Jubilife City, Tian Guan Breeding House.
The place was decorated as if it were New Year's, with a sign at the entrance announcing 30% off everything.
Tian Guan Breeding House is a well-known chain, with branches visible in major towns across Sinnoh,
but only 10 are directly owned, with the rest being franchises.
The Tian Guan Breeding House in Jubilife City is a franchise.
As it was a franchise, Balu, the store manager, did not need to report to the regional manager to launch a major promotion.
On Saturday morning, Balu, dressed in a custom-made new suit, greeted new customers with a smile.
The employees of Tian Guan Breeding House were no different, wearing new uniforms and lined up in a V-formation, as if expecting a flood of customers.
To motivate his employees, Balu also increased their commissions.
Employees received commissions for customers who topped up to get membership cards, sold Pokémon Eggs, or added various services.
Balu was originally a miser, with pitifully low commissions.
With the increase in commissions, the employees were eager to get to work.
The first few days were good; the discounts and promotions indeed brought in more customers.
Balu had prepared for a loss this time, but he could use this opportunity to sweep away other Breeding Houses, including Breeding Centers.
In Balu's view, the loss was only temporary; as long as he could crush other Breeding Houses,
wouldn't the market in Jubilife City be his to command from now on?
Tian Guan Company's automated warehouse, blockchain, and unified procurement and distribution system were Balu's confidence,
which could give him a huge advantage in terms of cost.
What makes Coca-Cola and PepsiCo powerful is not their formulas, but their efficient supply chains.
They can drive down costs to the lowest, sell cheaply and still make a profit, but other companies cannot.
But surprisingly, today, for a long time, no customers came.
"You each take a standee and go out to promote!"
The two employees Balu called out, looking utterly defeated, took the standees and left.
Around ten o'clock, customers finally arrived; it was a father and son.
Balu himself had abandoned the heating and stepped out the door to attract customers.
Seeing customers approach, Balu offered his most sincere smile,
"Welcome! We're having a big discount promotion right now, 30% off everything, and even more discounts if you spend over a certain amount!"
The promotional offensive was still effective, and gradually, customers began entering the Breeding House with their Pokémon.
However, not long after, an employee found Balu, panting,
"Boss, please come and see, the situation is very chaotic now, it seems like a big problem has arisen!"
A father and son, a woman with a Purugly, a young couple...
Balu first resolved the father and son's problem because the child was crying.
"Do you have Gible here?"
"..."
Balu was stunned.
You're making this very difficult for me!
How could Gible just be available like that?!
Even the directly owned stores don't sell Gible.
Balu rubbed his hands, smiling apologetically, "Sorry, esteemed guests, we don't have Gible in the store, but we do have Eevee, Vulpix..."
"I only want Gible!"
The child, held by his father, rudely interrupted Balu.
He's still a child!
Balu gritted his teeth and suppressed his temper, continuing to smile apologetically: "Can you tell Uncle why you want Gible?"
"I won't tell you!"
"No Gible... then never mind, let's go."
The middle-aged father left with his child.
Actually, the middle-aged father never intended to buy one,
because he knew he couldn't get it, but the child was crying and throwing a tantrum, so he had to make the trip, otherwise the child would never give up.
Why did it have to be Gible?
Balu couldn't understand.
Is it because of Cynthia?
Speaking of Gible, one cannot help but mention Cynthia's ace Garchomp.
"Just tell me! Can it be cheaper or not?!"
The middle-aged woman's voice grew louder.
"Esteemed guest, how can I help you?"
Leading a plump Purugly, the middle-aged woman had a similar build to her Purugly.
The middle-aged woman disdainfully glanced at Balu, "Who are you?"
Balu saw the shadow of Purugly in her, even their eyes were so similar.
"Hello, I am Balu, the manager of the Tian Guan Breeding House Jubilife store. If you have any..."
Balu said, handing over his business card.
The middle-aged woman roughly pushed his hand away, "No need for that. I don't need anything else. I just want to ask you, can this Glameow be cheaper?"
The middle-aged woman had taken a liking to a Glameow, but a conflict arose over the price.
"Esteemed guest, Glameow normally sells for 300,000 here, but with the 30% discount, it's only..."
The middle-aged woman waved her large, fan-like hand, nearly giving Balu a palm strike like the Buddha's Palm.
"Stop, I just asked if you can sell it for 100,000!"
Good heavens!
Balu couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens!"
Who bargains like that?!
Balu suppressed his anger, a slight smile on his face, "Esteemed guest, 100,000 is really... If you truly want it, I can offer it to you for 200,000."
The middle-aged woman waved her hand again, "Don't smile, it's disgusting. One word, 100,000, sell or not?"
"Esteemed guest..."
"Not selling, right? Goodbye!"
The middle-aged woman turned and walked away. Though she looked plump, she walked with a brisk pace.
Balu hurriedly chased after her, "Esteemed guest, we still have relatively cheaper Pokémon in our store, you can even buy one for 100,000!"
"Can a Pokémon originally priced at 300,000 be compared to one originally priced at 150,000? My Purugly can calculate better than you!"
"Meow~"
Purugly also gave Balu a disdainful look.
The middle-aged woman led her Purugly away, leaving Balu with an inscrutable silhouette.
"..."
Balu was utterly flustered.
Having witnessed these two farces, before Balu could resolve the issues, the young couple also wanted to leave.
"Esteemed guests, why are you leaving already?"
The woman threw out a remark, "Your store is too unprofessional. Let's go somewhere else."
The man added, "Let's go to Zhuqing Breeding Center instead. Although it's a bit more expensive, even the Champion goes there..."
The woman's eyes lit up: "Let's go, let's see, maybe we can even see the Champion!"
The young couple walked further and further away.
Balu's anger became increasingly difficult to suppress. He gritted his teeth and said, "Tell me, what did they want just now?"
"They asked if they could see our breeding grounds, but we can't do that!"
"Did you show them pictures?"
"We did! But they insisted on seeing the actual grounds!"
Balu was at a loss.
Tian Guan Breeding House is just a sales point.
The actual breeding grounds are in the suburbs of towns where land prices are relatively cheaper, and Pokémon can be directly transported there via Poké Ball.
"Never mind, I don't care anymore. Continue to serve other customers."
As long as Zhuqing Breeding Center doesn't sell Pokémon Eggs and Pokémon, it won't pose a threat to Tian Guan Breeding House.
What others don't have, I have; this is the core competitiveness.
But a young girl Balu served successfully broke him.
"Have you ever hosted a Champion's Pokémon here?"
"..."
"No, right? Then I'm leaving."
Balu just wanted to ask,
What Champion are you?!
"What happened! Investigate this for me!"