Hatching!

Two months later.

On the Eastsea Academy training field, the students of First-Year Class Five were still running nonstop.

No, they were no longer First-Year Class Five. They were now First-Year Class Three.

Over the past two months, they had completed two Class Promotion Tournaments and successfully advanced from Class Five to Class Three.

Next would be Class Two, then Class One.

Wu Zhangkong's gaze continually swept over those figures.

Four figures were running at the very front.

Two of them were each holding an Incubator.

A gentle glow appeared in Gu Yue's hand. It was pure light-element energy.

Humanoid Flame Body!

"Su Yu, I think it's about to hatch!" Gu Yue asked as she ran.

"It should be within the next few days!" Su Yu looked at the Incubator in his arms.

"I'm so jealous of you two!" Xie Xie said sourly from the side.

"You can join Team Rocket too!" Tang Wulin said with a smile.

"I want to, but my dad says Team Rocket is a little..." Xie Xie glanced at Su Yu and Gu Yue, then trailed off without saying the rest.

Today's physical training ended quickly, and the morning classes were over as well.

"Come on, let's eat!" Tang Wulin said hungrily, clutching his stomach.

"Let's go!" Su Yu was still holding the Incubator in his arms.

Gu Yue was doing the same.

It should hatch within the next few days, so it was better to keep holding it. What if it hatched when they were not paying attention?

If they were not there when the Pokémon opened its eyes and did not see them first, they would lose the best chance to raise their bond.

Just as the four of them headed toward the cafeteria, Su Yu's communicator rang.

"Hello!"

"Boss, it's about to hatch! Cracks have appeared!" Lin He's anxious voice came through.

Su Yu perked up and said, "I'll be right there!"

He ended the call and ran toward the academy gates.

Gu Yue had vaguely heard something about hatching, so she immediately followed Su Yu.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked at each other.

"They're progressing so fast!" Xie Xie murmured.

"Yeah." Tang Wulin nodded.

When Su Yu reached the school gate, he directly opened the door of a Soul Guidance Car and got in.

He had bought this car for convenience, and he had even gone to get a driver's license so he could drive it.

If he had not been a Soul Master, he would not even have been eligible to take the test at his age.

After Gu Yue got into the car as well.

"What happened?" Gu Yue asked curiously.

"Lin He's Pokémon Egg is about to hatch!"

Gu Yue froze, then her eyes lit up. "It's hatching? I want to see!"

"Alright, alright!"

The Soul Guidance Car started up and headed toward Team Rocket Tower.

Team Rocket.

Su Yu and Gu Yue pushed open the doors of Team Rocket and headed straight underground.

At this point, Team Rocket had recruited some employees, more or less, though not many.

However, they still had no high-level Soul Masters. They all looked down on Team Rocket for not having any high-level business yet.

With only Energy Cubes, it was easy to see where life in Team Rocket would lead.

Underground.

Lin He stood inside a room specially designed for hatching.

When Su Yu and Gu Yue entered, they saw fine cracks spreading across a brown Pokémon Egg inside the incubator.

The egg was also swaying slightly.

The cracks grew more numerous and larger.

The shaking became increasingly intense as well.

"Soon, soon!" Lin He stared at the Pokémon Egg with a face full of excitement.

Gu Yue also watched the Pokémon Egg hatch with immense curiosity.

She even raised her hand, sending a gentle glow to envelop the Pokémon Egg.

The egg shook even more violently!

Your Pokémon Egg seems to be shaking!

A crack has appeared!

Congratulations! You hatched a Buneary!

As white light flickered, a little rabbit appeared before everyone's eyes.

Its entire body was covered in fluffy light-brown fur, while its belly and ear tips were cream-colored.

Its distinctive long ears curled backward into spirals.

"Let's go outside first!" Su Yu pulled Gu Yue out of the hatching room.

"What was that Pokémon just now?" Gu Yue asked curiously.

"Buneary!" Su Yu answered.

"Buneary? Then what will mine be?" Gu Yue lowered her head and looked at the Incubator she had been holding all along.

Su Yu smiled. "Take a guess!"

"Hmph!" Gu Yue turned her head away and stopped looking at Su Yu.

"It worked!" Lin He happily walked out of the hatching room.

She held a green Poké Ball in her hand.

Buneary stood on Lin He's shoulder.

"Buneary!" Buneary softly called into Lin He's ear.

"What should I do now?" Lin He asked.

"Just form a contract with her like you would with a Spirit Soul. Afterward, she'll provide the Soul Ring you need!" Su Yu answered.

"Alright!" Lin He looked at Buneary.

Buneary was looking at her too.

"Remember to write a report!" Su Yu said before leaving.

He had only come to see whether anything would go wrong during the hatching.

Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.

Lin He remembered something and called out to Su Yu, who had not yet left.

"Boss, the Pokémon Eggs in the hatching room should all be close to hatching too, right?"

"Yeah! They really are all close to hatching!" Su Yu nodded, then said, "I know. I have arrangements for that."

Su Yu and Gu Yue left Team Rocket and got into the Soul Guidance Car.

Su Yu slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was already Arceus.

Before him stood a dense forest.

This was still Arceus Space, but he had used some Power of Creation to alter it.

This place was intended as a habitat for the newly hatched Pokémon.

Pokémon could reproduce and thrive here. That way, their numbers could increase on their own instead of being directly created by Arceus.

Later, Soul Masters could enter this space, gain the Pokémon's recognition, and form contracts with them.

It was somewhat similar to the Spirit Ascension Platform of the Spirit Pagoda.

He named this place the Pokémon World.

As for whether a Titled Douluo might enter and attack Arceus.

First, Titled Douluo already had full Soul Rings and did not need Pokémon to provide them, so under normal circumstances, they would not be able to enter.

Besides, this was Arceus's world. Here, he feared no one unless they were a god.

Of course, it was not as though just any Titled Douluo could be brought in.

To create this place, Arceus had used the Power of Creation again.

He still had a long way to go before creating the second elder.

However, the Pokémon World had functions beyond providing a home for Pokémon.

For example, this small world no longer needed the Power of Creation to sustain it. It could even feed Power of Creation back to Arceus.

Unless its territory needed to be expanded.

Also, Pokémon would grow while living here.

In the future, there might be more than just eighteen great elders. There could be other Tyranitar elders, Dragonite elders, and Pikachu elders.

They were far more reliable than those Soul Masters.