After chatting with Blue and the others for a while and learning detailed information about the Breeder Competition, Wayne put down his phone and looked at the system's virtual status panel. A new side quest had appeared:
Raise Fame (Optional): Represent the Jubilife Breeding Center in the 24th Youth Breeder Competition and achieve at least a top 8 finish!
Reward: Issued based on final competition results.
Jubilife Breeding Center.
That afternoon.
Wayne watched as Lucario resolved a minor dispute between two young Pokémon by gently pouring some of his own food into Pichu's bowl.
"Pichu~" (๑＞＜๑)
Pichu joyfully buried his tiny head in the food bowl, which was almost as large as his entire body.
Pichu, with his pair of characteristically large ears, was an adorably cute Pokémon—not even as tall as Lucario's ankle.
Alan laughed warmly and observed, "Lucario is remarkably good at taking care of others."
Leon nodded with paternal pride. "Lucario was already extremely good at taking care of others back when he was still just a Riolu."
"He even took care of Growlithe when that troublemaker first arrived at our home, which is why Arcanine is now also very skilled at taking care of other Pokémon."
Arcanine was currently using his large, fan-like tail to playfully tease a pink Jigglypuff.
"Jiggly~ Jiggly~" (❁´◡`❁)✲ﾟ
Of course, this wasn't one of those Jigglypuff who could use the move Sing and put everyone to sleep.
On the other hand, Metagross and Drakloak were both somewhat at a loss when it came to caring for the boarded Pokémon.
"Meta!" Metagross vocalized with determination.
(Processing data, diligently recording behavioral patterns!)
At this moment, Metagross floated stationary in place, its dark red eyes constantly flashing with scrolling text like computer code.
Metagross was carefully learning and analyzing how Lucario and Arcanine took care of younger Pokémon and recalling Wayne's past caregiving methods.
(Be gentle with movements... remember to smile...)
(Data processing complete, learning successful!)
"Meta!" ୧꒰•̀ᴗ•́꒱୨
Drakloak simply gave up on the challenging task entirely. He was still very much a mama's boy and flew directly back to his mother, Dragapult, for comfort.
Of course, this caregiving situation had developed because Wayne was currently busy with other tasks.
This was precisely why Lucario and the others were stepping up to take care of the young Pokémon.
Lucario had proactively offered to help Wayne with some of his regular work duties.
While they couldn't perform complex Pokémon grooming services, taking care of young Pokémon or teaching battle moves was well within their natural capabilities.
Taking care of young Pokémon was also a paid service offering at the Breeding Center, similar to student daycare programs.
And so, this heartwarming scene had naturally unfolded.
Claire pushed up her glasses and said sternly to the men, "What are you two still chatting about? Get back to work!"
"Yes ma'am!" they chorused.
Leon instantly began swinging his hoe with such speed it practically smoked.
Alan covered his face dramatically and exclaimed, "Oh no! An employee is urging the boss to work harder!"
Claire rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
"Stop complaining so much. You too, hurry up and get moving!"
"Understood!" Alan responded.
Alan immediately stood at attention with military precision.
Although Leon was technically the nominal boss and owner, he was usually far too approachable and friendly, so those familiar with him didn't really treat him as an authority figure.
It wasn't Wayne who ran things day-to-day, but rather Fumie, who managed all the accounts and finances.
Coronet Breeding House's aggressive price war offensive had still produced some negative impact on the Breeding Center.
Business had been noticeably much slower these past two days.
However, Leon still displayed his characteristic optimistic spirit and suggested they take advantage of the downtime by renovating the outdoor area.
Some terrain sections needed to be leveled and smoothed out.
This was routine maintenance combined with targeted adjustments.
And part of the land needed to be tilled properly for planting vegetables.
Alan took the enthusiastic lead in this physical labor matter.
He would actually get anxious if others tried to take his place working.
As for Leon, his participation was purely because he was getting too overweight.
And his wife Fumie had specifically instructed him to do the physical work himself for exercise.
"Huff huff huff~~~" Leon's breathing was more labored than a working bellows.
Looking at Alan, who was sweating profusely but still completely full of fighting spirit, Leon leaned heavily on his hoe, feeling very envious.
"Alan, how do you manage to stay so full of fighting spirit all the time?" Leon asked with genuine curiosity.
Alan scratched his head thoughtfully.
"Me? Well, you'd better listen very carefully to this technique."
"Okay, okay, tell me quickly," Leon said eagerly.
Leon pulled out a small notebook to take notes.
"Hey, that's your grudge-keeping notebook. Get a different one," Alan pointed out.
"Alright, go ahead then," Leon said, switching notebooks.
Alan clenched both fists with intense focus.
"First, like this—'Wah!'—and then..." Alan demonstrated dramatically.
Alan suddenly let out a powerful "Owooo!" roar toward the sky.
"And then, with a 'Pa!' sound, power and fighting spirit surge forth from within!" Alan explained with passion.
Incineroar, standing nearby, perfectly mimicked and repeated the exact same actions as Alan.
"Holy crap, I'm actually fired up now!" Leon exclaimed with amazement.
Leon looked at Alan and Incineroar, both now literally engulfed in fighting spirit flames, and felt utterly bewildered by the sudden wind of motivation.
"Machamp, we still need to learn this technique properly," Leon said to his partner.
"Machamp! Machamp!" his Pokémon responded enthusiastically.
Wayne was indeed busy with two main priorities.
The first priority was accompanying the traumatized police Arcanine by taking him out to run in the wilderness areas.
Although Arcanine was clearly very scared during these outings, he was still willing to run in the wild, which represented good news for Wayne's treatment plan.
Arcanine's psychological problem was actually much less troublesome than Feebas's case, mainly because Wayne knew his specific trigger.
Arcanine's PTSD had been caused by a flash bomb, combined with a coordinated group of Electrode using Self-Destruct at close range.
This traumatic experience had also made Arcanine strongly prefer dark corners for safety.
But as long as those specific triggers were avoided, Arcanine could still live relatively like a normal Pokémon.
Wayne didn't intend for Arcanine to regain his full confidence and return to active police force duty. Living peacefully like this was good enough.
Because no matter how much protection and psychological recovery treatment, Arcanine's PTSD symptoms could erupt unpredictably at any time like a ticking time bomb.
This would not be conducive to him performing dangerous police tasks, potentially harming both Arcanine himself and other officers.
So Wayne only hoped to cure his worst symptoms and allow him to live a normal, peaceful life.
The other main priority was researching recipes in the Special Cuisine collection. His sixth video was set to feature Mapo Tofu (B-rank).
Wayne had already officially registered for the Senior Breeder assessment examination and would be able to take it in five days.
Wayne also planned to participate in the 24th Youth Breeder Competition being held in Hearthome City.
This competition would not only allow him to gain valuable proficiency and experience,
but it would also significantly enhance the Breeding Center's reputation and visibility.
Because when Breeders registered for competition, they needed to fill in which Breeding House or Breeding Center they represented and belonged to.
As long as Wayne could successfully make it into the top eight finalists, the name "Jubilife Breeding Center" would appear in multi-regional television broadcasts.
There was also the system's side quest "Raise Fame," with rewards that depended entirely on the final outcome.
If Wayne could somehow win the Championship title, the reward would naturally be the highest possible, and it would also make Jubilife Breeding Center instantly famous overnight.
Moreover, Hearthome City was located just east of Jubilife City.
It was a quick trip by train or by flying Pokémon. Metagross flying at full speed would take less than two hours total.
As for Feebas's ongoing psychological problem, Wayne was still patiently waiting for Milotic's Trainer to arrive.
"Strange, she's not someone who breaks her word, so why hasn't she arrived yet?" Wayne muttered with concern.
At the time, she and Wayne had agreed that she would come visit after finishing her personal affairs in a few days, but several days had already passed.
Wayne shook his head. "Never mind, I won't rush or pressure her for now. After all, I'm the one asking her for help."
He began to fully immerse himself in the research and development of perfecting Mapo Tofu.
During this extended period, he had watched the complete process of making Mapo Tofu countless times on repeat.
First, put the precisely cut tofu cubes into salted boiling water and simmer over low heat to remove the unpleasant beany smell.
Heat the wok properly with cold oil, then pour in the minced beef...
And then stir-fry the various seasonings in another separate step.
The process required careful attention and precise timing.
When thickening the sauce for the first time, add the cooked minced meat and fresh garlic sprouts as a flavorful topping. There were three separate thickening steps in total.
Finally, add a generous amount of aromatic Sichuan peppercorn powder.
Wayne carefully plated the finished dish.
Mapo Tofu (B-rank)
The system notification confirmed his success!
Wayne couldn't help but raise both arms high in triumph. "Success!"