Pokémon Breeder's Story

Chapter 15: The Birth of Growlithe

[Bewear's mood has improved. Joy Value +140. Received Bewear's gift: "Swords Dance" Skill Machine.]

Under the moonlight, as Kenji sat beside Bewear, a message suddenly appeared before his eyes. He paused for a moment, then understood. His "Pain Split" had worked. However, compared to the comfort of Bewear at this moment, the new move no longer seemed so important.

Wiping away its tears, Bewear quickly pulled itself together. Life had to go on. It was no longer alone; it had its young master, the breeding center, and new partners!

"Kyuu!"

Kenji smiled and said, "Yes, let's do our best together tomorrow!"

After comforting the secretly grieving Bewear, Kenji told it to get a good night's sleep. He himself returned to his bedroom and finally took a closer look at the move he had just received.

[Swords Dance (Skill Machine): The user performs a fierce battle dance that raises its fighting spirit, greatly raising its own Attack stat. Uses remaining: 9999/9999.]

"Swords Dance?" Kenji was surprised. Compared to Sleep Powder and Baby-Doll Eyes, this was an incredibly rare move.

The boost that Swords Dance provided a Pokémon in battle was terrifying. If it could be used successfully even once, a Pokémon could likely turn the tables and win, even if it was slightly weaker than its opponent. If boosted several times, a single Pokémon could even sweep an entire team.

More importantly, he could now raise a Growlithe that knew Swords Dance!

Growlithe had already learned Baby-Doll Eyes, Tackle, and Sleep Powder through prenatal education. There were exactly two prenatal move slots left.

Without hesitation, Kenji used his special ability on the Growlithe egg in front of him.

Swords Dance, add!

In the next second, the temperature of the eggshell began to rise dramatically.

Crack!

As if unable to withstand the power of the Pokémon within, a small crack appeared on the fiery-patterned Pokémon egg.

Crack, crack, crack—

The crack spread in the blink of an eye. Before Kenji's astonished gaze, a small puppy's head, still topped with a piece of eggshell, suddenly poked out.

It was a small puppy Pokémon with a wet nose, large, bright black eyes, and orange fur with black stripes.

Growlithe had hatched!

[Pokémon: Growlithe]

[Gender: Male]

[Ability: Intimidate]

[Moves: Tackle, Sleep Powder, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swords Dance, Leer, Ember, Morning Sun]

[Status: Healthy]

[Mood: 😊 Excited]

[Joy Value: 50]

[Friendship: 99 (It considers you its closest family)]

[Description: Woof woof woof! —Growlithe]

"Woof woof woof!"

Growlithe jumped out of the egg, sat down on the floor, and started barking while wagging its tail at Kenji.

What an adorable Pokémon...

Kenji broke into a wide grin and said, "Hello, Growlithe. I'm Kenji."

Growlithe: "Woof!"

A newly born Pokémon is tiny and needs some time to grow to its normal size. Right now, Kenji could lift Growlithe with just one hand. He didn't do that, however. Instead, he went to the kitchen, got the Moomoo Milk he had bought earlier, poured it into a bowl, and pushed it in front of Growlithe.

"Go on, drink up. The more you drink, the faster you'll grow."

Growlithe lowered its head, sniffed, and then began to happily drink the milk. This Moomoo Milk was produced by a Pokémon called Miltank. It was incredibly nutritious. Whether human or Pokémon, anyone who drank it from a young age was guaranteed to grow up tall and strong. He had heard there was also a rarer type of goat milk produced by a Pokémon called Gogoat, but Kenji hadn't seen it in town.

Growlithe quickly lapped up the bowl of milk. Breaking out of its shell had used up some of its energy. It let out a yawn, looking a little tired. Growlithe looked up at Kenji with its wet eyes.

Kenji was currently Browse through the moves Growlithe now knew. With Growlithe as an example, it seemed the breeding center could launch a new service.

Egg hatching!

He could have trainers leave their Pokémon here to foster, let them spend some time together and produce an egg, and then he could incubate that egg, allowing the Pokémon inside to learn moves it normally couldn't.

"Hmm, I could definitely make this a signature service for the breeding center," Kenji murmured.

The Growlithe beside him, seeing that Kenji was ignoring it, became a little anxious and let out a couple of barks.

Kenji snapped back to reality and lifted Growlithe onto the bed. "If you're tired, get some rest here!"

He had heard that sleeping with your Pokémon was an easy way to deepen your bond. Kenji slept on a single bed. While it wasn't large, it was more than enough for him and Growlithe.

The little Growlithe lay on its side in Kenji's arms. It sleepily opened its eyes to look at Kenji, then snuggled into his embrace and peacefully fell asleep.

Kenji, meanwhile, observed the moves Growlithe now possessed. Tackle, Sleep Powder, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swords Dance, Leer, Ember, and Morning Sun. The first four were taught through prenatal education, while Leer and Ember were moves Growlithe knew innately. As for Morning Sun... it seemed to be an Egg Move. For a Growlithe, this was an excellent skill, supplementing its endurance.

Intimidate and Baby-Doll Eyes to lower attack, Sleep Powder to inflict a status condition, Leer to lower defense, Swords Dance to boost its own attack, and finally, Tackle and Ember for damage. A Growlithe with this moveset would be an absolute master in battle, specializing in catching opponents by surprise.

This Growlithe was absolutely one-of-a-kind in the Pokémon world! With both parents being Elite Four-level Arcanine... one could only look forward to seeing how far this Growlithe could grow in the future!

The night passed without a word. The next morning, Kenji discovered something. After a single night of sharing a bed, Growlithe's friendship level had risen from 99 to a full 100!

Looking at the little Growlithe affectionately wagging its tail in front of him, Kenji remarked with emotion, "No wonder the ancients valued sleeping side-by-side so much. The friendship level increases so fast!"

Kenji couldn't help but think that in the future, if he caught a new Pokémon, he could use this method to get closer to them. Like a cute little Alolan Vulpix, or a fluffy...

Of course, for Pokémon like Aggron, Tyranitar, or Gardevoir, it was best to forget it. The first two were too large; this small bed couldn't possibly accommodate them.

As for Gardevoir... someone who had seen certain fan art of Gardevoir in his past life couldn't bring himself to even think about sharing a bed with one.

Best to just forget it.