On the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month, after lunch at Gengar's Happy Paradise (Breeding House).
Victor took a sip of the honey water that Gengar had prepared for him and Shana, then continued to study the Poffin recipe book with great interest.
Gengar, meanwhile, was busy putting the photos Victor had taken and printed a few days ago into frames and arranging them all over the house.
On the counter, on the walls, in the rooms, in the lounge area, on the staircase—Gengar's figure was a constant blur of motion.
One moment it would have Victor go upstairs to check a placement, the next it would have him move something.
Victor was about to say it wasn't necessary to be so fussy, but a single look from Gengar stopped him in his tracks.
It was best not to provoke a Gengar in this state, so Victor could only cooperate unconditionally.
Finally, Gengar clapped its hands and wiped the sweat from its brow.
"Gengar—"
Mission accomplished.
The big group photo from the festival now hung at the turn of the staircase. A photo of just him and Victor was placed on the counter, with another on the nightstand in the bedroom. The Breeding House's "family photo" was placed on the dressing table, next to the picture of his great-aunt.
The photos on the counter were mainly of Pokémon, and Gengar had decided that in the future, this space would be used to display photos of customers with their Pokémon Eggs, along with the walls.
What's that? You're asking why there's a photo of Victor and Gengar among all the Pokémon pictures on the counter?
Gengar offered the following explanation:
"Gengar—"
"This is my house. I can do what I want."
Victor handed his own cup of honey water to Gengar and said, "From now on, how about we take a new picture every time a new member joins us?"
"Gengar—" Gengar finished the honey water and nodded.
"Mr. Ethan wasn't lying! It really is open again!"
The sound of voices from outside caught the attention of Victor and Gengar.
"Let's go in."
Two figures then walked inside.
They were a boy and a girl, about the same age as Shana.
"Hello, I'm the owner here. Can I help you with something?" Victor asked as he walked over.
The boy, seeing Victor, was a bit shy. But after glancing at the girl beside him, he swallowed nervously and said, "I... we want to buy two Pokémon Eggs."
"Is that so? Do you have any specific Pokémon in mind?" Victor asked with a smile, seeing the boy's expression.
The boy and girl both shook their heads.
"But I want to challenge Gyms and enter the Pokémon League, and she wants to participate in Pokémon Contests," the boy said, slowly growing bolder. He looked at the Gengar floating beside Victor and thought it looked very cool.
"I see. Why don't you come over here and register your information?" Victor nodded and led them to the counter.
The boy's name was Ken, and the girl's was Tina—names unique to the Pokémon world.
"Wow, how cute!" Tina exclaimed, pointing at a photo of the Petilil on the counter.
"Ow... owner, is this one of your Breeding House's Pokémon, too?"
"Yes, that's a Petilil. It's a Pokémon from the Unova region and is one of our partners here now," Victor explained with a smile.
"Then... can I meet it?"
Victor nodded, and Gengar phased through the wall into the backyard.
A moment later, Shana appeared from behind the counter, holding her egg in one arm and the Petilil in the other.
Seeing the strangers, Shana hid behind Victor. He patted her small head reassuringly.
After the two had a chance to talk with the Petilil, Victor led them to the incubator room.
"By the way, owner, do you have any of the official starter Pokémon here?" Ken asked suddenly, looking at the various eggs.
"No, the official starters aren't usually found in Breeding Houses. At least, not here," Victor replied, then began to introduce the eggs they did have.
"For challenging Gyms, you could choose a relatively strong Pokémon, like a Shinx. Its final evolution, Luxray, is quite powerful. As far as I know, Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore City, has a Luxray."
"Or a Buizel. Its evolution, Floatzel, is also very strong. Crasher Wake, the Pastoria City Gym Leader, has one of those."
"Others, like Aipom or Buneary, are also good choices that I would recommend."
Seeing Ken struggling to decide, Victor didn't rush him and turned to Tina.
"For Pokémon Contests, you can choose a Pokémon that is well-suited for them, like an Aipom," Victor said with a smile, suddenly thinking of a certain powerful Aipom that only wanted to do Contests.
"There's also Glameow, which is the embodiment of elegance and beauty. Or a Wurmple, whose final evolution, Beautifly, is very pretty and a great fit for Contests."
"The Bronzor and Budew are also ones I would personally recommend."
After giving his recommendations, he let them discuss it while he went over to Shana, who was hiding by the door, and gently encouraged her, helping her to take another step out of her shell.
"I've decided! Owner, I want the Shinx," Ken called out, drawing Victor's attention back.
Victor stood up and walked over to them.
"Owner, I don't know what to choose. Can you pick one for me?" Tina couldn't make a decision, and Ken only knew a little about these things. She decided to ask the owner; after all, he had such a cute Petilil, so his taste must be good.
"If I were to choose... I would recommend the Glameow. After all, a Glameow has won a Grand Festival before," Victor said, thinking of Dawn's mother from the anime.
Besides, Glameow truly was elegant, beautiful, and had a gentle personality.
"Okay, then I'll choose the Glameow!"
Victor nodded, then took the stethoscope from Gengar and checked the two Pokémon Eggs in front of them.
[Shinx Egg][Hatching Progress: 21/30]
[Glameow Egg][Hatching Progress: 23/30]
"They're both very healthy and should hatch soon," Victor said with a smile, putting the stethoscope away.
"I'll entrust these two little ones to you. Remember to take good care of them."
"Yes! You can count on us!"
"Leave it to me!"
He gave them some care instructions, then specifically warned Tina that if she wanted to enter Contests, she should definitely not let her Glameow evolve.
"Everyone knows, Glameow's evolution is Purugly. Let's just say it enjoys the good life a little too much. That's not ideal for a Pokémon Contest, but it's not impossible either. After all, Contests are about a Pokémon's charm."
"Um... owner, we didn't bring a lot of money. Could you give us a little discount?" Ken asked, embarrassed.
"Don't worry," Victor joked. "If you don't have enough, you can just stay here and work off your debt."
"Huh?!"
"Are you stupid? Can't you tell the owner is joking with you?" Tina said, pinching Ken's ear, exasperated.
Victor shook his head and calculated the bill.
The Shinx egg was one hundred thousand Alliance Dollars, and the Glameow was eighty thousand, for a total of one hundred and eighty thousand.
"That'll be one hundred and seventy-five thousand Alliance Dollars in total," Victor said, giving them a small discount.
Ken breathed a sigh of relief. They had brought three hundred thousand with them.
After they paid, Victor took a photo of each of them holding their new Pokémon Egg and gave them a copy.
"Wishing you the best of luck on your path," Victor said as he saw them to the door.
"Thank you, owner! We wish you good business, too!"
After they left, Victor hurried back into the Breeding House, brought out a certain Pokémon Egg, and placed it on the counter. He had Gengar go get Dali and the others, then set up his camera to record, as he and the Pokémon stared intently at the egg.
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