Chapter 192:
October 23rd.
It was Sunday.
Hayashi Kaede was giving instructions to the male Indeedee.
He was leaving the Breeding House today for Nagisuna City. If anything happened at the Breeding House, Rotom was to call him immediately.
Although he wouldn't be gone for long, this was the first time the male Indeedee would be solely responsible for the entire Breeding House. Kaede was still a bit worried. For this reason, he had asked Gardevoir not to come along this time, letting it help the female Indeedee prepare everyone's meals at noon.
As for the ingredients, Kaede had already prepared them and placed them in the refrigerator.
"Indeedee."
The male Indeedee nodded seriously.
Except for the new planting area and the rooms under construction, most matters at the Breeding House were already on track. What it needed to do were tasks it had done many times before and was already proficient in.
So, even without Kaede around, it felt it could handle things well.
Kaede smiled and praised the male Indeedee before calling out to Dragonite and Mewtwo standing nearby, "Let's go, time to head out!"
...
They set off at seven in the morning and arrived at the outskirts of Nagisuna City by seven-ten.
Finding a secluded spot, he had Dragonite bring him down. Kaede then waved, signaling Dragonite to return on its own, and hailed a ride-share with Mewtwo to the central area of Nagisuna City, near the stadium where the Junior Cup was recently held.
"So lively..."
After getting out of the car, Kaede looked around with novelty and sighed.
Since coming to this Pokémon world, his life had been divided between Aogiri Town and Aogiri City.
Aogiri City was a small town; most buildings were two or three stories, rarely any skyscrapers, but Nagisuna City was different.
Near the city center, getting out of the car, all he saw were towering high-rises, and then various Pokémon on the streets, walking alongside their trainers.
Perhaps because the Junior Cup was being held today, the area was bustling with activity, exceptionally lively. Two Officer Jennies were directing traffic to ensure the city's roads ran smoothly.
Growlithe stood majestically by their side.
This was quite novel for Kaede.
The Eastova League had both the Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy families, but because the Jenny family migrated relatively late, not every city had an Officer Jenny yet.
So, since childhood, Kaede had only seen Officer Jennies on TV. Now, seeing two identical people felt like some kind of "previous life's wish" had been fulfilled.
Compared to his "country bumpkin" demeanor, Mewtwo, transformed into a human form, appeared much calmer.
Although its travel time was short, given its "pace," two or three months were enough for it to see many human cities.
Kaede patted its shoulder. "Let's go, the Junior Cup hasn't started yet. We'll head to HappyMart first."
"Mm."
Mewtwo didn't refuse.
It had come here originally to accompany Kaede on his outing.
So, going anywhere was fine.
Kaede, however, thought, *since I'm here, I might as well see if the egg guessing game has any Pokémon I like.*
Also, he was a bit worried whether Takagi Megumi could arrive on time today.
Last night, he had called her. The video showed she was still in a pitch-black wilderness area, using a flashlight, living in a tent.
The wilderness environment was truly harsh; Kaede could hear all sorts of Pokémon calls outside.
Fortunately, Wartortle now had the ability to hold its own.
What was a bit strange was that the girl seemed somewhat busy, her hair was messy, and her tent was collapsed. He didn't know what she was doing.
Kaede asked her what she was up to, but she said it was fine, just that a Pokémon outside had just battled Wartortle.
He didn't think too much of it.
He simply assumed it was because it was Megumi's first journey, so she was inevitably a bit inadequate at taking care of herself.
After leaving a message, "Take good care of yourself, don't go too deep into the wilderness," Kaede hung up.
As the stadium in Nagisuna City wasn't far from HappyMart, the ride-share drop-off point was near the supermarket.
As soon as he led Mewtwo into the supermarket, a series of calls greeted them.
"Guess the egg, guess the egg! Want to take home a novel and exciting Pokémon? We have Pokémon from various regions here, cute, majestic, mighty..."
At the supermarket entrance, a series of glass counters were set up. Inside the counters were two types of Pokémon eggs.
One type was displayed openly, where you could see the patterns and colors.
The other type was covered with a black cloth, revealing nothing. You could only rely on touching the egg's temperature to guess what Pokémon was inside.
Perhaps because it was the day of the Junior Cup, there were quite a few people.
Especially young trainers; they were particularly numerous.
Everyone gathered around this area. Even if they weren't guessing, just touching so many Pokémon eggs wasn't prohibited.
Kaede first looked at the openly displayed egg.
Compared to the hidden mystery egg, the openly displayed one were actually easier to guess.
This is because if the types of Pokémon eggs were the same, their appearances were actually similar, so there wasn't much difference. The guess was based on the egg's pattern to speculate on the condition of the Pokémon inside.
Kaede looked them over and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Bulbasaur, Caterpie, Oddish... Pokémon eggs with green exteriors are placed together."
It was clear.
To give this guessing game some uncertainty, the HappyMart organizers had put some thought into it.
Skipping the open egg area, he went straight to the hidden mystery egg section.
Arriving here, Kaede's eyes lit up.
After activating [Eye of Exploration], the first Pokémon egg he saw was a Sandshrew. Sandshrew wasn't rare, but an Alolan Sandshrew was quite special.
'Do you need me to check the Pokémon inside for you?'
The voice that suddenly appeared in his mind made Kaede look at Mewtwo beside him.
It saw that Kaede seemed very interested in these Pokémon eggs hidden under black cloths.
Kaede shook his head, but it didn't mean he didn't need help; it meant he had the ability to see what Pokémon was inside himself.
Mewtwo fell silent, boredly surveying the surroundings.
Kaede continued examining the other Pokémon eggs under the black cloths.
However, he quickly discovered that although some of the Pokémon in the hidden egg area were indeed rarer, most were relatively still common.
Like Venonat, Mankey, Pidgey...
Although occasionally Kaede would feel tempted by some Pokémon, after some thought, he ultimately decided against it.
For now, the Breeding House already had plenty of Pokémon.
He couldn't just follow his whims and catch some common Pokémon that weren't essential to the Breeding House.
After such rational consideration, a Pokémon egg wrapped in black cloth caught his attention.
Then, thoughts like, 'Then again, such a rare Pokémon... if I don't take it back, I might not get another chance like this,' flashed through his mind.'
[Pokémon: Sprigatito,
Mother: A two-year-old, highly talented Meowscarada.
Egg Moves: Leech Seed, Ally Switch.]
This was the rough information provided by [Eye of Exploration].
When he first saw the rough information, Kaede already wanted it.
After seeing the detailed information, he was even more tempted.
[Pokémon: Sprigatito]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Potential: Red]
[IVs: HP (18) Attack (28) Sp. Atk (19) Defense (27) Sp. Def (24) Speed (31)]
[Level: 0]
[Moves: Ally Switch, Leech Seed]
[Description: An unhatched Sprigatito egg. Remaining incubation time: approx. 128h.]
[Friendship: 0]
[Happiness: 0]
Although he didn't care much about potential, to be honest, this completely gave him a reason to justify the flag he just raised.
The other day, when he saw that girl Takagi Megumi showing off her Sprigatito in front of him, he had already been very tempted.
He even wondered, *if the school can reward Pokémon from the Paldea region, does that mean there must be other Paldea region Pokémon in the Eastova League right now?*
*Should I have Rotom look for some and bring them back?*
Although he later suppressed the impulse, now that a real Sprigatito was right in front of him,
Kaede admitted he couldn't resist.
This was much better to pet than the often-absent Mew!
So, he immediately confirmed his identity with the sales assistant and took the egg.
There were no surprises in between.
Only when the black cloth was lifted did the sales assistant look surprised and congratulatory at Kaede. "You're really lucky, young man. This is a Sprigatito from the Paldea region, a Pokémon very popular in any region."
Kaede smiled without speaking.
Using [Eye of Exploration] to get information was fine.
Using Aura, or Viridian Power, or Psychic power...
He could all know what Pokémon was nurtured inside this egg.
As long as he didn't overdo it, it didn't violate the supermarket's rules, because, with so many hidden eggs, the supermarket was profiting no matter what.
Catching a future Sprigatito put Kaede in a very good mood. He turned around to call Mewtwo, "Mewtwo..."
But upon closer look, he realized Mewtwo, who should have been by his side, was now in the trainer goods area, seemingly observing something.
Kaede walked over.
Only then did he discover it was looking at Poké Balls.
Hmm?
Was the environment inside ordinary Poké Balls too crude?
Now that he had money, he really should switch to dozens of Luxury Balls.
Thinking of this, Kaede directly picked up a Luxury Ball and said to Mewtwo, "What do you think of this one? The description next to it is great; it contains all sorts of toys... uh no, various rooms....."
Mewtwo was startled, reached out, and took the Luxury Ball, somewhat not understanding, but this reach made Kaede notice its hand.
It was frighteningly white.
Kaede looked at his own skin again...
Well, after only managing the planting area for a few months, his skin had turned from a fair high school student's to a healthy wheat color. His physique, whether due to his True Human constitution or these days of running and farm work, had also become more robust.
"Sigh..."
After sighing, Kaede didn't think too much about it. He directly waved his hand and spent 100,000 Pokedollar to buy fifty Luxury Balls.
If he was changing one, he might as well change them all, adhering to the principle of "equality."
Before Mewtwo could speak, as if by telepathy, the Poké Balls on Kaede's waist moved first.
He looked down.
It was Alolan Vulpix.
It probably guessed that Kaede had arrived at a new place and was impatient to come out.
Kaede didn't hesitate and let it out.
"Vulpix~" (Let me see~ Where is this...)
The newly emerged Alolan Vulpix was clearly excited. It looked left and right for a while, then decided walking might be too tiresome and intended to jump into Kaede's arms.
looking up, it saw Kaede's arms were already occupied.
Its eyes widened immediately, as if it had seen something unbelievable.
He had only been out for a short while, and Kaede's arms already had a new baby.
"Vulpix?" (What is this?)
Kaede rather proudly held up the egg. "It's a Sprigatito."
"Vulpix?"
Alolan Vulpix was stunned for a moment.
Was that what it cared about?
"Vulpix!"
Alolan Vulpix pouted and scratched Kaede's pants leg with its paw, meaning *I want a hug*.
"Uh...."
Kaede finally understood why the little fellow seemed a bit unhappy.
He looked at the Sprigatito egg in his hand.
This egg couldn't be put into a storage ball.
For now, holding it or finding a Breeding House to entrust it to seemed best.
However, he wasn't too comfortable leaving it at someone else's Breeding House.
"Good girl..."
Kaede tried to persuade Alolan Vulpix. "It's hard to hold you while holding the egg. How about I buy you a gift, and you just walk beside me?"
"Vulpix?" (A gift?)
Alolan Vulpix was taken aback, then remembered the bell around Eevee's neck. Its mind immediately became active. "Vulpix~" (Okay, okay...)
So, Kaede took Alolan Vulpix to look around the trainer section of the supermarket.
Soon, a cream-colored baby scarf caught its attention. The more it looked at the scarf, the more it liked it.
Because on it, it saw the pattern of its favorite Pikachu hero.
It was a standing Pikachu, wearing a mask, raising its front paws to the sky, with a lightning bolt emblem above.
Kaede saw its liking and couldn't help but ask, "Good girl, do you want to be a hero?"
"Vulpix!" (Yes, yes!)
Alolan Vulpix's eyes shone with expectation.
Under the influence of the anime, it thought being a hero was really cool.
Especially the feeling of protecting the "Pikachu" you want to protect and then leaving anonymously was just amazing.
The cream-colored scarf was simple, not a special item. There were many patterns on it, in various colors.
Kaede picked up a white scarf embroidered with a Pikachu and a red scarf embroidered with an Alolan Vulpix. "Then why don't we be our own heroes?"
Alolan Vulpix was stunned for a moment, then its sparkling pupils burst with a strong liking for the scarf.