"Alright, alright, no need to give your old grandpa such a hard time, Daisy," Professor Oak chuckled, though a hint of guilt flickered in his eyes as he remembered the day he got the egg.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give Ash that egg, would it? Especially since he seems to have taken quite a liking to this little fella already." He gestured towards the Charmander nestled comfortably in Ash's lap, its tiny claws gently gripping the fabric of Ash's shirt.
"Not to mention it's supposed to be his," he added with a wink towards Daisy, acknowledging her point.
"Let's see… where did I put that egg anyway?" He scratched his head again, his gaze sweeping across the chaotic landscape of his lab, a familiar gesture that always preceded a moment of slight absentmindedness.
"Ah, it's here!" Professor Oak exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he opened a nearby, slightly dusty cabinet. He carefully pulled out an incubator, its plastic slightly yellowed with age, containing a cream-colored egg with faint orange markings that seemed to pulse faintly under the dim light of the lab.
Professor Oak sighed, a soft, almost paternal sound, as he looked at the egg with a mixture of curiosity and slight disappointment.
"Why haven't you hatched yet, little fella?" he mumbled softly, as if speaking to the unborn Pokémon within. "Your brother decided to make his grand entrance just now, you don't want to be left out, do you?"
"Grandpa, can I hold it?" Ash asked eagerly, his eyes wide with anticipation as he reached out a hand, his fingers twitching with the desire to feel the egg's warmth. The other Charmander in his arms chirped softly, as if also curious about its sibling-to-be.
"Ah, here you go, but don't drop it now," Professor Oak said carefully, gently lifting the incubator and taking out the egg. He then placed it in Ash's outstretched hands. The egg felt surprisingly warm and smooth against his palms.
The moment Ash's fingers made contact with the smooth surface of the egg, it began to faintly glow with a soft, warm light, a gentle pulse that seemed to resonate with the excitement in the room.
"Whoa!" Ash gasped, his eyes widening in surprise as he stared at the glowing egg in his hands. The Charmander in his arms tilted its head, letting out a curious "Char?"
Everyone else in the lab let out a surprised gasp. May and Daisy exchanged wide-eyed glances, their conversation forgotten in this unexpected development.
"Grandpa, is that perhaps—" Daisy began, her voice filled with wonder and a touch of disbelief.
"—the egg is about to hatch!" May finished her sentence, her eyes glued to the glowing egg in Ash's hands, her initial skepticism about Ash getting a Pokémon after denying so many times completely gone, replaced by sheer fascination.
"My word!" Professor Oak exclaimed, his eyes widening in astonishment as he leaned in closer to examine the phenomenon. He hadn't seen an egg react quite like this in a long time.
Unknown to them, the egg, which possessed an extremely weak life force but stubbornly clung to life, had finally found a saving grace.
For two long years, it had remained dormant, its internal spark flickering faintly, barely enough to sustain itself. Upon coming into contact with the aura of the young Ash, an aura that contained a subtle yet potent blessing from the Lord of all Pokémon
A being whose influence permeated the very fabric of their world, unseen but ever-present – the egg finally received the vital energy it desperately needed.
It was as if a dormant seed had finally found fertile ground and the first rays of sunlight. It finally had the strength to break free from its shell.
The glow emanating from the egg intensified, bathing Ash's hands in a warm, golden light. The air around them seemed to shimmer slightly, charged with a gentle energy.
Then, under the astonished gaze of Ash, May, Daisy, the first Charmander, and Professor Oak, tiny cracks began to spiderweb across the surface of the egg, like delicate lines etched onto a fragile canvas.
The cracking sound was soft at first, almost imperceptible, but it grew steadily louder, filling the silent lab with anticipation.
Suddenly, with a burst of brilliant light that momentarily blinded them, the eggshell shattered into several pieces, and a new, vibrant orange-colored Charmander emerged.
The light faded, revealing the newborn Pokémon, slightly damp and blinking its large, innocent eyes.
A piece of the eggshell still perched jauntily on its head, like a tiny, orange crown, as it blinked its large eyes and let out a soft, adorable "Char!" Its gaze immediately locked onto the first figure it saw, which was Ash, who was still holding the remnants of the eggshell in his hands, his face a picture of pure wonder.
Without hesitation, the newborn Charmander wiggled out of the remaining eggshell and with surprising speed for a newly hatched Pokémon, jumped directly into Ash's embrace, nuzzling against his chest and happily letting out a series of adorable chirps and coos, its tiny tail flame flickering with newfound life.
The first Charmander, tilted its head and let out a curious "Char?" before gently nudging its new sibling.
Professor Oak, who had been momentarily speechless, his jaw slightly agape at the unexpected hatching, let out a hearty laugh, the sound echoing through the lab, breaking the spell of stunned silence.
"Well, look at that! It seems this little one already recognizes you as its new trainer, Ash, my boy! Talk about a strong bond right from the start!" Professor Oak said, a warm smile on his face as he patted Ash's head, his eyes twinkling with amusement and genuine happiness for the young boy. "You'll have your hands full of two of these little firecrackers!"
"Wait a second," May said, her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at the two identical orange lizards, one nestled in Ash's arms and the other now curiously sniffing at his hair.
"Now that you have two Charmanders, what will you call them? You can't just call both of them Charmander, can you?"
Daisy also nodded in agreement, her initial surprise having morphed into practical consideration. "Yes, it might get a little confusing if you just keep calling both of them Charmander. Especially during training or battles."
"Now that you mention it, you're right," Ash said, a thoughtful expression on his face as he gently rubbed the heads of both Charmanders, one nestled securely in his arms and the other now clinging to his arm, its tiny claws gently scratching against his sleeve as it looked curiously at its twin.
He pondered for a moment, his gaze shifting between the two identical Pokémon. "Ah, how about this?" Ash exclaimed, a bright idea seemingly striking him. "How about calling the newborn one… X, and this one… Y?" he said, pointing at the respective Pokémon with a grin.
"X and Y? That's a strange way of naming Pokémon, alright," May uttered, a puzzled look on her face. "Don't you want to give them proper names? Something a bit more… descriptive?"
But Daisy giggled, finding the unusual names rather amusing in their simplicity. "You know what? It somehow fits them!"
"Yeah, I just felt like it suited them," Ash said with a shrug, a small smile playing on his lips. He looked down at the two Charmanders, a surge of affection welling up within him. But mentally, a determined glint shone in his eyes as he thought.
'Heh, just you wait. One day, I'll get both Charizardite X and Y, and then I'll have the ultimate power with Mega Charizard X and Y! Two Mega Charizards! No one will be able to stop me!'
Just as Ash was about to gently place the newborn Charmander, X, into an empty Poké Ball that Professor Oak had handed him, the door of the lab burst open with a loud crash that made everyone jump, and an equally loud, familiar voice erupted into the room, cutting through the peaceful atmosphere.
"Hey, Ashy-boy! Finally came crawling to my gramps for a Pokémon, huh?"
Standing in the doorway, was Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson, sporting his usual smug grin and an annoyingly superior expression that Ash had come to know all too well in their younger years.
His hands were casually shoved into the pockets of his stylish, purple jacket, and his eyes, sharp and full of self-importance, scanned the room with an air of condescension, finally settling on Ash, who was still cradling the two Charmanders.
'Ah, I forgot how much of a pain in the ass Gary was back in the day,' Ash thought with a groan, those bitter memories of their constant rivalry flooding back like a tidal wave.
Every challenge, every race to be the first to catch a rare Pokémon, every boastful remark Gary had ever made – it all came rushing back. He lamented his luck. 'Why couldn't he have been a good boy? Why does he always have to be so… Gary?'
But then, a new thought flickered in his mind, causing his eyes to widen slightly in a mixture of surprise and a strange sort of awkwardness. 'Wait a minute… he's my brother-in-law now, isn't he? This gonna to be… interesting.'