After rallying his Pokémon and restoring everyone's fighting spirit, Aiden Flint finally took out the Pokémon Egg he had obtained from the system.
Cradled in his arms, the Egg was patterned with warm orange-red markings. The moment he touched it, Aiden could feel a faint heat pulsing from within.
"Feels warm…" he muttered.
From that alone, he could already guess—it was almost certainly a Fire-type Pokémon.
Up until now, Aiden hadn't owned a single Fire-type. Originally, he'd planned to see if he could encounter a Torchic in Hoenn and raise it into a Blaziken as his Fire-type core. But opportunities like that depended entirely on luck.
As he held the Egg and let his thoughts wander, his imagination ran wild.
Torchic?
Maybe Moltres?
Or even Heatran?
The Egg, as if reacting to his increasingly outrageous speculation, suddenly flared with brilliant white light.
Aiden froze.
The light wasn't pulsing anymore—it was continuous.
"It's hatching!"
Having absolutely no experience with Pokémon Eggs, Aiden didn't dare take risks. He immediately rushed to Nurse Joy, Egg and all.
When Nurse Joy heard that a Pokémon Egg was about to hatch, she and Chansey moved with practiced speed. Clean towels were prepared, along with fresh Moomoo Milk, just in case.
"Egg hatching times vary," Nurse Joy explained gently.
"Some Pokémon hatch in an instant, others take days. You've done well so far—if anything unexpected happens, come straight back. Chansey and I are always here."
Thanking her repeatedly, Aiden returned to his room with the supplies.
The Egg continued to glow.
He waited.
And waited.
Finally, at nearly nine in the evening, the white light stabilized completely instead of flickering.
Aiden's heart skipped.
"This is it…"
He released all five of his Pokémon—Grovyle, Milotic, Pidgeotto, Aron, and Beldum—so they could witness the moment together.
About fifteen minutes later—
Crack.
The Egg trembled.
Crack—crack.
Shell fragments fell away.
Then, in the next instant, a small orange Pokémon tumbled out onto the towel.
Barely thirty centimeters tall, covered in orange fur, a flame burning cheerfully at the tip of its tail. Big, bright eyes stared straight at Aiden.
It blinked once.
Then—astonishingly—it stretched out both arms toward him.
…Asking to be held.
Aiden laughed in disbelief and carefully picked the little Pokémon up.
"So you're a Fire-type after all…"
But not a Torchic.
Not a Legendary.
Instead—
"A Chimchar?"
A Hoenn journey, yet a Sinnoh starter.
Chimchar—one of the three Sinnoh starters. After final evolution, it would become Infernape, a Fire/Fighting-type powerhouse, just like Blaziken.
Aiden couldn't help but recall Ash's Sinnoh journey—how his Chimchar had once been abandoned by Paul, only to grow into a fearsome Infernape under Ash's care.
Curious, Aiden activated the system scan.
Ding! Pokémon data detected.
Pokémon: Chimchar
Level: 1
Ability: Iron Fist (Hidden Ability)
Type: Fire
Potential: Purple
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Scratch, Ember, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Double Kick, Heat Wave
Friendship: 200
Background: Hatched and immediately bonded with its Trainer, regarding him as family
Likes: Its Trainer—very much, very very much
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"Purple potential…"
Not gold—but he didn't mind at all.
A Chimchar with Purple potential could absolutely reach Gold by the time it fully evolved into Infernape. And with Potential Evolution Stones steadily improving aptitude over time, this wasn't a concern in the slightest.
More importantly—
Two hundred Friendship points right after hatching.
That alone was ridiculous.
"If this keeps up," Aiden murmured, smiling, "you might become my first Pokémon to reach max Friendship."
Which also meant—
his first Bond Evolution candidate.
And then there was Chimchar's Hidden Ability: Iron Fist.
Any punch-based move—Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Mach Punch later on—would receive a significant power boost. Combined with its inherited move pool, this Chimchar's future was terrifyingly bright.
"Looks like we'll be working together for a long time," Aiden said softly.
Chimchar responded by clinging tighter to his chest, eyes shining.
Around them, Grovyle, Milotic, Pidgeotto, Aron, and Beldum all watched with faint smiles of their own.
...
Chimchar's birth delayed Aiden's challenge of the Dewford Gym by a full week.
That entire time, Aiden practically lived in parent mode—feeding, caring, watching over Chimchar day and night until it safely passed its newborn stage and officially entered training readiness.
Unsurprisingly, Chimchar's Friendship skyrocketed.
By the end of the week, it had already reached 250 Friendship, second only to Rayquaza—and far ahead of the rest of the team.
"All right," Aiden said at last, standing before his team.
"We've stayed in Dewford long enough."
"Today, we earn the Knuckle Badge."
Six energetic cries answered him in unison.
The Dewford Gym Leader, Brawly, specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon. The Gym Battle format here was two-on-two, which made Aiden pause for a moment.
Who should he send?
In the end—
Pidgeotto stepped forward on its own.
Aiden chuckled. "All right. Let's do it."
Flying-type versus Fighting-type—simple, classic, effective.
And if things went well, this battle might even push Pidgeotto to its final evolution.
After securing a Potential Evolution Stone to Pidgeotto, Aiden stepped into the Dewford Gym.
The staff quickly guided him to the battlefield.
Moments later, Brawly, the surf-loving Gym Leader, strode in with an easy grin.
"The Gym Battle between challenger Aiden Flint of Littleroot Town and Dewford Gym Leader Brawly will now begin!" the referee announced.
"Each side may use two Pokémon. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon!"
Brawly laughed heartily and tossed out his Poké Ball.
"Looking fired up, kid. Let's see what you've got!"
Red light flashed.
Pokémon: Machop
Level: 25
Ability: Guts
Type: Fighting
Potential: Blue
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Low Kick, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Low Sweep, Foresight, Seismic Toss, Vital Throw
The battle—had officially begun.
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