Chapter 23

Darren had climbed up to the top of the Chimney Mountain, and it was already noon of a new day. He was searching for a flat path and using a thermometer to investigate the local conditions. After a while, the thermometer finally showed the standard that Darren had been looking for. Excited, he arrived at a red giant rock in the area.

Although it was a volcanic area, it was only the outskirts and not too hot, but rather warm. With the exceptional adaptability of the Swablu, Darren could hatch the egg without to much trouble, but he still wanted to create a more favorable environment. Once he found the perfect location, he began to prepare.

The Swablu was already on the edge of hatching and with the favorable environment, it would not take long for it to break out of its shell. During this time, Darren needed to sprinkle some homemade powder to prevent other Pokémon from interfering. The scent of this powder was not liked by the local Pokémon, similar to a Repel, and it was a must-have item for Darren when he traveled alone in the Fallarbor Forest.

In addition to the powder, he had also prepared some other small items, including the initial food for the Swablu. After completing a series of tasks, Darren felt exhausted and a bit sleepy.

Although there was time to rest, the constant forward movement and the concentration of attention were consuming his mind. He wanted to take a nap. This was Darren's current mood summary, but even if he was tired, he didn't want to give up. The hatching of the Pokémon egg was a responsibility that could not be avoided for a trainer or breeder. If he missed this opportunity, the word "regret" would not be enough to describe his feelings.

But his drowsiness was overwhelming, and Darren had to occasionally take a sip from his water bottle to try and stay awake. Ten minutes passed... Thirty minutes... Two hours... The Pokemon egg floated in the nutrient solution, and the shaking frequency kept attracting Darren's attention. Three hours had passed, and Darren had drunk water for the fourth time. Suddenly, he choked on the water. "Cough, cough…"

Darren opened his water bottle and coughed a few times. Fortunately, his sleepiness had decreased a bit. He wiped off the water stains from his mouth. Before he could recover, a dazzling white light filled his vision.

"Is it hatching?" Darren tried to open his eyes wider. His brown eyes stared intently at the Pokemon egg in the container. His calm expression finally changed.

"Click..." Something seemed to have stimulated the nutrient solution. It cracked open instantly, spilling the pale blue liquid all over the ground. However, Darren did not care. He reached out and held the Pokemon egg, which was fixed at the bottom of the container. The dazzling light kept dimming during this process. Finally, with a crackling sound, the white and blue eggshell appeared with spiderweb-like cracks.

Ignoring his rapidly beating heart, Darren held his breath. He seemed to have no sleepiness at all. "Come on..." He silently cheered for this little life. Darren watched nervously as the small creature hatched. It had an elegant sky-blue body and fluffy cotton-like wings. Seeing the little guy hatch successfully, Darren felt relieved.

He had waited for seven hours for the Swablu to be born. He did not expect it to be so patient. Even though it was on the verge of hatching, it had taken seven hours.

It was evening, and everything around them was peaceful. The Swablu flapped its wings gently in Darren's hand, looking bewildered at everything around it. Finally, when it saw Darren, its body relaxed, and a sense of intimacy slowly rose in its heart. It chirped happily, as if it wanted to snuggle with Darren. Darren also had the illusion that the Swablu wanted to climb onto his head, so it could rest comfortably.

After thinking for a while, Darren carefully placed the small Swablu on his head and sat down slowly.

"He likes to climb onto people's heads and pretend to be a hat, but I don't know why," he thought to himself.

"With wings like cotton, it looks like a cotton ball when it lands gently on a person's head," he said.

The Swablu had wings as soft and fluffy as cotton, and was not afraid of humans. When it landed on a person's head, it looked like a fluffy cotton hat.

Darren remembered that this behavior was a natural habit of a Swablu.

Feeling the Swablu moving on his head, Darren felt a bit uncomfortable, but he subconsciously didn't disturb the little guy.

In fact, after just a few minutes, the newly born life had played enough and fell asleep quietly on Darren's head.

As for the food that Darren had prepared, he was in no hurry to feed the Swablu. After being tossed around in the nutrient solution for so long, the Swablu had already absorbed enough nutrients.

Reaching out his finger, Darren touched the nutrient solution in the broken container. He speculated that at least 70% of the nutrients had been absorbed, which was a very good number. Additionally, the environment here probably played a significant role in this number.

How could the materials contained in the nutrient solution carefully prepared by Master Shozo be ordinary?

With such a good foundation, the Swablu in its newborn period would probably rapidly improve its strength in an explosive manner. It was likely that within a short month, it would have already grown significantly, which was why Master Shozo had the confidence to make the bet.

Generally, the beginner Pokémon given to new trainers in each region are in the newborn stage. Only a few delayed Pokemon, matured earlier. These types of Pokemon were difficult for ordinary new trainers to handle, but their strength was often slightly higher.

The Pokemon that the League distributed at the beginning were in a near-zero basic stage, and their growth had just begun. The best way to test a trainer's training and knowledge level was to improve the Pokemon's strength. The improvement of a Pokemon's strength was often closely related to the guidance of the trainer and could not be separated.

Darren was very much looking forward to the growth of the Swablu, but he was already tired.

His usual routine was quite strict, but ever since he left Fallarbor, a series of events had been too overwhelming for him.

Now, the Swablu was slowly falling asleep, so Darren cradled the little guy and crawled into the tent. Fortunately, the surrounding environment was not too cold, so they could get a good night's sleep.

After this night passed, they would embark on a new journey.