After cleaning the Pokémon egg, holding it in his arms, Yuga and Chatot were somewhat dazed.
Yuga had just experienced a "heart-pounding" delivery, and he was still somewhat lost in thought. Chatot, on the other hand, hadn't fully realized that it was about to become a father.
Both of them had just gone through a first in their lives—Yuga with his first delivery, and Chatot with his first experience as a father.
The egg had a light brown exterior with dark brown spots distributed across it. It was obvious that it would hatch into a Hoothoot, not a Chatot.
Yuga took out a blanket from his backpack and covered the sleeping Noctowl. After all, the weather in Sinnoh was still a bit chilly at this time, and considering that Noctowl had just given birth, it was better to be cautious.
Looking at the egg in Yuga's arms, Flint exclaimed in surprise, "I never thought Yuga would be delivering Pokémon. You're amazing!"
Volkner also chimed in, saying, "Yeah, this is the first time I've seen a Pokémon egg being laid!"
Yuga smiled and explained, "My family runs a Day Care, so I'm quite familiar with these things. I didn't expect Noctowl to suddenly show signs of giving birth."
"I see!"
Hearing Yuga's words, both Flint and Volkner suddenly understood.
Looking at Chatot, who was still staring blankly at the egg in Yuga's arms, Yuga asked, "Do you want to touch your child?"
"Uh... maybe not." Chatot looked embarrassed, appearing as if it wanted to approach but wasn't quite daring to, which was quite amusing.
Eevee, sitting on the table nearby, stared at the Hoothoot egg in Yuga's arms with wide curious eyes.
"Is this Chatot the father of this child?" Flint asked in surprise.
It wasn't surprising that Flint was taken aback, considering the difference in size between Chatot and Noctowl.
When Noctowl retracted its wings and stood up, it was about one meter and fifty centimeters tall, roughly the height of a human teenager. In contrast, Chatot was just a little over half a meter tall, not even half the size of Noctowl.
Understanding what Flint meant, Chatot felt somewhat belittled and retorted with a raised voice, "What do you mean? I'm way bigger than you in the places that matter! Want to test it out?"
Chatot's unexpected flirtatiousness caught Flint and Volkner off guard, causing both of them, despite being young men in their twenties, to blush.
Yuga raised his hand and gave Chatot a slap on its head, causing Chatot to shrink back in embarrassment. He then said, "Haha, you guys know, it's just the way it is with Chatot."
"Haha... haha..."
Flint and Volkner also chuckled awkwardly.
Only Eevee had a pair of round eyes, looking left and right, not understanding what was happening.
By this time, there was no Pokémon Egg Incubator specially placed on the train. Yuga had to hold the egg carefully in his arms.
This egg's potential wasn't high; it had an ordinary yellow quality. However, Yuga wasn't surprised.
Both its parents were yellow quality Pokémon. Although its mother was a pseudo-Elite Pokémon and had received the blessing of Celebi, its father was quite mediocre, averaging out the potential.
When Noctowl woke up, the sky was already darkening. The train was now very quiet, and Flint, Chatot, Volkner, as well as Eevee and others, had all fallen asleep.
Upon waking up, Noctowl stared at its child in Yuga's arms, its eyes filled with maternal radiance.
Yuga, who had been dozing off, noticed Noctowl's gaze. Although it had recovered somewhat, its weariness was still evident.
"Noctowl, would you like to eat something or drink some water?" Yuga asked.
Noctowl looked at Yuga and nodded slowly, probably because it had been helped so much by Yuga during the birthing process, making it less cold towards him.
First, Yuga took out a canister containing Pokéblocks and fed a few to Noctowl. Then, he fetched a water cup and let it drink some water.
Yuga said, "Your child is very healthy. With both me and Chatot looking after it, you don't have to worry. Just rest well and recover as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Noctowl nodded, casting a lingering look at its child before sinking back into deep sleep.
The next day, when Yuga woke up, he heard Flint pointing outside and saying, "Yuga, take a look. We're entering the range of the Mount Coronet."
Probably afraid of waking up Volkner and others who were still sound asleep, Flint's voice was unusually low.
Yuga opened his eyes and looked out the window. Sure enough, he saw steep peaks on either side of the train tracks not too far away, and the vegetation around them had subtly changed.
Perhaps due to the higher altitude or the early morning, Yuga felt that the temperature had dropped quite a bit compared to yesterday.
On this autumn morning, the air was heavy with moisture. Yuga took a deep breath, feeling the air was incredibly fresh and invigorating.
The Mount Coronet in the early morning appeared very serene. At the start of the day, the Pokémon in the mountains hadn't come out to play yet. Only one Starly after another hopped about in the woods, foraging for food. Occasionally, they would call out to each other in the distance, forming small groups. Or a Buneary bounced around with curiosity in its eyes, looking around. Once it sensed any threat, it would quickly flee.
Due to the higher altitude of the Mount Coronet, the temperature was generally lower year-round compared to other areas. Most of the vegetation consisted of coniferous forests. Therefore, even in autumn, the mountains remained lush and green, unlike the withering foliage in the Hoenn region.
Perhaps Yuga's deep inhale was too intense, as it woke up Eevee from its slumber. Eevee rubbed its eyes with its front paws, yawned, and opened its eyes.
"Eevee." Eevee gently called out to Yuga.
"Good morning, Eevee! How did you sleep last night?" With one hand holding the Pokémon egg, Yuga used the other hand to rub Eevee's small head. His hands felt a bit numb from holding the egg all night.
"Eevee, Eevee."
Eevee cheerfully nuzzled Yuga's hand with its head, indicating that it had slept well.
After having slept soundly on the table for half a day and a night, Noctowl was now awake. It looked around nervously at its child before resting its head back on the table, appearing calm once it saw that everything was fine.
After Yuga and Flint woke up, Volkner and Chatot also gradually stirred awake.
Yuga took out Pokéblocks, poured out some, and shared them with Eevee, Chatot, and Noctowl. They were all Normal-type Pokémon, so they all received the same Pokéblocks.
As Flint ate the breakfast provided on the train, he looked outside and said to Yuga and Volkner, "The Mount Coronet are quite spectacular, aren't they? No matter how many times you see them, they're still quite breathtaking."
Yuga and Volkner both nodded in agreement.
Even though Volkner and Flint had passed by the Mount Coronet multiple times, they still held the highest respect for this towering range—the tallest and largest mountains in all of Sinnoh. It was a gift from nature.
Yuga, having lived through two lifetimes, was seeing such a magnificent mountain range up close for the first time.
Unfortunately, they were all on a moving train and couldn't stop to fully appreciate the view. Once the train left the vicinity of the Mount Coronet, the sight would be lost.