The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 168 Hatching of the Little Fire Dragon

As Lorelei predicted, after she relayed the approximate effects of the three rare ingredients—Gemstone Meat, Pufferfish Whale, and Wyvern—back to the Pokémon League.

Shiba and Wataru, two of the Kanto Elite Four, almost immediately dropped everything they were doing and rushed straight to Professor Oak's lab.

As for the last of the Four Heavenly Kings, Kikuko, although she did not visit in person, she sent her trusted confidants as quickly as possible.

In addition to these three rare ingredients, the three parties also proposed a transaction regarding BB corn.

This surprised Jiang Yan slightly, but he quickly realized what was going on.

Previously, the Pokémon League had already traded away a lot of BB Corns from him at a great cost.

As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, A-du and the others naturally received a share.

However, the League system is vast, including not only the Elite Four, but also gyms across the country, elite trainers, and research labs.

These factors definitely need to be considered. After being distributed layer by layer, the share that actually ends up in the hands of the Elite Four, while not small, is definitely not enough to meet their own needs for raising Pokémon.

Jiang Yan readily agreed to the additional transaction for BB corn.

After all, the league only traded away most of its members, and he still had quite a few left. Since he was able to trade them away, it was a good thing for him.

However, when it comes to the three ingredients—gemstone meat, pufferfish whale, and wyvern—Jiang Yan's requirements become much higher.

This time, Jiang Yan didn't ask for Pokémon, but instead asked for some extremely rare items that were very difficult to trade.

Various evolution stones, King's Tokens, Beautiful Scales, and various held items that enhance the power of moves —

Jiang Yan was still very curious about these things.

Moreover, he can also use the Pokémon he trains in the "Food Restaurant".

After several rounds of back-and-forth negotiations, the deal was finally reached smoothly.

Jiang Yan exchanged a suitable amount of the three top-grade ingredients for a large number of rare items, reaping a rich reward.

Meanwhile, Shiba, Awa, and the messenger sent by Kikuko, satisfied with the ingredients they had exchanged, hurriedly left, eager to return and test their effects.

As for Kona, she remains here and shows no intention of leaving.

For the next few days, Jiang Yan also stayed quietly in the Ooki Research Institute.

While waiting for Professor Oak's in-depth research results on those ingredients, I also made the most of my time to brush up on my knowledge of the Pokémon world.

In his spare time, Jiang Yan would immerse himself in the research institute's kitchen, using the Pokémon ingredients he had acquired to try out new dishes.

Ultimately, these ingredients were transformed into plates of fragrant delicacies, which not only made Jiang Yan feel that his strength had been greatly improved, but also allowed Kona and the research institute staff to enjoy a delicious meal.

These days are peaceful and fulfilling.

That afternoon, sunlight filtered through the leaves in the courtyard, casting dappled patterns of light.

Jiang Yan was about to go out for a stroll to relax when a staff member from the research institute suddenly walked over in a hurry.

"Mr. Jiang Yan! Mr. Jiang Yan! Something terrible has happened—no, it's wonderful!"

"That little dragon egg—it's about to hatch!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan's eyes lit up, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

The little fire dragon egg, a gift from Arceus and infused with the essence of a fire dragon, is finally about to hatch!

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Yan immediately headed towards the incubation room.

Hearing the commotion, Kona followed along with some curiosity.

Inside the incubation room, several sophisticated incubators were operating smoothly.

Under the guidance of the staff, Jiang Yan carefully took the still warm dragon egg out of the incubator.

Wipe away any remaining nutrient solution from the eggshell with a clean, soft cloth, then place the baby dragon egg flat on a soft mat.

Jiang Yan then held his breath and quietly awaited the arrival of the new life.

Not long after, the previously stable little dragon egg suddenly swayed slightly.

Immediately afterwards, with a soft "crack," an extremely fine yet clearly visible crack appeared on the hard eggshell.

The gap between them.

The cracks spread rapidly, like spider silk.

The next second, the eggshell was suddenly broken open, and a tiny head popped out.

The moment Jiang Yan saw the head clearly, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

black.

It wasn't the normal orange-red of a Charmander, nor the bright yellow of a shiny Charmander, but rather a black like ink jade.

Although I had anticipated that Charmander might mutate because of the Flame Dragon, I also thought that it might become stronger and its flames might become more intense.

But Jiang Yan never expected that this little fire dragon would actually be black!

Not only Jiang Yan, but also Kona and the staff of the research institute looked completely bewildered.

Soon, under everyone's watchful eyes, the little black dragon crawled out of its eggshell and stood shakily on the plush mat.

Jiang Yan then realized that the black was not skin, but a layer of fine, tight scales with a faint luster, and on the scales, there were red patterns that looked like flames dancing.

Normal Charmander: Orange-red skin, off-white abdomen.

Shiny Charmander: Bright yellow skin, light yellow belly.

But the one in front of them, with its black scales, fire patterns, and fierce aura, completely exceeded everyone's understanding of the little fire dragon.

Jiang Yan understood somewhat.

Without a doubt, this was an anomaly caused by Arceus incorporating the fire dragon into the baby fire dragon egg.

But the Fire Dragon's scales should be crimson red, so why did the little fire dragon turn black?

"Why is it black? And it has scales too."

Kona couldn't help but ask, her eyes fixed on the little black dragon.

As one of the Elite Four, she had seen countless rare Pokémon, shiny Pokémon, and special forms, but she had never seen or even heard of Charmander in this form.

Jiang Yan snapped out of his daze, looked at the unique little black fire dragon in front of him, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

"After all, this is my own Pokémon."

In fact, Jiang Yan had a vague guess in his heart.

Charizard, the final evolution of Charmander, will become a Fire/Dragon type and its skin will turn black after Mega Evolution into Mega Charizard X.

Because Arceus incorporated the Charmander egg into the Flame Dragon, it is very likely that the dormant dragon genes within the Charmander were activated.

The black scales and flame patterns are proof of the fusion with the Flame Dragon.

Of course, the exact truth still needs to be determined by Dr. Oak's professional equipment testing.

As for now, the priority is naturally to feed the black Charmander.

Jiang Yan took out the milk he had prepared beforehand, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to the little black dragon.

The little black dragon raised its head, looked at Jiang Yan curiously, and let out a clear cry.

"Chirp!"

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Her soft, sweet voice made Jiang Yan smile.

Perhaps sensing that Jiang Yan meant no harm, the little black dragon stretched out its tiny claws, hugged the milk bottle, and tilted its head back to drink it in big gulps.

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles —

For a normal newborn Pokémon, one bottle of MooMoo Milk is enough, but the black Charmander had an astonishingly large appetite. It drank five whole bottles in one go before finally letting out a satisfied burp, its little belly slightly bulging.

After finishing its Moo Moo Milk, the little black dragon, still a bit unsteady on its feet, walked to Jiang Yan's feet and affectionately hugged his leg with its paw.

It even gently rubbed its head against hers.

Jiang Yan squatted down and reached out to touch the head of the little black dragon.

The touch from my fingertips was hard and smooth, but not cold; instead, it had a warmth like that of warm jade.

"Little Charmander, please take care of me from now on."

Jiang Yan said seriously.

Then he took out a Poké Ball, ready to catch the black Charmander.

Just then, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps approached from afar, and Professor Oak quickly ran in.

It was clearly the staff who notified Professor Oak.

Upon entering the hatching room, Professor Oak's gaze immediately fell upon the black Charmander at Jiang Yan's feet.

He froze on the spot, and the next moment, an amazing light burst from Professor Oak's eyes.

"A black little fire dragon—it's covered in scales?! This...this is a discovery that completely overturns existing theories!"

Why did this mutation occur? Is it due to environmental factors? Or is it a mutation at the genetic level?

"This is incredible—this is definitely the most worthy Pokémon individual to study!"

Professor Oak was so excited he was incoherent, circling around the little black dragon.

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At this moment, Professor Oak desperately wanted to figure out why the black Charmander had turned out this way.

Seeing this, Jiang Yan spoke up without hesitation.

"Professor Oak, why don't you give Charmander a comprehensive physical and attribute test first?"

"I think I know some of the reasons why it turned out this way."

Upon hearing Jiang Yan's words, Professor Oak snapped out of his extreme excitement and slapped his forehead hard.

"Yes! Yes! Test first! Conduct a full test!"

Professor Oak immediately turned around and led the way, jogging all the way to the core laboratory, afraid of being a second too late.

Jiang Yan picked up the little black dragon that was still clinging to him and followed along with Kona.