Regarding Minato's choice of Eevee, his parents offered no objections and respected his decision.
In truth, they rarely interfered with Minato's choices unless he made serious mistakes.
Many people would likely envy this aspect.
Back to the matter at hand. Eevee itself wasn't expensive, but Evolution stones were...
Together, they cost more than reserving those rare Pokémon.
Shiraishi, the Breeding Center employee, wore a smile. From his perspective, this represented another big sale. The commission wasn't much, but he wouldn't complain about extra money.
"Eevee it is. However, I'd like to skip the EvolutionStoness for now. I haven't decided what to evolve Eevee into yet."
Minato suddenly said.
Looking at Shiraishi's smile, Minato guessed what the man was thinking.
Commission?
Sorry, not happening.
"Mm, that makes sense. It requires careful consideration." Father nodded. If they bought now, they couldn't come up with that much money immediately.
Although he had boasted earlier, actually purchasing would require a bank loan. After taking a loan... the family would likely face financial constraints for a long time.
Fortunately, while Evolution stones were expensive, they were cheaper than housing prices.
In recent years, to cultivate Trainers, the government has made Pokémon-related items quite affordable. In the previous century, Evolution Stones wouldn't have circulated on the market at all. They were priceless...
"Don't worry about that. You only need to pay a deposit now, and stock will always be available. You can pay the balance according to different stone types later, and you'll still enjoy the five percent discount." Shiraishi maintained his smile.
Hearing this, Father and Mother were immediately tempted. It sounded good?
But... Minato was stunned.
City schemes run deep.
Now, how should he explain to his parents that he didn't need Evolution stones...
A five percent discount meant saving quite a bit of money. Ordinary people absolutely wouldn't pass this up.
But if he paid the deposit and ultimately didn't buy the stones, the deposit definitely wouldn't be refunded.
The atmosphere froze. Minato quickly tugged his father's clothes.
"Perhaps... you should all consider it? You can also proceed with the paperwork first." Seeing the trio's hesitation, Shiraishi stopped pressing and added other matters: "By the way, after completing the procedures and returning, we'll provide you with an instruction manual. It will record Eevee's data and key incubation points for this species. Please preserve it carefully. If you encounter any difficulties during incubation, you can come to the Breeding Center to find me or contact me by phone."
"No problem, no problem." Minato nodded.
...
Having selected Eevee, Shiraishi began taking Minato's family to obtain the breeding certificate. This certificate was crucial. They needed it to proceed to the Pokémon Center for the next step: registering as a Trainer and paying fees. This payment included the cost of the Pokémon egg and Trainer taxes. Only after completing these steps could they return to the Breeding Center to collect the egg.
During the trip to the Pokémon Center, Father asked puzzledly, "Why did you tug me just now? Let Mr. Shiraishi prepare the deposit slip for the Evolution stones. We could pay at the Poké Mart on the way."
"No need to buy here. You forgot, my psychology club advisor is also a Breeder. He has connections and can get them cheaper." Minato spouted nonsense.
"Really?" Father was shocked.
"Teacher Sato and I have a good relationship. Don't spread this around. We'll decline the offer when we return to the Breeding Center later." Minato said seriously.
"Ha, you've got skills, son. Networking pays off." Father slapped Minato's shoulder hard, satisfied.
Mother also agreed.
"Heh..." Black lines appeared on Minato's forehead. If only that were true. Forget it, he could hide it for a day at a time. Anyway, he wouldn't need Evolution stones in the short term, and he could find new excuses by then.
Deposit? Not happening.
If purchasing a Pokémon egg and registering as a Trainer required running between the Pokémon Center and Breeding Center...
Then, purchasing Evolution stones also required running between two places: the Poké Mart and the Breeding Center.
Public Breeding Centers, Pokémon Centers, and Poké Marts were all subordinate industries of the Trainer Association, operating in cooperation. If the Breeding Center sold supporting Pokémon items, customers usually paid at the Poké Mart and collected the goods.
Notably, the Pokémon Center, serving as both an administrative and medical institution, and the Poké Mart, a commercial institution, were housed in the same building.
Heiwa Building. The largest and tallest structure in Heiwa City.
Additionally, this served as the office location for the Heiwa City Branch of the Trainer Association.
Concentrating these three important institutions together made security work more convenient. Given the existence of Pokémon, crime rates in this world remained consistently high.
Before long, Minato's family arrived at the location.
Today was the peak day for Trainer registration. The Pokémon Center was somewhat crowded, but the staff worked efficiently. Within an hour, Minato's family completed all the procedures. Now they could return to collect the Pokémon egg.
"From today onward, I'm a Trainer?"
Even after leaving Heiwa Building, Minato's emotions hadn't settled.
Though he told himself not to get too excited, to wait until he received the egg, he still couldn't help feeling excited for a moment.
However, Minato found it regrettable that ordinary Trainer information was directly linked to his citizen ID, merely registered online, without issuing any other identification documents.
What Minato wanted was that Professional Trainer license.
Upon returning to the Breeding Center, Shiraishi received them again. However, this time Father and Mother never mentioned Evolution stones, causing Shiraishi's smile to freeze somewhat.
Under Shiraishi's subtle hints, Father awkwardly but politely brushed off the matter, making it clear this sale wouldn't happen.
"Mission accomplished."
Minato secretly gave a thumbs-up.
Evolution stones were luxury items. He wouldn't touch them even if beaten to death. Hmm... including the Mossy Rock for evolving Eevee into Leafeon. He wouldn't touch that either.
Unless he could get them for free.
Thus, Minato finally obtained his starter Pokémon... egg.
Holding the transparent incubation device prepared by Mr. Shiraishi, which secured the Pokémon egg, Minato gripped it tighter, afraid of dropping it.
Inside, the white egg with brown patterns floated up and down in viscous nutrient fluid...
"This is the instruction manual for incubating Pokémon eggs. Pokémon possess much stronger vitality than ordinary animals, so don't worry too much about incubation issues. Just follow the instructions." Shiraishi said.
Most Pokémon could fight tigers and leopards immediately after birth, unlike ordinary animals that were fragile as newborns.
"Understood." Minato nodded.
Subsequently, Minato, Father, and Mother all thanked Shiraishi for his guidance throughout the process.
"You're welcome." Shiraishi didn't dwell on the Evolution Stone matter and smiled as he escorted them out of the Breeding Center.
Now, Minato had only one thought: go home and hatch the Pokémon egg.
Every second before Eevee hatched would be torture for Minato.
However, according to Mr. Shiraishi's introduction, the incubation period should be within one week after removing the nutrient fluid. The exact timing was uncertain, which made Minato quite anxious.
"Speaking of which, this paste-like nutrient fluid actually has the effect of delaying Pokémon egg hatching and enhancing the newborn's resistance... truly miraculous. I wonder who researched this." Minato was slightly stunned.
Forget it, never mind. First, make a wish for instant hatching.