Chapter 225: Ethan's Togepi
After signing for the delivery, Ethan carried the package inside.
"What is it?" Silver asked curiously.
"I have no idea. It just says the sender is Professor Elm..." Ethan scratched his head.
Opening the package, he found a silver container inside.
Inside the container was… an egg!
Ethan and Silver both froze.
Especially Ethan.
Why was Professor Elm sending him a Pokémon egg?
Meanwhile, Asahi recognized it instantly.
This was a Togepi egg.
So the Togepi egg that Professor Elm originally entrusted Ethan to hatch in the main storyline… had still ended up in his hands after all.
Speaking of Togepi, Asahi still hadn't received an update from Lance about the one he requested. Lance had said he made contact, but Asahi wasn't sure about the current status.
At that moment, Mew and Celebi floated over together, curious about the egg.
Celebi poked it lightly, and a soft green glow surrounded it.
Asahi immediately sensed that the life force inside the egg had grown stronger.
Meanwhile, Ethan was scratching his head, confused.
"Why did Professor Elm send me this Togepi egg?"
Silver, who had been searching through the package, found a letter at the bottom of the box.
After glancing at it, he handed it to Ethan. "It says Professor Elm thinks the egg will hatch faster if it's with you."
To be fair, Professor Elm had a good eye for talent.
Ethan's nickname was 'The Hatcher' for a reason—he had a knack for hatching Pokémon eggs.
But…
Thinking about Togepi, Asahi couldn't help but recall Ethan's Togepi in the main story…
A Togepi that was a master of card games, billiards, and dice… almost too skilled at gambling.
Come to think of it, every Pokémon Ethan hatched had a quirky personality…
As Ethan's superior, Asahi felt it was his responsibility to ensure this Togepi grew up in the right environment.
So—
"Ethan, bring your Togepi egg with you for training!" Asahi said, clapping him on the shoulder.
That way, constant exposure to discipline should keep Togepi from picking up bad habits.
"Huh? …Huh?!"
Ethan looked utterly dumbfounded.
—
"Aipom, Fury Swipes!"
"Mareep, Thunder Wave!"
With a crackling sound, the Thunder Wave struck Aipom, leaving it paralyzed and unable to move.
"Aipom!"
Ethan ran forward and sprayed a Paralyze Heal on Aipom, helping it recover.
Watching the battle, Asahi patted Mareep's head and asked, "Do you know why you lost?"
"Why?"
Ethan had some guesses but wanted confirmation. Aipom and Mareep were about the same strength… so how did he lose?
"You overlooked too many details," Asahi said.
Ethan's battle style, if described positively, was bold and unrestrained. If put bluntly, it was reckless and careless.
Strategically, his battle plan wasn't wrong. But he ignored critical details.
For instance, before Mareep used Thunder Wave, there were subtle hints—a faint glow from the orb on its tail and tiny electric sparks across its fluffy wool. These were clear signs that it was preparing an attack.
If Ethan had noticed this, he could have had Aipom use Swift from a distance instead of rushing in with Fury Swipes, and the outcome would have been completely different.
Hearing Asahi's analysis, Ethan fell into deep thought.
With Ethan stepping back, it was now Gary's turn to fight.
"Asahi, bring it on! As long as it's not Mewtwo, Gardevoir, or Eevee… I can beat anything!" Gary declared confidently.
"Huh… I feel like I've heard this somewhere before," Asahi muttered.
"Just answer me—am I right or not?" Gary was full of confidence. His strength had grown immensely! Even if Asahi sent out his Salamence, he was sure he could handle it.
Asahi didn't argue. Instead, he simply sighed.
"Gary, your problem is… you've gotten too arrogant."
To help Gary fix this issue, Asahi waved his hand—and in a flash, Mew appeared on the battlefield.
Gary's eyes went wide.
"You… I…!"
What followed was a complete and utter beatdown.
Even Gary's ace Arcanine didn't last a single turn against Mew.
"Mew~"
Watching the dejected Gary, Mew covered its mouth and chuckled.
After sending the downcast Gary aside—hoping he could learn something from his defeat—Asahi then had a battle with Silver.
Compared to Ethan, Silver was much more composed. However, he had the same issue: a lack of battle experience, which could only be remedied with time.
As for Ash…
Considering how poor Ash's fundamentals were, he was currently undergoing intensive Pokémon knowledge training under the guidance of Sirfetch'd's, thanks to Lance's help.
---
The training lasted for more than ten days, and everyone's strength had improved significantly.
Asahi corrected a minor mistake in Ash's command technique.
Glancing at the group, he said, "That's it for now… Special training is over!"
With that, he officially announced the conclusion of the training.
The moment those words left Asahi's mouth, everyone—even Silver—breathed a sigh of relief.
Being dragged out of bed by Sirfetch'd at six in the morning, training nonstop until eight at night, with only meal breaks in between—none of them wanted to experience that again.
And now… it was finally over!
Of course, they had invested a lot of effort, but their gains were just as significant.
Take Ash, the weakest among them, as an example. If he were given another chance to challenge Gary from ten days ago, while his Charizard might not be able to defeat all three of Gary's Pokémon, it could definitely take down at least two.
"Pika~!"
Pikachu showed a very human-like expression of relief.
After telling the others to rest, Asahi returned to his room.
The reason he ended the training so suddenly was because he had just received a message from headquarters:
> Asahi, the situation in Hoenn isn't looking good. We might need you to take a team there soon!
This message left Asahi puzzled.
Why would the situation in Hoenn fall on him? What about the local branch there? Could it have suffered the same fate as Kanto's—being wiped out in one fell swoop?
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