Silence fell over the room as every Trainer, worker and Pokémon paused.

  MunchMunch clutched his Teddy’s leg and waved for Mama Gastly to hop in his shadow — which she did with a smile.

  MunchMunch and the Team watched as the Egg rocked again, its spirals and stars softly glowing.

  Crack.

  “Munch!” MunchMunch gasped.

  It was really happening! He was going to meet Happy!

  His Teddy lifted the Egg off the table and set it down in front of them before sitting down himself and nestling MunchMunch between his legs while petting his head.

  MunchMunch smiled as the coldness in his tummy disappeared, replaced with warmth.

  Happily, he nestled into his Teddy’s chest, which was just as warm as his tummy was, right now!

  Crack.

  MunchMunch bounced.

  He remembered when he was hatching.

  For him, hatching had been dark and cold — and he didn’t like how he couldn’t move. But Happy had friends, and there was no mean Zubat!

  The Egg rocked and glowed.

  “Munch!” MunchMunch squealed, biting his paws. He was going to be the bestest big brother ever for Happy! He would try to be as awesome as Mama Gastly — which was impossible, but he was still going to try!

  And best of all? Happy would have all of them.

  “Mama Shadow,” he bubbled, “Happy is coming!”

  Shadow laughed from his shadow, the happiest laugh he had heard from her.

  She was excited, too!

  CRACK!

  A small piece of the Egg fell off and a tiny paw poked through.

  It was so tiny, and so cute! MunchMunch wanted to scream!

  Wait, he froze, double checking he wasn’t accidentally waving his magic-paw too hard. What if he was accidentally using Fly?!

  He certainly felt like he was flying.

  He pulled his paw out of his mouth. Oh right, he was checking for Chocolate Cake crumbs, so he couldn’t be using his magic-paw!

  He giggled, took a bite of his forever-snack and looked up at Teddy.

  Who was crying.

  But he was smiling, too.

  MunchMunch had grown up enough to know what that meant.

  His Teddy was happy.

  And that made MunchMunch’s tummy very warm.

  He turned back to watch a tiny foot-paw poke out the bottom of the Egg.

  MunchMunch giggled. The foot-paw was the size of one of the claws on his foot-paw!

  “Munch!” he shouted in encouragement.

  Then he paused and looked around. “Mama Shadow, I don’t see any Zubat, do you?” he asked anxiously.

  What if he had missed one! It had to be perfect for Happy.

  MunchMunch squinted. He had a very special magic-paw ready for any Zubat that might —

  “It’s ok, MunchMunch,” Mama whispered from his shadow. “I will keep an eye out, you just get ready to meet our newest team member.”

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  MunchMunch smiled. Mama Shadow was the best. He knew she would keep Happy safe — just like she had been there to keep him safe.

  CraaaaaaaCK!

  A tiny little eye peeked through the shell.

  MunchMunch started vibrating in excitement.

  “Teddy, Teddy, look!” he cried, whacking his Teddy’s legs in excitement.

  Teddy laughed and gave him a hug and a head pat.

  “Happy! Hi, Happy! It’s me! It’s MunchMunch!” MunchMunch cried, waving frantically.

  The baby Pokémon’s eye zeroed in on him from inside the Egg.

  “Piii~~” it cried to him from inside the Egg.

  MunchMunch immediately jumped up, but Teddy held him back.

  “You have to let the baby Pokémon hatch itself!” Shadow warned, having floated back into the light.

  MunchMunch didn’t want to, but nodded and turned, his eyes glued to the tiny Pokémon as it watched him back, hammering away at the shell so it could get to him.

  “You can do it!” he cried.

  “Piiii~~!”

  “You’re almost here, Happy!” MunchMunch cheered.

  He instinctively took a huge bite from his forever-snack and froze. It had been so long, he almost forgot!

  He reached into his mouth and stuck his paw in his other cheek.

  Where he had kept the Poké Ball that looked just like Happy’s shell, safe.

  MunchMunch reverently took out the Apricorn Ball he had kept safe, just for Happy.

  The super special, perfect, wonderful, Food Ball.

  He held it up so Happy could see.

  Happy was watching him intently, both hand and foot-paws now poking out of the shell, which looked so funny MunchMunch giggled.

  He heard a really funny sound, and looked up to see Teddy looking down at the ball and laughing.

  MunchMunch… hadn’t heard Teddy laugh in a while. He had forgotten how much he liked the sound.

  “MunchMunch!” he laughed, too, while the Egg glowed the brightest yet.

  So bright.

  Really bright.

  “Munch!” MunchMunch had to close his eyes! It was like when he used Hyper Beam!

  “Mama Gastly!” he cried out.

  “Good Heavens!” he heard her cry “How! What! It’s a F—“.

  ____

  The Park entrance burst into applause and laughter as everyone came to congratulate Teddy.

  Teddy; however, sat frozen with his arms around MunchMunch, as the light faded to reveal the baby Pokémon that had just hatched with a flashbang.

  Only one type of Pokémon hatched like that.

  “Piiii~~!” It cried, tumbling towards his Munchlax with all the focus in the world, tiny arms out-stretched.

  He stared numbly at the baby Togepi.

  The baby Fairy-Type Togepi.

  …his Mum was going to lose it.

  ____

  MunchMunch blinked as the light faded.

  There, in front of him, was the most perfect-est Pokémon he had ever seen.

  “Happy!” he cried, bouncing up.

  “Pii!” she shouted back, throwing out her arms towards him.

  And falling flat on her face when she tried to walk.

  MunchMunch skipped to her as fast as he could, Food Ball in one hand.

  He scooped her up, where she grabbed his nose with her two tiny paws and promptly gave him the biggest kiss ever!

  MunchMunch felt like everything else went away. Everything except his new baby sister.

  “Hi Happy,” he cooed, rubbing her nose with his. “I’m Big Brother MunchMunch,” he giggled, as his tummy felt warmer than he had ever felt.

  Even warmer than Chocolate Cake!

  ____

  A.

  Fairy.

  Shadows stared in disbelief as MunchMunch cuddled the Togepi.

  The thing just sat there and cooed at him, giggling and hugging him back.

  Which was to be expected, it was a newborn after all.

  A newborn Fairy.

  By Arceus, her Teddy was touched by fate.

  First Celebi.

  And as if that wasn’t enough, now a Togepi?!

  They were almost as rare as Gengar.

  Because they only hatch during the times of greatest happiness and trust between a Team.

  “Oh,” she huffed.

  It just had to be a Togepi. How was she supposed to be mad at a Togepi.

  More importantly, how was she going to face other Ghost-Types…

  She sighed and looked at her Teddy… and then at her MunchMunch.

  Teddy had a look of shocked disbelief that was slowly turning into a smile.

  MunchMunch was positively beaming.

  Which just made it impossible to be mad at the thing.

  Still.

  A Fairy?

  Maybe she could at least teach it to cackle? Oh — that could be —

  “Mama Shadow!” MunchMunch cried, scooping up the giggling Fairy and waddling over to her.

  “I think Happy is broken! She can’t walk, and she doesn’t understand what I am saying!” he cried in agitation.

  Gastly paused.

  Broken.

  “Oh MunchMunch,” she guffawed, before catching herself and adjusting to an appropriate cackle.

  “She was just born, of course she can’t understand you.”

  MunchMunch stared at her.

  “What? I understood you. And that terrible Zubat just fine,” he stated flatly.

  “Yes well, you are a little monster — the good kind!” she amended when he started to frown.

  He immediately lit back up and Shadow felt like something grabbed her chest.

  Except she didn’t have a chest.

  She shook her head.

  “Give the poor baby a break. She will learn to talk as the weeks pass.”

  MunchMunch grunted.

  “Weeks?” he squinted. “A week is one hand-paw and one foot-paw of claws, right?” he asked.

  Shadow stared at his seven tiny claws.

  “Yes, that is right.”

  “Ok!” he exclaimed, popping the Apricorn Ball back into his mouth.

  “Once she can talk, I will give her the Food Ball. Until then, I will hold her always!” he giggled, patting her head.

  Shadow laughed as the Fairy cooed in exactly the same way MunchMunch did when Teddy pat his head.

  Then he waddled away, Togepi happily perched in his hands.

  “That is a chair,” he said, pointing to the furniture. “When you sit on it, good food appears,” he exclaimed. “And that is a food-house,” he continued, not stopping for breath.

  “Food-stall,” Shadow called out in exasperation.

  “Oh right! Food stall,” he corrected with a giggle. “When you talk to it, it summons Chocolate Cake!” he enthused.

  “Munch —“ Shadow began.

  “Oh, and that is Mama Gastly,” he said, the warmth in his voice catching her completely off guard. “She will keep you safe, always,” he cooed, nudging the Fairy with his nose and waddling on.

  “Just… Shadow,” she mumbled after them.