Wingull Hatches

After cramming these past few days, Zeno had reinforced much of his Pokémon Breeder knowledge and felt a little more confident about the upcoming Breeder exam.

After reading in his room for so long, Zeno's eyes felt sore. He was about to go out for a walk when he heard Carvanha shouting loudly in the yard. He hurried outside and saw the egg by the shore glowing and shaking nonstop.

Sapphire and Gu Yan noticed the commotion as well and eagerly came over to watch. Ruby happened to be playing at the research institute too, and when he heard that a Pokémon was about to hatch from an egg, he quickly caught up with them.

Four people and one fish gathered around the Wingull egg, staring intently. Though they were all excited, no one dared make a sound, afraid of disturbing the baby about to be born.

After a while, the Pokémon egg's glow became brighter and brighter, so dazzling that no one could keep their eyes open. When the light finally faded, the egg had vanished, replaced by a tiny white chick.

It was small and delicate, with blue markings on its wings and tail. Its claws and long beak were orange-yellow, and its little wings drooped at its sides as it curled into a tiny ball. It looked especially adorable.

"Miiy~"

Wingull slowly opened its damp little eyes and let out a soft, babyish cry that nearly melted everyone's hearts.

"It's so cute! Newborn babies are just too adorable." Compared to this baby Wingull, even Dorara no longer seemed as appealing to Sapphire.

"I'm so touched. This is my first time seeing a Pokémon being born!" Ruby felt that this trip had been completely worthwhile. After all, such a sight was rare.

Wingull glanced over everyone before quickly fixing its gaze on Zeno. His presence felt familiar, and Wingull recognized him at once. Flapping its tiny wings, it slowly flew toward Zeno.

Perhaps because it had only just been born, Wingull's flight was unsteady. Afraid it might suddenly fall, Zeno quickly reached out and caught it. Wingull followed his hand and threw itself into his arms.

"Miiy~"

"Are you hungry? Wait here, I'll get you something to eat."

There was still plenty of the Moomoo Milk Aunt Makiko had sent over earlier. Zeno had tried some himself and thought it tasted great. He had heard that this milk was especially suitable for newborn Pokémon, so he had deliberately saved it until now.

After soothing Wingull, Zeno handed it over to his fellow apprentices. Wingull was not shy around strangers at all and was quite bold. Even with everyone watching it, it behaved naturally.

Carvanha had its own special food bowl, so Zeno had specifically bought one for Wingull as well. It even had a chibi portrait of Wingull printed on it. Hatching from its egg must have taken a lot out of it, so Zeno poured it a full bowl.

The moment it smelled the Moomoo Milk, Wingull perked up and flew toward Zeno with its wings spread. Seeing how impatient it was, Zeno smiled helplessly and quickly set down its food bowl.

Wingull held the bowl with both tiny wings and drank happily. Moomoo Milk really suited its taste.

"Senior Brother, I still have quite a lot left. Want me to give it all to you?" Seeing how happily Wingull was drinking, Sapphire suddenly remembered that she still had plenty.

"No need. Dorara is still little too, isn't it? You can save yours for it. If it isn't enough, we can go to Rustboro City and buy more in a few days."

Zeno saw Dorara staring at Wingull's food bowl. It must like Moomoo Milk too, but it was such a well-behaved child, staying quiet for fear of causing anyone trouble.

"Good thing you reminded me, Senior Brother."

Sapphire crouched down to look at Dorara and only then noticed its expression. Right, it was a baby too. She really had not thought things through.

Though Wingull was tiny, it had quite the appetite. The full bowl of Moomoo Milk was soon drained.

It looked especially funny now, sitting on the ground with its little bottom planted there, rubbing its tiny belly with both wings. It burped from time to time, with plenty of milk stains still clinging to its chin.

"Miiy!"

Wingull looked at Zeno and chirped happily.

"You want me to hold you? Then come over here yourself!"

Zeno opened his arms and crouched in front of it. Wingull's tender little claws were still not used to walking, and it toddled unsteadily toward Zeno. Anyone who did not know better might have thought it was drunk on milk.

The moment it entered Zeno's arms, Wingull found a comfortable position and slowly curled up to sleep. Its carefree sleeping face was so adorable that Zeno's heart melted. Babies really were the best—once they were full, they slept without a single worry.

"It's asleep now too. Everyone, go get back to your own things." Seeing that the three of them still had not had their fill of watching, Zeno could not help reminding them.

"Senior Brother, when Wingull wakes up, remember to have it come play with Dorara."

"No problem, I know."

"Oh, right. The raw stone from before has already been cut. It made three Thunder Stones, one for each of us."

Sapphire opened her little backpack, and three Thunder Stones came into view. Seeing that the two of them had not moved for a while, Sapphire quickly called them over.

"These Thunder Stones are high quality. They must be worth a lot. Are you sure you can bear to give them away?" Gu Yan looked them over and asked uncertainly.

"Of course. This was our shared achievement, wasn't it? I'm not that stingy."

"Raw stone? You dug it up yourselves?" Ruby was shocked. He had not expected that they had found something like that during their last outing.

"Of course! I'm amazing, right?" Seeing the envy on his face, Sapphire proudly put her hands on her hips and kept showing off her skills.

"That's incredible!"

Ruby envied their experiences. Recently, he had been attending a Coordinator training class in town and had no time at all to go out.

"Since Junior Sister is being so generous, I'll shamelessly accept it." You could never have too many Evolution Stones, especially ones of such high quality. They were always hard to come by. Zeno thought they might come in handy someday.

"By the way, Zeno, how has your studying been? Are you confident about the Breeder exam in three days?"

"I should be fine!"

"Little Senior Brother, you're so smart. There's definitely no problem. Once you become a Breeder, you'll have to help take care of all my Pokémon!"

"No problem, leave it to me!"

"Brother Zeno, if there's anything I don't understand about raising Pokémon in the future, can I ask you for help too?" Ruby was not as confident as Sapphire, so he asked in a tentative tone.

"Of course. Come find me anytime!"

The way they spoke made it seem as though they already knew Zeno would pass. Still, their attitude gave Zeno quite a bit more confidence.