"This little guy has his own ideas." Vincent Stone looked at Lil Shelgon beside him and couldn't help but smile slightly.
This was a Shelgon capable of evolving into a Salamence, and its strength was formidable. The fact that it could dominate as the leader at the care center solely by its own ability spoke volumes about Lil Shelgon's talent in battle.
Vincent quite liked Salamence too. After all, Salamence were quite adorable, strong, and cool. But unfortunately, Lil Shelgon had its own plans.
Director Lilian handed ten berries to Lil Shelgon, who then walked over and began its mealtime routine.
Generally, Shelgon didn't eat, but Lil Shelgon was an exception. Its shell wasn't fully intact, revealing a scarred mouth, so it occasionally ate some berries.
As Lil Shelgon started eating, the other Pokémon around grew restless. Vincent patiently followed Director Lilian in distributing food to these Pokémon. The little ones didn't have huge appetites, but they ate with a sense of urgency, as if driven by some pressing need.
"Director Lilian, are there still many people abandoning Pokémon this year?" Vincent watched the Pokémon eating intently, then lifted Little Mimi (Mimikyu) from his head and gently stroked its head.
"It's only May, but I've already picked up twenty seven Poké Balls at the welfare center's entrance." Director Lilian brought over two small stools and handed one to Vincent.
Vincent took it and looked at the slightly expanded team of stray Pokémon before him, sighing softly.
They always said Pokémon were human companions, friends, and family. So why were there still abandoned Pokémon?
And these were just the Poké Balls Director Lilian had picked up. What fate awaited the Pokémon that were directly handed over?
"The League has been promoting the Pokémon Abandonment Law for so long, but it still doesn't seem to have much effect." Vincent shook his head.
In the Pokémon League, abandoning Pokémon was illegal. But unless you did it right in front of Officer Jenny, it was nearly impossible to get caught. After all, abandoning Pokémon was just too easy.
Take a Poké Ball, toss it casually, and it disappears into a trash can or the forest.
Some people even avoided wasting Poké Balls by simply releasing their partners and vanishing, never to be seen again.
"There's no helping it. Among these abandoned Pokémon, thirteen have serious illnesses." Director Lilian was quite composed about it. After running this Pokémon care center for so long, she'd seen all sorts of reasons for abandonment.
But the most common one was still illness.
While Pokémon Centers provided basic free medical services, severe cases required hospitalization, and the costs for that weren't low. Hence, abandonment happened.
"Director Lilian, is the medical donation from before still enough?" Vincent's gaze fell on one Pokémon—a Psyduck. Its head was bandaged, and one of its arms was completely missing, leaving only a single small hand.
The Psyduck still looked dazed. It occasionally raised its hand to touch its head and stared blankly ahead.
Pokémon with physical disabilities like this weren't rare at the care center.
"Yes, thank you, Vincent." Mentioning the medical funds, Director Lilian couldn't help but express her gratitude.
After all, this boy had donated his savings to the care center, solving their urgent needs. Otherwise, the graveyard in the backyard would have had more Pokémon names carved into its tombstones.
"Don't mention it, Director. You're the one who deserves respect." Vincent quickly waved his hand. He didn't think he could ever be as great as Director Lilian, who had devoted her entire life to sheltering and caring for abandoned Pokémon.
Vincent looked at these Pokémon and suddenly had an idea.
The Pokémon League was a vast alliance, with each region being enormous. This also meant each region had a large population and plenty of Pokémon. But the issue of abandoned Pokémon had always been unavoidable.
What if, after making his movie, he allocated one dollar from each ticket? The total price would remain the same, but he'd earn one dollar less per ticket, with that dollar going directly to a fund for stray Pokémon. It would be a small but meaningful contribution.
From a business perspective, promoting this could also boost ticket sales. A win win situation.
The idea didn't seem too bad.
"Roar." A low growl sounded. Vincent looked up and saw Lil Shelgon.
It had finished its berries and was now pacing around him, looking somewhat impatient. Vincent chuckled and rubbed its hard shell.
"Sorry, Lil Shelgon. I didn't bring any Pokémon cans this time." Vincent shrugged. He'd genuinely forgotten to buy Pokémon cans today, having spent so much time handling company matters.
Lil Shelgon froze for a moment but then happily started playing hide and seek with Vincent. Vincent could only pretend to be oblivious, ignoring Shelgon's not so small body, and played along for a while. Only after nightfall did he return to his home in Rustboro City.
"How's the new company?" As soon as he entered, Vincent saw someone with the same hair color as him sitting on the couch, arms crossed, smiling at him.
"Big bro?!" Vincent was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to see his older brother here, the current Champion of the Hoenn region, Steven Stone.
"Big bro, why are you back?" Vincent couldn't help but ask. Steven rolled his eyes. What, was his presence making this little rascal uncomfortable?
Steven stood up and gave Vincent a light flick on the forehead.
"I heard from Dad that you're starting your own business, so I came back to check on my troublesome little brother." Steven smiled warmly at Vincent. He cared deeply for his younger brother.
It's just that this brat had no interest in being a Trainer. Fine, that was understandable—the Stone family wasn't exactly known for producing Trainers.
But this brat wasn't even interested in rocks!
In the Stone family, that was practically heresy.
Just look at those beautiful stones. They were masterpieces of nature, gifts from the world itself.
"Big bro, congratulations on becoming the League Champion!" Vincent rubbed his forehead and smiled, congratulating Steven once more.
(End of Chapter)