After communicating with the grandpa and grandma, Victor finally understood what they were thinking.
He arranged to meet them at the Breeding House in the afternoon, asking them to bring the other grandpa along. He would introduce him to a Pokémon suitable for companionship.
After hanging up, Victor looked at the Petilil on the counter, which was watching him with concern. He smiled, patted its small head, and assured it that everything was fine.
He then called over Gengar, who was eating snacks and watching TV, and explained the situation.
It wasn't a complicated story. When the other grandpa was young, he and his wife were very much in love. His wife had poor health and passed away after giving birth to their child. The grandpa never remarried, instead raising their child, and then helping to raise his grandchild. A couple of years ago, his grandson also went off to university and rarely came home.
So, the grandpa was now living all alone. When the Breeding House opened, the seed shop grandpa and grandma remembered him and wondered if they could help find him a companion Pokémon.
A little while later, Gary returned to the Breeding House with Shana on Arcanine. After they all ate lunch, Shana took her Chingling and the others to the backyard to play.
Gary, meanwhile, went to the backyard to help Victor by observing the Pokémon.
The Vulpix lay lazily on Victor's lap, letting him comb its fur.
Its tail had finally split completely into six fluffy tails, and it was dozing contentedly.
Gengar was glued to the cartoon on the television.
"I'm telling you, you two. Why go through all this trouble to find a Pokémon for me? It's not like I can't manage on my own. I've been doing it for all these years, haven't I?"
A cheerful voice came from outside the door.
Victor stood up, holding Vulpix, and walked to the entrance.
Gengar also immediately turned off the TV and floated to Victor's side.
"Just think of it as raising one for your grandson. Isn't he the one who's always loved Pokémon and wanted to be a trainer?"
The seed shop grandpa's voice rang out, followed by silence.
Victor reached the doorway and saw a bald, well-built grandpa in a formal suit, looking pensive.
After a moment, the grandpa looked up at the seed shop grandpa and said, "Alright, old brother. I'll listen to you."
The seed shop grandpa nodded.
"Oh, Owner Victor! And Shana, you're here too?"
The grandma was surprised to see Victor standing at the door, and Shana, who had returned from the backyard at some point, peeking her head out to look at them.
She then led the two grandpas to the Breeding House entrance.
"Good afternoon, Grandpa, Grandma."
"Good afternoon, Owner Victor. This is the grandpa we were telling you about on the phone."
"Please, just call me Victor. And this grandpa—" Victor looked at the bald, somewhat fierce-looking grandpa and paused.
"His name is Yuba. Don't mind his stern look; he's a very kind person," the grandma said with a smile, introducing him. She then took Shana's little hand, and with a flip of her palm, two candies were resting in it.
Shana glanced at Victor, and after getting his nod of approval, she took the candies. She ate one herself and unwrapped the other for... Gengar.
"..."
Victor looked at Shana, who was blinking innocently, and then at the smug-looking Gengar beside him, and sighed helplessly.
The grandma then pulled Shana aside to let Victor discuss business with the two grandpas.
"Hello, Grandpa Yuba. Do you have a particular Pokémon in mind?" Victor asked with a smile.
Gary, having finished his work in the backyard, had also returned to the front and was quietly watching the scene.
"What would I have in mind? You can just pick one for me," Grandpa Yuba said, rubbing his large, bald head. As an old man, he had no idea what kind of Pokémon would suit him. He had almost never raised one.
"But I heard my old brother Muji say that a Pachirisu or a Glameow would be a good fit for me. He's a Breeder; he knows better than I do."
Pachirisu? Glameow?
Victor looked at Grandpa Yuba. He had to be in his sixties, but he was taller than Victor's own 183cm (6'0") and showed no signs of old age. He looked more like he was in his forties or fifties, albeit with a fierce expression.
Him, raising a Pachirisu or a Glameow?
Victor imagined the scene of him cuddling a Pachirisu or a Glameow. It was... an indescribable image.
So, Muji must be the seed shop grandpa's name.
Just then, Grandpa Muji explained his reasoning to Victor.
Victor nodded. Grandpa Muji had a point.
Those types of Pokémon were indeed the most suitable for companionship, but that was for the average person.
For Grandpa Yuba, a Pokémon with a similar disposition would probably be more fitting.
After discussing it with them, Victor decided to respect their opinion first.
He looked at Grandpa Yuba and asked, "Then, shall we go pick out a Pokémon Egg for you now?"
Grandpa Yuba froze, then said loudly, "I have to hatch it myself?!"
"Why are you shouting so loud?"
"You'll scare Victor! Do you want me to smack you?"
Faced with a joint scolding from Grandpa Muji and his wife, Grandpa Yuba shrank his neck. He then rubbed the back of his head and laughed heartily.
"Don't mind me," he said to Victor.
Victor laughed as well, indicating it was fine.
It seems this grandpa is quite the character.
Victor nodded to himself, then looked back at him and said with a frown, "Does Grandpa Yuba not want to hatch an egg? We only have Pokémon Eggs here."
Hearing this, Grandpa Muji and the grandma gasped in surprise. They had forgotten that Victor's Breeding House only sold eggs.
They both looked disappointed.
Seeing the mood turn silent, Grandpa Yuba laughed cheerfully. "What's the big deal? If you don't have any, you don't have any. I still have you two as neighbors to look after me, don't I?"
Hearing this, Grandpa Muji and the grandma also smiled.
That's true. If there's no suitable Pokémon, so be it. They would take good care of their little brother Yuba.
After being neighbors for forty or fifty years, they were already family.
Victor loved seeing such heartwarming scenes, but he still apologized profusely.
Just as they were preparing to leave, Shana suddenly spoke up.
"Uncle, aren't there a lot of Pokémon in the backyard?"
Seeing the hopeful looks in Grandpa Muji and the grandma's eyes, Victor hesitated.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it, but those Pokémon didn't belong to the Breeding House, and he hadn't asked them beforehand.
He had assumed, like his other customers, they would be buying an egg.
Seeing Victor's hesitation, Grandpa Muji said gently, "Yuba is a trustworthy person. We can vouch for that, having been his neighbors for decades."
Victor was silent for a moment, then made a decision.
"Why don't we go to the backyard and take a look first? If Grandpa Yuba sees a Pokémon he likes, I will ask for its opinion. If it agrees, it can leave with him. If it doesn't, we can try to find another one."
"If none of them are willing, then there's nothing I can do. They don't belong to the Breeding House. They are free, and I have to respect their wishes."
The group quickly promised they wouldn't force any of the Pokémon.
Only then did Victor nod. He put the Vulpix down and led them to the backyard.
The moment Grandpa Muji and the grandma stepped into the yard, they were captivated by all the Pokémon. After all, they themselves had met and fallen in love because of Pokémon when they were young, and had been together ever since.
Victor was introducing the Breeding House's and Gary's Pokémon to Grandpa Yuba, but he noticed the old man was staring fixedly at one spot.
Victor followed his gaze.
A Teddiursa was hiding behind the swing set tree, its small bear head peeking out, cautiously watching them.
It was so far away that if Victor hadn't followed his gaze, he might not have even noticed it.
The moment Grandpa Yuba had entered the yard, he had casually glanced into the distance and had seen the Teddiursa hiding. His eyes had been fixed on it ever since.
Seeing this, Victor couldn't help but facepalm, a headache coming on.
That's the Teddiursa rescued from the Pokémon hunters, the one brought back from Professor Rowan's lab.
The one with the traumatized heart.
...
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