The Poison Swamp was shrouded in a lingering toxic mist, while the mysterious crystal floated quietly upon the water's surface.
At this moment, by the shore, the Petilil was slowly channeling streams of life energy into the Pokémon Egg nestled within the mysterious crystal.
Through the nurturing infusion of life energy, the aura of vitality within the egg grew thicker and more vigorous.
"Lil… lil~"
When the infusion was finally complete, the Petilil let out a long sigh of relief.
Seeing the breath of life inside the egg become stronger and stronger, it felt an immense sense of accomplishment.
At the same time, as the Pokémon Egg steadily grew, it too was gaining insights—its own control over life energy had clearly improved.
"Ralts, Ralts, Ralts~"
Ralts was responsible for sensing the emotional energy within the egg.
Yet compared to the previous Chansey Egg, this one seemed far more difficult when it came to forming consciousness.
And perhaps that was precisely the main reason why this Pokémon Egg had been sealed here in the first place—because it inherently carried a flaw.
"What kind of Pokémon Egg is this exactly?" Aven's gaze also rested upon the egg, deep in thought.
Since this egg was capable of absorbing poison-type energy, it naturally had to belong to a poison-type Pokémon.
Adding to that the presence of the mysterious crystal, its origin was clearly extraordinary. Even if it turned out to be the descendant of a Legendary Pokémon, Aven would not be surprised.
"So, if I want to figure out what kind of egg this is, I first need to uncover its origin."
Different Pokémon had different incubation requirements. If one knew exactly what species lay inside the egg, then the chances of hatching it successfully would increase considerably.
With that thought, his gaze involuntarily lifted to the sky. Based on the environment of the Poison Swamp, one could guess that this mysterious crystal had crashed down from the heavens.
Furthermore, perhaps because the impact had been too immense, part of the crystal had shattered, sending fragments flying into another part of the forest—those fragments had eventually formed the swamp into the current poisonous one where the Muk lived.
However, after carefully observing the two swamps, Aven felt there was a vast difference between them. This swamp here seemed unlikely to have formed solely from the mysterious crystal's power.
In addition, around this swamp he also noticed traces of a fierce battle. It was highly likely that a violent conflict between Pokémon had erupted in this very place.
And one side of that battle might have been a powerful poison-type Pokémon. This swamp itself could very well have been born in the midst of that battle, infused with that Pokémon's power.
"Perhaps everything has to start with the Poison Swamp. There's no way it formed by something so simple."
Aven narrowed his gaze at the swamp, planning to study it thoroughly. If he could unravel its mysteries, it would also be of tremendous help when it came to raising poison-type Pokémon.
He quickly picked up a stone and hurled it into the swamp. At once, a sizzling sound of corrosion rang out, and in the blink of an eye the stone melted away into bubbles before vanishing completely.
Clearly, this swamp not only contained terrifying toxins but also possessed an extremely potent corrosive force. So potent, in fact, that many poison-type Pokémon likely wouldn't be able to withstand it.
"Nido, nido, nido~"
Nidorino and Nidorina were also staring intently at the swamp before them.
Although the poison energy within the swamp was immensely tempting to them, they instinctively sensed that absorbing it would be incredibly difficult.
Beyond the venom, there was another kind of energy lurking within—an energy that made them wary, one that could inflict damage on their bodies.
"Nido… nido!"
Nidorina's eyes flickered with thought.
Faintly, she felt that this aura seemed somewhat familiar.
Cautiously, she stretched out a paw toward the swamp, and immediately the poisonous mire began to bubble and churn.
The highly corrosive sludge started to erode her skin. Yet Nidorina did not retreat—she continued to carefully sense it.
Moments later, her eyes suddenly lit up. Quickly pulling her paw back, an image flashed through her mind—the time when she had once absorbed a mass of sludge from a Tentacool's filth.
"Nidorina, are you saying this swamp contains the same kind of power as that sludge?" Aven asked with mild surprise.
According to his past research, that sludge contained a certain life toxin. After absorbing life energy, it would transform into a destructive kind of energy.
Could it be that this swamp before them also contained the very same destructive power? Perhaps this swamp itself was even born from sludge of that nature.
As the thought sank in, his frown deepened. Very few Pokémon possessed sludge-like traits—chief among them were Tentacruel and Swalot. Could one of these two have been involved in that battle here?
And beyond sludge-related traits, could there be other forces capable of producing such unique energy? Other abilities? Or even certain moves?
"Lil… lil~"
Petilil had now finished infusing the egg with life energy.
After hearing Nidorina's discovery, it too quickly came closer, peering cautiously at the swamp.
Strangely enough, it felt an inexplicable repulsion toward the swamp deep in its heart. The feeling was odd and hard to describe.
At first it thought this was simply the natural counter of poison energy against grass-type Pokémon. But upon reconsidering, that explanation didn't seem to fit.
If this swamp indeed contained destructive energy born from life toxins, then everything made sense—the repulsion it felt was undoubtedly toward that destructive energy itself.
"Petilil, try focusing your life energy at the swamp." Aven suggested after some thought.
Petilil nodded. Its body began to radiate a concentrated glow of life energy, forming into a glowing orb that floated gently before it.
The orb slowly drifted toward the swamp, emanating ripples of life energy into the surroundings.
But the very instant it touched the swamp, it suddenly shuddered. At once, the life energy within began to corrode rapidly.
Seeing this, both Aven and Petilil's expressions hardened—the swamp truly could erode life energy!
After successfully consuming the orb, the swamp pulsed with renewed strength. At the same time, the mysterious crystal began to glow faintly, as though resonating with the swamp.
Through that life energy, the entire swamp seemed to awaken, radiating a mysterious force. Dense poison began to spread even more thickly into the air.
"Muk?"
"MUUUK~!"
Muk's figure, soaking within the swamp, suddenly let out an excited cry.
The power released by the swamp made it feel immensely comfortable—clearly, it was very fond of this poisonous force.
"Poison fused with life energy… isn't this precisely Living Toxin?" Aven's eyes narrowed.
Then his gaze fell on Muk itself. If one were to speak of Living Toxin, Muk was essentially its very embodiment.
It was formed from countless venoms merging together, with special life energy interwoven into it, thus creating a new kind of poisonous lifeform. That was why such an inconceivable Pokémon as Muk even existed!
In that case, perhaps this also explained why Muk had been born. That mysterious crystal could very well be a Living Toxin Crystal, and this Pokémon Egg was borrowing its power to incubate.
"Could it be… that inside the crystal is actually a Muk's Pokémon Egg?" Aven muttered to himself, doubtful yet thoughtful.
The notion made him let out a bitter chuckle. "Forget it—once the egg hatches, we'll know everything."
For now, he had gained a much deeper understanding of both the Poison Swamp and the mysterious crystal, and new ideas on how to help incubate the egg had already begun to form in his mind.
The key would be the concept of Living Toxin —and that could possibly be tested using Tentacool's sludge.
If he could infuse life energy into that sludge, it would then contain Living Toxin. By further supplementing it with resources that carried both poison and life energy, he could concoct a special kind of nutrient solution.
That might just be the breakthrough needed to hatch this extraordinary egg!
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Not sure If my translation of Living Toxin is correct so cross my fingers on that one, also chapters are gonna be short starting this point for a while. I think author got too busy or something for a while.)