Chapter 37: Pokémon Egg Hatching

Patter, patter, patter.

The sound of slippers treading on the floor made Moltres's already accelerated heartbeat pound violently like a war drum.

Oh no, I accidentally made a sound!

What should I do? Should I destroy the evidence and eliminate the body?

But even if I did that, I would still inevitably end up getting beaten to a pulp.

Just as Moltres's movements completely stiffened, Luo Mu arrived with a group of Pokémon; when he clearly saw Moltres standing on one leg like a flamingo, its entire body rigid, its face displaying a terror visible to the naked eye, and saw the Pokémon Egg beneath Moltres flashing crazily inside the incubator like a flashbang,

what else was there for him not to understand?

His frantically pounding heart gradually returned to a normal pace, and the imposing aura Luo Mu had condensed instantly deflated; only then did he feel that his back had long been soaked in cold sweat.

"What is this? You scared me." Luo Mu exhaled deeply, looked at the stiffened Moltres, and said with a wry smile, "Don't be so nervous; the Pokémon Egg is fine. This is just a sign that it's about to hatch, that's all."

Hearing Luo Mu's words, the five Pokémon, whose imposing manners were as fierce as ghosts and gods, also dismissed their battle stances; knowing nothing was wrong now, they all crowded forward to take a look at the Pokémon Egg, then, harboring wishes for the egg's successful hatching, they yawned and returned to their rooms to catch up on missed sleep.

The misunderstanding came quickly and left just as fast.

Only Luo Mu and the relieved Moltres remained at the scene, staring at each other; after a few breaths, Luo Mu was the first to break the awkward atmosphere, saying, "Moltres, weren't you hatched from a Pokémon Egg yourself? Why are you making such a huge fuss over this matter?"

Luo Mu was somewhat curious: were these genderless Legendary Pokémon hatched from Pokémon Eggs, or were they nurtured by nature itself?

Moltres fell silent for a moment, as if recalling memories of the past; after a short while, it gave an affirmative response.

"When I gained consciousness, the first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was magma surrounding me on all sides. As for this 'hatching from a Pokémon Egg' you speak of, I have absolutely no impression of ever emitting light."

Luo Mu nodded thoughtfully; analyzing Moltres's meaning, it should have been born within some volcano, and most likely was naturally nurtured...

Walking in front of Moltres, Luo Mu squatted down, picked up the incubator, and discovered that the third canister of nutrient solution had also turned transparent; in just a little over a week, this Pokémon Egg had completely absorbed the nutrient solution that an ordinary Pokémon Egg would need twenty-one days to absorb mostly.

Looking at the Pokémon Egg flashing rhythmically, Luo Mu was very curious about which kind of Pokémon would actually hatch from inside.

Luo Mu suggested, "Before the Pokémon Egg hatches, let's move inside the house and wait slowly."

The weather has not yet warmed up; before the new life descends, let us provide it with a warm environment.

Moltres had no objection to this; moving its body, which had not shifted spots for many days and had done nothing but eat and sleep, sleep and eat, it leisurely followed Luo Mu's footsteps.

At the main entrance, Luo Mu opened the two large doors as wide as possible, which barely allowed Moltres, with its wings folded in, to pass through.

Before Moltres entered, Luo Mu had asked it about this; the flames burning on its body were just like those of Ponyta and Rapidash—as long as it intentionally restrained them, they would not ignite the surrounding environment.

Otherwise, given the wooden furniture and flooring inside the small villa, materials that catch fire extremely easily, Luo Mu truly would not have dared to let it inside.

Bringing Moltres to the fireplace in the living room, Luo Mu threw some firewood in, then looked at Moltres.

Moltres: "?"

Why are you looking at me like this?

Luo Mu said helplessly, "Light the fire! You're the only Fire-type Pokémon here; I don't know how to spit fire."

"Also, just spit a few small flames; don't go setting the whole house on fire for me."

Moltres: "........."

Moltres never expected that there would be a day when it would be reduced to serving the same function as a lighter or a match; holding back for a long while, it ultimately did not lose its temper, feeling only that during its days staying at this farm, its temper and emotions were stabilizing at an extremely rapid speed.

Rolling its eyes at Luo Mu, Moltres opened its long beak, and under its control, three clusters of orange-red flames landed in the fireplace, instantly igniting the firewood; centered around the fireplace, a warm, bright yellow light lit up.

"Excellent control ability." Luo Mu clapped his hands in praise; Moltres lifted its head high, finding Luo Mu's compliment very satisfying.

Moving the Pokémon Egg to a spot not far from the fireplace, with Moltres radiating warmth like a little sun right beside it, the first step of Pokémon hatching—creating a warm hatching environment—was achieved.

Luo Mu also prepared several bottles of room-temperature Tapu Tapu Moumou Milk that he had specially purchased during his last shopping trip, along with hot water and a large Mao Jin.

Generally, when having Nurse Joy assist with delivery at a Pokémon Center, aside from some monitoring instruments, these were the only conditions available.

Luo Mu stayed by the fireplace with Moltres like this, occasionally adding more firewood, guarding the Pokémon Egg.

This vigil lasted a whole day.

It was not until the group of Pokémon that had gone out to tend the farm returned inside, surrounding the Pokémon Egg in layers inside and out, and the sky gradually turned dim yellow, that the flashing frequency of the Pokémon Egg finally reached a peak.

The nearly uninterrupted flashing made the Pokémon Egg look completely like a large light bulb emitting continuous light.

At this moment, a tense flavor lingered in the air inside the room; even the two usually skittish and lively Cottoneed sensed this, sitting very obediently beside Bai Bai Pengpeng.

Finally, when the light reached an extreme point, a crisp sound of eggshell cracking caused everyone and every Pokémon present to perk up.

Crack, crack—

The eggshell cracked faster and faster; the small life inside the Pokémon Egg also understood that this moment was its only chance to leave the egg. The nutrient solution Luo Mu had bought had restored strength to its originally weak body, and the small life inside the Pokémon Egg exerted all its might, using the small horn on its head to push against the inner shell of the egg.

In an environment of complete silence, even Moltres, just like Luo Mu and the others, used an encouraging gaze to silently cheer for the small life inside the Pokémon Egg.

Moltres did not know whether it had been infected by Luo Mu and the others, or whether during this extremely brief period in its life, simply being inseparable from the Pokémon Egg had somehow given rise to different emotions.

Moltres, which once viewed all weaklings as ants, now sincerely hoped that the incredibly weak life within the Pokémon Egg could be born into this world.

The hatching of the Pokémon Egg lasted only a short three minutes, yet these three minutes felt as long as an entire year.

"Moo~~~"

At the exact moment the sky completely transitioned from dusk to darkness, a short but loud cry, yet sounding like the breaking of dawn, brought forth new life.

A smile of relief floated onto Luo Mu's face, and he said softly, "Little one, welcome to this wonderful world!"