The next day came quickly, and DJ went to school. Sitting at his desk, he thought about going into Viridian City after class to borrow an Incubator from Aunt Keiko.
As he was thinking, his deskmate, Aki, turned around.
Aki had fiery red hair, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. When he smiled, he looked simple and honest.
Everyone who saw him thought he was a good-natured person, and he really was. But sometimes, he could be very sneaky, which came as a surprise to those who didn't know him.
Aki leaned over and asked, "DJ, didn't you go to catch your first Pokémon yesterday? Did you get it? What Pokémon was it?"
DJ said, "No, but I picked up a Pokémon Egg."
Aki was shocked. "A Pokémon Egg? That's such good luck! Do you know what Pokémon it is?"
DJ replied, "How could I know? You can only tell once it hatches."
Aki suddenly realized, "Oh, right."
Then he quickly asked again, "DJ, I got my first Pokémon yesterday too. Do you want to guess what it is?"
Eichi looked at his eager, show-off expression and answered, "No idea."
Aki grinned happily. "It's a Mankey."
Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon.
Abilities: Vital Spirit and Anger Point.
Hidden Ability: is Defiant.
It is a Fighting type, and it evolves into Primeape.
It was a very good starter Pokem
father had once been an apprentice
at a Fighting-type Gym, but becau
Viridian Town.
d talent, he was eliminated and returned to
Now he worked as the foreman of a
construction team, so his family lived much better
than Eichi's.
Aki's starter Mankey was most likely a descendant of his father's Primeape.
When class finally ended, DJ rushed toward Viridian City.
It took about half an hour, but he finally entered the city.
After walking for a while, he reached Viridian City's commercial street. It was bustling everywhere, the streets packed with all kinds of shops.
Most of them sold things people needed for daily life.
If you wanted to buy something for Pokémon, you had to go to the Department Store.
As the city with the Viridian Gym, Viridian City was exceptionally lively. Many different kinds of people passed by DJ.
There were also many Pokémon. Some people had powerful ones following them, the kind that made it obvious they were Trainers on a journey.
Some had come to challenge the Viridian Gym, while others were just passing through.
But none of that had anything to do with Eichi. Following his memory, he finally found the Pokémon Day Care where Aunt Keiko worked.
The Day Care was in a quieter part of the city
Although it may sound like a simple place, it wasn't small at all, It was about the size of a basketball gym, with three floors and even a backyar
The Day Care was very busy, custo people inside as well there were plenty of
In the crowd, Eichi spotted, Aunt Keiko.
He walked into the store, but no one came to greet him; everyone was simply too busy.
He saw Aunt Keiko massaging a graceful Persian, while a richly dressed lady stood beside her.
Since elegant Pokémon like Persian were popular among the city's nobles, Eichi didn't disturb her.
Instead, he wandered around inside.
Here, he could see all kinds of Pokémon, even species from other regions.
Just a moment ago, he had seen a Roselia, a Buneary, and a Glameow...
Even starter Pokémon weren't uncommon here. All of this made DJ heart race.
There was also a garden in the back, so DJ went there.
The garden had artificial hills, trees, and a stream. Many different Pokémon rested and played inside. (Keiko—> Rachel)
Eventually, I found a spot near Aunt Rachel and waited for her to finish!
After a while, she noticed me and walked over with a smile. "DJ? What brings you here today?"
"Aunt Rachel," I said quickly, "Can I borrow your incubator?"
She blinked. "You've got a Pokémon egg?"
I told her everything about finding the egg the day before.
Rachel frowned. "Sorry, I'm not allowed to lend out the store's incubators. They're for
- official use only."
My stomach dropped. "What should I do, then?"
Seeing my worried face, she paused, then smiled gently. "How about this-you leave the egg here, and I'll hatch it for you."
I lit up. "Really? Thank you, Aunt Rachel! I'll go get it right now!"
I rushed all the way back home, carefully packed the egg in my backpack, and raced back to the daycare. I was panting and dripping with sweat when I got there.
I handed over the egg. Aunt Rachel took it gently and examined it. "Come with me."
We went up to the second floor. The room was lined with machines-rows of eggs carefully placed inside each one.She walked to one of the square-shaped machines and pressed a few buttons transparent lid lifted with a soft hiss. She placed the egg inside, and it cover closed slowly over it.I watched her everv move, fascinated.
After checking the settings; she turned to me. "According to the scanner, it might hatch in a couple of days."
"Really? That soon?"' 1 beamed. "Can you tell what it'll be?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. But judging by the shell pattern and energy reading... I'd guess it's either a Grass-type or Bug-type."
I hung around the incubator a bit longer, thanked Aunt Rachel, and went home.
The next day after school, I dashed back to the daycare.
Seeing me running in again, Aunt Rachel chuckled. "You're back already? Go check on your egg."
I found it right away. No changes-yet.
I wandered around a bit more, then sat down and pulled out a book to kill time.
After reading for a while, something odd caught my eye.
I walked over to the incubator and placed my hand on the lid. For a brief second, I saw a green flash on my palm.
Then the egg wobbled.
I blinked. Was I seeing things?
But it shook again-more clearly this time.
I bolted downstairs to grab Aunt Rachel. She followed me back up, glanced at the egg. and checked the monitor.
"It's hatching," she said calmly.
The words had barley left her mouth before the egg began to glow with a brilliant white light.