Serena reached down into a stream with cupped hands, collecting some water before splashing it onto her face. She did this twice more before drying herself off with a hand towel that she had brought with her. Feeling clean and refreshed, she stood up and folded her hand towel before turning away from the stream, moving to rejoin the others, the acrid scent of smoke hitting her nose and lightly burning her throat.
She and her friends were traveling down Route 15, on their way to Anistar City. They had to pick up the pace a little bit, with two different routes and Dendemille Town separating Anistar from Laverre, but it was an easy path to walk so far, and they were making good time. The one complaint all of them had was the powerful smell of smoke that permeated the air, growing stronger and then weaker from one hour to the next. From what they had been told by other travelers, there was a rampaging Heatmor on Route 16 to the south, setting the forest on fire in its inexplicable rage, and the wind was now carrying the smoke all around northern Kalos. Unless the Heatmor was found and captured, they were likely to be inhaling the smoke for a few more days.
As she started making her way back, she let her eyes wander, enjoying the tranquil forest around her. Looking around, she paused as she saw something strange at the base of a nearby tree, partly buried by tall grass. She walked over and knelt down to take a closer look, gasping as she realized what she had found.
Back at their campsite, Brock was cooking up breakfast as he did every morning. Madison was setting out a blanket and plates for everyone to eat on, while Ash and Iris were getting tents packed up. Iris was the first to hear Serena approaching, but soon everyone turned to look, as they all realized that she was running.
"You guys!" Serena called out as she approached, as excited as anyone had ever heard her. "Look what I found!" As she became visible through the trees, Iris gasped as she saw her holding something tightly and protectively in her arms.
"Oh my gosh! Is that a Pokémon egg?!" Everyone crowded around Serena as she entered the clearing that acted as their campsite, leaning in to inspect the large egg that sat in her arms. The egg was predominantly black, mixed with a color that could have been dark green or blue, depending on who was looking at it. It was covered with white speckles that could pass for either leaves or water droplets.
"I found it under a tree, near the stream!" Serena exclaimed energetically, looking down at the egg herself. "There wasn't any sign of a burrow or a nest or anything like that. I thought it would need someone to take care of it."
"That sounds about right, if you found it on the ground," Brock assessed, before a grin spread across his face. "You're going to have a new Pokémon companion soon!"
"I know!" She nearly squealed at the thought. "I'm so excited! It's been so long since I had a new Pokémon of my own!"
"What kind of Pokémon is it going to be?" Madison wondered aloud. She looked over the egg carefully, studying the colors and the markings, as if she had any idea what they meant.
"It's hard to say," Brock answered. "The markings on the egg can give you some idea, if you're an expert on the subject, but I think it's impossible to know with absolute certainty."
"If you ask me, not knowing is half the fun! It's like a surprise!" Ash insisted, leaning in for a closer look. "The last time I was in Kalos, I found an egg that hatched into a Noibat. It didn't look anything like this, though."
"Oh, a Noibat!" Iris's eyes lit up. "I'd love to catch one of those and evolve it into a Noivern! They're part Dragon-type!"
"Well, we'll be passing by the Terminus Cave after we leave Anistar City. There's plenty of Noibat there for you to catch." Serena lovingly rubbed the top of the egg, already attached to it after only a couple of minutes, her heart swelling as she imagined it hatching into a baby Pokémon. Everyone stood around and basked in the egg for a few moments, swept up by the magical allure of a new Pokémon about to enter the world. The moment was interrupted by a loud crackling sound from the campfire, causing Brock to jump.
"Ah! Breakfast!" He whirled around and rushed over, moving quickly to save the food that he had been preparing before it burned. Everyone else chuckled before returning to their previous business, all of them occasionally pausing to steal looks at the mysterious egg.
The campsite was pitched again after a full day's walking, as everyone rested their tired feet and filled their empty stomachs. Soon the sun had set, and everyone began setting their sleeping bags out near the campfire. The winds had shifted a few hours ago, pushing the wildfire smoke in another direction, and everyone was eager to get some fresh air as they slept.
Serena was fussing repeatedly with the egg as she kneeled on top of her sleeping bag, moving it closer and then farther from the campfire. She frowned, resting her hands on her knees, struck with indecision. "Brock, how warm should this egg be at night?"
Brock walked over, kneeling down and lifting up the egg, feeling how warm it was already before placing it down strategically about four feet from the fire. "I'd say right about there." She smiled and thanked him as she pulled her sleeping bag closer, laying it down right next to the egg. She reached into her bag and pulled out a blanket, creating a small nest for the egg to keep it in place.
Ash couldn't help but smile as he watched her dote over her egg, slipping into his sleeping bag. "You're really excited for this Pokémon, aren't you?"
"I'm so excited, Ash," she answered. "I haven't caught a new Pokémon in such a long time." She sat up, satisfied with the makeshift bed she had created. "I caught a Horsea years ago that was a real sweetheart, but I let him go during mating season."
Ash nodded. "I did the same thing with my Butterfree, a long time ago. It always hurts letting a Pokémon go, but it's easier when you know they're going to be happy." Serena smiled, keeping her eyes forward, feeling a pang of heartache for her former companion.
A few feet away, Iris was sitting up in her sleeping bag, scrolling through the messages that she had left to pile up over the course of the day. After answering another email from the substitute Gym Leaders, she moved on to her next message. After a minute of reading, her eyes went wide and she reflexively covered her mouth. "Oh, Shannon…!"
"Hm?" Ash glanced over, turning to the side and leaning on his elbow. Pikachu, who was starting to curl up next to him, sat up curiously. "What about Shannon?"
"She's just a sweetheart," Iris replied, smiling down at her phone. "I'm going to be visiting the Village of Dragons on the weekends, and I'll be staying with her. So she's been straightening up her place and decorating with some of my things, to make it feel more like home. She just sent me a picture of my bedroom."
Ash climbed out of his sleeping bag and crawled over toward Iris, sitting behind her and taking a peek at the image on her phone. He could see a small bedroom with a full bed, decorated with photographs of Iris and her friends, as well as other traditional-looking knickknacks that he assumed had sentimental value to Iris. In the center of the photo, on a dresser, was a tall, golden trophy, topped with a silver bird posing on top of a gold-plated Poké Ball.
"Look at that." He grinned at the sight, as Serena and Madison appeared behind him, taking a look for themselves. "She's even got your trophy."
"Mhmm." Iris nodded. "She's the best."
"Trophy?" Madison leaned in for a closer look. "What is it for? It looks like a Pokémon League trophy."
"It is," Serena confirmed, smiling at the image on Iris's phone. "It's from the Vertress Conference in Unova."
"It is?" Madison's eyebrows shot up, as the meaning of the statement suddenly hit her. "Wait, it is? You're a Pokémon League Champion?"
"Yes?" Iris replied, slightly confused, glancing back at the young performer. "I know I've said this before."
"You mentioned it to us in Coumarine City," Brock clarified from behind them, as he walked past to take a quick look at the phone before returning to his sleeping bag. "Madison wasn't with us then."
"Right, that's right." Iris returned her gaze to her phone. "When I was twelve years old, I was doing a lot of traveling, but I came back to Unova to challenge the Pokémon League. I figured if Ash could do it, then I could do it, too. And unlike Ash, I ended up winning the whole Vertress Conference."
Ash rolled his eyes. "You had to rub it in, didn't you?"
Iris smirked and nodded. "After that, I went back to traveling for a bit. I journeyed through Hoenn for a while before going back to become a Gym Leader."
"Wow…" Madison was awestruck at the discovery that she was in the presence of two League Champions, instead of just one. "Does that make you the Champion of Unova?"
Iris shook her head. "No, I'm just a League Champion, that's all," she said matter-of-factly, as if there was nothing noteworthy about this.
"A League Champion is different from being the champion of a region," Ash explained. "To be the Unova Champion, Iris would need to challenge the Champion's League and defeat the current champion."
"I'm going to do it, too," Iris resolved, her voice becoming more bitter. "I'm going to take down Alder the first chance I get. I'm going to wipe the smirk off that smug womanizer's face." Ash nodded in understanding, not having very fond memories of Alder, the Unova Champion. He was certainly a less inspirational figure than Cynthia, who was still the reigning champion of Sinnoh at the time. Brock firmly bit his tongue.
Madison and Serena both wrinkled their noses at the description of the man, instantly disliking him. The younger performer quickly spoke up. "Do you have to wait a while after becoming League Champion to enter the Champion's League?"
Iris shook her head. "No, you can go into it right away."
"So why didn't you try as soon as you won the League?" Madison followed up.
Because I was scared to face Drayden again and I wanted to get away from him, Iris thought.
"Because I wanted to try and find more Dragon-type Pokémon, to help me become a Dragon Master," Iris said. Madison nodded, not questioning her rationale.
"You're definitely going to be a Dragon Master someday," Ash encouraged, resting his hand on her shoulder. "And you're going to be Champion of Unova, too! Alder won't know what hit him!"
Iris beamed in appreciation, reaching up to squeeze his hand briefly before letting go. There was something about the earnestness of Ash's encouragement that made her sincerely believe it, and she could feel a gentle warmth grow in her stomach. It was one of the things he did that made him such a great friend to everyone he knew.
Behind her, the group of travelers dispersed, returning to their sleeping bags. Serena walked back over and slid into hers, resting on her side so she could watch the egg for a few more minutes. She eventually drifted off with an eager smile on her face.
The campers were jolted out of sleep the next morning by the sound of a muffled shriek. Ash sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag, launching a sleepy Pikachu off of his chest, and immediately turned toward the sound of the scream. Serena was walking in circles around the campsite, wearing her pajamas and a panicked expression.
"Where is it, where is it?!" she exclaimed, her eyes searching every square inch of the ground. "Where did it go?!"
"Where's what?" Ash asked, the sleepy haze still fogging his mind, before the answer struck him. His eyes zeroed in on the blanket nest next to Serena's sleeping bag, widening when he saw it was unoccupied. "The egg! It's gone!"
"Gone?!" Madison jumped up. "How? Where could it have gone?"
"I don't know!" Serena was distraught, overwhelmed. "Eggs don't just leave! I don't know what happened!"
Ash's first instinct was to get up and help her look for the egg, but as soon as he saw the distress on Serena's face, he could feel his priorities shifting. He hopped up and made a beeline for her, putting his hands on her shoulders from behind. "It's alright, Serena. We'll help you find the egg. There's no need to worry." She felt some of the tension leave her body as soon as he touched her, and she started taking deep breaths, able to recognize that she was panicking. As she tried her best to calm herself, Brock and Iris were on the case, studying the campsite carefully for any signs of what might have happened.
"There's only two possibilities I can think of," Iris suggested. "Either the egg hatched and the Pokémon wandered off, or… someone snuck into camp and took it." Serena felt herself shiver at the thought of the second option.
Brock was kneeling down next to the blanket nest, inspecting it carefully. "Usually, when a Pokémon egg hatches, there are small remnants of the shell left behind. I'm not seeing anything like that here." He frowned. "What I am seeing are things that might be footprints. I don't know if they're ours or someone else's."
"So… someone else really snuck in while we were sleeping?" Madison was similarly creeped out at the idea of people walking all around them as they slept, completely unaware.
"Looks like it," Iris replied, holding herself gently. "We're lucky they didn't take anything else." She paused for a moment before dashing back toward her bag, looking through it carefully. Everyone else did the same, searching for anything else that might have been stolen, but after a couple of minutes of combing through their belongings, everything else seemed to be in place, even their wallets.
"Phew… I'm glad everything else is still here." Ash stood up, holding a Poké Ball in his hand. "Now we just need to find that egg!" He pressed the button on the front of the device, and soon his Growlithe was standing next to him. "Growlithe, we need you to track down whoever stole Serena's egg. Can you pick up their scent?"
The fire dog yipped affirmatively as Ash led her to the blanket where the egg was resting. She sniffed at the blanket for a few moments before starting to pace in circles, her nose close to the ground, as everyone watched. Twenty seconds later, she barked and started walking away from the campsite, keeping her nose low as she followed the scent.
"Perfect! Let's go, everyone!" All of them quickly grabbed their bags, not needing any other valuables stolen, before following Growlithe into the forest.
After twenty minutes of walking, the forest gave way to a large clearing along the edge of a cliff. Ash, leading the charge, spied two teenage boys talking and laughing as they sat across from each other, with an extremely familiar Pokémon egg sitting between them. Both of them jumped as Growlithe started barking and racing toward them, with her trainer in tow.
"There it is!" Ash exclaimed, carefully examining the egg from a distance. As far as he could tell, it was a dead ringer for the egg that Serena had cared for the previous day. He felt someone brush past him as Serena raced ahead, visibly enraged.
"You two give that egg back, right now!" she roared. "You stole it from right under our noses!" Both trainers looked terrified for a moment, as if they had stumbled across a mother Kangaskhan protecting her child.
"What are you talking about?" one of the trainers shot back, a brunette with a black jacket and matching cap. He stood up and moved in front of the egg, blocking Serena's advance. "This is our egg!"
"Y-yeah!" His companion, a redheaded trainer dressed in yellow and blue, stood up as well, though he wasn't bold enough to get directly in Serena's way. "We found it ourselves! We've had it for days!"
"You have not!" Serena's hands clenched tightly into fists, before she felt Iris's hand come to rest on her shoulder.
"That egg looks exactly like the one we found yesterday," Iris explained, more calm than Serena. "We had it with us when we fell asleep, but it was gone when we woke up."
"Well, it wasn't this one!" the brown-haired trainer insisted. "You think we would ever let an egg like this out of our sight?"
"What do you mean?" Brock cocked his head, not sure what made this particular egg so special.
The brunette trainer scoffed. "You guys have no idea what this is, do you?" He smirked as he saw the confused expressions on everyone's faces. "This here is a genuine Lugia egg!"
"What?!" the other all exclaimed at the same time, having identical reactions. None of them had ever heard of a legendary Pokémon such as Lugia hatching from an egg.
The boy chuckled. "It's true." He gestured toward his redheaded friend. "Justin here found it near the ocean two weeks ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what it was."
"Derrick's real smart about Pokémon stuff," the other boy chimed in, the admiration clear in his voice. "He's the best trainer I know!"
"That doesn't sound right." Brock stepped forward. "You can't tell exactly what Pokémon an egg will hatch into just by looking at it."
"Maybe not if you're an amateur," Derrick replied, as smarmy as he could possibly be. "But when you know as much about Pokémon as I do, it's obvious."
"You're lying!" Serena fired back, requiring all her restraint to not step forward. "You were in our camp last night!"
"That's right!" Ash added, gesturing down toward Growlithe, who was glaring at the two thieving trainers. "Growlithe caught your scent and led us right to you."
Derrick let out a smug and disdainful laugh. "Well, it sounds like your bloodhound isn't a very good one. They led you on a wild goose chase for no reason. Maybe you should have trained it a little better." He looked around at his audience, his smirk fading as he saw the anger on all of their faces. He realized that maybe he should be a bit more cautious with his words when he was outnumbered. "…Although, maybe there's another way we can settle this."
"And what's that?" Serena demanded, her eyes still fixed on the egg.
Derrick grinned. "We'll have a Pokémon battle. Whoever wins, takes the egg."
"What?" Iris raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "If that's really your egg, why are you so willing to wager it in a battle?"
"Oh, uh…" The brunette trainer faltered. "I'm just that confident! I know I'm going to win, so it's no problem if I wager the egg."
"You got this, Derrick!" Justin pumped his fist, perfectly playing the part of a hype man and a suck-up.
"I want to take a look at that egg first." Serena stepped forward impatiently, marching past the two not-so-friendly travelers. "I need to make sure you didn't damage it." Madison ran after her, similarly concerned for the welfare of the speckled egg, and the two kneeled next to it to begin their examination.
Derrick watched them go, thinking this over for a moment, before shrugging, not seeing the harm. "Fine, go ahead. I've taken perfect care of that egg. See for yourself." He turned back toward the rest of the group. "So, which of you is going to challenge me?"
"I will!" Ash stepped forward, more than ready to defend Serena's honor and her property. Pikachu leaped off of his shoulder, getting into battle position reflexively.
Derrick chuckled, not impressed by this trainer and his un-evolved Electric-type. "Fine by me." He reached down to his belt, grabbing a Poké Ball. "I should let you know, I've collected seven Gym Badges already. Not to try and intimidate you or anything."
"Hey, not bad." Ash smirked, standing by his trusty partner to fight for him in this battle. "I've got more than sixty badges, myself."
The other boy gaped, not sure he had heard Ash correctly. "Sixty…? You mean six, right?"
"Nope." Ash shook his head. "I've been traveling through different regions for years, collecting badges from every gym I could find. I've got three League Champion trophies at home, too." He wasn't normally one to brag, but this jerk definitely needed to be taken down a peg, and he had to admit it was satisfying to watch the color drain from his opponent's face.
"Uh…" Derrick suddenly felt a lot smaller, and he looked around for some way out of this. "Actually, uh…" He glanced back at Justin. "Yeah! Let's do a double battle instead! Justin, come help me out!"
"Me?!" Justin looked taken aback at being put on the spot. "But I'm nowhere near as good as you are!"
"You'll be fine!" Derrick encouraged, needing to bolster his friend's confidence, as well as his own. "Just do what I say and we'll win, no problem!" He turned back toward Ash, Iris and Brock. "So who's your partner going to be? You don't have any other League Champions over there, do you?"
Ash grinned wide. "We sure do!" He glanced behind him. "Iris, you ready?" She nodded and stepped forward, keeping her eyes on her opponents as she grabbed a Poké Ball of her own.
It was Justin's turn to gape, his face going white as a sheet. "You're… you're also…?"
"That's right." She folded her arms, smirking, enjoying this far more than she should. "And I'm a Gym Leader on top of that." She tossed her Poké Ball out in front of her, summoning Excadrill to the battlefield. "Hope you two are ready!" Axew leaned forward, nestled in Iris's hair, ready to cheer on his trainer.
The two boys were as far from ready as they could possibly be, but now they had no choice but to proceed, Derrick's ego having locked them into this course of action. Derrick swallowed hard as he threw out his Poké Ball, summoning a white-and-green bipedal Pokémon, which Ash recognized as a Gallade. Justin timidly followed suit, bringing out the brown-and-white bird Pokémon Staravia. Looking across the way at Ash and Iris, they could feel their stomachs dropping in unison.
"All four trainers are ready to battle!" Brock declared, raising a hand above his head, having instinctively taken up the referee's position. "Let the battle…"
"Aha!" Everyone stopped to turn and look at Serena, who was standing up with the egg in her hands, a triumphant look on her face. "I knew this egg was mine!"
"Huh?" Derrick turned away from the battle as quickly as he could, walking up to the pajama-clad performer. "No it's not! It's ours!"
"Then why is my name on it?"
Everyone was stunned into silence at this comment, especially Derrick and Justin. The brunette trainer looked down at the egg. "What…?"
"Take a look for yourself." She rotated the egg carefully in her hands, gesturing toward one white teardrop mark near the top. As the boy leaned in, he could clearly see the name "Serena" written into it with a makeup pencil.
He stared at the name for a few moments, slack-jawed, before he was finally able to speak. "Let me see that…" Serena handed the egg over for his inspection, feeling much more confident now that she had proven her ownership. As soon as the egg was in his hands, Derrick turned and started running as fast as he could, yelling at Justin to follow him.
"Wha- hey!" Serena began racing after him. "You get back here!" Everyone else began following her, including the Pokémon that had been released, as they raced along the edge of the cliff.
Derrick turned to look behind him. "Gallade, use Psybeam! Staravia, use Whirlwind!" Both Pokémon immediately obeyed, and Staravia flapped its wings to create a massive gust of wind, while Gallade fired a beam of psychic energy circles at the advancing trainers. They were forced to come to a stop, in order to avoid being blown away by the combined attacks.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt on Staravia! Keep them busy!" Ash commanded, starting to run in a wide circle around the Whirlwind attack.
"Excadrill, fight off Gallade! Use Fury Swipes!" Iris added. The four Pokémon began squaring off as their trainers ran ahead, as fast as they could.
Justin turned to look at his friend with an incredulous expression. "Derrick, what are we doing?! We're definitely stealing it now!"
"Just keep running!" Derrick advised, holding onto the egg for dear life. "It'll all be worth it when we have a baby Lugia in our hands!"
Ash growled in anger as he summoned another of his Pokémon. "Snivy, use Vine Whip to trip them up!" The Grass Snake Pokémon obeyed without hesitation, her vines extending and reaching out at an incredible speed, snagging one ankle on each of the two boys. They yelped and immediately fell forward, crashing into the ground, and as Derrick landed, the egg he was holding slipped out of his grasp and started bouncing away. He panicked and tried to grab at it, but it quickly bounced and rolled out of his reach, eventually rolling off of the edge of the cliff.
Everyone gasped as they watched the egg drop over the side of the cliff, starting to fall hundreds of feet to the ground below. Their gasps turned to screams as Serena dove off the edge of the cliff after it.
Serena held her arms tightly against her body as she dove through the air, trying to speed herself up, utterly single-minded in her determination to protect the egg. She carefully reached out as she approached, managing to grab the egg with the tips of her fingers, and she pulled it in against herself. She wrapped her arms tightly around it, curling up and forming a ball as she fell. With the egg in her grasp, she looked back down at the forest below, unable to do anything but anticipate her impact against the ground. The only thing she had thought of as she dove off the cliff was protecting this egg and the Pokémon inside, without giving any consideration to herself. She hoped against hope that the trees below her would break her fall, or else a lot of other things were going to break.
As she approached the canopy, she could feel herself starting to slow, much to her surprise. Looking down at herself and the egg, she could see a light blue aura surrounding her body. She craned her neck around to look upward, able to see Ash's Sigilyph near the edge of the cliff, straining with all of her might to hold onto Serena using Psychic. She didn't even have time to sigh in relief, however, before she started slamming into branches. She grunted and cried out in pain with each one she hit, her fall gradually slowing, until she eventually hit the forest floor, the air knocked out of her.
She groaned as she sat up, pain shooting through her neck and back; it didn't feel like anything was broken, thankfully, but she was still going to be feeling this for a few days. Her eyes shot open as she felt the weight of the egg on her chest, and she pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking over the egg carefully. As she turned it about in her hands, her heart stopped as she found a large, jagged crack running along the egg from top to bottom.
She could feel her body go cold as she stared at the crack. She wasn't as knowledgeable about Pokémon breeding as Brock was, but she knew that it was extremely rare for an egg to survive major damage like this. Her breath shuddered as she covered her mouth with one hand, feeling tears well up in the corners of her eyes, when the sound of a breaking shell caused her to jump. She could see another crack form on the egg, then another, as something inside seemed to be trying to poke its way out.
Her eyes were as big as saucers as she watched the egg slowly hatch, barely breathing, doing nothing but hold it carefully in her hands. Eventually, the entire shell fell away in large chunks, and she found herself looking into a tiny, brown-and-white face, adorned with a short and stubby pair of brown horns, attached to the body of a goat-like creature with a green, leafy mane. The Pokémon opened its large, black eyes and met Serena's gaze, as she took in the sight of a newborn baby Skiddo.
"Ski?" The creature bleated curiously in a high-pitched voice, and Serena could feel her heart melt instantly.
"Hi there, cutie," she spoke gently, beaming, as she wrapped her arms around the Pokémon. "My name's Serena. I'm going to be taking care of you." The Skiddo leaned in and sniffed at her for a moment, before issuing a happy bleat of affirmation and nuzzling her. She laughed, delighted, and held the little one close to her chest, all of her pain and stress vanishing in an instant.
Serena heard the sound of rustling leaves above her, looking up to see Sigilyph flying down toward them. She smiled and waved at the bird Pokémon. "Thanks for saving us, Sigilyph! Could you bring us back up?" The Pokémon cawed and focused, and the blue aura returned, surrounding Serena and Skiddo both. The goat Pokémon started to panic as they rose up into the air, but Serena held it tightly and comfortingly in her arms, rubbing its back. A minute later, Sigilyph placed her back on her feet on top of the cliif, and her friends all ran up to her, worry all over their faces. Even Derrick and Justin, several feet behind them, looked concerned.
"Serena! Are you alright?!" Ash exclaimed, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking her over for obvious signs of injury.
"I'm fine!" she insisted, glancing down at the creature in her arms. "Look! The egg hatched!"
"Whoa!" Brock looked over Ash's shoulder, taking in the sight of the Pokémon. "It's a Skiddo!"
Behind them all, Derrick froze in place, stunned. "A Skiddo…? Not a Lugia…?" He looked absolutely flabbergasted, as did his companion next to him.
"Oh my gosh, it's adorable!" Madison squealed, running right up to it. "I've never seen a newborn Pokémon before! It's so small!"
"Isn't it?" Serena agreed. "I've only ever seen full-grown ones. I had no idea they could be this small." The Skiddo looked up at her, leaning in and trying to take a bite out of her hair; she laughed and turned her head away. "Hey, cut that out!"
"I'm so glad the both of you are alright," Iris added. "I can't believe you jumped off a cliff to save that egg. I thought you were Ash at first."
"I can't really believe it, either," Serena admitted. "The only thing I was thinking about was keeping the egg safe. I guess Ash's recklessness is rubbing off on me." The others all agreed, including Ash.
Derrick took a small step backward. "Well, if it's not a Lugia, then I guess we'll…"
Immediately, Ash, Brock and Iris were shooting death glares in his direction, emitting a dark aura of pure malice that seemed to block out the light of the sun. Sensing that his life was in danger, Derrick returned his Pokémon to their Poké Balls before turning and running off into the forest. Justin followed suit, looking as if his world had just been turned upside-down.
With the two thieves no longer posing a danger, the Pokémon moved in closer to see the new arrival for themselves, and Skiddo looked back down at Pikachu, Snivy, Growlithe and Excadrill. Wanting to get a closer look at them, the Pokémon leaped out of Serena's arms to the ground underneath them. Serena yelped and snatched it out of the air, laughing as she lowered it carefully to the ground. Skiddo took several unsteady steps forward on new legs, having to quickly teach itself the basics of walking. It only took a few seconds before Skiddo could propel itself, and it walked carefully up to Pikachu, who politely introduced himself.
"He sure is cute, isn't he?" Ash spoke, grinning wide.
Serena could only nod, her hands clasped over her heart as she watched her new Pokémon interact with its new friends. Everyone stood and watched in silence, all of them overcome by the magic of a new life discovering the world for the first time.