Sorry for the wait, everyone! I started working on this chapter, but stopped midway, so I'll finish this now.
The chapter begins in Ashley's point of view.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 30: Who Gets To Keep Togepi?
My friends, brother, and I were currently resting in a small town. We were still far away from the ocean which we had to cross to reach the Cinnabar Island for the next badge. I knew we were going to pass Viridian City, but the Gym there was special. Only Trainers with seven badges could challenge it to try earning the final badge. It was like a final test to prove yourself that you are strong enough to participate in the League.
Ash and I were currently on the phone talking to Mom. "Hi, Mom!" Ash greeted.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu waved his hand while resting on Ash's shoulder.
"Ashton, Ashley! It's so nice to hear from you, my little Champions!" Mom giggled.
"It's nice to see you too, Mom", I smiled.
The four Squirtles of the Squirtle Squad appeared behind her, waving their hands. "Squirtle squirtle!"
"Hi, everybody!" Ash smiled. "I hope you're helping Mom and not pranking around."
"Squirtle!" the Squirtle Squad chirped simultaneously.
"Oh, they've been such sweethearts helping me around the house", Mom smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that", Ash said before he picked up a Poké Ball. "By the way, guys, say hi to your leader!"
My brother called out Wartortle and let him stand in front of the video telephone. "Wartortle!"
"Squirtle? Squirtle squirtle!" the Squirtle Squad started cheering at the sight of their evolved leader.
"Wartortle!" Wartortle smiled before he grabbed his pair of sunglasses from Ash's hand and put them on. "War wartortle!"
"Oh? So the Squirtle Squad's leader has evolved", Mom said in awe.
"Yep!" Ash nodded. "He evolved when we faced Team Rocket's leader back in Saffron City."
"Oh yes, about that…", Mom began slowly before she glared at us. "That was very dangerous, putting yourselves in danger to stop the evil organization! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I got the word of my children helping out with the eradication?!"
"E-ra-di-cation…?" I confusedly repeated the word.
"Oh, it means getting rid of something, Ashley", Mom explained, briefly calming down.
"Ah, okay", I nodded. "I've learned many new words lately."
"Really? I'm so happy for you, Ashley. The journey will help you in other ways than just becoming the greatest dragon tamer."
"Yeah", I nodded.
"Oh yeah, wait a sec, Mom", Ash said before looking over his shoulder. "Misty, Brock! Get over here, guys!"
Our friends hurried over to us while Brock gently carried the Pokémon Egg they found the other way when we were in Grandpa Canyon. "Hi, Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty waved her hand.
"It's been a while, Mrs. Ketchum", Brock nodded.
"Hi, Misty, Brock!" Mom smiled. "Please, call me Delia."
"Mom, we recently found this Pokémon Egg that Brock is holding", Ash pointed at the Egg with a thumb over his shoulder.
"A Pokémon Egg? Oh, this brings back old memories", Mom sighed in bliss.
"You took care of Pokémon Eggs before, Mom?" I asked.
"While I was Professor Oak's assistant, before I met your father and had you two, I helped him taking care of the Eggs in which the Starter Pokémon hatched from."
"Speaking of Professor Oak, Ashley and I'll have to call him soon so we can switch our Pokémon for the next Gym", Ash said.
"Before that…", Brock spoke up. "Mrs. Ket- I mean… Delia, do you have any advice on how to take proper care of a Pokémon Egg?"
"Make sure to keep it warm and give it lots of love. Many Trainers may not know about this, but the Pokémon inside the Egg can be easily influenced of what it senses from outside of the shell. So make sure to be kind to it and to each other so it doesn't sense a negative environment."
"Got it!" Brock nodded. "Thanks for sharing this valuable advice, Delia!"
"I'm always happy to help", Mom smiled. "Now, I'll end the call, so you can call Professor Oak. Be careful and make sure to change your underwear, Ashton, Ashley!"
"Mom!" Ash and I whined simultaneously in embarrassment.
"Did you have to say that in front of Misty and Brock?!" Ash groaned before burying his face in his hands.
"This is so embarrassing…", I mumbled while looking away.
The Squirtle Squad laughed at us while Wartortle held back his own laughter. Mom just giggled innocently. "It's for your best, you two. See you later!"
"Bye, Delia!" Misty and Brock waved their hands.
"Bye, Mom…", Ash and I muttered simultaneously before my brother ended the call.
"Chuhuhuhu", Pikachu giggled.
"Not you too, Pikachu!" Ash growled softly while he called back Wartortle into his Poké Ball.
"Delia just wants the best for you two", Brock said.
"I didn't know Delia used to be Professor Oak's assistant", Misty commented.
"That was a long time ago", Ash explained. "She retired when she got pregnant with me and sis."
"But even now and then, she helps Professor Oak", I added. "I have a feeling now that Ash and I are on a journey she often goes over to help."
"Well, time to give Professor Oak a call", Ash said before typing in the number on the pay phone.
It took four beeps before Professor Oak answered the call, his face appearing on the screen. "Hello? Oh, hi there, Ash, Ashley, Misty, Brock!"
"Hi, Professor Oak!" we greeted simultaneously.
"How are you and our Pokémon?" I asked.
"We're doing great, thank you!" Professor Oak nodded. "But Muk can be too cuddly and has often nearly drowned me with its sludge and… Aerodactyl has been quite the challenge."
"Hunter? What's wrong with him?" I asked.
"He's aggressive towards the other Pokémon and has often tried flying away from the Lab, but the water-type Pokémon has helped me calming him down."
"Uh-oh, that's not good", Brock cold sweated.
"L-Looks like you've got no choice but to train Hunter, Ashley…", Ash laughed sheepishly.
"Pika ika."
"I guess I have to switch Pokémon and train Hunter until he's obedient or however you say that word", I said.
"You said it right, Ashley", Misty told me.
"Oh, okay then", I nodded before sighing in relief. "There are still so many words I need to learn…"
"You said you want to switch Pokémon?" Professor Oak asked.
"Yeah, both Ashley and I want to switch Pokémon and prepare ourselves for the Gym on Cinnabar Island", Ash explained.
"Okay. Just tell me which Pokémon you want to add and I'll get them and their Poké Balls."
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It took a while for Professor Oak to fetch the Pokémon from the fields that were around his laboratory, so we decided to hang up the call and wait to call back in thirty minutes. Misty decided to make a quick phone call to her sisters to check on the Cerulean Gym while the rest of us practiced with our Pokémon outside.
When Misty joined us, she said we needed to take a detour and head to Cerulean City. Apparently, her sisters had come up with an underwater play and they needed her assistance for it. Ash got a little disappointed, but he got over it and said it was okay. I was okay with it as well and suggested we could learn a little more about water-type Pokémon before the Cinnabar Gym.
Half an hour later, Professor Oak had the Pokémon Ash and I wanted to add to our teams. I chose to send Oliver and Chanchan to Professor Oak, replacing them with Kabo and Hunter. Ash sent Pidgeotto and Hitmonlee to the lab and added Poliwag and Omanyte to his party. We figured that having Kabo and Omanyte with us could help out with the training with Hunter, making him more comfortable being around other prehistoric Pokémon.
"Okay! Now that this is done, I have some news for you four", Professor Oak said after Ash put away Omanyte's Poké Ball. "The Pokédex has recently been updated with new information."
"Really?" Ash and I asked simultaneously.
"Yes. It's because Pokémon from the Johto region has started migrating to Kanto."
"So we might see Pokémon originally from Johto?" Misty asked.
"Correct. Therefore, Ash, Ashley, I need to update your Pokédex."
"Sure, Professor, but how?" Ash wondered.
"Just insert your Pokédex in the slot under the screen of the pay phone and I'll fix the rest. Just one Pokédex at the time, though."
We did what Professor Oak instructed us and inserted our Pokédex one at the time in the slot under the screen. The whole process took about thirty seconds in total.
"There you go! Now you have the data you'll need when you look up a Pokémon from the Johto region. Unfortunately, it only has the data of the Pokémon that has currently been reported in the Kanto region."
"It's better than nothing", Ash nodded. "Thank you, Professor."
"Thank you very much", I nodded.
"You're very welcome. Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you can catch some new Pokémon every once in a while."
"We'll do our best, Professor", Ash replied.
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For the next few days, I had problems taming Hunter while we were traveling to the next city. Whenever I called him out, he would try flying away, but Firered, Volt, and Wanda helped me keeping him down. It wasn't easy, but slowly and surely I started winning Hunter's trust.
Ash tried helping me out the first day, but when Hunter roared at him, he got scared and ran away while yelling he didn't want to become Hunter's dinner. I guess Ash had grown an Aerodactyl-phobia after what happened in Grandpa Canyon.
On the fifth day, Hunter finally allowed me to pat his head. I knew I had won his trust, so I tied a blue ribbon around his neck. Kabo got his own ribbon tied around one of his short claws. When he was going to evolve, I was going to tie the ribbon on a better place of his body.
Another good news was the Pokémon Egg had started showing signs of being close to hatch. I was training aerial battles with Firered and Hunter. Ash was training Poliwag and Omanyte against Misty and her Staryu and Starmie while Brock sat on a stump cleaning the Pokémon Egg.
I rode on Hunter to get used to sit on him while flying and battling at the same time. Once I gave him and Firered the sign to take a break, we flew down to the ground joining the others. I got off Hunter and noticed Ash, Pikachu, and Misty had gathered in front of Brock. They must have called back their Pokémon into the Poké Balls after the training.
"What's going on?" I asked as I joined them.
"The Egg moved just now!" Ash said excitedly.
"It means the Egg might hatch soon!" Misty nodded.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled from Ash's shoulder.
"Hey, Brock, do you know what kind of Pokémon it could be?" my brother asked.
"I have absolutely no idea", Brock confessed. "Pokémon Eggs have different pattern on the shells, which can give Trainers and Breeders a clue of what kind of Pokémon is inside the Egg. However, I've never seen this kind of pattern before in the books I've read."
"I'd love it to hatch into a Tentacool!" Misty exclaimed in delight.
"But the pattern doesn't resemble a Tentacool…", I mumbled softly.
Ash's face suddenly turned pale. "I-It won't hatch into an Aerodactyl, r-right?"
"Chu…", Pikachu whimpered softly.
"No, I don't think so", Brock shook his head. "A white shell with red and blue geometrical pattern… It certainly doesn't look like an Aerodactyl."
Everyone grew quiet as we tried figuring out what kind of Pokémon was inside the Egg. It looked awfully familiar of a Pokémon I once read in a book back at home about Baby Pokémon.
"AEROOOO!"
We all jumped by Hunter's sudden roar, scaring the soul out of me. I turned around and saw he was attacking Firered, pushing him down to the ground with his body.
"RAWR!" Firered roared in Hunter's face while trying to push the rock-type Pokémon off of him.
"Hunter! What are you doing?!" I yelled before I ran towards my two Pokémon.
"Ashley, don't!" Ash shouted.
I grabbed Volt's Poké Ball and threw it towards my dragons. "Volt, use Double Kick on Hunter!"
"Jolt!" Volt barked when he got out of the Poké Ball.
He dashed towards the dragons and jumped up before kicking Hunter's face. Hunter shrieked by the sudden attack and stepped back, releasing Firered from his hold. Firered pushed himself up on his feet and breathed fire in the air.
"Hunter, you can't attack your friends like that!" I shouted as I reached Firered.
"Jolt jolt!" Volt barked.
Hunter shrieked aggressively before he flapped his wings and flew up in the air. Was he going to try flying away again?!
"Volt, use Thunder Wave on Hunter!" I quickly shouted.
Volt barked before he released a lightning bolt that hit Hunter in mid-air. The prehistoric Pokémon roared when he got hit by the paralyzing wave. His body sparkled, which was a clear sign he got paralyzed. However, that also meant he couldn't move his wings, so he was dropping down from the sky like a rock.
The problem was… He was falling towards my brother and our friends!
"Run!" Misty yelled.
Brock jumped from the stump and ran as fast as he could before Hunter crashed onto the ground. The force of the crash pushed Brock down to the ground, but the Pokémon Egg slipped out of his arms and flew in the air.
"CATCH THE EGG!" Brock yelled desperately.
Ash and Misty moved in a zigzag pattern backwards as they tried catching the Egg. Ash tripped over a rock, so he fell down on his back. Misty jumped lightly and caught the Egg before it could turn into an omelet.
"I got it!" she called.
We all sighed in relief now that the Egg was safe. I hurried to Hunter who grunted in pain by the crash. My heart hurt by the sight of seeing him in pain, but I had to take extreme action.
"Hunter…", I spoke softly before patting his head. "I'm sorry we had to do this to you, but you can't fly away and be rude to your family."
"Aerooo…", Hunter whimpered.
Volt had fetched my backpack, so I opened it and brought out a Paralyze Heal I recently bought. I sprayed the medicine on Hunter to heal him from the paralysis. He started looking better immediately, but he was still weak after the crash.
"Rest well, Hunter. We'll train later", I said before calling him back to his Poké Ball.
I couldn't help but release a sigh of disappointment. I thought I had managed to tame him, but it looked like I still had a long way to go.
"Hey, guys!" Misty suddenly called. "The Egg's hatching!"
I looked away from Hunter's Poké Ball to her while I heard cracking noise. Brock had pushed himself up from the ground while Ash and Pikachu were silent the whole time. Even Firered and Volt were quiet as we all watched the Egg in Misty's hands.
The cracks on the shell grew bigger on top before that part shattered into pieces, revealing a light yellow beige spiky head and a cute sleepy face. A pair of short arms and a pair of feet cracked through the shell, finishing forming the Baby Pokémon.
"Priiii…", the newly hatched Pokémon yawned before opening its eyes.
"It hatched…", Ash said in awe.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled.
"Aw, it's so cute!" Misty smiled widely. "Hi, little guy!"
"Togeprii!" the Baby Pokémon chirped as it waved its arms around.
"That's a Pokémon I've never seen before", Brock rubbed his chin.
"Maybe the upgraded Pokédex has some data", I said before grabbing the device and aimed it at the Baby Pokémon.
Togepi, the spike ball Pokémon. A proverb claims that happiness will come to anyone who can make a sleeping Togepi stand up. The shell seems to be filled with joy. It is said it will share good luck when treated kindly.
"So your name is Togepi, huh?" Misty said. "I'm Misty and I'm gonna be your mother."
"Toge togeprii!" Togepi shrieked happily.
"Well, looks like Togepi chose Misty because she's the first thing it saw after it hatched", Brock said.
"That's because of the…imprinting, right?" I asked.
"Correct, Ashley", Brock nodded. "Because of that biological instinct, we can't really fight over who's going to keep it."
"In a way, we're already a family, 'cause we all took care of Togepi while it was an Egg", Ash pointed out. "So I guess… Togepi is our Pokémon? Like we share it?"
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head to the side.
"No way! Togepi's mine!" Misty glared before she gently hugged the Baby Pokémon. "But… Since Togepi sees me as its mother, it might need a father figure."
"That's not exactly how it works with Pokémon, Misty…", Brock laughed sheepishly.
Misty suddenly got a mischievous gleam in her eyes before she held out Togepi to my brother. "Ash, you'll be Togepi's dad!"
"Huh?!" Ash exclaimed in shock before pointing at himself. "Who? Me?!"
"Yeah, why not?" Misty giggled with pink cheeks before glancing at Pikachu who had returned to my brother's shoulders. "And you'll be Togepi's big brother, okay, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded with a smile.
"Then I guess I'll be Togepi's aunt and Brock is the uncle?" I giggled softly.
"No way! I'll be Togepi's godfather!" Brock exclaimed determinedly.
"Jolteon!" Volt barked happily.
"Rawr…", Firered rumbled softly.
We laughed for a moment about the whole family thing, but it was for the best. Togepi was now the baby of this family and we all were going to take good care of it.
Well, my priority was to train Hunter and make him more obedient before the upcoming Gym battle. I wondered what was the issue with him in the first place.
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Ashley's party:
Firered the Charizard (male)
Volt the Jolteon (male)
Kobra the Arbok (male)
Wanda the Gyarados (female)
Kabo the Kabuto (male)
Hunter the Aerodactyl (male)
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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:
Rina the Nidorina (female)
Luna the Clefairy (female)
Oliver the Vileplume (male)
Chanchan the Hitmonchan (male)
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Ash's party:
Bulbasaur (male)
Charizard (male)
Wartortle (male)
Pikachu (male)
Poliwag (male)
Omanyte (male)
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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:
Squirtle x4 (males)
Krabby (male)
Muk (male)
Beedrill (male)
Tauros (male)
Rhyhorn (male)
Exeggcute (male)
Nidorino (male)
Dratini (female)
Gengar (male)
Pidgeotto (male)
Hitmonlee (male)
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Misty's party:
Goldeen (female)
Staryu (genderless)
Starmie (genderless)
Horsea (female)
Psyduck (male)
Togepi (female)
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Brock's party:
Geodude (male)
Onix (male)
Zubat (male)
Vulpix (female)
Rhyhorn (male)