In thePokémonanime,Pokémon Eggs have played an important role since the original series.Eggs actually debuted in the anime before they did in the games, introducing a whole new mechanic that added a lot of depth to the series' world. Eggs have played a number of roles in the series over the years. They’re sometimes found by accident, while other times eggs are awarded to the winners of contests, or given as thank you gifts to Ash and his friends for saving the day.
Sometimes it was known in advance what an egg would hatch into, while other times it was a complete surprise. Many of the Pokémon hatched from eggs would go on to become valued members of their trainer’s team, although some had rather brief stays with them.Here’s every egg hatched by a main characterthroughout the entire series ofPokémon, ordered chronologically.
10Togepi’s Egg Was the First Pokémon Egg Ever
First Appearance:Pokémon Indigo League, “Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon”
Togepi’s egg was the first egg to appear in the series, and its original airdate was over a year before the release ofPokémon GoldandSilver. It was found at an excavation site where a number of prehistoric Pokémon were secretly living underground. It was carried around by Ash, Misty, and Brock for four episodes before hatching, at which time they (and Team Rocket) had a tournament to see who would get to keep Togepi.
As one of the first second generation Pokémon to be revealed, fan anticipation about Togepi’s egg hatching was quite high.
Ash actually won the tournament, butTogepi had imprinted on Mistyso quickly that there was little choice but to let her keep it. As one of the first second generation Pokémon to be revealed,fan anticipation about Togepi’s egg hatching was quite high.Ash had to update his Pokédex to even learn what Togepi was. Togepi would go on to become a major character for the rest of the original series, and a signature Pokémon of Misty’s.
9Phanpy Was Ash’s First Egg Hatch
First Appearance:Pokémon Gold and Silver, “Extreme Pokémon!”
Phanpy’s egg was given to Ash when he won a race and stopped Team Rocket from stealing a bunch of Pokémon eggs. He was gifted the egg by a man named Mr. Shellby, who ran a Pokémon breeding center, and he was not told what was inside. Phanpy’s egg came in an incubator, designed to help the egg hatch faster, which also came with a Poké Ball to catch the newly hatched Pokémon. Phanpy’s egg took two episodes to hatch, emerging overnight as a Phanpy.
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It ran away initially, causing Ashand Team Rocketboth to chase it down. Ash retrieved Phanpy and caught it, making it his own. Ash’s Phanpy would become a member of his team, and eventually go on to evolve into Donphan. It had a friendly demeanor, eager to play with anyone, which it mostly retained even after evolving.
8Larvitar Was a Special Gift
First Appearance:Pokémon Gold and Silver, “Lapras of Luxury”
Ash was initially sent by Professor Elm to retrieve Larvitar’s egg from a nearby research facility.It was revealed that Larvitar’s egg was taken from Mount Silver by poachers. It hatched on the way back to New Bark Town, but the baby Larvitar was ill, and had to be rushed to a Pokémon Center. Team Rocket attempted to steal the newborn Pokémon, but were foiled, and Larvitar soon recovered from its illness with Ash’s help.
Professor Elm was impressed, and trusted Ash to return Larvitar to Mount Silver, where it belongs in the wild. Ash would only have Larvitar for a rather short period of time, but he grew close with the Pokémon, and saying goodbye was difficult.Larvitar was eventually reunited with its mother on Mount Silver, and Ash continued on his journey to the Silver Conference,where he would face down Gary.
7May’s Eevee Was Her Only Egg Hatch
First Appearance:Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, “May’s Egg-cellent Adventure”
May received her Eevee egg after helping a young girl who dreamed of being a Pokémon Coordinator, and preventing Team Rocket from stealing the family’s eggs, of which they had many.Like Phanpy, this egg was given in an incubator, and its contents were left as a surprise for May.It would go on to hatch into Eevee seven episodes later, after being cared for by Nurse Joy when she noticed it was nearly ready to hatch.
May’s Eevee would take to her quite quickly, and developed an interest inparticipating in Pokémon Contestsby watching May perform. May would go on to evolve her Eevee into a Glaceon inDiamond and Pearl, which she would use in the Wallace Cup against Dawn. Dawn ultimately won, but Glaceon would continue to serve as one of May’s partners in the future.
6Brock’s Happiny Foreshadowed His New Career
First Appearance:Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, “All Dressed Up With Somewhere to Go!”
Brock won Happiny’s egg after taking first place in the Pokémon Dress-Up Contest, an odd contest wherePokémon disguise themselves as other Pokémon. It spent five episodes as an egg before hatching, when Team Rocket predictably tried to steal it. Happiny proved it was no weakling, however, helping to deal with Team Rocket itself.
When Brock would eventually decide to part ways with Ash to focus on becoming a Pokémon doctor, Happiny would go on to become his chief assistant, much like Nurse Joy and Chansey. Brock’s Happiny would eventuallyevolve all the way into a Blissey, still helping Brock with his medical work by the time ofPokémon Journeys.
5Dawn’s Cyndaquil Was Her Only Egg Hatch, Too
First Appearance:Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, “An Egg Scramble!”
Dawn received her Cyndaquil egg after taking part in a special Pokémon battle at a Johto-themed festivaltaking place in the Sinnoh region. Team Rocket would once again steal the egg, only for Ash and friends to defeat them and retrieve it right before it hatched. The egg would hatch into Cyndaquil while in Dawn’s possession, greeting her with some flames from its back that singed her hair.
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It was kept in an incubator like most other eggs prior to hatching. Dawn’s Cyndaquil would go on tobecome a key member of her team, adding a little extra flair to her Contest routines. It would eventually evolve into a Quilava, offering more strength and more impressive flames.
4Ash’s Scraggy Would Join His Unova Team
Ash was given his Scraggy egg by a teacher, as thanks for helping her students when they got into trouble. As with most eggs, its contents were a mystery, and it was presented inside an incubator already. It would hatch five episodes later into a troublesome baby Scraggy, which greeted its new friends with an attempted headbutt to Pikachu.
It takes Ash a little while to fully earn Scraggy’s trust, as Scraggy would continually run off, looking to get into fights, forcing Ash to come to its rescue. Scraggy would become a key member of Ash’s Unova team, although it never evolved. Scraggy’s overconfidence would take quite some time to conquer, and it remains a feisty Pokémon to this day.
3Ash’s Noibat Egg Was Found in the Wild
First Appearance: Pokémon XY, “A Not-So-Flying Start!”
Ash’s Noibat egg was a rarity, in that it was found out in the wild by his Hawlucha, and thus didn’t have an incubator. Ash instead made use of Fletchinder’s Flame Body ability to help the egg hatch more quickly, and it soon hatched within the same episode into Noibat. Ash originally wasn’t going to catch it, helping it to learn to fly with Hawlucha, but when Team Rocket intervened, Ash had to save Noibat and Hawlucha.
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Noibat was unsure of what to do after that, so Ash offered to bring it with him, which it happily agreed to. Noibat would become anotherkey member of Ash’s team, this time in the Kalos region.It eventually evolved into a Noivern, and became a valuable ally both in and out of battle.
2Lillie’s Egg Helped Her Overcome Her Fear of Pokémon
First Appearance:Pokémon Sun & Moon, “Lillie’s Egg-xhilarating Challenge!”
Lillie was one of Ash’s friends at the Pokémon school in Alola, who had a fear of Pokémon after an incident when she was younger.Professor Oak’s cousin, Samson Oak, entrusts the class with an egg, and Lillie is nominated as the one who should care for it outside of school. Lillie would gradually grow more okay with touching the egg, and it eventually hatches five episodes later into an Alolan Vulpix, which Lillie has named Snowy.
Snowy would be Lillie’s first Pokémon, and would further help her to conquer her fear of Pokémon.Snowy never evolved, and Lillie rarely battled, making Snowy much more of a companion than a battle partner.Given Lillie’s circumstances, it makes sense that she would take things very slow with Snowy.
1Ash’s Riolu Made for An Interesting Hatch
First Appearance:Pokémon Journeys, “Caring for a Mystery!”
Ash received Riolu’s egg from a Nurse Joy, who had been caring for it for quite some time without it hatching.It reacted to Ash’s aura abilitiesand finally hatched not long after. Riolu was spunky, running off to fight wild Pokémon almost immediately after hatching in search of the aura it sensed while inside the egg.Ash came to Riolu’s rescue when it got into a fight with an Onix, and helped it back to the Pokémon Center afterward. Riolu would then accept Ash as its trainer, leading to Ash catching Riolu.
Ash’s Riolu egg was the last egg to be properly hatched in the series, and given its critical role in thePokémonanime’s finale, it seems this egg was definitely worth the effort.
Ash’s Riolu would evolve into Lucario, and go on to become a staple of his World Coronation Series team. It would even gain the ability to Mega Evolve, which helped Ash to win the Masters' Eight tournament. Ash’s Riolu egg was the last egg to be properly hatched in the series, and given its critical role in thePokémonanime’s finale, it seems this egg was definitely worth the effort.
Pokémon
Cast
Pokémon follows Ash Ketchum on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, accompanied by his loyal Pikachu. Released in 1997, the series explores Ash’s travels through various regions, where he encounters new friends and challenges, underscoring the themes of adventure and teamwork.
