. “Okay dear, put your paws on it, hold firm, Auntie will let go as soon as you're holding it right~”.

To any witness that could have known Andrew, there had been at least that possibility of the whole thing being a nasty prank (which it technically did start off as one) intended to put the pichu through tortuous humiliation. None of it was there anymore. The only ones left were a drowsy toddler clumsily grabbing the bottle he was being fed with his chubby little paws and his sweet, sincerely loving caretaker cradling him dearly and now softly combing his shaggy hair to prompt on him coos and twitches of his free ear. Andrew was nowhere near awake enough to even ponder what he was doing, so he just kept on suckling as his eyelids got heavier and heavier; made worse by the miltank starting a lullaby to go with the already entrancing heartbeats.

*hic-cup!*

On the verge of dozing off for good, Andrew hiccupped softly with his mouth still trying to squeeze milk out of a now empty bottle. Agnetha at first simply rubbed his tummy and chest gently, but a second hiccup clued her in to take a look and notice her charge was nursing on thin air. “My, what a little glutton you turned out to be~” she tenderly teased while softly taking the bottle away, leaving the groggy baby with a kissy mouth for a few seconds before he let out a tiny yawn. After capping the bottle and leaving it aside to focus on him; the cow shifted the pichu over her shoulder and started patting and rubbing his back. “Sorry dearie, but we must prevent any more hiccups, now let that air out~”

Like the infant he had been playing so well, Andrew let out an embarrassingly cute little burp as he wiggled; at least the shifts in position and patting were helping to wake him up. He was once again set on Agnetha’s lap as the miltank made eye contact. “How are you now, baby? Ready to go search again? Or do you prefer a little nap?” Yawning once again, Andrew clumsily rubbed his eyes with his chubby little fists. “...'m a-wake...” he mumbled softly, ears flicking as he tried to rouse himself fully.

“Of course you need to be awake~” Agnetha sing-sang as she began putting everything away, “who’s gonna recognize your babysitter otherwise? If we don’t find her I can’t start looking for my little troublesome larvitar either~”

As if a bell rang within him, Andrew suddenly opened his eyes fully. “...l-larvitar? N-Nicky's a larvitar?”

“Yes, didn't I mention it?”

“...n-no...b-but...um...” he hesitated as his eyes looked away, “...chuu...n-no I s-shouldn't s-say a-anything...”

The hesitation only caused the miltank to feel intrigued. “You shouldn't say anything? About what, sweetcake?”

Feeling he was about to open a can of worms, Andrew sighed in defeat. “...p-promise n-not to be m-mad?” he timidly asked, already afraid of what his suspicion could unchain. He blushed and flinched a little when Agnetha gave him a reassuring kiss in the forehead.

“Auntie could never be mad at a sweet angel like you, Andrew. Now tell me.”

Sighing again, Andrew pressed on. ”...a-at the PCA...t-there w-were some s-stories...o-one of my b-best friends m-mentioned a... chuu...” he said shakily, making a pause as he looked away in hesitation, afraid of the risk of a wrong accusation and how the miltank – who despite all the torturing humiliation she had put him through was still admittedly a benevolent and gentle caretaker – could react to her son being badmouthed, before gathering the courage to push forward, “a l-larvitar n-named Nicky p-picking on k-kids s-smaller then h-him...”

Agnetha blinked, confused and disturbed by the information. “What!? My baby? That cannot be-.. are you sure it's the same Nicky? Or a larvitar?” she asked in hopes of a ‘no’. “I-I d-dunno...” Andrew replied, his stutter getting thicker as he got more and more nervous, “…a-all I know is w-what my f-friend told me a-and I know he's t-truthful...chuu...b-but there i-is...um...” The pichu paused, hesitating on whether to continue or not as he tried to escape the weight of eye contact. “... m-maybe I s-shouldn't chuuu...” It was getting hard for the miltank to continue listening to the accusation; part of her hoped with all of her heart for everything to be a bad joke, yet another part of her couldn’t deny the nagging feeling of the pichu’s words being true. “The sole idea of him doing something like that...” she mumbled with her hand cupped over her mouth, “maybe Alan was right, maybe I'm doting him too much...anyway what is that thing you shouldn't?

Slave to his principles of honesty, the infantile mouse sighed and continued. “...a-apparently t-there's a s-small girl a-at the PCA w-who h-has to...chuuuuuu...w-wear diapers d-due to...s-something, p-people t-think i-it might b-be a m-medical o-or something...” He took another pause, still afraid to look up and find out he had pissed off the cow mother. “...a-apparently t-this N-nicky l-likes bullying her o-over it...”

“...m-my baby...a bully...my baby!?” Agnetha’s voice was trembling, the sinking idea causing her breathing to get more agitated. “H-how!? Where did I go wrong!? …and picking on that of all things…”

“I-I'm sorry!” Andrew squeaked as he shrank in fear of the incoming motherly fury. Instead he ended up yelping in surprise as he was taken back to the cradling position he had just been bottle-fed in, albeit in a much different context, now serving more as a comfort plushie for the miltank who started rocking him; because of this, it was substantially less embarrassing even if his diaper was making as much of a crinkling noise as earlier.

“Y-you d-did nothing w-wrong, dear... the guilty one here is Mommy- erm, Auntie...”

“...chu?” the belittled mouse squeaked, looking at her timidly as the fear of a worse reaction had only now started to recede. “H-how is i-it your f-faul m-ma'am c-chu...?”

“Because Auntie is too soft a mommy, sweet pie, lately I've been letting him get away scot free for small misdemeanors, believing in my baby's good faith and intentions. Come to think of it, recently he's even started to miss his bedtime.”

“I-it's o-o-okay chuuuu... I d-don't t-think it w-was your f-f-fault?”

Bringing the pichu closer to her head for a gentle hug while keeping him in a cradle, Agnetha continued, her motherly instincts helping control her stress. “Thank you dear, but a mother has a duty and that is raising her kids the best way possible. When my older boy Thorton started taking distance from me, I thought I was being too harsh with discipline, and when he flat out moved away, I was sure my disciplining ways had scared him off, so I went as easy as I could on my little Nicky, so he wouldn't get fed up with Mommy...never considered the other extreme would be like this...” “Chuu...” Andrew squeaked, stretching his little chubby arms towards her to return the hug. Despite the ruthless humiliation the miltank had put him through, the pichu was good-hearted enough to try and help her calm down or cheer up.

“Thank you for telling me, sweetie,” Agnetha said noticeably calmer, sitting Andrew on her lap and then gently stroking his hair. “I might still have time to amend this. With some effort, I hope to mold him to be a little more-“

“Pardon me?” a voice over her shoulder asked. “I believe you have my little pichu there.” Immediately recognizing the voice, Andrew’s face lit up like a baby seeing his mother again. “Maddie!”

“Your little pichu?” Agnetha asked while turning around. “Oh! You're such a darling~” she exclaimed. Standing in front of them was a teenaged miltank about her full size, she was dressed in jeans and a brown jacket and carried with her a few shopping bags. “Andrew never told me his babysitter was this young. He's safe and sound by the way~”

“Thank you ma'am, I'm glad,” Maddie replied smiling gently, her arms stretched out diplomatically asking for her pichu. “I was worried security might have led him off again as a lost child. Thank you for looking after him.” “It was my pleasure,” Agnetha responded as she handed over the padded mouse. “He's such a sweet child to be in company of. I would love to look after him again, if you ever need so or just want to visit both of you are welcome at my humble residence.”

“Thank you, we'll keep that in mind Ms...?”

“Connell. Agnetha Connell. And I think this belongs to Andrew~” she added, handing over the shopping bag with the pichu's own clothes and the Bernie plushie.

“Thank you, and I'm Maddie Tunderana.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Maddie. Say, how much experience do you have with babysitting? Right now I'm taking in discipline tips to apply on a naughty little larvitar.”

“...I have quite a bit to be honest... usually discipline depends on the age, may I ask how old the larvitar is?”

“Fourteen, though you wouldn't believe it if you saw him... well, with little Andrew in mind I might take that bit back.”

“Oh? And if he's that old then grounding might be the way... usually the oldest I deal with is 6 or 7 and a good spanking and making it clear what they did was wrong works there... how many spanks depends on what they did of course.”

Agnetha was unable to contain a  loud gasp. “S-spanking!? Oh my, I have never done that to either of my boys...no Agnetha, you must be a mother, this is for Nicky's own good...” Sighing, the older miltank looked kindly at her younger counterpart. “Thank you for the tips, Maddie. I will keep them in mind. Now if you both excuse me, I have a larvitar to find.”

“ ...I think there was a larvitar pushing another child away from a game so he could play as I passed the arcade a few moments ago...” Maddie recalled, prompting her senior to sigh and facepalm, lightly shaking her head.

“And it seems I have a big workload ahead. Thank you again Maddie,” she thanked before turning to a cooing tone to address the pichu, “and thank you too, Andrew sweetie~ Take care~”

-------------------

After both teens waved bye-bye to the older mon and resumed their way, a few minutes passed in silence, until…

“Andrew…”

“…chu?”

“…are you in…?”

It was enough for Maddie seeing the sad blush across the pichu’s face to know the answer to her question without having to finish it…plus she didn’t want to embarrass him any further by stating his current diapered status.

“…guessing you had quite a little adventure then…” she added in a slightly amused tone

“Chuuuu…” Andrew whimpered, his blush accentuating heavily. “d-dun wanna t-t-talk about it…”

Another few minutes of silence passed as they continued towards the mall’s exit. Still in his coach’s arms, looking like a tired toddler after a long walk, Andrew seemed lost in thought for a bit, until…

“…M-maddie?”

“Yes, Andrew?”

“…r-remind me t-to a-apologize t-to Petie n-next time I s-see him… chuuu…”

Maddie couldn’t help chuckling. “Of course, now let’s get you back home.”

Andrew considered for a moment asking to get back to his clothes, but the idea of reaching home sooner was more desirable. Plus, after so many dressups – including a go at the changing table – he wasn’t very eager to go through another one too soon.

“…okay chuu…”

The way back seemed paved with the sounds of crinkles…

----------------------

“…come on, Agnetha, maybe you jumped too conclusions too soon. You haven’t seen him after all-“

“GIMME BACK MY COIN YOU MEANIE!”

“Your coin? Your coin was well invested in letting me beat Street Brawler II Super Arcade Mega Giga Gold.”

“…was gunna pway Petit Pony Abbenchures…”

“Oh cry me a RIVER! If you’re gonna flood your pampers with tears, might as well go get changed and NOT BOTHER ME.”

Nope, there was no mistaking. The boy with terracotta hair in a pageboy cut, a chubby complexion and an attitude that unashamedly screamed ‘bully’ was little Nicky. Agnetha’s stunned reaction while seeing her youngest send a preschool-aged petilil away crying may have prevented her from saving that child’s evening, but it gave her enough time to whisk away her last remnants of denial.

“Ha ha! Serves you right! Come back when you can hold your pee!” the little bully boasted. “Now time to find a new benefactor…”

“I think it’s time for a certain larvitar to explain himself.”

The sound of authority made Nicky freeze in place.”M-mom?”

“Make a good enough case, dear, and mommy will let you choose.”

“B-between going home and staying a little longer?”

“Sort of.”

“R-really!?”

“You would get to pick between being paddled at home…or spanked right here.”

“Mooommyyyyyyyy!”

---End---

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