"Big brother, what Pokémon is this?"
Serena held a piece of bread in her mouth while reaching straight toward the Galarian Meowth, her curiosity obvious.
"Sit properly and eat your breakfast."
Hayato Sora lightly tapped her hand, his expression stern.
"Okay!"
Serena stuck out her tongue and pushed the extra bread in front of her toward the Galarian Meowth.
"This is for you. You have to finish it all."
After quickly finishing the bread in her own hands, Serena slid off the chair and dashed outside.
"Big brother, I'm full! I'm going out to play!"
Hayato Sora sighed helplessly and asked Cyclizar to follow her.
He divided Serena's leftover bread evenly between the two Meowth.
"Eat more."
"Meow!"
With their cheeks stuffed full, the Meowth looked both surprised and grateful.
They quickly waved their paws, indicating they were already full. The rest could be saved for the Alolan Meowth.
"That works. Then we'll leave it for now."
After breakfast, Hayato Sora walked toward the lakeside.
When it saw him approaching, Veluza used its psychic power to float the Pokémon Egg over to him.
As soon as Hayato Sora touched the egg of this Mythical Pokémon, the system panel appeared.
[Phione Egg: A Pokémon Egg given as a gift by the Prince of the Sea. Don't forget to feed Phione delicious Coconut Milk Soup. Remaining hatching time: 29 days 19 hours 21 minutes 33 seconds.]
Only about a month remained until it hatched.
When Hayato Sora gently touched the egg, it trembled slightly—as if greeting him.
"Be good, alright? I'll go to Shalour City later and buy you an incubator."
As one of the Mythical Pokémon, Phione had its own special conditions.
For example, it couldn't leave water during incubation.
That was why Hayato Sora hadn't carried the egg with him.
With an incubator, things would be different.
He could place it in Kangaskhan's pouch, letting him carry it anywhere without worrying about accidents.
"Veluza, do you want to eat?"
"Bo-bo~"
Veluza shook its head, indicating it was currently undergoing intense training and shouldn't eat too much.
As for Relicanth, it only fed on plankton-like microorganisms.
After checking on the egg, Hayato Sora began his daily farm work.
By the time he finished inspecting everything, two hours had passed.
He called Cyclizar over and asked Kangaskhan to stay behind to guard the ranch.
Then Hayato Sora brought Serena to the Shalour Gym, leaving her there to play with Korrina. He would pick her up later.
With her good friend to play with, Serena didn't hesitate at all. She skipped happily into the Gym.
Meanwhile, Hayato Sora rode Cyclizar to the department store.
"Hello, how much is this incubator?"
The salesperson greeted him enthusiastically.
"This is the newest Infinite Incubator produced by the Lysandre Labs. With this special nutrient solution, it can speed up hatching by one-third."
"Hiss…"
Hayato Sora felt tempted.
"How much?"
"It's a new product launch. With the maximum discount, it's only 50,000 Poké Dollars."
"I'll pay by card."
When Hayato Sora left the department store, he carried an incubator in his arms and a large bag of nutrient solution.
"Kanga~"
Cyclizar examined it curiously.
Could a single layer of glass really speed up hatching?
Hayato Sora nimbly jumped onto Cyclizar's back.
"Let's go. Back to the ranch to try it out."
With Cyclizar sprinting at high speed, they returned to the ranch within minutes.
A group of Pokémon immediately gathered around Hayato Sora.
From her fluffy tail, Cinccino pulled out a large leaf and handed it to him.
"For me?"
"Li-li!"
Cinccino explained that a Fearow had delivered it earlier.
It said Chatot had asked it to pass along a letter.
Cyclizar stood up curiously, urging Hayato Sora to open it quickly.
Even Mudsdale squeezed its large head into the group, wanting to see it first.
When Hayato Sora unfolded the leaf, he found no words inside.
Only a simple drawing made with extremely basic lines.
Next to it was the imprint of a bird claw and a charred black mark from lightning.
Seeing this, two Pokémon immediately came to Hayato Sora's mind.
Chatot and Zapdos.
They were sending a message to say they were safe.
Looking at the main drawing, it depicted a lake.
Inside the lake, a Pokémon was sleeping.
Its abstract shape looked like a mushroom.
A mushroom-like Pokémon living in a lake…
Could it be the one he was thinking of?
The Legendary Pokémon that inhabit the three lakes of the Sinnoh Region—the trio representing Emotion, Willpower, and Knowledge.
The Lake Guardians.
He just didn't know which one it was.
Unfortunately, Chatot's drawing was far too abstract.
It was as if it didn't want to spend even one extra stroke on it.
Being able to deduce this much was already impressive.
The Pokémon surrounding him blinked their eyes repeatedly.
They looked completely confused.
"Li-li~"
(Did you understand it?)
"Gao!"
(What on earth did Chatot draw? I can't make sense of it at all.)
"Lue-lue!" ×3
Mudsdale nodded in agreement.
Cyclizar was absolutely right.
"Rong-rong~"(Kangaskhan cry)
(Hayato Sora seems to understand it. Let's ask him.)
One pair of eyes after another turned toward Hayato Sora.
The Pokémon also wanted to know how Chatot was doing.
Carefully storing the leaf-letter away, Hayato Sora casually gave Cinccino a quick head rub.
"Chatot and the others are currently in the Sinnoh Region. They're not in danger."
"Li-li?"
Cinccino asked hopefully.
"No, we can't go there," Hayato Sora said gently. "Sinnoh is very, very far away."
"Li…"
Cinccino lowered her head in disappointment.
Hayato Sora had to comfort her for a while before calling Flabébé over to take Cinccino to look for pretty flowers.
After sending Cinccino away, Hayato Sora walked toward the lake again.
He picked up the Manaphy Egg that Veluza had been guarding and placed it inside the incubator filled with nutrient solution.
He checked the panel again.
[Phione Egg: Remaining hatching time – 24 days]
"Only reduced by one-sixth… still within my expectations."
Hayato Sora nodded in understanding.
The egg of a Mythical Pokémon was naturally different from ordinary Pokémon eggs.
Just the nutritional requirements alone were enormous.
Looking at the incubator's display, the nutrient solution would last only six hours.
Changing it every six hours would be another major expense.
"Rong-rong?"
Kangaskhan, who had been following Hayato Sora closely, leaned closer, gazing eagerly at the egg.
Hayato Sora patted her armor-like chest plate and handed over the incubator.
"Boss, I'll leave it to you to take care of it."
"Rong—?!"
Kangaskhan panicked and waved her hands.
She had no experience incubating eggs and was afraid something might go wrong.
Hayato Sora gave her an encouraging look and solemnly placed the incubator in her hands.
In the entire ranch, no one was more suitable for childcare than Kangaskhan.
It could serve as early practice.
Encouraged by her Trainer, Kangaskhan's expression turned serious.
She nodded firmly.
Taking the incubator carefully, she gently placed it inside her pouch.
Then she suddenly opened her arms and lifted Hayato Sora into a big hug, affectionately rubbing her head against him.
She wouldn't disappoint him.
Hayato Sora gently patted her to reassure her, and only then did Kangaskhan set him down.
From that day onward, Kangaskhan reduced her activity.
Most of the time she sat on the grass in front of the ranch house, occasionally lifting the pouch flap to check the egg inside.
Her entire body radiated a powerful maternal aura.
The sight left the two Meowth staring in disbelief.
That giant beast had such a gentle side?
Just then, a familiar "meow" echoed out.
The Meowth ran toward the ranch gate.
The Alolan Meowth had returned—
and it had brought Morpeko with it.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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