Zhang Heng was slightly surprised and said, "It's a Water + Ice-type Lapras?!"
The name Lapras might be confused with Ralts, the initial form of Gardevoir, so it has a more familiar name, Lapras.
In the real world, Water-type Pokémon like Lapras, which can carry heavy loads over long distances at sea, have extremely high trade value, and given the rarity of their own species, they are priceless. He didn't expect to find two Pokémon eggs available for selection in the Wilderness Area.
The staff member patiently explained, "Yes. Due to the unique nature of the Water-type Wilderness Area, even if they are not combat-type Pokémon, many can become rideable Pokémon for sea transport. To prevent illegal trafficking of Pokémon eggs, the Water-type Wilderness Area operates under a closed management system, unlike other open Wilderness Areas."
Zhang Heng was using his system ability to view the attribute panels of those two Lapras Pokémon eggs.
Pokémon Name: Lapras * 2 (Healthy, Unhatched)
Attribute: Water, Ice
Aptitude: Gym level, Quasi-Champion
He sighed inwardly, "Alas, for such a rare Pokémon, the highest is only Quasi-Champion level? It's a bit of a pity."
Although Quasi-Champion level Pokémon are already very rare, and a Lapras that can serve as sea transport is considered top-tier in the eyes of ordinary people, for a scion of a prominent family, it's a bit lacking as an initial Pokémon.
There were about twenty other Pokémon eggs in this area, including Shellder, Seel, Spheal, and other Pokémon eggs. Among them, Shellder and Seel are Water Attribute, and their evolved forms, Cloyster and Dewgong, only acquire the Water and Ice attribute combination, but they are still categorized into the Water + Ice attribute hatching area.
Zhang Heng then roughly scanned the other Pokémon eggs. Just by looking at their aptitude, they were all uniformly Lord level and Gym level, not even as high as the Lapras he just saw.
Zhang Heng turned back to Yi Shu and said, "Yi Shu, based on the luster feedback from the eggshells and the size of the eggs here, their estimated aptitudes are not very high. Perhaps only the slightly larger Lapras Pokémon egg has better aptitude, but it won't be very high either. This is my suggestion; you can consider it."
No matter what, Zhang Heng had extensive Pokémon knowledge as a foundation, allowing him to roughly analyze the aptitude of the Pokémon within an egg even without relying on the system.
Yi Shu nodded, trusting Zhang Heng's words, and said, "Then perhaps the Pokémon here are not quite suitable for me."
She then turned back to the staff member and asked, "Miss, may I retain my qualification and wait to choose again next time?"
The staff member nodded upon hearing this and said, "No problem, but you might have to wait three months because, due to ecological reasons, new Pokémon eggs are only sent to the incubation room every three months."
Yi Shu nodded, indicating she didn't mind.
Zhang Heng, however, spoke up and asked, "Miss, what happens to these Pokémon if they aren't chosen and instead hatch?"
In the constantly boring underground incubation room, it was rare to encounter someone coming to choose Pokémon eggs even once a month. So, the young Miss spoke like a floodgate had opened, explaining tirelessly.
"For hatched Pokémon, we conduct an aptitude test. If their aptitude is decent and their temperament is gentle, they will be handed over to the local Pokémon Lab to be provided to newcomers as initial Pokémon. If their aptitude is ordinary and their temperament is not easily controlled, some are kept in the Research Institute for breeding, and a portion are sent back to the wild to return to nature."
Zhang Heng also nodded, finding the Alliance's arrangement very reasonable.
Zhang Heng's gaze shifted, and he saw another area with no markings, where fewer than 10 Pokémon eggs were sparsely placed.
"Miss, what's the situation with that hatching area? Why are there no markings?"
The staff member followed Zhang Heng's gaze and then said, "That's an abandoned habitat found by the rangers in the wild. Perhaps the Pokémon in those habitats were captured by poaching gangs, leaving only a few scattered Pokémon eggs in the camp."
"So, there's no way to know the species of Pokémon inside the eggs?"
"Yes, and we conducted random checks on a few eggs. After simple energy tests, we found that they don't contain Water Attribute energy. They might be left behind by other types of Pokémon, so they are temporarily placed here to await hatching before being sent back to the Wilderness Area."
The three walked towards that direction, chatting as they went. Zhang Heng carefully examined these few Pokémon eggs, using his system ability to check their attribute panels.
Pokémon Name: Azurill * 4 (Healthy, Unhatched)
Attribute: Normal, Fairy
Aptitude: Lord, Gym level
Zhang Heng then looked at the remaining five Pokémon eggs, and their attribute panels appeared.
Pokémon Name: Bidoof * 4 (Healthy, Unhatched)
Attribute: Normal
Aptitude: Rare, Lord
He understood in his heart and murmured, "So that's how it is."
Fun fact: Azurill and Bidoof are the initial forms of Azumarill and Bibarel, respectively. They only acquire the Water Attribute after evolving.
In their initial forms, they do not have the Water Attribute, which is why the Research Institute's energy detection did not detect their Water Attribute.
Zhang Heng's gaze shifted to the last Pokémon egg.
Pokémon Name: Popplio (Healthy, Unhatched)
Attribute: Water
Aptitude: Elite Four
Zhang Heng thought to himself, "Hmm?! An Elite Four level Water-type starter? Its final evolution is Primarina, with a Water and Fairy attribute combination."
Zhang Heng analyzed the appearance of this Pokémon egg, hypothesizing that Primarina and Azumarill both have Water and Fairy attribute combinations and belong to the same egg group.
Perhaps their species interbred, producing this egg. It was then discovered by a ranger and brought here.
"Miss, can I choose an egg from this area?"
"Of course, no problem, but these Pokémon eggs might not be Water-type Pokémon. Once chosen, they cannot be abandoned or returned."
"Okay, thank you, Miss."
Zhang Heng turned to Yi Shu, pointing at the Popplio Pokémon egg, and said, "Yi Shu, in my observation, that egg's aptitude should be very good. If you trust me, I think you'll really like that egg."
Yi Shu looked at Zhang Heng, then followed the direction of his finger to the egg. Without any hesitation, she nodded and said, "Miss, please wrap up that egg for me. And I'd like to purchase a constant temperature incubator and nutrient solution."
The staff member first took the egg out of the constant temperature incubation room and handed it to Yi Shu. Yi Shu smiled and took the Pokémon egg with both hands, holding it in her arms.
Just as Yi Shu was holding the egg, the egg body trembled slightly, as if it had an innate fondness for the human who chose her.