Inside the Breeding House, Lucas listened to Gary's report on Teddiursa's condition and nodded.
He still trusted Gary's judgment.
He told him to rest well, then he returned to his room with Gengar.
He had made some wooden boxes for himself over the past few days, carving them by hand.
He placed the wooden boxes on the table, then took out the awarded evolution Stones and other rare items from the drawer, placing them one by one into the wooden boxes.
"Gen gar—"
Seeing Lucas placing them haphazardly, Gengar pushed him aside and took over personally.
Gengar breathed on the evolution Stones, then rubbed them with his hands, picked one up, held it to his eye, squinted, and admired its luster.
Then he slowly placed it into the box.
He nodded from time to time.
Lucas sighed helplessly at the sight.
Let him be.
After he finished, Lucas tugged his tail.
Whoosh~
Bang.
Downstairs, Gary looked up and saw that Lucas's face was wet, which puzzled him.
However, seeing that Lucas didn't say anything, he lowered his head and got busy with his own work.
"Boss!"
A voice startled both of them, who were engrossed in their work.
Lucas looked up and saw two teenagers running in.
One of the teenagers, wearing a baseball cap, ran to the counter and, seeing the Pokémon and people in the Breeding House all looking at him, felt a little scared.
"What's going on?"
He asked timidly.
Lucas shook his head to clear his mind.
He reached out and patted the small head of the Petilil, who had been startled awake from a nap and was a little scared, then said:
"It's nothing, may I help you?"
Hearing this, the baseball-capped teenager no longer cared about what had just happened and loudly said:
"I want to buy a pokémon egg."
Lucas silently rubbed his ears, his head buzzing from the shock.
Just then, a lavishly dressed teenager ran up to him.
"I told you not to be so impatient."
"How can I not be impatient? The League Conference is over."
"Being impatient won't help; a pokémon egg still needs to hatch."
"I can hatch it while traveling."
"You won't become an excellent trainer like that."
"Mind your own business!"
Watching the two teenagers argue, Lucas quickly intervened.
"Stop!"
After stopping them, Lucas continued:
"Then do you have a preferred Pokémon?"
"Do you have Starter Pokémon here?"
"No."
"No Breeding House currently sells Starter Pokémon."
Lucas answered without thinking.
He thought he should write "No Starter Pokémon for Sale" on the wooden sign at the door next time.
"Oh, I see—"
The baseball-capped teenager suddenly looked dejected.
"Then do you have any Fire-type Pokémon?"
The lavishly dressed teenager beside him asked.
"That I do."
Lucas nodded.
Hearing this, the lavishly dressed teenager nudged the baseball-capped teenager.
"Great, then I'll take a Fire-type one."
The baseball-capped teenager said, and the lavishly dressed teenager beside him slapped him.
"You haven't even asked what Pokémon it is, and you already want it."
Seeing the two about to argue again, Lucas quickly stopped them and led them to the Hatching Room.
"Boss, do you have any powerful Fire-type Pokémon? We want to be like Elite Four Flint and use Fire-type Pokémon to defeat enemies."
The baseball-capped teenager swung his fists a few times in a chuunibyou fashion.
The lavishly dressed teenager beside him also looked at Lucas with anticipation.
Lucas smiled mysteriously, then placed a pokémon egg in front of them.
"This is a Magby pokémon egg; inside is a Fire-type Pokémon."
"Magby?"
"Why does it not sound very strong?"
The first was the lavishly dressed teenager, the second was the baseball-capped teenager.
"Elite Four Flint's team also has a Magmortar, which is Magby's final evolution, and its strength is no weaker than a Starter Pokémon."
"Really?"
"Really?"
Lucas nodded.
Then the baseball-capped teenager quickly said, "Boss, I'll take this one."
Lucas looked at their excited faces, thought for a moment, and still said:
"Although this Pokémon will not be weak when it hatches, becoming stronger mainly depends on the trainer. Only by loving your Pokémon can you become stronger."
Gary behind him kept nodding.
The baseball-capped teenager lowered his head, then perked up again.
"Don't worry, Boss, I'll take good care of it."
Lucas smiled at this, then pulled out a stethoscope and checked the egg's condition.
[Magby's Egg][Hatching Progress: 20/30]
"It's very healthy,"
Lucas said with a smile, sensing the life within.
"But it will still take some time to hatch."
"Ah? Still a long time?"
"Not necessarily. If you hatch it with care, it might be faster."
"I see, I understand."
"Why are you in such a hurry? I'm not leaving without you. I'll wait for you to hatch it, and then we'll travel together. That's what we agreed upon, isn't it?"
"Oh, I know, stop nagging."
Looking at the two teenagers in front of him, Lucas's eyes held a smile; the friendship of youth was truly beautiful.
Gary beside him also seemed to recall Ash and himself, feeling some inexplicable emotions.
It's been a long time since I last saw Ash, he thought.
"Boss, please pack it up for me."
Lucas nodded, then helped him pack the Magby's egg and handed it to him.
"That will be 280,000 Alliance Coins in total. Thank you for your patronage."
The baseball-capped teenager took out his card and swiped it, but the balance was insufficient.
He looked at the lavishly dressed teenager beside him for the remaining money.
Beep.
The lavishly dressed teenager paid the rest for him.
Lucas looked at the lavishly dressed teenager, "Sorry, the store only has one Fire-type pokémon egg."
"It's fine; my parents already sent me one as a birthday gift."
After saying that, he took out a Poké Ball, a red light flashed, and a Chimchar appeared in the Hatching Room.
The eldest brother of Sinnoh's Starter Pokémon, huh.
Lucas nodded.
Then he escorted them to the Breeding House entrance.
"Then I wish you both good luck in your endeavors."
"Thank you, Boss."
"And I wish you prosperous business, Boss."
Lucas smiled and returned to the Breeding House, seeing Gary deep in thought, he didn't disturb him.
Shauna ran out from the door behind the counter.
"Uncle, did we have guests just now?"
Lucas nodded.
"We finally have guests again."
Lucas smiled.
The Breeding House had been temporarily closed for some time and had only recently stabilized and reopened.
But Shauna was right.
Finally, they had guests again.
Things would only get better and better from now on.
Lucas lay on a chair in the resting area.
Just then, Gengar handed him a cup of honey water.
"Gen gar—"
Lucas took it, a knowing smile on his face.
"Thank you, Gengar. I'll get you some new snacks in a while."
"Gen gar!"
"Me too!"
"Alright, alright, Shauna will have some too, and everyone in the Breeding House will have some."
"La Ji~"
"Ni Ke." × 3
"Ni Ni~"
"Ge De~"
"Xiu~"
"Thank you, Manager."
....
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