"Shiraishi, does the Breeding Center have any Tangela eggs?"
As they walked, Minato suddenly asked. His breeding plan had unexpectedly identified Tangela as the most suitable Pokémon, which surprised even him.
"Tangela?"
Faced with Minato's question, Shiraishi paused mid-step and thought back. He recalled that the Breeding Center's official brochure and website didn't detail Tangela extensively. First, because quantities were limited. Second, this species is mainly distributed in the southern regions.
Tangela was both unpopular and unattractive. Why would this boy named Minato show interest in it?
Shiraishi couldn't make sense of it.
"That... we don't seem to have any here. But if you place a reservation now, I believe we can have one delivered within a week," Shiraishi answered after some consideration.
"No matter... let's look at other eggs first." Minato breathed a sigh of relief. Not having any was actually better, saving him from indecision. He truly didn't care much for Tangela's appearance.
Besides Tangela, Minato had been considering alternatives throughout the walk. If Tangela wasn't available, he could settle for Bellsprout or Oddish.
However, Minato had other ideas as well.
Although he had invested considerable energy into designing his Grass-type breeding plan over the past two weeks, Minato felt uncertain.
Because he lacked confidence in that plan.
He had zero breeding experience, a complete novice. Raising Pokémon in reality definitely couldn't be as simple as "grinding levels." He needed to be more rigorous. So, rather than experimenting with his theories on his first Pokémon immediately, Minato wanted to accumulate sufficient experience and scientifically verify his methods before putting them into practice.
So, beyond Grass-types, Minato considered other Pokémon.
He had narrowed it down to three categories.
First, Grass-types suitable for his breeding plan: Tangela, Oddish, Bellsprout, and others.
Second, Bug-types that could use Psychic powers after evolution: Caterpie, Venonat, Wurmple, and similar.
Such bug types were also easy to raise, with short growth cycles. Within a year, they could complete natural evolution and possess considerable strength.
Moreover, Psychic powers... were a rare ability.
However, it seemed that in reality, Bug-types like Butterfree, Venomoth, and Dustox rarely mastered Psychic abilities. Unlike in games where moves were learned through leveling, this presented a risk. If these Pokémon couldn't use Psychic powers, their advantages were limited. Minato also lacked confidence in training them to develop such abilities.
Shiraishi led the three through the spacious facility, carefully introducing one Pokémon after another and providing appropriate recommendations.
"This is a Nidoran egg..."
"This is a Meowth egg..."
"This is an Eevee egg..."
"Eevee is a Normal-type, and Normal-type is considered the attribute with the best adaptability."
"Additionally, this is one of our more recommended Pokémon. Eevee has a gentle temperament, is easy to raise, and possesses four evolution branches with Electric, Water, Fire, and Grass attributes. The power boost after evolution is also quite significant. If you're considering battle performance for the entrance exams, choosing Eevee offers the highest guarantee of passing grades."
"We also sell matching Evolution stones here. Once Eevee enters its growth period, you can use it. Purchasing them together with the egg now qualifies for a five percent discount," Shiraishi introduced with a smile.
"Eevee..."
Minato stared fixedly, ignoring the discount talk entirely. This was the third category he had identified.
According to his knowledge, Eevee had at least eight evolution branches.
Currently, the Pokémon League has cataloged 702 species. Eevee's evolutions into Glaceon, Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon were not among these 702 species... Minato had verified this through extensive online research.
With Pokémon having only integrated into modern society for several decades, it wasn't surprising that their secrets remained partially unexplored.
Beyond Eevee's evolution branches, other examples existed.
Politoed and Slowking, for instance, also remained undiscovered.
Slowbro's evolution method remained a mystery to this day.
How Feebas evolved into Milotic hadn't been published either.
What humanity didn't know were the secrets of ordinary Pokémon, while information about Legendary Pokémon had actually been obtained from ancient murals in Special Zone ruins.
...
Eevee's price wasn't actually high. Because of its gentle temperament and unsuitability for battle, it was generally regarded as a pet. What was expensive were the Evolution Stones.
Even the lowest quality Evolution stones cost several times more than Eevee itself.
Eevee could reproduce, but Evolution Stones were non-renewable resources, extremely scarce, and only produced in Special Zones. Monopoly issues were severe, with every stone fetching astronomical prices. The scenario from the anime where they were given away casually would never happen to ordinary people like Minato's family.
This Breeding Center was obviously also in the Evolution Stone business. Eevee and Evolution Stones were undoubtedly bundled sales. Most families, if their economic conditions permitted, might already be tempted.
But if everyone's understanding of Eevee remained limited to the notion that it needed Evolution stones to grow stronger, then Minato could confirm that Eevee was definitely one of the most underestimated Pokémon!
Those evolution branches that required different conditions but no stones—Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon—possessed potential equal to any other branch.
Perhaps because Minato spent so long standing before the Eevee egg, longer than before any other egg, his parents exchanged glances.
"What do you think of Eevee?" Father asked.
"It's good, excellent even. Arguably the optimal choice, but..." Minato pondered. Compared to Grass-types and Bug-types, Eevee was indeed more stable, easy to raise, gentle in temperament, highly adaptable, with tremendous potential, severely underestimated... It seemed specifically reserved for lucky individuals to discover.
"That's settled then. Don't worry about anything else. Our family can afford the cost of one Evolution stone." Father patted Minato's shoulder.
Minato looked up in confusion. That wasn't the issue... Never mind, he couldn't explain it clearly. If he chose Eevee, he definitely wouldn't evolve it along the Fire, Electric, Water, Ice, or Grass branches. That would be too expensive.
But Minato sensed things wouldn't go that smoothly, and explaining to his parents why he chose Eevee would be troublesome...
He couldn't directly tell them that Eevee had other evolution branches.
The problem became a classic three-way choice.
Before coming to the Breeding Center, Minato had never made a firm decision. But now that he was here, he could hesitate no longer.
"I'd like to look around more."
Minato requested that Shiraishi show him around again, particularly focusing on the eggs of these three categories.
Bug-type eggs, Grass-type eggs...
And the Eevee egg with its white base and brown patterns, the patterns harmonious and comfortable like clouds.
When making his choice, Minato had assumed he would be rational. However, he discovered that the heaviest factor tipping his heart was actually aesthetics.
Whether considering the egg's appearance or the Pokémon that would hatch from it, Eevee stirred Minato's heart more...
As expected, aesthetics are justice...
Gazing at the Eevee egg, Minato announced his final decision:
"This one."