Pokémon Breeder's Story

Chapter 11: A Breeding Center Awaiting Revival

For the rest of the morning, no other customers appeared after Ariel.

At noon, Kenji and Bewear had a simple meal, then took advantage of the quiet time to start tidying up the messy lawn in the backyard. The breeding center was in a state of revival, and many things required his personal attention.

He picked up the stones hidden in the grass and tossed them away to prevent any Pokémon from tripping while strolling here. This area would become the activity space for Pokémon like Oddish and Ponyta, who love grasslands.

The forest area didn't require much of Kenji's effort. The trees there grew tall and dense, their canopies lush and green. Sunlight trickled through the gaps in the leaves, scattering across the forest floor, creating a beautiful sight. This place would be reserved for Pokémon like Treecko, Lotad, and Seedot to live in. As for the lake area, it naturally belonged to Water-type Pokémon like Magikarp and Feebas.

Bewear stood on the grass, watching Kenji's actions for a while. It quickly memorized what he was doing, then came forward, took the lawnmower from Kenji's hands, and pushed him by the back, urging him to go rest.

Kenji was a bit confused. "What's wrong, Bewear? I'm working. I need to get this lawn in good shape so we can better accommodate our clients' fostered Pokémon."

"Kyuu!"

Bewear pushed Kenji away, then took the lawnmower itself and began trimming the messy clumps of grass.

Seeing this, Kenji instantly understood. Bewear was telling him to go back and rest!

This was really...

Kenji was both amused and helpless. Was this Bewear treating him like a child? It followed him around all day taking care of him. When he was happy, Bewear would be happy with him; when he was sad, Bewear would be sad too.

Given Bewear's strength, Kenji knew he couldn't resist. He decided to leave the mowing to Bewear while he went to the garden on the other side to till the fields.

"Bewear, I'll leave this to you. I'm going back to the breeding center to see if any customers have arrived," Kenji said. "After we finish this, let's go for a walk in the forest this evening."

"Kyuu!" Bewear readily agreed.

Seeing this, Kenji smiled and went to the garden. The soil here had already been tilled once with the help of the Machamp construction crew and was ready for planting. This garden... he would tentatively call it the Herb Garden! Because besides daily vegetables and fruits, Kenji also planned to plant some essential herbs here to make medicine later. Things like Potions to restore stamina, Antidotes to cure poison, and Burn Heals. That way, if a Pokémon at the center got injured, he wouldn't need to go to town; he could provide treatment right at home.

The Herb Garden wasn't very large. It only took Kenji a little over an hour to sow all the herb and vegetable seeds he had bought from Fallarbor Town. The land was divided by Kenji into three areas using fences: one for the herb garden, one for the vegetable patch, and another specifically for growing berries.

Currently, the breeding center had a total of five berry trees: a Sitrus Berry tree, a Pecha Berry tree, an Oran Berry tree, a Cheri Berry tree, and a Chesto Berry tree.

The variety was a bit lacking. Looking at these berry trees and the empty space next to them, Kenji decided he would buy some more berry trees later to enrich the variety in the garden.

After planting the seeds, Kenji slapped his forehead, remembering one more thing. He almost forgot to water them! He quickly grabbed his Psyduck Watering Can, filled it with water, and began watering the plots one by one.

"It seems that besides Grass-type Pokémon, I'll also need to catch a Water-type Pokémon to help with the watering," Kenji murmured. Coincidentally, he could look for a suitable Water-type nearby when they went out this evening. Now that the breeding center had an income and was officially on the right track, he had the means to raise more Pokémon.

By the time Kenji finished his work, it was three in the afternoon, and Bewear had just finished its tasks as well.

"Take a break!" Kenji brought Bewear a cold glass of Berry Juice.

Bewear took a sip and instantly felt a cool, refreshing sensation throughout its body. "Kyuu!" It was very happy, and its Joy Value, which had decreased due to work, began to rise at this moment.

Kenji glanced at its stats. This time, it didn't give him a reward. Perhaps it was to prevent him from maliciously grinding for gifts from the same Pokémon? Or maybe the Joy Value hadn't reached the threshold for the next gift?

But it didn't matter. He was already content just to have Bewear by his side to help.

Kenji looked at the clock on the wall. It was already 3:30 PM. He decided to check outside for any more customers. If there were none, he would close up and go with Bewear to explore the forest behind the breeding center.

But just as Kenji stood up, a boy of about ten years old ran in.

Another customer!

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?" Kenji asked.

The boy's eyes were bright. He seemed to have run all the way here, as beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He looked extremely excited.

"Owner! Do you have any Pokémon eggs for sale here?!" the boy asked excitedly.

Kenji: "...I'm sorry, the breeding center has just resumed business. We are currently unable to offer this service."

"Huh?" The boy was stunned and a little disappointed. "You don't have any..."

But this was the only breeding center near Fallarbor Town. If he couldn't buy a Pokémon, his only option was to catch one himself. But without a Pokémon of his own, he had no way to battle wild Pokémon. And a small place like Fallarbor Town didn't have a Professor's lab, so they couldn't go there to receive their starter Pokémon.

Kenji looked at the boy's expression and asked, "Are you from Fallarbor Town?"

"That's right! My name is Leaf, and I just turned ten today," the boy introduced himself.

"How did you know there was a breeding center here?" Kenji was curious, as he hadn't advertised yet.

"Officer Jenny told me!" Leaf replied.

Officer Jenny? Is Jenny Jun helping me advertise? Kenji was slightly surprised.

"By the way, owner, when is the latest you'll have Pokémon eggs in stock?" Leaf couldn't help but ask.

Kenji thought for a moment and shook his head. "I'm not sure yet, but it shouldn't be too long. I'll be contacting some trainers to receive eggs from them later. If you need one, or if there's a specific Pokémon you want, you can tell me in advance, and I can keep an eye out for you."

Besides breeding services, selling unhatched Pokémon eggs to customers was also one of the main businesses of a breeding center. Generally, the League did not allow the private sale of Pokémon, but breeding centers were an exception. It was also worth noting that even breeding centers were only permitted to sell Pokémon eggs and Pokémon in their infant stage.

Leaf was originally disappointed, but hearing this, his spirits immediately lifted. "Then can I pre-order a Dratini egg?"

Kenji: "...That kind of rare Pokémon egg isn't something a breeding center can acquire."

No trainer would hand over such an egg to a breeding center to help sell it.

"What about a Bagon?"

"We don't have that either."

"Charmander?"

"Charmander is a Pokémon from the Kanto region. They aren't found in Hoenn."

Leaf's shoulders slumped in dejection.

Kenji wasn't in a hurry. A qualified merchant, besides warmly receiving customers, also needs to understand their needs in detail, then recommend a product that meets those needs while also maximizing their own profit, thus achieving a win-win situation. Listening to the boy, it seemed he really liked cool, dragon-related Pokémon. If there was a dragon Pokémon egg that a normal person could obtain, it would probably only be Axew.

However, the breeding center didn't have one now, and Kenji couldn't make any guarantees. He could only say, "I'll help you keep an eye out. Give me your contact information, and when the breeding center has Pokémon eggs, I'll contact you."

"I guess that's the only way..." Leaf gave Kenji his home phone number. Before leaving, he made a pitiful request, "Please, owner! I really want to have my own Pokémon and go on a journey with it!"

This was the wish of every child in the Pokémon world who had reached the age of ten. Once upon a time, it had been Kenji's wish too.

He was momentarily stunned, then smiled and nodded, promising, "Okay."