Ash quickly jumped out of bed and ran towards the incubator.
"Pika, pika." Pikachu also quickly followed him.
The Pokémon Egg in the incubator kept making bumping sounds, and the shell slowly cracked open.
A crisp sound rang out, and the Pokémon Egg emitted bursts of blue light, which was extremely dazzling.
"Is it finally hatching? Froakie!"
At this moment, Ash was incredibly excited; he had waited so long for this moment.
Ash swallowed, his heart in his throat, as he stared at the Pokémon Egg in the incubator.
A blue and white Pokémon suddenly appeared before Ash's eyes.
It had light blue skin, white hands, and a dark blue stripe extending from the center of its oval head all the way to its nose.
Froakie slowly opened its eyes and looked at Ash, sniffing his scent, as if sensing something.
After a moment, Froakie lowered its guard. From Ash's aura, it knew that this was the person who had been by its side all along.
"This is great, Froakie!!" Ash was incredibly excited for a moment, unable to hide his joy.
Suddenly, a system appeared out of nowhere.
Pokémon: Froakie
Gender: Male
Type: Water
Aptitude: Beginner (Level 0)
Ability: Torrent
Hidden Ability: Protean
Base Stats: 314
After learning about Froakie, Ash reached out and petted Froakie, "Hello, Froakie, from now on, we'll be partners."
Froakie still seemed a bit weak and just responded with a sound before lying down on the table.
Ash seemed to remember something and took out the already prepared Pokémon food from the cabinet.
He also had the specially purchased beginner Water-type Energy Cubes. Although they cost him most of his pocket money for half a month, Ash didn't feel it was not worth it.
Looking at it now, all the preparation and effort from those days had paid off.
Of course, Ash wasn't biased; he also bought beginner Electric-type Energy Cubes for Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Froakie, hurry and eat." Ash placed the Energy Cubes in front of them respectively.
The Energy Cubes emitted a unique aroma, like food specially made for Pokémon.
Pikachu was a bit hesitant; it clearly knew the rarity of these Energy Cubes.
Looking at Pikachu like this, Ash smiled slightly, "Now you're being polite with me, but when you're snatching ketchup, why aren't you so generous!"
Pikachu pouted and started to charge electricity.
"No, no, no, don't, big brother Pikachu!!" Ash was also a wise man and knew it was best not to provoke Pikachu for now.
However, Pikachu didn't choose to eat the Energy Cube but quietly watched Froakie.
Ash smiled helplessly and could only put away Pikachu's share of the Energy Cube for now.
"Froakie, hurry and eat."
Looking at the somewhat weak Froakie, Ash was extremely heartbroken. All he could do now was this.
Froakie swallowed the Energy Cube in one gulp and smacked its lips, seemingly very satisfied.
After eating the Water-type Energy Cube, Froakie was already able to stand up and looked much more energetic.
"Froakie, come in."
Ash took out a red and white Poké Ball and recalled Froakie into it.
It seemed better for Froakie to stay in the Poké Ball for now, as the outside temperature was too cold.
It was already midnight, and the day-night temperature difference was significant. Newly Shell Smashed Pokémon usually couldn't adapt to such an environment yet.
Ash lay on the bed contentedly, smiling slightly, "Pikachu, Froakie, my partners."
Unconsciously, Ash fell asleep, starting to snore.
"Pika, pika??" Pikachu, who was beside him, called out twice, confirming that Ash was sound asleep.
Pikachu shook its head helplessly because Ash hadn't even properly covered himself with the blanket and was just lying there.
There was no other way; Pikachu could only pull the blanket with all its might to cover Ash's body.
It must be said that the blanket was really heavy, and Pikachu's small body struggled to pull it.
Looking at Ash, who was sleeping like a log, Pikachu could only exert all its strength, finally covering Ash's body with the blanket.
After doing all these things, Pikachu could also sleep peacefully, burrowing into the covers and falling into a deep sleep.
This scene was extremely heartwarming, one person and one Pokémon, they had deep feelings and cared for each other.
Throughout the night, Ash's mouth was slightly smiling, as if he was having a beautiful dream, occasionally chuckling foolishly.
Someone who didn't know might even think Ash dreamed of Gardevoir or Milotic; it wasn't impossible.
But as for what he dreamed of, only Ash himself would know!
The next morning, Ash woke up early. As usual, Ash carefully lifted the blanket.
Because he was afraid of disturbing Pikachu, his movements were extremely gentle. After washing up, Ash was refreshed and full of smiles.
Bang, bang, bang, Ash eagerly went downstairs. It was clear that Ash was very excited now.
"Ash, why are you up so early today? Did you not sleep well?"
Delia was making breakfast and asked with some concern, seeing Ash awake so early.
Ash smiled slightly, "No, it's just that the little guy hatched, and I wanted to tell Mom."
Delia was slightly stunned, "It hatched? What kind of Pokémon is it?"
Ash took out a Poké Ball, "Come out, Froakie!"
Froakie jumped into Ash's hand, looking extremely energetic.
"It's Froakie! This Pokémon is good; you must train it well." Delia knew a bit about Pokémon, so she naturally recognized it.
Ash petted Froakie, "Mm-hmm, Froakie is my partner, and I will treat it well!"
Seeing Ash so happy, Delia was relieved. She had just thought that Ash hadn't slept well.
Now it seemed he indeed hadn't slept well, but it was because he was too excited to sleep.
After breakfast, Ash went to school.
As soon as he entered the classroom, Xiao Mu waved to Ash, "Ash, my Pokémon Egg hatched!"