November arrived, and the temperature in Celestic Town dropped steadily. In the mornings, a delicate layer of frost now coated the windows.
Winter was coming to Sinnoh...
While the outdoors grew bitterly cold, the house remained cozy and warm. This kind of warm environment was the best condition for Pokémon Eggs to hatch.
Over a month had passed since that group dinner. Yet neither Steven's Larvitar Egg nor the Dark Lugia Egg Caleb had brought from Infinite World showed any signs of hatching.
That Dark Lugia Egg had been obtained in the Extreme Realm Instance. Due to a system bug, it could only hatch after he left Infinite World.
Staring at the two eggs resting quietly on soft blankets inside the incubation room, Caleb sighed in resignation: 'Well, looks like they won't hatch today either...'
He turned and left the room, heading to the dining table to join his Pokémon for breakfast.
tap tap tap
Just then, a faint knocking came from the second-floor bedroom window.
Caleb looked up and exchanged glances with Mewtwo across the table, saying, "I'll go check. You guys keep eating."
He stood and headed upstairs.
"Kyuu!" Mimikyu followed.
Caleb glanced back at his cute starter, "Full already?"
Mimikyu nodded happily.
"Then let's go take a look," Caleb said, ruffling the little one's head with a soft smile.
They reached the second floor, entered the room, and Caleb pushed the window open, only to be hit by a sharp gust of cold wind.
"Nothing's out there?" he frowned. Even if it was another Pokémon, it shouldn't have vanished that quickly.
Mimikyu floated outside, scanning the yard, then let out a surprised cry: "Kyuu!"
Caleb leaned out and saw a familiar green core lying in his backyard.
"…"
...
Minutes later, in the dining room, Caleb and his Pokémon stared at the exhausted Zygarde Core sprawled across the table.
"So there are a lot of residual Negative Energy Cores scattered across Kalos?" Caleb asked, recalling the bizarre, unnatural plants he'd seen sprouting from the ground during his visit.
In the Anime, Ash had faced something similar. Only his Greninja could see those cores, so Zygarde hired him to cut down the corrupted trees.
But here, it seemed all of Caleb's Pokémon could see them. His expression turned odd.
Zygarde gave him a pleading look.
Caleb sighed reluctantly, "Alright."
'If chopping down corrupted plants is part of protecting this world, so be it.' he thought.
He turned to his team, then asked the guardian of the ecosystem, "How long will it take to clean up all the Negative Energy Cores?"
Zygarde thought for a moment, then answered: >..By human standards, about a year..<
That meant he'd be separated from his Pokémon for an entire year. Caleb felt a pang of reluctance at that. Since entering Infinite World, he'd never been apart from his companions. Not once.
Especially Hydreigon. He had practically watched it hatch and grow from day one.
Just then, Mewtwo joined in: >..The Negative Energy Cores are disrupting the world's ecological balance..<
Caleb knew what it meant. Ash was still traveling in Unova, Greninja hasn't shown up in the picture yet, and others couldn't see those Negative Energy Cores. This left the task to Caleb and his companions.
Caleb took a deep breath, "I'll be here waiting for you to come back."
"Wuu…" Dragonite whimpered softly.
Caleb stroked his chubby cheek, then pulled out his Warp Beacon and handed it to Mewtwo.
"Take this. You can use it to come back anytime. Hmm… at least once a week for dinner," he said, suddenly feeling like a dad sending his kids off to boarding school.
>..We will..< Mewtwo said solemnly, accepting the beacon. He glanced toward the incubation room, then added: >..Don't worry, you won't be alone..<
After discussion, it was decided that Mew2 would stay behind to protect Caleb, while the others would accompany Zygarde to cleanse the world.
That morning, Caleb and Mew2 stood at the front door, watching as their companions departed.
Lucario, Mimikyu, Dragonite, Celebi, Mewtwo, and Hydreigon...
The moment they left, the house, which once lively and chaotic, fell into sudden silence. Caleb wasn't used to it at all.
He sat on the sofa for a while, but even his favorite games and the TV held no appeal. After some thought, he went to check on the Larvitar and Dark Lugia Eggs in the incubation room.
Both remained perfectly still, seemingly deep in slumber.
Mewt2 watched him and asked quietly: >..What was your life like before you met us?..<
'That felt like a lifetime ago...' Caleb tried to remember, but the memories were distant, hazy.
"Not good, but not bad either," he said simply.
…
On the second day after Dragonite and the others left, Caleb saw news about Zapdos appearing in the Sinnoh region.
Then that very afternoon, he saw a certain massive and majestic bird on his roof.
"How did you end up here?" Caleb asked, amused.
Zapdos gave him a sidelong glance before shamelessly saying: >..Just passing through..<
Caleb laughed, inwardly retorting, 'Sure, except I saw the news this morning...'
"Want to come in?" he offered.
Zapdos didn't hesitate. But at over two meters tall, the Electric bird barely fit in the three-meter high living room.
Caleb had no choice but to lead his guest to the Pokémon Paradise.
The moment Zapdos stepped inside, his eyes lit up with pure joy.
Caleb: "…"
...
Three days later, watching Zapdos lounging contentedly in the Paradise, Caleb was left speechless.
"When are you planning to leave?" he finally asked.
Zapdos had no intention of leaving. This place had the scent of untouched nature, endless food supply, and weather that could shift at will. For a Pokémon, this place was nothing short of heaven.
Caleb, who sensed Zapdos's thoughts through his Viridian Power wondered if he was being taken advantage of.
He really wanted to ask: 'Bird bro, is this what you meant by good self-control?'
But the Pokémon Paradise's infinite food was part of the original package, costing him nothing, so he let the shameless bird stay.
Zapdos's arrival eased his loneliness somewhat...
...
On the sixth day, the incubation room finally stirred.
Hearing Mew2's call, Caleb rushed over and saw the black-and-silver egg cracking open.
A tiny, sleek black creature pushed through the shell with its wings, its head peeking out from beneath the broken fragments.
Dark Lugia had finally hatched!