As the first piece of eggshell fell, the once perfectly shaped Pokémon egg quickly lost its balance and toppled onto the prepared blanket.
Aiden felt his breath catch for a moment, then immediately jogged over.
Thud—
This time, it was a dull thud.
Along with the sound came the sight of Bagon breaking through the shell from the inside, revealing half its head.
As the Bagon struggling to break free continued to squirm, the soon-to-crack Pokémon egg began to rock left and right on the blanket.
"Mew~"
Mew instinctively reached out, seemingly wanting to pull out the newborn Bagon, but Aiden quickly picked Mew up.
"Let it do it on its own at this point."
Watching the Bagon struggle hard, although Aiden was also anxious, he still held back the urge to intervene.
Fortunately, this Bagon seemed to indeed have endless energy, as Lance had mentioned.
Under repeated headbutt attacks, the already heavily cracked shell finally broke open wide enough for the Bagon to crawl out easily.
"Bui..."
Eevee, who had been silently observing, couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Indeed worthy of being a new member of our Sunlight Gym, showing resilience from such a young age!"
Aiden chuckled and gently cradled the newly hatched little one, whose eyes were still closed.
Newborn life forms really are a bit ugly-cute.
However, it had finally evolved from a Pokémon egg into a "hatching cutie."
"It looks like it's going to be a very lively Bagon."
Cynthia smiled knowingly, looking at the Bagon in Aiden's hands, perhaps recalling the time she hatched Gible.
"Kaar... "
It seemed to sense the trainer's thoughts, and the now mature and reliable Garchomp immediately turned its head away.
For most "late bloomers" among Pokémon, their childhoods could definitely be considered dark history.
At least every time Garchomp recalled it, it felt very embarrassed.
Why was I so useless when I was little!
"Eeeng—"
The vitality of Pokémon is truly extraordinary.
In the short while Aiden held it in his hands, the little one that had just used all its strength to break out of the shell had already regained quite a bit of energy.
After letting out a sharp cry, the Bagon struggled to open its eyes.
Seeing the world outside the eggshell for the first time, the "giant" Mew and Eevee around it made it feel somewhat uneasy.
However, when it looked up and saw Aiden gazing at it gently, it somehow calmed down quickly.
"It seems indeed as Mr. Lance said."
Cynthia, seeing this, revealed a comforting smile.
"This little one must have gotten used to your scent while still in the Pokémon egg, right?"
Most Pokémon have a special habit of becoming very dependent on the first creature they see after birth, even considering it their mother.
From the Bagon's behavior, it seemed to have known about Aiden's presence outside?
Perhaps only the mysterious yet real existence called "bond" could explain it.
Pokémon truly are magical creatures.
"It seems I do have quite a connection with it."
Aiden smiled faintly and brought it closer to his face.
"Then, please take care of me from now on, Bagon~"
"Eee!"
The Bagon immediately laughed, instinctively nodding.
Subsequently—
Before Aiden could react, with all its might, it headbutted him right on the tip of his nose.
"Ouch!"
Aiden exclaimed in surprise.
Fortunately, the newly hatched little one didn't have much strength, so it didn't cause any harm.
But...
Why did the previously cute Bagon suddenly attack him?
"I think this might be Bagon's way of showing affection?"
Seeing Aiden covering his nose with one hand, Cynthia couldn't help but laugh wryly, as if she deeply understood this behavior.
"When Garchomp was still a Gible, it loved to bite things it liked, even biting me and many other Pokémon in the lab."
"Kaar!"
Upon having its dark history exposed by Cynthia, Garchomp immediately nervously reached out and covered Cynthia's mouth with its claws from behind, preventing her from continuing.
You can't say that!
Is this something you tell outsiders!?
Aiden gazed complexly at the cute little Bagon in his hand.
If this child expresses affection by headbutting, will I be able to withstand it when it grows up...
Being a trainer is indeed a high-risk profession, especially a Dragon Master!
However, he vaguely remembered that among the conditions for Bagon's evolution, there was indeed one—
All Bagons are dreamers who yearn to fly, believing they will one day soar freely in the sky.
Thus, they jump off cliffs to practice flying, persistently repeating this behavior until their skulls become extremely hard from the jumping.
When their skull hardness is sufficient, upon evolving into Shelgon, the skull turns into a thick cocoon-like structure, protecting their bodies while providing ample space for wing development.
Once Shelgon completes its transformation, this hard shell fulfills its mission, naturally falling off like an eggshell, leaving only a small part on the abdomen for protection.
A supremely powerful Sky Tyrant Salamence is thus born.
In other words, for Bagon to evolve, its head must be iron-hard.
Calling you an Ironhead Baby, you really are!
While worrying about his future, Aiden couldn't help but look forward—
Raising an iron-headed Bagon into a majestic, incredibly cool Salamence actually sounds pretty good!
Wait?
If something that can't fly evolves like a Bagon, will it be able to fly?
"Mew?"
o.O?
Mew soon curiously flew in front of the Bagon, quietly observing its body structure.
One look and you could tell; this was its preparatory action before using Transform.
It seems Mew intended to transform into a Bagon to play nicely with this little one?
Thinking of this, Aiden silently shook his head.
No matter how long it lived, it always felt like a child who hadn't grown up psychologically...
Feeling Mew's gaze, the Bagon quickly turned its head.
Then—
With a Bang sound, the Bagon's headbutt zero-frame move directly hit Mew's face, making it spin a circle in the air while emitting a pained cry.
"Mew!"
Mew instantly became angry, issuing a warning-like meow, then quickly hid behind Aiden.
Having witnessed the entire scene, Aiden quickly smiled.
Truly, every creature has its nemesis.
In this house, perhaps only this newly hatched Bagon in his palm could make Mew suffer a setback…
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