Chapter 79: Garchomp: This Egg Is Clearly Mine! Mine!!
The video continued playing.
Tiana carried the incubation case back to her room and carefully placed it on her bedside table.
She crouched beside the bed with both hands gripping the edge of the table. Her mismatched eyes studied the Egg for quite some time before she reached out and gently stroked its shell.
"Good night. See you tomorrow."
She climbed into bed, wrapped herself in the blanket, and fell asleep in less than two minutes.
The incubation case rested securely on the bedside table, its shell glowing faintly beneath the night-light.
The camera slowly withdrew through the bedroom doorway.
In the corridor, Garchomp lay outside Tiana’s room with its head resting on its foreclaws and its eyes half closed.
From where it lay, it had a perfect view of the dark-blue Egg inside the room.
Garchomp had barely approached the Egg throughout the day. While Tiana carried it everywhere she went, Garchomp had only watched from a distance.
Now, however, it was late at night, and Tiana was fast asleep.
Garchomp rose, gently pushed open her bedroom door, and entered.
It lowered its head and stared at the Egg inside the incubation case, releasing an exceptionally soft breath through its nostrils.
Then it lay down beside the case and carefully pulled it closer with one claw. Its tail curled around the incubation case, enclosing the Egg within its embrace.
Garchomp rested its chin on its foreclaws and half closed its eyes. A deep, almost inaudible purr emerged from its throat.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Garchomp has been watching over its own Egg this entire time!!! It didn’t interfere with Tiana during the day, but secretly came to keep the Egg company at night!"
"During the day: an aloof pseudo-Legendary. At night: a mother curling protectively around her Egg."
"That’s how mothers are. They may not say anything, but their actions reveal everything."
"So Garchomp is the biological mother. Does that make Tiana the adoptive mother?"
"Garchomp must have been worried while watching Tiana carry the Egg around all day. It probably waited until Tiana fell asleep so it could secretly inspect the Egg."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Iris]: Garchomp looks so gentle with the Egg curled inside its arms! Axew, look!!
[Axew]: Axew, axew!
[Dawn]: It didn’t do anything during the day, but then it secretly came over to keep the Egg company at night!
[Piplup]: Piplup, piplup!
[Professor Rowan]: Garchomp place great importance on their offspring. Wild Garchomp remain near their nests until their young hatch. Those with Trainers may trust their Trainers, but their instincts still compel them to personally confirm that their Eggs are safe.
[Professor Oak]: Professor Rowan is correct. However, the reason this Garchomp didn’t approach the Egg during the day wasn’t because it didn’t care. In reality, it was observing whether Tiana was capable of caring for the Egg properly.
[Dawn]: So it does approve of Tiana? Otherwise, it wouldn’t have allowed her to carry the Egg around all day.
The video continued playing.
After Tiana brought the Egg home, Cynthia noticed that her Garchomp’s behavior had also become somewhat unusual.
Garchomp normally followed a fixed daily routine: training in the morning, sunbathing at noon, occasionally playing with Tiana, and napping on the living-room carpet in the evening.
Over the past few days, however, its routine had changed.
It began spending long periods inside Tiana’s room, using its snout to nudge the lid of the incubation case—only for Tiana to chase it out with a cushion.
"Garchomp! You’re not allowed to touch this case!"
Tiana held the incubation case protectively against her chest and spoke with complete righteousness.
"Mommy said we can’t keep opening the lid before the Egg hatches! It could interfere with the hatching process!"
Garchomp released a short burst of air through its nostrils and scraped one claw against the floor.
It was the Egg’s biological mother, yet now it needed this tiny child’s permission just to look at its own offspring.
Garchomp turned toward its Trainer.
Cynthia was sitting on the sofa reading an ancient text. Sensing Garchomp’s gaze, she raised her head, considered the matter for a moment, and said:
"Tiana is right. The lid shouldn’t be opened frequently during the incubation period."
Garchomp slapped its tail against the floor.
It was now certain that there was no longer any love for it in this household.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Garchomp: I’m the biological mother! Tiana: You gave birth to it, but I’m the one raising it!"
"Garchomp: I laid that Egg! It belonged to me from the beginning! Mine!! Tiana: Mommy said it belongs to me. Garchomp looks at Cynthia. Cynthia: Tiana is right. Garchomp: There’s no love left in this family."
"The commenter above summarized it perfectly."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Iris]: Hahahahaha! Tiana actually stopped Garchomp from approaching! That’s its own biological child!
[Flint]: Garchomp: I laid the Egg, but I still need to submit a formal request just to look at it?
[Aaron]: The most brutal part is that Cynthia sided with Tiana.
[Brock]: I think Garchomp is currently wondering who actually makes the decisions in this household.
[Gary]: Tiana, obviously.
[Lucian]: Garchomp’s current feelings are probably similar to entrusting your child to a babysitter, only for the babysitter to refuse to let you through the door.
[Gary]: That comparison is far too accurate. Mr. Lucian, have you experienced something similar?
[Lucian]: ...No.
[Lana]: Poor Garchomp! It’s clearly her child!
[Dawn]: But Tiana is also seriously caring for the Egg. She isn’t deliberately trying to stop Garchomp from seeing it.
[Piplup]: Piplup, piplup!
[Lillie]: I think we can look at it another way. Garchomp is actually incredibly patient with Tiana. If anyone else tried to stop it like that, it would have swept them aside with its tail long ago.
[May]: That’s because Tiana is also part of its family. Garchomp has been looking after her ever since she was a baby.
...
TL: Another short ahh Chapter—THIS IS WHAT YOU ALL DESERVE ANYWAYS, HMPH.