[He gives a slight smile.] This is true. Humans do not have eggs. However... [Cautiously, he crouches to be closer to the Pidgey's eye level.] ... these particular ones were given to us. They do not seem to have parents, and are in need of caretakers. So, my-- [He glances over his shoulder at Thomas.] --friend there was not lying. Technically, it is his egg.

It cannot be good for the egg to be given back and forth amongst numerous parents, can it? [At least, he doesn't think so. He recalls reading that Pokemon, even when inside eggs, had some consciousness of the outside world. How would it respond to having no definite parent? Would that change it? And there's always the other issue:] Would you be willing to care for the child if it did not hatch looking like you? [He doesn't seem to be asking it to make a particular point; he's genuinely curious.]