Chapter 160:
"Aogiri Town."
The approaching figure was, of course, Yūji.
"Little Kaede? Looks like your breeding house gets quite a bit of foot traffic," he remarked, thinking back to the people coming and going on his way here.
"..."
Hayashi Kaede rubbed his temples. Though the shift in address was noticeable, he didn't make an issue of it.
But he saw no point in small talk. "Here for Eevee?"
"That's right."
Hayashi Kaede shook his head. "Forget it. I'm keeping this Eevee. And I want the two Eevees that ran away with it, too. I told you the other day not to sell them—you haven't, have you?"
"Not yet. But... you want to raise three Eevees?" Yūji was taken aback.
Hayashi Kaede led him into the breeding house. "No one said you can't raise three Eevees, right?"
Yūji looked around the breeding house with an impressed whistle.
Wow, Alolan Vulpix, Alcremie, Indeedee...
Aside from Alolan Vulpix, the others didn't seem like Pokémon a typical Trainer would catch. This meant that "Brother Kaede"—now "Little Kaede"—really had no intention of becoming a traveling Trainer and was planning to fully commit to running his breeding house.
That just wouldn't do!
"Of course you can! Let me tell you, Eevees are super popular. As long as there's no history of abandoning Pokémon, you can raise as many Eevees as you want. When I was traveling, I met a Trainer who caught five or six. His Eevees evolved into all sorts of forms. He said he wanted to collect every Eeveelution!"
Yūji launched into another story from his travels.
In his opinion, it'd be a real shame if Brother Kaede—Little Kaede—didn't become a professional Trainer.
Back when they were kids, he'd really looked up to Hayashi Kaede.
When they reached the living room, Eevee was lounging on the sofa, watching anime on Rotom's screen.
It perked up when it saw Hayashi Kaede, but then noticed Yūji behind him and immediately straightened up.
Hayashi Kaede sat on the sofa, scooped up the little Eevee, and gave it a reassuring pat. "Alright, since three Eevees are fine, find some time to bring the others over."
"Sure thing... Huh?" Yūji agreed without thinking, then caught himself.
Why did he still follow instructions so readily?
But since he'd already said it, he couldn't easily take it back, so he just wrestled with it internally.
Yūji quickly hatched another plan. He plopped down on the sofa opposite Hayashi Kaede, eyes sparkling. "Here, Little Kaede, let me show you the partners I met on my travels."
He took out several Poké Balls, releasing them one by one.
First was Flareon, his first Pokémon.
A red light flashed, and a majestic Flareon appeared on the sofa.
Its fur was lush and flowing, a vibrant orange-red. Its pupils and the insides of its ears were pitch black, but its neck, tail, and the tuft on its head were a soft cream color, making it look like a cozy heater. It'd be perfect for cuddling in winter.
Hayashi Kaede suddenly remembered a popular image he'd seen:
Put a fan in front of Flareon, and it'd blow hot air—the ultimate winter warmer.
Similarly, placing Glaceon in front of a fan would give you a cool breeze.
Perfect for summer.
Hayashi Kaede had already tried this with Alolan Vulpix.
The effect was fantastic.
He checked its status panel.
He had to admit, Yūji had grown a lot during his travels.
Like this Eevee he'd known before.
[Pokémon: Flareon]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Flash Fire]
[Potential: Red]
[IVs: HP (24) Attack (31) Sp. Atk (28) Defense (26) Sp. Def (25) Speed (25)]
[Level: 60—62]
[Moves: Swift, Charm, Quick Attack, Fire Fang, Fire Spin, Flare Blitz, Fire Blast, Heat Wave, Rest, Shadow Ball, Trailblaze, Overheat...]
Flareon was a solid Elite Four-level Pokémon!
But its move set was a bit all over the place.
You even learned the Grass-type move Trailblaze?
"Flareon, my first Pokémon. You've seen it before, Brother Kaede. Its strength is absolutely top-notch now." Yūji couldn't help grinning when he saw Flareon, then pulled it into a hug.
"Flareon..."
Flareon's eyes showed a hint of annoyance. It clearly remembered its Trainer skipping shower gel during yesterday's bath, but it still didn't push him away.
Hayashi Kaede nodded at Flareon. "Hey, Flareon."
Flareon wriggled free from Yūji, hopped over to Hayashi Kaede, and nuzzled his hand in greeting.
"Then, there's also..." Yūji, unfazed, clicked open the second, third, fourth... Poké Balls.
The small living room was suddenly filled with various Pokémon.
Water-type Kingdra, Flying/Bug-type Scyther, Electric-type Jolteon, Psychic-type Jynx.
Hayashi Kaede scanned them one by one. Their levels were mostly between 30 and 50.
While this strength was impressive, wasn't it a bit far-fetched to be in the top eight of the Indigo League?
By his estimate, this level should land around top sixteen.
Maybe he got lucky.
Hayashi Kaede didn't dwell on it. Noticing Yūji still held one more Poké Ball, he asked, "Why not release the last one?"
"Ahem, the last one's Snorlax. It's a bit too big for in here." Yūji said awkwardly, but then stood up, looking at his Pokémon with fiery determination. "See? These are the Pokémon that got me to top eight in the Indigo League! This time, I will go all the way to the Pokémon League Conference with them and fight for the top four!"
"Mmm..."
Though he found it a bit of a stretch, Hayashi Kaede offered encouragement anyway. "Well, give it your all."
But Yūji's goal clearly wasn't just encouragement; he wanted to persuade Hayashi Kaede to hit the road, become a professional Trainer, grow through experience, and rise to the top!
He walked over to Hayashi Kaede, clapped him on the shoulder, eyes blazing. "So, Brother Kaede, you should start your journey too! Sure, it might take time to reach where I am, but... with your skills, we brothers could totally stand together on the Pokémon League Conference stage someday and challenge Champion Kazephyr!"
"Uh..."
Before Hayashi Kaede could respond,
A soft voice floated from behind him.
"Gardevoir?!"
Their conversation hadn't been quiet. Gardevoir, busy making Energy Cubes in the kitchen, had heard every word.
It hadn't paid much mind at first, but now... this guy was trying to talk Hayashi Kaede into leaving the breeding house?