Chapter 80: The Birth of Gible
The video continued playing.
That morning, Tiana followed her usual routine, carefully wiping the surface of the Egg with a soft cloth.
Recently, she had even developed a complete procedure of her own: first, she wiped the Egg three times, then moved the incubation case somewhere it could receive the morning sunlight and allowed it to bask for a while.
"The temperature is normal today."
Tiana pressed her palm against the shell and felt it carefully.
"The humidity is normal too."
Garchomp lay nearby with its head resting on its foreclaws and its eyelids half lowered, appearing as though it were merely sunbathing.
Tiana looked back at it.
"Garchomp, don’t be impatient. Mommy said it will probably take several more days."
Garchomp released a breath through its nostrils and turned its head in the opposite direction.
Just as Tiana picked up the soft cloth to wipe the Egg one more time, its shell suddenly moved.
It didn’t simply sway.
The Egg itself visibly trembled from within.
Tiana’s hand froze in midair.
"Mommy!!! Daddy!!!"
The bedroom door opened, and Asher poked his head outside.
"Tiana, why are you shouting? Your mother and I were taking a nap!"
Tiana frantically waved at them.
"Daddy! Mommy! Come quickly! My Egg is about to hatch!!"
Asher sighed helplessly but still stepped out of the room.
Cynthia followed him, wearing pajamas with her hair still slightly disheveled.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"It’s hatching! It’s hatching! It’s hatching!!!"
"Tiana’s shout startled Garchomp so badly that it jumped up! Hahahahaha!"
"Garchomp tried to move closer, then backed away half a meter. That little movement went straight to my heart."
"Tiana: My Egg is about to hatch! Garchomp: ...Your Egg?"
"The commenter above struck Garchomp right where it hurts! Hahahahaha!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: The shell cracked! It’s coming out!!!
[Pikachu]: Pika, pika, pika!!
[Iris]: Didn’t Tiana just say it would take several more days to hatch? Then it reacted the very next second? Was this Egg really that eager to come out?
[Aaron]: It means Tiana took such good care of it that the Pokémon couldn’t bear to stay inside any longer.
The video continued playing.
The cracks across the shell gradually expanded, growing from a single narrow line into a web of fractures covering half the Egg.
Fragments broke away from the shell and fell onto the soft padding inside the incubation case with faint tapping sounds.
The entire living room became so quiet that the only sounds remaining were the cracking shell and Garchomp’s heavy breathing.
First, a single claw emerged from inside the Egg.
It was dark blue, and its scales were still coated in fluid, gleaming wetly beneath the sunlight.
A second claw followed. It was stronger than the first and immediately gripped the edge of the broken shell before pushing outward.
A round little head emerged from the opening. Its eyes were tightly closed, while its mouth hung slightly open, revealing a row of tiny, newly formed teeth.
Tiana lay beside the incubation case, her mismatched eyes opened so wide that she had seemingly forgotten to breathe.
"Mommy... it’s coming out..."
"Mm."
Cynthia gently placed a hand against Tiana’s back.
"Don’t rush it. Let it come out by itself."
The newborn Gible pushed aside the remaining shell fragments. Its body slowly stretched beneath the sunlight, twisting slightly as it freed itself.
Then it performed the first instinctive action of a newly hatched Pokémon.
It opened its mouth and bit the nearest thing it could reach—Tiana’s finger.
"Hiss—!"
Tiana sharply inhaled but didn’t pull her hand away.
Gible’s teeth had only just formed, and its bite was still weak. Rather than truly biting her, it was more like it was holding her finger inside its mouth.
Its eyes remained closed as an extremely faint whimper emerged from deep within its throat.
Garchomp moved its head closer to the incubation case. The breath from its nostrils gently brushed across Gible’s back.
While still holding Tiana’s finger in its mouth, Gible appeared to sense something.
It slowly turned toward its mother and released an exceptionally weak sound.
"Gib..."
Garchomp answered with an extremely restrained rumble.
Its snout remained only a few centimeters away from Gible, its eyes half closed as a steady purr rose from its throat.
Cynthia watched the scene and gently stroked Garchomp’s neck.
"You worked hard."
Garchomp lightly rubbed its head against Cynthia’s hand before lowering its gaze to continue watching Gible.
Asher crouched beside Tiana and rubbed her head.
"Why are you smiling when it just bit you?"
"It bit me because it likes me!"
Tiana raised her head, her golden and purple eyes filled with pride.
"Daddy, look! It still won’t let go! It likes me so much!"
With Tiana’s finger still in its mouth, Gible released a muffled "Gib, gib~" and flicked its tail as though agreeing with her.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"It hatched! It hatched!!! It’s Gible!!!"
"It started biting people the moment it hatched! Hahahahaha! As expected of a Dragon type!"
"Tiana was bitten, and she’s still smiling. This child is far too fearless."
"Gible: I was just born, so I should recognize my Trainer first. Bite down and never let go."
"That tiny head! It’s so round!"
"A newborn Gible looks like a little blue glutinous rice dumpling! I’m going to die from cuteness!"
"A rice dumpling? Look carefully at its mouth—it’s filled with teeth!"
"It’s still a rice dumpling even if it has teeth! Fight me if you disagree!"
"I took a screenshot of Tiana’s expression. Her eyes were even wider than Garchomp’s!"
"I burst out laughing when the little rice dumpling opened its mouth and bit her. The default setting for a baby Dragon type is apparently ’gnaw on everything.’"
"Gible: Just born. Hungry. Better take a bite out of my Trainer first."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Dawn]: Aaaaaah! Gible is so tiny!!
[Piplup]: Piplup, piplup!
[Ash]: Gible!!! It’s Gible!!!
[Pikachu]: Pika, pika!
[Gary]: Why are you so excited, Ash?
[Brock]: He’s probably thinking about his own Gible.
[Iris]: It already knows how to bite things immediately after hatching! Are all baby Dragon types this energetic?
[Lance]: This Gible’s first response after hatching was to bite the nearest object. That is an instinctive behavior among Dragon-type Pokémon, allowing them to examine their surroundings and protect themselves. In this case, however, it is expressing affection rather than simply attacking her.
[Professor Oak]: This Gible’s physical proportions are extremely healthy, and its movements while hatching were stronger than those of an ordinary newborn. It possesses an excellent inherited foundation.
[Professor Rowan]: It is Garchomp’s offspring, after all. Its lineage speaks for itself.
[Lorelei]: Lance, how would you compare this Gible’s potential with Raina’s Gyarados?
[Lance]: They are being raised in entirely different directions, so it would be difficult to compare them directly.
The video continued playing.
Tiana extended her other hand and stroked the top of Gible’s head with extraordinary gentleness.
"From now on, I’ll be your Trainer."
Her voice was quiet but completely serious.
"You need to grow stronger with me. Together, we’ll protect Mommy and Daddy."
Gible kept its eyes closed, flicked its tail, and released another muffled sound.
"Gib, gib~"
...
TL: Forgot to ask Lillie to introduce me to her mom last Chapter—smh, what a loss.