Chapter 273: A Pokemon with Future Potential, a Must-Catch
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
The outskirts of Viridian City.
Ash's trio had already left the now-raucous Viridian City. After all, it was common knowledge that Team Rocket was behind the Viridian Gym, so the sudden, massive explosion at the Gym became quite intriguing.
"It was most likely retaliation from their enemies."
This was what most people speculated.
Team Rocket had always acted tyrannically, treating neighboring groups like Team Aqua, Team Magma, and Team Galactic as nothing more than second-rate country thugs. So, it wasn't surprising that they'd be targeted in a terrorist attack by their enemies.
Strangely, however, the entire Gym had been completely reduced to rubble by an unknown power, and even several Secret Bases inside were destroyed. Yet, the Viridian Gym personnel suffered no casualties. They had all bizarrely appeared on the flat ground outside the blast radius, in a dazed state.
The first thing this group did after waking up, however, was to flee overnight.
Given Giovanni's temperament, their base being blown up right after he left meant they were as good as dead. A death sentence was already hanging over their heads.
"If we join the League now and sell out Team Rocket's information, we might have a slim chance of survival."
At once, their eyes lit up. Together, they fled west of the Viridian Gym, heading in the direction of the Indigo Plateau.
Of course, Ash and his companions knew nothing of this. Now that he had collected eight Gym badges, Ash planned to return to Pallet Town for a short rest. After that, he would begin the final stage of his preparations for the league.
On a stretch of road between Viridian City and Pallet Town, the trio arrived at a small, scenic river and decided to take a break.
Misty, who was holding an Egg, took off her backpack. After a long stretch, she suddenly turned to Ash and asked slowly, a strange note in her voice.
"Hey Ash, doesn't this place feel a little familiar to you?"
"This place...? I don't really remember it well. It was my first day as a trainer, and right at the start, I got ganked by a huge flock of Spearow. I almost got wiped out right then and there."
Ash was still shaken just thinking about it. If he hadn't formed a bond with Pikachu back then, and if Pikachu hadn't transformed into a Demon God wielding the Divine Thunder of the Nine Heavens, he really might have been done for.
Ash looked at the lush bushes around them, and his hand felt an inexplicable itch. He casually picked up a pebble and tossed it in the direction he remembered.
Back then, he had hit a Spearow, which led to him being chased by an entire flock. In his panic, he had grabbed a bicycle from a passerby he didn't know and fled at top speed. That's why he didn't have a strong memory of the scenery here.
After all, when your life is on the line, who has time to pay attention to the surroundings?
"Oh? Then let me give you a hint. At that time, a beautiful girl was fishing for a Gyarados by this very river, and then a thief came and stole her bi—"
Thud!
A heavy thud interrupted Misty's words. The dark figure of a bird Pokemon surfaced. The trio's faces darkened, all thinking the same thing: *Don't tell me he hit another Spearow.*
Soon, the bird Pokemon's full form was revealed. It had brown and yellow feathers and a docile demeanor, but a large bump was swelling on its head.
"Oh, it's just a Pidgeotto. Okay, we're good."
The three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. A Pokemon like Pidgeotto wasn't a big problem.
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu even went forward and waved its chubby paws to shoo it away, signaling that it was time to eat and that the Pidgeotto shouldn't disturb their meal.
"Pidgeo-geo..."
Staring at the plump Electric Mouse Pokémon before it and the powerful electric current stored in its electric sacs, the unlucky Pidgeotto had no choice but to give up and fly away dejectedly.
"Damn it! In my next life, I'm going to be reincarnated as a Spearow! I'll be a vicious bird!"
The Pidgeotto vowed to itself.
The Pidgeotto species, kind birds that get bullied. And now, even an Electric Mouse Pokémon dared to look down on it. Unforgivable!
"Since the Pidgeotto is gone, let's get back to what we were talking about. At that time, a thief stole my bi—"
Misty tried again, hinting desperately, but once more, she was cut off mid-sentence.
"Hey Misty, your Egg is glowing!"
"I think it's about to crack!"
Seeing the shocked expressions on both Ash and Brock's faces, Misty frowned.
"I'm a girl, you know! What 'egg' are you talking abou— Holy crap, my Egg is cracking!?"
Halfway through her sentence, Misty shuddered. The Pokemon Egg in her arms was indeed trembling and emitting a white light. When the light faded, several cracks had appeared on the top half of the eggshell.
Not daring to be careless, Misty quickly and carefully placed it on the ground.
This was the Pokemon Egg she had found back at the Grand Canyon. While everyone else had been mindlessly digging for Fossils, she had taken a different approach and found this instead.
"C-crack..."
A few broken pieces of eggshell fell away as the top of the Pokemon Egg was pushed open, revealing a pale yellow, spiky head. Meanwhile, a few small holes cracked open on the sides and bottom of the lower half of the shell, and short, yellow little arms and legs popped out.
Most of the Pokemon's body was still encased in the eggshell. It looked at the three giant, two-legged beasts surrounding it without any fear. Instead, it blinked its small eyes and waved its little arms back and forth, looking incredibly cute.
"Toge-toge-pii~~"
Its voice was full of childlike innocence, its charm level off the charts. It instantly captured Misty's motherly heart.
"Aaaah, I'm dying of cuteness!!"
Misty couldn't wait to hold it in her arms and dote on it, but since most of its body was still covered by the eggshell, she could only suppress her urge and wait for it to shed the shell on its own.
A Pokemon emerging from its shell is the second trial it must face since birth. It is something it must accomplish on its own. Outside interference would be like pulling up a seedling to help it grow—it would do nothing but harm.
The first trial, naturally, was racing against billions of its siblings.
But even after waiting for a long time, the eggshell on the tiny Pokemon's body didn't fall off, as if it were naturally attached.
It eventually managed to walk, but the eggshell remained stubbornly attached. It even ran a few steps, tripped once, and finally stumbled over to hug Misty's knee, nuzzling against her adorably.
"Oho, look at that move. It's trying to give Misty a Seismic Toss."
"Should I help it take the eggshell off?"
Seeing that the peculiar Pokemon showed no signs of injury, Ash and Brock grew bolder and couldn't help but tease.
Misty shot them a look before her gaze softened, and she carefully scooped it into her arms.
Ash casually pulled out his Pokedex and aimed its scanner at the spiky egg Pokemon. It was time for the device to show its skill.
The Pokedex began to vibrate, its CPU fan whirring wildly. It seemed that because of the antivirus software, even running the built-in Pokedex function now took a great deal of effort.
"Pokedex Beep. Togepi, the Super Luck Pokémon. Its waving fingers carry a wondrous power. This is a Pokémon with Future Potential. Recommendation: a must-catch."
Hearing this, Ash was stunned. He was secretly shocked by this tiny Pokemon, his eyes wide with disbelief.
You had to understand, the "Future Potential" tag wasn't given to just any Pokemon. The last time the Pokedex had given a "Future Potential" evaluation was for Dratini, an extremely rare Pokemon in the Kanto Region known as a future pseudo-legendary.
And even then, the recommendation had been "optional to catch."
But this time, the recommendation was...
A must-catch!?
"What the heck, that's absurd. Is this Pokémon going to turn into an airplane in the future or something?"
That being said, Ash still felt a little tempted.
(end of chapter)