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"Interesting, let's go take a look." Upon seeing someone selling Pokémon eggs, Sato's eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed over to check them out.
Pokémon are very peculiar creatures. Many of them look like mammals, yet their reproduction method is oviparous, not viviparous. The eggs they lay are generally called Pokémon eggs nowadays.
Unlike wild Pokémon that were already born, the Pokémon inside these eggs are like blank slates, making them much easier to tame. For ordinary people, buying Pokémon eggs is often the best way to get their first Pokémon.
Because this method of acquiring Pokémon is almost completely safe and the Pokémon that hatch are naturally more loyal, the price of Pokémon eggs in the market is usually much higher than that of already-born Pokémon of the same species.
Moreover, newborn Pokémon are like uncut gems, highly moldable. As long as their potential isn't too poor, they typically become excellent companions or even mainstay Pokémon for trainers.
Of course, Pokémon that hatch from eggs aren't without their drawbacks. The most obvious one is that they require far more resources than wild-caught Pokémon, especially during the early stages. Trainers must devote significant time and energy to care for these baby Pokémon during their infancy.
Remember, this isn't like the games where you don't have to worry about anything. Baby Pokémon are not much different from human infants—they need to eat, drink, sleep, and even use the bathroom. When they're upset, they'll cry and make a fuss, just like a baby.
The only difference between most baby Pokémon and human infants is that their infancy is very short. Most Pokémon outgrow their infancy in a month, a week, or even just a few hours in some cases.
Although Sato had hatched Pokémon eggs many times in the games, this was his first time seeing a Pokémon egg in real life. Being the Pokémon enthusiast that he was, he was very intrigued.
The vendor selling the eggs was a low-ranking Team Rocket grunt wearing a white mask. The cold glint in his eyes, visible through the eye slits of the mask, radiated cruelty and indifference. His entire body emanated a heavy, metallic scent of blood, so much so that Sato could smell it even before he fully approached the stall.
There was no doubt that this vendor was a ruthless killer whose hands were stained with blood. These Pokémon eggs were likely stolen from others. As Sato got closer to the stall, he noticed dried bloodstains and shallow cracks on some of the eggs.
"A lone wolf, huh?" Sato thought as he observed the vendor, who gave off a hostile aura that clearly told others to stay away. Sato had encountered similar Team Rocket members in the mission hall before—powerful lone operatives who worked alone and operated without much oversight.
Because of the vendor's intimidating demeanor, many Team Rocket members who were initially interested in the Pokémon eggs chose to back off. Only a few brave ones approached to ask about the species and prices of the eggs.
However, this vendor clearly wasn't a good businessman. Instead of answering questions, he simply wrote down the species and prices of the eggs on a piece of paper.
The note read: Nido-family Pokémon eggs, 500 points each. His account number for point transfers was also listed.
Based on the content of the note, it was easy to tell that these Pokémon eggs had been stolen from the Nido family. The bloodstains and cracks on the eggs indicated that they had gone through a fierce battle.
After reading the note, most of the crowd around the stall dispersed. Many of those leaving cast looks of contempt or disgust at the vendor, viewing him as a greedy swindler.
"Just Nidoran and Nidorina eggs, and he's charging so much for them? This guy's really heartless," Sato thought with a sneer as he saw the prices on the note.
From what he knew of the points exchange system, Nidoran and Nidorina could be exchanged for 300 points. Even their eggs should be worth no more than 400 points.
Besides, these species were abundant in the nearby Mt. Moon, making them quite common. This naturally caused their market price to drop significantly.
Although the final evolutions of these two Pokémon—Nidoking and Nidoqueen—were quite powerful, they had one massive flaw: they required the extremely rare Moon Stone to evolve.
In Team Rocket's internal points exchange system, the Moon Stone cost a whopping 10,000 points. On the outside market, its price started at 1 million PokeDollars, and even then, it was almost impossible to find one for sale.
(Note: In the real Pokémon world, evolution stones are extremely rare. Although there are specific locations where they are found, these areas are usually occupied by certain Pokémon species, making them difficult to obtain. For example, Mt. Moon, where Moon Stones are produced, is inhabited by several large Nido family groups since the Moon Stone is crucial for their final evolution, and they control the production sites.)
Due to all these factors, the Team Rocket members in the Pewter City underground base generally aren't interested in Nidoran and Nidorina. This is evident from the fact that none of the six starter Pokémon offered to new recruits at the Pewter City base include Nidoran or Nidorina.
In short, it's because raising these Pokémon requires far more resources than the other six, making them unsuitable for beginners.
The vendor didn't care at all when most of the crowd around his stall disappeared. He remained seated on his small stool with his eyes closed, completely ignoring anyone who tried to haggle with him. If he got annoyed, he would give them a cold, icy stare that quickly drove them away.
As a result, there were soon even fewer people around his stall, and in a short while, Sato was the only one left standing there.
"Is this guy really trying to do business? This is the first time I've seen a seller chase customers away." Sato shook his head internally at the vendor's rude behavior. Clearly, he wasn't popular with the ladies at all, which was probably why he was so pissed all the time?
However, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he decided to try using his internal system to scan the Pokémon eggs in front of him, to see if it could detect anything about the Pokémon inside.
A faint blue glow flashed in Sato's eyes, and a moment later, a hint of joy appeared on his face. It worked! His system was indeed able to scan the Pokémon inside the eggs, displaying information exactly like it did for already-hatched Pokémon.
Moreover, during this scan, Sato unexpectedly discovered something exciting. Among the dozen or so Nido eggs in front of him, one of the Nidoran had a hidden ability! Based on the inherited moves displayed in the system, this Nidoran had quite impressive potential—its parents seemed extraordinary.
The details for this Nidoran were as follows:
Pokémon: Nidoran
Level: 1
Type: Poison
Ability: Hustle (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Male
Known Moves: Leer, Peck, Amnesia (Egg Move), Confusion (Egg Move), Disable (Egg Move)
"Not only does it have a hidden ability, but it's inherited three egg moves as well! Bloody hell, is today my lucky day?" Sato's heart raced as he looked at the Nidoran egg sitting on the far left of the stall.
(Note: The Hustle ability boosts physical attack power by 1.5 times but lowers the accuracy of physical moves by 20%. Special and status moves are unaffected. The attack power boost refers specifically to physical attack.)
After confirming several times that he hadn't made a mistake, Sato wasted no time. He immediately transferred 500 points to the vendor. After the vendor nodded to confirm the points had been received, Sato picked up the Nidoran egg with the hidden ability and took it with him.