Uncle Levin left quickly. He had taken time out of his busy schedule to pick up Wayne and the others.
His shop wasn't too far from here, only about thirty minutes by the nearest train.
Buying such a large Breeding House had exhausted all their family's income over the years and left them owing Uncle thirty million.
But Wayne remained optimistic.
After buying it, there was no rent pressure, and his parents could save a large sum of money. At worst, they could just earn it back.
Especially with such good equipment here, as long as they could build a reputation, losing money was impossible.
"If worst comes to worst, I can still compete in the Pokemon League."
If he could win the Champion title at the League Conference, he would also receive a substantial prize.
"Hmm... once I have a reputation, I can also get endorsements."
Wayne immediately laid out a clear plan for himself.
Suddenly realizing something, he paused.
"Oh no, why am I as blindly optimistic as my dad?"
"Son, what are you saying about me?"
His dad suddenly appeared from nowhere, nearly scaring Wayne.
"Nothing, I was thinking about how to film videos."
Leon didn't notice his son's poker-faced lie and patted his shoulder cheerfully.
"Go for it, son, do well. Dad believes in you!"
Wayne didn't respond.
Because "Go for it, do well, Dad believes in you" was his dad's standard three-part phrase.
Noticing that both of them were fully geared up, he asked suspiciously, "Are you going out?"
Compared to his dad, who came from an optimistic family, his mom seemed much more normal.
"We're going to Jubilife City center to order some goods. Do you want to come with us?"
Wayne shook his head. "No, you go ahead. I'll research how to film videos and prepare for the Breeder assessment."
Before Wayne could even finish speaking, Leon got into a black pickup truck, ready to start the engine.
"Then we're off, son. Good luck!"
His mom also quickly got into the car, taking Machamp and Gardevoir with her.
Machamp even waved to him with all four hands!
Wayne, who had just inhaled some exhaust, sneered, "They never intended to take me, did they?!"
Wayne, accustomed to being 'free-ranged' by his parents, had long grown used to it.
The Breeder assessment was in two days, and Wayne was full of confidence, so much so that he didn't know what to do for a moment.
"I wonder where Lucario and the others ran off to."
Lucario and the others had just said they wanted to look around and were now nowhere to be seen.
"Never mind, with their strength, it shouldn't be a problem."
Wayne summarized a few tasks.
"Advancing Breeding House" and "I Really Didn't Want to Be a Content Creator" were the ones he had the best chance of completing right now.
One required 100 satisfied customers and Pokemon at the Breeding House.
The other required the account's follower count to reach 1,000.
The Breeding House was technically open now. It just had no customers, as the sign hadn't even been put up yet.
Besides putting up the sign, they also needed to hire some employees, either humans or Pokemon.
Wayne planned to discuss these matters with his parents when they returned.
Back in his room, he opened his computer. He had an Eevee Stream Video Network account from early on, but he hadn't posted any videos.
Wayne sat in front of the computer, deep in thought.
"How can I gain followers quickly? Should I create a script, like 'I found a Shinx'?"
He wouldn't mention that by looking out the French window of his room, he could see several Shinx on a nearby hill.
This was a wild Luxray family, roughly numbering over a dozen.
The blue-skinned Luxio had most of its body covered in blue-black fluffy fur, and its slender tail ended in a yellow four-pointed star.
Luxio was two sizes smaller in height and length than Arcanine and was also capable of Intimidate.
Wayne couldn't engage in forced buying and selling. There was no guarantee that Luxray wouldn't give him a Thunderbolt shock therapy.
Although he had a Heavenly Aura Physique, being electrocuted would still not feel good.
Wayne browsed the homepage: Dance, Music, Animation, Sports, Food, Battles, Games...
The Battle section featured real battle recordings, slightly edited.
Videos with high views included: Lance VS Lorelei, Leon VS Raihan, Cynthia VS Riley.
He couldn't find Red VS Blue.
Wayne expressed his disappointment.
However, there were many of Blue's Viridian Gym battles, with dedicated compilations.
"Gastly, Haunter, do you know how many times I've watched?"
"Popular Supermodel Elesa!"
"Black Pearl Roxie!"
"Charmander Evolves!"
Eevee Video Network's sections were very detailed. After indulging in the universally appealing dance section for a while, he quickly sobered up.
He pulled up his pants. It was just average.
Most of the homepage videos were related to Pokemon. Elesa, though a supermodel, was also a Gym Leader.
This meant Pokemon equals traffic.
Wayne realized he couldn't handle creating scripts.
If a script were exposed one day, he would be banned across the entire internet, and then he'd have nothing to cry about.
After much thought, he seemed only able to get by in the Food or Lifestyle sections.
The Breeding House could connect to both of these.
The top of the Lifestyle section was "Professor Oak's Backyard."
"Maybe one day, the Breeding House can also become like Professor Oak's Backyard."
Wayne also began to dream.
He glanced at his cooking skills and the many dishes his grandfather had taught him...
His grandfather said his cooking skills were passed down from his grandfather, who was Wayne's great-great-grandfather.
He didn't know beyond that, because his great-great-grandfather came to the Sinnoh region alone and never mentioned his past.
His grandfather said his cooking skills were far inferior to his great-great-grandfather's. Even now, thinking of his grandfather, then his great-great-grandfather...
Wayne felt incredibly motivated.
Until Wayne saw the empty refrigerator...
Only then did he remember they had just moved in, and there was nothing here.
Even Pokemon food—Wayne didn't have enough of it.
The weather was cold now, not suitable for making Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice, and the Oran Berries he had dried before were all used up.
Wayne had messed up making Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice countless times before, only succeeding with his grandfather's guidance.
Facing the empty refrigerator, Wayne pulled out his phone.
[Wayne: Dad, buy more ingredients. I want to film a cooking video.]
[Dad: Alright, son, don't worry.]
[Dad: 👍]
With nothing to do, Wayne looked at Scizor guarding the house and Ninetales lying under a tree, and chose to continue reading.
...
Meanwhile, with Lucario and the others.
The Breeding House was in the suburbs of Jubilife City, but it wasn't deserted.
There were residents nearby, mostly large courtyards and villas with private entrances.
A man dressed neatly, riding a Rapidash, galloped on the flat road.
A finely dressed woman walked on the road, leading a Growlithe with orange fur and black stripes.
There was also a young man riding a bicycle, with a Wingull flying around him.
These people were Lucario and their targets...
"Lucario!" (Start the operation!)
"Woof~"
(Leave it to me!)
"Metang!"
(Roger that!)