Chapter 84

The open-air balcony on the second floor faced the bustling street, and the sea breeze brushed past with just the right amount of warmth.

Huo La raised his hand and threw out his Poké Balls one by one, and Pokémon like Bulbasaur and Beedrill appeared in response, each finding a comfortable corner to sunbathe;

Brock also released all his partners except for the huge Onix, squatting on the side to carefully distribute feed, not forgetting to tap lightly on Geodude's rough shell with his fingertips.

Huo La leaned against the balcony railing, his gaze sweeping over the floor below—Ash, Misty, and Lilian were shouting energetically while holding signs for "Sea House Special Fried Noodles," their faces flushed red, but most of the passing tourists were attracted by the three figures shouting just as energetically in front of Granny's shop next door, and the three of them were stomping their feet in anxiety.

A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth unconsciously, and then he turned to look at the shop next door with the sign "Granny's Shop," a hint of realization flashing in his eyes.

"The weather is fine, it's really comfortable." Huo La stretched and sat down in the rattan chair.

Yesterday, he and Brock simply booked a room on the second floor of the Sea House, which was comfortable enough to observe the situation at close range and avoid the "work site" downstairs.

He took a silver-gray incubator out of his backpack, and the transparent cabin was instantly filled with light green nutrient solution. A dark purple Pokémon egg was floating quietly in it, and the fine phosphorus-like patterns on the eggshell were looming in the sunlight.

Huo La used a soft cloth to carefully wipe the stains on the surface of the cabin, and Brock, after feeding the Pokémon, was also attracted by this peculiar egg, leaning over and couldn't help but speak: "Huo La, this is... a newly found Pokémon egg?"

Huo La looked up and smiled, pushing the incubator toward him: "Brock, take a guess, what kind of Pokémon egg is this?"

Brock carefully picked up the incubator, leaned closer to examine it carefully, and tapped the transparent cabin wall lightly with his fingertips: "The eggshell has a dark purple luster, and these flame-like patterns, it's highly likely to be a Fire-type Pokémon egg. But..."

He frowned and shook his head, his tone carrying a bit of confusion, "I've never seen an egg with this kind of pattern, I can't recognize it."

When he put down the incubator, Brock's expression became more serious, and he couldn't help but remind him: "I have to tell you, illegal trading of Pokémon eggs is a violation of League regulations. Even if it's picked up by chance in the wild, it must be registered at the local League branch, otherwise it will cause trouble."

He said this not out of meddling—having traveled with Huo La for so long, this was the first time the other party had taken out this egg, which was clearly obtained recently. As someone who aspired to be a breeder, he knew better than anyone how strict the League's control over Pokémon eggs was.

Huo La nodded, his tone firm: "I naturally know about this, don't worry, it wasn't purchased illegally, the source is absolutely clean."

It was clean, but it could be considered stolen, although he stole from Team Rocket.

The League didn't have many restrictions on the capture of wild Pokémon, as long as there was no indiscriminate capture in protected areas, they basically wouldn't interfere; but the control over Pokémon eggs had tightened year by year, after all, the hatching of eggs required a specific environment, and random trading easily led to the death of Pokémon.

His father's generation debuted early and hadn't caught up with this wave of bans, but he was different—his Beedrill back then was entrusted to Professor Oak to go through the formal registration process in the League system before it was completely "legalized."

If he handed Salandit over to the League, the League probably wouldn't confiscate it, but the problem was, once reported to the League, the fact that he robbed Team Rocket couldn't be hidden.

And choosing to deliberately take out this egg, he also had the idea of testing Brock, as well as another idea.

"When this little guy hatches, I'll go to Professor Oak for help with registration." Huo La looked at the egg in the incubator, muttering to himself.

He wasn't worried about Professor Oak asking about the origin; as long as it was confirmed that there was no violation of the law, he would probably turn a blind eye, and might even take the initiative to help him cover it up.

Just as Professor Oak flashed through his mind, a familiar loud voice suddenly came from downstairs, carrying a bit of teasing: "There is a way to make money quickly~ Hi, Ash!"

Huo La and Brock were stunned at the same time, poking their heads to look downstairs—only to see Professor Oak, wearing a floral shirt and beach shorts, standing at the entrance of the "Sea House," waving at the bewildered Ash, with a kind smile on his face.

Behind him followed a figure familiar to Huo La—Delia.

Huo La's gaze swept over Professor Oak and Delia twice, and then drifted unconsciously to the other side of the beach, where a tall figure was standing.

That was a young man of about the same age as Huo La, his neat short brown hair swaying slightly in the sea breeze, also dressed in casual beach attire for vacation, a white short-sleeved shirt with khaki shorts, and flip-flops on his feet.

But unlike others, he had a simple black shoulder bag slung across his upper body, and a dark stone with distinct edges and corners hanging in front of his chest, shining with a low-key luster in the sunlight, inexplicably revealing an aura that kept people at a distance.

"Blue..." Huo La's voice spilled from his throat unconsciously, but a fierce fighting spirit instantly ignited in the depths of his eyes, and even the fingers holding the incubator tightened slightly from the effort, his knuckles turning white.

Blue, Professor Oak's eldest grandson, Gary's older brother—the legendary Trainer who should have embarked on his journey at the same time as Red and stirred up the situation in the Kanto region and even the world.

This guy not only possessed trainer talent far beyond ordinary people, but was also good at digging into the potential hidden deep within Pokémon; in his previous life, he stood side by side with Red, breaking through thorns and thistles on the stage of the Pokémon world, leaving behind countless astonishing battle records, becoming an existence looked up to by countless trainers.

Huo La had never thought that he would run into him unexpectedly on the beach of Porta Vista.

His gaze was like a precise searchlight, firmly locked on that figure.

The aura on Blue was far more restrained than in his memory, not as flamboyant and outgoing as Gary's, but revealing a sense of firmness that came from "having experienced a hundred battles";

The unknown dark stone hanging in front of his chest shone with a cold and hard luster in the sunlight, which was by no means an ordinary ornament, and most likely hid unknown mysteries.

"It seems that in the past year or so, his growth has reached a height that I find difficult to reach at the moment." Huo La pondered in his heart, his fingertips rubbing the edge of the incubator unconsciously.

"What's wrong, Huo La? Do you know that person?" Brock noticed his strange expression and looked down along his gaze, only to see a strange young man who was lowering his head to adjust his Poké Ball, dressed in casual beach clothes, looking no different from ordinary tourists.

"Yeah, he's an old acquaintance, and also one of the opponents I've always kept in mind." Huo La's gaze remained glued to Blue, but the corner of his mouth slowly hooked into an excited arc, the light in his eyes becoming increasingly scorching, "I didn't expect to run into him here, it seems there are things to do next."

As soon as the words fell, Blue on the beach seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.

Across the noisy crowd and layers of sea breeze, his gaze actually pierced through the distance precisely, locking straight onto Huo La on the second-floor balcony.

The moment their eyes met, a look of realization also appeared at the corner of Blue's mouth, a smile that carried a bit of familiarity, and hid a hint of imperceptible provocation.

He didn't stay long, just raised his hand and waved casually at Huo La, then turned around and walked toward Delia and Professor Oak, who were talking to Old Man Pook, with a calm gait.