Generally speaking, if a Poke Egg is damaged and cannot be rescued to hatch immediately, it signifies the end of a life.
Forget about five years, if it survives three days without hatching, it's already considered incredibly resilient!
Yet, five years have passed, and this Poke Egg hasn't cooled yet, its life is really a hard one!
"I hate to say this, but isn't this unrealistic, Professor Cerise? Theoretically, if a Poke Egg is damaged, it shouldn't be able to last this long. The life inside would probably have already dissipated." Brock couldn't help but speak up.
Professor Cerise's statement really is quite unbelievable. Even if it were a Divine Beast Egg, it couldn't last that long!
"Indeed, under normal circumstances it wouldn't be possible, but if it is in this pool, it's a different story. The water in this pool is brought down from Clear Cliff, enriching it with life force, and it is precisely with this water source that this Poke Egg has survived until now."
"The water source from Clear Cliff?" Ash and his friends exchanged glances. They had never heard of such a place. Is there such a place in Kanto?
"Clear Cliff is a hazardous location in Johto, with treacherous terrain that's extremely difficult to climb. Moreover, some Pokemon reside there, and if too many people rashly go there, they will encounter resistance from the Pokemon. Therefore, people usually climb up by hand instead of using helicopters or other means of transportation."
"It's precisely for this reason that the water source of Clear Cliff hasn't been overexploited and is very precious."
As Professor Cerise spoke, his gaze was fixed on the Poke Egg in the pool, his eyes full of complexity.
Don't be fooled by how simple it sounds; in reality, the value of this water source is astronomical.
Vermilion City isn't a small city, and renting such a place here costs six figures per month.
Yet the price of this small pool is more than three times the rental price of this place!
Moreover, the life force provided by the water in the pool isn't endless and needs to be replaced at least once a year, so to keep this Poke Egg alive, Professor Cerise has spent money that most people couldn't earn in a lifetime.
Even so, it seems like all of this effort might be futile.
Because this Poke Egg basically doesn't have any chance of surviving. Even with the water source from Clear Cliff sustaining it, every year it loses more of its source of life within the egg.
Perhaps it can no longer hold out past this year.
"Professor Cerise, may I touch this Poke Egg?" Ash suddenly asked.
This unexpected request made Professor Cerise hesitate: "What do you want to do, Ash? This Poke Egg is already at its limit. If you rashly touch it, it might extinguish the last spark of its life."
Professor Cerise had put it very tactfully, implying that it's best not to touch this Poke Egg unless absolutely necessary, or if it were to die, no one could bear the responsibility.
"I want to save it."
"Save it?" Professor Cerise was momentarily stunned, then realized that by "save," Ash meant bringing this dying Poke Egg back to a state where it could hatch, but how could that be possible?
"Ha ha, Ash, don't joke around. This isn't something to joke about." Professor Cerise waved his hand, dismissing it as a child's prank.
However, Ash didn't respond; he just silently looked at Professor Cerise, his eyes showing a determination that shocked Professor Cerise... he wasn't joking, he was serious.
"Could you trust me just this once, Professor Cerise? Although I might have left an impression as a mischievous kid, when it comes to matters involving Pokemon, I've always been serious, let alone when it's about the life of a Pokemon."
Ash's words were earnest, with no hint of a joke.
Upon hearing this, Professor Cerise fell silent. After struggling internally for an unknown length of time, he looked at Ash and reluctantly nodded: "Give it a try, Ash. I believe you're different from that guy. If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility."
That guy?
Misty and Brock keenly noticed that 'that guy' mentioned by Professor Cerise might be the culprit who put the Poke Egg in its current state.
But now was not the time to probe into that. At this moment, Ash was already in front of the Poke Egg, with his hand slowly passing through the water, covering the egg.
Ash's hand wasn't large, only big enough to cover the top of the Poke Egg, but it was enough to cover the cracks.
Then, Ash closed his eyes, a blue light radiating from his entire body!
The surging power emanating from him shocked Professor Cerise.
'What is this power? It feels strong and filled with abundant life force. In just a year, Ash has gained such power? Did he acquire it during his travels? But his journey has only been a month long...'
As Professor Cerise's heart filled with a myriad of emotions, Ash had already infused the surging Aura Power from within himself into the Poke Egg.
Typically, a Poke Egg hatches within a week to a month, and it rarely takes longer than that.
When the hatching period reaches halfway, the Pokemon inside will begin to develop awareness and will sense everything outside the Poke Egg. If the Trainer or its parents are nearby providing care, the Pokemon will be more attached to them after being born.