"Well then, Owner, I'll be leaving my Starmie and the others in your care."
A young woman with pigtails bowed to Victor.
"Don't you worry, we'll take great care of them. We'll be here when you come back to pick them up," Victor said with a smile.
He then had James take the Pokémon to the backyard.
The pigtail-haired woman nodded and turned to leave.
Victor saw her off, and just as he was about to sit down and rest, the next customer arrived.
"Owner! Owner! Do you have any good Pokémon you'd recommend?"
Victor instantly stood up and replied, "We certainly do."
In the end, Victor sold a Scyther egg for 160,000.
After seeing this trainer off as well, Victor collapsed into his chair.
What is with today? Why are there so many customers?
Since opening the doors this morning, he'd already had five groups of customers.
Two were for boarding, two were to buy eggs, and one had even bought the Poison Barb.
"Are all the customers gone?"
Cynthia's voice rang out.
Victor, still lying in his chair, yawned and replied, "Yep. It's been pretty busy today. But why are you up so early?"
Cynthia skillfully took the breakfast Mime Jr. handed her and began to eat in the lounge area.
"I've actually been up for a while. I saw there were customers in the shop, so I didn't come down."
Cynthia had woken up early, and just as she was about to go downstairs, she'd seen the customers. To avoid causing any unnecessary trouble, she had decided to wait in her room.
Victor nodded and didn't say any more.
"Victor."
"What is it?" Victor answered, his eyes half-closed.
"My friend would like to come and stay at the Breeding House for a couple of days. Is that okay?"
Victor's eyes snapped open.
Cynthia's friend?
Who?
It's not... Diantha, is it?
"No problem," he asked. "But can I ask who it is?"
"The Unova region's Elite Four member, Shauntal."
Cynthia swallowed her breakfast and said, "She said she's hit a bottleneck with her novel writing and is looking for a quiet place. I recommended here."
"But you're the owner of the Breeding House, so I have to ask your permission."
Shauntal?
An image of Shauntal formed in Victor's mind. The Ghost-type Elite Four member from Unova.
Victor nodded. "When is she coming?"
"She should be here soon," Cynthia replied nonchalantly.
Victor shot up from his chair.
"She's almost here?"
Cynthia, her cheeks puffed with food, nodded.
"So, she's been on her way since this morning?"
Cynthia nodded again.
"And you're only asking me now if she can come?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't refuse," Cynthia said with a faint smile.
Victor sighed helplessly.
He thought for a moment, then lay back down in his chair.
The next second, as if sensing something, Cynthia stood up and walked to the front door.
Watching her go, Victor scrambled out of his chair again and followed her.
At the door, he saw Cynthia leading a woman with purple hair and glasses inside.
Victor recognized her at once. It was indeed the Unova Ghost-type Elite Four member, Shauntal.
"Victor, this is Shauntal, the Unova Elite Four. And this is the Victor I'm always telling you about."
Always telling her about?
Victor's sharp ears caught that key phrase, and his mood instantly brightened.
"Hello, welcome. We're happy to have you as a guest at the Breeding House," Victor said with a smile.
Shauntal was currently sizing him up, curious about this person Cynthia couldn't stop mentioning. He didn't look like a particularly strong trainer.
Her curiosity deepened.
But she was still very polite and greeted him. "Thank you for having me."
"You're welcome," Victor waved his hand, then looked at Cynthia.
"Should I get her a room, or is she staying with you?"
Cynthia hesitated, looked at Shauntal for her opinion, and then said, "She can just stay in my room."
Victor nodded, and let Cynthia take Shauntal up to her room.
He sat back down in his chair.
He had Lilligant come and sit by him, and he idly cracked open some seeds while chatting with her.
A little while later, Cynthia and Shauntal came downstairs, having settled in. They saw Victor sitting there, eating seeds.
"Lili~" Lilligant greeted them.
Shauntal recognized it as a Lilligant from her own region, and it looked like it had been raised very well. The flower on its head was vibrant and beautiful, and it gave off a rich, pleasant fragrance.
Cynthia, long accustomed to Victor's lazing about, ignored him and led Shauntal directly to the backyard.
Cynthia first gave Shauntal a tour.
Shana was playing with Mime Jr. and the others. When she saw Cynthia with a pretty new "big sister," she ran over.
"Big Sister Cynthia!"
Cynthia smiled and scooped her up.
"Big Sister Cynthia, who is this?"
Cynthia introduced them.
"Hello, Big Sister Shauntal!" Shana greeted her sweetly.
Seeing such a delicate and cute little girl, Shauntal was also completely charmed.
She took Shana from Cynthia's arms and held her as she continued the tour.
Shauntal looked at the large number of wild Pokémon in the backyard. Cynthia had already given her a general overview of the Breeding House before they arrived, so she wasn't too surprised.
After a full loop, they arrived at the entrance to the deep forest.
"Come on, let's go back," Cynthia said, looking at the gloomy forest and turning to leave.
"What's wrong? Not going in to look?" Shauntal was curious. The Breeding House didn't even have a fence blocking the forest entrance.
"With our strength, we shouldn't have to be afraid of wild Pokémon, right?"
Cynthia shook her head.
As one of the strongest Champions, she definitely wasn't afraid of the Pokémon in the forest.
"It's not about being afraid. It's that we won't get the full experience if we go in."
Hearing this, Shauntal was puzzled.
"Only when Victor brings us in," Cynthia explained, "are we considered friends of the forest."
She then told Shauntal the story of the Breeding House's friendship with the forest.
Shauntal was stunned.
One person... can become friends with an entire forest?
She was suddenly reminded of what Lance had said about certain people with the "Viridian" power.
Don't tell me Victor is one of them?
As if knowing what she was thinking, Cynthia shook her head.
"Him? He's just an ordinary person."
At this, Cynthia couldn't help but smile. "Let's go back."
Cynthia didn't notice that her smile, which appeared when she spoke of Victor, had been caught by Shauntal.
This only made Shauntal even more curious about Victor.
Swoosh.
A Staravia landed on a nearby tree.
It's time to eat.
Understanding its meaning, Cynthia nodded.
Seeing the Staravia, Shana climbed down from Shauntal's arms and ran ahead, calling back, "Big Sister Cynthia! Big Sister Shauntal! Let's go! Uncle is calling us for dinner!"
Cynthia quickened her pace to follow.
Shauntal, however, looked at the Staravia. She could tell it had been raised very well.
The Staravia nodded at her and then flew off, and she hurried to catch up with Shana.
...
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