Outside the room, a group had gathered in secret.
At this moment, Leon, Alan, and Incineroar were all there. Even Claire, whom Wayne hadn't expected to see, had joined them. Her Glameow was perched on the windowsill, watching quietly.
They were trying to be stealthy as they observed what was happening inside.
Feeling their gazes on him, Blue felt uncomfortable—like he had thorns pressing into his back, a fishbone stuck in his throat, and pins beneath him.
Wayne opened the door and asked, "What are you all doing out here?"
Leon and Alan tried to act casual, pretending they were just passing by. They even started whistling innocently.
Incineroar and Machamp copied their Trainers' behavior.
If Wayne and Blue hadn't already noticed them, Wayne might have actually believed their act.
Claire, however, was the most honest of the group.
"Actually, I wanted to ask that question too," she admitted.
"I'm learning Breeder knowledge from Blue," Wayne explained.
Blue was four years older than Wayne and was also more experienced in Pokémon breeding, making him Wayne's senior in that field.
Claire's hand paused as she adjusted her glasses. Her eyes filled with envy. "You have such a good life."
Wayne thought about it. Well, with the system he had, he really couldn't argue with that statement.
Hearing the conversation between Wayne and Claire, Blue stepped forward. "And who is this?"
"This is Claire, and that's Alan. They're both Breeders who love Pokémon very much," Wayne introduced them.
Blue glanced at Incineroar and Glameow, then looked at Alan and Claire. He smiled slightly.
Blue never rejected anyone who truly loved Pokémon and was willing to learn.
"Come in together," he offered.
Alan and Claire exchanged glances, clearly surprised and honored by the invitation.
Alan was especially excited—he started trembling all over.
"I got goosebumps!" he exclaimed.
"..."
Blue suddenly felt a bit of regret about his decision.
"Well then, you all study hard. I'm leaving first," Leon announced.
Leon nodded to Wayne with an expression that clearly said, 'It's all up to you now.'
If Wayne learned something, it was basically the same as Leon learning it himself. He didn't need to crowd into the room with everyone else.
The room already had Rhyperior and Metagross taking up a lot of space, and Alan wasn't exactly small either. Adding Leon to the mix would make things too cramped.
The small commotion settled down.
Blue's expression turned serious. "You three watch carefully."
Wayne took out citrus basil essential oil and began giving Rhyperior its joint care treatment.
Claire and Alan took notes on the side, documenting everything they observed.
Shiny Metagross was also present. With its incredible self-learning ability, it absorbed knowledge effortlessly.
Blue patted his longtime partner and smiled. "Rhyperior, how does it feel?"
"Woo!" Rhyperior raised its arms and roared excitedly.
"Very good. Rhyperior is very satisfied," Blue translated with a pleased expression.
An entire afternoon passed, and Blue ended up teaching for four hours straight. He was truly a workaholic when it came to breeding knowledge.
Blue was very satisfied with Wayne, Claire, and Alan. He felt the thrill that came with discovering promising students.
Blue's mindset was somewhat similar to Professor Oak's. He hoped to pass on as much knowledge as possible to the next generation of Breeders.
Glancing at his phone, Blue addressed Alan and Claire. "We still have some things to discuss. Let's continue tomorrow morning at eight o'clock."
"Understood! We're leaving right away!" Alan responded enthusiastically.
Alan and Incineroar moved quickly. One positioned himself on Claire's left side, the other on her right, and together they lifted her up and carried her toward the door.
"We're leaving now!" Alan called out.
"I can walk by myself!" Claire protested.
"Meow!" Glameow quickly chased after them, not wanting to be left behind.
After they left the room, Alan asked curiously, "How much did you learn this afternoon?"
Claire hesitated before answering. "Three points out of ten, I guess? Mr. Blue's breeding knowledge is incredibly solid. Without a strong foundation, it's impossible to achieve complete comprehension. What about you?"
"About the same..." Alan replied.
However, Alan's "three points" were actually three out of a hundred, not three out of ten like Claire's.
As Claire had pointed out, his foundational knowledge was the weakest among the three of them.
Claire noticed Alan's embarrassed expression and the way his confidence had deflated.
"I have several Breeder notebooks—all my own notes. You can borrow them to copy if you'd like," she offered kindly.
"Thank you so much! I'm so touched!" Alan and Incineroar suddenly hugged each other, tears streaming down their faces dramatically.
Claire's mouth twitched at the exaggerated display.
"Is it really necessary to be that dramatic?" she muttered.
Back inside the room, Wayne looked at Blue's serious expression with confusion.
"What's going on?" Wayne asked.
Blue handed his phone to Wayne without a word.
"See for yourself."
Wayne read through the long message displayed on the screen.
To summarize it in one sentence: Feebas no longer had a Trainer.
According to the report, Feebas's Trainer had been a deeply hidden Pokémon poacher operating under multiple fake identities.
He had been pursued by authorities after illegally attempting to poach Shieldon in the Mount Coronet Foothills area.
During his escape by car, he drove down a mountain road at full speed without slowing down. The result was fatal—he crashed spectacularly.
Full tank, downhill, no brakes. The phrase "See You Again" came to mind. He acted like he thought he was a movie character, but reality had other plans.
Officer Jenny had traced him by thoroughly investigating the fake identity he'd left behind during various transactions.
Finally, a high-definition camera photo was attached to the message.
The image showed an ordinary-looking middle-aged man of average height and build.
If someone hadn't known beforehand, they would never have guessed he was a poacher. He looked completely unremarkable.
"How is it? Is this him?" Blue asked.
Wayne shook his head. "I haven't seen Feebas's Trainer myself. My dad would need to look at it."
Leon quickly nodded after examining the photo. "It's him! It's definitely him! Our surveillance caught him on camera!"
Blue nodded in acknowledgment. "Please check your surveillance footage to confirm it properly."
The poacher had come on the morning of the first day of business, so finding the footage should be easy. Leon quickly pulled up the video recording.
"Look, it's him!" Leon pointed at the screen.
After comparing the surveillance footage with the photo Officer Jenny had sent, Blue nodded. "Indeed, that's correct. Can you copy this video for me?"
"No problem! But I don't know how!" Leon replied loudly with complete confidence despite his admission.
"..."
"I'll do it," Wayne offered.
Wayne helped copy the surveillance footage to Blue's phone.
"What do you need this video for?" Wayne asked curiously.
Blue immediately sent the video to Officer Jenny.
"To confirm Feebas's identity and situation," Blue explained.
Blue then made a suggestion. "Since Feebas no longer has a Trainer, let's keep Feebas here for now."
Blue didn't ask for Wayne and Leon's opinions because he already knew they wouldn't refuse.
Wayne nodded in agreement. "Of course. In its current state, it's not suitable for release into the wild anyway."
Moreover, Wayne had no intention of releasing Feebas at all.
Wayne planned to train Feebas himself, raising it carefully until it regained its confidence and eventually evolved into Milotic.
As for Feebas's ultimate fate after that, he would leave that decision up to the Pokémon itself.
Blue crossed his arms and smiled slightly. "Very good. Feebas can also serve as an excellent breeding case study."
"'On the Restoration of Confidence—From Feebas to Milotic,'" Blue mused aloud, already mentally drafting a research paper title.
As a dedicated Breeder, Blue's conversations always revolved around breeding topics and research opportunities.
"Taking Feebas as an example, we can clearly see how important a Pokémon's mental health truly is to its overall development," Blue continued thoughtfully.
"Meta! Meta!" Metagross chimed in enthusiastically.
(Always pay attention to mental health! Noted! Noted!) The psychic-type Pokémon was dedicated to constantly absorbing and cataloging new knowledge.
Evening arrived.
Blue had originally planned to return to the city center, but Leon managed to persuade him to stay for dinner.
Looking at the table covered with various dishes, Blue was clearly very surprised.
"You can cook too?" Blue asked Wayne with genuine astonishment.
"My grandpa taught me," Wayne replied simply.
Blue nodded with understanding. "That makes sense."
Blue had eaten Professor Oak's cooking before during his travels and training under the legendary researcher.
As Professor Oak's grandson, it was only natural for Wayne to learn his grandfather's culinary skills.
Wayne's relationship with Professor Oak was similar to Blue's relationship with the professor—both were students and family.
After dinner concluded, Blue's eyes suddenly sharpened with intensity.
"We'll end tonight with a battle," Blue declared.