As the saying goes, 'Deep affection, misty rain,' when the trio arrived at the Pokémon Center, a light drizzle began outside, as if delivering a hint.
"Phew! That was close!"
Dawn quickly hugged the Pokémon egg in the incubator, as if worried about the egg losing warmth, wanting to warm the Pokémon inside herself.
"Idiot!"
Seeing the girl's comical appearance, he couldn't help but stride over to her, one arm around the incubator, the other ruffling her blue hair.
"Hahaha!" It seemed a Pokémon was about to be born, and Brock didn't mind their playful banter. "The purpose of the incubator is to maintain the Pokémon's constant temperature, so Dawn doesn't need to worry!"
"Hehe!"
The girl also knew her behavior was a bit funny, blushing as she grinned awkwardly, but her gaze remained fixed on the pink Pokémon egg in the incubator.
Pikachu had already gone ahead to lead the way, preparing to welcome the birth of three little Pokémon, with Ash and the others following closely behind Pikachu.
However, when they stepped into the lobby of the Pokémon Center, they found it covered in undried water droplets, and the tables and chairs in the lobby were somewhat old.
It looked like they were covered in a layer of dust because no one had cleaned them.
"Huh! Where's Nurse Joy?" Dawn looked at the front desk and didn't see Nurse Joy, asking with some confusion.
Not seeing the diligent and capable Nurse Joy in a Pokémon Center was undoubtedly a very incredible thing.
"How could this be? Has no Trainer come here?"
Brock wiped a layer of dust accumulated on the front desk; its thickness indicated it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
"This…"
This desolate scene instantly reminded Ash of when Brock's Chansey was about to hatch, and they encountered a rather unconfident Nurse Joy.
Judging from the state of this Pokémon Center, it seemed to be that very place.
"Lucky~"
Just then, a Chansey, holding a mop and a bucket, preparing to clean, walked over, looking quite friendly at the three people and one Pokémon.
"Chansey is here too! Why isn't Nurse Joy here?" Seeing Chansey, a medical Pokémon, Dawn became even more confused!
"Chansey, where is Nurse Joy?" As a warm-hearted man from the Nurse Joy family, Brock immediately asked.
"Lucky~ (She is here, it's just...)"
A human-like sigh appeared on Chansey's face, and it led the trio to the backyard of the Pokémon Center.
Nurse Joy, wearing a nurse's cap with a cross symbol and a pink and white nurse's uniform, was staying under a large tree with yellowing leaves.
Her sweet and lovely face was filled with worry, and even seeing the trio arrive, she had no reaction.
"Nurse Joy, I want to ask..." Brock immediately got into character.
Unfortunately, Nurse Joy was already touched by the scene at this moment, and facing Brock's request, Nurse Joy refused, citing her own lack of ability.
The constantly yellowing leaves fell, and she even said that she was like these leaves, that one day she would wither and disappear from everyone's sight along with this Pokémon Center.
With this, Nurse Joy expressed...
Ash quickly shook off the strange thoughts in his mind, handed his Pokémon egg to Brock, and then dragged Nurse Joy into the Pokémon Center.
This was to prevent the already unconfident Nurse Joy from seeing the falling leaves of the big tree in the backyard and being touched by the scene again.
"Nurse Joy, you must believe in yourself. Only by cheering up can you properly manage the Pokémon Center again!"
After pulling Nurse Joy into the Pokémon Center, the warm-hearted Brock went online again, persistently persuading the unconfident Nurse Joy.
He even handed his and Ash's Pokémon eggs to Nurse Joy at once, to show his trust in her.
"And me!" Dawn also walked over in time, like Audino's Pokémon egg.
"I... I..."
Three Pokémon eggs in a row, two more than in the original story, deeply moved Nurse Joy while also doubling her pressure, making her hesitant to easily agree.
"You can do it, Nurse Joy!" Ash encouraged again.
As a doctor from the Nurse Joy family, every Nurse Joy's ability is sufficiently excellent.
Because those who are not excellent cannot become Nurse Joy, they can only become alternative professions like Pokémon Inspector.
Of course, the above is a joke, but he never doubted the nursing ability of this Nurse Joy in front of him.
Although he didn't know why she was so unconfident, he believed that with the Nurse Joy family's reputation as endorsement, Nurse Joy's ability must be qualified.
Plus, with Brock assisting, the three little Pokémon would definitely be born safely.
"Pikachu!! (Ash, I knocked them flying)" A yellow figure returned to Ash's shoulder, rubbing his cheek with his red electric sacs and responding.
Ash had just detected the presence of the Team Rocket Trio with his Aura, and following the Aura's guidance, he came to the Pokémon Center's food storage area.
Finding the Team Rocket Trio eating, drinking, and freeloading there, Pikachu violently drove the trio out of the Pokémon Center and blasted them off with Thunderbolt.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Subtly stroking Pikachu's head, the disappearing Aura and the gold coin arrival notification sound had already informed Ash of everything in time.
Then he continued to work busily in the Pokémon Center with the girl, doing a thorough cleaning with Brock and Chansey.
Pikachu!!
Pikachu shook his head, indicating it wasn't hard work, and sensibly got off his shoulder, picked up a rag, and in a lower corner, mimicked Ash and the others wiping glass.
...
After half a day of work, at Nurse Joy's call, the three of them came to the hatching room to witness the birth of the Pokémon.
"Here's the prepared warm water, and towels..." Nurse Joy nervously took out various baby items, fearing she might do something wrong.
Crack~
It wasn't until the sound of the eggshell breaking that Nurse Joy quieted down, nervously standing aside with Chansey.
The first to react was Ash's Pokémon egg.
On the pink eggshell, with a 'pop,' a small, pink, truly tiny pink fist broke through the eggshell.
Surrounding it, one by one, torn cracks appeared, finally like the light of evolution, the entire space emitted a dazzling white light.
"Yaku~"
Just as everyone's anxious hearts were in their throats, accompanied by a tender Growl, a smaller pink ball emerged from the Pokémon egg, curiously looking around.
"It looks like everything went smoothly!" Nurse Joy next to them immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Dawn and Brock were also relieved.
But in Ash's view, this way of Shell Smash was truly fierce!