Hatching!

By the time Terrance climbed Mt. Chimney, it was already noon the next day.

Looking for a level path, he took out his thermometer and surveyed the local conditions.

Only after he had gone deep into the area did the thermometer finally reach a reading that satisfied him. Delighted, he came to a huge red boulder nearby.

Although this was a volcanic region, it was only on the outskirts. It could hardly be called hot; warm was a better word.

With a Pokémon's excellent adaptability, it could have hatched without all this trouble, but Terrance still hoped to create a good environment.

Now that he had found a spot he liked, it was time to make preparations.

Swablu was already on the verge of hatching, needing only the slightest trigger. With the environment here so suitable, it probably wouldn't be long before Swablu successfully broke out of its shell.

In the meantime, Terrance needed to scatter some homemade powder to keep other Pokémon from intruding. Pokémon in this area disliked its smell, and it had been essential whenever he ventured into Fallarbor Forest alone.

Besides that, he had some other little items.

He had even carefully prepared Swablu's first meal.

After he finished the series of tasks, exhaustion washed over Terrance, making him sleepy.

Although he had rested along the way, the constant travel and concentration had been draining his energy the entire time.

He wanted to sleep again.

That summed up how Terrance felt at the moment. But the Pokémon Egg was on the verge of hatching, and no matter how sleepy he was, Terrance didn't want to give up. He wanted to witness Swablu's birth with his own eyes. For a trainer or a breeder, this was a responsibility that couldn't be shirked. If he missed the Pokémon Egg hatching, even the word "regret" would hardly capture how he felt.

But sleepiness was hard to resist, so Terrance took a swig from the water bottle in his backpack every now and then, trying to make himself more alert.

Ten minutes...

Thirty minutes...

Two hours...

The Pokémon Egg floated in the nutrient solution, its frequent movements constantly drawing Terrance's eye.

Three hours...

A long time passed again. Terrance took his fourth swig of water and suddenly, accidentally, choked on it.

"Cough, cough..."

Terrance quickly pulled the bottle away and pounded his chest a few times. Fortunately, the commotion made him a little less sleepy.

He wiped the water from his mouth, but before he could recover, a dazzling white light filled his vision.

"This is-"

Terrance tried to open his eyes wide, his brown eyes fixed intently on the Pokémon Egg in the container. His previously calm expression finally changed.

"Crack..."

As though affected by some stimulus, the culture vessel instantly cracked under the light, spilling pale blue nutrient solution across the ground. Terrance couldn't worry about that now. He reached out and picked up the Pokémon Egg secured at the bottom of the container. The dazzling light steadily faded as he did so. Finally, with a cracking sound, a spiderweb of fractures appeared across the egg's white shell and blue markings.

Ignoring his racing heart, Terrance held his breath. All traces of sleepiness seemed to have vanished.

"Come on..."

Silently cheering the little life on, Terrance watched nervously as the tiny creature broke out of its shell, revealing an elegant sky-blue body and wings as fluffy as cotton. Seeing the little one hatch safely, Terrance breathed a sigh of relief.

He had waited a full seven hours for Swablu to be born safely.

He hadn't expected the little one to be so patient. Even on the verge of hatching, it had "dawdled" for seven hours.

It was evening again, and the surroundings were peaceful and quiet. Swablu gently flapped its wings in Terrance's palm, gazing blankly at everything around it. Finally, when it saw Terrance, its body gradually relaxed of its own accord, and a sense of familiarity slowly arose in its heart.

It chirped happily, as though it wanted to be close to Terrance. Terrance himself also had the impression that Swablu wanted to climb onto his head, as if it could sit comfortably there.

After giving it some thought, Terrance gently placed Swablu on his head and slowly sat down.

"For some reason, it really likes to quietly climb onto people's heads and disguise itself as a hat."

"It has wings like cotton, and when it gently perches on a person's head, it looks just like a cotton ball."

"Swablu has wings as light and fluffy as cotton. This Pokémon is not afraid of people. When it lands on a person's head, it looks just like a cotton hat."

Those bits of knowledge about Swablu surfaced in Terrance's mind. He knew this behavior was one of Swablu's innate habits.

He could feel Swablu moving around on his head. Although it felt a little awkward, Terrance instinctively refrained from disturbing the little one.

After only a few minutes, the newborn had tired itself out playing and lay quietly on Terrance's head, falling asleep.

As for the food Terrance had prepared, there was no hurry to feed Swablu now. After spending so long in the nutrient solution, Swablu had already absorbed enough nourishment.

Terrance reached out a finger and touched the nutrient solution in the broken container. He estimated that at least 70% of its nutrients had been absorbed, which was already a very good figure. The environment here had probably contributed quite a bit to that figure as well.

After all, how could the materials in the nutrient solution Master Katsumune had carefully prepared be ordinary?

With such a good foundation, Swablu would probably grow stronger at a rapid pace during its newborn stage, advancing in an explosive burst to its limits. It might well mature in just a month. That was also why Master Katsumune had been confident enough to make the bet.

Generally speaking, the starter Pokémon each region gave to new trainers were also at the newborn stage. Only a small number of Pokémon whose distribution had been delayed had matured a little early for some reason. Ordinary new trainers found these Pokémon difficult to handle, but their strength was often a notch higher.

The Pokémon distributed by the League all started at a stage where they had almost no foundation. Their growth had only just begun, making this the best time to test a trainer's training and breeding skills. A Pokémon's growth in strength was often closely tied to its trainer's guidance and could not be separated from it.

Terrance looked forward to Swablu's growth,

but he was tired now.

He normally kept a fairly strict routine, but since leaving Fallarbor Town, a series of events had gone far beyond what he had originally prepared for.

Now, as Swablu slowly fell asleep, Terrance held the little one securely and crawled into the tent. Fortunately, it wasn't too cold around them, so they could get a good night's sleep.

After this night passed, a brand-new journey would await them.