Chapter 233:
October 27th.
This was a momentous day.
Because it was the day Sprigatito would hatch.
In the garden.
Early in the morning, apart from a few busy Pokémon, almost all the Pokémon had gathered in the garden.
Under the watchful eyes of all the Pokémon, a green-glowing Pokémon Egg sat in the center.
[Pokémon: Sprigatito,
Mother: A two-year-old, highly talented Meowscarada.
Description:...
Egg Moves: Leech Seed, Ally Switch.
Hatching Time: 5min]
There were only 5 minutes left until hatching, and the egg was already emitting a green glow.
The Pokémon who possessed Aura power could even sense the little life inside struggling to break free from the shell.
Hayashi Kaede did not intervene in this process at all.
Alolan Vulpix was stomping its feet impatiently beside him.
Wondering why it wasn't out yet.
Finally, in a flash of pure white light, the eggshell gradually disappeared.
A soft meow sounded.
"Sprigatito?"
Pale green fur all over, pinkish-white sclera, a emerald green leaf-like decorative scarf around its neck, and leaf-like whiskers.
Sprigatito had successfully hatched!
The newly hatched Sprigatito was about the same size as Alolan Vulpix had been at birth.
About the size of two fists held together, while the current Alolan Vulpix was two or three times larger.
Even Pokémon couldn't be born at their normal adult size.
However, with sufficient energy, they would rapidly grow to adult size within about a week.
With his long awaited Sprigatito being hatched, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but check its status.
[Pokémon: Sprigatito]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Potential: Red]
[IVs: HP (22) Attack (28) Sp. Atk (19) Defense (27) Sp. Def (24) Speed (31)]
[Level: 3-5]
[Moves: Ally Switch, Leech Seed]
[Description: A newly hatched Sprigatito, but seems very close to you due to being nurtured by Veridian Power during incubation.]
[Friendship: 80]
[Happiness: 60 (Meow, warm source...)]
80 Friendship!
80 Friendship right from birth! And nurtured by Veridian Power, it seemed even its HP IV had increased.
Hayashi Kaede was overjoyed. This level of friendship meant he could pet and cuddle it as much as he wanted.
"Vulpix!"
It wasn't just Hayashi Kaede who was excited about Sprigatito's arrival; Alolan Vulpix was too.
It jumped up, then blinked its sparkling eyes and came to Sprigatito's side. "Vulpix!!" (I'm the Vulpix Squad Leader of the trainer! Join our Vulpix Squad! I'll take good care of you!)
"Sprigatito?"
The newly hatched Sprigatito glanced at Alolan Vulpix, got a fright, and couldn't help but take a step back.
"Sprigatito..."
But that one step broke Alolan Vulpix's heart a little.
Sprigatito blinked and looked around, anxiously searching for something.
Even inside the egg, it could feel a very warm presence constantly enveloping it.
But looking now, there was Dragonite flying in the sky, the Eevees and Alolan Vulpix surrounding it, Serperior, Younger Sister Indeedee...
It scanned past all of them but didn't see the warm embrace it wanted. Finally, it grew anxious, wanting to retreat, to escape the circle of Pokémon.
As soon as it stepped back, a pair of hands picked it up.
Sprigatito couldn't help but struggle, looking back at the same time.
When it looked back and saw Hayashi Kaede's smiling face, its eyes instantly lit up.
The warm place was here...
"Sprigatito~!"
It couldn't help but reach a paw out towards Hayashi Kaede.
"Sprigatito..."
This melted Hayashi Kaede's heart. The smile on his face softened. "Alright, alright, I'll hold you~"
Then he turned Sprigatito around and held it in his arms.
"Sprigatito~..."
Sprigatito looked at the human before it, feeling the familiar feeling coming from him. It didn't know how else to express its dependence, so it could only lick the hand that was holding it.
"Indeedee~"
Younger Sister Indeedee brought over the pre-warmed MooMoo Milk.
For newly hatched Pokémon, MooMoo Milk was the best food.
Not to mention, one of the Miltank had now reached a higher Level, and the quality of its milk had reached S-grade.
"Sprigatito?"
Although Hayashi Kaede's embrace was warm, the newborn Sprigatito smelled the milk and couldn't help but look at Younger Sister Indeedee, letting out a tender cry.
Clearly, its stomach was hungry too.
"Indeedee."
Younger Sister Indeedee quickly brought the milk over.
And so, Sprigatito's first feeding was done personally by Hayashi Kaede.
Watching Sprigatito drink the milk, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but feed it with one hand while stroking its fur with the other. Sprigatito seemed ravenous, slurping down the milk noisily as its paw hugged the bottle of MooMoo milk. The MooMoo Milk dripped down, covering its mouth with milk, but it didn't notice.
Younger Sister Indeedee had to bring a tissue to wipe it clean.
Watching this, Alolan Vulpix's eyes widened.
In its mind, shouldn't the newly hatched Sprigatito join it as a new member of the Vulpix Squad?
But in the blink of an eye, it was in the trainer's arms.
╰（‵□′）╯: "Vulpix..."
It stomped its feet anxiously, but Serperior tapped it with its tail from behind. It pouted and settled down.
"Sprigatito~"
After finishing a bottle of MooMoo Milk, Sprigatito let out a milky burp, then snuggled back into Hayashi Kaede's arms, contentedly closing its eyes.
Only then did Hayashi Kaede have the chance to introduce the other impatient Pokémon in the plantation.
He sat down in the garden, with Sprigatito on his lap.
"This is Alolan Vulpix."
Hayashi Kaede held it facing Alolan Vulpix.
"Vulpix~"
Alolan Vulpix put on a smile again.
"Sprigatito..."
Sprigatito turned its head away.
"Vulpix...."
Seeing Alolan Vulpix's crestfallen face, Hayashi Kaede helplessly pulled it closer too. Then he lifted Sprigatito to face him. "My name is Hayashi Kaede. Starting today, I'm your trainer~"
"Sprigatito~"
Sprigatito's mouth immediately turned up at the corners. It reached out a paw, meowing, and nodded.
"Sprigatito..."
The tender meow seemed to say, "Okay, okay, you're my trainer."
This time, when Hayashi Kaede turned the little cat towards the other Pokémon.
"And these are all my partners. This is Alolan Vulpix."
"Sprigatito?"
This time, Sprigatito finally, as if reluctantly, greeted Alolan Vulpix.
"Sprigatito...."
After introducing Alolan Vulpix, little nine enthusiastically came over and started introducing itself too.
Sprigatito nodded curiously.
"And this is Serperior, this is Eevee, little five..."
But as Hayashi Kaede continued the introductions, its head quickly became muddled. Faced with such a large group of Pokémon, it immediately lost interest and turned to bury itself in Hayashi Kaede's embrace.
Hayashi Kaede also felt he might have been a bit too hasty.
It was definitely difficult for a newly hatched Sprigatito to recognize all the Pokémon at once.
So, Hayashi Kaede stopped rushing the introductions, and simply set it down, planning to let it explore this place on its own first.
"Sprigatito~?"
The newborn Sprigatito carefully stepped onto the garden grass and looked around.
Its eyes were met with a field full of flowers, making them shine even brighter.
A Combee happened to fly by at that moment. Sprigatito paused for a second, then immediately started chasing after it on its still unsteady little feet.
The Combee was very busy. It ignored Sprigatito and turned to fly off to collect nectar.
Sprigatito was a bit puzzled, watching one Combee after another flying back and forth.
It couldn't help but wonder what they were doing, so it followed one Combee towards the barn.
Behind it, everyone was also curious about where the newly hatched Sprigatito would eventually go.
Unfortunately, the barn entrance was a bit low. Serperior could manage, but Dragonite had to lower its head. Still, this didn't stop Dragonite's curiosity about Sprigatito's exploration.
"Miltank~"
Seeing so many Pokémon coming in together, the Miltank also called out in surprise.
The sound startled Sprigatito, and it turned to run back to Hayashi Kaede.
But when it found the source of the sound and saw the kind-faced Miltank, it became less afraid. It even proactively approached them.
"Miltank~" (Want some milk?)
"Miltank~" (It's sweet...)
Seeing such a small Pokémon, the Miltank's maternal instinct to provide milk surged.
"Sprigatito?"
Sprigatito smelled the milky scent coming from them. Although it was somewhat tempted, it had just finished drinking and wasn't hungry now. So, it just glanced and then left.
Past the barn was the plantation.
Here, Milotic and Brionne poked their heads out of the water, looking curiously at the newborn little one.
And Steenee, having evolved, had become much more lively. Now, seeing another Grass-type Pokémon in the plantation, it couldn't help but come over from under the Petaya Berry tree to say hello.
"Steenee~?"
"Sprigatito..."
But Sprigatito seemed quite aloof. It just let out a simple cry before continuing along the plantation path.
Until...
It saw Salamence guarding the entrance between the plantation and the Breeding House. It jumped in fright.
Its fur puffed up, and it quickly ran back to Hayashi Kaede's side. "Sprigatito Sprigatito Sprigatito..!!!"
"Salamence..."
Salamence, who had been sleeping, was woken by this startled cry. It lifted its head, looked at the fluffed-up Sprigatito, lazily yawned, then turned over and went back to sleep.
Hayashi Kaede picked up Sprigatito, and only then did it become less afraid.
But by now, it had pretty much explored all the places it could in the plantation.
So, Hayashi Kaede carried Sprigatito to his room, placed it on his bed. The fun-loving Alolan Vulpix and the Eevees also crowded over. After cleaning the dust from their paws, they climbed onto the bed too.
Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but say, "It might be a bit crowded, but for now, this is where you'll sleep."
With more and more fluffy Pokémon, his bed was indeed getting a bit small.
Once the Eevees evolved and their size increased, it would truly be too crowded.
(*^▽^*): "Sprigatito~"
But the newborn Sprigatito absolutely loved this place.
It immediately burrowed into the blanket, then excitedly started meowing.
It's worth mentioning, the intended meaning from a newly hatched Pokémon is too vague. Even using Aura power and Veridian Power, Hayashi Kaede couldn't accurately grasp what Sprigatito was trying to express.
He could only roughly understand that Sprigatito found this place comfortable and liked it here.
Because it had his scent here.
Once on the bed, Alolan Vulpix and the Eevees still hadn't given up on befriending Sprigatito. They crowded around again, wanting to play with it.
But Sprigatito just yawned, then lay down on the blanket and fell asleep.
Seeing this, Hayashi Kaede could only say softly, "Alright, Sprigatito was just born. Don't rush it, okay."
However, looking at Sprigatito's sleeping posture, he couldn't help but feel emotional.
Newborn Pokémon are just so cute when they sleep.
Their fur isn't fully formed yet, but it is very fine, soft and looks very light.
He really wanted to pick it up and give it a good petting.
Just then, Younger Sister Indeedee walked in, making a shushing gesture to the Eevees and Alolan Vulpix.
Newborn Pokémon are very sleepy after eating; after all they need to absorb the energy for rapid early growth.
So, it's best not to disturb them while they sleep.
Alolan Vulpix and the Eevees nodded, tiptoeing out of the room.
"Then I'll leave it to you~ Let me know when Sprigatito wakes up."
Hayashi Kaede patted Younger Sister Indeedee's head, entrusting the care of Sprigatito to it.
"Indeedee~" (Okay~)
The smile on Younger Sister Indeedee's face grew wider.
After leaving Sprigatito in Younger Sister Indeedee's care, Hayashi Kaede walked out of the room and went to the plantation.
Looking at Salamence, who had been woken up and was now spacing out, he took out the small chair he carried in a storage ball and sat down beside it. "What are you thinking about?"
"Salamence?"
Salamence snapped out of its daze and listlessly turned its head away.
Hayashi Kaede wasn't surprised.
Although he had convinced Salamence to stay, in reality, its days here consisted of just eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, with no other activities.
It didn't blend in with the other Pokémon, spending every day sleeping here and there.
Its bones had grown lazy from all the sleep.
Even the Miltank were now required by Hayashi Kaede to take regular walks in the garden.
Only when Hayashi Kaede called it would it be willing to move a little.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
It wasn't like Dragonite. Although Dragonite was strong, it was still a juvenile among its kind, so it could easily blend in with the other Pokémon in the plantation.
Salamence was already in its prime, probably having lived close to a hundred years. Naturally, it couldn't play those simple games like the other Pokémon anymore.
Seeing it didn't respond, Hayashi Kaede patted its shoulder. "Let me guess, you're thinking about Rayquaza, right?"
This time, Salamence turned its head back. "Salamence..." (It's so strong...)