Two weeks had passed since the attack on Black Crest.
During that time, Barry and Evergrow Company's legal representatives had both come to settle the matter.
Just as Lance had predicted, Evergrow Company wasted no time distancing itself from Barry.
Austin still vividly remembered the company's lead attorney.
The man was impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, his posture flawless, and his professional smile so polished that it never reached his eyes.
"Mr. Smith's actions were a personal violation of his franchise agreement and were carried out without Evergrow's knowledge or authorization."
"We will pursue Mr. Smith for breaching his contract."
He paused before continuing in the same practiced tone.
"However, that is not the purpose of today's meeting."
"Out of goodwill and humanitarian concern, Evergrow is prepared to provide financial assistance to Black Crest Jubilife Breeding House."
From Evergrow's perspective, the lawyer had handled the situation flawlessly.
He slid a document across the table.
"Evergrow will not interfere with your legal claim against Mr. Smith ."
"Our only request is that Evergrow not be named as a co-defendant when legal proceedings are filed."
The message couldn't have been clearer.
Evergrow wasn't trying to protect Barry.
It was trying to protect its reputation.
The incident had occurred at one of Evergrow's franchise locations.
Although Barry had acted independently, Austin still had legal grounds to include Evergrow in the lawsuit.
Ever since Sinnoh NOW reported the attack, Evergrow's public image had already taken a noticeable hit. A lawsuit tying the corporation directly to organized violence would damage that reputation even further.
The company was aggressively expanding across Sinnoh. The last thing it wanted was a public relations disaster.
The attorney opened another folder.
"As long as you sign this waiver, Evergrow will provide one million Pokédollars in compensation."
Austin raised an eyebrow.
His family's actual repair costs weren't even close to that amount.
Replacing the shattered entrance doors, repairing the cracked walls, and restoring the front service center had cost roughly 160,000 Pokédollars.
Considering the League's minimum hourly wage was around 1,100 Pokédollars, the damages weren't especially severe.
The invoices would be used when negotiating compensation with Barry's lawyer.
Evergrow's payment, however, wasn't reimbursement.
It was goodwill money.
Or more accurately...
Hush money.
Austin wasn't interested in making unnecessary enemies. If the other side was sincere, he had no intention of pushing things further.
Still, after reading through the Waiver of Prosecution Statement, he frowned.
Some of the legal language wasn't entirely clear.
"Would you mind if I made a call first?"
"Of course."
Austin picked up his phoneand dialed Lance.
"Lance, are you busy?"
The attorney nearly choked.
He just... called the Chief Investigator by his first name?
The lawyer silently screamed inside.
That's some serious influence...
Truthfully, Evergrow's generous offer wasn't simply because of Austin. A large part of that sincerity came from Lance and Cynthia's involvement in the investigation.
Austin's growing popularity on PokéStream had also increased the public attention surrounding the case.
Without those factors...
Compensation?
Forget it.
The corporation would've happily dragged the lawsuit through court for years.
Explosions echoed through the speaker.
Austin blinked.
Lance actually answered, despite whatever battlefield he seemed to be standing in.
He really carried an unbelievable workload.
"Dragonite! Hyper Beam!"
A thunderous blast erupted from the other end before the noise gradually settled.
"I'm free," Lance said calmly.
"What do you need?"
Austin glanced at the contract.
"Is this Waiver of Prosecution Statement legally binding?"
Lance answered without hesitation.
"Under League law? No."
"It's mostly symbolic."
"If you accepted the money and later sued anyway, the waiver wouldn't stop you."
He paused briefly.
"But from a moral standpoint, you'd look dishonest."
"And if the public found out, it could damage your own reputation."
That was all Austin needed to hear before thanking Lance and ending the call.
He signed his name neatly at the bottom of the agreement.
The attorney immediately stood and presented the bank card with both hands.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Black."
His attitude was noticeably more respectful than when he had first arrived.
After all...
This was someone who casually called Lance by his first name.
With Evergrow's settlement complete and Barry's compensation agreement already finalized, the incident involving the attack on Black Crest was finally brought to a close.
. . .
Construction atBreeding House was progressing at full speed.
The first structures to be completed were the two security booths flanking the main entrance.
Chief and Luxray had already begun their new duties.
Leon had also posted recruitment notices, hiring two temporary security guards while searching for two more to complete the rotation schedule.
With a Ruby-level Arcanine guarding the front gate, the Breeding House's security had increased severalfold.
Anyone foolish enough to attack the Breeding House again would quickly discover what a former elite police Pokémon was truly capable of.
Since becoming the official guardian of the Breeding House, Chief had changed dramatically. Every morning, he patrolled the grounds with his head held high, his eyes sharp and alert.
The nervous, withdrawn Arcanine that had first arrived at the Breeding House felt like a distant memory.
It was as if he had found a purpose worth fighting for again.
Meanwhile, Feebas was also making steady progress.
Its activity range around the pond had noticeably expanded, and it no longer dove behind the rock formations whenever someone approached.
To most people, it was only a small change.
To Austin, it was tremendous progress.
The incubation room had also been completed.
Every incubator had been installed, calibrated, and successfully passed its power and temperature tests.
The League's shipment of Piplup and Turtwig had arrived safely.
Now all that remained was raising them properly until they matured enough to begin producing Eggs.
After careful consideration, the Breeding House selected a third breeding species.
Eevee.
The decision was unanimous.
No Pokémon possessed more evolutionary possibilities than Eevee. That also meant the Breeding House could offer customers matching Evolution Stones alongside their Pokémon.
Thanks to League support, they could purchase Evolution Stones at significantly reduced wholesale prices.
On the open market, quality Fire Stones, Water Stones, and Thunder Stones typically sold for between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 Pokédollars, depending on purity and the amount of elemental energy they contained.
Exceptional stones with unusually high energy reserves could easily exceed 2,000,000 Pokédollars.
As for legendary-grade Evolution Stones capable of maintaining unlimited evolutionary energy...
Those were treasures that rarely appeared on the market at all.
Naturally, the Breeding House hoped to expand its breeding program even further in the future.
For now, however, caring for three different breeding lines was already pushing everyone's workload to the limit.
After all, breeding Pokémon wasn't anyone's only responsibility.
Everyone still had their regular duties throughout the Breeding House.
There was another event Austin had been quietly preparing for as well.
The 24th Pokémon Young Breeder Competition would be held in Hearthome City on March 27th.
Austin had already submitted his registration.
Ding dong!
The Breeding House happened to be closed for the day.
Austin's special breeding workshop was about to begin.
Over the previous week, he had spent countless hours discussing incubation techniques with Blue and Ethan through their group chat.
Now it was finally time to organize everything he had learned.
Leon walked in carrying a small notebook.
Because Austin had experience producing educational videos and had attended Blue's lectures himself, his teaching had become proficient.
Standing before the projector, he smiled.
"If we're going to talk about Pokémon Eggs, then we have to begin with Professor Elm."
Professor Elm's photograph appeared on the screen, followed by diagrams of Pokémon Eggs displaying various shell patterns.
"Professor Elm, one of Professor Oak's former students, revolutionized the study of Pokémon breeding. His research introduced Pokémon Eggs to the scientific community and helped explain how Pokémon reproduce."
"Before his work, no one had ever conclusively observed where Pokémon Eggs came from. Many strange theories existed, including the idea that they came from another world."
"Professor Elm's research showed that, in most cases, Pokémon of opposite genders belonging to the same Egg Group can produce an Egg. The Pokémon that hatches is almost always the earliest evolutionary stage of the mother's species"
He paused briefly.
"There is one famous exception."
"Ditto."
"Because of its unique biology, Ditto can breed with Pokémon from many different Egg Groups."
"When that happens, the offspring always belongs to the non-Ditto parent's species."
Austin changed the slide again.
"For example, Turtwig and Piplup belong to different Egg Groups."
"They can certainly become friends."
"But they cannot produce Eggs together."
He added one final point.
"I've also heard Professor Elm is currently researching whether some Pokémon may actually belong to a second Egg Group simultaneously."
At that exact moment, a familiar mechanical voice echoed inside Austin's mind.
Ding!
[The second stage mission of "Advancing the Breeding House" has been completed.]
[Objective: 1000/1000 Complete]
[Reward...]
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