Victor took Gengar to Twinleaf Town to eat. Afterward, he found a furniture store and purchased several items the Breeding House currently needed: a refrigerator, an oven, a lawnmower, and finally, a large television. He left his phone number so they could deliver everything to the Breeding House the next day.
Then, he took Gengar to the market to buy food for that evening.
Upon returning to the Breeding House, Victor kept his promise and played with Gengar for the entire afternoon.
Throughout the afternoon, the Breeding House was filled with Gengar's spooky, echoing laughter, which sent some passing pedestrians and children who had come looking for adventure running for the hills.
In the evening, after he and Gengar finished the food they brought back, Victor took a shower and sent a message to Laura.
"Hey Laura, do you know any reliable renovation companies?"
Laura: What's up? Have you already decided on the renovations?
Victor: I took a closer look today and have a rough idea.
The next second, Laura's call came through.
"Laura," Victor greeted. Before he could say more, her voice came from the phone, interrupting Gengar as it emerged from a wall to try and pounce on him.
"I'll contact them for you in a bit. How about I bring them over to your place tomorrow morning?"
"Great, thank you for the trouble, Laura."
"I told you not to be so formal. By the way, since you've decided to reopen the Breeding House, you'll need to find some Pokémon to help you out, right?"
Hearing Laura's words, Victor paused for a moment.
That's right. A Breeding House generally involves caring for boarded Pokémon and sometimes helping them produce superior offspring. Secondly, the Breeding House would eventually sell Pokémon Eggs, which also require careful tending. These two tasks alone were more than Victor could handle by himself, not to mention other potential services.
That's why Laura was asking.
"I understand," Victor replied. He had only ever seen Breeding Houses in games or read about them in books; he didn't actually know much about running one.
Looks like I'll have to seriously study up on the Breeding House business over the next few days, Victor thought to himself.
"So? Do you need me to introduce you to a few? Or do you already have a Pokémon in mind?"
At Laura's question, an image of a certain Pokémon surfaced in Victor's mind, and he smiled.
"Yes, I already have one in mind."
"Is that so? Alright then, I'll bring the renovation company over to you tomorrow. I won't disturb your rest any longer."
With that, Laura hung up.
After the call, Victor noticed Gengar floating by the wall, looking like it wasn't in a very good mood.
"What's wrong, Gengar?"
Hearing Victor, Gengar hid the emotion in its eyes and flew over to him, joining him in scrolling through his phone.
"Once the TV arrives tomorrow, you'll be able to watch it, Gengar," Victor said with a yawn, handing the phone to Gengar.
"Gengar—"
Victor smiled, wished Gengar goodnight, and went to sleep.
...
The next day, Victor gave Gengar one of the toothbrushes he bought yesterday, and they brushed their teeth together.
After washing up, he handed Gengar a bottle of Moomoo Milk just as a call from Laura came in.
"We're here, Victor."
Victor hurried downstairs to open the door. Laura was standing at the entrance, and next to her stood a very familiar person.
"Officer Jenny?"
Victor froze for a moment, staring at the familiar uniform.
It took him a second to recover. Seeing a character who was once just virtual appear right in front of him was still something he wasn't quite used to.
"This is Twinleaf Town's Officer Jenny. She heard I was coming over today and wanted to come see the place, so I brought her along. You don't mind, do you?"
Victor shook his head, indicating that he didn't mind.
"Here, I brought you some breakfast. The renovation company will be here soon," Laura said, handing a bag to Victor as she stepped inside.
Officer Jenny followed her, a Growlithe trotting faithfully by her side.
Victor's eyes locked onto the Growlithe, and its status window appeared.
[Growlithe]
[Type: Fire]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Intimidate]
[Known Moves: Leer, Ember, Bite, Flame Wheel, Fire Fang, Take Down, Flamethrower.]
[Mood: Pretty good]
[Status: Focused on work]
[Friendship: 0 (You are strangers)]
[Introduction: A Growlithe, a friendly partner of the Jenny family, and a very dedicated worker.]
Seeing its moveset, Victor thought to himself, As expected of a Growlithe from the Jenny family.
"I heard you inherited this Breeding House, so I asked Laura to bring me over to take a look," Officer Jenny said, glancing around. "It looks exactly as I remember it."
"Yes, it does," Laura said with a long sigh.
Victor handed the breakfast to Gengar, who had floated up beside him, then asked quizzically, "Laura, Officer Jenny, are you two familiar with this place?"
Laura and Officer Jenny exchanged a smile, and then Officer Jenny explained, "When I was a child, my mother was assigned to Twinleaf Town, and I came with her, so I grew up here. Back then, Grandma Jasmine Fang had just opened this Breeding House. Laura and I discovered this place by chance and would often run over here to play together. Oh, right, and Joy, too."
Jasmine Fang. Victor knew that was his great-aunt's name.
"You could say this is the place where we grew up," Officer Jenny continued, looking around as she spoke. "It's a shame. After we grew up, Grandma Jasmine had to close this place down due to certain events."
"She used to make delicious snacks for all us kids, and there were so many Pokémon here to play with us. We were so happy," Officer Jenny said, her eyes filled with nostalgia. She smiled as she gently ran her fingers along a surface she passed.
"My great-aunt... what kind of person was she?" Victor asked. Hearing about his great-aunt from others left a strange weight in his heart, and he wasn't sure if the emotions belonged to his predecessor or himself.
"She was a very kind person," Laura and Officer Jenny said in unison.
"Is that so?" Hearing this, Victor smiled.
Laura looked at Victor and the Gengar by his side, then gave him a questioning glance.
Victor nodded.
"Then I'm relieved," Laura said. She knew this "child" wasn't malicious. When she first came back here after receiving news from Grandma Jasmine, she had been startled by it too, but even then, she could sense that the Pokémon was not evil at its core.
"Later, I'll go back and file a report with the League. They'll give you a subsidy to a certain extent," Officer Jenny said, clapping her hands together gently.
"A subsidy?"
"That's right. Because Twinleaf Town doesn't have a Gym, no one is willing to open a Breeding House here. The children here have no way of getting a starter Pokémon. And while Sandgem Town has Professor Rowan's lab, the starters he provides are barely enough for Sandgem's own needs. By choosing to reopen a Breeding House between the two towns, you can greatly alleviate this situation, so the League will definitely offer you support."
Hearing Officer Jenny's explanation, Victor was overjoyed.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Officer Jenny."
"No need to be so formal. Just like you call her Laura, you can call me Jenny."
"Jenny."
Officer Jenny nodded. Just then, the renovation company arrived.
Victor went outside and saw several Machoke getting out of a truck. These weren't the ones from the other day; these were officially employed Machoke.
He explained his needs to the person in charge, and after a brief discussion, the supervisor led the Machoke and began the work.
Victor stood at the doorway, watching the house transform with astonishing speed and efficiency, and a sense of relief washed over him.
"Gengar, our Breeding House will be able to open soon."
"Gengar—" Gengar's reply was somewhat subdued.