With the culprit missing, accountability was naturally impossible. Besides, what responsibility could someone like that even bear? Was he supposed to find the spring water from Clear Lake himself?
After Aurant Town learned of the Pokémon Egg's condition, they immediately reported it to the Alliance. The Alliance dispatched personnel to collect the spring water from Clear Lake, which was then transported to Vermilion City. The Egg was placed in that water and temporarily kept at Professor Cerise's home.
Originally, given the extent of the damage, and considering Professor Cerise's indirect responsibility, Aurant Town should have taken the Egg back at once.
Yet instead, they made an unusual request: that Professor Cerise keep the Pokémon Egg until its life force completely faded.
During that period, they would continue searching for a method to repair it. But if none could be found, there was nothing more to be done.
Although the decision puzzled Professor Cerise, he still accepted it. From that day onward, he carefully tended to the Egg, changing the water regularly and keeping it at a stable temperature. It was thanks to his diligence that the Egg had survived in its fragile state for five years.
Though its life force had slowly diminished, it had never gone out completely.
Until today.
The Pokémon Egg had always been stored at the Cerise residence, but with the opening of his new laboratory, Professor Cerise had decided to move it to the garden behind the lab. He hoped the change in environment might somehow rekindle the Egg's will to live, perhaps even create a miracle.
And indeed, a miracle occurred.
Though the miracle didn't come from the Egg itself, it finally met the person who could create one: Ash.
It was as if those five years of persistence had all been leading up to his arrival. Ash's appearance saved the Egg's life, and also allowed Professor Cerise to finally face Queen without shame.
Then another thought struck Ash. "Speaking of which," he said, "I caught Riolu. But what about Aurant Town? Isn't he a very important Pokémon to them?"
Originally, Ash had assumed the Egg belonged to Professor Cerise, a damaged, dying Egg he had simply helped to rescue. Given his close connection to both Professors Oak and Cerise, and the fact that he had been the one to save it, it had felt natural to take Riolu in as his own Pokémon.
But now that he knew the Egg's royal origin, he wasn't sure. Taking Riolu so casually didn't seem right.
"Don't worry about that," Professor Cerise replied after a moment. "It's strange, really. When Aurant Town first learned that the Pokémon Egg was damaged, they were furious. I was partly to blame, but after Kota disappeared, their attitude changed completely. Instead of punishing me, they asked me to guard the Egg with my life."
He paused, recalling the letter. "Their only request was that I protect the Egg until its life force was gone. And if someone could ever save it, then, so long as the Pokémon inside was willing, that Pokémon would belong to its savior."
As Professor Cerise spoke, his mind drifted back to that day. Even now, he couldn't fully understand Aurant Town's reasoning.
Ordinarily, if a Pokémon Egg of such importance had been damaged in someone's care, it would have been retrieved immediately. Yet they had entrusted it to him and even declared that whoever revived it would become its rightful Trainer.
He knew how priceless that Egg had been to them.
Even if it were somehow saved, rewarding the rescuer with the Pokémon itself seemed unthinkable. It all felt… off.
But since that was their decision, Professor Cerise could only comply. After all, the responsibility had originally been his.
Ash and the others also found the matter strange, but since there was no dispute, it was better left that way.
Though Ash's actions might have seemed self-serving, Riolu truly could only stay with him for now. Unless the Pokémon Center had some unknown method of recovery, there was nowhere else for Riolu to go.
Professor Cerise glanced at the clock. "If there's nothing else tonight, let's rest here. Tomorrow, we'll go to the Pokémon Center together and check on Riolu's condition."
Ash nodded, then followed Chloe to the guest room to put away their things.
The Cerise home was spacious, but with a family of four, space was still limited: one room for the couple, one for Chloe, one for Parker, and a single guest room left.
That room had only one bed, so Ash and Brock had to share, while Misty stayed in Chloe's room.
Chloe didn't mind; she was curious about Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader. More than that, though, she couldn't shake a faint sense of familiarity. Misty's gaze on her felt strange, almost as if they had met somewhere before. She thought she might ask her about it later that night.
The next morning, Ash woke up early as usual. Part of it was habit, years of rising early to train, but another part was worry.
He couldn't stop thinking about Riolu.
Last night, he had exchanged messages again with Aura Hero Ash in the group. The other had said that, aside from a Divine-grade Pokémon, only Ash himself could save Riolu. The Pokémon Center would have no way to heal him.
Riolu now needed daily Aura infusions, or his condition would quickly deteriorate.
However, waking up early that morning turned out to be pointless. They had agreed the night before to go to the Pokémon Center together, he couldn't just go on ahead by himself now, could he?
As for training… this wasn't the wilderness. He couldn't exactly start training in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Besides, Pokémon training required a proper balance between work and rest. So, Ash decided to take it easy for once.
Having nothing else to do after waking up early, he opened the refrigerator and found some bread, eggs, and tomatoes inside. Rolling up his sleeves, he decided to make breakfast.
Pikachu and Ralts, who had woken up along with him, eagerly joined in to help.
Ralts was far more useful than Pikachu in this situation, she could move things with Psychic, while Pikachu could only run back and forth, passing ingredients to Ash with his small arms. After a while, Pikachu realized that all his running around wasn't nearly as efficient as Ralts simply levitating everything into place. He gave up and sat on the counter, watching Ash cook instead.
Before long, warm sandwiches were lined neatly on the table, filling the kitchen with the aroma of toasted bread and eggs.
Perhaps it was the smell, or maybe Ash had made a bit too much noise, but before long, the rest of the Cerise household began to stir.
Chloe was the first to appear, still in her pajamas, rubbing her sleepy eyes and mumbling, "Mom, why are you up so early…?"
But the moment she saw Ash standing in the kitchen, she froze, her drowsiness vanishing instantly. Her face turned pink, and she hurried back to her room, shutting the door behind her.
Ash blinked, scratching his head in confusion. "What's with her?" he muttered.
Soon after, Professor Cerise and the rest of the family emerged, followed by Misty and Brock. When Chloe reappeared, now dressed and accompanied by Misty, her cheeks were still faintly red.
"Ash, you can even cook now?" Professor Cerise said in mild surprise. "It seems you've made a lot of preparations for your journey these past few years."
"Ahaha, yeah… something like that," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
Preparations these past few years? Hardly. His growth had all happened within this single month. Before his journey began, he really knew nothing. Everything he had achieved since then, the progress, the knowledge, the power, came from the help of the group, the abilities he'd gained along the way, and his own persistence.
After breakfast, everyone complimented his cooking. Professor Cerise's family praised the food wholeheartedly, and even Brock admitted, with a grin, that Ash's culinary skills had improved again, completely different from a month ago.
"Maybe you've got the makings of a real Breeder," Brock said teasingly.
Ash just smiled and didn't answer. If he wanted to, he could probably become one. In fact, in other timelines, other versions of him already had. Each of them had taken a different path, Champion, Breeder, Researcher, Aura Guardian, but they were all still him.
After the meal, the group headed for the Pokémon Center.
Originally, Chloe was supposed to go to school that day, but since she was involved in Riolu's case, she took the day off, she wanted to see the little Pokémon's condition with her own eyes.
When they arrived, Nurse Joy greeted them, and they immediately asked about Riolu.
Her expression was troubled.
"Although Riolu's vital signs have stabilized," Joy began carefully, "His consciousness remains in a coma. We don't know when, or if, he'll wake up. And even if he does… he may never be able to grow stronger, or even evolve."
Her words fell like a hammer. Everyone's expressions changed instantly.
They had thought that once Riolu hatched, time and care at the Pokémon Center would help him recover. But now, after the examination, the truth was revealed: Riolu had been crippled.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Then, almost instinctively, everyone turned to look at Ash.
If earlier, Ash catching Riolu had seemed like good fortune, now it appeared to be a heavy burden.
If Ash chose to remain Riolu's Trainer, it would mean taking full responsibility, covering living expenses, providing care, and accepting that Riolu might never fight or grow stronger. He would have to raise him like a child, not a battle partner.
No ordinary Trainer would do such a thing. If one of their Pokémon became permanently crippled, unless their bond was incredibly deep, most Trainers would quietly release or abandon it.
And Ash… he had only just met Riolu. How much of a bond could there be?
It was understandable for Riolu to be attached to Ash, after all, he had saved its life. But for Ash, taking in Riolu now meant shouldering a burden for years, perhaps forever.
Seeing the silence that had fallen, Professor Cerise spoke softly.
"Ash, how about this? I'll take Riolu back to Aurant Town. Technically, it doesn't count as your capture, it was more of an emergency rescue."
"No need, Professor Cerise. Riolu is my Pokémon. Since I caught him, I'll take full responsibility for him."
Ash's voice was firm, cutting through the heavy silence.
Even if he didn't have a way to heal Riolu, he would never abandon him. The moment he threw the Poké Ball and caught Riolu, that bond had already been formed. From that instant, Riolu became his Pokémon, and as his Trainer, Ash had a duty to care for him.
No matter what condition Riolu was in, he would stay by his side. Letting go was not an option. Making excuses to release him or hand him off to someone else was something Ash simply could not do.
Hearing this, Professor Cerise looked at Ash for a long moment. His expression was complex, relief, admiration, regret, and remorse all mixed in his eyes.
To take responsibility for a Pokémon who could no longer fight… that was something ninety-nine percent of Trainers in the world would never do.
The regret and remorse Professor Cerise felt now were not for the past incident, but for his own decision. Back then, he had let Ash catch Riolu thinking it was only right, the boy who saved its life should be the one to care for it.
He had also thought Riolu would one day become Ash's strong partner, his right hand in battle.
But now… Riolu was a burden.
And yet, perhaps not entirely without hope.
"Joy," Ash said, turning to the nurse, "where's Riolu now?"
Joy quickly led them down the corridor.
Riolu lay quietly on a recovery bed, surrounded by faint light. The machine connected to him was continuously supplying a soft, restorative energy, similar to Heal Pulse, to keep him stable.
He hadn't opened his eyes. His small body remained still beneath the translucent cover of the bed.
But as Ash and the others approached, Riolu's arm trembled faintly. Then Ash felt it, an echo of Aura pulsing weakly in his mind.
Thank… you… for… Helping Hand…
The words were fragmented, broken apart by weakness, but Ash could still sense the meaning clearly.
Riolu was conscious. Barely, but conscious. His fragile body and newly awakened mind could not yet handle full communication, but the gratitude in his Aura was unmistakable.
Ash stepped closer. He placed his palm gently against the cover of the recovery bed, his hand coming to rest over Riolu's head.
A faint blue glow spread from his fingertips, enveloping both of them.
The gentle pulse of his Aura rippled outward, merging with Riolu's weakened life force. Slowly, Riolu's flickering Aura began to brighten, its rhythm growing steadier.
On the nearby monitor, the readings, heartbeat, brain activity, energy response, all began to rise.
Nurse Joy, witnessing it for the first time, instinctively covered her lips in shock.
What was this boy doing?
With just one hand resting lightly on Riolu, every one of the Pokémon's vitals was climbing rapidly, something even the most advanced healing systems couldn't achieve.
"Was this a healing skill even more powerful than Heal Pulse? But how could he, a human, do it?!"