"This incubation room contains a newly delivered batch of Pokémon, all of them Normal type, which is also the specialty of this Gym."
"Of course, if you want to choose a Pokémon baby or take a closer look, you can go into the temperature-controlled chamber and pick personally, as long as the Pokémon is willing to go with you."
Norman led Sieg into the Gym's confidential area, where only high-quality Pokémon, longed for by trainers, were stored.
Even the most ordinary Zigzagoon here had frighteningly high potential; the worst among them still carried inherited moves.
Sieg walked past rows of Pokémon eggs, each labeled with the Pokémon's na and the power levels and general info of both parents.
Before a Pokémon is born, its potential can't be accurately evaluated, but one can roughly judge by the level of its parents.
"The further you go into this room, the higher the quality of the Pokémon and the rarer the species," Norman said as he swiped his ID card to open the incubation chamber door.
Sieg looked at the neatly arranged eggs. Most were milky white, clearly identifiable as Normal-type Pokémon eggs.
"Pidgey, Rattata, Jigglypuff, owth, Farfetch'd, Lickitung, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Ditto, Eevee, Munchlax, Sentret, Aipom, Deino, Teddiursa, Miltank…"
The more Sieg looked, the more amazed he beca. Not only from the Hoenn region, but even Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh were here.
There was an astonishing variety, and more importantly, their quality seed very high. Sieg glanced around and found that none of the Pokémon had parents below level 40.
According to genetics, these Pokémon eggs were likely to be exceptional.
After inspecting all the eggs, Sieg keenly noticed a small door in the corner.
"Mr. Norman, is there sothing inside that room too?"
Sieg asked curiously.
Norman replied aningfully, "The Pokémon in there are top secret to the Gym, not sothing you can pick for now. But if you're just curious, I can let you take a look, provided you sign a confidentiality agreent."
Sensing the atmosphere was getting serious, Norman quickly made a joke.
"Of course, if you beco a Champion-level trainer one day, I might even gift you one of those eggs."
Sieg fell silent as he looked at each Pokémon egg, comparing their advantages and disadvantages while thinking about his future team developnt.
"This Munchlax is pretty good. Its father is a level 70 Pokémon, the genetic inheritance must be excellent."
"This Miltank is also not bad, a top choice for support Pokémon, just slightly behind the near-impossible-to-obtain Blissey."
Sieg grew more and more conflicted inside, like a starving person staring at a banquet, unable to decide what to eat first.
Norman offered so advice, "Sieg, based on team composition, the League generally divides trainers into two types, specialists and hybrids."
"A specialist team ans capturing only one type of Pokémon. This allows you to focus your training and skip a lot of complexities by honing in on one type."
"A hybrid team includes Pokémon of different types. It requires more ti, resources, and energy to understand. Those who go for this path are either very skilled and brave or totally ignorant of trainer fundantals."
Both styles had pros and cons. The forr was easier to counter strategically, while the latter offered more versatility.
After listening to Norman's explanation, Sieg lowered his head and quietly thought. After a long while, he suddenly looked up, eyes gleaming with a hint of madness.
"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Norman. I'll choose Eevee. I'll specialize in the Dark type."
A flash of surprise passed through Norman's eyes. From Sieg's two Pokémon, one thought they could guess in what he'll specialize.
"Not the Water type, but the Dark type? That's unexpected!"
At first, seeing Sieg's Crawdaunt and Carvanha, Norman had assud Sieg specialized in water types. After all, for a child who grew up on a remote island, that would have made sense.
Sieg held the selected Eevee egg close to his chest. He had deliberately chosen a female.
Not out of any odd preference.
It was purely because of rarity. The male-to-female ratio for Eevee is a staggering 7 to 1.
Moreover, studies show that to boost Eevee's friendliness and eventually evolve it into Espeon or Umbreon, it's best to pick one of the opposite gender to the trainer.
That helps raise its affection more easily.
This wasn't just Sieg making things up, but sothing backed by research, a bit of rare Eevee trivia.
"That's Eevee? Not bad. Leave it in the Gym to hatch later. We've got a nutrient solution for newborns here, which can slightly boost its potential."
Seeing that Sieg had finally made his choice, Norman was very pleased and even offered an extra benefit.
Shortly after, Sieg signed an extrely detailed confidentiality agreent and followed Norman through that mysterious small door.
"Co with . Once you beco a champion, your future Pokémon might be in here," Norman said jokingly.
Sieg followed him in. The first thing he noticed upon entering was a strange yet pleasant aroma.
"This is Clear Spirit Incense from the Lorna family of the Unova League. It's beneficial to both eggs and newborn Pokémon."
Norman noticed Sieg's reaction and offered an explanation.
The room was enormous, its pink-and-white walls providing protection, with various sophisticated machines arranged throughout.
And all of this was to protect just six Pokémon eggs.
"These are carefully selected eggs. I have to file a report with the League to choose one. They're all considered strategic assets."
"Among the six, only the Slakoth egg is the offspring of my ace, Slaking, and under my control. The others are all provided by the League, and I'm still paying off a big loan for them."
Norman spoke with a wry smile. Though a Gym Leader with high status, he still had many worries.
Sieg's gaze was glued to the six Pokémon eggs.
One belonged to an Audino.
Another to a Happiny.
Both were dream support Pokémon, nearly monopolized by the Joy family. Sieg hadn't expected to see them here.
"The rarest must be that Slakoth. Maybe, like Mr. Norman's Slaking, it inherited the ability to overco laziness."
Sieg didn't know whether Norman's Slaking had trained to overco Truant or was born that way, but it didn't stop him from fantasizing and imagining.
Seeing Sieg's envious gaze, Norman laughed heartily, "No need to envy high-potential Pokémon. Potential is just a stepping stone. What really makes them strong is how you raise them."
Sieg knew Norman was right, but he still couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
Most powerful factions establish themselves by developing unique training thods for specific Pokémon.
These thods are handed down and are inaccessible to ordinary trainers. Take the Kanto Gyms for example: Cerulean Gym is known for raising water types.
Have you ever seen a secret training thod for Rock types leaked from Pewter Gym, even though they produce high-potential Rock Pokémon every year?
Even if a common trainer obtained a high-quality Pokémon, without special training thods, they would eventually be stuck at a bottleneck, unable to progress.
After a mont of reflection, Sieg bid farewell to Norman.
It was already dark. He needed to go back and rest.
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