Inside the Breeding House, Victor listened to Gary's report on the Teddiursa's condition and nodded.
He had a lot of confidence in Gary's judgment.
He told him to get some rest, then went back to his room with Gengar.
He had made several wooden boxes himself over the past few days, hand-carved. He placed them on the table, then took out the evolution stones and other rare items he had received as rewards from his drawer, placing them in the boxes one by one.
"Gengar—"
Seeing Victor's haphazard arrangement, Gengar pushed him aside and took over.
It huffed a breath on each evolution stone, polished it, then held it up to its eye, squinting as it admired its color and luster.
Only then would it slowly place the stone in the box, nodding in approval from time to time.
Seeing this, Victor sighed helplessly.
Let it do its thing.
After it was finished, he gave its tail a tug.
Psssssshhhh~
Poof.
Downstairs, Gary looked up and saw Victor's face was all wet, a little confused.
But seeing that Victor didn't say anything, he looked back down and went about his business.
"Owner!"
A voice startled both of them from their work. Victor looked up and saw two boys run in.
One of them, a boy in a baseball cap, ran up to the counter. Seeing the Pokémon and people staring at him, he got scared.
"What's going on?" he asked weakly.
Victor shook his head to clear it.
He reached out and patted the small head of the Petilil, which had been dozing on the counter and was startled awake. "It's nothing," he said. "Can I help you with something?"
Hearing this, the boy in the baseball cap forgot his earlier fright and said loudly, "I want to buy a Pokémon Egg!"
Victor silently rubbed his ear, which was ringing from the shout.
Just then, a boy in fancy clothes ran up beside him.
"I told you not to be in such a hurry."
"How can I not be in a hurry? The League Conference is already over!"
"It's no use being in a hurry. A Pokémon Egg still needs to be hatched."
"I can hatch it while I'm traveling!"
"You'll never become a good trainer with that attitude."
"Mind your own business!"
Seeing the two boys start to argue, Victor quickly intervened.
"Stop!"
After silencing them, he continued, "Do you have a particular Pokémon in mind?"
"Do you have any of the starter Pokémon here?"
"No."
"No Breeding House is allowed to sell the official starters at this time," Victor replied without even thinking.
I really need to add "No Starters for Sale" to the sign out front, he thought.
"Oh, really..." The boy in the baseball cap looked crestfallen.
"Then do you have any Fire-type Pokémon?" the boy in the fancy clothes asked.
"That, I do have," Victor nodded.
Hearing this, the fancy boy nudged the one in the cap.
"Great! Then I'll take a Fire-type!" the baseball-cap boy said. The boy beside him smacked him on the arm.
"You didn't even ask what Pokémon it is, and you're just taking it?"
Seeing that they were about to start arguing again, Victor quickly stopped them and led them to the incubator room.
"Owner, do you have any really strong Fire-type Pokémon? We want to be like the Elite Four Flint and crush our enemies with Fire-types!" the boy in the cap said, throwing a few enthusiastic, if clumsy, punches.
The fancy boy beside him also looked at Victor with anticipation.
Victor gave a mysterious smile, then placed a Pokémon Egg in front of them.
"This is a Magby egg. The Pokémon inside is a Fire-type."
"A Magby?"
"It doesn't seem very strong."
The first was from the fancy boy, the second from the one in the cap.
"Elite Four Flint also has a Magmortar on his team, which is the final evolution of Magby. Its power is in no way weaker than a starter's."
"Really?"
"Really?"
Victor nodded.
The boy in the cap immediately said, "Owner, I'll take this one!"
Seeing their excitement, Victor thought for a moment, then said, "Although this Pokémon will be strong when it hatches, becoming truly strong depends on the trainer. Only by loving your Pokémon can you become stronger."
Behind him, Gary nodded in agreement.
The boy in the cap looked down, then straightened up with new resolve.
"Don't worry, Owner! I'll take good care of it!"
Seeing this, Victor smiled, took out his stethoscope, and checked the egg's condition.
[Magby Egg][Hatching Progress: 20/30]
"It's very healthy," Victor said with a smile, sensing the life inside. "But it'll still be a little while before it hatches."
"Huh? It's still going to be a long time?"
"Not necessarily. If you take care of it with all your heart, it might hatch a little faster."
"Oh, I see. I get it!"
"What are you in such a hurry for? It's not like I'm not going to wait for you. I'll wait for it to hatch, and we can start our journey together. That's what we promised, isn't it?"
"Sheesh, I know, I know. Stop nagging."
Watching the two boys, Victor's eyes crinkled with a smile. The friendship of youth is truly a wonderful thing.
Nearby, Gary also seemed to be reminded of himself and Ash, and an inexplicable emotion well up inside him.
It's been a long time since I've seen Ash, he thought.
"Owner, please pack it up for me!"
Victor nodded, packaged the Magby egg for him, and handed it over.
"That will be two hundred and eighty thousand Alliance Dollars. Thank you for your business."
The boy in the cap swiped his card, but it showed "insufficient funds." For the remaining amount, he looked at his friend.
Beep.
The fancy boy paid the rest for him.
Victor looked at the fancy boy. "I'm sorry, that was the only Fire-type egg I had in stock."
"It's okay. My parents already got me one for my birthday."
He took out a Poké Ball, and with a flash of red light, a Chimchar appeared in the room.
Ah, the ace of the Sinnoh starters. Victor nodded.
He then saw them to the door.
"I wish you both the best of luck on your journeys."
"Thank you, owner!"
"We wish you good business, too!"
Victor smiled and went back inside. He saw Gary thinking about something, but he didn't disturb him.
Shana ran out from the door behind the counter.
"Uncle, was that a customer?"
Victor nodded.
"We finally have customers again!"
Victor laughed.
The Breeding House had been temporarily closed for a while. It had only been a few days since he had stably reopened.
But Shana was right.
They finally had customers again.
From here on out, things would only get better.
Victor lay back in his chair in the lounge area.
Just then, Gengar handed him a cup of honey water.
"Gengar—"
Victor took it with a knowing smile.
"Thank you, Gengar. I'll make you some new snacks in a little while."
"Gengar!"
"I want some too!"
"Alright, alright. Shana gets some too. Everyone at the Breeding House gets some."
"Lili~"
"Machoke!" x3
"Mime~"
"Goth~"
"Yip~"
"Thank you, Owner," said Gary.
...
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