Master Craftsman of the Pokémon World-Chapter 65 -

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New Bark Town, Johto Region.

Professor Elm had just received the package.

The reason he had purchased an Arceus sculpture was due to the description in the shop stating that it would have a special effect on Pokémon eggs during incubation. As a Pokémon breeding and egg research expert, ever since Professor Elm had uncovered the mystery of Pokémon eggs, breeding centers in Johto and neighboring regions had begun offering the special service of raising Pokémon eggs.

However, Pokémon eggs always appeared suddenly—no one, not even Professor Elm, had ever witnessed the exact moment an egg was laid.

"Enhancing the Pokémon hatched from the eggs and even having a chance to encounter a unique new life... What exactly does that mean? Could it be an alteration to their abilities?"

The shop's description was vague, and when Elm tried to ask for clarification, the response he received was:

["You'll understand once the Pokémon hatch."]

It seemed that the sculpture would have an extraordinary effect. Perhaps that was also why only three were available. If the seller wasn't a fraud, Elm felt fortunate that he had been quick enough to purchase one.

As it happened, he had a batch of unique Pokémon eggs ready for hatching.

Of course, Elm also knew that another professor had purchased the same sculpture—Professor Rowan from Sinnoh. Rowan was his senior, and Elm's own research on evolution and abilities had been greatly influenced by Rowan's work.

Before the sculptures arrived, Elm had discussed the matter with Professor Rowan. Based on Rowan's hypothesis, this unique Pokémon design likely had connections to Sinnoh's mythology.

Originally, they had assumed it was merely an artistic representation, but now it seemed to be linked to a legendary and mysterious Pokémon. Even though Elm had no background in sculpture, he could sense the powerful ancient aura radiating from the statue. If he listened closely, faint music seemed to emanate from it. However, whenever he tried to focus, the sound would vanish, as if it had been an illusion.

Beep beep—

The video phone rang, and Professor Elm quickly answered. On the other end was his mentor, Professor Oak!

"Professor, your timing is perfect! I was just about to hatch a new batch of Pokémon eggs."

Professor Elm greeted Oak warmly, and Oak immediately perked up with interest.

"So, you're going to test out that sculpture?"

Indeed, the three mysterious Pokémon sculptures had each been purchased by three professors—Professor Oak being the last of the trio.

["I bought some other sculptures as well, but I've been too busy to test their effects. Regarding that particular Pokémon's sculpture, I spoke with Professor Rowan. He seems to be having Sinnoh's Champion investigate it. She's an exceptional archaeologist."]

["I plan to purchase more items and conduct a large-scale test all at once. I've even invited a few skilled Trainers to assist me."]

"Ahem! Anyway, let's see what happens when your Pokémon eggs hatch. This is an important experiment."

As Professor Oak spoke, his expression seemed a bit unusual, but Elm didn't notice—he was too excited. He quickly linked the video call to the Pokégear's live stream function so that Oak could observe the entire hatching process remotely.

Standing before the incubation devices, Elm explained, "These are eggs of the 'starter Pokémon'—Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile."

Starter Pokémon referred to the Pokémon given to new Trainers when they embarked on their journeys. They were carefully selected by the regional professors for their balanced growth and strong potential. Some were bred by the Pokémon League, while others were personally raised by professors to be distributed to aspiring Trainers.

Of course, wild populations of these Pokémon could still be found in nature.

As an expert in egg research, Professor Elm was also one of the finest breeders. The Pokémon eggs he handled were nurtured within his lab. Now, inside three incubation chambers, three eggs lay quietly, waiting for the moment of their hatching. The instruments monitoring them indicated that they were close to the hatching stage.

"Based on my recent research, I've discovered that some Pokémon can actually perceive the outside world before hatching. They can sense our presence. Now, I'll place the sculpture between the three Pokémon eggs."

Elm anxiously awaited the moment of hatching. However, the exact timing was entirely up to the Pokémon themselves—incubators could only assist in the process, not force an egg to hatch.

Professor Oak, aware of how long such observations could take, also waited patiently. However, in the next instant—

The Arceus sculpture emitted a soft glow!

Both professors were stunned.

"That sculpture...! It's glowing!"

As the light shone forth, the three eggs in the incubators also began to glow. Without a doubt, this was the sign of imminent hatching!

"All three eggs... at the same time?!"

Professor Elm's assistant, who was also monitoring the incubators, looked at the readings in shock. As Elm's only assistant, their workload was often overwhelming, but at this moment, their expression was filled with astonishment.

"The hatching process is unusually intense! This is completely different from before, Professor!"

"Keep monitoring the instruments and gradually adjust the power output to a safe threshold!" Elm instructed as he anxiously watched the eggs. Meanwhile, on the video call, Professor Oak's expression had turned serious.

The glow surrounding the three eggs intensified. As the incubators' power was lowered, the eggs themselves began to change shape!

There were two types of Pokémon hatching processes—one where a Pokémon breaks out of its eggshell and another where the egg itself transforms directly into the newborn Pokémon.

The latter was happening now!

"Chiko?"

"Quil?"

"Tototo!"

Three Pokémon emerged from the dazzling light—Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile!

For a brief moment, a bright starry effect shimmered around Chikorita!

Immediately, Professor Elm noticed something remarkable—these three Pokémon were noticeably larger than usual!

In the wild, larger Pokémon typically had greater competitive strength among their kind, as size often correlated with power and speed. However, within laboratory conditions, starter Pokémon rarely exhibited significant size variations since their incubation environments were controlled. The chance of breeding particularly large or powerful individuals was extremely low.

But these three were clearly different from any Pokémon Elm had hatched before!

"How is this possible? This is an incredible transformation! Quickly, open the incubators!"

Elm instructed his assistant to unlock the devices. As he approached the three newly hatched Pokémon, his eyes immediately locked onto Chikorita!

Its leaf color was different—no, its entire body color was different!

"Chiko?" Chikorita tilted its head in confusion as it gazed at Professor Elm, while he trembled with excitement.

"This is... a unique new life?!"

A Shiny Pokémon had hatched!

On the other end of the call, Professor Oak was equally astounded, murmuring, "A Shiny Pokémon..."

Professor Elm immediately responded, "Shiny Pokémon naturally have an extremely low appearance rate in the wild, and their emergence seems completely random. Team Rocket once conducted experiments at the Lake of Rage to create a Red Gyarados, initially believing that its coloration came from retaining Magikarp's original hue. However, later research found that Golden Magikarp could naturally evolve into Red Gyarados as well."

Professor Oak nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, in the Orange Archipelago, we've also discovered Pokémon with altered colors due to environmental changes—somewhere between Shiny Pokémon and regional forms."

"Regardless, this sculpture's function has been verified beyond doubt. It holds significant value for research on Pokémon breeding and egg groups!"

Elm took a deep breath to calm himself. "These Pokémon will soon be given to new Trainers. I need to conduct further research on them before that!"

"As for analyzing the sculpture itself—"

"Leave that to me," Professor Oak offered enthusiastically. "What kind of energy affected the Pokémon's colors and enhanced their strength? The sculpture glowed just before the eggs hatched, as if signaling the birth of new life. It must have influenced the incubation environment, causing these remarkable results."

"Yes... Mysterious phenomena like this have always been beyond conventional science. There have been many such occurrences in this world."

Professor Oak's expression changed slightly, as if recalling something from the distant past.

...

Traveler's Workshop

Hikaru closed the pop-up notification from customers and let out a long sigh.

Some of his regular buyers, along with new customers, had given him valuable suggestions.

"Ice-type items... Never-Melt Ice and Snowball? But where would I even get those? Climbing an ancient frozen peak would be too dangerous."

"Dolls, huh? I could try making some. Substitute Dolls and Clefairy Dolls? I still have some materials left. That should be enough."

"Haunted paper... That's an interesting idea. I never thought of using paper as a ghostly artifact. It might produce some unexpected effects—kind of like that cursed mail I once received from a Gengar owned by an ancient researcher... If that's the case, I should have Doublade learn modern script. No... maybe it would be better to write in ancient text? That would add an extra layer of mystery!"

"Alright, time to place the paper from my storage room into the fourth chamber for ghostly infusion. I'll wrap it in Spirit Cloth and let Doublade refine it. That should speed up the process of crafting haunted paper."

Hikaru muttered to himself while jotting down notes.

"Paintings, decorative carpets, wallpaper, teaware... A Psychic-type Glass Whistle? My painting skills are still a bit behind my sculpting skills, but if I stick to an ancient ruin aesthetic, it might work!"

"Musical instruments... I've never made one before, but maybe I could forge them? I'd need brass, or perhaps fragments from a Bronzor? I wonder if those can be bought..."

Although Bronzor wasn't particularly rare, they mostly gathered in ancient ruins, abandoned buildings, and tombs, making them somewhat difficult to find.

"If that's the case, I need to purchase a large variety of materials from external sources. Fortunately, I've made quite a bit of money recently—might as well spend it all!"

Hikaru began searching for the necessary tools and resources online. Some Pokémon materials, like Wigglytuff fur, were considered high-end Pokémon textiles and could be bought from ranchers who specialized in raising them. But other rare materials were much harder to obtain.

"My recent earnings from selling sculptures and various items have totaled around 3,000,000 Poké Dollars."

The price of sculptures varied widely, with some being inexpensive and others highly valuable. Stock levels also differed. Among them, the Arceus sculpture alone had brought in 600,000, while other sculptures combined had made around 1,500,000.

The rest came from charm talismans, battle items, light-infused pottery, and specialty food products, adding up to another 1,000,000.

"There's still some unaccounted revenue from custom orders, including commissions from Mustard and Clavell. Their payments will be processed once they receive their sculptures."

"Now, let's buy Pokémon materials, common minerals, and cotton for stuffing plush toys..."

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"Cotton... Cottonee's cotton is a specialty of Unova."

"Minerals... The Galar Mines are rich in brass and premium minerals associated with Copperajah."

"Paint pigments... Smeargle's tail pigment from Johto is top-tier!"

"Textiles... Wigglytuff fur from Kanto is woven into the finest yarn."

These Pokémon were common and had lived alongside humans for ages, forming a mutually beneficial relationship. This made it relatively easy to purchase their materials online. However, high-quality items came at a steep price, and Hikaru's funds quickly dwindled.

"Just buying extra stock of these four materials already cost me 1,880,000..."

"Now I have 1,500,000 left."

"Alto Mare's artistic frescoes and stained glass, Floccesy Town's unique musical instruments, Rota's vintage crafts and traditional clothing, Hoenn's volcanic ash pigments..."

"Spent 1,100,000—as expected, art supplies are ridiculously expensive."

After checking his remaining balance, Hikaru saw that he still had 400,000 Poké Dollars left—just enough to purchase some additional supplies.

"Next time Charizard and the others come back with deliveries, they're going to have their hands full!"

(End of Chapter)

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