Looking at the eggs before him, most of which could be considered quite rare, Victor was blooming with joy.
Still, he had to ask.
"Is this really okay, Jenny?"
"Stop being so wishy-washy. What are you worried about?" Jenny gave Victor a light smack on the back of the head.
"You're the one who defeated those guys, and these are the Pokémon Eggs we confiscated. Everyone saw your contribution. Besides, the League already took back all the pseudo-legendary eggs. You can have your pick of the rest."
"Actually, I wanted to bring a pseudo-legendary egg for you, but the League wouldn't allow it. They said they could only entrust them to larger Breeding Houses. But Joy and I both vouched for you. Next time we have a spare pseudo-legendary egg, you'll be the first one we consider," she said, sighing before she continued.
Hearing that she and Joy had vouched for him, Victor felt a warmth spread through his chest.
If they said he'd be the first to be considered, then he likely would be. After all, the names "Jenny" and "Joy" were not ordinary family names.
"Thank you, and thank Joy for me, too."
"What's there to thank? Just make some more delicious food for me next time. Now hurry up and pick. I have to take the rest to Professor Rowan's lab later," Jenny said with a laugh.
Victor nodded and bent down to make his selections.
Watching the focused Victor, Jenny thought back on the events of the past few days and nodded with a sense of satisfaction.
"After all, as a big sister, I have to fight for better treatment for my little brother, don't I?"
Hearing this, Victor just smiled.
Sincere feelings never require many words.
From a 90% discount on eggs to now getting first pick for free.
All the things that had happened in between needed no words.
Like Meloetta's song, it slowly flowed into the heart, nourishing and beautiful.
Victor carefully selected twenty eggs. First and foremost was the Eevee egg, followed by the Magby, Scyther, Rhyhorn, Gligar, and other slightly more common Pokémon Eggs.
"All done?"
"Mhm."
"Alright then."
"By the way, Jenny, did you see the backyard when you came in?"
"What about it?"
"The forest is back to normal."
"?!"
Jenny was stunned by his words. She quickly went back to the yard but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Victor led her up to the second-floor balcony. Looking out, the distant forest was lush and green.
"What... what happened?"
Following Victor back down, Jenny asked in disbelief.
She followed his gaze and saw a Celebi flying in the air, directing Shana and the Machoke as they arranged stones.
"Is that a Celebi? I was a little confused when I came over to chat with Shana just now. I thought I was mistaken."
Victor just smiled and explained, "Last night, the Vespiquen took us to the forest to see a grand emergence. The Celebi was drawn over by it. It used its power to help me restore the forest to its original state."
"Celebi," Victor called out softly.
The Celebi flew over.
"Cele~"
Shana and the others glanced over, but seeing it had nothing to do with them, they went back to their work.
Victor introduced Jenny to the Celebi. Jenny, holding the Petilil, looked at the adorable Pokémon.
"Thank you, Celebi," she said with a sincere, grateful smile.
Feeling the genuine emotion from her, Celebi happily flew a few circles around her.
This was why it loved it here so much. A place full of love and sincerity was the most attractive place for both people and Pokémon.
Shana called for Celebi. It covered its mouth, said its goodbyes to them, and then returned to Shana's side to continue helping.
Jenny fiddled with the Petilil's leaves, her eyes fixed on Victor.
"What is it, Jenny?" Victor asked weakly, feeling a little scared under her intense stare.
"Did you... catch that Celebi?"
Hearing her question, Victor shook his head.
"No."
He continued, "Celebi is revered as a guardian of the forest. It appears when the forest needs it. Its life is destined to be a constant journey through the river of time."
"It's free. This place will only be a temporary resting spot for it on its long journey."
Jenny nodded. "That's true. For such a cute Pokémon, just meeting it is a kind of fate, isn't it?"
"Mhm."
Victor and Jenny watched the Celebi, who was happily helping Shana, and they both smiled.
Back at the front, Jenny had her colleagues from the police station move the remaining eggs into their vehicle. After handing the Petilil back to Victor, she hopped onto her Arcanine.
"Keep up the good work, Victor. We'll be over for dinner in a couple of days."
"Don't worry, Jenny. You're always welcome."
Jenny gave him a light punch on the shoulder, then rode off on her Arcanine, the car with the Pokémon Eggs following behind.
Watching her leave, Victor returned to the Breeding House and looked at the Pokémon Eggs before him, unable to suppress his smile.
"This is wonderful, isn't it, Petilil?" he said softly, gently stroking the leaves on its head.
"Lili~" When Victor was happy, the Petilil was happy.
"Gengar, a little help!"
Gengar put its Cat's Ear crisps in a safe spot and helped Victor move all the Pokémon Eggs into the incubator room, placing them one by one. It then took out a clean towel and carefully wiped each egg.
"We'll have money after we sell these eggs, Gengar, Petilil."
"Gengar—"
I'm going to buy more delicious food (๑´ڡ`๑).
"Lili~"
Victor placed the Petilil on the counter. "Petilil, I'll be counting on you to help me watch the shop for a bit longer."
"Lili~"
Victor then went into the kitchen to try and make some new snacks.
He saw Gengar, still eating its crisps, following him without missing a beat.
"What do you want?" Victor stared at it.
"Gengar—" Gengar tossed two crisps into its mouth and pointed to the bamboo shoots lying on the ground in the backyard.
"I'll prepare those for you later."
"Gengar..."
Seeing Gengar squatting in a corner, drawing circles on the ground, Victor rolled his eyes.
"If you're going to pretend, can you at least make it look convincing? Who sulks while still stuffing their face with crisps?"
"Gengar—"
Crunch.
"Get up."
"Gengar..."
I don't wanna.
"Get up first."
"Gengar."
I'm not listening.
"Fine then. I was going to try making a new snack first and then deal with the bamboo shoots, so we could eat both at the same time. Since a certain Pokémon doesn't need any, I'll just go ask Dali if it wants some."
Victor sighed with regret and opened the window.
"Da—mmph..."
Gengar covered Victor's mouth and waved at the Machoke, who had looked over.
"Done pretending?"
Prying Gengar's hand off, Victor licked his lips. They tasted salty and savory from the crisps. He gritted his teeth and pulled Gengar's mouth wide.
"Ge... Gengar..."
"Come on and help me work, you lazy bum."
"Gengar!"
"Put the crisps away first."
"Gengar—"
No way!
...
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