The Pokémon Egg That Was a Perfect Match

Giovanni Rika looked at the eager youths below and cast aside all pity in her heart. She turned to Miyamoto and instructed:

"Begin!"

Miyamoto nodded, took out a remote, pressed its button, and shouted.

"Begin! You only have one hour."

Beep!!!

The towering platform began to descend until it was about the height of an ordinary table.

The Team Rocket members guarding the thousand youths retreated to the outermost edges. Their Pokémon waited quietly beside them, ready to act when it was over.

After roughly thirty seconds of silence, the moment the first boy charged toward the Starter Pokémon Eggs, all one thousand youths sprang into motion.

Some played it safe and rushed toward the Pokémon Eggs nearby, while others made for the Starter Pokémon Eggs.

In short, the entire place erupted!

There was no need to worry about the Pokémon Eggs. Every incubator was as hard as steel, and these youths could not break them.

But the place soon descended into utter chaos. Trampling, shoving, fighting, crying... all manner of chaotic scenes mingled together, and the smell of blood filled the air.

That meant someone had already died, which was only normal. In a stampede involving a thousand people, it would have been strange if no one died.

"This is the law of survival," Giovanni Rika murmured atop the platform. "Only the strongest and the luckiest can stand out."

Looking down, she spotted a few unusual youths.

One was a tall, burly boy who stood half a body taller than the average youth.

Like a Machamp, he shoved aside every boy blocking his path and headed straight toward the Fighting-type Pokémon Eggs.

There was also a girl making her way toward the Starter Pokémon Eggs with nimble movements.

And a seemingly frail boy had gathered over a dozen youths around him, all following his instructions and moving together.

Though he had been jostled, Giovanni, who had already been at the very back of the crowd, had indeed escaped disaster. He had Miyamoto to thank for that.

Otherwise, Giovanni really would not have been confident he could protect himself.

Having arrived too late, he had neither timing nor numbers on his side, but he did have a favorable position.

Now he looked toward the Ground-type Pokémon Eggs and lifted his foot, about to push through the dense crowd to seize the Pokémon Egg that would be his.

But suddenly, his heart trembled. For some unknown reason, he had a premonition that if he continued to choose a Ground-type Pokémon, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Somewhere behind him, there seemed to be a presence that was an unparalleled match for him, waiting for him.

Giovanni whipped his head around. Just as I thought!

Bug-type!

It was one of those Bug-type Pokémon Eggs.

As time passed, even though Bug-type Pokémon were truly unpopular, some youths had still chosen the more easily obtained Bug-type Pokémon Eggs.

Now Giovanni had to decide whether to trust his premonition or play it safe.

In the brief moment he hesitated, that premonition grew even stronger.

He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I'll take the gamble!"

Though he hated gambling, circumstances now kept forcing him to gamble. But sometimes, opportunities really did come this way!

Giovanni quickly rushed toward the Bug-type Pokémon Eggs. Aside from a very few others, he was practically heading in the opposite direction from everyone.

But from above, he was still quite conspicuous.

Standing high above, Miyamoto smiled faintly when she saw Giovanni rush toward the Bug-type Pokémon Eggs. "Clever little brat. Now let's see whether you're lucky."

The closer he got to those Bug-type Pokémon Eggs, the stronger that feeling became.

However, as the easiest Pokémon Eggs to obtain, there were at least sixty Bug-type Pokémon Eggs here. Picking one from among them was an enormous gamble.

Giovanni was not a Pokémon Breeder and could not judge the quality of a Pokémon Egg by its appearance.

So he could only resort to a crude method: relying entirely on his feelings.

The few other youths who had come over were just as lost as Giovanni. If there had not been so few people coming this way, they might simply have grabbed an egg at random.

Giovanni ignored them and began picking up the incubators holding the Pokémon Eggs one by one, placing his hand on each to feel it out.

He went through them one after another.

His actions naturally drew the attention of the other youths, and a few imitated him, picking and choosing.

One slightly older-looking boy with spiky white hair, however, kept watching Giovanni with ill intent.

Rather than choosing without a clue, he might as well snatch the best one.

He figured that since Giovanni knew how to choose, he must be looking for the best one. That would save him quite a bit of trouble.

Giovanni knew nothing of this. He was still searching for the Pokémon Egg calling to him.

When he finally reached the incubator in the farthest corner, the instant he placed his hand on it, a feeling of closeness reached his heart.

It was as though he and the Pokémon Egg inside this incubator were naturally a perfect match.

Giovanni brightened. "Found you!"

He hurriedly gathered the incubator into his arms. After all, if nothing went wrong, this Pokémon would be Giovanni's first Pokémon, his first partner.

That held immense significance, whether for his previous life or this one.

At that thought, Giovanni could not help saying:

"Don't worry, little one. I'll take you to the top, step by step, to the very best position!"

As though it could sense Giovanni's emotions, the Pokémon Egg inside the incubator actually rocked twice, seemingly responding to him.

Giovanni was amazed by this and could not help asking the Pokémon Egg inside the incubator:

"Can you understand me?"

But before the Pokémon Egg could rock in answer, and without giving Giovanni any more time to share this tender moment with it,

an abrupt voice sounded from beside him:

"Hey, kid, hand over that Pokémon Egg in your arms! I, the great Nohara, want it!"

The smile on Giovanni's face slowly faded. He turned to look, and there stood the boy with spiky white hair.

He was staring avidly at the incubator in Giovanni's arms, as though he had already claimed it as his own.

The other youths naturally noticed the commotion, but none would meddle. Rather than waste time on this, they would be better off choosing their own Pokémon sooner.

Still, they felt some pity when they saw that Giovanni was a head shorter than Nohara and far more slightly built.

The Pokémon Egg he had painstakingly selected was about to be snatched away just like that.

But if Giovanni really gave in and handed the Pokémon Egg to Nohara, they might follow Nohara's example and snatch the next Pokémon Egg Giovanni chose.

Their hopes, however, were doomed to come to nothing.

Giovanni would never let go. What belonged to him was not something anyone else could take!

Giovanni's eyes turned slightly cold, and a faint killing intent slowly began to emanate from him. If he could kill a Pokémon, he could kill a human!

"Get lost!"

Giovanni's stare unnerved Nohara, but he had already said his piece, and he had seen the mocking looks from the nearby youths.

With a boy's pride, he was unwilling to lose face.

Hearing Giovanni tell him to get lost only made his face flush crimson with humiliation and anger.

"You're asking for death!"