Chapter 98: The Pokémon Egg

The debate that had begun with Yew and unfolded between master and disciple did not last long. Delving deeper would touch upon the very foundation of the legendary beasts’ existence—a topic that Chen Ou could discuss, but which Professor Oak chose to leave at that. He could sense that, while Chen Ou might have no qualms about such knowledge, for most people it would already be at the very edge of what they could bear. Knowing more, the legendary beasts might not treat others as gently as they did Chen Ou. Among those present, only Lance might be able to trade blows with a legendary beast; the others stood no chance.

It wasn’t to belittle Wusong, but among the Elite Four, his strength truly wasn’t the highest. Within Sinnoh’s Elite Four, the strongest was Aaron with his explosive hairdo.

As for the strongest among all the Elite Fours, that was impossible to determine. The League had yet to hold any grand tournaments crossing different regions; all that could be confirmed now were rankings within each regional league.

However, rumor had it that the League was already preparing a Masters Tournament.

Then, one could finally see the level of champions and Elite Fours from each region—a perfect way to measure a region’s strength.

Chen Ou rather wanted to participate, but with his Charmeleon and Growlithe not yet fully trained, he probably wouldn’t be able to join the first Masters Tournament.

After Professor Oak took the initiative to end the line of questioning, Yew refrained from asking anything further, sensing that there might be secrets in Chen Ou’s words best left unknown. Though Chen Ou himself felt nothing amiss, there were perhaps some things that truly should not be shared with them.

Wusong, who had originally wanted to discuss matters regarding legendary beasts with Chen Ou, now saw no need.

Yet one thing was clear to all present: the secrets Chen Ou understood about the legendary beasts were certainly not gleaned from mere research. As for how he knew so much, that depended on one’s own interpretation.

No one intended to ask. Sometimes, knowing too much is not a blessing.

Seeing the silence in the room, Chen Ou changed the subject.

“Wusong, did you bring over the Pokémon egg that Cynthia asked you to deliver?”

“Oh, right! I almost forgot. Here it is.” Wusong smacked his forehead, then picked up the large backpack by his feet, placed it on the coffee table, and unzipped it.

A hatching incubator appeared.

Inside the incubator was a Pokémon egg with red markings.

The moment the incubator emerged from the backpack, the temperature in the room rose perceptibly.

Lance, Chen Ou, and Professor Oak all wore expressions of utter astonishment.

“Goodness gracious, the energy level inside is this high even before it’s hatched?” Lance couldn’t help but exclaim.

No wonder Cynthia used her Champion’s privilege to trade for it—this was certainly worth it! Professor Oak examined the patterns on the egg and remarked, “A Chimchar egg. Its talent is off the charts—frighteningly so.”

Lance glanced at Chen Ou, his expression shifting. How envious… Honestly, he was quite the handsome man himself, so why had no beautiful Champion ever gifted him such a prodigiously talented Pokémon egg?

Chen Ou’s lips twitched. Cynthia had said it was a rare gift, but “rare” hardly seemed an adequate word.

If you’d said this was a Chimchar…if you’d said it was a Victini, I’d believe it…

Even though Yew and Baici didn’t know much about Pokémon eggs, from these reactions they could tell that the little one inside was anything but ordinary.

“This is what Cynthia exchanged with her Champion’s privilege. She even kept it a secret from Aaron before the trade,” Wusong said with a helpless adjustment of his glasses.

He truly hadn’t expected Cynthia to do such a thing. Though she lacked for nothing in terms of resources, there were so many incredible things one could obtain with the Champion’s privilege.

Yet Cynthia chose to exchange it all for this single egg for Chen Ou…

“If this doesn’t count as love, what does?” Chen Ou reached out his left hand and gently caressed the incubator as if it were a rare treasure.

“This is Cynthia’s gift…” he muttered softly.

To be honest, for the first time, Chen Ou felt that his own contributions in this relationship were so small. Beneath the table, his right hand clenched tightly into a fist.

Thinking about it won’t help now; better to consider what to give Cynthia in return… Perhaps I should give her the Shiny Espurr after all.

Chen Ou forced a wry smile, then said to Wusong, “Thank you for making the trip.”

Wusong shook his head. “I know Cynthia used this as an excuse to give me a little break too. Though I’ll have to make up the work later, a couple of days off is nice. I’ve got a few days left to enjoy myself before heading back to Sinnoh, so I’ll have to trouble Lance to show me around.”

Lance thumped his chest. “No problem! I know all the best places!”

Lance’s workload had been taken over by Lorelei, so he was on break too. The two of them chatted, not wanting to inconvenience Chen Ou at all.

Chen Ou shook his head with a bitter smile. “As you like.”

Wusong continued, “Chen Ou, you’d better not put that egg away. It’s already had its hatching delayed by the League, and now we can’t quite tell when it’ll hatch, but I get the feeling it’ll be in the next couple of days.”

Hearing this, Chen Ou placed his hand atop the incubator and closed his eyes to focus.

From his palm, several fire serpents danced out, enveloping the entire incubator.

All present, except for Professor Oak and Lance, gaped at Chen Ou in shock.

What kind of ability is this? I’ve never seen such externalized power before. Directly utilizing elemental energy? I’ve never heard of such a thing. How I’d love to research it.

Yew watched Chen Ou, curiosity blazing in her eyes.

It’s just like a Fire-type Pokémon! Like Fire Punch!

Baici too was stunned.

Is this guy really human? To wield fire directly—no psychic power can explain that…

Even Wusong’s mouth twitched.

This was the very definition of the unprecedented and unheard-of! Yes, the Pokémon world was full of strange and marvelous powers, but to wield an ability so closely tied to a Pokémon type—outside of Psychic-types, this was a first.

Psychic power, at its core, was spiritual strength. Anyone with strong enough innate spirit could become a psychic—something humans could achieve.

But to wield Fire-type energy…that was not a human ability.

Chen Ou, however, seemed unfazed by their astonishment. After a moment, he withdrew his hand and the flames vanished. The egg inside the incubator began to tremble.

I’m coming out!

The little one within the egg was announcing itself.

“Come on out, little one! Come and see this world!” Chen Ou called.

ps. Thanks to Master Yin Yu Lin Shen Shi Jian Lu for the 100 Qidian coins reward! I have nothing else to offer, so let me do the splits in your honor!