Chapter 42:
After three days of settling in, the buzz around the Baby Cup online had begun to die down. The daily stream of new customers at the Breeding House had stabilized. Combined with returning visitors, around a hundred people now came each day to purchase Energy Cubes.
Most were regulars.
Even so, the system continued to deliver special rewards to Hayashi Kaede daily.
Among the rarer prizes were Technical Machines and secret treasures—things like Grassy Glide, Aqua Tail, Grass Pledge, Flame Charge, Mystic Guard, Surf, and Hurricane…
Kaede passed most of them to Servine and the others. The ones that didn't suit his team, he set aside for possible resale.
He also received a steady supply of berries with unusual amplification effects.
I need to find time to convert these into special-effect Energy Cubes, he thought.
With products like stamina and recovery blocks, he could attract rookies.
But if he wanted to draw experienced trainers?
He needed to offer something more advanced.
After all, the system rewarded him better when strong Pokémon were happy.
Unfortunately…
The social media account he'd set up hadn't gotten much love from the platform. Even with the Baby Cup bump, his follower count had only reached around 10,000.
Still, his engagement and conversion rates were excellent.
Most fans had been drawn in by the elegant water-wielding Milotic from one of his videos—its slender form dancing across the field as it sprayed water over vegetables.
In the sunlit footage, the glimmering surface of the field reflected Milotic's image like a painting—beautiful and serene.
"No way—Milotic?! You seriously got a Pokémon like that watering crops? That's totally broken! I'd never let it leave my house!"
"So beautiful… Blogger, how did you get such an obedient Milotic?"
"Easy. Just catch it when it's still a Feebas. Raise it well and it'll follow you forever…"
"Ugh, but I'm broke and can't afford a Prism Scale…"
For now…
All Kaede could do was wait for another video to go viral—then the account would take off again.
Maybe I could even start selling online one day… ship Energy Cubes to trainers across every region!
Let all Pokémon be happy!
He stepped out of the plantation, still daydreaming about system rewards pouring in.
Checking his account stats, he saw the video he posted yesterday had already racked up over 50,000 views, 3,000 likes, and 800 comments.
My dreams may be big, he thought, but I still have to take it one step at a time.
After asking Takagi Megumi to watch the Breeding House and call if anything came up, Hayashi Kaede set out with Snivy.
The town had gotten busier recently. The local bus—which used to only run once a day—was now making multiple trips.
But that created a new issue.
Standing at the town's edge, Hayashi Kaede looked down at the evolved Servine and said, "Since you have evolved, you can't ride the bus anymore."
Newly evolved Servine will stood at about 1.45 meters tall. Pokémon of that size weren't allowed on public transport.
"Servineeee…"
Servine stared at its body, slightly distressed.
She suddenly thinks that her newly evolved form is bad … Once evolved my arms are also shorter.
Just as the negative thoughts began to spiral, she quickly shook the thought away.
HappyMart
Following the directions, Hayashi Kaede soon found the manager, Ikeoka Shō, waiting at the entrance.
The man greeted him with a wide, eager smile. "There you are."
Ikeoka Shō was a businessman to the bone—always weighing risks and rewards.
Back during the Baby Cup, he'd noticed how his son Ikeoka Tetsuya, although he didn't win, had earned praise online for conceding with dignity. Viewers had praised him as a loyal, friendship-valuing trainer.
Different outcome, same effect.
Ikeoka Sho had been pleased with the publicity.
Add to that Hayashi Kaede's generous help with the tournament—and his likely status as a high-level breeder—and Ikeoka's impression had completely flipped.
This young man was not someone to offend… only to befriend.
That's why he had come personally to handle this Pokémon selection.
"Thanks for your help," Kaede said politely. His first impression of Ikeoka hadn't been great, but there was no need to reject a smile.
He followed the man through the supermarket, past rows of shelves, and finally into a back warehouse. Two uniformed officers and a pair of growling Mightyena stood guard at the door.
After showing their IDs, Kaede and Ikeoka were allowed inside.
The room was brightly lit. Hundreds of glass display cases filled the space, each housing a Pokémon Egg.
Staff in white coats moved between the cases, occasionally picking up an egg for examination.
"Come on—this way. These are the starter Pokémon Eggs."
Ikeoka led him to a small display with a dozen labeled eggs.
Each had a card listing its details.
[Pokémon: Charmander][Gender: Female][Mother: Six-year-old, gym-level Charizard][Possible Inherited Moves: Bite, Dragon Tail]
[Pokémon: Bulbasaur][Gender: Female][Mother: Seven-year-old, gym-level Venusaur][Possible Inherited Move: Ingrain]
…
Kaede skimmed through the rest—Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Froakie, Chespin…
Most were starters from the Kanto, Johto, and Kalos regions.
But none of them caught his eye.
What I want… is a Psychic-type.
He turned his head toward another set of eggs nearby—ones without starter labels.
Inside were Pokémon like Caterpie, Slugma, Marill, and Swinub.
The Pokémon Alliance had strong trade ties with other regions, so seeing foreign Pokémon here wasn't unusual.
Kaede tilted his head. "Wait, I thought HappyMart didn't sell Pokémon. What's going on with these?"
Ikeoka Sho chuckled. "These are for our Pokémon Egg Raffle—it's been a hit at headquarters, so we're expanding it to every branch. It's a way for less wealthy trainers to get strong Pokémon… and for us to build goodwill."
"So we've started stocking more eggs."
Kaede nodded, eyes scanning the selection. But he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Not a single Psychic-type…
He asked anyway: "No Psychic-types? Like Ralts, Espurr, or maybe Meowstic?"
"Psychic-types?" Ikeoka blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Those are rare. If you want one, you'll have to try your luck with the egg raffle at headquarters."
"…I see."
Kaede looked back at the starter eggs, deep in thought.
Then a shout rang from across the room broke the silence.
"Something's wrong—!"