Chapter 25: An Egg-citing Adventure

Ash stood over the egg he had won from the Battle Resort Tournament. It had been a month, and the egg still showed no sign of hatching. According to Professor Cerise and the attendants that had helped keep an eye on it, the egg was healthy, but they couldn't give any reason as to why it hadn't hatched yet. Ash was beginning to get worried.

"Ash? Are you alright?"

Lillie stepped into the room, concerned for her boyfriend.

"It's late, you should get to bed."

"Yeah, I'll get going in a minute. Just thought I'd check on the egg quickly before I check in for the night."

"It still hasn't hatched yet, huh?"

"No, and I'm getting worried. I've seen Pokemon Eggs hatch before. Heck, some of my Pokemon I've received as eggs, and they took 2 weeks at most to hatch. The lab assistants say it's alright, but I'm beginning to wonder."

Lillie smiled, and placed a gentle hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, these things just take time. My dad told me that Pokemon eggs hatch at different rates depending on the species. I'm sure it'll hatch any day now."

Ash smiled, and left the room with her.

"Thanks, Lillie."

"Don't mention it."

Unbeknownst to them, the egg started glowing slightly just as they left the room.

The next day, Goh dragged the two of them off to find a Pokemon egg of his own.

"Ah yeah! I'm going to find an egg if it's the last thing I do!"

"Don't get your hopes up. Pokemon Eggs are notoriously rare in the wild."

"Yeah, some people go their whole lives without finding one."

"Look, over there!"

Ash and Lillie looked towards where Goh was pointing. Sure enough, there was what appeared to be a group of eggs not too far away.

"Well, that was easy."

"I'm gonna go get it!"

But as Goh moved to grab it, Lillie noticed it begin to move.

"Goh, wait! That's not an-"

"AAH!"

"...Egg."

As it turns out, Goh had picked up an Exeggcute, who was none too happy to be picked up like that. Luckily, Goh threw a Pokeball and captured it before he even knew what hit him. Relieved, Goh swiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Phew! That was close."

''We told you it wouldn't be that easy."

"Yeah, well I'm not giving up!"

Just then, Ash's phone beeped, indicating he had a challenge from the World Coronation Series. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he found it was from someone named Hayden, ranked 1,024.

"Hey! You up for a battle?"

Sure enough, there was Hayden walking towards them. Ash couldn't help but think that his outfit reminded him of a Tauros. Smiling, Ash clicked the accept button, and a Drone Rotom buzzed in.

"Attention, attention! An official World Coronation Series battle is about to begin! Please state your names and where you're from for verification!"

"Hayden Hasiba, Fuschia City."

"Ash Ketchum, Pallet Town."

"Verification complete! This will be a 1-on-1 battle, with no time limit! The battle shall continue until either Pokemon is unable to battle! Each trainer shall send their Pokemon out at the same time. Ready? Battle…start!"

"Pidgeot, I choose you!"

"Tauros, showtime!"

"Pidgeot vs Tauros, begin!"

"Tauros, use Take Down!"

"Dodge, then use Air Slash!"

Tauros charged, attempting to ram right into Pidgeot only for the Flying type to swoop up directly out of his path, hitting him with air slices as she went.

"Tauros, use Rock Tomb!"

"Evade and use Aerial Ace!"

Tauros roared, summoning large rocks to try and hit Pidgeot, but while some did graze her she was able to evade most and go in for a quick attack, ramming him hard enough to make him cry in pain.

"Now use Peck!"

Before Tauros could recover, Pidgeot began ramming her beak into him, making him bellow out in pain as she kept at it. Hayden was getting frustrated.

"Tauros, use Hyper Beam!"

Grunting, Tauros let loose a powerful beam of energy, sending Pidgeot soaring high up into the sky. She faltered there for a minute before she came tumbling back down towards the Earth, much to Goh and Lillie's concern. Ash, however, remained cool and calm. He had a plan…

Back at the lab, one of the lab assistants was checking on the egg when he noticed something strange. The egg began to emit strange pulses, almost as if it were reacting to something.

"What the…"

After a few moments, the pulsing seemed to subside, and everything returned to normal.

"How peculiar."

Ash was about to issue another command when he felt something. He couldn't quite place it, but it felt like someone was…calling to him.

"Ash!"

"Oh, right! Pidgeot, use Brave Bird!"

Pidgeot righted herself before she hit the ground, swooping in and ramming Tauros at such high speed that the Normal Type fell unconscious instantly.

"Tauros is unable to battle! Pidgeot wins, meaning the victor of this battle is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

"Yes! Way to go, Pidgeot!"

"Pidgeot!"

"Stay tuned for a change in your rankings!"

With that, the Rotom Drone flew off to wherever he came from. Hayden returned his Tauros to its Pokeball before walking over and bowing to Ash out of respect.

"The better trainer may have prevailed this time, but next time I'll be the winner."

"We'll see about that, won't we?"

Hayden chuckled, before disappearing the way he came. Ash then returned his own Pokemon, though his mind lingered on the sensation he had felt.

"Ash, what happened there?"

"Yeah, you totally zoned out for a second. That's total unlike you, what gives?"

Ash thought for a minute, trying to decide on the best way to explain it. After all, he doubted either of them knew very much about Aura.

"I…I don't know how to explain it, but during the battle I swear I sensed someone calling out to me."

"What're you talking about? We didn't hear anything."

Ash was about to say something when his phone rang. It was Professor Cerise, and he sounded scared.

"Ash, thank god you picked up! Get back here, quickly!"

"Professor, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"It's your egg! It-"

But the call got cut short before he could finish his sentence. The three teens looked at each other worriedly.

"That didn't sound good."

"Come on, we'd better get going!"

"Right!"

When they got back to the lab, they found the place a disaster area. Papers were scattered, chairs and tables were smashed, and a Riolu that definitlety hadn't been there before was messing the place up, launching Aura Spheres all over the place as scientists ran for cover.

"Did that Riolu come from your egg, Ash?"

"It must have, no one else had one!"

"Well, wherever it came from, we need to stop it before it does any more harm."

Ash concentrated, trying to think of a plan. Then he realized something. Something about this RIolu seemed…familiar. Almost as if he were in a trance, he slowly approached the Fighting type.

"Ash, what are you doing?"

"Don't try it!"

But Ash pressed on forward, the Riolu stopping his rampage momentarily to look at the approaching trainer.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

Oddly enough, Riolu seemed to believe him, calming down in his presence. Everyone just stared in shock.

"Ash…h-how did you do that?"

"Do you guys remember what I said about somebody calling me? I think it was this little guy here."

"But Ash, he was still an egg until right before I called you. How could he-"

"Aura."

"Wait a minute, are you an Aura Guardian?"

"No, but I do have the capability to sense it. I think he sensed my strong spirit and tried to seek me out."

Ash then turned to Riolu, offering an empty Pokeball to the young creature.

"What'd you say? Want to join my team?"

Riolu nodded, allowing himself to be captured without a fight. Ash's friends just stared at him in shock as he returned Riolu's Pokeball to his pocket. Just then, his phone beeped.

"Oh hey, the rankings have been updated! Sweet, I've made it to 1,100! This calls for a celebration!"

Goh and Lillie just stared at him as he ran off to get some dinner. Ash truly was something else.