Once he saw that the house renovations were nearly complete, Victor called the owner of the furniture store and asked him to deliver all the items he had purchased the day before.
Following Victor's instructions, the furniture store's Machoke installed the various appliances, tables, and chairs in their designated spots.
"Look, Gengar. Now you can watch TV on the big screen," Victor said, pointing at the large television.
He had redesigned the first floor. An L-shaped counter now faced the main entrance, the garish chandelier had been replaced with a more modest one, and several wooden shelves had been installed on the back wall to display items for sale. To the left of the counter, he added a few chairs and small round tables. On the right-hand wall hung the large television. When there were no customers, he could sit here and watch TV, and it also served as a resting area for guests.
The two original rooms on the first floor were converted into an incubator room and a warehouse.
A door behind the right side of the counter led to the kitchen, which in turn had another door leading to the backyard.
"Gengar—" Gengar replied to Victor's call.
Noticing that Gengar didn't seem to be in a good mood, Victor felt a bit puzzled. He was about to ask what was wrong but was called outside to supervise the installation of the fence.
Watching the Machoke pull out the old, broken fence posts one by one and install the new ones was surprisingly the most time-consuming part of the job.
The land out back was truly massive.
Because of this, Victor had divided it into several sections: a lake area, a grass area, a forest area, a bare rock area, a fertile planting area, and a spot reserved for his afternoon tea. The lake area would be for Pokémon like Magikarp, Feebas, and Shellos. The grass area for Budew and Buneary. The forest area for Turtwig, Aipom, and Starly. The planting area would be used to grow herbs and berries.
Gengar floated about, watching the Breeding House get optimized and perfected, and its heart grew heavier and heavier. It eventually returned to Victor's room, gathered the few things Victor had given it—including the toothbrush from that morning—into a small bag, and floated out the front door.
After paying for all the work, Victor looked at his dwindling bank balance and sighed.
Wiped out in a single day.
He went back inside the house and saw Laura and Jenny sitting and eating snacks. "Laura, Jenny, please stay for dinner tonight. I'll cook for you," he offered.
They had been busy helping him all day and had even skipped lunch. He wanted to cook a meal himself to show his gratitude.
Laura and Jenny nodded in agreement.
"It just so happens to be my day off," Jenny said with a smile. "Oh, Joy should be getting off work soon, too. Why don't I call her over? Since you're opening a Breeding House, you'll be dealing with the Pokémon Center a lot. It's a good chance for you two to get acquainted."
"That sounds great! So, what would you all like to eat?" Victor asked. After receiving a chorus of "anything is fine," he called up to the second floor, "Gengar, what do you want to eat?"
There was no response.
Victor called out twice more, but still, there was only silence.
"Strange. Where's Gengar?" Victor was confused. He looked at Laura and the others. "Laura, have you seen Gengar?"
Laura simply glanced toward the front door behind Victor.
Puzzled, Victor turned his head and saw Gengar, holding its small bag, leaving the Breeding House with its head hung low.
Remembering Gengar's gloomy mood all day, Victor stared at its retreating back.
[Gengar]
[Type: Ghost, Poison]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Cursed Body]
[Known Moves: Mean Look, Shadow Punch, Shadow Ball, Confuse Ray, Psychic, Lick, Hypnosis, Hex, Destiny Bond, Phantom Force, Shadow Clone.]
[Mood: Sad, Heartbroken, Reluctant]
[Status: Pained, On the verge of an emotional breakdown]
[Friendship: 99 (I don't want to leave Victor)]
[Introduction: Its desire to be with someone has reached its peak. Upon learning that after the Breeding House is built, he will find his own Pokémon to be with him, it knows it's time to leave, even if its heart is filled with reluctance.]
"He's probably going to find some obedient Pokémon..."
Victor read the status window, then looked at Gengar's lonely figure, and his heart ached.
"Hey, Gengar."
Gengar turned around and saw Victor leaning against the doorway, watching it, the same gentle smile on his face.
"Gengar?"
"Before you go, can you do me a favor? It's really important to me."
Hearing that it was important to Victor, Gengar nodded emphatically.
"You know, now that the Breeding House is built, I need a Pokémon to be with me. And, well, I've found a Pokémon that I really, really like. I want it to help me."
Hearing this, Gengar's heart sank.
"Gengar..."
"It must be very happy..."
"But," Victor continued, "I was planning to wait until all this work was done to ask if it would stay and help me. But when I finally finished, just as I was about to ask, it thought I wanted to find a different Pokémon, and it decided to leave quietly on its own."
"I really like it. Can you help me ask it for you? Ask if it would be willing to stay and help me run this Breeding House together."
"Gengar?" Gengar looked at Victor, tears welling up in its eyes.
Victor's smile was genuine, his expression sincere, and the way he looked at Gengar was incredibly gentle.
He nodded at Gengar.
"GENGAR!!!"
Gengar shot directly toward Victor.
This time, Victor didn't need the system to know what Gengar meant.
It was saying, "I'm willing."
"Agh, stop licking me, it's all slobber, stop it!" Victor cried, his face covered in saliva. Unable to take it anymore, he playfully tugged Gengar's small tail.
Psssssshhhh~
Watching Gengar deflate like a balloon again, Victor burst into laughter.
This was the playful understanding they shared.
Then, Victor took out the red-and-white Poké Ball he had won from the lottery and held it in his hand, looking at the now-reinflated Gengar.
They looked at each other, no words needed.
Gengar flew over, tapped the Poké Ball with its small hand, and dissolved into a red beam of light that shot inside.
Victor looked at the Poké Ball in his hand.
Ding!
A perfect catch!
"So this is... what it feels like to catch a Pokémon?"
Victor grinned, then struck a dramatic pose.
"Gengar, I got you!"
"Gengar!"
Gengar popped out of the ball and immediately tackled Victor, giving him another frantic licking.
"Okay, okay, stop licking! I get it, I get it!" Victor finally managed to pull Gengar off his face.
Laura and Jenny watched the interaction between Victor and Gengar, their eyes filled with warmth and relief.
Victor told Gengar to go play with Laura and the others, then apologized to them, explaining that he needed to take a shower after getting covered in saliva before he could properly host them.
Watching Gengar quickly start playing with Laura, Jenny, and Growlithe, Victor smiled happily and went back to his room to shower.
After showering, he came downstairs and found a new, yet familiar, figure had joined the group playing with Gengar.
It was a figure in a familiar nurse's uniform with a head of pink hair.
Nurse Joy.