After seeing the elderly couple off, Victor returned to the Breeding House and carefully examined the Lucky Egg in his hands.
It was shaped just like a regular egg, cool and smooth to the touch. He played with it for a moment, then handed it to Gengar to have.
Victor had no intention of selling the Lucky Egg. Both its sentimental value and its practical effect made it worth keeping.
Now that he knew how effective the Petilil herbal tea was, Victor had Gengar bring him his notebook, and he began to plan for the future of the Breeding House.
First, his system would occasionally reward him with specific items, which he could sell. He could also sell Pokémon Eggs and offer a Pokémon boarding service.
Second, Victor decided to officially offer the herbal tea as a service. Both people and Pokémon could drink it. This meant he needed to study more in that area. The herbs he planted today could be used for brewing. For this service, Victor was prepared for it not to be very profitable.
Next was to slowly introduce some food items. With his great-aunt's recipe book in hand, the food he made had a chance of triggering a beneficial buff and improving mood, so he planned to market these dishes as his Breeding House's unique "food therapy."
As for his great-aunt's item list, it mostly contained designs for wood carvings. He didn't have the means to start on that yet, so he decided to put it on the back burner for a while.
So, in the coming days, Victor planned to carefully research these areas, while also trying to figure out what other effects his system had.
Victor buried his head in his notebook, writing down plan after plan and then refining them with details.
Watching the focused Victor, Gengar put down the Lucky Egg it was holding, phased through the wall into the kitchen, and rummaged around. It found a few berries and, mimicking Victor, began to make its own blended berry juice.
"Gen... Gengar."
Hearing Gengar's dejected voice, Victor looked up curiously.
"What's wrong, Gengar?"
Gengar held out the... berry mush... it had made.
"Gengar..."
"I failed..."
Seeing Gengar's沮喪expression and the cup in its hands, Victor understood what had happened.
Gengar, still feeling dejected, had wanted to make a nice glass of berry juice for Victor but had messed it up. As it was blaming itself, it suddenly felt the cup being taken from its hands.
"Gengar?"
It looked up and saw that Victor had eaten all the berry mush from the cup.
"This actually tastes pretty good!" Victor said, surprised. He looked at Gengar, still chewing, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Gengar. It's not bad at all."
"Gengar?"
"Really?"
Victor nodded, handed the cup back, and continued, "How about I teach you how to make berry juice next time? Would you like to learn?"
A smile returned to Gengar's face, and its eyes crinkled as it grinned.
...
On the road to Twinleaf Town, a man with glasses and a backpack walked with his head down.
As he passed the Breeding House, he looked up in confusion. "When did a Breeding House open here?"
He read the sign, thought for a moment, and then walked inside.
"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
Seeing a customer walk in, Victor gently pulled at Gengar's smiling mouth, then walked up to the man and spoke warmly.
Seeing the customer, Gengar floated back into the kitchen to tidy up.
"Hello, when did this Breeding House open?" the man with glasses asked, looking at the facilities.
"Just a short while ago. I'm the owner of this Breeding House, Victor," he explained patiently.
The man looked at Victor, who seemed a bit younger than him but had a warm and confident smile. At the same time, a Gengar floated out from the back wall and came to Victor's side.
He could feel the immense power emanating from the Gengar, far stronger than his own main Pokémon.
Seeing this, the man finally said, "I'd like to board my Pokémon for a while. Is that possible?"
Hearing that someone was here to board a Pokémon, Victor's eyes lit up. Finally, a boarding customer!
He nodded. "Of course. I can give you a tour of our Breeding House's grounds first."
With that, Victor made a welcoming gesture and led the way to the backyard.
The man with glasses followed him through the door, and a vast, open space appeared before his eyes.
The environment was very well-maintained, and he saw a few Machoke working in the distance.
After a quick tour, he was very satisfied with the place.
Seeing his expression, Victor knew he had him. He then added, "We can also help with breeding here, but you'll have to provide the Pokémon."
The man nodded and took out his Poké Balls.
A few flashes of red light later, several Pokémon appeared in front of Victor.
[Torterra]
[Type: Grass, Ground]
...
[Electivire]
[Type: Electric]
...
[Ambipom]
[Type: Normal]
...
Victor gave their conditions a quick glance. Without exception, all of them were in low spirits.
"You guys will rest here for a while. I'll come pick you up when I've sorted myself out. Then we'll continue our journey together," the man with glasses said to his Pokémon.
He then looked at Victor. "I'll leave them in your care, owner."
Victor nodded. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of them. After all, our Breeding House is called Gengar's Happy Paradise. We're not just building a paradise for Gengar, but for all Pokémon."
Victor's words reminded the man of the sign he had seen outside. Looking at Victor's trustworthy smile, he felt a sense of relief.
"Thank you."
Victor waved it off, saying it was his duty. After seeing the man out, he returned to the backyard.
The Torterra and the others stood there awkwardly, looking at Victor with a bit of nervousness.
Victor walked over, clapped his hands, and said with a smile, "It's alright. Let me show you to your resting spots."
With that, he led the way towards the lake.
The Torterra and the others exchanged glances, then followed him.
Hearing the heavy footsteps behind him, Victor couldn't help but look back. Torterra's massive body made its movements slow and loud.
He signaled to the Torterra that everything was fine. When they reached the lake, the Petilil was resting lazily with its eyes closed. It opened them at the sound of their approach and grew a little scared upon seeing the giant Pokémon behind Victor.
"Petilil, these are our guests' Pokémon, boarded here for a while. There's no need to worry."
Hearing Victor's words, the Petilil relaxed and carefully observed the Torterra.
"Lili."
"It's so big."
Victor squatted down and patted its small head, then stood up and turned to the Torterra.
"Torterra, are you satisfied with this spot? If not, we can find another one."
The Torterra had been observing its surroundings, its attention mostly on the Petilil. It looked at Victor, nodded, let out a deep, resonant sound, and then lay down.
It liked this place. The environment was very nice.
After getting the Torterra settled, Victor found satisfactory spots for the Electivire and Ambipom, both deeper in the forest area.
Victor reminded them that the Vespiquen and its Combee also lived in the forest, so they shouldn't be alarmed if they saw them, but should also try not to disturb them.
Back by the lake, the Petilil looked at the nearby Torterra. It thought for a moment, then slowly pattered over on its short legs.
"Li... Lili?"
Compared to when it had first arrived, the Petilil's personality had become much more cheerful.
The Torterra opened its eyes and looked at it. It was also quite fond of the little one. It let out a soft sound in greeting, so as not to startle it.
When Victor returned to the lake, he saw that the Petilil and Torterra were getting along well and smiled. He asked the Petilil if it wanted to stay and play with the Torterra, and after getting an affirmative reply, he and Gengar went back to the kitchen. After asking Gengar to close the front doors of the Breeding House, he began to prepare that night's dinner.
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