Chapter 17

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"Let's check out the ten new eggs first, consider it restocking."

Dak stretched and yawned, already feeling sleepy.

Still, he mustered up the energy to step out of his room to see the ten eggs now situated under the tree.

The newly appeared ten eggs were clearly separated from the remaining seven on either side of the tree, making it easy for Dak to distinguish between them.

As a breeder, he knew he was far from qualified, lacking practical experience in caring for Pokémon, not to mention estimating the hatching time of the eggs by their sheen and color.

[Talent Detection]

[White]x1

[Green]x4

[Blue]x4

[Purple]x1

"Hmm, green and blue are average qualities, got that right. White probably represents 'troublemakers,' and purple are 'the neighbor's kids.'"

Dak assessed the eggs' quality distribution, getting a rough idea of the talent levels among Pokémon eggs.

Regarding the higher orange, gold, and red grades, since no such eggs had appeared yet, Dak could only guess their patterns. Orange grade likely appears more in 'pseudo-legendary' species, followed by starter Pokémon or those with higher base stats.

Gold grade would mostly belong to 'legendary Pokémon,' like Darkrai.

Red and Ash's Pikachu?

"Dak?!"

At that moment, Darkrai, noticing Dak was not sleeping, floated out of the room.

Immediately spotting the new eggs under the tree, it floated excitedly around them, showing great interest.

However, Darkrai's excitement didn't last long.

It suddenly sensed an aura it found repulsive.

Turning its head, Darkrai saw Dak holding a light yellow feather, seemingly radiating specks of moonlight.

[New Moon Feather: A feather from Cresselia, said to grant its holder beautiful dreams every night; or even allow one to meet the soul of a deceased loved one in their dreams, after which the feather turns to ash. The effect is triggered based on the holder's desires.]

"..."

Cresselia, a legendary Pokémon known as the 'Lunar Pokémon,' naturally repels Darkrai, known as the 'Nightmare Pokémon,' due to their opposing natures. This isn't about good or evil but rather a natural aversion stemming from their species' traits, although it's not impossible for these Pokémon species to be friends, just unlikely.

Holding the feather, Dak felt a serene peace, as if he could lie down and have a wonderful dream right away.

But the 'meeting a deceased soul in dreams' part made him speculate.

Quickly, Dak opened the Poké Mart to check the price of the New Moon Feather.

[Poké Mart]

[New Moon Feather: 10k Poké Coins]

Worth a billion Berries, this price seemed high for just a feather.

If it were merely about having beautiful dreams, it probably wouldn't be worth so much.

His speculation wasn't wrong.

'Meeting a deceased soul'

This wasn't about encountering a fabricated person in dreams based on one's thoughts, but a real meeting with the deceased's soul, a feature not originally in the feather but added by the system.

Such a feature justified its billion Berry price tag.

A billion Berries.

That's about the cost of a Ancient Zoan-type Devil Fruit, which could change a lot in this world dominated by pirates.

In this world, if you ask anyone whether they'd prefer a 'Devil Fruit' or 'Meeting with a deceased soul,' most would choose the former for survival and future prospects.

But that doesn't mean the latter isn't worth a billion Berries.

If the feather and its function were known across the seas, everyone would clamor for it, with some even willing to pay tens or hundreds of billions of Berries.

Exaggeration? Not at all. Not to mention people like Nami, Chopper, Neptune, Senior Pink in ten years.

Even now.

Sengoku, Zeff, Law, Tsuru, Jinbei, Robin, Brook, Rayleigh, the Akazaya Nine...

These individuals would surely want this feather.

"This is indeed an incredible find."

Dak held the light yellow feather in his hand.

If he wasn't so familiar with the characters of One Piece, it wouldn't matter. But knowing them well, he understood the feather's value.

Unexaggeratedly, this feather could fetch the equivalent of 10k Poké Coins in his hands, equating to a max-level special ability.

"But..."

Dak's gaze shifted to the word 'bound.'

Clearly, this wasn't something he could sell. The system didn't intend for him to exploit this loophole, wanting him to focus on running the Nursery.

[Bound: Not tradable, but can be used by the owner or given to someone within the Nursery]

The message was clear.

It could only be used internally.

"Ha."

But if the system thought this would limit his development, it was sorely mistaken.

Humans excel at finding loopholes.

He might not be able to exchange the feather for a large number of Poké Coins, but he could trade it for a powerful ally or a potential future powerhouse.

Having decided to establish a [Pokémon League], the league would inevitably need loyal and strong members.

Strength was easy to come by in a world with Devil Fruits and Haki, not to mention Pokémon.

But loyalty was a challenge.

Even within the Whitebeard Pirates, with their close-knit atmosphere, there was Teach and the easily swayed Squard. The seas were no different.

Dak preferred to cultivate characters from the original story who might not have been strong but were loyal, like some officers of the Donquixote Family, a few of Moria's subordinates, Mr. 1 from Baroque Works, etc.

Having read the original story, Dak knew quite a few such characters.

The only uncertainty was whether these individuals had already joined the organizations they were meant to join in the future. If not, he could intercept them; otherwise, he would let it be.

"Dak."

"Hmm? Ah, time to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow, see where we end up."

(End of Chapter)