Episode 116: Poached Eggs

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are strolling through a rural countryside, a surprising sight in the mostly urbanized region of Tenno. After Ash's gym battle in Penum City, our heroes are back out on the road, taking an alternate route back to Tenno's capital city, Kanaveral, home of Ash's final gym battle before the Tenno League.

Brock stops for a moment to marvel at the view. He explains, "Right now, we're approaching Tenno's far East coast. It's the farthest you can get in the region from the technology center of Kanaveral, and also is protected on several sides by Tenno's swamp system, halting the march of industrialization. This here is some of the only rural countryside left in the entire region."

Brenda notices something off in the distance. "Hey, look over there!" She points ahead to a large farmhouse-like building surrounded by open fields.

Ash says, "It's some sort of farm."

Brock shakes his head. "No, there are no crops, I don't think it's a farm. It looks more like a ranch."

Brenda suddenly exclaims, "Hey, we should see if we can spend the night there! I'd love to sleep on a bed tonight!"

Ash realizes, "If they're a ranch, I bet they have a lot of cool Pokémon. Let's see them!"

Brock nods in agreement. "Alright, we'll go see if there's anyone there."

On their way down to the ranch, Ash, Brock, and Brenda come to a sudden stop when they hear someone shouting, "Hey! Get back here! Put down those eggs!"

Suddenly, several Ekans slither by, each with a Pokémon egg held in their extended mouths.

Then a girl comes running into sight. She shouts at Ash, Brock, and Brenda, "Don't just stand there! Help me stop them!" The girl is about Brenda's age, dressed in blue overalls over a pink undershirt. Her orange hair is tied back in a ponytail.

Ash, Brock, and Brenda don't need to be told twice. They leap forward to chase the Ekans as well. Brenda thinks fast, pulls out a Pokéball, and throws it. "Glitterfly, use Sparkling Flare!"

"Glittererererfly!" Glitterfly flaps its wings and creates sparkling bursts of light. The light washes across the Ekans, startling them and forcing them to drop the eggs. The Ekans flee without recollecting the eggs.

The girl rushes over to Brenda and gushes with glee and excitement, "Oh my goodness! That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! That Sparkling Flare was perfect! I couldn't believe my eyes! So amazing!" She talks so fast that she must not be breathing much between words.

Brenda looks overwhelmed. She chuckles to break the tension as she tries to think about how to respond. "Oh… um… thanks… I think…"

The girl suddenly realizes her mistake and retreats back. "Oh, I did it again." She bows respectfully. "I'm so sorry, sometimes my excitement gets the better of me."

Brenda shakes her head. "Don't worry about it."

The girl laughs as she goes to gather the eggs. "Thank you so much for your help. Those Ekans have been stealing our egg for the past few days. We've always had problems with them, but recently they seem more organized and dedicated to taking our eggs."

Brock asks with interest, "So you keep other Pokémon eggs?"

The girl nods. "You bet we do. We're Tenno's largest Pokémon ranch, specializing in the caring and hatching of eggs." She suddenly realizes, "Oh, silly me, I never introduced myself. I'm Bailey! My parents run the ranch, and I do everything I can to help out."

Brenda introduces herself, "I'm Brenda, and that's Glitterfly."

"Glitterererfly!"

Brock adds, "And I'm Brock. I actually used to be a Pokémon Breeder, so I'd love to see your Pokémon eggs."

Ash chimes in, "And I'm Ash, from Pallet Town. This here's my partner Pikachu."

"Pika pik." Pikachu waves hello.

Bailey smiles. "Nice to meet you all. And I'd love to show you our ranch. It's the least I could in return for you helping to get these eggs back. Come on, follow me!" She runs off towards the ranch house. The others follow.

Bailey leads the others through a large room with Pokémon stacked all across the room. The eggs all feature different colors and patterns matching Pokémon of all different species. Brock gives an impressed whistle. "Wow, this might be one of the biggest collections of Pokémon eggs I've ever seen. Very impressive."

A man says, "Glad to hear, I'm very proud of my eggs." They turn around to see the man walking in. Like Bailey, he wears overalls, his over a red shirt. He has a bushy beard and graying hair. "Howdy, my name's Jerimiah. I'm Bailey's father."

Bailey says, "Papa, this is Brenda, Brock, and Ash. They helped me get the eggs back from Ekans."

Jerimiah nods. "Thank you very much for your help. We owe you much. These eggs are our livelihood."

Brock steps forward, "Sir, in my own amateur opinion, this is one of the more impressive breeding operations I've ever seen."

Jerimiah grins. "Oh yeah, what's your stake?"

Brock responds, "You see, right now I'm studying to be a Pokémon doctor, but before that I was a breeder."

Jerimiah nods. "An honorable profession. It does my heart good to see young ones interested in the ancient art of Pokémon breeding."

Brenda runs up to a blue egg with red diamonds patterned across it. "Ooh, this one has a pretty pattern."

Brock looks to it and says, "That one would be a Druddigon egg." He looks to Jerimiah, "Which is impressive, because Druddigon are notoriously hard to breed in captivity."

Jerimiah smiles. "You know your stuff. You want to see something really impressive?"

"I sure do."

Jerimiah looks to his daughter. "How about you get us that egg?"

Bailey nods, knowing exactly what he means. She runs into a back room and comes back out with an egg incubator with its glass made opaque. She places the incubator on a table and says, "Papa's mighty proud of this one." She presses a button on the base of the incubator, causing the glass to turn clear. Inside is an egg colored almost entirely a dark blue, almost black, except for the top of the egg, which is capped with a swirl of white. It occasionally pulses with a white glow.

Brock looks impressed. "No way, is it really?"

Jerimiah nods. "It sure is."

Ash asks, "What, what is it? What's so impressive about it?"

Brock allows Jerimiah to explain. He says, "It's a Promen, a Pokémon that can only be hatched from an egg under very specific circumstances. To hatch one is considered a symbol of good luck."

Brock comments, "I've only heard of a small handful of them hatching in recent years. This is incredible." After the egg flashes again, he adds, "And it looks like it's close to hatching, too."

Bailey says excitedly and rapidly, "It should hatch any time now! I'm so excited! This one sure took its time, but now it's almost ready and we'll show the world what great breeders we are! Papa is the best in the world!"

"Now, now, Bailey, settle down. I'm just a man out to make an honest living. Nothing more."

Bailey looks to her father. "Come on, Papa, you've got to give yourself more credit."

In a clear attempt to change the subject, Jerimiah asks, "Say, how would you three like to stay for dinner? You can spend the night after, we've got plenty of room."

Brenda excitedly accepts, "That would be great! Thank you so much!"

The Ekans from before slither into cave full of other Ekans. In the back of the cave is a pile of eggs, next to which Jessie, James, Meowth, and Repiv sit on thrones of stone.

James laughs, "This plan was perfect. We do none of the work, and get all of the payday."

Meowth points out, "Just don't tell the Ekans that, I've seen them eyeing the eggs. They want their share."

Jessie laughs. "As long as we've got Repiv, those Ekans will do whatever we tell them, regardless of payment." Jessie notices the incoming Ekans and demands in anger, "What!? Where are the eggs!?"

Repiv adds an angry, "Piiiiiiiv!"

The Ekans look down in shame. One explains, "Ekansssssss, ekansssss."

Meowth translates, "They say they had the eggs in mouth, but some strangers came in and stopped them from getting away with them."

Jessie crosses her arms. "Excuses, excuses. You don't see us failing like that."

James points out, "Actually-"

Jessie smacks him on the top of the head and whispers assertively, "They don't have to know that."

Meowth states, "I think it's time for us to take things to the next level."

Jessie nods in agreement. "Repiv, make the order."

Repiv announces to all the Ekans, "Piiiiiiv repiiiiiiiiiv piiiiiiiiiv!"

The Ekans all cheer, "Ekansssssssssss!"

Who's that Pokémon!?

It is known as the Beach Nightmare. It pulls its prey down into the sand by controlling the sand itself, and then it sucks out their souls.

It's after dinner and Brenda is outside in one of the ranch's fields with Glitterfly doing some training. Brenda exclaims, "Glitterfly, use String Shot!" Glitterfly flings long strands of silk into the air. The strands begin to gently fall back to the ground. "Before they hit the ground, use Sparkling Flare!" Glitterfly then launches an intense flash of sparkling light. This already shimmering light reflects off the raining silk strands, creating a dazzling display of glistening golden light.

Apparently having been watching from out of sight, Bailey suddenly runs in, grabs Brenda by the hands, jumps up and down excitedly, and gushes, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was so sparkly and shimmery! Amazing! Stunning! Gorgeous!"

"Well… um… thank you…"

Suddenly looking very embarrassed, Bailey backs off. "Oh no, I did it again. I'm sorry."

Brenda shakes her head, "No, no. You don't need to be sorry."

Bailey sighs. "Sometimes I just can't help but get excited when I see new things. You see, there's just not much new here on the ranch."

Brenda nods. "I bet there isn't. Have you been here all your life?"

"Yeah, as long as I can remember. We go into town sometimes, but that's about the only time I ever leave." She looks up at the night sky. "Don't get me wrong, I love the ranch, but there's so much new stuff out there to see, and I want to see it all. I'm so jealous of you. It must be great to be able to travel around the world with no responsibilities…"

Brenda objects, "Hey, if that's what you want, then that's what you should do! Get out there and see the world! Follow your dreams!"

Bailey sits down on a bench. "It's not that simple. It's my father…"

Brenda sits down next to her. "Does he not let you leave?"

Bailey shakes her head. "No, it's not that at all. It's the opposite, actually. I don't think Papa wants anything more than for me to follow my dreams."

"Then why don't you?"

Bailey sighs. "If I left, then there'd be no one here but Papa, he'd be all alone. It's just been him and I at this ranch for the longest time. If I left, there'd be nobody here for him. I couldn't do that to him."

Brenda suddenly realizes something. "Wow, I've never thought about it like that…"

"Huh?"

Brenda explains, "When I left my home, I left my mom all by herself. I was so excited to get out and see the world that I never even considered the impact it would have on her."

Bailey asks, "Was your mom sad to see you leave?"

"Well, of course she was sad, she knew she wasn't going to see me for who knows how long. But at the same time, she was happy. She was happy to know that I was following my dreams."

"But doesn't she miss you?"

"Of course she misses me. But I talk to her every time I visit a Pokémon Center, and she's still happy and proud of me. If I know her as well as I think I do, I would say that whatever sadness she feels about me being away is outweighed by the happiness she feels by knowing I'm doing what I want. You did say that your dad wanted you to go, right?"

Bailey sighs. "Yeah, but I don't know if he can really predict what life will be like for him if I leave." She looks back up in the sky, deep in thought.

At the same time, Brock is walking through the egg room with Jerimiah. Brock comments, "I really can't emphasize enough, you've done a great job here.

Jerimiah looks out a window, towards Bailey and Brenda. "Yes, Bailey and I have done well for ourselves." He sighs.

Brock picks up on his emotions. "But something's wrong, isn't it? With Bailey?"

Jerimiah sighs again. "Bailey's great, she's the best daughter I could ask for. She gives everything she has to me and this ranch. But that's the problem. She too dedicated. I know how badly she wants to go out and see the world, but she refuses. She can't stand to leave me and the ranch behind. I could manage fine without her, but she isn't willing to take the risk."

Brock notices the Promen egg and decides to change the topic. "It must have taken some serious breeding skills to get that Promen egg."

Jerimiah grins. "It sure did. I've been trying to get that one for quite some time now."

Brock posits, "If you bring the Promen to breeding shows, you could get yourself a whole lot of new business. You'd be even more successful."

Jerimiah chuckles. "Maybe so, but I've got something even more important in mind for that egg."

Brock's about to inquire further, but then there's a sudden shout in from the yard. Brock and Jerimiah rush to the window to look out. They see Brenda and Bailey surrounded by a horde of Ekans. Bailey shouts, "Papa!"

Jerimiah shouts, "Bailey!"

He and Brock run to the door, but find themselves blocked by another group of Ekans. They angrily hiss, "Ekanssssssss!" Brock and Jerimiah stumble back in surprise and the Ekans pour into the room. They begin to grab eggs right off of their shelves.

As the Ekans leave, one of them notices the egg incubator in the center of the room. It knocks the incubator off the table, breaking the glass, and grabs the egg off the floor.

Jerimiah shouts, "No! Please! Not that one!" The Ekans ignores him.

It's Palossand!

Ash, Brock, Brenda, Bailey, and Jerimiah are in hot pursuit of the Ekans. Bailey shouts, "Give those eggs back! They're not yours!"

From nowhere, Jessie cackles and announces, "They are now!"

Everyone turns around to see Team Rocket standing atop what looks to be a large robotic frame. Brenda shouts accusingly, "Team Rocket!"

Jessie announces, "Prepare for trouble!

James continues, "Make it double!"

"To protect the world from dev-egg-station!"

"To unite all people within our egg-tion!"

"To denounce the egg-vils of truth and love!"

"To egg-stend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Bailey shouts, "I don't care who you are! You have those Ekans give back our eggs!"

Meowth laughs. "Don't you know, it's only natural for Ekans to poach eggs!"

James asks, "Are you telling me you don't egg-ree with nature?"

Jessie crosses her arms, "You must be yolk-ing me!"

Ash groans. "Can we at least cool it with the egg puns? I'd really like to not hear any more."

Meowth laughs. "Don't be such a rotten egg, our jokes are egg-celent!"

Ash groans again.

At this point, the Ekans have begun to deposit the eggs into a basket on the back of the robot frame. Bailey notices one with the Promen egg, which has just flashed again, more intensely than ever. She shouts, "No! Drop that egg!"

Brenda's had enough. "Kappaqueous, use Aqua-!"

Brock cuts her off, "Brenda, no! You might hurt the eggs!"

"But we have to do something!"

Jessie pulls down an eyelid and sticks out her tongue. "You can't touch us! How egg-citing!"

Ash gets an idea. "Okay, then we'll try an indirect attack. Pikachu, use Electroweb!"

Pikachu flings a web made of electricity from its tail at the top of the egg basket. This blocks the Ekans from depositing any more of the eggs.

Looking angry, James shouts, "Okay, you want to fight? Let's fight! You're going to end up scrambled!"

Jessie orders, "Repiv, it's time to form up!"

Repiv hisses, "Piiiiiiiiv!"

At its order, the Ekans all begin to slither towards the frame. Jessie, James, and Meowth drop down into a cockpit, while the Ekans begin to wrap around the skeleton robot. Before long, the frame is entirely covered by a wriggling skin of entwined Ekans, with Repiv sitting on the top.

Jerimiah states, "My goodness, it's grotesque."

Meowth laughs. "This is the best plan I've hatched!"

James agrees, "Our outlook is sunny-side-up!"

Jessie adds, "That's no eggs-aggeration!"

The Ekans-covered robot raises an arm towards Ash and the others, and Meowth announces, "Go, Poison Sting Barrage!" The Ekans on the arm all use their Poison Sting attack at once, combining their power.

Ash and the others leap out of the way. Ash shouts, "There's no other option! We have to fight back! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaa chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu zaps the robot, but the Ekans skin distributes the shock across the entire body, minimizing the damage.

Brenda steps forward. "Let's try something more direct. Kappaqueous, use Aqua Bomb!"

"Kappapapaqueous!" Kappaqueous hurls an orb of water at the Ekans, blasting several off the robot, but leaving no overall damage. The scattered Ekans immediately slither back on to the robot.

Team Rocket readies their response. Meowth shouts, "Go, Poison Fang Missiles!" Two Ekans lunge off of the robot, hurling themselves as living missiles at Pikachu and Kappaqueous. They bite down with Poison Fang. Both Pokémon knock the Ekans off, but not before taking damage.

Brenda asks, "How do we beat them!? There's so many Ekans!"

Bailey then notices something. One of the Ekans that rises to the surface of the skin is still holding an egg. It's the glowing Promen egg. Bailey shouts, "Please, you have to get that egg back!"

Brenda nods. "We will! Kappaqueous, use Confusion!" Kappaqueous uses its psychic powers to rip the egg out from the Ekans' mouth. The Ekans struggles to hold on, but the egg eventually gives way and flies up into the air.

Bailey runs forward and leaps into the air in order to catch the egg before it lands. She grabs it just right and falls onto the ground with the egg cradled in her arms.

As she lands on her back, the egg begins to glow more intense than ever. There's then a brilliant flash of light, and the egg begins to transform into a Pokémon. Several seconds later, the egg has hatched into a new Pokémon. The Pokémon is a small quadruped almost entirely covered with black-blue fur. The exception is the collar of fluffy white fur around its neck and a small patch of white fur on its forehead. The Pokémon has a flat tail that's curved, almost with the appearance of a scythe. A small but pointed and slightly curved knob protrudes from one side of the Pokémon's head. It has large red eyes.

The Pokémon whimpers timidly, "Promen?"

Bailey's eyes widen. "Promen!? You hatched!"

"Promen!"

Brock suddenly gets an idea. "That's it! Promen can get us out of this!"

Bailey asks, "How?"

"Promen should be able to use the move Scary Face! Try that out!"

Bailey nods. "Okay." She gets up and sets Promen on the ground. "Promen, use Scary Face!"

Promen barks in an almost menacing way, "Men! Men!" Promen's eyes glow red and its face becomes covered in shadows. As it barks once more, a burst of shadowy aura flows forward from it.

As this aura hits the Ekans, they suddenly scatter, dropping their eggs and fleeing every direction.

Jessie shouts angrily, "Hey, where are you going!? Don't scramble on us!"

Repiv shouts angrily, "Piiiiiiiiiiv!" The Ekans don't listen.

James shouts, "Our defenses are cracking!"

Meowth declares, "Don't worry, they still can't touch us, we have all the eggs in the basket."

Jessie agrees, "Egg-sactly!"

But they don't notice that Pikachu has snuck up behind the robot. Ash shouts, "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

"Chu, pika!" Pikachu uses Iron Tai to slice right through the straps on the basket, causing it to fall to the ground.

Ash shouts, "You're all clear!"

Brenda grins. "Egg-cellent." She shakes her head quickly, ashamed at the slip of her tongue. "I mean excellent! Kappaqueous, use Aqua Bomb!"

"Kappapapapaqueous!"

Bailey gets in on it too and shouts, "Promen, use Dark Pulse!"

"Prooooomen!"

The attacks hit the defenseless robotic frame, causing it to explode. Team Rocket is sent flying upwards.

Jessie crosses her arms grumpily. "I guess we shouldn't have egged the twerps on…"

James states, "There's no way omletting this one go."

Meowth concludes, "I guess next time its back to our fried and true methods."

They all shout together, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off eggain!" They disappear with twinkle.

Back on the ground, Ash runs over to get a better look at Promen. He says, "Wow, that's one tough baby Pokémon!" He pulls out his Pokédex.

"Promen, the Fortuitous Pokémon and a Dark-Type. Hatching an Absol is considered a sign of impending disaster, so the rare occasion that a Promen hatches instead is considered to bring good luck. Evolves into Absol through friendship."

Bailey agrees with Ash excitedly, "I know! Promen is amazing! I can't believe my Papa bred such an amazing Pokémon! This really is our ranch's greatest success! Isn't it wonderful, Papa!? And look at how cute it is! Best Pokémon ever!" She suddenly stops as she realizes that she's gushing again.

Jerimiah laughs heartily. "Promen certainly is a great Pokémon, and it's all yours."

This takes Bailey by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I want you to take Promen with you as your partner in a journey around the world."

Bailey questions, "But Papa, Promen could be the ranch's claim to fame. You could enter it in breeding shows and-"

Jerimiah shakes his head. "No, Bailey, that's not what I bred Promen for. I bred it for you. Now I'm done of you saying no. I'll be fine by myself at the ranch. You take Promen, and you see the world like you've always wanted to."

A tear comes to Bailey's eye. She glances to Promen and back to her father. Then she glances to Brenda, who nods at her. Bailey finally nods. "Okay. Papa, I'll do it."

Jerimiah smiles. "And now you have made me happier than you ever could have staying with me."

It's the next morning, and Ash, Brock, and Brenda are preparing to leave the ranch. Jerimiah is saying goodbye. Bailey then comes running out from the building, holding an incubator in her arms. She thrusts it into Brenda's arms.

Brenda asks, "What's this?"'

Bailey explains, "This is for you, to thank you for helping us get those eggs back, and to thank you for convincing me to go out on a journey."

Ash chimes in, "Hey, I helped get those eggs back too, do you have an egg for me?" He doesn't push it any further when he sees Brock glaring at him.

Brenda's eyes widen. "Wow, thank you so much." She looks to the egg in the incubator. The egg is mostly black and dark green with several flower-like spots across it. "What's going to hatch from it?"

Bailey chuckles. "It's a surprise! That's half the fun of raising an egg!"

Brenda laughs back. "I suppose it is."

Jerimiah speaks up. "Also, Brenda, as I understand it, you're a Pokémon Coordinator, right?"

Brenda nods. "Yes sir."

"In that case, you kids may want to head by Ort City. They'll be hosting a Pokémon Contest soon."

Brenda smiles. "Wow, thanks. We can head there, right, Brock?"

Brock looks to his Pokéssistant's map. "We sure can, we're already moving in that direction anyways."

Brenda exclaims, "Alright, a new friend and an upcoming Pokémon Contest! This is great! I'm going to win my fifth ribbon! Let's go! Bye Bailey! Bye Jerimiah! Thank you both so much!"

Jerimiah shakes his head. "No, thank you. Goodbye, children."

Bailey waves. "Bye!"

Ash, Brock, and Brenda set off. After walking some way away, Brenda asks, "Hey, Brock, could I use the Pokéssistant?"

Brock nods. "Sure, what do you need it for?"

"I need to make a phone call." She takes the device and dials a number. A few seconds later and a hologram of Brenda's mom is projected from the Pokéssistant. "Hi Mom!"

Her mom smiles. "Brenda, you're calling early. I wasn't expecting a call for a few more days. I hope you don't have any bad news for me."

Brenda shakes her head. "No, I just had a conversation with a new friend that made me miss you, so I wanted to call and say hi."

Her mom smiles even more. "And I'm glad for that."

As they continue their conversation, The Narrator takes over, Today, our heroes not only saved a batch of unborn Pokémon, but they also inspired a new Pokémon trainer to go out on a journey of her own. And with an egg ready to hatch into a new friend, as well as Brenda's next Pokémon Contest both on their way, things are sure to get exciting. Stay tuned.

To Be Continued…