That night, after finishing his Fire-type breeding course with the old man, Wayne returned to his room.
On a cold winter night, Wayne leaned against Arcanine, using it as a pillow.
Arcanine didn't feel a thing—its massive head rested on its paws as it snored away peacefully.
Wayne's Arcanine was typically a homebody by nature.
During the day, it would run wild in the suburbs, returning punctually in the afternoon, and at night, it would eat and sleep contentedly.
Most people in Celestic Town knew Arcanine well, but in Jubilife City, Wayne or Lucario had to walk it properly.
After taking a shower, Wayne used the random Pokémon item lottery ticket he had received from completing a side quest.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Tamato berry × 3."
Goodness, are you a berry vending machine too?
[Tamato berry: A bitter and spicy but highly nutritious berry. When made into an Energy Cube, Poffin, or other Pokémon food, it can enhance a Pokémon's Special Attack to a certain extent.]
Although it was a berry, the Tamato berry was a valuable and rare find, so it wasn't bad luck at all.
Moreover, the Tamato berry was a very spicy berry, and Lucario and Arcanine both enjoyed spicy food.
Though slightly bitter, it could be balanced by flavoring it with other berries.
An idea suddenly popped into Wayne's head.
"Hmm... Can I grow berries myself?"
The Tamato berry wasn't just a matter of price—it was extremely difficult to buy on the market. At least, Wayne had never been able to purchase any.
Common berries on the market were nothing more than Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Cheri Berries, and the like.
If he could grow them himself, Wayne would have a continuous supply of Tamato berry.
Wouldn't that mean he could use Tamato berries for every meal?
"No rush. I'll ask tomorrow."
Early in the morning, Wayne was woken up by Lucario.
(It's time to train.)
Mornings were Wayne's and his Pokémon's dedicated training time.
Yesterday, he had gone to help Sister Eden, so they hadn't trained.
He especially needed to formulate a breeding plan for Metang, which was currently the weakest member of his team.
Wayne wasn't particularly interested in becoming a Champion or a Battle Legend, but since he had caught these Pokémon, he should be responsible for them.
Metang genuinely wanted to become stronger.
The reason Metang had agreed to Wayne's request was that it had noticed how strong Lucario and Arcanine were.
Studying Metang's various data was also part of Wayne's training plan.
Metang couldn't train according to the physical training method like Wayne and Lucario did.
"Punch Arcanine with full power."
"Bika?"
"To test your strength."
Metang used a full-power Bullet Punch!
It caused extremely slight damage to Arcanine. The standing Arcanine didn't even budge an inch.
"Awoo~" (Is that a tickle?)
"Next is Flash Cannon, against Lucario."
"Lucario, use Aura to defend."
Lucario crossed its arms in front of its body, and a shield of azure Aura power formed before it.
This was something only a very few Pokémon like Lucario could accomplish.
It was similar to a Pokémon's Protect move, but not quite the same.
Silver light gathered in front of Metang, and a silver beam as thick as a thigh poured onto the Aura shield.
"Next are speed and stamina tests. Run back and forth in the yard ten times."
Gengar, who had been cultivating through the night, curiously watched Wayne and Metang's testing session.
After gaining a basic understanding of Metang's various data, Wayne formulated a breeding plan.
Currently, the main focus would be on training the advanced move Psychic from Confusion, and also the Steel-type move Meteor Mash.
Metang's stamina was decent. Iron Defense, Light Screen, and Protect—none could be missed. All had to be learned.
Lucario would lead the training sessions.
Wayne's responsibility was to provide them with suitable Pokémon food.
Metang's evolved form, Metagross, although its Special Attack was far inferior to its Attack stat, could still be assisted in training with Tamato berry.
As long as there were enough berries, he could completely raise his Metagross as a mixed attacker.
"Alright, let's start training."
Three hours later, Wayne approached the old man, who was gardening.
"Growing Tamato berry?"
"Yes, do you know how to grow them?"
The old man gave him an annoyed glance.
"Who are you looking down on? But the soil in Celestic Town isn't suitable for growing them. There's a reason why Tamato berry are rare. They're hard to grow and require specific planting times. They can only be planted from March to May, though usually, they're planted from June to August."
Wayne pressed on, "Then where is the soil suitable?"
Identifying berries was also an important breeding course.
The old man listed them for Wayne.
"Eterna Forest, and beyond the mountains north of Celestic Town—both can grow them. The most important thing is the soil. It needs to be loose, breathable, well-drained, slightly moist but not waterlogged. It also requires six to eight hours of sunlight daily. In short, it's very difficult to grow, and the roots can rot easily."
In front of the old man, Wayne didn't dare call himself a berry expert at all.
He had a long way to go on the path of becoming a Breeder.
Only then did the old man realize something.
"Wait, talking so much—do you actually have Tamato berry?"
"I really do."
Wayne took out the Tamato berry from his backpack.
The Tamato berry looked somewhat like a dragon fruit.
The old man, who had initially been dismissive, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and let out an impressed "Oh?"
"Such high-quality Tamato berry... Keep one, and I'll try to plant it in April or May. You can deal with the rest yourself."
"Alright, thank you, Grandpa."
The old man just looked at him coldly.
"Question time is over. Back to practice."
In the evening, Leon called to check on his son again.
Wayne's parents were completely hands-off with him most of the time.
Wayne answered the phone.
"Son, why did you suddenly come back to Celestic Town?"
"I came back to study with Grandpa. I plan to take the Breeder certification exam."
"Son, don't think negatively! Although we owe your uncle's family some money..."
Wayne had been helping at home before, but he had never taken the certification exam.
"What are you talking about? Stop, stop, stop!"
Wayne quickly stopped his dad's overthinking.
"I found cooking and breeding quite interesting."
"That's wonderful!"
A Breeding House with a yard, relying solely on Leon and Meiyue, might not be enough staff.
Wayne had previously shown little interest in Pokémon breeding, and they hadn't wanted to force Wayne to take over or help.
Now that Wayne was willing to help, it saved them a sum of money.
And the family could stay together, so Leon was naturally happy.
"Son, you've finally grown up!"
Leon covered his face, looking as if he was crying tears of joy.
Wayne sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You make it sound like I was so unfilial before!"
The flesh on Leon's face jiggled with his laughter.
"Study hard, son. I believe in you! I'm going to tell your mom this good news."
On the sixteenth day of returning to Celestic Town, Wayne's knife skills finally barely received the approval of Instructor Onion, and he also registered for the Breeder assessment.
The Breeding House was also undergoing renovations in full swing, and it could open in less than a month.
Next, Wayne was going to do something big!