The Pokémon Egg wobbled slightly, then fell still.
After a moment, it moved again. Then, the movements became more and more frequent.
Finally, it fell silent once more.
With a soft crack, a fissure appeared on the eggshell. Soon, the entire shell was covered in cracks.
Seeing this, Shana held her breath. Victor, influenced by her, held his breath as well.
A piece of the eggshell was pushed up by a small, pink hand. Then, a pink Pokémon appeared before them.
"Mime?" the Mime Jr. called out weakly.
It had a pink body and face, dark blue feet, a red bump on its belly, and a red clown-like nose on its face. Its arms were slender, and it looked as though it were wearing a small, blue clown hat.
It looked very cute.
[Mime Jr.]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Psychic, Fairy]
[Ability: Technician]
[Known Moves: Pound, Baton Pass, Encore.]
[Mood: Curious]
[Status: Innocent, Inquisitive]
[Friendship: 100 (Mom)]
[Introduction: The Mime Jr., having just hatched from its egg, has imprinted on the first person it saw as its mother.]
"A Hidden Ability, too? Is this the effect of the good luck buff?" Victor thought to himself as he read the status window.
He then held out his hands and picked up the Mime Jr.
"Hello, Mime Jr. My name is Victor. But I'm not your mom, okay? I'm your family."
"Mime?" the Mime Jr. asked quizzically, nestled in his arms.
It didn't understand.
"Oh well. You'll understand when you're older," Victor said, shaking his head. He then took a baby bottle from Gengar.
It was Moomoo Milk sweetened with Sweet Honey. The Mime Jr. held the bottle and began to suckle.
When it was finished, Victor playfully flicked its nose. It was soft and bouncy.
"Let's meet the rest of the family. This is Gengar, your eldest brother. That's Dali, your eldest sister, and Erli and Sanli are your other big brothers. This is Petilil, your older sister."
Hearing the words "eldest brother," Gengar snapped to attention in mid-air, its expression solemn.
Dali did the same. The title of "eldest sister" made her ecstatic, and Erli and Sanli behind her were just as pleased.
The Petilil's eyes were filled with joy as it looked at the Mime Jr.
I'm a big sister now?
"And little Shana is your big sister, too."
Shana's little face tensed up as she, unaccustomed to expressing her emotions, tried her best to look serious.
"Everyone, meet your new little brother. This is Mime Jr.," Victor announced, holding the Mime Jr. and introducing it formally.
"Gengar—"
"Machoke, machoke!"
"Lili~"
"He-hello."
Seeing Shana and the others greet it, the Mime Jr. jumped down from Victor's arms and waved its hands.
"Mime, Mime Jr.~"
Seeing that Mime Jr. was getting along well with the others, Victor nodded and then took the Lucky Egg he had received from the elderly couple from Gengar.
"Mime Jr., this is a welcome gift for you. Welcome to the family," Victor said, crouching down and holding out his hand, where the smooth egg lay.
"Mime~"
Mime Jr. took the egg, held it up high, and then began to spin in happy circles.
"Gen... Gengar—"
Startled, Gengar quickly used its psychic powers to clear all obstacles from Mime Jr.'s path, levitating them in the air.
"Gen... Gengar..." Gengar wiped the sweat from its brow and sighed.
"It looks like our Gengar already knows how to be a good eldest brother," Victor praised. Gengar puffed out its chest with a "but of course" expression.
Noticing that Shana was still looking down at the egg in her arms, Victor smiled and walked over to her.
"Let me take a look for you."
Shana looked up, her pigtails bouncing, and nodded happily.
Victor put on the stethoscope and listened.
[Chingling Egg][Hatching Progress: 29/30]
Feeling the shadow of the little bell move inside, Victor opened his eyes.
"It'll probably be in the next day or two. It looks like our little Shana has been taking very good care of it."
He placed the stethoscope on her ears and guided her in listening carefully to what was inside the egg.
When she opened her eyes, they were filled with surprise and joy.
Taking back the stethoscope, Victor gently pinched Shana's delicate little nose, then stood up, stopped the camera recording, and took a cute photo of the new Mime Jr.
"Mime Jr., I... let's go play together," Shana said to the Mime Jr. from a short distance away, holding her egg.
"Mime~" The Mime Jr. looked at her and nodded.
Then, holding her egg in one arm and the Petilil's hand with the other, with the Petilil holding Mime Jr.'s hand, Shana ran towards the backyard.
"Be careful not to play in the sun! Find a shady spot!" Victor called after their retreating figures.
"Okay!"
He turned his attention back to the counter, cleaned up the eggshells, and just then, an unknown number called his phone.
He answered. It was someone wanting to buy Petilil Herbal Tea.
The tea had become so popular among the older generation that the supply of shed Petilil leaves was quickly running short. Thanks to the Petilil's ability to rapidly shed and regrow its leaves, they had just barely been able to keep up.
However, because the Petilil had been providing so many leaves in a short period, it had become a bit weak lately. So, Victor had decided to stop selling the leaves themselves and only sell the brewed herbal tea, with a limit of one bottle per person.
Considering that some of the elderly had difficulty getting around, Victor would have Gengar make home deliveries.
At that moment, Victor went back to the kitchen, filled several bottles bearing the Breeding House and Gengar logos, and returned to the counter to find Gengar already wearing a hat and a small shoulder bag.
Victor had specially customized them for Gengar. The bag had a logo of Gengar making a funny face and the words "Gengar's Paradise" in large letters.
He placed the bottles in the small bag, adjusted Gengar's hat, and patted its shoulder.
"I'm counting on you today, too, Gengar."
"Gengar!"
"Leave it to me!"
Gengar stood at attention like a little soldier.
Victor pulled at the corners of Gengar's mouth. Gengar grinned in response, revealing its full set of white teeth, and took the opportunity to give Victor a lick.
"Be back soon, and be safe. Off you go."
Gengar nodded, turned, and floated out the door.
"I'll make you something delicious when you get back!" Victor called after it.
"Gengar!" Gengar gave an "OK" sign with its hand without looking back.
Victor sighed. Since the herbal tea was so popular, he decided he needed to develop a few more types.
After asking Dali to watch the counter, Victor went to the backyard.
He glanced over and saw Shana sitting on the swing with the Petilil and Mime Jr.
The small swing could actually fit her, two Pokémon, and an egg.
He smiled, waved, and told them to be careful, then went to the herb garden.
Thanks to the help of the Petilil and the Torterra, a small portion of the medicinal herbs had already matured.
As for why the herbs grew so quickly, Victor couldn't figure it out. He could only attribute it to the unique properties of the Pokémon world.
He gave the mature herbs a quick look and saw that he could make some teas for reducing internal heat and soothing coughs. He decided to add them to his tea list and have Gengar take some samples to the people of Twinleaf Town tomorrow to see if there was any demand.
He entered the garden, picked the few mature herbs, and on his way back to the Breeding House, his attention was caught by a commotion coming from an open area.
He saw Erli and Sanli sparring with the Electivire and Ambipom.
---
[Get 10+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]