Chapter 176. Zapdos Turned into an Egg
That night, at the Pokémon Center on the Indigo Plateau.
"Uh, Mr. Natsume, are you sure you want to bring this egg to the tournament?"
On the counter in front of Nurse Joy sat five Poké Balls and—an egg?
The Pokémon Egg was about the size of a basketball, and on closer look, its shell was covered in dense lightning patterns.
Clustered together, those patterns looked, at a glance, like clumps of yellow flames.
"Yes, that's my team composition," Natsume said with a solemn nod.
After Zapdos was burned to a crisp, Natsume found this Pokémon Egg inside it.
There was no time to consider why it had turned into an egg, so he hurried straight to the Pokémon Center.
"Nurse Joy, I'd like you to check whether this Pokémon Egg's vital indicators are normal."
After Nurse Joy finished registering Natsume's match information, he spoke again.
"Mm, all right," Nurse Joy said, blinking but not refusing.
The tournament starts tomorrow, and registering now made Natsume one of the late entrants.
There probably wouldn't be many people after him, so she had time.
"Thanks for the trouble."
Natsume nodded and walked to the dining area of the Pokémon Center.
Seeing him approach, Ash and the others all looked up.
"Natsume, how's Zapdos doing?"
Ash looked up, cheeks bulging as he chewed.
These last two days had worn him out.
"It should be fine," Natsume said, his expression odd.
Back when he first discovered the egg, Natsume had already checked it himself.
Unlike ordinary Pokémon Eggs, this Zapdos-turned egg gave him a very strange feeling.
It felt active—unbelievably active.
As a rule, Pokémon Eggs accumulate power before hatching and unleash it all the instant they break the shell.
But this egg formed from Zapdos was the complete opposite, as if it were a living, awake Pokémon already.
Natsume thought of how Zapdos had exhausted itself in the first half of the sprint and rubbed his brow, pained.
Being too impatient isn't always a good thing—don't end up failing to hatch at the last moment.
"Boom!"
All of a sudden, a violent explosion sounded from the back of the Pokémon Center.
"Team Rocket!?" Ash and the others stood up on reflex.
"Hey, hey, hey, watch it with the slander, meow!"
In the distance, Meowth, who was hawking souvenirs to Trainers, hopped in outrage.
"It's not them… then who is it?"
Misty stared toward the corridor to the backyard, from which smoke kept billowing out, with an acrid smell of burning.
Natsume's nose twitched—he knew that scent all too well.
"That's the smell of burnt electronics," Natsume said with certainty.
"Cough, cough, Mr. Natsume—"
Through the smoke, Nurse Joy emerged, coughing, cradling a trembling Pokémon Egg.
"Mr. Natsume, this is a Pokémon, isn't it?"
Nurse Joy looked at Natsume in puzzlement.
At the same time, the patterns on the shell suddenly lit up.
Startled, Nurse Joy's hands slipped, and the Pokémon Egg dropped straight toward the floor.
Thankfully, in the instant before it hit, Natsume caught it with telekinesis.
By the time it reached the group, the glow across the shell had already peaked.
"Mr. Natsume, watch out!"
Nurse Joy's voice rang out.
In the next second, a plume of flame wreathed in electricity blasted out, shooting toward Natsume.
"Mm?"
Natsume's eyes flashed with ghostly light, and the surging lightning-laced flames curved midair and veered toward center-parted.
"Pikachu???"
Center-parted froze for an instant, then flopped down to sleep, and the thunderfire that struck its body dissipated at once.
"Mr. Natsume, what kind of Pokémon Egg is this? I've never seen a Pokémon Egg use Flamethrower and Thunderbolt."
Wiping sweat from her brow, Nurse Joy walked over, still rattled.
"Wow, could it actually already be awake?" Misty whispered.
"Maybe the shell is actually a restraint…" Brock stroked his chin, making a reasonable guess.
The group began discussing it.
Unlike them, Natsume was a man of action.
"Don't do it, Natsume!"
Ash grabbed the hand with which Natsume was holding a brick.
"Thud—thud—"
As if sensing danger outside, the Zapdos egg began to hop on the table.
So it can perceive the outside world.
Natsume noted that silently.
A moment later, a Pikachu with a center part leapt up, its tail shining silver-white.
"Pikachu!"
Iron Tail slammed down on the shell, and at the instant of contact, the hard shell seemed to liquefy into lightning-fire, wrapping around center-parted's tail.
"Pikachu?"
Center-parted tugged at its tail in confusion, only to find it couldn't pull free.
"High durability too."
Natsume raised an eyebrow.
Sending out Rotom would be bullying.
Sending out center-parted would be agony.
Dragonite might accidentally hurt spectators.
Diglett's level was too low…
Originally, Natsume had been torn over how to win the championship while still creating enough buzz to make his name resound.
He hadn't forgotten that his biggest reason for entering the Indigo Plateau was to build a name and lay a bit of groundwork with the public for founding an academy in the future.
At the very least, most people needed to know who he was and have a deep impression of him.
Center-parted's sleep tactics and the gross playstyle of the Poké Ball Rotom could also make him famous.
But Natsume could already foresee that probably wouldn't be a good reputation.
Looking up at the Zapdos egg locked in a tense tug-of-war with center-parted, Natsume fell into thought.
It looked like… he could use this egg to battle?
He just didn't know what the egg's actual strength was.
"Come with me—special training tonight."
Natsume spoke, then seized center-parted by the scruff and, along with its tail, dragged the Zapdos egg as he headed out of the Pokémon Center.
"Okay, I'm training too!"
Seeing this, Ash stuffed two mouthfuls of food in and dashed after them.
The next day.
At dawn, at the Indigo Plateau Conference venue, the stands were packed.
Amid the roaring crowd, people holding microphones could be seen roaming all over the waiting area.
They were TV reporters from various regions, doing pre-match interviews with some of the stronger contestants.
"As Professor Oak's grandson, what are your views on raising Pokémon?"
"Heh heh, that's a long story," Gary Oak said, standing tall and puffing his chest.
"Darn it, why is no one interviewing me? I'm this year's torchbearer blessed by Moltres!"
Ash glanced sidelong at Gary, who was strutting not far away, his face full of dissatisfaction.
Off to the side, Natsume kept silent; he knew a bit of the inside story.
Mm…
Because the flame from Moltres had apparently burned a Pokémon to death, the torch segment from Ash this year was cut from the official broadcast.
Most of the reporters had arrived last night.
Aside from the Trainers who were there in person, very few people probably knew who this year's torchbearer was—let alone interviewed him.
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