[Ordinary Whimsicott: Aba aba, I had no idea there were this many ways to play Whimsicott!]
Until now, his Whimsicott only knew how to set Tailwind, Moonblast, and Energy Ball for offense.
After watching Caleb's match in the Little Ho-Oh Cup, he taught it Protect and Substitute.
Then he caught another of Caleb's livestreams and even shelled out big bucks for Whimsicott to learn Encore.
He thought that was the ceiling—turns out, he hadn't even tapped 1% of Whimsicott's potential!
[Ordinary Whimsicott: Uh, hey, whichever one's the most underhanded, teach me that one. (Shy Pikachu.jpg)]
[SunshineBoy: You little rascal. (Husky pointing.jpg)]
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
In Chansey's room.
Riolu, having recovered from poisoning, scanned the surroundings with its Aura.
The pink room was full of various... "tools."
Whips, boxing gloves, saws (for tree trimming), hammers (for house repairs)...
The pink, oversized egg Pokémon—color-matching the decor—noticed the faint stir of Aura from Riolu's egg and smiled.
"Lucky~" (You're awake~)
"Lucky~" (Are you hungry? Let me whip up some nutrient mix~)
She pulled out a big bowl and took an egg from the pouch on her belly.
Through his Aura sight, Riolu watched Chansey smile as she poured a dark purple liquid into the bowl.
Riolu: This is bad. She's trying to poison me!
But the Aura clearly says she means no harm—why? Why!?
No time to think. Instinct kicked in, and Riolu sprang into action.
He used his smooth eggshell to roll out of the room.
When Chansey turned around with the bowl of purple goop, she found the egg had vanished.
"Lucky~?" (Where's the egg?)
Just outside the room, Riolu rolled straight into a terrifying ghost face.
A purple ghost was holding a red dictionary in one hand and an inappropriate photo book in the other, clucking its tongue and critiquing the content.
"Gwaaah?" (An egg?)
Haunter had spotted the egg that rolled out of Chansey's room.
It tilted its head in confusion.
Isn't this the egg Caleb brought back?
Riolu bounced in front of Haunter and conveyed his thoughts through Aura.
Riolu: Where's my Trainer?
Back at the daycare, Riolu had already learned he was to be entrusted to a Trainer.
He was totally okay with it.
And after seeing that human yesterday, the odd sense of trust and admiration... He just knew his Trainer would help him grow strong!
"Gwaaah?"
You mean Caleb? He's probably at the gym trashing challengers right about now.
Trashing... challengers?
Still unborn, Riolu didn't understand the term. Probably just another word for training?
Training even at this hour? I definitely picked the right Trainer!
No, if my Trainer is working so hard, and I'm just sitting here doing nothing—that's slacking!
I need to train! I need to train!
And off he hopped.
Haunter scratched its head.
This kid's got fire... wait, no—he's not a kid... an egg?
Eh, whatever. Let him go. Back to critiquing this photo shoot—it's bolder than last time!
A few hops later, Riolu ran into another Pokémon.
A red-and-black kitten, holding a lollipop in its mouth.
When it saw Riolu, it clearly freaked out.
Through Aura, Riolu sensed its emotions: nervousness, fear, unease.
Like a sneaky little thief.
And Riolu, overflowing with justice, hated thieves most of all. He was ready to headbutt the truth into this shady cat.
But then... just like with Haunter and Chansey, this kitten also carried Caleb's scent.
That meant it was probably one of Caleb's Pokémon—an ally he'd fight alongside one day.
Still, Riolu couldn't figure it out: if it's the Trainer's Pokémon, why is it sneaking around like that?
Meanwhile, Litten was staring at the egg.
When she heard yesterday that this egg would be left in Chansey's care—her whole world collapsed!
No way. Mom's only allowed to have one baby—and that's me!
Who does this rando egg think it is?
And now it's caught me stealing candy? Ugh, can't let this thing live...
But fine—for now it's just an egg, no real threat. I'll let you slide.
But once you hatch, I'll show you who's boss around here!
Hmph!
With one last glare, Litten dashed back to her room and secretly hit the catnip stash.
Now her emotions had shifted to hostility and disgust...
Riolu, having done nothing wrong, could sense five different emotions from her in just a few seconds.
Sigh... Pokémon emotions are hard to read.
Better get back to training.
Eventually—
Guided by Aura, Riolu arrived at the backyard. Open skies, beautiful view—the perfect place to train.
Thrilled, he hopped onto a massive boulder, overlooking the whole backyard.
This would be his training ground—his path to "perfect hatching."
Inside the shell—
Riolu sat cross-legged, calmed his mind. Around the eggshell, the illusion of several giant swords shimmered.
Swords Dance!
A move that sharply boosts attack power!
As the phantom blades faded, a mist surrounded the egg, filled with swirling question marks.
Nasty Plot!
Sharply boosting special attack!
Damn it—still too slow! I know I can go faster!
Riolu was frustrated. Why couldn't he pull off both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot in under one second?
If he couldn't even manage something that basic, how could he hope to achieve "perfect hatching"?
If he couldn't hatch perfectly, he'd be left in the dust by others his age!
I'm such a fog-brain!
No! I've gotta work harder!
Next goal: Execute both moves in under one second!
BOOM!
The rock beneath the egg suddenly shook, sending Riolu rolling off.
Just before he hit the ground, a green barrier appeared out of nowhere.
Saving him from hatching prematurely.
Riolu turned to look—
Two massive Pokémon were locked in a vicious brawl.
Garganacl: You wanna go, bro?
Dusknoir: You started it, don't even!
Garganacl: You did!
Dusknoir: You did!
BOOM!
Chunks of rock came raining down.
Dusknoir: Oh it's ON now!
Garganacl: You're asking for it!
Dusknoir: I've had it! Ghost crew—CHARGE!!
Garganacl: Think I'm scared? Salt squad, LET'S GO!!
Suddenly, behind Garganacl came Nacli and Naclstack, while behind Dusknoir surged a horde of Misdreavus and Mismagius—the battlefield descended into chaos.
It was a full-on miniature war.
Skarmory: That looks fun! Let's go, boys!
With Skarmory's crew joining, three factions were now clashing in a wild free-for-all.
In the center, Gliscor led a squad of Gligar, cheering and hollering.
The sheer scale of it all left Riolu in awe.
These veterans are amazing—I've gotta learn from them!
Right then, Riolu was suddenly scooped up.
Checking via Aura—it was Chansey.
Still smiling, but Riolu could sense her rage.
She gently placed him in the bowl of nutrient goop she'd prepared earlier.
"Lucky~ (Sweetie, have some of this. Leave the rest... to Mama~)"
Riolu: No—I still have to... learn from... the veterans...
And with that, he passed out.
Once Riolu was settled, Chansey's expression darkened.
From the pouch on her belly, she pulled out a whip.
Without a word, she stormed straight into the war zone.