Is this hell?

I woke up in complete lethargy, simultaneously too stiff to move and too sore to even try. With extreme effort, I managed to work up the effort to check the time.

It was already noon. I managed to sleep for about fourteen hours. I'm almost impressed.

Well, I've got to man up sometime. It took about ten minutes to work up the resolve, but I pushed through the exhaustion and stood up. I managed to limber up a little bit through a quick set of stretches.

Entoma had already awoken and seemed to be waiting for me. With my body more prepared for the day, I began to plan. My body was still nowhere near ready to go through the intercity desert, so I figured I'd head to the ruins. I couldn't find a Dwebble on Route 4 yesterday, so perhaps I'll encounter one there.

I packed up and began to set out. On my way out of the town, I began to add to the plan.

Larvesta is still a possibility, but I wouldn't count on it. If I remember correctly, you could only get a Volcarona in Relic Castle, not its kids. You'd think that a Pokémon would follow its instincts and breed, but for all I know, Volcarona could be a chaste monk or not exist. More importantly, I simply lacked the firepower to capture a Volcarona.

The only place you can get a Larvesta in the game was from a ranger on Route 18, just off Nuvema Town. So, if I can't get a Larvesta from here, I'll have to divert there. If not from there, then I'll have to wait till I have enough firepower to take down a being powerful enough to be considered a fire deity by the people in the world of Pokémon.

It's canon, look it up.

More importantly, I'm operating off pure speculation. Larvesta and Volcarona were so rare that nobody knows they are a thing. There's some speculation on Alder having a mysterious fire type, but everyone assumes it's a foreign Pokémon rather than the unknown firebug.

I left the city and got onto the black road leading over to the desert resort. Construction workers walked up and down the road, carting materials with their Timburr and Gurdurr. A highway stretched above and makeshift housing for the workers lining the roads.

Yesterday had clear weather, but today had decided to kick up some winds. My face cover finally had a use other than to stop my face from cooking as it protected my face from the battering sandstorm. Entoma began to shift uncomfortably as she started to get sand in her large eyes, so I recalled her back into her Pokéball.

It took about ten minutes of going up the road before I saw the sign pointing me to the "Desert Resort and Relic Castle." It was rather amusing, they had named the regulated desert area the "desert resort" to draw tourism, which led to a lot of disappointed travelers assuming it was a lovely resort and not a sandy ruin.

The sign had me break off the main path to travel through, guess what, more sand. Thankfully, this sand was surprisingly firm. There were decently sized sandstone hills that sprouted from either side of the path, leading me down a straightforward path directly towards the entrance to the desert resort.

The entrance wasn't standard, but more of an entrance complex. Scientists littered the room, a medical terminal with a doctor was over in the corner, and at the exit, a couple of rangers blocked the way with a check-in station. First thing, investigate. Spotting a scientist with slightly greying hair eating a berry burger with some potato wedges at a bench, I walked and sat down next to him.

I greeted the man, "Hello, I'm Nico Moore. A pleasure to meet you. I'm a bit curious about what you guys do around here. Got time to tell me?"

The scientist looked mildly surprised and gulped down the food in his mouth. "I certainly can! Lovely to see kids interested in some local archeology! Give me a minute to finish this up, and I'll help you out."

It's a bit irritating to be called a child again, but I suppose it's true. The scientist scarfed down the burger with the speed of someone participating in an eating contest.

With a muffled burp and cough, he turned back to me and started his infodump, "To begin, I am Dr. George Stanley. I'm one of the researchers working here to uncover the mysteries of the so-called "Relic Castle." To call it a castle is somewhat misleading, as there are a few theories on exactly what the structure is. I believe that the structure was initially built under the sand as some sort of defense mechanism, due to the strange quicksand traps that seem designed to trick and trap anyone who enters the structure. There is still no conclusive data on exactly how the structure was constructed, however.

"We believe that this structure was constructed as some form of worship, based on the imagery displayed on the walls. Perhaps you've heard of Sigilyph? They are a rather strange Pokémon. Through telepathy, we have managed to communicate with them. The only place you will find Sigilyph in the world is these desert ruins, some places in the Galar and Kalos region.

"The Sigilyph here claim they guard an ancient city, which has long been buried beneath the sands. Admittedly, it seems to contradict my view on the Relic Castle, but I'm uncertain how else to explain the quicksand traps. Regardless, the Sigilyph here hold great disdain towards any other Sigilyph found in other regions and call them traitors or deserters.

"So, in summation, we have what seems to be the ruins of an ancient civilization who were guarded zealously by Sigilyph and had a large castle with unknown entrapments. Admittedly, we wish we knew more. But with the current state of Unova, nobody seems to really care much for delving into the past. The only reason we can still operate are the donations from the Champion and the Nacrene Museum. Any questions?"

I nodded, "So, how does this all get funded? Do you just get a paycheck every month or do you have to keep making discoveries?"

"As long as we come up with something interesting every few months, the Champion keeps us funded and gives a bonus for the researchers and assistants who discovered the information. As for the Nacrene Museum, they provide funding in exchange for artifacts, which they purchase. Again, the person who discovered the piece gets a cut of the price. Anything else?"

Good, good. There would be a price on the discovery of the Zen Darmanitan, assuming I am the one to discover it.

Nodding again, I ask, "I heard something about Darmanitan statues outside of the ruins, what's the deal with them?"

Dr. Stanley's eyes seemed to light up as he responded, "Ah, you have heard of those! Those are a most peculiar case. The statues seem to collect heat from the environment to turn into psychic energy to defend themselves and stop beings from moving them. At first, we assumed they were a variant of Darmanitan, but telepathy scans found that the statues contain no brain activity.

"Our current theory is that given Sigilyph's strange devotion and psychic powers, we are witnessing the world's first artificial Pokémon prototypes. It's certainly a fringe theory, but we believe that these Darmanitan statues are the first attempts to create beings capable of rational thought and psychic powers, and this eventually evolved into the creation of the Sigilyph."

Interesting idea, but still wrong.

Now for the real question, "How much would the price for definitive information on these statues be? Err, I mean for the bonus."

He hummed for a moment, and responded, "I'm not entirely sure. It depends entirely on what the statues turn out to be. Why, do you think you know?" He seemed almost patronizing with the question.

"Eh, probably not. Just an idea, don't worry about it. Final question, do you know where I could find a Dwebble?"

He let out a snort. "Do I know where a Dwebble is? The whole site does! There's been one terrorizing random researchers over in the sandstone hills. While there certainly are trainers strong enough to defeat it, whenever someone engages it the thing escapes using Dig!"

"Excellent, I've been looking to pick one up for my team. Thank you for the information."

"Not a problem. And if you do catch that thing, go ahead and brag about it. You'll probably get a few dozen researchers to buy you some food in appreciation."

With a smile, I got up, leaving the researcher to eat his potato wedges in peace. Speaking of food, I had completely forgotten to eat today. Time for the good old rations.

After eating, I went through the ranger's security check and set off towards the sandstone hills visible to the left of the entrance. I've got a hellion of a Dwebble supposedly holed up there. It seems like a bit of a tough catch, seeing as it has Dig. Is Dig naturally learned by Dwebble? I don't believe so, but I've been wrong before. It should be a nice addition to the team anyhow.

The sandstone hills took a few minutes to reach, but it was not a particularly difficult journey. The hills had natural pathways seemingly carved into them. I wasn't entirely sure how to look for my next acquisition, so I just started wandering through the sunlit valleys.

While in the trenches, the sandstorm couldn't have much effect, so I called out Entoma. She seemed to be happy to be out again, and I told her about the Dwebble.

It took another fifteen or so minutes of casual strolling before anything happened. Just out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a semi-circular rock on the top of the side of one of the hills shake somewhat. Keeping it in my peripheral, I slowed my walk down.

A moment later, the rock tipped up to reveal a foot-tall, tan insect with two eyestalks and surprisingly menacing claws peeking out. It sized up Entoma for a moment. The next thing I know, the bastard lets out a shriek of inarticulate rage and jumps at us with the fury of a lion.

Entoma, who was crawling on the ground right next to me to minimize the effects of sand in her eyes, freezes for a moment. Next, seemingly on a reflex, she shoots a bubbling blob of Toxic right into the still falling and screaming Dwebble.

Now, we had a plan. First thing was to have Entoma and I act like we were intimidated by the Dwebble and draw it in. The next step was to use Protect to negate whatever attack it would use, then latch on with Bite. With any luck, the dark-type energy being pumped into it would knock it out eventually, and if not then use Pursuit spam to take it out. I had wanted to minimize Toxic usage as much as I could, as I couldn't use it in an actual battle and bad habits have to start somewhere.

But this had all been under the assumption that the Dwebble would charge us from the front, try and ambush us, do anything other than letting out the Dwebble equivalent of "Leeroy Jenkins" and vault off a cliff. Thus, we were a little caught off guard.

The reflexive Toxic from the surprised Entoma, against all odds, flew directly into the Dwebble's open mouth. With the sudden introduction of very harmful chemicals to its esophagus, the Dwebble lost any sort of control of its body. It landed with a solid thud. Entoma and I couldn't do anything but stare as our plan went to ruins as the Dwebble did nothing but cough and twitch on the ground for about a minute. With a sputtering gag, it passed out from the combination of poison and suffocation.

I silently pulled out the miniaturized Pokéball I had in my pocket and flicked it at the bug lying not five feet in front of me. A burst of red, and I had captured my second Pokémon. How anticlimactic.

Way to ruin a perfectly good plan, you overenthusiastic bastard.

Pokéballs have a convenient feature where any sufficiently injured Pokémon placed within is sent into a state of stasis, and as any form of poisoning immediately activates the status, I didn't need to worry about Dwebble dying from his unfortunate inhalations. A short walk back to the tent later, and I handed off Dwebble's ball to the disinterested Doctor manning the machine.

All it took was about fifteen seconds in the restoration machine and a short auditory hallucination of the Pokémon Center healing jingle, and my Dwebble was ready to be released. Seeing as it would be a rather poor idea to release a probably violent hermit crab bug into an occupied tent, I went back into the desert resort.

A flick of my wrist and a fully healed Dwebble appeared in the dirt. Despite being fully healed, the Dwebble seemed slightly out of it and took a moment to blearily blink and examine us. With a sudden jolt upon looking at Entoma, Dwebble shot back into its little rock. It was... hiding? What happened to the anger issues?

"Hey, if you're worried about us attacking you or something, we have no intention of doing so unless you act out first. No need to hide."

Entoma let out an uncharacteristic chittering giggle and shook her head at me while the Dwebble let out a defensive cry from inside its rock.

"Not scared then, I suppose that makes sense if you aren't running. Hiding, but not from attack?" Then it dawned on me. "Funny enough to make Entoma break her stoicism, holy shit, you're embarrassed, aren't you? You're hiding because you're embarrassed you got taken out by a hit of flying sludge."

Another cry, this time more mournful and embarrassed than defensive came from the little rock in front of me. I barely managed to hold back a snort as Entoma broke into another series of almost mocking clicking giggles.

After a deep breath, I gathered enough willpower to speak again without laughing at my newest party member. "Look, Dwebble," I focused very hard on not laughing at it, "Let's make a deal. We'll keep quiet about this whole thing, and you'll work for me in exchange."

Dwebble peeked out from his rock, giving me a baleful gaze. He seemed to be considering it, though, so I continued.

"I mean, if you don't, I can't imagine the crews you've been irritating would be all that scared of you if all they could think of is a Pokémon who got taken out in one hit."

That got his attention. With an embarrassed cry, clearly trying to get me to shut up, Dwebble rapidly nodded its head.

"Glad to hear it, bud. As a bonus, if you keep around me, you'll probably get strong enough to not have to worry so much about going down like a bitch."

Its eyes twitched a little at the last comment, but that finally convinced the Dwebble to come out of its shell and give me a more controlled nod.

"Glad to hear it. Onto more important matters, what is your gender? Need it for naming purposes."

Dwebble pointed at me.

"Male, then?"

A nod.

"Excellent. Now, I believe I wanted Overlord-themed names? I can always change it up if I want to preserve my dignity, but I don't have any better ideas as of now. Hmm... Cocytus is the obvious choice as the male bug, but he's too icy to be attached to anything other than an ice type. There's the one cockroach emperor, but I don't know his name off the top of my head. Kyohoro or something? Irrelevant, wouldn't fit you anyhow."

Dwebble seemed more and more confused with every sentence, but Entoma had gotten used to my rants on the road a while back. Entoma tried to communicate something to Dwebble and whatever it was seemed to comfort him, not that I was paying attention.

"Well, a rock name would be most obvious. Rockbruise? Maybe, but she's a woman, and you are not. Oh! There was that one golem thing. Gargantua! Tell me, new friend, how would like to be called Gargantua? He was a massive stone-based golem that could crush mountains like nothing."

The indirect compliment seemed to spark that manic energy back into Dwebble's eyes as he stood and gave a proud nod. Ah, that's what I like from my Pokémon: a penchant for violence and obedience to me.

"Lovely! I'll call you Gar for short. Heh, or Gary. Probably Gar, easier to remember. Welcome to the team, Gar, glad to have you! Now, if you don't mind, I have a ruin to explore. You ever been to that place over there?" I gestured to the Relic Castle.

A nod.

"Alright, would you be able to guide us to the bottom?"

A little less confidence, a hesitant nod.

"Eh, good enough. Let's get going, then."

So, we set off towards the ruins.

Well, isn't this impressive. I'm hardly a history buff, but I enjoy a bit of history. There was this one Zapotec temple I visited when I was in Oaxaca, Mexico in a literally previous life, but that was my extent of ruin diving. The human sacrifice altars were neat, though.

As I approached the ruins, the first things I noticed were the Darmanitan "statues." Seemingly impervious to the slowly weakening sandstorm, they maintained their blue hue without a speck of brown sand on their fur, seeming to slide off them. But the Darmanitan was not of any interest to me until I had a Rage Candy Bar, which was not now.

I moved on to the ruin's interior. It was surprisingly beautiful. Despite the sand coating the floor, the walls were exquisitely carved sandstone with surprisingly intricate patterns and the occasional mural. A few researchers and miners roamed around. Most curiously, a psychic was meditating in the middle of the room, two Pokéballs spinning in orbit around his head.

I wonder if I could do that? Whatever, not going to approach the guy who can kill me with his mind. Note to self, stay away from any major Psychic hotspots. I appreciate my mental sanctity, no need to let anyone else in on my megalomania.

Nobody seemed to care that a random teenager was attempting to enter a potentially dangerous, quicksand-filled ancient ruin, so I continued unstopped with my two bugs trailing close behind. I eventually reached the stairs where a man in a hardhat greeted me.

"Ah, a trainer! Come to explore the ruins?" The man questioned. "Ah, I remember those days. Well, kid, you're lucky, I just finished clearing out the sand blocking off the stairway here. I almost feel bad, there was a lass here a couple of days ago who seemed to want to explore as well. Well, have fun!"

Lack of concern for the safety of random teenagers ignored, I continued down the staircase. The games don't do a particularly good job of showing off this place. The staircase was longer than the games portrayed it, I would guess it led about twenty feet underground and completely unlit.

Coming out of the dark staircase, I found myself in a room relatively similar to the initial one. I didn't consider it at first, but thankfully the room itself was lit up. Not by industrial equipment, but strange lanterns that seemed to have a perpetually glowing crystal inside them. Odd, but better than having to head back and buy a flashlight or something to navigate through darkened ruins.

The walls retained the murals and carvings, but now the occasional Yamask mask was attached to the wall. I'm not going anywhere near those. If I remember correctly, Yamask were explicitly genuine ghosts rather than a ball of poison or something and fucking with the dead is both a bad idea and a bit of a dick move. Even worse, I believe that Cofagrigus were the Pokémon version of mimics, so I best not go and loot fancy coffins for quick money.

A shame, I could use the quick cash.

Regardless, I ended up in a hallway with a single curve in it, leading directly into a sandpit that concaves into a hole. Now, as daring as I am, I'm not willing to jump into quicksand on the slightest provocation. Thankfully, I had an asset capable of doing so with minimum risk.

"Oy, Gar. Mind hopping into there and seeing if it's safe? I imagine you could make it out using dig. Oh, and keep away from any masks or coffins, a bad idea to piss them off."

Giving me an affirmative cry, Gargantua hopped into the trap without a second thought. A half of a minute or so later, and he popped out of the ground behind me and gave me the affirmative. Well, no point in delaying. In preparation, I recall Entoma and Gargantua to their balls. Heave Ho!

I jumped into the sandpit. I prepared to hold my breath as it started to drag me towards the center and was slowly pulled through the sand. Just as I hit the middle, my whole body began to descend. Breathing in now.

My head finally sunk into the sand, fully covered. For a moment, I considered the games and scientist were just fucking with me and Gargantua had betrayed me, but that only lasted about ten seconds before my feet suddenly lost the pressure of being enclosed. Then, my legs, my torso, and finally my head as I fell about eight feet to the ground.

Fuck, that was uncomfortable. I don't have claustrophobia, but that may have triggered it if lasted any longer. Worst of all, sand was everywhere. My shoes, nose, ears, and clothes. If I hadn't sealed my pack up, I'm sure it would have been filled up as well. I'm starting to see why Roxie claimed she hated sand so much. How many more would I have to deal with?

Quite a few, it seemed. The next room had a few branching pathways, all of which led to sandpits. And, in the very center of the room, a single sandpit lay. I let Gargantua back out.

"Alright, Gar. I'm going to need you to figure out which sandpits get me to the bottom. Once you got that figured out, point me the right way."

With Gargantua exploring, I had the opportunity to think a bit. The first thing I questioned was why exactly this ruin had been unexplored until this point. I mean, I only had a Dwebble and I was navigating it. My best guess? They didn't want to potentially harm research samples. I mean, what if a bad dig landed through an important mural?

Was I committing a crime? Damaging archeological material? Eh, if I'm not caught it's fine.

Otherwise, perhaps it was a safety thing. That one construction worker who had cleared out the sand seemed to imply that it took a while to do. Though, it doesn't answer why they didn't just use the other set of... stairs. How did I just realize this? In the games, you have sandpits to wade through to get to the bottom, a set of stairs to get you out at any time, and then a set of stairs at the very bottom that leads you to the tower.

The stairs that were there to get you out at any time did not seem to exist on this floor. Only a one-way trip down through sandpits. Those fuckers just let me go into a one-way deathtrap. I guess I'll have to make it to the bottom if I want to make it out. Otherwise, I'll likely have to send Gar to steal some paper and a pen, come back, write an SOS, and send him back to get me a rescue team. Here's hoping there are stairs at the bottom to get me out.

Ah, Gar is back. He pointed me to the pit in the back left of the room, so I walked around the center pit and slid into it. More near suffocation on sand ensued, but I popped out unscathed. Though, all it takes is one of these falls to mess me up. I landed perfectly fine on this one, but eight feet may not be the longest drop.

Curiously enough, this sandpit dropped me into another room with a singular sandpit in front of me and curiously blank walls. Other than the pit, the only thing in there was one of those strange lanterns lighting the room. It gave me the creeps. So, when Gar popped out of the hole right next to me and motioned towards the pit, I jumped straight into the pit.

Unfortunately, when I asked Gar what pits I ought to take to get to the bottom, he didn't account for human durability. The first thing I noticed when my head popped from the pit was that I was about sixty feet above the ground and quickly falling.

I felt my eyes nearly bug out of their sockets and I began to panic. Remembering that a human could theoretically survive terminal velocity with only a minor case of destroyed lower body and spine, I positioned myself with my legs to absorb most of my fall.

With my body prepared I decided to look around at what may be the last sight I have not spent in complete agony. There wasn't much time to absorb my surrounding, but I had fallen into a massive chamber with similarly carved walls to the initial room. Curiously enough, Claydol seemed to be lying around the room.

That was the best look I could get for now, as the ground was about ten feet away. Braced for impact, I was pleasantly surprised when my fall slowed. My landing on the ground kept a bit of impact, but nowhere near the leg-shattering force that I expected.

I took a shuddering breath as I tried to slow my rapidly beating heart. Fuck, that was the closest I've ever been to death. I'm starting to regret coming here. Gargantua's smaller form fell right next to me and came to the same slow stop.

As I continued to breathe deeply, a sudden pressure built upon my mind. Not quite a headache, but something was off. The next thing I know, a voice in my head drowned out all other noises.

"Traveler. Have you come to gift to The Sun?"

Not one to deny beings capable of breaking and entering my mind, I quickly speak, "I am more than willing to pay homage to, uh, The Sun? May I know who I am speaking to?"

"I am behind you."

Turning around slowly, I couldn't help but notice the massive Claydol that had mysteriously appeared about five feet behind me. The Claydol littered around the chamber averaged around five feet tall which was normal for Claydol. The big fella now in front of me had to be at least twice that tall, perhaps even three times taller. It was quite intimidating.

"So, may I ask what "The Sun" would like as its gift?"

"It is irrelevant. The Sun sleeps. You may gaze at The Sun. Do not disturb its slumber."

The Claydol levitated over to a doorway, and I followed. The doorway was about nine feet tall, but the massive Claydol didn't seem to care and simply teleported through the entrance that its large body wouldn't fit through otherwise. I suppose that explains how it had appeared right behind me.

The doorway led into one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Pillars lined the long chamber, each with a unique mural on them. Every wall had an image of a sun, with gold inlays for every carving. The end of the chamber had a set of stairs leading to a platform.

If I had to give a comparison, it was like a king's throne room. And, inhabiting where the king would be was a sleeping Volcarona. "The Sun," I would guess. It certainly seemed to live up to the name.

With every step, heat built up. When the Claydol stopped about ten feet away from the sleeping Volcarona, I would guess the air temperature was about 130F (55C), and that was a solid ten feet from the source. I couldn't help but be reminded of a sauna, but I doubt the Claydol would appreciate the insinuation.

"Do not speak. When you leave, I shall follow."

Well, best to listen to the being of great power. To keep up appearances, I simply stared at the Volcarona for about five minutes. Thankfully, it was quite a sight to behold, effortlessly levitating.

The moth influence in its design was rather obvious. The white fur on its thorax looked quite cuddly if I wasn't certain that getting in touching range was an excellent way to die. Past that, the moth likeness stopped. There was a vague resemblance with the abdomen, but I believe moths tapered smoothly while Volcarona's seemed to bubble out before tapering to the end.

After that, everything breaks apart. The head was pure black and shiny, resembling obsidian. From the sides of its head sprouted two ringed, red horns that framed the sleeping face. On its sides, occasionally beating, were six wings bright red insectoid wings. With every beat, a mix of silver powder and fire fell from its wings.

I can see why people think this thing was a sun god. I need one. Shame that I'm clearly nowhere near strong enough to fight it.

I turned and walked out of the room, Claydol trailing behind me. Making it through the doorway, I turned to the big man himself.

"Say, The Sun wouldn't happen to have any children, would it?"

"No."

Way to ruin my dreams. Guess I'll just have to bet on that one unnamed ranger having the egg. No reason to stay here, then.

"The Sun has three eggs, however."

"Would..." I resolved myself. "Would The Sun be willing to let me raise one of its eggs?"

The Claydol was silent for a moment.

"Reveal your companions."

I immediately released Entoma from her Pokéball.

"These are my only companions."

The Claydol turned to Entoma and Gargantua and, judging by how they started to chitter back at Claydol, began to speak to them. It was a very uncomfortable couple of minutes, but eventually, Claydol turned back to me.

"You are acceptable. You are weak now. If you continue to strengthen the bond between you and your companions, you will be strong. Raise The Sun's child well. Keep the egg warm to hatch it."

With a flash, I was forcefully spatially displaced back to the first staircase along with my Pokémon. And, sitting on a step, dimly lighting up the unlit staircase, was a glowing, grey egg with red and white stripes.

I delicately clutched the egg and deposited it gently into my backpack, wrapping it in my clothes to insulate and protect it. I'm not going to let anyone see this. The longer I'll keep it a secret, the better surprise it will be. If anyone else has one, they're keeping it close to the chest as well. More importantly, I can't let them know it's from here.

Hmm, I wonder if Roxie will keep it a secret. Shared secrets are excellent for improving friendships.

Imagine, if trainers started showing up en masse and enrage the sleeping Volcarona. I'm not entirely sure how powerful it is, but if it can roast me from a distance while still asleep, I'm not going to try and figure it out.

Since it has eggs, does that make it a female? I assume so, but I also don't know the Volcarona mating system.

I couldn't help but find it amusing that the egg was given to me with the assumption of me using the power of friendship. The power of swords and violence is more my forte, but it is good to have happy subordinates and companions. I will take good care of this Larvesta. Its power will be my power, after all.

I recalled my Pokémon, walked up the stairs, gave a greeting to the blatantly negligent miner, and left for Nimbasa City. As I passed through the checkpoints, it took all my effort to not show off the egg for the quick cash. But instant gratification isn't optimal, unfortunately.

Dr. Stanley seemed pleased when I stopped by and told him about my capture of Gargantua, making sure to keep quiet on how it happened on the off chance that Pokémon could hear me through their Pokéballs. The few researchers that he yelled at about the capture gave me a couple of cheers, but not any free food like I was hoping.

The walk back to Nimbasa was rather uneventful. Once I got to the town, started to ask around about incubators. A kindly old lady pointed me to a small shop that focused on Pokémon breeding. Actual Pokémon breeding, not the PG version in the anime, though Pokémon care was part of the equation for them.

A fire-type incubator cost me a steep thousand, leaving me with just over a thousand left. I need to get that Rage Candy Bar quick, screw my body. I'll leave tomorrow and deal with the consequences of ten hours of walking. I can see why Castelia is trying so hard to construct an easy path between them and Nimbasa.

I got to the Pokémon Center and checked into the Pokémon Center for the night. That fifty-per-night thing is starting to cut deep now that I'm low on funds.

Finally, in privacy, I place the incubator on the desk. It was just like the ones you see in the anime and GO, except a little fancier. The incubator would scan whatever egg was in it and determine optimal conditions for it. Only special Pokémon like fire types need a specialized incubator, as normal ones don't hit upwards of a thousand degrees Fahrenheit in them.

As I placed my new egg into the incubator, the scanner went to work. It took about ten minutes, but the scanner determined a lovely temperature of seven hundred and fifty degrees as the optimal temperature for hatching and began to heat up and maintain that temperature.

I let my two other bugs out of the Pokéball and instructed them to keep the egg safe.

It was about eight at night at that point, so I figured I ought to turn in. Today was nowhere near as tiring physically as yesterday, but I was still tuckered out. So, I threw myself onto my bed and promptly fell asleep, dreaming sweet dreams of commanding bugs with the powers of gods.