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After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ash saw how anxious Professor Oak was and immediately placed Venusaur on the transfer device, sending it back.
After all, Professor Oak was not only waiting for Venusaur to help renovate the backyard, but he also wanted to figure out what exactly the Life Branch Venusaur had obtained was.
On the surface, this was something Professor Oak had guided Ash to find in the Mysterious Garden, so how could he not know what it was? But in reality, this was a message left by Champion Ash in the group chat.
So Professor Oak was extremely curious about the Life Branch. Even though it had merged into Venusaur's body, the professional instruments in the laboratory could still detect some of its properties.
It was a good thing Professor Oak didn't know that Charizard had merged with a rainbow wing; otherwise, he would probably be even more frantic to have Ash send Charizard back.
Compared to a Life Branch of unknown origin, the rainbow wing inside Charizard's body was clearly more valuable for research.
But Professor Oak didn't know about this yet... After sending the Pokémon back and hanging up the phone, Ash stretched, then called out to Misty and the others, preparing to continue their journey to Cinnabar Island.
But suddenly, he felt a slight movement in his backpack, so he quickly opened it and took out an item from inside.
Togepi's Pokémon Egg!
After obtaining Togepi's Pokémon Egg in the Grand Canyon, Ash immediately went to the Pokémon Center in the next city and asked Joy for a Pokémon Egg incubator.
Pokémon hatched by an incubator can, on one hand, ensure their health, and on the other hand, it can regularly inject nutrients into the Pokémon Egg, allowing it to hatch earlier.
When the Pokémon Egg is about to hatch, the incubator will also provide prompts and warnings, allowing the Trainer to know immediately.
Moreover, carrying a Pokémon Egg in a backpack without an incubator is a very dangerous act, as the Pokémon Egg could easily suffer from a lack of oxygen.
Ash only carried the Pokémon Egg in a spatial backpack at the very beginning; afterward, he carried it outside until he reached the first Pokémon Center, where he placed the Pokémon Egg in an incubator and put it back into his Pokémon backpack.
Now that the incubator had alerted him, Ash sensed it immediately and took Togepi's Pokémon Egg out of his backpack.
"What's wrong, Ash? Is the Pokémon Egg about to hatch?" Misty also came to Ash's side, blinking her big eyes as she looked at the Pokémon Egg in Ash's hand.
"Yes, the incubator reacted; it should be hatching soon. I'll take it out first," Ash said, taking the Pokémon Egg out of the incubator and placing it in his palm.
Pikachu also curiously climbed onto Ash's shoulder, its pair of bright eyes fixed on the Pokémon Egg.
"Crack, crack, crack!!!" Just as everyone's gaze was on the Pokémon Egg, it cracked inch by inch right before their eyes.
Brock patted Misty's shoulder, then gestured behind him. After a moment of stunned silence, Misty instantly understood Brock's meaning and quietly stepped back two paces.
Pokémon hatched from an egg will have a strong fondness for the first person they see.
This is one of the advantages of raising a Pokémon from an egg: it saves the Trainer a lot of time in building a relationship with the Pokémon, and it's also highly unlikely for the Pokémon to disobey commands.
However, if there are other people nearby when the Pokémon Egg hatches, and the Pokémon sees that person first, then there will be big trouble.
If the Pokémon develops a fondness for that person, it would be a huge blow to the Trainer themselves.
Not only would they have to rebuild their relationship with the Pokémon, but they would also have to ensure the Pokémon no longer sees that person, so that the Pokémon can slowly return to being their own.
That's why Brock reminded Misty to step back a bit. Even if she was curious about the Pokémon inside the egg, she shouldn't get too close.
If by any chance the Pokémon hatched from the egg saw her, it would be a big problem.
A few seconds after Misty stepped back, the top of the Pokémon Egg in Ash's hand was already covered in cracks, and then it suddenly burst open!
A creamy white face appeared on top of the Pokémon Egg, and at the same time, short limbs extended from the eggshell. The eggshell, however, did not completely shatter, but rather, like a piece of clothing, it remained on the Pokémon's body.
"What kind of Pokémon is this? It's so cute!" When Misty saw Togepi's appearance, she instantly fell in love with this Pokémon, as girls have little resistance to cute things.
Brock stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. A moment later, he snapped his fingers and said with a look of sudden realization, "I remember now, this is Togepi, a Pokémon said to bring good luck."
"Togepi?"
"Yes, this is a Pokémon discovered in the Johto region, but it's quite rare even there. In terms of rarity, it's probably not much weaker than a Pseudo-legendary, and you could even say it's rarer without any problem."
Hearing this, Misty looked at Togepi with surprise. So this cute little fellow was actually that rare?
Such a rare Pokémon, and Ash just picked it up in an underground cave? What kind of luck is that!
"I wonder how many years this Pokémon Egg stayed in that cave. Ash got it not long ago, and it hatched, just like Riolu, as if it had been waiting for Ash to arrive," Brock said with emotion.
This truly cannot be described simply as good luck; it's almost as if it were destined to belong to Ash.
"That's great, Togepi, from now on, I'll be your Trainer!" Ash said, holding Togepi up, his face full of smiles.
He was the first to know what kind of Pokémon was inside the egg, and even so, he was very surprised and extremely fond of Togepi when he saw it hatch.
Perhaps this is the attraction between the lucky ones. It is said that Togepi itself is an extremely lucky existence, and she also brings luck to Trainers who are good to her. Coupled with Ash's Togepi having the hidden ability Super Luck, the luck buff is maxed out.
"pipipi?" Togepi looked at Ash, tilted her small head to the left, then smiled happily.
Just hatched, she was like a newborn child, her mind even more pure and simple than Ralts was back then.
The reason she was smiling now was simply because the Trainer she first saw smiled, so she also smiled.
As for what Ash meant by "Trainer," she didn't really understand, but she knew that the human she saw first was the closest person to her.
Togepi's hatching was a small interlude. The group tidied up and continued on to their next destination.
Since Ash had sent Venusaur back, he had an empty Pokémon slot, which was perfect for Togepi's Poké Ball.
Previously, Ash's seven Pokémon carrying slots were originally meant to reserve one for Riolu, who couldn't be trained.
Now, Riolu had not only returned to normal but was also rapidly improving. Ash had originally intended to reduce his Pokémon carrying slots to six, as always being special wasn't good.
Before, there was a reason, but now that Riolu had recovered, what was the deal with still having seven carrying slots?
Now it was fine, no need to reduce them; the seventh slot was now reserved for Togepi.
After all, Togepi didn't look like it could be trained or battled in any way, much like Ralts back then, and even a bit more delicate than Ralts.
Ralts was just small and newborn, but her intelligence and comprehension were extraordinary. After evolving into Kirlia, she had almost no rivals among those of the same level, and could even fight against those one or two minor levels higher, truly a Valkyrie!
As for Togepi... besides being small, her way of thinking was also a bit slow. Aside from being cute, she had almost no other use, and training her was out of the question.
So, this extra Pokémon carrying slot will be kept for Togepi to be cute and act as a mascot...
Seven days later, under the bright sun, on a luxurious cruise ship, Ash stood on the deck, leaning against the railing, comfortably enjoying the sea breeze.
Pikachu stood steadily on Ash's shoulder, gazing at the endless ocean.
"Ash, that must be Cinnabar Island, right?"
Misty, standing next to Ash, held Togepi in one arm and pointed with the other hand at a small island in the distance, which looked like a tiny black dot.
"Probably. Where else would this ship be going besides Cinnabar Island?" Ash shrugged.
However, this action almost made Pikachu, who was on his shoulder, fall off. It was standing perfectly fine, but then the 'ground' moved, so how could it not almost fall?
"It really takes a long time to get to Cinnabar Island. We've only been traveling for a little over three months in total, and yet it took a whole month just to get to Cinnabar Island," Brock said, leaning against the railing with a sigh.
They had been traveling for about three months and a bit, and the journey to Cinnabar Island alone took a full month. This meant the first six Gyms only took two months, while this seventh Gym took a whole month!
And they might not even succeed in challenging this Gym, not because Cinnabar Gym is particularly difficult, but because the Cinnabar Gym Leader might not be on Cinnabar Island.
"I wonder if Blaine, the Cinnabar Gym Leader, is still on the island," Ash murmured, showing his concern about whether Blaine was still at the Gym.
Although he had already prepared himself for the possibility of finding the Cinnabar Gym empty, people are like that; even if they've anticipated failure, when it actually happens, there's still a slight sense of disappointment.
"If he's not there, he's not there. Cinnabar Island is a very developed tourist island now. If Blaine isn't there, we'll just relax on Cinnabar Island for a day or two, then we'll leave the island and go to other cities to get another Gym Badge, and finally go to Viridian Gym," Misty said, comforting Ash.
As long as they treated this trip as a vacation, then even if they didn't meet Blaine, the disappointment wouldn't be as great.
"Yo, isn't that Ash?" A rather arrogant voice came from behind Ash. Ash turned his head and saw a boy with spiky hair, wearing a beach shirt and sunglasses, standing casually on the deck.
"Gary? What are you doing here?"
"Heh, that's a really insightful question. Besides Cinnabar Island, where else would this ship be going?" Gary rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, saying grumpily.
"Are you also going to challenge the Cinnabar Gym?" Ash ignored Gary's sarcastic tone and asked directly.
"Cinnabar Gym? Isn't that already closed? I originally wanted to go, but after hearing it was closed, I went to other places to collect Badges. Now I've already collected all eight Badges!" Gary said, his face full of pride.
Collecting all the Badges in just three months, that kind of progress is absolutely unparalleled among new Trainers!
Historically, the Trainers in Kanto who could achieve this feat could definitely be counted on one hand!
"Heh heh, are you really proud of driving your broken car all the way to various cities? If I had driven, I would have collected eight Badges long ago," Ash scoffed, mocking him without reservation.
Although he had only collected six Badges, he didn't feel that he had lost to Gary. On one hand, Gary drove while he walked, so the time spent on their journeys was not comparable.
On the other hand, the value of his six Badges was absolutely record-breaking. Leaving aside two normal Badges, the Vermilion City Gym Badge was obtained by defeating a Professional Level Trainer in a one-on-one battle.
The Saffron Gym Badge was obtained by defeating an Elite Four Class Trainer, the Celadon Gym Badge was won by defeating two Superior and one Professional Level Trainer, and finally, the Fuchsia Gym Badge was earned by defeating three Elite Four Class Pokémon!
These are achievements no rookie Trainer could possibly accomplish!
Gary knew this, so he didn't attack Ash based on the number of Badges, only showing off that he had obtained eight Badges. But Ash, in turn, brought up his sports car again.
Gary's entire face darkened. He really wanted to say—is walking really that impressive?!
But he didn't say it in the end, because walking really was impressive.
To be able to walk for three whole months, that kind of willpower, at least he couldn't do it now. At most, he would walk occasionally, but more often he would drive. Asking a rich young master to travel on foot? What kind of international joke is that!
"Don't worry about how I collected eight Badges, you should first think about how you're going to collect eight Badges! Are you going to Cinnabar Island this time to find Blaine of the Cinnabar Gym?" Gary took a deep breath and retorted coldly.
"That's right, we're going to find Blaine."
"Don't you know the Cinnabar Gym is closed? How many Badges do you have now?"
"I know, I'm just trying my luck. Even if Blaine isn't there, we'll just treat it as a trip to Cinnabar Island. As for Badges, I only have six for now."
"Don't say I didn't warn you, there are only a little over two months left until the Indigo Plateau Conference. If you don't collect eight Badges by then to participate in the competition, I'll be very disappointed," Gary hinted to Ash, both overtly and covertly.
Now, there were only a little over two months left until the Indigo Plateau Conference, and Ash hadn't collected all his Badges yet. Although one could still register up to a week before the tournament to participate, if Ash was really stubborn and went to challenge the Viridian Gym next, and then failed, he might actually miss it.
If that really happened, it would be a huge blunder.
"Don't worry, I will definitely collect all eight Badges. After all, I still have to defeat you at the Indigo Plateau Conference and claim the Champion title," Ash said, clenching his fist and looking at Gary with high spirits.