Pokémon Egg Hatching

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of slippers hitting the floor made Moltres's already racing heart pound like a drum.

Crap, it had accidentally cried out!

What should it do? Destroy the evidence?

But even if it did that, it still would not escape getting beaten up.

Just as Moltres froze completely, Luo Mu rushed over with the other Pokémon. When he saw Moltres standing on one leg like a flamingo, its entire body stiff, visible terror on its face, and the Pokémon Egg beneath it flashing wildly in the incubator like a flashbang—

What was there left for him to misunderstand?

His pounding heart gradually returned to its normal rhythm, and the tension gathered in Luo Mu's body drained away at once. Only then did he realize that his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

"What was that? You scared me." Luo Mu let out a long breath, then looked at the stiff Moltres and laughed. "Relax. The Pokémon Egg is fine. These are just signs that it's about to hatch."

Hearing Luo Mu's words, the five Pokémon, fierce as demons and gods, also dropped their battle stances. Realizing that nothing was wrong, they each came over to look at the Pokémon Egg before returning indoors with yawns, hoping it would hatch safely as they went to catch up on sleep.

The misunderstanding had come quickly and gone just as quickly.

Only Luo Mu and the relieved Moltres remained, looking at each other. A few breaths later, Luo Mu broke the awkward silence first. "Didn't you hatch from a Pokémon Egg too, Moltres? Why are you making such a big fuss over this?"

Luo Mu was rather curious. Were these genderless legendary Pokémon hatched from Pokémon Eggs, or were they born from nature itself?

Moltres fell silent for a while, as if recalling old memories. A moment later, it gave a definite answer.

"When I gained consciousness and opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was magma all around me. I have no impression whatsoever of this Pokémon Egg hatching thing, let alone it glowing."

Luo Mu nodded thoughtfully. Judging by what Moltres had said, it should have been born within some volcano, and there was a strong chance that nature itself had nurtured it.

Walking over to Moltres, Luo Mu crouched down and picked up the incubator. He discovered that the third bottle of nutrient solution had also turned transparent. In just over a week, this Pokémon Egg had completely absorbed nearly all the nutrient solution that ordinary Pokémon Eggs needed twenty-one days to absorb.

Watching the Pokémon Egg pulse with light rhythmically, Luo Mu was very curious about what kind of Pokémon would hatch from it.

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

The weather had not warmed up yet. Before this new life was born, they should provide it with a warm environment.

Moltres had no objections. It slowly followed behind Luo Mu, moving its body that had not left its spot for many days and had done nothing but eat and sleep.

At the front entrance, Luo Mu opened both doors as wide as possible. Even then, they could barely accommodate Moltres as it passed through with its wings tucked in.

Before Moltres entered, Luo Mu had asked it whether the flames burning on its body were like those of Ponyta and Rapidash—whether they would not burn the surrounding environment as long as it deliberately restrained them.

Otherwise, with all the flammable wooden furniture and flooring in the Small Western-Style House, Luo Mu would not have dared let it inside.

Leading Moltres to the fireplace in the living room, Luo Mu tossed in some firewood before looking at Moltres.

Moltres: "?"

Why was he looking at it like that?

Luo Mu said helplessly, "Light it. You're the only Fire-type Pokémon here, and I can't breathe fire."

"And just spit out a few small flames. Don't set my house on fire."

Moltres: "..."

Moltres had never expected that one day it would be reduced to serving the same purpose as a lighter or match. After holding it in for a long while, it ultimately did not lose its temper. It only felt that during its time on this farm, its temperament and emotions had been stabilizing at an extremely rapid pace.

Rolling its eyes at Luo Mu, Moltres opened its long beak. Under its control, three clusters of orange-red flame fell into the fireplace, instantly igniting the firewood. Warm yellow light spread out from the hearth.

"Nice control." Luo Mu clapped in praise. Moltres raised its head, clearly pleased by Luo Mu's compliment.

After moving the Pokémon Egg near the fireplace, with Moltres beside it radiating warmth like a little sun, the first step of Pokémon hatching—creating a warm incubation environment—was complete.

Luo Mu also prepared several bottles of room-temperature Moomoo Milk that he had specifically bought during his last shopping trip, along with Scalding Water and large towels.

At a Pokémon Center, when Nurse Joy helped with a delivery, aside from a few monitoring devices, those were basically the same conditions.

Luo Mu stayed beside the fireplace with Moltres, occasionally adding firewood as they watched over the Pokémon Egg.

They kept watch for an entire day.

It was not until the Pokémon that had gone out to tend the farm all returned indoors and gathered around the Pokémon Egg in layer upon layer that the sky gradually turned dusky. At last, the Pokémon Egg's flashing frequency reached a peak.

Its nearly uninterrupted flashing made the Pokémon Egg look like a large light bulb that glowed continuously.

At that moment, the air in the house was thick with tension. Even the two usually hyperactive and lively Gossifleur noticed it, sitting obediently beside Eldegoss.

Finally, as the light reached its peak, the crisp sound of cracking eggshells jolted every person and Pokémon present.

Crack, crack—

The shell cracked faster and faster. The little life inside the Pokémon Egg also understood that this was its only chance to leave the egg. The nutrient solution Luo Mu had bought had restored strength to its once frail body, and it pushed with all its might against the inner shell using the small horn on its head.

In the silent room, even Moltres could not help but join Luo Mu and the others in silently encouraging the little life inside the Pokémon Egg with its gaze.

Moltres did not know whether it had been influenced by Luo Mu and the others, or whether, during this extremely brief period of its life, it had developed an unusual feeling because it had stayed inseparable from the Pokémon Egg.

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

The Pokémon Egg's hatching lasted only three short minutes, yet those three minutes felt as long as an entire year.

"Wooo~~~"

At the very moment the sky fully passed from dusk into darkness, a brief yet resounding cry rang out. Like dawn breaking, it brought new life.

A relieved smile appeared on Luo Mu's face as he said softly, "Little one, welcome to this wonderful world!"