There were only three days left until the final selection for the second team of the World Championship.
Fang Yuan had planned to go directly to the Road of Champions and wait there.
But then, an accident happened.
As they were about to leave the Tibet Area, the mobile Rotom received a call from the Day and Night Forest Fangyuan Research Institute in Magic City, and Fang Yuan happened to be nearby.
"Awoo..." a voice came across.
Fang Yuan: "?"
"Is that Luo Kuo?"
"Awoo."
"Speak human."
"Woo?"
"Oh right, I forgot that telepathy doesn't work over the phone."
But big sis, the setup has collapsed!
Fang Yuan, his face darkening, spoke to Rotom: "Could you translate for me?"
"Alright Rotom..." Rotom shrugged.
After Rotom's translation, Fang Yuan finally understood why Luo Kuo was using the phone so unusually.
It was because... something big had happened at the research institute.
...............
That day, they rushed back to the Day-Moon Forest Research Institute in a panic.
Upon returning, Fang Yuan instantly fell silent and released Bulbasaur.
Normally, Bulbasaur should have been overjoyed to return home, but when it saw the scene in the backyard of the research institute, its morale collapsed.
"Bulba!!!!"
"Bulba!!"
Bulbasaur glanced at the backyard, let out a scream, and the sight of the withered grass everywhere was especially desolate. In addition, the Mental Herb area it was responsible for had also completely died off.
There were also a few Tree Fruit plants in the backyard of the institute, all of which were on their last breath.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bulbasaur, with tears in its eyes, ran to the garden and began to cry hysterically. Although it wasn't fond of watering trees and plants, it had taken care of the plants at the Fang Yuan Institute for over half a year and had grown attached to them.
Now, they were all dead...
At that moment, Bulbasaur cried its eyes out, with Awakening Power Water streaming from its eyes.
Luo Kuo stood silently beside Fang Yuan, looking at Bulbasaur crying like a child, feeling somewhat sorry for it.
Eevee looked around and then left with a sigh.
"They all wilted overnight?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Yeah." Luo Kuo nodded.
Fang Yuan fell silent again and walked forward, patting Bulbasaur on the head, "Don't be sad, if it comes to it, I'll prepare some more seeds for you, and we'll start growing from scratch. This time, the varieties will be even more diverse."
After Fang Yuan finished speaking, Bulbasaur was stunned and then cried even harder.
"Uh..." Seeing that Bulbasaur's mood had not only not improved, but had gotten worse, Fang Yuan cleared his throat.
"Nobody expected this to happen, take it easy..."
Luo Kuo realized on the side that Fang Yuan was really a genius at comforting people. No wonder he hadn't found a girlfriend yet; if he had a partner and they were upset, Fang Yuan would definitely not be able to console them well.
Were all his skill points invested in bluffing and boasting?
It wasn't just Bulbasaur that was feeling heartbroken; Fang Yuan was also quite distressed. Those fruit trees had been planted with Top-Level Tree Fruit, and the Mental Herbs were high-level resources related to Mental Power, quite pricey. These plants were usually watered with sources infused with Life Energy and bathed in the sunlight radiated by the top-ranked Nine Tails, along with care from a top-grade Gardener like Bulbasaur. To have it all vanish overnight, who wouldn't feel the loss?
This was his valuable treasure... and now it was gone.
"Fortunately, the main culprit has been found, and when it hatches, we will teach it a lesson," Fang Yuan said to Bulbasaur.
"Bulba?"
The main culprit?
Bulbasaur felt conflicted.
"Indeed," Fang Yuan's heart also felt conflicted.
This criminal had quite the unique identity.
When all the plants in the Institute wilted overnight, Luo Kuo immediately started looking for the cause.
It was initially suspected that some Pokemons from the Sun and Moon Forest had entered the range of the Institute to cause trouble, but it turned out that the egg in Fang Yuan's collection room was the mischievous one.
As Bulbasaur was mourning the passing youth, Fang Yuan followed Luo Kuo to the Institute's collection room.
"At dawn, this egg was glowing, like a sign of hatching, but after a while, it faded again," Rotom said to Fang Yuan.
"So, you suspect that it absorbed all the natural energy within the Institute?"
Rotom nodded.
Fang Yuan took a deep breath and walked forward, Rotom's suspicion was correct—the nutrient solution in the hatching device where the egg was located had turned from light green to transparent, indicating that all the nutrients were completely absorbed.
This mysterious egg gifted by Darkrai had finally shown anomalies.
When he first received the egg, Fang Yuan had it checked at the Magic City hatching base, but nothing could be detected.
The Breeders could only determine that the egg still had life fluctuation but, because the egg did not absorb nutrients from the outside and the life fluctuation inside did not change on its own, nothing else could be identified besides that.
Under normal circumstances, as long as the hatching temperature is suitable, the egg would naturally hatch over time.
The so-called nutrient solution, while beneficial to the little creature inside the egg, is not essential; if absorbed, it could make the newly born Pokemon grow faster and stronger, but without it, it could still grow normally.
For Fang Yuan, the activity of the nutrient solution was key to determining whether the egg had developed consciousness.
Starting to actively seek nutrients was a good sign, an indication of impending hatching, but this egg was extraordinary... It not only absorbed the nutrient solution but also remotely drained the essence of life from the Institute's plants.
"Damn, Nezha was carried for more than three years before birth, this egg's been even longer, what kind of Pokemon could it be?"
Fang Yuan eyed the Spirit egg thoughtfully, then exhaled deeply.
It would be one thing if it absorbed the nutrient solution that came into contact with the shell, but it also absorbed the natural energy within the Institute. This egg, yet to be born, already seemed more powerful than Glutton.
Fang Yuan certainly did not believe the egg Darkrai found was an ordinary Pokemon; an ordinary Pokemon would have no reason not to be born after absorbing all the nutrient solutions, but this one, the energy it absorbed was many times greater than that of the nutrient solution.
Yet, even with such antics... it merely glowed for a moment and then became quiet again?
Could it be an Ultra Beast?
Or an egg of a Legendary Pokemon?
Or perhaps it's a Phantom Pokemon?
Although such Pokemon typically do not have egg groups in the original stories, it's mostly likely because they have not been discovered. If the Prince of the Sea can lay eggs, it's not impossible for other Pokemon.
Fang Yuan could not think of any Pokemon other than Legendary Pokemon that would require such a huge amount of energy to be born...
However, no matter what, this egg could not be left here. If today it dared to absorb plants, who knows what it will dare to absorb tomorrow. Fang Yuan's collection room contained many treasures: a Beedrill MEGA Stone, four Doom Desukaan Fossils, a batch of R Potions, and numerous other resources... Although each was locked up separately, the egg was too weird to be underestimated...!
"Bulba!!" Simultaneously, Bulbasaur, having regained its composure, also arrived at the collection room, staring at the egg with a headache.
Was the main culprit really just an egg?
Knowing that the main culprit was an egg, Bulbasaur didn't know how to assign blame anymore.
"The child is still young, naïve," "Underage Pokemon Protection Law." An array of heavy burdens weighed upon its mind.
Or... just as Luo Kuo trained it back then, should it also rigorously train the Pokemon once it hatches from the egg?