AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 7 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu in the Johto region. I'm basing this chapter of the part of the Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games when the player receives the Mystery Egg from Mr. Pokémon, but I'm also featuring the cold mountains where Ash catches his Chikorita. Tristan and Hillary's great-grandmother, Rachael, informally gets introduced in this chapter. And you'll never believe who makes a special guest appearance in this chapter...it's Jigglypuff from the anime! Please feel free to read and review at your leisure.

TEASER: Tristan and Hillary find an egg that's freezing cold inside a cave. Their great-grandmother had inadvertently come there, but had suffered an injury. Hillary promises to keep the egg warm and hatch it...but will she be too concerned about the egg to care about her own health?

Chapter 9. THE MYSTERY EGG

(Music Cue: Opening & Title Screen 1997-1998 (as heard in "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon"))

Our heroes are still on their way to Violet City, but today, after going through many towns and forests, they're traveling in the cold snowy mountains. Maybe they should have brought warm coats with them!

"Brr!" shivered Tristan as he, Hillary, and Pikachu trekked through the snow one sunny morning. "Are you feeling c-c-cold, Hillary?"

"Yes, T-Tristan, I am," agreed Hillary. "Maybe G-Grandma should've given us c-c-coats."

Pikachu agreed with them, too, as it sat on Tristan's shoulder.

"Hey, look there!" Tristan had seen something up ahead and alerted Hillary and Pikachu to it. Sure enough, he had found a nice empty cave. "Let's get inside and warm up!"

"Oh, goody!" said Hillary as she and Tristan ran. "I'm sure ready to take a break from this!"

The cave was small, but it was big enough as a shelter. There was no fire burning inside it, however.

"Maybe we should make a fire or something," suggested Hillary. She gathered a bundle of sticks and set them neatly in a pile.

"Good idea," replied Tristan. He took out Charizard's Pokéball. "Come on out, Charizard."

The Pokéball opened and Charizard emerged from the white light that came out of it.

"Charizard, could you gently make a fire for us please?" asked Tristan.

Charizard nodded. It then emitted a gentle flame from its mouth onto the sticks, thus starting a nice cheery fire.

"Ah, that feels good," said Hillary.

"Thanks, Charizard," said Tristan.

Charizard nodded.

Suddenly, Pikachu noticed something in the far corner of the cave and alerted Tristan and Hillary to it.

"What's up, Pikachu?" asked Tristan. "Is something there?"

(Music Cue: Strange Weather (as heard in the Japanese version of "Revelation Lugia"))

Tristan and Hillary rushed over to the corner and, to their surprise, they saw a white egg with blue and red shapes on it.

Hillary gently picked up the egg. "It's freezing cold. It needs to be warmed up fast, or it won't make it." She quickly ran back to the fire to help warm it up.

"Hey, sis, your Cyndaquil may be able to help out, too," suggested Tristan.

"Yeah!" agreed Hillary. She took out Cyndaquil's Pokéball. "Cyndaquil, come on out."

The Pokéball opened and Cyndaquil emerged from the white light next to Hillary.

"Cyndaquil, I need you to help me warm this egg," instructed Hillary. "Ignite your flame, but don't use too much heat."

Cyndaquil nodded. It gently ignited the flame from the four holes on its back to a gentle level.

"There, that should help," said Hillary. "Thank you, Cyndaquil. Just keep that flame of yours going."

"But who would leave an egg out in the cold like that?" wondered Tristan.

"I wish I knew," replied Hillary.

Presently, they saw a note attached to the egg. It read:

To anyone who reads this: I love hatching Pokémon as much as all loving Trainers do, and have done so for many decades. However, I can't afford to keep this egg. I've taken a fall and can't move well these days. I've since been transported to a hospital. I am getting better day by day. But I hope that when you do find this note, you will hatch it into a happy and healthy Pokémon. Please keep the egg safe.

-Rachael.

Tristan and Hillary gasped in shock, for they knew who that name was.

"There's only one person I know who'd write a note like that," said Tristan.

"It has to be Great-Grandma Rachael!" agreed Hillary. "It sounds like she was the one who had that fall."

"I think we'd better call Grandma right away," suggested Tristan. "She should know about this." And he quickly took out his PokéGear and called his grandmother, Veronica.

An instant later, Veronica's voice was heard. "Hello, Tristan, what's up?"

"Hi, Grandma," said Tristan. "We just came to a cave and saw a note written by Great-Grandma Rachael, indicating that she recently took a fall."

"Oh, dear, that's terrible!" said Veronica. "Is she okay?"

"She's in a hospital right now, getting better every day," replied Tristan. "She was also taking care of an egg we just found."

"I keep telling her not to venture out and do too many things these days," said Veronica. "She and your great-grandfather love hatching eggs and have been doing it for years at a daycare center near Goldenrod City. However, your great-grandmother's getting on in years, and she doesn't always know her own limitations. I'll let your grandfather know about this right now. Do you know which hospital she's at?"

"No, Grandma, we don't," replied Hillary.

"Well, we'll find out one way or another," said Veronica. "It's now up to you kids to keep the egg warm and hatch it. Your great-grandmother will be very happy knowing that's in good hands with you."

"Right," replied Tristan. "We'll do our best."

"I have to go now," said Veronica. "I love you." And she hung up.

"Poor Grandma," said Hillary. "She must really be worried about Great-Grandma Rachael. I'm gonna help her by hatching this egg. I'll take on this responsibility myself. And no matter what, this egg will hatch safely."

"Great! That's the spirit, sis," replied Tristan.

Pikachu agreed with him.

At the house in New Bark Town, Veronica shared the news with her husband Eric. "My mother just recently suffered a fall inside a cave and left an egg inside with a note attached. She's in a hospital right now, but is getting better."

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear," replied Eric.

"Tristan and Hillary found the egg just now and have been asked to hatch it," added Veronica.

"I'm sure glad they did," said Eric. "Let's see if we can call any hospitals near here and see your mother. I know she will be happy to see you."

Back inside the cave, Tristan, Hillary, and their Pokémon friends were busily keeping the egg they found warm.

"How's the egg?" asked Tristan.

"I think it's warming up," answered Hillary. "It's slow, but I think it'll make it."

"That's good," said Tristan. "Now we just have to keep the egg warm until it hatches."

But just then, Cyndaquil's flame went out and it collapsed on the ground.

"Oh, no, Cyndaquil!" gasped Hillary. "Please tell me what's wrong!"

Cyndaquil panted wearily.

"Cyndaquil must be exhausted from keeping the egg warm with its flame," replied Tristan. "It's not used to doing a task this long and hard yet. You'd better let it rest, and then, after a while, you can let it out again to help keep the egg warm."

"Okay," said Hillary as she took out Cyndaquil's Pokéball. "Cyndaquil, return!"

Cyndaquil turned into red energy and shot back inside the Pokéball.

"Do you want me to take over for you?" asked Tristan.

"No, thank you, Tristan," answered Hillary. "I promised to keep the egg warm, and I'm gonna keep it." Hillary then sat closer to the fire that Charizard had made. "If you taught me anything on this journey of ours, it's to keep on trying, no matter how impossible it seems. Cyndaquil helped me start this process, and I will finish it. And I won't stop until it's done."

Tristan understood what Hillary said. "Suit yourself. I'm not going to stand in your way. I know you can do it."

Presently, everyone's stomach's grumbled.

(Music Cue: Pikachu Appears!)

"Now, I'm getting hungry," moaned Tristan.

"Yeah, taking care of an egg can really work up an appetite," agreed Hillary. "Did you bring food, Tristan?"

"I always come prepared with food," replied Tristan. "Grandma made these for us in case we got hungry." He dug into his backpack and took out some sandwiches.

"All right, that solves the problem for us," said Hillary. "But what about the Pokémon?"

"Like Grandma, I always come prepared with that as well," replied Tristan as he took out cans of high-quality Pokémon food, plus pieces of paper.

"What are those?" asked Hillary.

"They're recipes that Brock gave me right when we were in the Viridian Forest," answered Tristan. "Now it's time for the Pokémon to chow down."

Pikachu and Charizard eagerly agreed.

"All right! Come on out, guys!" said Tristan as he tossed three more Pokéballs.

Venusaur, Blastoise, and Chikorita emerged from the white lights that shot out of the balls and appeared next to Pikachu and Charizard.

"Now, it's time to introduce my team," said Hillary as she tossed four Pokéballs.

Squirtle, Eevee, Ledyba, and Cyndaquil emerged from the white lights that shot out of them. Cyndaquil was still pretty tired from keeping the egg warm with its flame.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our newest teammates: Chikorita and Cyndaquil," said Tristan. He then turned to Chikorita and Cyndaquil. "These are our friends, and your friends, too."

Chikorita and Cyndaquil greeted all of Tristan and Hillary's Pokémon warmly.

Chikorita found out that it and Venusaur had a lot in common being Grass-type Pokémon.

Cyndaquil, who was still pretty tired, managed to greet everyone as well.

Tristan then handed out Pokémon food to every one of the Pokémon.

"Having a cave full of friends sure makes this place a lot more friendly," remarked Hillary.

"You said it," agreed Tristan.

All the Pokémon agreed as they heartily ate their dinner.

(Music Cue: My Friend, Pokémon)

That night, everyone got ready to go to sleep. Outside the cave, the sky was clear and cold, but inside, the fire was still burning cheerily.

"It's too bad we're not at a Pokémon Center," said Tristan as he dug out his sleeping bag. "However, a nice, warm empty cave will keep us comfy."

"Yeah," agreed Hillary. "Even though it's nice to sleep in a soft bed, this can actually be kind of fun. I remember the very first time we camped out in the Viridian Forest. It was pretty interesting, sleeping with all kinds of Pokémon voices in the background."

Presently, every Pokémon yawned, including Pikachu.

"The Pokémon look tired, especially Cyndaquil," said Tristan. "It spent part of the day warming that egg up." He took out his four Pokéballs. "Okay, guys, it's time for bed. Have pleasant dreams, and I'll see you in the morning." He returned Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise into their Poké Balls.

Hillary took out her four Pokéballs and returned Squirtle, Cyndaquil, Eevee, and Ledyba inside of them.

However, Chikorita ran behind Tristan's legs.

"What's up, Chikorita?" asked Tristan.

"I guess Chikorita wants to sleep with you and Pikachu," said Hillary. "It hasn't had much experience in the outside world."

Tristan grinned. "Okay, you can sleep with us."

Chikorita was delighted, and happily jumped onto Tristan's shoulder.

A few moments later, Tristan made himself comfortable inside his sleeping bag with Pikachu and Chikorita.

But Hillary sat next to the fire, busily keeping the egg warm.

"Aren't you tired, sis?" asked Tristan.

Hillary shook her head. "I want to stay up and keep an eye on the egg. This poor thing's been out in the cold so long, who knows what would've happened if we hadn't found it."

"You're right," agreed Tristan. "Now Great-Grandma Rachael said something about Pokémon hatching from eggs. If that's true, I wonder what Pokémon will hatch from this one."

"Good question, Tristan," replied Hillary. "Maybe it'll be a Bulbasaur, or perhaps a Charmander."

"Or maybe a rare Pokémon like Dratini," added Tristan.

"Well, whatever it is, I just hope it's happy and healthy," said Tristan.

Tristan nodded. "Well, if you need me to help you hatch this egg, let me know."

"Don't worry about me, Tristan, I'll be fine," Hillary assured him. "You just get some sleep."

"Okay then," said Tristan. "Good night, sis." And Tristan closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.

Pikachu and Chikorita fell asleep shortly thereafter.

(Music Cue: Golden Silver)

The next morning, the sun shone outside in the cold air as Tristan, Pikachu, and Chikorita woke up feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep inside the cave.

"Boy, that was great!" yawned Tristan as he stretched. "I'm ready for another great day!" But then he noticed Hillary still taking care of the egg. She hadn't moved an inch since sitting next to the fire the night before. Poor Hillary, he thought. She must be exhausted. Sh'e been taking care of that egg around the clock.

Presently, Hillary gave a big yawn.

"Whoa," said Tristan to himself. "She is exhausted." And he quickly ran to her. "Hillary, it's me. Are you in there?"

Hillary yawned again and slowly turned to Tristan. "Good morning, Tristan. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine," answered Tristan. "Did you?"

"Not at all," yawned Hillary. "I couldn't sleep. I was up all night taking care of the egg we found."

"No wonder you're so tired," said Tristan. "Let's take a break and have some breakfast."

A few moments later, Tristan and Hillary let all their Pokémon out of their Poké Balls and ate their breakfast. But Hillary didn't feel like eating anything. She just sat there, giving a big loud yawn.

It sure isn't like Hillary to be so tired, thought Tristan. She must have thought about the egg over her own personal health.

Sure enough, Hillary seemed like she wasn't into it. She just kept yawning loudly.

On the other hand, her Pokémon were feeling refreshed from a good night's rest. Even Cyndaquil was back up to full strength from its earlier task of warming the egg from the day before.

"I know how to wake you up," said Tristan to Hillary. "Let's train by having a Pokémon battle. The action will force you to wake up, and you'll have to concentrate. What do you say?"

Hillary just yawned, then she said, "Okay, I accept your challenge."

Just outside the cave, Tristan and Hillary faced each other. Tristan had chosen Chikorita while Hillary, still holding the egg in her hand, chose Cyndaquil.

"I might as well go first," said Tristan. "Chikorita, use your Tackle attack!"

(Music Cue: Johto Wild Pokémon Battle (as heard in "A Ghost of a Chance"))

Chikorita charged at Cyndaquil full-body style.

"Cyndaquil, use your Smokescreen," yawned Hillary.

Cyndaquil emitted a huge, thick gray cloud of smoke from its mouth, blinding Chikorita and stopping it in its tracks.

"There's no way we can see Cyndaquil in this smoke," said Tristan. "Chikorita, try hitting it with Razor Leaf!"

Chikorita waved the leaf on its head, and instantly, sharp leaves were shot from it inside the smoke, but none of them came remotely close to hitting Cyndaquil.

Hillary gave a loud yawn and instructed, "Cyndaquil, use your Quick Attack."

Cyndaquil charged at Chikorita at blinding speed, then it rammed into Chikorita; however, Chikorita dug in its heels in the snow.

"Way to hang in there, Chikorita," commended Tristan. "Use your Tackle attack now!"

Chikorita charged at Cyndaquil full-body style once again.

Unfortunately, Hillary yawned so loudly that it threw off Cyndaquil's timing, thus allowing Chikorita to score a hit on Cyndaquil as a result.

"Okay, Chikorita, let's finish it off with a Vine Whip attack," instructed Tristan.

Chikorita extended two vines from the buds around its neck toward Cyndaquil.

However, Tristan saw that Hillary sat on the ground and had fallen fast asleep. He couldn't let Cyndaquil get hurt because of it. "Chikorita, stop your attack!" he shouted.

Instantly, Chikorita stopped its attack and withdrew the two vines.

Tristan quickly rushed to Hillary and held her in his arms with Pikachu right next to him. "Hillary, are you okay?"

Hillary slowly opened her eyes. "What happened?"

"I think you fell asleep on the job," answered Tristan.

Hillary gave the loudest yawn yet. Then she returned Cyndaquil to its Pokéball, closed her eyes, and fell asleep again.

Presently, a pink balloon-like Pokémon with big, cute green eyes and pointy ears made its appearance.

"I wonder what that is," said Tristan as he scanned it with his new Pokédex.

"Jigglypuff: The Balloon Pokémon," identified Dexter. "Jigglypuff rolls its cute eyes as it sings a soothing lullaby. Its gentle song puts anyone who hears it to sleep."

Just then, Jigglypuff took out what appeared to be a microphone.

"Now what's Jigglypuff up to?" asked Tristan.

Jigglypuff inhaled deeply and began to sing.

(Music Cue: Jigglypuff's Song)

Jig-gl-y-puff Jiggl-y-y-y-puff
Jig-gl-y-puff Jiggl-yyyyyyyy

Now it was Tristan, Pikachu, and Chikorita's turn to yawn.

"That's no fair, I just woke up," yawned Tristan. And he, Pikachu, and Chikorita joined Hillary in deep slumber.

Miraculously enough, Hillary kept the egg safely in her arms while she slept.

However, as Jigglypuff continued to sing, it noticed that its audience had fallen fast asleep. It then stopped its song.

(Music fade out)

Jigglypuff puffed up and got mad. Then it took off part of its microphone and revealed a marker. It then drew on the faces of Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Chikorita. Then it stormed off, still puffed up.

A few hours later, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Chikorita woke up feeling very refreshed and stretched their arms and legs.

Curiously enough, Hillary still had the egg in her hand.

"Boy, that was great!" yawned Hillary. "I haven't been so refreshed in a long time."

"Yeah, me, too," agreed Tristan.

But just then Tristan and Hillary saw the marker ink on each other's faces. "Aah! What happened to your face?!" they exclaimed.

They both quickly took out washcloths and wiped the marker ink off their faces. Then they saw the ink on Pikachu's and Chikorita's faces.

"Somebody must be pulling a prank on us or something," grumbled Hillary.

"I wonder if Jigglypuff did this after we fell asleep," said Tristan. Then he saw that the egg was still clutched tightly in Hillary's hands. "Wow, you look like a real mother taking care of a baby. You never let go of the egg even for a second."

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm doing it," replied Hillary.

Just then, they saw the egg flash.

"Hillary, did you see that?" asked Tristan.

"I sure did," replied Hillary. "I wonder what's going on."

"Maybe the egg is close to hatching," said Tristan. "Let's get down the mountain, and maybe we'll find a Pokémon Center."

"Good idea," replied Hillary. "Maybe Nurse Joy can help us."

An hour later, they reached the bottom of the cold, snowy mountains.

"Ah, that's more like it," said Tristan.

"Yeah, it's starting to warm up," added Hillary.

Presently, the egg flashed two times.

"Whoa, it must be getting close to hatching," said Tristan. "It's flashing more and more often."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Hillary. "If we keep walking, maybe it'll hatch."

Just then, they saw a small building with a Poké Ball and the letter P on it.

"All right, there's a Pokémon Center!" said Tristan.

"You're right, Tristan," agreed Hillary. "Let's go in and see Nurse Joy."

And they hurried to the Pokémon Center posthaste.

Inside, Nurse Joy greeted them. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center."

"Nurse Joy, this egg keeps flashing," said Hillary as she showed her the egg. "We thought maybe you could tell us what's going on."

Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, I certainly do. This egg is about to hatch."

(Music Cue: Route 26)

"This is so exciting!" said Tristan. "I can't wait to see what comes out of that egg!"

"I just wish it would hatch into a happy and healthy Pokémon," said Hillary.

Suddenly, as if an answer to Hillary's wish, the egg began to glow.

Nurse Joy checked the egg with her stethoscope as she nodded. "Looks like it's time."

Then, a shimmering tone was heard as the egg hatched. Stubby hands and round feet emerged from the shell, and soon after, a head with five spikes on it.

Seconds later, the glowing stopped, and the newly hatched Pokémon opened its eyes. It saw Hillary and happily greeted her.

"This is so awesome!" said Hillary excitedly.

Tristan and Pikachu could barely contain their excitement themselves. They hadn't been this excited since seeing the baby Lugia hatch on the Whirl Islands recently.

"I wonder what it is," said Tristan as he took out his Pokédex and scanned the newly-hatched Pokémon.

"Togepi: The Spike Ball Pokémon," identified Dexter. "It is considered to be a symbol of good luck. Its shell is said to be filled with happiness."

"So it's a Togepi," said Hillary. "Just wait till Grandma hears about this!"

"Goodness me!" said Veronica on the videophone. "You hatched the egg? That's very impressive. What came out of it?"

"Togepi hatched from the egg," answered Hillary. "It sure is cute, isn't it?"

Togepi chirped in agreement.

"I also learned a valuable lesson from all of this," added Hillary.

"And what's that, dear?" asked Veronica.

"That I should occasionally get some rest myself," replied Hillary. "I was so tired from keeping the egg warm all night last night that I couldn't concentrate on one Pokémon battle."

"But Hillary did a great job of keeping the egg warm the whole time," interrupted Tristan.

Veronica smiled. "That makes me very happy, and I'm sure your great-grandmother will be happy to hear that the egg was safely hatched. Great job, kids."

"Hillary deserves most of the credit," replied Tristan.

Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'll let your grandfather and great-grandmother know that all is well with the egg," said Veronica. "Bye for now."

The video screen then turned off.

"Well, sis, you should be very proud of yourself," said Tristan. "You kept the egg warm and hatched it."

"And now I have a new friend," agreed Hillary.

Pikachu and Togepi replied in agreement.

After nearly freezing inside the cave in the cold, snowy mountains, Hillary's motherly instincts allowed the egg to hatch safely. Now, with a happy and healthy Togepi added to their ever-growing Pokémon family, our heroes continue their journey to Violet City and the Johto League.

► TO BE CONTINUED