"Which Pokémon is it?" Ryo asked with anticipation written all over his face. Could it be the adorable and charming Dratini, the tough-headed Bagon, or perhaps the well-behaved and clever Axew?
"It's a Trapinch," Kawaki explained. "The Pokémon in this egg is called Trapinch."
"Trapinch?" Ryo's eyes widened. Trapinch... that doesn't sound dragon-related at all!
"Before it evolves, Trapinch is a Ground-type Pokémon. You might not be familiar with the name, but if I mention its evolved form, I think you'll have heard of it," Kawaki said.
"What is it?"
"Flygon, the mysterious Pokémon that can whip up terrifying sandstorms."
Flygon... An image immediately flashed through Ryo's mind of a battle he'd once seen at the Ever Grande Conference. In that match, one contestant had used a Flygon that beat its wings and whipped up a horrifying sandstorm to attack its opponent. It was an incredibly powerful Pokémon.
"After evolving into Flygon, Trapinch's typing changes from Ground to Dragon and Ground, and it can learn powerful Dragon-type moves like Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, and Dragon Dance."
As he spoke, Kawaki glanced at the egg.
[Trapinch Egg: A Pokémon Egg that can hatch into the Ground-type Pokémon Trapinch.]
[Health Status: Healthy]
[Father: Flygon (Ace Level)]
[Mother: Flygon (Gym Leader Level)]
With an Ace-level father and Gym Leader-level mother, this egg definitely had tremendous potential.
"So, do you want to choose it as your starter Pokémon?" Kawaki asked.
Ryo hesitated. Even though Flygon was a Dragon-type Pokémon, it was quite different from the dragons he'd imagined...
After a moment's hesitation, Ryo couldn't help but ask, "Are there any other Dragon-type Pokémon here?"
"Unfortunately, no," Kawaki shook his head, then added, "But there are plenty of Pokémon suitable for beginners to raise. Well... let me introduce some to you!"
"Please do!" Ryo said.
Kawaki smiled, then looked at another Pokémon egg and began:
"A Wurmple egg. Inside, it can hatch a Pokémon called Wurmple. Its final evolved forms are Beautifly and Dustox, both Bug-type Pokémon."
As everyone knows, Bug-type Pokémon grow incredibly fast, making them perfect for beginners to raise. This way, new trainers can quickly build up some battle strength.
For example, if two trainers set out on their journeys with a Wurmple and a Dratini respectively as their starter Pokémon, by the time the Wurmple has evolved into its final form, Beautifly, and cleared several gyms, the Dratini might not even have evolved into Dragonair yet.
While their late-game potential isn't comparable, with careful training, even the weakest Bug-type Pokémon has a chance of defeating a powerful Dragonite.
Moreover, having early battle strength allows trainers to use that power to catch slower-developing dragon Pokémon.
Wurmple, a Pokémon you can encounter in roadside grass and forests, is very common...
Ryo hesitated. Personally, he was somewhat afraid of Bug-type Pokémon.
Seeing his expression, Kawaki understood.
He continued recommending the next Pokémon.
"How about Od-dish then?"
Compared to other Pokémon, Grass-type Pokémon not only grow quickly but also save resources significantly. Most of them only need sunlight, water, and soil to survive.
For trainers from poor families without much money, it's an excellent choice.
Ryo became even more conflicted.
Kawaki chuckled but didn't rush him. For someone with choice paralysis, picking one Pokémon out of twenty as their starter was indeed quite challenging.
Kawaki introduced several more Pokémon to Ryo, but he still couldn't make up his mind.
This is so hard to choose, really so hard to choose!
Ryo was incredibly torn. The image of that powerful Flygon from the battle he'd seen flashed through his mind again. Gritting his teeth, he finally made his decision.
"I've decided, I choose Trapinch!"
When you round it up, Flygon is basically a dragon!
"In that case, this little one is yours to care for from now on." Kawaki handed the Trapinch egg to Ryo.
Trapinch lives in dry deserts and isn't easily encountered in daily life, making it quite an unusual Pokémon.
Considering its capture difficulty and rarity, plus the costs of egg care and raising, breeding houses normally sell one for around ₽100,000. That converts to roughly 5,000-6,000 yuan [Chinese currency], not cheap but not expensive either.
Since these eggs weren't bred by the breeding house and no resources or money had been spent on them, Kawaki decided to sell this batch at a 20% discount.
He first explained the situation to Ryo, then said, "So you only need to pay ₽80,000."
"Thank you so much!" Ryo's face was full of gratitude. He'd brought ₽200,000 with him this time. While it wasn't much, every bit saved counts.
After paying, Ryo eagerly prepared to take the egg home.
Kawaki quickly called out to him with instructions: "The Trapinch should hatch in about half a month. Since our shop just opened and we don't have incubators ready yet, you'll need to buy one yourself from the Pokémon shop in town. Incubators are quite affordable and won't cost much."
"I understand, thank you very much!" Ryo thanked him, then rode off on his bike with the Trapinch egg.
Seeing the breeding house finally sell its first egg, Kawaki couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Only by making money could he afford to raise more Pokémon.
Being able to sell Pokémon eggs meant that starting today, his breeding house had officially gotten on track.
While the Pokémon world is generally utopian, some places still have unspoken rules.
For instance, even at breeding houses, the rarer and more uncommon the Pokémon eggs, the more expensive they are.
It's not just their rarity, but because they're harder to obtain, their prices far exceed those of common roadside Pokémon.
This very fact has given rise to the illegal Pokémon Hunter organizations, because the value of rare Pokémon is simply too high.
Daycares can be considered the only legal places in the entire Pokémon world to buy and sell young Pokémon and Pokémon eggs.
Kawaki collected his thoughts and looked at the batch of eggs before him, his gaze finally settling on one particular egg.
[Castform Egg: A Pokémon Egg that can hatch into the Normal-type Pokémon Castform.]
[Health Status: Healthy]
[Father: Castform (Ace Level)]
[Mother: Castform (Ace Level)]
[Hatching Progress: 15/23 days]
The breeding house currently needed a Water-type Pokémon to water the herb garden and berry orchard.
Castform, which can change the weather and bring down rain, would be perfect for these tasks.
In that case, he'd keep this Castform egg and raise it himself!