When Tetsuya proposed an agreement with Mr. Shellby to exclusively purchase his male Spinarak, Mr. Shellby made his decision immediately. Aside from those kept for breeding, every male Spinarak would be given to Tetsuya free of charge.
Mr. Shellby had never had any children. He had opened this Pokémon Daycare purely because of his love for Pokémon. It was also thanks to Tetsuya's raising plans that he had earned a great deal of money over the past few years and expanded the daycare.
However, the elderly couple simply had no need for so much money to support themselves in retirement. Therefore, giving Tetsuya a number of male Spinarak did not trouble him in the slightest. On the contrary, it made him feel happier, as though he had finally repaid Tetsuya.
Tetsuya's original plan in working with Mr. Shellby had been to breed [Badly Poisonous] variants, making full use of everything he had researched in his previous life. Now that he had accomplished that goal, Mr. Shellby no longer had much practical value to him…
Moreover, Mr. Shellby knew the breeding plan for the third-gen Spinarak…
Although those Spinarak were far less valuable than the fourth-gen Spinarak Tetsuya now owned, if that method were ever to spread, someone might eventually conduct further research. If that happened, his Poison-type team could very well be countered.
There had even been times when he had considered simply silencing Mr. Shellby; not necessarily by killing him, but perhaps by sabotaging his Pokémon Daycare.
Now that he thought about it, however, Mr. Shellby still had considerable value. Simply by breeding male Spinarak for him free of charge, he could ensure that his own Spinarak would never have to worry about food while also preserving its wild nature. Its toxicity would also gradually increase by consuming those Spinarak.
The greatest value, naturally, was Mr. Shellby's daycare itself. It had already become the largest Pokémon Daycare in Eggseter. Thinking of this, Tetsuya began making plans.
Tetsuya specifically asked Madeleine to come help at Mr. Shellby's Pokémon Daycare. In reality, his purpose was to keep an eye on the daycare's activities. Since Mr. Shellby and his wife happened to be short-handed, they naturally welcomed the arrangement.
After settling matters at the daycare and arranging everything for Madeleine, Tetsuya prepared to leave.
This time, he would once again take the route from Ecruteak City to Gringey City. He purchased a ticket for three days later. After all, he had no idea when this long journey would finally come to an end, so he needed more time to prepare.
That very day, Tetsuya began making preparations for long-term survival in the wilderness at the Department Store in Ecruteak City. He had already prepared a tent and a Spatial Backpack. As for milk, well, he had Miltank, a mobile milk dispenser.
What he prepared the most of was Pokéfood.
Both Mamoswine's and Golurk's food were specially formulated. Mamoswine's food contained ground Never-Melt Ice, while Golurk's food was mixed with various supplementary ingredients, along with Beedrill's nectar.
The food for Weezing had also been specially processed by Tetsuya. Naturally, it contained poison sacs from various Poison-type Pokémon. There was no need to prepare too much of it, however, since such "materials" could easily be obtained by hunting in the wilderness.
Houndoom's diet still consisted primarily of meat, and it could hunt for itself in the wild, so Tetsuya did not need to worry too much about it. As for Drapion and Spinarak, although Tetsuya had prepared food for them as well, their primary source of food would still come from hunting in the wild.
Pokéfood alone had cost him nearly 100K and even that would only last for half a year, assuming he also hunted frequently.
He also prepared some dry rations and fresh water, filling an entire Spatial Backpack. If all of it were taken out and placed in a room, it would completely fill a living room.
He truly had to admire this remarkable piece of technology from the Pokémon world!
Tetsuya planned to spend the remaining two days at Ecruteak Gym.
After the New Year, Matsuba had already applied for Morty to become an apprentice Leader at Ecruteak Gym. Today, he was to face the League's assessment and was currently training intensely.
That evening, after Tetsuya returned, Morty was still training. All six of his Pokémon were Ghost-type. Naturally, he was following his father's path, which would at least allow him to quickly reach the level of a Gym Leader.
"…Tetsuya? You're back!?" Morty asked as he was about to take a break after noticing Tetsuya.
"Un," Tetsuya nodded.
"I heard you're planning to go traveling this time. Do you have any special plan, or are you going to challenge one of the League tournaments?" Morty asked.
Tetsuya shook his head and said, "I just want to go out and see the world. I'll participate in the League tournament after I've become stronger."
"You're already this strong, and you still don't plan to enter…? Tetsuya, so many rookie Trainers have just turned ten and are already talking about becoming the Champion of the League tournament," Morty said helplessly.
"Those 'Trainers' are nothing more than cannon fodder. Good luck with your Gym Leader assessment as well," Tetsuya said.
"Thanks! There are only two days left. How about training with me over the next two days? Training with Ryuto is just too boring, and otousan has been far too busy," Morty said.
"All right. See you tomorrow."
After saying that, Tetsuya returned to his room. Battling Morty would be quite easy for him. His main objective was to train Drapion. Of course, he was not so overconfident as to send a Spinarak that had just been born and had not even officially begun training.
Morty's level was at least comparable to that of a semifinalist in a League tournament.
---◓---
That night, Tetsuya fed the Spinarak. To his surprise, the little fellow refused to eat any Pokéfood. It even ignored the food that Tetsuya had studied in his previous life specifically to suit Spinarak's tastes, leaving him astonished.
After thinking it over carefully, Tetsuya recalled that since its birth, a few days, this Spinarak had only consumed poison immediately after hatching, along with one male Spinarak.
Could it be that this Spinarak was so ferocious that it had to eat live prey at every meal!?
With that thought in mind, Tetsuya had Mr. Shellby transfer the seven Ariados over…
Eating them would provide the greatest benefit to increasing its toxicity.
At the training grounds in Ecruteak City, Tetsuya sent out one Ariados.
Since these Ariados had all been raised in the Pokémon Daycare, they had never experienced the hardships of the outside world. They had never even gone through a real battle, evolving purely through Mr. Shellby's work. Their combat power was extremely limited.
It could even be said that they simply did not know how to battle at all!
Well… the instincts in their genes still exist, but so much time without activity had dulled them.
The moment the Spinarak saw the Ariados, it attacked without hesitation. Poison Sting shot directly toward Ariados' face. Ariados had no idea which move it should use to respond and could only imitate it by using Poison Sting as well.
After all, Ariados was evolved. Dealing with a newly hatched Spinarak was more than easy. Ariados' Poison Sting gradually overwhelmed the Spinarak's before continuing toward the it.
"Use String Shot to knock those Poison Sting aside," Tetsuya commanded. Although the Spinarak was ferocious and loved to "fight", it still knew nothing about actual battling. Therefore, when facing an Ariados that was stronger than itself, it still had to rely on Tetsuya's commands.