Chapter Fifty: The Hatching Egg

Bang!

The satiated Pink Blaze Dragon did not choose to return to her nest, but descended into the coral forest instead.

She leisurely tended to her scales, leaving claw marks on the ground as a sign of her territory.

“Damn…” Sweat beaded on Su Yi’s forehead as he crouched in the undergrowth, for the Pink Blaze Dragon seemed to have caught a scent and was now looking in his direction with suspicion.

The grass they hid in was not tall; crouching only barely concealed them, and they were less than ten meters from the dragon. Worse still, the “Hunting Guide” at Su Yi’s waist suddenly chimed with a ding—the Azure Star on the cover lit up and began vibrating like a phone, as if trying to alert him to something.

“Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!” Su Yi groaned inwardly.

The Grimclaw Raptor had only just recovered from severe wounds; its injuries were far from healed. If they fought the Pink Blaze Dragon now, the wounds could easily reopen, leading to another grave injury and a drastic drop in combat power.

The rest of the Palico companions had almost no effective anti-air capabilities. The Pink Blaze Dragon could simply rain breath attacks from above and wear them down.

Most critically, Su Yi was down to only two flash bombs. He’d used up too many already, and in the Rotten Vale, it was nearly impossible to find more flashbugs to replenish his supply. If he couldn’t make effective use of the two remaining bombs to inflict real damage, the Pink Blaze Dragon would just take to the air again and seize the initiative.

Flying wyverns were not foolish enough to fight you on the ground. That’s a game mechanic—otherwise, all flying wyverns would be a joke.

To be honest, Su Yi wasn’t keen on fighting the Pink Blaze Dragon right now. Establishing a camp should be his top priority.

At this moment, Su Yi felt the importance of flight more keenly than ever.

Just as he prepared to send his companions into a desperate battle, a roar like music to his ears echoed out.

Awoooo!

The Pink Blaze Dragon was immediately distracted.

From the other side of the coral forest strode a bird wyvern with blue scales, about the size of a Kulu-Ya-Ku, who fearlessly issued a warning cry at an opponent several times its own size.

Su Yi gave a thumbs-up.

The Flash Bird—my friend, you are the true hero!

Enraged that such a puny creature would dare challenge her, the Pink Blaze Dragon let out a furious roar and charged at the Flash Bird.

But the Flash Bird did not flee. Instead, it unfurled its glowing membranes on either side of its head, chirping as the membranes flashed, warming up. Just as the Pink Blaze Dragon closed in, it threw back its head and released a burst of dazzling light, like an old-fashioned camera flash.

Wyverns, needing to patrol their territory and hunt from the skies, usually possess exceptional eyesight. This heightened vision makes them extremely susceptible to being blinded by sudden flashes.

The intense light immediately seared the Pink Blaze Dragon’s eyes. She howled in pain, thrashing her head and lashing out blindly with her tail.

Meanwhile, the Flash Bird, unhurried and composed, strode past the Pink Blaze Dragon and exited in another direction, its work done.

Su Yi seized the opportunity, and—with Dewgrass in tow—made a swift escape from the coral forest.

...

The coral thickets of the Coral Highlands formed many caves of coral and rock. Su Yi wasted no time slipping into a narrow cavern.

He opened the “Hunting Guide,” which was still vibrating. The book flipped itself open to the “Palico Companions” page, where a pixel-art egg icon jiggled and cracked.

“It’s a Venom Fowl’s egg!” Su Yi realized. When he’d found the Venom Fowl’s egg, it was already an embryo, nearly ready to hatch. With the help of Fiery Worm’s flaming body, it was now ready to emerge.

Su Yi placed the Venom Fowl’s egg on the ground. Dewgrass and Rotom immediately crowded around.

“The egg’s about to hatch, meow!” Dewgrass peered curiously at the trembling shell.

Rotom fired up its camera and switched to video mode. “I must record this moment, Rotom!”

Crack... crack...

The shell slowly split. Then, in a burst of light, the Venom Fowl’s egg shone brilliantly.

Su Yi was startled. “That’s what happens when a Pokémon egg hatches, isn’t it? Monsters in this world don’t hatch with special effects! Did this egg gain Pokémon traits after being stored among the companions?”

“What kind of Pokémon will it be, Rotom?” Rotom pointed its camera at the glowing egg.

As the light faded, a wrinkled, endearingly ugly Venom Fowl chick stretched out and opened its large eyes.

“Another Pokémon I’ve never seen before! A major discovery, Rotom!” Rotom snapped a photo, capturing the chick’s first look at the world.

“Waaah!” The little Venom Fowl’s first sight was Su Yi, and it instantly flung itself into his arms, opening its beak and chirping softly.

“There, there, there!” Su Yi couldn’t help but smile as he watched the little one brimming with new life.

But the chick’s cries grew more urgent and plaintive.

“Must be hungry…”

Su Yi smacked his forehead, suddenly realizing he had no experience caring for newborns.

“What do Venom Fowls eat? Scatternuts! That’s right! I remember there are scatternuts in the Coral Highlands—but where would I find them? And do Venom Fowl chicks even eat the same things as adults?”

As the cries grew more frantic, sweat broke out on Su Yi’s brow.

He usually kept some scatternuts in his inventory, but he’d used them all up as throwing ammo or eaten them as snacks. Now, he had none left.

“Su Yi, the Pokémon baby must be hungry. Did you prepare any suitable food for newborns, Rotom?” Rotom asked in confusion.

“Of course! Pokémon food!” Su Yi suddenly realized.

...

Ring ring!

Sonia, chatting with her best friend Nessa, apologized and answered her ringing phone.

“Hello? Su Yi? What’s up? What? You’ve got a newly hatched Pokémon and don’t know how to take care of it? Where are you? Okay, I’m coming!”

Nessa looked over curiously. “A friend in need?”

Sonia nodded. “A friend of Leon’s, actually his junior. He has a newborn Pokémon and isn’t sure how to care for it.”

“Leon’s friend? His junior?” Nessa was surprised—she’d never heard that the formidable Leon had a junior.

“Anyway, sorry to cut our chat short,” Sonia apologized.

Nessa just laughed. “Don’t worry. Let’s go together and take a look, shall we?”

“Yes!”

...

After finding Su Yi in the park, Sonia immediately led him to a shopping mall.

“You can get almost all Pokémon supplies here. But for baby Pokémon, you have to be extra careful—choose the right food based on their preferences, type, and typical diet. Otherwise, they could get sick or have trouble growing properly…”

Sonia stopped at a counter, explaining as she went and occasionally dropping technical terms.

Su Yi scratched his head, which was starting to itch. Was this what it felt like to grow a brain?

“Pfft!” Nessa, who had come along, couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the tall, grown man being lectured like a child.

“So, I don’t recognize this Pokémon either. Another new one you caught somewhere, I suppose? Do you know its type and diet?” Sonia asked.

“Let me check.” Su Yi turned away and opened the “Hunting Guide.”