Reading settings
he knowes pokemon more than i know _Chapter_1106_en
Chapter 216
Chapter 1096: Claiming a Pokémon Egg
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
However, Ash's expression grew solemn.
He wasn't particularly fond of this kind of behavior. During the egg stage, a Pokémon can actually already sense the outside world.
The one to two-month incubation period is also a process for a Pokémon and its trainer to build a bond.
But this method undoubtedly turned the hatching of a Pokémon egg into a purely monetary transaction.
However, Ash didn't say much. He was much more mature now than when he first started his journey.
Although he disdained such behavior, it wasn't prohibited by law, so he wasn't in a position to criticize the other person.
"What does it matter if I have time for egg hatching? I can just bond with it properly after it hatches!"
If that argument were thrown at him, Ash felt he wouldn't be able to counter it.
Moreover, in just the past few minutes, several cyclists had already whizzed by. It seemed this was a common trend.
Route 117 was a straight road stretching for several kilometers, absolutely the most suitable place in the Hoenn Region to rack up steps for hatching Pokémon eggs.
Next, the Middle-aged Man departed in the direction of Mauville City.
Once the Pokémon egg hatched, he would just come back to get it from the Cyclist; there was no need to wait around.
Meanwhile, Ash and his group pushed open the door to the Pokémon Day Care and walked inside.
The interior of the wooden building was spacious and warmly decorated, giving one a friendly feeling upon entering.
Much like a Pokémon Center, it had a spacious rest area and a PC system. At the central Front Desk sat an Elder, who was busy registering a Trainer's deposited Pokémon, or perhaps returning them.
But what surprised Ash was an advertisement board standing next to the Front Desk.
"Every Trainer may select and claim one Pokémon Egg here. If you can hatch it within a day, you can take it with you~"
A small line of text was added below.
"Of course, if you cannot hatch it within a day, as long as you write a guarantee letter and promise you will never abandon this Pokémon Egg, you may also take it with you to hatch~!"
The three of them looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Pokémon eggs were not exactly common items, and yet this place was apparently...
A giveaway?!
Hatching it within a day was indeed a bit of a stretch, but you could claim an egg just by writing a guarantee letter?
Team Rocket would probably write enough guarantee letters to cover every wall in the entire Pokémon Day Care.
"Elder, what's the deal with claiming an egg?"
Ash couldn't contain his curiosity and went over to ask.
The Elder, who wore reading glasses and had a graying beard, looked the three of them up and down. It was only after he noticed the plump, well-fed Pikachu on Ash's shoulder that he revealed a kind and friendly smile.
"Oh, you three young Trainers who have come from afar~"
Pikachu is an Electric Mouse from another region; local Trainers almost never have one.
To be able to raise one to be so plump and healthy, its Trainer couldn't be a bad person.
"Would you like to try hatching one~?"
He wore an expectant expression.
Hearing this, although the three of them didn't know the backstory, they certainly weren't going to refuse a free egg, and so they immediately nodded their heads repeatedly.
Receiving an affirmative answer, the Elder's face lit up with joy. He immediately had an Assistant take over the Front Desk while he led Ash and his companions toward an inner door.
Passing through the wooden door at the back, they arrived at the Large Grassland they had seen from the outside.
"It's no smaller than Professor Oak's Corral..."
Ash couldn't help but marvel.
But the Professor's Corral had all sorts of terrain, and beyond that, there was even a vast, jungle-covered mountain.
Here, however, there was only a vast grassland and a few scattered ponds. Looking at it for too long could still cause visual fatigue.
After all, the Pokémon here were only temporary residents, unlike at the Oak Laboratory's backyard, where they might live out their entire lives.
Under the Elder's guidance, Ash and his friends came to another Wooden House in the middle of the grassland...
It was more like a fodder shed.
And inside this spacious and warm large shed, rows upon rows of shelves were filled with all sorts of colorful Pokémon eggs.
Ash didn't count them, but the number definitely exceeded a hundred!
"This is?!"
"Incredible!"
Seeing so many Pokémon eggs for the first time, Ash and his companions all wore expressions of amazement, their eyes shining.
However, upon seeing so many eggs, the Elder's expression wasn't joyful at all. Instead, it became sorrowful.
"Sigh..."
He casually picked up a Pokémon egg, carefully weighing it in his hands.
Their Pokémon Day Care, the largest in the Hoenn Region, was not responsible for egg hatching.
But with so many Pokémon left in their care, a bit of 'breeding activity' was inevitable. Naturally, the number of mysterious eggs began to increase.
"At first, it was a good thing. No Trainer would refuse a Pokémon egg..."
Seeing that they got an extra egg just by leaving their Pokémon here, the depositing trainers became frenzied, and the number of Pokémon being left in care instantly multiplied.
This, in turn, caused the number of new Pokémon eggs to multiply as well.
"It's also our Pokémon Day Care's fault for not curbing this trend sooner..."
The Elder sighed.
At the time, seeing how good business was, they naturally accepted all comers and made a fortune.
After all, the fee for leaving a Pokémon here was not cheap.
But this Pokémon Day Care had no mature or stable regulations; they pretty much did as they pleased.
Or rather, the entire Hoenn Region was like this.
The Hoenn Region isn't like the neighboring Johto Region. Over there, while egg hatching is also popular, it's all about optimized and precise breeding; not a single egg is wasted.
Hatching eggs indiscriminately there could even result in a fine.
Especially a stud Gengar like Ash's—if it were caught, it might even be put on a cross and left to bake in the sun on the spot.
As the days went by, once the number of eggs increased, people's appreciation for them naturally decreased.
After all, having an egg is one thing, but hatching it is not a short process.
Later on, some people even started to refuse their own Pokémon eggs.
Some would even casually abandon them by the roadside right after claiming them at the entrance.
And because their Pokémon Day Care lacked a proper and mature breeding environment, the 'breeding activity' continued, causing the number of eggs inside to keep increasing.
"Ultimately, this led to the appearance of this huge group of unclaimed Pokémon eggs."
The Elder let out a deep sigh, speaking helplessly.
"Although we've managed to pull back from the brink in time, separating the male and female Pokémon of the same egg group into different areas... this isn't something that can be fixed in a day or two."
"We've already started contacting Pokémon Day Cares in the Johto Region, asking them to send over a few professionals to teach us their experience in running a day care."
"As for these Pokémon eggs, we can only post a notice and let passing trainers claim one for free, hoping to get these hot potatoes off our hands sooner rather than later."
"But they need to write a guarantee that they won't casually abandon the Pokémon egg."
"Is that so!?"
After learning the full story, Ash and his two companions' eyes immediately lit up, and they gazed at the hundred-odd Pokémon eggs around them with a fervent look.
(end of chapter)
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
However, Ash's expression grew solemn.
He wasn't particularly fond of this kind of behavior. During the egg stage, a Pokémon can actually already sense the outside world.
The one to two-month incubation period is also a process for a Pokémon and its trainer to build a bond.
But this method undoubtedly turned the hatching of a Pokémon egg into a purely monetary transaction.
However, Ash didn't say much. He was much more mature now than when he first started his journey.
Although he disdained such behavior, it wasn't prohibited by law, so he wasn't in a position to criticize the other person.
"What does it matter if I have time for egg hatching? I can just bond with it properly after it hatches!"
If that argument were thrown at him, Ash felt he wouldn't be able to counter it.
Moreover, in just the past few minutes, several cyclists had already whizzed by. It seemed this was a common trend.
Route 117 was a straight road stretching for several kilometers, absolutely the most suitable place in the Hoenn Region to rack up steps for hatching Pokémon eggs.
Next, the Middle-aged Man departed in the direction of Mauville City.
Once the Pokémon egg hatched, he would just come back to get it from the Cyclist; there was no need to wait around.
Meanwhile, Ash and his group pushed open the door to the Pokémon Day Care and walked inside.
The interior of the wooden building was spacious and warmly decorated, giving one a friendly feeling upon entering.
Much like a Pokémon Center, it had a spacious rest area and a PC system. At the central Front Desk sat an Elder, who was busy registering a Trainer's deposited Pokémon, or perhaps returning them.
But what surprised Ash was an advertisement board standing next to the Front Desk.
"Every Trainer may select and claim one Pokémon Egg here. If you can hatch it within a day, you can take it with you~"
A small line of text was added below.
"Of course, if you cannot hatch it within a day, as long as you write a guarantee letter and promise you will never abandon this Pokémon Egg, you may also take it with you to hatch~!"
The three of them looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Pokémon eggs were not exactly common items, and yet this place was apparently...
A giveaway?!
Hatching it within a day was indeed a bit of a stretch, but you could claim an egg just by writing a guarantee letter?
Team Rocket would probably write enough guarantee letters to cover every wall in the entire Pokémon Day Care.
"Elder, what's the deal with claiming an egg?"
Ash couldn't contain his curiosity and went over to ask.
The Elder, who wore reading glasses and had a graying beard, looked the three of them up and down. It was only after he noticed the plump, well-fed Pikachu on Ash's shoulder that he revealed a kind and friendly smile.
"Oh, you three young Trainers who have come from afar~"
Pikachu is an Electric Mouse from another region; local Trainers almost never have one.
To be able to raise one to be so plump and healthy, its Trainer couldn't be a bad person.
"Would you like to try hatching one~?"
He wore an expectant expression.
Hearing this, although the three of them didn't know the backstory, they certainly weren't going to refuse a free egg, and so they immediately nodded their heads repeatedly.
Receiving an affirmative answer, the Elder's face lit up with joy. He immediately had an Assistant take over the Front Desk while he led Ash and his companions toward an inner door.
Passing through the wooden door at the back, they arrived at the Large Grassland they had seen from the outside.
"It's no smaller than Professor Oak's Corral..."
Ash couldn't help but marvel.
But the Professor's Corral had all sorts of terrain, and beyond that, there was even a vast, jungle-covered mountain.
Here, however, there was only a vast grassland and a few scattered ponds. Looking at it for too long could still cause visual fatigue.
After all, the Pokémon here were only temporary residents, unlike at the Oak Laboratory's backyard, where they might live out their entire lives.
Under the Elder's guidance, Ash and his friends came to another Wooden House in the middle of the grassland...
It was more like a fodder shed.
And inside this spacious and warm large shed, rows upon rows of shelves were filled with all sorts of colorful Pokémon eggs.
Ash didn't count them, but the number definitely exceeded a hundred!
"This is?!"
"Incredible!"
Seeing so many Pokémon eggs for the first time, Ash and his companions all wore expressions of amazement, their eyes shining.
However, upon seeing so many eggs, the Elder's expression wasn't joyful at all. Instead, it became sorrowful.
"Sigh..."
He casually picked up a Pokémon egg, carefully weighing it in his hands.
Their Pokémon Day Care, the largest in the Hoenn Region, was not responsible for egg hatching.
But with so many Pokémon left in their care, a bit of 'breeding activity' was inevitable. Naturally, the number of mysterious eggs began to increase.
"At first, it was a good thing. No Trainer would refuse a Pokémon egg..."
Seeing that they got an extra egg just by leaving their Pokémon here, the depositing trainers became frenzied, and the number of Pokémon being left in care instantly multiplied.
This, in turn, caused the number of new Pokémon eggs to multiply as well.
"It's also our Pokémon Day Care's fault for not curbing this trend sooner..."
The Elder sighed.
At the time, seeing how good business was, they naturally accepted all comers and made a fortune.
After all, the fee for leaving a Pokémon here was not cheap.
But this Pokémon Day Care had no mature or stable regulations; they pretty much did as they pleased.
Or rather, the entire Hoenn Region was like this.
The Hoenn Region isn't like the neighboring Johto Region. Over there, while egg hatching is also popular, it's all about optimized and precise breeding; not a single egg is wasted.
Hatching eggs indiscriminately there could even result in a fine.
Especially a stud Gengar like Ash's—if it were caught, it might even be put on a cross and left to bake in the sun on the spot.
As the days went by, once the number of eggs increased, people's appreciation for them naturally decreased.
After all, having an egg is one thing, but hatching it is not a short process.
Later on, some people even started to refuse their own Pokémon eggs.
Some would even casually abandon them by the roadside right after claiming them at the entrance.
And because their Pokémon Day Care lacked a proper and mature breeding environment, the 'breeding activity' continued, causing the number of eggs inside to keep increasing.
"Ultimately, this led to the appearance of this huge group of unclaimed Pokémon eggs."
The Elder let out a deep sigh, speaking helplessly.
"Although we've managed to pull back from the brink in time, separating the male and female Pokémon of the same egg group into different areas... this isn't something that can be fixed in a day or two."
"We've already started contacting Pokémon Day Cares in the Johto Region, asking them to send over a few professionals to teach us their experience in running a day care."
"As for these Pokémon eggs, we can only post a notice and let passing trainers claim one for free, hoping to get these hot potatoes off our hands sooner rather than later."
"But they need to write a guarantee that they won't casually abandon the Pokémon egg."
"Is that so!?"
After learning the full story, Ash and his two companions' eyes immediately lit up, and they gazed at the hundred-odd Pokémon eggs around them with a fervent look.
(end of chapter)