"What a coincidence."
The Togepi Egg was creamy white, decorated with several hollow red and blue triangles. Just by looking at its shell pattern, it was obvious what Pokémon it would hatch into.
"Take good care of it. Try to hatch it as soon as possible," Ash said.
He gently touched the egg. Its surface felt smooth and warm, almost like jade, and faintly pulsed with life.
"As if you need to tell me that," Misty replied softly.
Her eyes were full of anticipation as she held the Togepi Egg tightly in her arms.
Meanwhile, Brock was still discussing things with the group of fossil excavation trainers. Ash told him the truth—that the underground cavern no longer contained the fossil Pokémon they were looking for.
Ash had already sent them all to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
"That's actually for the best," Brock said, nodding in agreement.
"There's no doubt Professor Oak's lab is a safer and more comfortable home for them."
Although Ash did have his own motives, he genuinely hoped those ancient fossil Pokémon would receive proper care and protection.
"Misty, where did that egg come from?" Brock asked suddenly, eyes widening.
He had been so busy talking with the trainers that he hadn't noticed Misty picking up an egg.
"I found it," Misty said happily.
She couldn't stop admiring the Togepi Egg.
After packing their things, the group left Big Sand Valley.
Ash first looked for a nearby town so he could contact Professor Oak.
After sending so many Pokémon at once, Oak probably had a lot of questions, and Ash figured he should explain everything.
By late afternoon, they arrived at a remote town.
Ash first healed his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, then called Professor Oak.
However—
Professor Oak didn't appear on the screen.
Instead, the neat laboratory behind him had turned into complete chaos. Several machines were even smoking.
"Professor Oak!"
"Ash!"
"Misty!"
The three called out at once.
Hearing the sounds of malfunctioning machines, Ash's heart sank.
Did the fossil Pokémon he sent over… destroy the lab?
Suddenly—
A pitch-black hand reached into view on the screen.
"Ash! Finally got through to you!"
Professor Oak appeared on the screen.
His face was covered in soot, his clothes were torn, and he looked like he had just survived an explosion.
Yet his eyes were shining like light bulbs.
"Did someone rob the lab?" Ash asked.
That shouldn't be possible. Aside from the stubborn Team Rocket trio, who would dare attack Professor Oak's lab?
And the Pokémon in the backyard weren't exactly weak either.
"Robbed, my foot!" Oak snapped.
"This is all because of those fossil Pokémon you sent back!"
Although he sounded annoyed, the smile tugging at his mouth was impossible to hide.
Extinct Pokémon!
Ash had actually captured and sent back extinct Pokémon.
At first Oak thought he was hallucinating. Only after the fossil Pokémon rampaged through the lab did he realize it was real.
"Oh… sorry for causing so much trouble, Professor," Ash said apologetically.
"In that case, maybe I should take them back."
"Wait, wait! I can handle it!" Oak hurriedly interrupted.
He couldn't let those Pokémon leave.
Every Pokémon Ash sent back was extraordinary.
Meanwhile, his grandson Gary mostly sent Pokémon like he was filling a stamp collection.
After joking around for a while, Ash explained everything that had happened at Big Sand Valley.
"Ash, thank you for trusting me with them," Oak said seriously.
"These fossil Pokémon will greatly help my research."
"And of course, I'll create a suitable habitat for them."
"Then I'll leave them in your care, Professor."
"Oh, right," Ash added casually.
"I also caught an Aerodactyl."
CRASH!
The sound of breaking glass came from Oak's side.
Professor Oak stared at Ash in shock.
Did this kid shorten his lifespan just to travel or something?
How is he even catching ancient Pokémon like this?!
In his excitement, Oak transferred tens of thousands of Poké Dollars to Ash as a reward.
Pokémon: Aerodactyl (Weakened State)
Level: 40
Ability: Rock Head
(Prevents recoil damage from the user's own moves.)
Potential: Elite Four-level
Moves:
Ancient Power
Take Down
Rock Slide
Crunch
Held Item: None
Friendship: 120
"So it has Rock Head," Ash muttered.
"No wonder it kept using Take Down."
This Aerodactyl clearly understood how to take advantage of its own Ability.
"Professor," Ash asked, "why does Aerodactyl still look a bit weak even after recovering?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Oak replied thoughtfully.
"It might be because Aerodactyl isn't in its prime state yet. It may require some kind of special energy."
Oak admitted that his current knowledge of ancient Pokémon was still limited, so he couldn't solve the problem yet.
After chatting for more than half an hour, Oak could barely suppress his excitement.
He was eager to thoroughly examine the fossil Pokémon.
"Some kind of energy…"
Ash wondered if Aerodactyl might need something similar to Kyogre's Primal Reversion.
Maybe Mega Evolution or some kind of Primal form was required for Aerodactyl to regain its full power.
If Primal Aerodactyl existed, would its potential rise another level?
Maybe even to Champion-tier.
Unfortunately, Ash hadn't even seen a Key Stone yet.
For now, he could only hope the system might eventually give him a mission related to Aerodactyl.
Ash released Aerodactyl so it could meet the rest of his Pokémon.
As expected—
The moment it saw Charizard, the atmosphere instantly turned tense.
Aerodactyl clearly refused to accept its defeat.
Charizard, meanwhile, proudly looked down at it as if to say:
You're not beating me.
Ash quickly stepped in to stop the two dragons before they started fighting again.
Starting a battle now would damage the team's unity.
That evening, the group ate dinner under a tense atmosphere.
No one felt relaxed—they were all worried the two dragons might suddenly start fighting again.
The next morning, Ash decided not to linger.
They needed to head toward Cinnabar Island and the Cinnabar Gym.
Meanwhile, Misty had spent time with Nurse Joy, learning various techniques for hatching Pokémon Eggs.
According to Joy, it would probably take five or six days for the egg to hatch.
Ash almost told her she didn't need to spend that much time learning.
Because with Team Rocket's help, things would go much faster.
After all—
Meowth was practically an egg-hatching expert.
In less than half a day, Togepi would end up hatching.
Although Meowth hadn't known the egg for long, it took extremely good care of it.
It never separated from the egg during meals.
It stayed with the egg during baths.
It even slept beside it.
Meowth actually contributed greatly to Togepi hatching so quickly.
Honestly—
Meowth would probably do very well working at a Pokémon Day Care.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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