Skorupi Hatching

When he reappeared on the streets of Goldenrod City, Aoki had already put on his original League identity mask.

This ability to maintain multiple identities allows him to act freely in many situations. As long as he can control each identity and keep them from interfering with each other, he can avoid a lot of trouble.

For example, when dealing with the gang earlier, he wore the mask of a nameless street kid. Even if someone investigated, they wouldn't be able to trace anything back to Aoki.

Goldenrod is more beautiful at night than during the day, with city lights illuminating the streets in a dazzling array of colors.

Aoki remained unaffected by the killings just now. In his previous life, he had long since come to understand the nature of this world, and he had grown used to bloodshed.

He skillfully navigated his way to the bustling black market, where he sold the Pokémon and Pokéballs to Pokémon merchants, earning a total of 80,000 Pokecoins.

Perhaps the Beedrill taken down by Murkrow and Gastly was the gang leader's main Pokémon, making the remaining Pokémon less valuable. Even so, they fetched a total of 80,000 Pokecoins.

As for why he didn't turn them in for a bounty at the Hunter Guild—it was simple. The Hunter Guild follows its own rules, and they don't accept Pokémon that have already been trained by others.

This time, he didn't linger in the black market for too long, nor did he draw much attention. After selling the Pokémon, he immediately used the money to purchase supplies, stocking up on antidotes and wound medicine.

By the time he left the black market, the moon was already high in the sky, and the once-crowded streets had become sparse.

Finding a high-end hotel nearby, he spent 3,000 Pokecoins to book a luxury suite. Since the money had been taken from others, he felt no guilt about spending it.

Following the room number, he found his suite.

As expected of a luxury suite, the room was spacious, even allowing for some physical training exercises for his Pokémon.

Dinner had already been taken care of before heading to the black market.

It had to be said—Aoki and Murkrow were quite similar. After dealing with the gang, they immediately went to eat, and their appetites weren't affected in the slightest. Murkrow, in particular, seemed to eat with even greater enthusiasm after releasing its pent-up battle instincts.

Slowpoke, however, felt a little disappointed that it hadn't gotten a chance to fight.

After entering the room, Aoki locked the door while Gastly instinctively scanned the area to ensure it was safe.

Tomorrow, it would be time to leave Goldenrod City. Earlier, in the black market, Aoki had found information on a few reliable Nidoran colonies from an intelligence broker.

While the early rewards of hunter missions weren't particularly high, as his rank increased, the future earnings would grow significantly. Right now, the priority was leveling up.

Just as he was sitting on the sofa, contemplating how to get to Cianwood City, Gastly suddenly interrupted him.

"What is it, Gastly?" Aoki asked, looking at the Pokémon floating in front of him.

"Jie Jie~" Gastly let out a mischievous laugh before sinking into Aoki's shadow.

"Could it be…?" Aoki's eyes narrowed slightly.

Sure enough, as if sensing his thoughts, Gastly quickly emerged from the shadows again. This time, it held an incubator with its smoky hands.

When Aoki saw the incubator, his eyes lit up.

"Skorupi!"

He took the incubator containing the Skorupi egg from Gastly and glanced at the incubation timer. Less than five minutes remained.

Slowpoke and Murkrow also noticed Gastly's actions and gathered around with excitement.

The first companion to hatch from an egg would also be the youngest in the group.

The addition of a new teammate always brought joy, and training was momentarily set aside. Aoki and his Pokémon all focused their attention on the egg.

Among them, Slowpoke was the most sensitive to the event.

With its proficiency in psychic powers, it could clearly sense the surging life force inside the egg, as well as the increasingly strong heartbeat.

Time, which usually passed quickly, now seemed to crawl. Every second felt like an eternity.

Finally, after five long minutes, the egg began to tremble slightly, and the incubator slowly opened as the countdown reached zero.

The egg was fully exposed to the air, and a faint purple mist started to rise from its surface. The shaking grew more intense, as if something inside was struggling to break free.

"Crack!"

A small fracture appeared on the eggshell, and the purple mist that had been lingering around the egg suddenly surged toward the crack.

With the mist's help, the cracks spread rapidly. More and more sounds of breaking echoed in the room as the fractures multiplied across the eggshell.

"Bang!"

At last, the eggshell could no longer contain the little creature inside. It shattered completely, revealing a blue and purple Pokémon now lying in front of Aoki.

The tiny Pokémon, no bigger than the palm of a hand, appeared full of energy. Its bright blue eyes locked onto Aoki, filled with both curiosity and a natural sense of closeness.

Its long, segmented tail, which made up nearly half of its body, stood upright. Two white pincers extended above its head, waving gently in the air—almost as if it were asking to be held.

"Welcome to the world, little one."

Aoki chuckled as he extended his hand toward the newborn Skorupi.

Skorupi glanced at Aoki, then at the offered hand. After a brief moment of hesitation, it understood the gesture and happily leaped onto Aoki's palm.

Aoki immediately took out a bottle of fresh Miltank milk, inserted a small straw into it, and placed it in front of Skorupi.

"Try this—you'll like it."

The newborn Skorupi had expended a lot of energy breaking free from its shell. Sniffing the bottle curiously, it caught the sweet scent of milk, and its eyes lit up.

Grasping the straw in its mouth, it took a small sip.

The taste was wonderful!

As it drank more, the flavor seemed to improve. Eventually, it gripped the bottle tightly with its small pincers, happily drinking while occasionally letting out excited chirps.

While Skorupi enjoyed its milk, Aoki activated the system to scan its information.

Pokémon: Skorupi (Light Cyan)

Gender: Male

Level: 1

Type: Poison + Bug

Ability: Sniper

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Screech, Agility, Poison Tail, Pursuit

Basic Moves: Bite, Poison Sting, Leer

TM Moves: Bug Bite, Knock Off

Learnt Moves: None

Aoki's eyes gleamed with excitement. It had the Sniper ability!

If he could find items that increased its critical hit rate, then Skorupi—no, Drapion—could become the strongest burst-damage Pokémon on his team.

Especially against Pokémon weak to its attacks, even a five-level difference wouldn't save them from an instant knockout.

Another pleasant surprise was that Skorupi had inherited two useful moves: Bug Bite and Knock Off. This showed that its potential was excellent.

With its light cyan aptitude, Skorupi had the highest potential of any Pokémon on Aoki's team so far. Even a single tier difference in potential made a huge impact in battle.

Murkrow and Slowpoke were excited about their new teammate. They wanted to touch the little guy but hesitated, afraid they might be too rough. Their cautious excitement made Aoki chuckle.

To reassure them, he gently stroked Skorupi's shell. It wasn't too hard yet—slightly rough, but not rigid.

Following Aoki's lead, Slowpoke and Murkrow carefully touched the tiny Pokémon. However, Skorupi was too focused on drinking milk to notice.

After finishing the bottle, it let out a satisfied burp, then climbed up Aoki's arm and nestled into his shoulder. Closing its eyes, it drifted off to sleep.

Its small pincers clung tightly to Aoki's clothes, making it nearly impossible to shake off.

Slowpoke and the others took one last look at Skorupi before returning to their training.

Aoki smiled, keeping his future plans for Skorupi in mind. For now, everything was under control.