As the saying goes, "Deep in emotion, heavy in the mist," as the three arrived at the Pokémon Center, a light misting rain began to fall outside, as if delivering a hint.
"Phew! That was close!"
Dawn quickly held the Egg in the incubator close to her, as if worried about the Egg losing warmth and trying to heat the Pokémon inside herself.
"Silly girl!"
Seeing Dawn's comical behavior, Ash walked over to her, casually wrapping one arm around the incubator and using the other to gently rub her blue hair.
"Hahaha!" Perhaps because the Pokémon were about to hatch, Brock didn't mind their affectionate banter. "The incubator's job is to maintain the Pokémon's temperature, so Dawn, you don't need to worry!"
"Hehe!"
Dawn knew her actions were a bit ridiculous and giggled awkwardly with a red face, but her eyes remained fixed on the pink Egg inside the incubator.
"Pika~"
Pikachu had already gone ahead to lead the way, ready to welcome the birth of three "little sisters." Ash and the others followed close behind.
However, when they stepped into the Pokémon Center lobby, they noticed water droplets everywhere that hadn't been wiped up. The tables and chairs in the lobby were old, and dust covered everything, as if no one had cleaned for a long time.
"Huh! Where's Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked, puzzled, seeing no Nurse Joy at the counter. Not seeing the diligent and capable Nurse Joy in a Pokémon Center was highly unusual.
"How can this be? Are no Trainers coming here?"
Brock wiped a thick layer of dust from the counter, indicating it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
"This..."
The deserted scene instantly reminded Ash of the time when Brock's own Chansey was about to hatch, and they met a very unconfident Nurse Joy. Based on the state of this Pokémon Center, it seemed to be that very location.
"Lucky~"
Just then, a Chansey holding a mop and bucket walked over, preparing to clean, and looked at the three Trainers and one Pokémon in a friendly manner.
"Chansey is here too! Why isn't Nurse Joy here?" Seeing Chansey, a medical Pokémon, Dawn was even more confused.
"Chansey, where is Nurse Joy?" As the resident romantic of the Nurse Joy family, Brock immediately asked.
"Lucky~ (She's here, but...)"
Chansey let out a human-like sigh and led the three to the Pokémon Center's backyard.
A Nurse Joy, wearing a cap with a cross symbol and a pink and white uniform, was standing beneath a large tree with yellowing leaves. Her sweet face was etched with worry, and she didn't react even when the trio arrived.
"Nurse Joy, I'd like to ask..." Brock immediately got into his routine.
Unfortunately, Joy was too overwhelmed by the scene. She rejected Brock's request, claiming she wasn't capable enough. With the yellow leaves constantly falling, she even said she was like those leaves, destined to wither and disappear, along with this Pokémon Center, from everyone's view. This was Joy's way of expressing...
Ash quickly shook off the odd thought in his head. He handed his Egg to Brock, then physically pulled and dragged Nurse Joy back into the Pokémon Center, preventing the already unconfident Joy from seeing the sight of the decaying tree and becoming sentimental again.
"Nurse Joy, you must believe in yourself! Only by cheering up can you properly manage the Pokémon Center again!"
After pulling Nurse Joy into the Center, Brock the "Warm Man" went into persuasion mode, relentlessly encouraging the extremely unconfident Joy. He then handed her his and Ash's Eggs at once, demonstrating his trust in her.
"Mine too!" Dawn quickly followed suit, giving her Egg.
"I... I..."
The sudden appearance of three Eggs—two more than in the original story—moved Nurse Joy greatly, but it also doubled her pressure, making her hesitate to accept immediately.
"You can do it, Nurse Joy!" Ash encouraged her again.
As a doctor from the Joy family, every Nurse Joy was sufficiently capable. Although he didn't know why she was so unconfident, he believed that with the Joy family's reputation, her abilities were definitely up to par. With Brock assisting, the three little ones would surely be born safely.
"Pikapi!! (Ash, I blasted them off!)" A yellow blur returned to Ash's shoulder, rubbing its red cheek pouches against his face and reporting.
Ash had sensed Team Rocket's presence using Aura and followed the guidance to the Center's food storage area. Finding the trio eating and freeloading there, Pikachu violently drove them out and blasted them off with Thunderbolt.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Ash discreetly stroked Pikachu's head. The disappearing Aura signal and the sound of deposited Pokedollars had already informed him of everything.
He then continued to clean the Pokémon Center with Dawn, Brock, and Chansey.
Pikachu shook its head, saying it wasn't hard work. It intelligently hopped off Ash's shoulder, picked up a rag, and began wiping the glass in a low corner, mimicking Ash and the others.
...
After a busy half-day, Nurse Joy called the trio to the incubation room to witness the Pokémon's births.
"Here is the clean, warm water, and the towels..." Nurse Joy nervously laid out all the baby supplies, afraid of making any mistakes.
Crack~
Only when the sound of the shell cracking was heard did Joy quiet down, standing tensely aside with Chansey.
Ash's Egg was the first to react.
On the top of the completely pink eggshell, crack, a tiny, pink fist punched through the shell. More cracks quickly spread around it. Finally, like an Evolution Flash, the entire space was filled with a dazzling white light.
"Chaaaa~"
Just as everyone's hearts were in their throats, a small, pink sphere emerged from the Egg with a tender cry, curiously looking around.
"It seems everything went smoothly!" Nurse Joy immediately sighed in relief.
Dawn and Brock did the same.
But to Ash, this way of breaking out of the shell was truly fierce!