Chapter 29: The Hatched Chimchar, Challenging the Dewford Gym!

After helping his Pokémon regain their fighting spirit, Zhang Feng took out the Pokémon egg he had obtained from the system. Holding the egg with its orange-red patterns, he could feel a gentle warmth radiating from it. From these signs, it seemed certain that the Pokémon about to hatch would be a Fire-type. It was a perfect coincidence, as Zhang Feng did not yet have a Fire-type Pokémon in his team. Originally, he had hoped to capture a Torchic in the Hoenn region and evolve it into a Blaziken to serve as his primary Fire-type partner, but such opportunities were a matter of luck.

As Zhang Feng daydreamed about what kind of Fire-type Pokémon might emerge—a Torchic, a Moltres, or perhaps a Heatran—the egg in his arms seemed to sense his anticipation and suddenly emitted a brilliant white light. Seeing the light pulse, Zhang Feng realized the egg was about to hatch. Unfamiliar with the nuances of Pokémon incubation, he rushed to find Nurse Joy.

When informed that a Pokémon was about to hatch, Nurse Joy and her Chansey immediately sprang into action, preparing clean towels and Moomoo Milk. Nurse Joy told him, "Hatching can take time. It might happen in the next second, or it could take several days. I’ve told you the basics; if you run into any trouble, just contact me. Chansey and I will be at the Pokémon Center."

After thanking her, Zhang Feng returned to his room with the towels and milk. He watched the egg as it continued to glow, waiting until nearly nine o'clock in the evening when the light became constant instead of pulsing. Realizing the moment was at hand, he released all five of his Pokémon to witness the little one’s arrival. After a full quarter of an hour, the sound of cracking echoed through the room. Zhang Feng’s heart skipped a beat as the shell began to fracture further.

A moment later, an orange-yellow creature appeared before him, looking bright-eyed and energetic. The little one was only about thirty centimeters tall, with a flame burning on its tail and a coat of orange-yellow fur. It stared at Zhang Feng with wide eyes. Seeming to imprint his image in its mind, the little creature reached out its hands as if asking to be held. Zhang Feng picked it up and cradled it. His guess had been correct; it was indeed a Fire-type, but not a legendary, nor a Torchic—it was a Chimchar.

Chimchar was one of the starter Pokémon from the Sinnoh region. Like Blaziken, its final evolution would be a Fire and Fighting-type. In Ash Ketchum’s journey, the most famous Chimchar was the one abandoned by Paul, which later joined Ash and evolved into a powerful Infernape.

After using the system to check the Chimchar’s stats, its profile appeared:
Species: Chimchar
Level: 1
Ability: Iron Fist
Type: Fire
Potential: Purple
Bond Evolution: Unlocked
Mega Evolution: Unlocked
Moves: Scratch, Ember, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Double Kick, Heat Wave...
Affection: 200
Background: Having seen its trainer the moment it was born, the Chimchar already considers its trainer family.
Likes: Its trainer—it loves them very, very much.

Although the potential was purple rather than gold, Zhang Feng didn't mind. He knew that with training and the use of potential-enhancing stones, a purple-potential Chimchar could reach gold potential upon its final evolution. In his view, as long as it reached gold potential, it would have the potential to become a Master-level Pokémon and serve as a core member of his team. Besides, starting with 200 affection was a pleasant surprise; perhaps this Chimchar would be the first to reach maximum affection, paving the way for Bond Evolution. Furthermore, the Hidden Ability "Iron Fist" would significantly boost the power of its punching moves, and the four inherited moves—Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Double Kick, and Heat Wave—showed immense potential.

"Little guy, I look forward to working with you," Zhang Feng said. The Chimchar smiled and snuggled tightly into his arms. His Grovyle, Milotic, Tranquill, Aron, and Beldum all watched with warm smiles.

Because of the hatchling, Zhang Feng delayed his challenge to the Dewford Gym by a full week. During this time, he played both father and mother to the little one, finally helping it through its infancy. Now, the Chimchar was ready for training. Notably, because he was the first thing it saw, their affection had already soared to 250 points, second only to Rayquaza and far higher than his other Pokémon.

"Very well. I've spent enough time in Dewford Town. Today, I'll take the Knuckle Badge and then head to the next gym!" With his team’s enthusiastic response, Zhang Feng felt ready. The Dewford Gym Leader, Brawly, specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon. The match would be a two-on-two, and after some deliberation, Zhang Feng decided to let his Tranquill take the lead, counting on the Flying-type advantage to carry the victory. He believed that after this battle, Tranquill might even be ready to reach its final evolution.

After attaching a potential-enhancing stone to Tranquill, Zhang Feng entered the gym. He was soon escorted to the battlefield to await Brawly, the surfing-loving Gym Leader.

"The match between challenger Zhang Feng from Littleroot Town and Gym Leader Brawly of Dewford Gym will now begin. The rules are two-on-two, and only the challenger may switch Pokémon," the referee announced. "Gym Leader Brawly, please send out your first Pokémon."

Brawly laughed heartily and sent out his first Pokémon. "Zhang Feng, is it? You’ve got a great fighting spirit. Let’s do this!"

Species: Machop
Level: 25
Ability: Guts
Type: Fighting
Potential: Blue
Moves: Low Sweep, Focus Energy, Karate Chop, Low Kick, Leer, Seismic Toss, Circle Throw...