"Fire prevention? What does that mean?"
Victor stared at the last prompt that had popped up, a bit baffled.
"Don't tell me my Breeding House is going to burn down?"
He couldn't figure it out. "Gengar, keep an eye out for the next few days. No playing with fire."
"Gengar?"
Gengar didn't know why Victor would say that, but it nodded anyway.
After preparing the herbal tea for Shana and seeing her off with Dali, Victor lay on the lounge chair, watching TV with Mime Jr.
The sound of a motorcycle engine cutting out came from outside. Officer Jenny walked in with her Growlithe.
She fanned herself with her hand for a moment, looking at the Breeding House, which was now filled with many more photos and items. She looked at Victor, who was watching TV. "This place has changed a lot. How have you been lately?"
"Business isn't bad. I should be able to break even soon," Victor said, lifting the Mime Jr. from the adjacent chair onto his lap to make space for Jenny.
Gengar floated out from the kitchen with a glass of iced sparkling water and handed it to her.
"Gengar—"
"Thank you."
Jenny took the water and drank it all in one go, looking as though she had just finished a long shift.
Gengar then got a bowl of water for Growlithe.
"Arf~" Growlithe's tail began to wag nonstop as it drank.
"Just got off work, Jenny?"
She nodded. "Just got back from Sandgem Town. Had to handle a few things."
Seeing her sit down beside him, Victor asked, "Need any help?"
Jenny shook her head. "The League Conference is about to start, isn't it? Some criminal organizations like to use this time to cause trouble, so it's going to be very busy."
Victor nodded. During the League Conference, everyone's attention would be on the tournament, making it an easy time for criminal groups to act.
"From yesterday until now, I've been in Sandgem dealing with Pokémon hunters."
Hearing this, Victor was suddenly reminded of someone.
Pokémon Hunter J.
Pokémon hunters were an organization that specialized in trafficking Pokémon. As long as a client paid, they would capture whatever Pokémon the client desired, even if it had already been caught by a trainer.
Their leader was a person named Hunter J, who was incredibly strong and could even hold her own against an Elite Four member. Victor remembered that Pikachu had been captured by her once.
"We're a bit short-staffed lately. You should be careful around here, too. Keep your guard up," Jenny said, glancing at the Pokémon gathered around them. "Who knows if they have any accomplices that we didn't catch."
"I understand. Don't worry, Jenny. I'll let you know if anything happens."
"Good. Where's Shana?" Jenny asked, looking around but not seeing her.
"She went to deliver the herbal tea."
Jenny smiled. "She's recovered so well, all thanks to you."
Victor shook his head but didn't say anything.
"But you should probably stop letting her deliver the tea for now. Wait until after the conference is over. We've already requested backup from other regions."
"Okay." Victor's expression turned serious. He had already planned to halt the delivery service after hearing her story, just to be safe.
"By the way, could you take a look at my Growlithe? Its appetite hasn't been very good lately. It's barely eating."
Victor turned to look at the Growlithe at Jenny's feet. He deftly scooped it up, gave its head a good ruffle, and then began to carefully examine its condition.
This was a good opportunity to test the breeding knowledge he had learned from his books.
He first checked its eyes and ears, then opened its mouth. The tongue was a bit red and swollen. Finally, he took the stethoscope from Gengar and listened to its heartbeat, which was a little too fast. Its body temperature was also a bit high.
It was likely due to the hot weather, combined with a buildup of its internal fire energy that hadn't been properly released, which was causing the poor appetite.
You could roughly say it had too much internal heat.
"Before we went to Sandgem yesterday, it was pretty listless. It's a little better today, though."
Hearing this, Victor nodded and focused his gaze on the Growlithe.
[Growlithe]
...
[Mood: Temporarily relaxed]
[Status: Excess energy]
[Friendship: 60 (You are good friends)]
[Introduction: The fire energy in its body is at a critical point and needs to be released. Perhaps evolution is also a good option.]
Just as I thought.
He put the stethoscope away, continued to ruffle its head, and said, "It has an excess of nutrients. The energy in its body is at a critical point and it hasn't had a chance to release it. It got to let some out yesterday while catching the bad guys, so it's feeling a little better today."
He paused, then continued, "You just need to find some time to help it release that energy. You can find an open space and let it let loose, or you could choose to evolve it. But I'd recommend letting it release the energy first before evolving."
"Is that so? I understand. I'll find a place for it to let loose when I get back. It's been working hard lately. In the end, whether it evolves or not will be up to it," Jenny said with a smile, watching her Growlithe close its eyes in enjoyment as Victor petted it.
Then, her gaze shifted, and she looked at Victor teasingly. "I noticed there's an extra pair of women's slippers at the shoe rack by the door. Whose are they?"
Seeing her gossipy expression, Victor rolled his eyes. "Cynthia's."
"Heh, that's a nice name. Same as our Sinnoh Champion." Jenny laughed, then noticed Victor's expression was a little off. "No... it's not the same person, is it?"
"Mhm."
That single sound made Jenny's jaw drop.
"Jenny, don't get the wrong idea. We're just friends."
Victor then explained the events of the past few days. Jenny listened, said "oh," and then nodded repeatedly.
Seeing her unconvinced expression, Victor sighed. "If you don't believe me, ask Shana."
Just then, Shana returned from her delivery run, climbed down from Dali's neck, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and handed the bag to Gengar. "It's true, Officer Jenny. Big Sister Cynthia is really nice," she said with a clear voice.
She then ran to the counter, grabbed a photo, and brought it over to Jenny.
Jenny took it. It really was Cynthia.
"You kid... you're something else," Jenny said, patting Victor's shoulder. "I knew you were special. Next time I have something, I'll come to you."
"You're always welcome."
The two of them laughed. Jenny then relaxed at the Breeding House for a while, playing with Shana and occasionally asking Victor questions.
For dinner, Victor made her and her Growlithe a braised bamboo shoot rice dish, using the bamboo shoots he had processed and saved from a few days ago.
The Growlithe ate with gusto, its tail wagging nonstop.
"It seems this dish is quite effective for Pokémon with poor appetites."
Victor nodded. The bamboo shoot menu could be used to treat Pokémon with appetite problems.
The Breeding House's "food therapy" business was ready to make its debut.
After dinner, Jenny prepared to take Shana home, but Shana wanted to play a little longer.
"Jenny, I can take her home later," Victor offered.
"Alright then. But remember not to let Shana go out on her own for the next few days. And if anything happens, you must notify me."
"I know. Don't worry. You and Joy be careful, too."
"We will."
With that, Jenny left on her motorcycle with her Growlithe.
Victor then told Shana that they would be stopping the herbal tea deliveries for a few days, and instructed her that she had to wait for him or Gengar to pick her up before coming over or going home.
Shana nodded obediently. The Chingling on her shoulder also swayed, letting out a pleasant chime.
Just then, Victor received a notification. He rushed to the incubator room and brought out a shaking Pokémon Egg.
He placed it on the counter. All the Pokémon of the Breeding House gathered around. At the very front were Victor and Shana.
Shana placed her hands on the edge of the counter, her bright eyes fixed on the moving egg.
"Uncle, are we getting a new partner?" she asked.
"We are. Are you excited?"
"Mhm!"
Gengar, seeing this, floated back to the kitchen and prepared a bottle of warm milk.
Then, the eggshell shattered, and a reddish-brown Pokémon emerged, looking at them shyly.
"Yip..."
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