Chapter 78: Tiana: My Parents Weren’t Asleep Either
The video continued playing.
"All right."
Cynthia crouched down until she was at eye level with Tiana.
"Mommy can give you a Pokémon."
Tiana’s eyes instantly widened.
"Really?!"
"Really."
Cynthia reached out and tidied the golden highlights hanging over Tiana’s forehead.
"But before you can have it, you need to make Mommy a promise."
"What promise?"
"You’ll have to take care of an Egg," Cynthia said. "It’s an Egg produced by Garchomp. Until it hatches, you must look after it every day. You’ll need to keep it warm and wipe its shell clean. You can’t be lazy, and you mustn’t treat it like a toy or throw it around. You need to cherish it as though it were part of the family. Can you do that?"
Tiana nodded furiously, her head moving as quickly as a pellet drum.
"And what if you can’t?"
"Then I’m not allowed to eat ice cream for a whole month!"
Tiana raised one hand and swore solemnly before adding:
"No—make it two months!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Flint]: Hahahahaha! She actually looks rather convincing when she’s being serious!
[Bertha]: What she said about protecting her mother was rather touching. She already has such intentions at only three years old.
[Lucian]: When this child becomes serious, she’s willing to promise anything. As for whether she can actually fulfill those promises...
[Flint]: That’s an entirely different matter.
[Gary]: ...I have a feeling the League headquarters will suffer even more once she gets a Pokémon.
[Brock]: Agreed.
[Iris]: I don’t think so! You shouldn’t be prejudiced against Tiana!
[Brock]: I wouldn’t call it prejudice. Tiana is simply far too similar to Asher—especially that look in her eyes whenever she makes a "sincere promise."
[Steven]: Brother Asher’s genes are simply too powerful. No matter which parallel world it is, his traits are always inherited perfectly!
[Asher]: Steven, if you don’t run away in the next few moments, I might still leave half your face intact.
[Steven]: Brother Asher, please don’t!!!
The video continued playing.
The research institute in Celestic Town.
Cynthia brought Tiana to a temperature-controlled incubator.
A thin layer of condensation covered its glass door. Cynthia wiped it away with her hand, revealing the oval-shaped Pokémon Egg inside.
The shell was dark blue and covered in pale-blue spots.
"This is the one."
Cynthia opened the incubator, carefully removed the Egg, and placed it inside a padded incubation case.
"Starting today, it will be your responsibility."
Tiana stood on the tips of her toes with both hands gripping the edge of the table. Her mismatched eyes stared unblinkingly at the Egg for quite some time.
Then she extended one finger and touched its shell with extraordinary gentleness.
The shell was warm and had a faintly rough texture, somewhat similar to the sensation of touching Garchomp’s scales.
"Can it move?"
"Of course it can’t move before it hatches."
Cynthia crouched down and placed the incubation case in Tiana’s arms.
"But if you speak to it, it will be able to hear you."
Holding the case, Tiana lowered her head close to the shell and whispered something.
Cynthia couldn’t hear her clearly.
"What did you say?"
"Mommy isn’t allowed to eavesdrop."
Tiana pulled the incubation case closer against her chest.
"This is a secret between me and the Egg."
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"What an enormous contrast. She was a little devil at the League headquarters, but now she’s as obedient as a Gible."
"Gible can be fierce too, you know."
"Tiana really is being careful. She wasn’t even this cautious when she jumped down from that chair."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Dawn]: Aaaaaah! She looks so adorable holding the Egg!!!
[Piplup]: Piplup, piplup!
[Iris]: She suddenly became so careful when she received the Egg! She’s like an entirely different person!
[Diantha]: Looking at her now, she seems quite dependable when she takes something seriously.
[Aaron]: ...Why do I feel like she’s only behaving because she just received it and hasn’t become accustomed to it yet?
[Flint]: I feel the same way. This is merely the calm before the storm.
The video continued playing.
After Tiana brought the Egg home, Cynthia began regretting her decision.
It wasn’t because Tiana wasn’t taking her responsibility seriously.
It was because she was taking it far too seriously.
On the first day after Tiana brought the Egg home—
That night, Cynthia was sleeping when a faint rustling sound suddenly awakened her.
She opened her eyes and discovered Tiana standing beside the bed with the incubation case in her arms. Her mismatched eyes shone almost frighteningly brightly in the dim room.
"...Tiana, why did you come into Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom instead of sleeping in the middle of the night?"
Tiana raised the incubation case.
"Mommy, the Egg’s temperature is half a degree lower than it was last night. Should I give it another blanket?"
"...As long as the room temperature is normal, you don’t need to add one."
"But what if it’s cold?"
"It isn’t cold."
"How do you know?"
Cynthia suddenly felt the beginnings of a headache.
"Mommy, there’s something else..."
Cynthia immediately pulled the blanket over her head.
"I don’t know. Ask your father."
And so, Tiana carried the incubation case around to Asher’s side of the bed with a series of quick footsteps.
Asher lay on his side with half his face buried in the pillow, apparently sleeping soundly.
"Daddy, are you asleep?"
"..."
When she received no response, Tiana decisively climbed onto the bed and leaned close to Asher’s ear.
"DADDY!!!"
Asher shot upright, his eyes still half closed.
"What happened?! Is there an earthquake? Did a burglar break into the house?!"
He looked around.
There was no burglar and no earthquake.
There was only his daughter standing beside the bed with an incubation case in her arms, her golden and purple eyes glowing in the darkness.
"Daddy, the Egg’s temperature is half a degree lower than it was last night."
"...That’s all?"
"What do you mean, ’that’s all’?!"
Tiana raised the incubation case even higher.
"It’s cold! What if it catches a cold? What happens if an Egg gets sick? Will getting sick affect its hatching?"
Asher closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he turned toward the other side of the bed.
Cynthia had already pulled the blanket completely over her head and curled into a ball, leaving only a few strands of blond hair exposed.
"Darling."
A muffled voice came from beneath the blanket.
"I’m asleep."
"..."
Since his wife had already given up and abandoned him to his fate, Asher could only rub his groggy head and look at his daughter.
"How do you know its temperature dropped by half a degree?"
"I looked at the temperature display in the house."
...
Was it possible that the incubator was specifically designed to maintain a constant temperature?
Unfortunately, she was his daughter.
He couldn’t hit her or scold her, so all he could do was humor her.
Asher picked up the air-conditioner remote from the bedside table, pressed two buttons, and increased the room temperature by one degree.
"There. The temperature has gone back up."
"Eh? It really has!"
Tiana’s eyes lit up. She carried the incubation case out of the bedroom with another series of rapid footsteps.
The instant the door closed, Asher fell stiffly back against his pillow and stared hollowly at the ceiling.
It seemed he could no longer fall asleep.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Cynthia pretending to sleep and throwing the entire problem onto Asher is what I would call the pinnacle of married life!"
"I burst out laughing the instant Asher picked up the air-conditioner remote. What kind of modern-day master of appeasement is this?"
"Tiana: The Egg’s temperature dropped by half a degree! Asher: Raise it by one degree. Tiana: All right. Problem solved. The logic is flawless."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Does raising the room temperature actually affect the Egg?
[Gary]: ...Idiot. The temperature inside the incubator is different from the room temperature!
[Pikachu]: Pika... (Facepalm.)
[Iris]: Isn’t the important part that Tiana woke both of her parents in the middle of the night? Hahahaha! This is so entertaining!
[Lorelei]: Such is the inevitable fate of all parents!
[Steven]: Hahahahaha! Being awakened by his daughter in the middle of the night just to adjust the temperature! So this is Brother Asher’s family life!
[Asher]: Steven, what are you laughing at? Do you have a daughter?
[Steven]: No.
[Wallace]: He doesn’t even have a wife.
[Steven]: ...
[Glacia]: Pfft—hahahahaha!
[Phoebe]: Wallace’s attacks remain as devastating as ever.
...
TL: Can’t even goon in peace smh, alright here comes the extra Chapters