Chapter 62: Choice

"Hmm?"

Maki felt a soft, fluffy sensation brush against his face, sending a shiver down his spine. He almost jumped in fright, but fortunately, it was broad daylight, and the indoor lighting was sufficient—otherwise, he might have mistaken this for some sort of ghostly encounter.

Turning around, he discovered that it was the same tuft of cotton the Whimsicott he encountered in the Saffron Forest had given him.

Though he never figured out what it was for, his backpack had plenty of space, and he had no idea where else to put it. So, it had simply remained tucked away in his bag all this time.

Seeing it float out now, Maki instinctively reached out, only to hesitate midway.

A thought had just crossed his mind—this cotton came from a Whimsicott. Could it somehow help guide his choice?

The idea was a little far-fetched, but since he had nothing to lose, he decided to go along with it and see what would happen.

Following the drifting path of the cotton, Maki found himself standing in front of a particular Pokémon Egg. Compared to the others, was there anything special about this one?

Well... he stared at it for a long moment, but he couldn't see any noticeable difference.

The Whimsicott's cotton eventually settled gently on the protective shell encasing the egg.

Perhaps for safety reasons, or maybe to ensure optimal conditions for hatching, the breeding center had equipped every Pokémon Egg with a specialized incubation system. The sturdy outer shell served as an additional safeguard against accidents.

Maki shifted slightly to the side, positioning himself between the egg and the nearby staff members—not because he intended to do anything suspicious, but simply out of curiosity, wondering if the cotton would trigger some kind of special reaction.

To his disappointment, the cotton remained inert after attaching itself to the egg's shell, behaving no differently than when it was stored in his backpack.

Did I guess wrong? Was it just a coincidence?

As far as Maki could recall, Whimsicott's cotton didn't have any special properties like this, so maybe this really was just a random occurrence.

Plucking the cotton from the egg's shell, he gave it a gentle squeeze—same texture as before.

He then flipped through the breeding center's pamphlet to find information about this particular Pokémon Egg.

Abilities: Prankster or Infiltrator

Inherited Moves: Nature Power, Fake Tears, Encore, Grass Whistle, Attract, Tickle (Note: All inherited moves are probability-based.)

Prankster and Infiltrator were the primary and secondary abilities of a Cottonee. Even the breeding center couldn't determine the exact ability until the Pokémon hatched. However, since it didn't have Chlorophyll, its value was somewhat diminished.

As for the inherited moves, they certainly made an impressive list, but since they were probability-based, there was always a chance none of them would actually be present.

Typically, getting even half of the listed moves would be considered lucky—but in the end, it was all a gamble.

Maki gazed at the egg, hesitation flickering in his eyes. After carefully reviewing all the available Pokémon Eggs once more, he realized this was still the one that best suited his needs.

"Are you interested in this Pokémon Egg?"

Noticing Maki's hesitation, a staff member approached to inquire.

As for the floating tuft of cotton, he didn't seem particularly concerned.

After dealing with so many customers, he had seen all kinds of people. Using mysticism to choose a Pokémon Egg? Hardly surprising. Just the other day, someone had rolled dice to decide—it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I'll take this one," Maki finally decided.

After all, he happened to have Whimsicott's cotton, and it just so happened to land on this egg. Perhaps this was a fateful encounter—one he had no reason to refuse.

"The price of the Pokémon Egg is 400,000 League coins. If you have a Trainer License recognized by the Pokémon League, you're eligible for a 10% discount."

The so-called Trainer License was essentially proof of affiliation with the League. Given the amount of money trainers invested, it was only fair they received certain benefits.

Maki had already seen the listed prices earlier, but actually paying the amount still made his heart ache—hundreds of thousands gone in an instant.

On top of that, he was also required to purchase an incubation device for the egg. Carrying an egg around without proper equipment wasn't ideal, and there was no way he could keep it warm by holding it in his arms every day.

The incubator cost another 10,000 League coins—and it wasn't eligible for a discount. Damn it!

After securing the egg inside the incubator and placing it in his backpack, Maki turned to his Charmander, who had been relegated to walking beside him now that the egg had taken its spot.

Back in his room at the Pokémon Center, Maki carefully set the Cottonee Egg on the desk. After a moment's thought, he pushed it further in until it touched the wall—just to be extra safe.

If it fell, even with the incubator's protection, there was no guarantee it wouldn't crack.

The incubator displayed an estimated time until hatching: 15 days—about half a month.

I hope this won't disappoint me!

Maki silently wished for the best. If nothing else, he hoped it would at least have the Prankster ability.

After plugging in the incubator to ensure it was functioning properly, he took Charmander to the training grounds behind the Pokémon Center.

Since this wasn't Sabrina's Gym, releasing Dragonite here wasn't an option. If he did, Agatha of the Elite Four would likely show up with a squad of Gengars to hunt him down.

Without Dragonite's guidance, training wouldn't be as effective. Fortunately, Charmander was currently focusing on Flame Burst, which Dragonite didn't know anyway, so its absence wasn't too critical for now.

However, when Charmander eventually needed to learn Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw, calling Dragonite in for assistance would be worthwhile.

That said, Maki didn't want to rely too heavily on Dragonite. It might be helpful in training Charmander, but it wouldn't necessarily be useful for his future Pokémon.

Especially for this Cottonee—considering Dragonite's aversion to Fairy-types, it would be a miracle if it even tolerated being near one.

Speaking of Fairy-type aversion, Dragonite wasn't even the worst case. That title belonged to two other pseudo-Legendary Pokémon: Hydreigon and Kommo-o.

One was Dragon/Dark, the other Dragon/Fighting—both had suffered tremendously after Fairy-types were introduced. Kommo-o, at least, had a powerful signature Z-Move to stay relevant.

Training flew by, and before he knew it, the next day had arrived—the day their operation was set to begin.

-----------------------

Want to read ahead of schedule?

Join here for advance chapters: PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON