Victor, utterly unaware of all this, was lazing in his rocking chair.
Gothita, seeing him lying there, felt a bit helpless.
On the counter, Lilligant covered her mouth and giggled.
Roselia was spacing out.
Gengar, who was watching cartoons nearby, turned the volume down.
Gothita picked up the book that had fallen on the floor, then took the blanket Lilligant got from under the counter and placed it over Victor.
Gengar swallowed the snack in its mouth and, seeing Gothita carefully tidying up the tea set on the table next to Victor, it gestured.
"Gengar— (super quiet)"
Gothita looked over and saw Gengar pointing to the table next to itself with a chubby finger.
I want some too.
Gothita brought the tea set over.
Gengar looked at it, grinning.
Gothita ignored it, set the tea set down, and headed for the backyard.
You're not Victor. You think I'm going to make tea for you? Dream on.
Before leaving, however, it still filled Gengar's teacup.
It just wouldn't be like it was with Victor, where it would stand by his side, refill his cup as soon as he finished, and brew a fresh pot when the tea got weak.
It had already mastered the tea-brewing techniques it had learned from Victor.
But in this Breeding House, no one besides Victor was entitled to its premium tea service.
...Even though it was the Pokémon that talked back to Victor the most.
Gengar's face fell. No more hehe-ing.
It drank the tea in its cup in one gulp, then opened the teapot lid and saw it was empty.
It ran to the kitchen, got a kettle of hot water, and brewed a new pot for itself.
It sipped its tea blissfully, only... it was watching cartoons.
Something just felt... off.
Gengar thought for a moment, and then it dawned on it.
It floated up to the room, grabbed the prayer beads Victor had carved for it, and returned. Now, it sipped its tea, rolled the beads in its chubby hand, and watched its cartoons.
Gengar picked up the cup and took a sip of hot tea.
"Gengar—"
Ah, that's the stuff.
Victor scratched his butt, rolled over, opened his eyes, and saw what Gengar was doing. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
The autumn afternoon thus slipped through Victor's fingers.
Victor opened his eyes, his soul still wandering.
He threw off the blanket and sat up.
He saw a customer sitting in the lounge area. Lilligant was holding the service list, introducing the Breeding House's business.
Gengar was at the side, pouring tea for him.
The service was impeccable.
Seeing Victor was awake, the customer stood up and greeted him politely.
Victor recognized him. He was the third-place finisher from the "Gengar Cup."
"Owner."
Victor rubbed his eyes, motioned for him to sit down—he didn't feel like standing up again himself.
He took the teacup Gengar handed him and took a sip.
It's not as good as the tea Gothita makes.
Victor only dared to say this in his heart.
Otherwise, knowing Gengar's jealous temperament, he'd have to spend a long time coaxing it.
After thanking Gengar, Victor looked at the trainer.
His name was... Feng, he thought.
"Let me introduce you to our services."
"No need, Owner. Lilligant, Gengar, and Roselia have already explained everything very clearly."
Victor nodded, then looked at Lilligant and the others, signaling they had done a good job. He then turned back to Feng.
"So, have you decided which service you'd like?"
"I'd like to breed an egg at your Breeding House."
Victor: ?!
Seeing Victor's shocked expression, Feng knew he had misunderstood and quickly waved his hands.
"My Pokémon, I mean! I want them to breed an egg here. You see, my Pokémon and my childhood friend's Pokémon are in love. We were planning to come together, but she had something come up today, so I came alone."
Feng scratched the back of his head.
"She's a coordinator for Pokémon Contests. A while ago, she met a child who can't become a trainer due to a physical condition. The child seems to really like my Swampert, so we were wondering if we could breed an egg and give it to the child."
"My childhood friend and I discussed it, and we decided to come and check this place out."
Victor nodded.
Another childhood friend...
But it couldn't be helped. The Pokémon world didn't have much, but it had an abundance of childhood friends.
Still, it was a very kind gesture.
"No problem. Your Pokémon are Swampert and—"
"Oh, and a Quagsire."
Feng released his Swampert and Quagsire.
Since Pokémon breeding follows the mother's species, the Swampert must be female.
"And," Feng added, "I heard that Pokémon bred at your Breeding House have good luck, and they bring good luck to their trainers, too."
"?!"
"Where did you hear that?"
Victor was baffled. He'd never heard that one before.
"That's what everyone is saying."
Seeing Feng's "it's-common-knowledge" expression, Victor stood up.
"That's all just superstition. Come with me. I'll show you our facilities, and you'll understand."
Feng nodded and followed Victor.
In the backyard, Shana was playing on the seesaw with Mime Jr. and the others.
A Vespiquen and a Staravia were perched on a tree, whispering to each other.
A shiny Rapidash was lounging laz"Ily on the grass, chatting with a Luxio.
They walked on, arriving at the lake area.
A group of Marill, Psyduck, and other swimming Pokémon were lining up, taking turns jumping off the diving board in various poses.
Splash! Splash!
The entire backyard was filled with happy laughter.
The more Feng saw, the more satisfied he became.
No wonder they say it brings good luck, he thought, taking a bite of a berry a Pachirisu had offered him.
He glanced at his Swampert and Quagsire and saw that they also looked very happy with the place.
He relaxed.
He caught up to Victor and said a few words.
Victor nodded, then led him back to the front to register his information.
After leaving his Swampert and Quagsire, Feng left the Breeding House.
Victor personally took the Swampert and Quagsire to the lake area.
At first, they were a bit nervous, afraid they wouldn't be welcomed by the lake Pokémon.
But the opposite happened.
The Golduck and Azumarill families gave the Swampert and Quagsire the warmest of welcomes.
They even had the Swampert go up on the diving board.
Its massive body took a leap...
SPLASH!
Victor, thinking fast, dived behind Gengar.
Gengar: ?
Wiping the water from its face, Gengar turned, only to see that Victor had already made a run for it.
"Gengar!"
Get back here!
Gengar chased after him, its long tongue hanging out.
The Rapidash and Luxio on the grass simply moved to a new spot and lay back down.
The Vespiquen and Staravia in the tree were already used to this. The Staravia just watched the bickering Victor and Gengar with great interest.
I really have grown to love this life.
The Staravia smiled to itself.
...
Get 10+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"