Compared to Almond village, Biotin town was clearly the bigger of the two. Multiple two-story houses covered the entire landscape, with the only piece of nature within the town being a small hill and trees or bushes that a house occasionally grown. With my home village only having five houses to its miniscule name, the considerably more amount of homes in this place surprised me to say the least. My eyes were gazing every detail of each house, slowly decaying painted red bricks were scattered throughout, with windows and bedrooms inside every home gave me a bit of homesickness, despite only being just an hour after my departure.

"Alright then Oliver, you made it alive." Leo held Growlithe in his hands," What's your plan?"

"Well…I guess I'm gonna try and beat all the gyms and then the Turmeric League."

"Well those are some big dream. What you gonna do, crush the Pokémon with the Egg?" He laughed, starting to walk down the dirt pathway, leading into the town.

"Eh, they're a starting point. Anyway, what about you." I asked, starting to follow him.

"Oh, me? I'm getting all 5 contest ribbons."

"They do that in this region?"

"Yeah! Of course!"

"Alright then. "I rolled my eyes, but still smiling.

"Anyway, if you're hoping to get all the badges, the first gym is here."

"In Biotin Town?!"

"Yeah. Head North and you can't miss it. Tallest building. "He replied, pointing towards that direction.

"Thanks." We carried on walking together until we reached a large red building, with the Pokeball symbol engraving used as a sign. Walking in, the bright electronic lights blinded me again. As Leo walked towards the counter and talked to the women at the desk, I took the time to sit on the comfortable seat and place the egg on the table, examining it. It was warmer from being in my bag, but it felt much heavier since being in Biotin. I guess walking around for an hour made it that closer to hatching, which I was at this point almost desperate for the answer to what it would be.

"Here Oliver, can you do me a favour? "Leo asked, clipping a leash onto his Growlithe. I know you don't like it buddy, I won't be long."

"What's wrong."

"Can you take care of Growlithe for like, five minutes or something whilst I get something, I'll be quick."

"Sure, go for it." I nodded, holding onto the Pokémon's leash whilst Leon ran out of the door, with the day slowly turning into a crisp golden sunset.

Despite apparently not liking it, Growlithe seemed somewhat comfortable. He started to pace around the table, going in circles, being careful not to tighten the leash. Then, he seemed to start to notice the Egg, as he made his way around it, sniffing the base and top of it. I smiled as I looked on at the Puppy Pokémon tap the egg and jump away suddenly, obviously nervous what would happen. Suddenly, he turned around and started to viciously growl towards the door, baring his teeth and extending his claws.

"Woah, Growlithe what's wrong. "I put my hand on the head of the Pokémon, the fire typing of him heating up my hand. Seemingly in response to this, Growlithe barked towards the entrance of the door, which made me look towards the double doors. Sure enough, the Pokémon's fear was confirmed, as an ear-splitting pop was heard, immediately spreading a grey smoke in front of the entrance. Yells and shouts of confusion were all that could be heard, as nothing could be seen. I quickly grabbed the still growling fire-type and the Egg, pushing us against the wall, limiting the options of any directions of danger. I spluttered against the oncoming smoke, forced to cover my eyes but still clutching onto both Pokémon and eventual Pokémon. Abruptly, I felt a force start to grab the Pokémon egg in my right hand. Out of instinct of fear for the Egg and me, I kicked out, feeling the impact of something and a grunt afterwards.

"Damn kid. "I heard someone whisper. Luckily enough, I had kicked a human. However, this prompted him to try and take the Egg with more force.

"Let…go! "I spluttered. Feeling that he had full grip of the Egg, I gave myself up to chance. Quickly, I let go it, feeling the person grab hold of it, but no longer than a second later I swung my fist towards that general direction. As luck would it, I felt impact, hitting the rib of someone. A large yell followed this "Come on, let's get out of here!" The man ordered, hearing footsteps. However, none if this was my interest, because as I felt the impact of my fist with the man's rib, I felt the rough surface of the Pokémon Egg brush against my arm. As quickly as I could, I reached out to grab it, but seeing nothing but darkness hindered my capabilities to do so. I felt it brush my fingertips and then: *CRACK*. It took a while for the smoke to clear, but I didn't dare move a muscle, still holding onto Growlithe. After a while, I dared to open my eyes, not wanting to but knowing I had to understand the fate of the Pokémon inside the Egg. What I saw broke my heart. The Egg had landed harshly on one side, cracking the better half of a quarter of the bottom right of it. I knelt to the floor, just staring at the Egg. I had failed. I had already failed. A little over an hour was all it took to destroy 8 years of preparation and excitement. Even Growlithe seemed to notice this, nudging the Egg with his nose, sniffing it and everything.

"Oliver?!"I heard Leo call, running over to me, sweat dripping down his forehead. "What happened?"

I didn't reply, to distraught to. Even if I wanted to it would just come out at a single groan, so I simply pointed to the cracked Egg. At this point, I felt all eyes were on us, being in the centre of the room and the cause of much commotion.

"Oliver….I'm….so sorry." Leo sighed, putting his hand on my shoulder. He grabbed Growlithe leash off the floor, nudging the fire type away from the Egg, which he was still curiously sniffing at. However, instead of obeying his trainer, the Pokémon walked over to the Egg again, continuing prodding and pawing at it.

"Growlithe, come on." Leo pulled on the leash harsher this time, but once more Growlithe edged over to the cracked object. Suddenly, he started barking at it, swinging his tail back and forth excitedly.

"Growlithe, it's useless….It's gone. "I sobbed, now looking down at the ground. Barking again, Growlithe sniffed the Egg another time, until an unexpected crack caught us off guard. I quickly looked up, sure enough another part of the Egg had cracked, revealing a small piece of white and brown fur. Slowly, another part of the Egg snapped off, showing more of the Pokémon. Eventually, every piece of the Egg had broken off, leaving the single figure of a Pokémon tilted to one side. Then, it's eyes started to open, beautiful brown eyes starting to form. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was alive. The Pokémon was alive…And what a Pokémon it was.

"Eeveeee!" The newly hatched Pokémon smiled.