After finishing the "commission" from James's family, Ash and his companions continued their journey and arrived at a fairly large city.
After traveling for a long time, they followed their usual routine and first headed to the Pokémon Center to rest.
While at the Pokémon Center, Ash's Pokédex received a transmission from Professor Oak.
It turned out that based on the valuable Pokémon data Ash had continuously sent back, especially the large number of living fossil Pokémon he had recently obtained, Professor Oak had remotely upgraded the Pokédex system for him. The update added much more information about ancient Pokémon, preliminary records of regional forms, and more detailed ecological behavior data.
"Thank you so much, Professor Oak!" Ash said gratefully through the video call.
"Hahaha! It's the valuable data you've been sending back that allows our research to move forward. You've earned it, Ash. I look forward to seeing what new discoveries you bring next!" Professor Oak laughed heartily.
In the evening, the three of them had dinner in the Pokémon Center cafeteria.
While preparing some delicious food, Brock asked curiously, "Ash, that egg you brought back from the Grampa Canyon. Has it changed at all recently?"
Ash carefully took out the red and blue patterned egg from the incubator and gently stroked it, sensing the increasingly active life inside.
"Yeah, the life response is getting stronger and stronger. It should hatch very soon." He explained to them, "According to the updated Pokédex information and what I already knew before, this should be a Togepi egg. Togepi is a very rare Pokémon known as the 'Happiness Pokémon.' It can absorb the positive energy from people and Pokémon and transform it into good fortune that it shares with others. Its shell is extremely hard and can be used for defense, and once it evolves it possesses incredible power."
Indeed, it was quite incredible. Togepi's evolution, Togetic, and especially Togekiss when evolved with a Shiny Stone, were both Pokémon capable of strong combat potential.
Togekiss in particular, with the Serene Grace Ability combined with Air Slash, was enough to make anyone nervous just thinking about it.
Misty looked at the adorable egg with anticipation in her eyes.
"A Happiness Pokémon? That sounds wonderful!"
However, none of them noticed that outside the cafeteria window, three pairs of ears were pressed tightly against the glass.
Team Rocket had appeared like ghosts once again and overheard every word of Ash's description about Togepi being "rare," "bringing happiness," and "good luck."
"Did you hear that, meow? It's the egg of an ultra-rare Pokémon that brings good luck!" Meowth said excitedly, his whiskers trembling.
"If we present it to the Boss, we'll definitely get promoted and strike it rich!" Jessie's eyes sparkled with greed.
"Alright! This time we're definitely going to succeed!" James cracked his knuckles eagerly.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Ash and the others left their table after dinner to stretch and rest, Team Rocket used one of their usual tricks, perhaps a simple distraction or some small gadget, and quietly stole the egg from the incubator beside the table without anyone noticing.
"Oh no! The egg is gone!" Misty was the first to notice when they returned, shouting in alarm.
Ash immediately spread out his Aura. Even though Team Rocket had hidden their presence, the faint life signal from the egg itself could not be completely concealed at close range.
"It's Team Rocket! They haven't gone far. Let's go!"
The three of them rushed out of the Pokémon Center. Guided by Ash's Aura, they quickly found Team Rocket in an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city.
Inside, Jessie and James were surrounding the egg, excitedly discussing the glorious future they would have after presenting it to Giovanni. Meanwhile, Meowth, surprisingly, was carefully wiping the eggshell with his claws and a clean cloth while muttering to himself.
"Gotta be careful, meow. This is a very precious egg, meow…"
"Team Rocket! Give the egg back!" Ash shouted sharply.
"Hmph! So you found us!"
"Then let's decide who gets the egg with a battle!"
"Let's see how we beat you, meow!"
Just as both sides were about to throw their Poké Balls and the tension reached its peak, the egg in Meowth's arms suddenly began shaking violently. At the same time, an increasingly dazzling white light burst from it.
"Ah! The egg… the egg is hatching, meow!" Meowth shouted in panic.
Everyone stopped moving and stared at the glowing egg.
Within the light, the shell gradually cracked open, revealing a small white figure.
It had an egg-shaped body covered in a red and blue patterned shell with little spots. Its tiny eyes curiously observed the world around it.
It was Togepi.
The newborn Togepi made a soft and adorable cry.
"Triii~ toge~"
According to Pokémon instinct, it would treat the first creature it clearly saw after hatching as the closest person to it. Its gaze swept across Jessie's fierce expression and James's slightly panicked face before finally landing on Meowth, who was closest and had been carefully holding it just moments ago.
Togepi smiled innocently and stretched out its tiny arms.
"toge~ piii~"
Meowth froze.
However, Togepi's attention was soon drawn to a much stronger source of Aura.
It turned its head and saw Ash standing at the doorway, his eyes full of concern, his body radiating a warm, comfortable, and reassuring Aura that made Togepi feel incredibly safe.
That feeling was far stronger than the simple instinct of "first sight."
Without hesitation, Togepi struggled out of Meowth's arms. Although it had just been born, it moved surprisingly steadily. With its tiny legs wobbling but determined, it ran straight toward Ash.
Then it hugged Ash's leg tightly and rubbed against him affectionately while chirping happily.
"Priiii~ Togepiii~"
"Togepi…" Ash knelt down and gently picked up the little Pokémon.
Togepi found a comfortable position in his arms and closed its eyes peacefully.
"How could this happen, meow!" Meowth shouted unwillingly. "I was the one holding it first, meow!"
"Darn it! That twerp again!" Jessie stomped angrily.
"Our reward and promotion just flew away…" James sighed in despair.
Holding the newborn Togepi, Ash looked at the disappointed Team Rocket. His gaze lingered for a moment on Meowth, who had seemed genuinely careful with the egg earlier. For once, he didn't immediately tell Pikachu to attack.
"Forget it this time. Since you… well, at least Meowth actually took care of it. Just go."
Realizing the situation was hopeless, Team Rocket could only retreat in frustration.
[Ding! Host obtained Pokémon: Togepi. Reward: 300 World Points.]
[Current World Points: 22000 points.]
Looking at the peacefully sleeping Togepi in his arms, Ash showed a warm smile.
With this little "lucky charm" symbolizing happiness now joining the team, the journey ahead would surely become even more colorful and full of unexpected joys.
A/N: Togepi had officially joined the team. Now they were only missing one Eevee, and the original trio would be complete!
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