Chapter 3: Preparations Before Opening
In the living room, Bewear pressed Kenji down onto a freshly wiped stool, refusing to let him help. It happily took up the broom itself and continued cleaning the abandoned breeding center.
Kenji: "..."
The little sun floating above Bewear's head hadn't disappeared, which meant the Pokémon was still in a very cheerful mood. However, there was only one broom in the entire place, so he couldn't help even if he wanted to.
Since he had decided to reopen the breeding center and inn, there were some necessary preparations to be made before the official opening.
As everyone knows, for a shop to grow big and strong, the most important factor is its location. This single element almost entirely determines the flow of customers. Although a breeding center is different from other shops, if it were tucked away in some forgotten corner, it's unlikely any trainer would go out of their way to visit.
While Bewear was busy cleaning, Kenji got up and went outside.
Stretching out before his eyes was a wide road that extended far into the distance.
The original's memories told Kenji that this breeding center was located on the main road between Meteor Falls and Fallarbor Town. At the ends of this road were the famous exploration spot, Meteor Falls, and Fallarbor Town itself. The breeding center stood out prominently here; unless a trainer intentionally took a detour, they would almost certainly pass by.
Fallarbor Town was a small agricultural town in the northwest of the Hoenn region, most famous for its Contest Hall, which drew a steady stream of Pokémon Coordinators from all over. And as for Meteor Falls, it went without saying. Not only was it home to many rare and unusual Pokémon, but it also contained various fossils and meteorites, attracting trainers almost every single day.
This meant that the breeding center would likely never be short of customers.
While lost in thought, Kenji saw a group of three young trainers—two boys and a girl—walking from the end of the road, apparently just passing through. They noticed the open doors of the breeding center and were quite curious.
"Huh? There's a breeding center here?"
"It looks like it's been abandoned..."
The group then noticed Kenji standing at the entrance.
"And there's a Pokémon cleaning inside!" one of the girls, who was holding an Eevee, said with surprise.
It turned out that Bewear hadn't found Kenji in the living room and had followed his scent outside.
Kenji's gaze swept over the Eevee.
[Pokémon: Eevee]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Adaptability]
[Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, Covet, Sand Attack]
[Status: Healthy]
[Mood: 🌧️▒]
[Joy Value: -20]
[Friendship: 0 (You are strangers in this world)]
[Description: Another day, another problem. —Eevee.]
Kenji's eyes lingered on the little dark cloud floating above the Eevee's head, from which rain was pouring. This Eevee didn't seem to be in a very good mood.
The girl asked curiously, "Hello! Excuse me, are you the owner of this breeding center?"
Kenji nodded slightly. "Hello, yes I am. However, the center is currently being set up and isn't able to provide services yet. If you need anything, please come back the day after tomorrow."
The girl made a mental note of his words, then turned and left with her companions.
Kenji felt that he needed to make a trip to the nearby Fallarbor Town as soon as possible. The breeding center was completely empty; even their dinner was a problem. And it wasn't just food; they also needed all sorts of daily necessities, bedding, tools, and so on.
But the journey to Fallarbor Town would take a full half-day on foot. If he left now, he probably wouldn't be back until the middle of the night...
Kenji frowned, troubled. If only he had a Pokémon for transportation at a time like this.
"Kyuu?"
Bewear sharply noticed the furrow in its young master's brow.
Kenji said, "I want to go to town, but it's too far. If we walk, we won't be back until midnight."
"Kyuu..." Bewear fell into thought. Soon, a small lightbulb lit up above its head. "Kyuu!"
It had a solution!
While Kenji was still stunned, Bewear leaped to his side, scooped him up in its fluffy arms, and then took off at full speed, charging straight into the distance.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Kenji was terrified. Wasn't this the same way the Bewear from the anime always carried off Team Rocket?!
"Kyuu~!"
Bewear, however, happily reassured Kenji that everything was fine and continued its mad dash.
In the northwestern part of the Hoenn region, the colossal Mt. Chimney stood tall. Occasional volcanic ash drifted down from it, causing the vegetation in the surrounding areas to grow with exceptional lushness. The verdant Fallarbor Woods embraced the volcano, and the earth, nourished by the ash, was perfect for growing crops. Many residents settled here, forming a small agricultural community with fields, known as Fallarbor Town.
"Food, bedding, Pokémon care tools, a change of clothes..."
Kenji mentally listed the things he needed to buy on this trip. He only had 20,000 Pokédollars on him, which wasn't nearly enough. He had to spend it sparingly.
But speaking of which, his parents' death in a shipwreck should have resulted in some compensation money. Why did the original Kenji have no memory of it?
Kenji sighed and led Bewear through the department store. Bewear pushed a shopping cart behind him.
Kenji continuously tossed things into the cart.
Ten cups of instant noodles, twenty bags of instant ramen, one bag of flour, thirty eggs, one bottle of cooking oil, two sausages, ten potatoes, five quilts, one tub of Pokémon biscuits and snacks...
In addition to that, there were various spices and some daily necessities.
"I also need to buy some vegetable and fruit seeds!" Kenji thought of the garden with the berry trees. That way, they could become self-sufficient in terms of vegetables, wouldn't have to come to town to buy them, and could save some money.
"It's a shame I don't have a Grass-type Pokémon."
The original's memories told Kenji that Grass-type Pokémon could use their energy to care for plants and trees, making vegetables ripen faster and grow better.
However, there were plenty of Grass-type Pokémon in the forest near the breeding center. He could just catch one later, Kenji thought.
Catching Pokémon required Poké Balls, but a single, ordinary red-and-white ball cost 500 Pokédollars. Although it pained him, for the future of the breeding center, Kenji gritted his teeth and bought two.
He now had enough food for a few days, and bedding as well. With this, the inn could officially start operating. For one, it could provide accommodation for guests, and two, it could offer simple meals, like ramen. Once he earned some money, he could slowly furnish the guest rooms, upgrade the bedding, diversify the food menu, and buy other things.
As for the breeding center side of things, as a transmigrator, Kenji had a vast amount of knowledge about Pokémon in his mind. Coupled with his special ability, teaching some moves shouldn't be a problem.
Looking at the full shopping cart, Kenji's heart swelled with determination. This was the capital he would use to establish himself in the Pokémon world!
Before heading back, Kenji bought a small blackboard and some chalk. He wrote down the main services the breeding center could currently offer.
[Breeding Center Main Business]
[Moves Currently Available for Tutoring: Baby-Doll Eyes.]
The day after tomorrow, he'd place it by the door, and trainers in need would naturally come in. Kenji wasn't worried that no one would come. For trainers, the more moves their Pokémon knew, the more varied their battle strategies could be. Even an inconspicuous move could potentially turn the tide of a battle. No one would mind their Pokémon learning one extra move. On the contrary, if someone else's Pokémon knew a move and theirs didn't, that was a different story.
On the way back, Kenji sat in the shopping cart. Bewear pushed him and the cart full of groceries with incredible ease.
By the time they returned to the breeding center, the sky had already darkened.
Kenji used the kitchen to make two simple bowls of ramen for himself and Bewear, adding an egg and slices of ham. His cooking skills were decent; he knew that much from watching Bewear slurp up even the last drop of soup.
"Kyuu~!"
Bewear was overjoyed.
Young master has grown up, he's become so capable!
As a Pokémon, although Bewear didn't know what had happened, it was still happy that its young master was getting better.
If this keeps up, they won't have to worry, right? Bewear thought.
After a long day of work, Kenji was exhausted. After locking the main doors of the breeding center, he went to bed early.
Once he was asleep, Bewear stood by the bed, watching him happily for a long time before moving to its own spot to sleep.
Kenji had a dream.
In a haze, he saw three figures: two adults and one small child. They stood before him, looking at him.
"Please, I'm begging you, please take care of Bewear for me!" the child said, his face full of apology.
The man beside him sighed and spoke, "From now on, that child is in your care."
"You're planning to run this breeding center? That's wonderful... truly wonderful... Oh, right, as a thank you, I've prepared a gift for you," the woman said. "That gift was originally for our little Kenji, but now we'll give it to you! I never thought this child would be so distraught as to come looking for us... ahem, you've just turned ten, so that gift should be arriving very soon, right?"
"Please, accept it!"
"Thank you. We're entrusting Bewear to you. Please, help it!"
"We're leaving now. We must depart this place and go to the spirit world."
After speaking, the little boy took his parents' hands, turned around, and vanished into the mist.
Kenji shot up in bed, his heart pounding wildly.
Holy crap, there's a ghost!
"Kyuu...?"
Bewear was startled awake. Seeing Kenji's terrified face through the darkness as he gasped for breath, it instantly understood.
Young master is having a nightmare again, huh?
Bewear stood up, walked over to Kenji's side, and gently pulled him into a hug.
"Kyuu~"
Don't be scared, young master. I'm right here.