Just moments ago, the Fennekin Egg had been on the verge of death because of the conflict and rejection between its developing attribute genes. Its life force had been rapidly declining, and it had seemed certain that the little Pokémon inside would not survive.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, everything had taken an unexpected turn.
Not only had Ash managed to heal the genetic conflict inside the Fennekin Egg with his healing ability, but after injecting a tremendous amount of vitality into the Egg, his Healing had also accelerated the development of the Fennekin inside.
Before anyone realized it, the Egg had already reached the point where it was ready to hatch.
One moment, the little life inside had been hanging by a thread.
The next, it had recovered completely—and the tiny life that everyone had thought they were about to lose was finally about to enter the world.
Naturally, Bonnie, Clarissa, Serena, and the others were overwhelmed with pleasant surprise.
"Crack… crack…"
More and more cracks appeared across the Egg's shell.
Soon, the cracks spread over its entire surface.
Then—
Bang!
The Egg suddenly shattered.
The broken shell transformed into countless sparkling motes of energy before disappearing into the air.
At the same time, the Fennekin inside the Egg—the little Pokémon whose exceptionally powerful Psychic- and Fire-type talents had caused its attribute genes to clash during development, and whose fierce unwillingness to die and overwhelming desire to survive had moved Ash enough to intervene and save it—was finally born.
The newly hatched Pokémon appeared before everyone's eyes.
However, the moment they saw it, everyone present was stunned.
Fennekin, also known as the Fox Pokémon, was a Fire-type Pokémon and one of the three starter Pokémon of the Kalos region.
Fennekin had a small and adorable body, a pair of large ears resembling those of a fennec fox, and predominantly reddish eyes.
But the Fennekin before them was clearly different.
The fur inside its large ears was not the usual orange-red of a normal Fennekin.
Instead, it was a vivid, fiery red.
Even more strikingly, the fur covering its body was not the normal pale yellow.
Instead, it was a light grayish-black—lighter in color than the fur of Zorua.
There was no mistake.
The Fennekin that had just hatched was not an ordinary Fennekin.
It was a Shiny Fennekin.
"Fennekin~!"
It was unclear whether it had sensed the familiar Psychic energy radiating from Ash.
Although there were many people inside the laboratory, the moment the grayish-black Shiny Fennekin opened its eyes, it did not look toward anyone else.
Instead, its gaze instantly locked onto Ash.
It had recognized the person who had pulled it back from the brink of death.
The person who had given it a second chance at life.
Its savior—
or, in the eyes of this little Pokémon, its future Trainer.
That was right.
From the moment Ash had reached out to save it, while it was still trapped inside the Egg and desperately struggling for survival on the boundary between life and death, it had felt the help coming from the outside.
And from the moment it had sensed Ash's presence and received his aid, a decision had already formed within its heart.
It wanted to recognize Ash as its Trainer.
Ash would be the only person it would ever willingly devote itself to.
Now that it had successfully entered the world, the Fennekin immediately locked onto Ash.
Then, filled with joy, it bounded toward him.
Seeing the little Pokémon charging toward him, Ash did not dodge.
Instead, sensing the affection and attachment radiating from it, he opened his arms and caught it.
"Fennekin~!"
The moment it landed in Ash's arms, the Fennekin affectionately rubbed its little face against his cheek.
Then it stuck out its tiny pink tongue and began licking his face affectionately.
The sensation was so ticklish that Ash couldn't help laughing.
"I knew that Pokémon whose attribute genes experienced this kind of conflict generally had exceptional talent and potential, but I never expected this Fennekin to be a Shiny Pokémon."
Sycamore finally recovered from his astonishment.
He looked at the little Fennekin with its unusual light grayish-black fur as it happily nestled in Ash's arms and acted spoiled toward him.
His expression was filled with surprise.
And Sycamore wasn't the only one.
The other researchers in the laboratory, as well as Clarissa, Serena, Clemont, and the others, were all equally stunned.
None of them had expected that this particular Egg would hatch into a Shiny Pokémon.
Looking at the light grayish-black Fennekin happily snuggling against Ash, everyone's astonishment was no less intense than when Ash had used his healing ability to cure the genetic conflict within the Egg and created what amounted to a miracle in medicine and biological science.
…
Because the Fennekin had only just hatched—and because it had spent its entire developmental period inside the Egg struggling against the genetic rejection caused by the conflicting attribute genes—Ash spent some time playing and interacting with the little Fennekin.
Afterward, Sycamore suggested conducting a comprehensive health examination.
The researchers carefully examined the newly hatched Fennekin from head to toe.
However, after completing the examination, Sycamore discovered that the Fennekin was in exceptionally good health.
Its attribute genes had fused perfectly.
The resulting genetic structure was extremely stable.
There were no abnormalities whatsoever.
As a result, Sycamore and the other researchers gained an even clearer understanding of just how powerful Ash's healing ability truly was.
"System, scan and display this little Fennekin's data."
While the Fennekin was undergoing a full-body scan on the examination table, Ash silently issued the command to the system.
[Ding! Scanning. Please wait…]
[Pokémon: Shiny Fennekin]
Level: Lv. 1
Type: Fire / Psychic
Nature: Intelligent, resilient, competitive, loyal
Attack: 51
Defense: 48
Special Attack: 78
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 76
Total: 374
Potential: Blue
Moves (Copyable):
[Novice] (1/100): Scratch, Tail Whip
[Egg Moves] (1/100): Mystical Fire, Fire Pledge, Future Sight, Magic Coat
The system scanned the Shiny Fennekin's information, and the complete data appeared before Ash in the form of a status panel.
After taking a look at the Fennekin's data, Ash couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised.
The Shiny Fennekin's Psychic-type talent was astonishingly high.
Although it had only just hatched and was still in its initial form, it had already awakened its Psychic typing.
Even more surprising was its move pool.
Among its available moves were Magic Coat and Future Sight, two extremely powerful and practical Psychic-type techniques.
However, although the Fennekin's Psychic talent was exceptional, its Fire-type talent was equally outstanding.
That could be seen clearly from its four Egg Moves.
It possessed both Mystical Fire and Fire Pledge, demonstrating that its Fire-type potential was far beyond that of an ordinary Fennekin.
In other words, this Shiny Fennekin wasn't merely extraordinary in Psychic-type talent.
Its Fire-type talent was equally exceptional.
It was truly a Pokémon with astonishing natural talent and potential.