After finishing dinner, Slowking immediately ran toward Cain.
Seeing the expression on Slowking's face, Cain already knew what it was about.
He instantly showed a joyful expression, and they both disappeared together in an instant.
In Cain's room, on a table, there was a device holding Ralts's Pokémon egg.
At that moment, the incubator's timer had reached zero, and large amounts of psychic energy were emanating from the egg.
Slowking had sensed the psychic energy escaping from the egg, which is why he quickly alerted Cain.
Ralts was about to hatch.
Cain opened the incubator.
Without the device's barrier, the psychic energy leaking from the egg intensified, mixed with a special energy that seemed to be fairy-type.
Crack... Crack.
The eggshell began to fracture.
Small cracks appeared on its surface and grew larger. A kind of energy mist, composed of psychic- and fairy-type energy, emerged from the fissures, as if the egg were exhaling a soft breath, quickly dissipating into the air.
The cracks in the shell became more pronounced until a small white hand emerged from the gaps.
Bit by bit, the fragments of the egg fell away, revealing the figure of the Pokémon inside.
Green hair covered most of its head like a bowl, with two red, flat, crescent-shaped horns—one facing forward, the other backward.
It is said that these horns are the receptors Ralts uses to activate its psychic abilities and sense the emotions of others.
When it lifted its head, its large red eyes could be seen beneath the hair, along with a small mouth.
Its entire body was white, except for the hair and the horns, giving it the appearance of wearing a kind of white cloak.
Ralts lifted its head and looked at Cain, who was standing directly in front of it, watching.
"Riilss~~" it murmured with a soft, melodic voice.
Cain smiled, seeing how well the hatching had gone—much better than he had imagined.
However, he quickly noticed something peculiar about Ralts.
It wasn't a Shiny Pokémon, but among its thick green hair was a lock of light blue that stood out.
"What is this...?" Cain was stunned.
Could it be a mutation? Or perhaps the result of Azelf's blessing?
Azelf, being a legendary Pokémon, had blessed Ralts to strengthen its willpower. Having a blue strand in its hair seemed to align with that idea.
Still, Cain wasn't entirely sure if that was the reason.
"Riilss~~" Ralts made the sweet sound again.
Suddenly, a faint psychic wave emanated from Ralts's red horns and connected the minds of Cain and Slowking.
It had just hatched, and was already capable of using telepathy.
"Hug~ Hug~!" a soft voice echoed in Cain's mind.
Ralts extended its tiny arms toward him with a hopeful expression.
Cain couldn't help but laugh with joy.
He picked up Ralts in his arms, feeling the warmth of its small body.
Ralts are usually shy, but when they are happy or excited, their body temperature rises.
Holding Ralts was no effort at all for Cain; its weight was negligible compared to other Pokémon like Larvitar.
On top of that, its body was as soft as a warm water pouch, offering a comforting sensation.
"Slowking, I've found you a very talented disciple. You better teach her well," Cain joked with a smile.
"Yadon?"
Slowking's face filled with disbelief, as if to say, "Disciple? A... little girl?"
Although Slowking knew Cain had planned to give him a student, he hadn't expected it to be a small and charming Pokémon.
Seeing Slowking's stunned face, Cain couldn't hold back his laughter. It was rare to see that expression from Slowking after all this time.
"Ralts, from now on, Slowking will be your teacher. Make sure to learn a lot from him," Cain said as he spoke to the little Ralts in his arms.
Ralts looked at Slowking, who was a bit taller than Cain, and showed a curious expression.
With his pink skin, Slowking seemed quite friendly to her.
"Riilss~~" she smiled sweetly and let out a small sound.
Immediately, Slowking was completely captivated by her charm, gladly accepting his new disciple.
Suddenly, a tiny voice echoed in Cain's mind: "Mama..."
Cain froze in place.
"Mama... What?" he thought, as his face went completely blank.
Since Slowking was still mentally connected to Ralts, he also heard the "Mama..." in Cain's mind.
"Wait, wait. Mama... Mama?" Cain nearly choked on his own saliva.
Off to the side, Slowking covered his mouth, trying to hold back laughter as his body trembled from the effort.
"Ralts... I'm not your mama," Cain said in defeat.
"Ralts?" Ralts's eyes filled with tears, her little face scrunching up, showing an expression on the verge of crying.
Cain sighed, feeling defeated. "Alright, alright. How about you call me 'dad' instead of 'mom'?"
"Papa?" Ralts asked hopefully, looking at Cain with shining eyes.
"Yes, papa," Cain confirmed with a smile.
"Papa!" Ralts exclaimed joyfully.
Even though she didn't fully understand what papa meant, saying it made her feel an inexplicable joy.
With a resigned expression, Cain walked out of the room with Ralts in his arms, followed by Slowking, who was still shaking as he tried not to laugh.
Upon seeing Ralts, the other Pokémon who were playing after dinner quickly gathered around.
They knew Cain had a Pokémon egg about to hatch, but they hadn't expected it to happen that very day.
A new companion had joined the group.
Ralts, though initially shy when faced with so many Pokémon, quickly adapted thanks to the warmth of the others.
She was still a baby, so she couldn't run and play much yet, but moving around a little was fine—especially after drinking the milk Miltank had prepared for her.
Until then, she hadn't eaten anything, and seemed completely unaware of the eggshell pieces she had left behind.
(End of chapter)