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Back in the dormitory, Chris turned on his handheld console.
Yes, Pokémon eggs could also be included in the handheld games. However, they occupied a slot in the Pokémon party, so Chris swapped out a Zigzagoon for a Pokémon egg.
Since there was no way to track the exact number of steps needed to hatch an egg, Chris had no choice but to carry the egg while walking around Granite Cave, hoping to cover enough ground.
His hands moved skillfully across the controls, while his mind wandered back to previous experiences of hatching eggs and hunting for Shiny Pokémon.
In the game from his previous life, the odds of hatching a Shiny Pokémon were higher than encountering one in the wild. (T/N: It might actually be the same; there are many theories, but I never found the exact answer. For the sake of this story, let's assume the odds of hatching a Shiny Pokémon are indeed higher.)
If combined with an item called the "Shiny Charm," the chances of hatching a Shiny Pokémon increased even more.
As a result, many players spent their post-game time hunting for their favorite Shiny Pokémon. Some would go after Shiny versions of pseudo-Legendaries, while others preferred Pokémon like Riolu or Ralts for their sleek designs. Some even aimed for a full Shiny Pokédex.
Pokémon, after all, was a game of collection and growth—players thrived on that.
Chris was no different. He had once been hooked, but after hatching twenty boxes of Dratini eggs without finding a single Shiny, he decided to quit.
In the game, one box held 60 eggs, and twenty boxes meant he'd gone through 1,200 eggs. (He was playing on PokeMMO.)
After 1,200 eggs with no Shiny, Chris jokingly thought he must have terrible luck.
But then, he would visit forums where others had gone hundreds of boxes without finding a Shiny, sometimes spending seven or eight months on the same hunt.
Chris could hardly believe that anyone could be that dedicated.
Don't these people have jobs?
Of course, there were also the lucky few, often referred to as "European emperors" in online communities. They'd hatch a box full of 6IV Riolu or half a box of 5IV Ralts. Players joked that these lucky individuals must have their family tombs blessed with more than just good fortune—maybe even a crematorium built on their ancestral graves!
Jealousy was real. *Cue unrecognizable face of envy.JPG.*
At first, Chris was motivated by these stories and pushed himself to hatch another hundred boxes. Only after that did he accept his fate as someone with terrible luck.
"My luck was awful in my past life... so what about in this one?" Chris suddenly found himself wondering about the concept of destiny.
Logically speaking, if he had experienced something as miraculous as time travel, shouldn't his luck now be extraordinary?
Besides, he had a Ralts and a Makuhita in his current game. All signs pointed to him being a lucky person in this life!
"If I get the chance, I'll buy another hundred boxes of Dratini eggs. I'll hatch at least one Shiny Dratini, no matter what!" Chris hummed to himself.
Time passed quickly. Three hours later, Chris had just defeated an Aron. As he guided his in-game character forward, the screen of his handheld changed, and a Pokémon egg began to hatch.
"Are you about to hatch? It really seems tied to the number of steps," Chris murmured.
A crack appeared on the Pokémon egg, decorated with colorful round spots. A moment later, with a loud "boom," a dog's head broke through the shell.
*sneak observation.JPG*
When the eggshell completely shattered, it revealed a white-furred Pokémon standing upright, with brown ears and a tail tipped with a green, paint-like color.
It was a Smeargle.
"Not bad luck," Chris muttered.
Smeargle was an extremely rare Pokémon, rivaling pseudo-Legendaries in real-world rarity. However, due to its low battle strength, few trainers ever raised it for combat.
Those who did usually had artistic pursuits, as Smeargle was born to paint. Its tail served as its paintbrush, and the green paint at the end changed colors depending on its mood.
Smeargle often produced stunning masterpieces.
In fact, many foreign oil paintings worth millions were created by Smeargle. In the art world, Smeargle held the same legendary status as mythical Pokémon.
However, Chris wasn't interested in Smeargle for its artistic talents. He was more focused on its unique move, *Sketch*.
*Sketch*: Permanently copies the last move used by the target.
This made Smeargle an incredibly useful utility Pokémon.
For capturing Pokémon, Smeargle could learn the perfect set of moves: *False Swipe*, *Mean Look*, *Spore*, and *Soak*.
With that setup, no Pokémon would ever escape Chris once he targeted them.
Then there was the mobility set: *Fly*, *Surf*, *Teleport*, and *Dig*.
Smeargle: "I am the army, navy, and air force!"
In theory, Smeargle could even copy exclusive moves from legendary Pokémon, permanently adding them to its arsenal.
Chris had already experimented with this kind of strategy in his previous life, creating combinations like *V-Create*, *Doom Desire*, *Fusion Bolt*, and *Fusion Flare*.
He wondered if such feats were possible in this world.
After all, the power of a legendary Pokémon's exclusive moves wasn't just a matter of stats in this world—it was real power.
"In the previous game's world, Pokémon were limited to four moves. But now, there doesn't seem to be a limit, which saves me from raising multiple Smeargles," Chris mused.
"Wait!" Chris suddenly shot up from the bed.
If Smeargle's *Sketch* could copy nearly all Pokémon moves, and there was no limit to its move pool, did that mean Smeargle could, theoretically, master every Pokémon move?
Mastering all moves...
That sounded like something only Arceus, the god of all Pokémon, could do after gathering its eighteen plates!
No wonder Eevee earned the nickname "Little Arceus."(T/N: Since Eevee can learn moves of many types and evolve into many types also )
But now it seemed that Smeargle could rival even Arceus. Without the plates, Arceus might be nothing compared to Smeargle!
Chris quickly shook off the ridiculous thought.
Sure, Smeargle might have "godlike" potential in terms of skills, but it didn't have the body to back it up. In terms of stats, Smeargle only had a base stat total of 250. To put it in perspective, even a Torchic had 60 more base points than Smeargle before evolving.
It was easy to imagine how weak Smeargle truly was...
"Forget it, I'll stick to using Smeargle as a pure support Pokémon," Chris sighed. Battling with it, even using defensive tactics, would be too boring. It wasn't worth the effort to train it to level 100 like he had in the games.
Smeargle was best suited for being the ultimate tool Pokémon.