Jubilife City, Coronet Breeding House
The place was decorated as festively as if it were New Year's, with a prominent sign at the entrance announcing 30% off everything.
Coronet Breeding House was a well-known chain, with branches visible throughout major towns across Sinnoh.
However, only ten were directly owned, with the remainder being franchises.
The Coronet Breeding House in Jubilife City operated as a franchise.
As a franchise, Balu, the store manager, didn't need to report to the regional manager to launch a major promotion.
On Saturday morning, Balu, dressed in a custom-made new suit, greeted new customers with a broad smile.
The employees of Coronet Breeding House were similarly dressed, wearing new uniforms and lined up in a V-formation, as if anticipating a flood of customers.
To motivate his employees, Balu had also increased their commissions.
Employees received commissions for customers who purchased membership cards, bought Pokemon Eggs, or added various services.
Balu was originally quite miserly, with pitifully low commission rates.
With the increase in commissions, the employees were eager to begin working.
The first few days went well. The discounts and promotions indeed attracted more customers.
Balu had prepared himself for initial losses, but he planned to use this opportunity to eliminate other Breeding Houses, including Breeding Centers.
In Balu's estimation, the losses were only temporary. As long as he could crush the other Breeding Houses, wouldn't the market in Jubilife City be his to command from then on?
Coronet Company's automated warehouse, supply chain management, and unified procurement and distribution system were Balu's sources of confidence.
These systems could give him a tremendous advantage in terms of cost.
What made Coca-Cola and PepsiCo powerful wasn't their formulas, but their efficient supply chains.
They could drive costs down to the absolute minimum, sell cheaply while still profiting, whereas other companies couldn't.
But surprisingly, today, for an extended period, no customers arrived.
"You two, take a standee each and go out to promote!"
The two employees Balu called out, looking utterly defeated, took the standees and departed.
Around ten o'clock, customers finally arrived—a father and son.
Balu himself had abandoned the comfort of the heated interior and stepped outside to attract customers.
Seeing customers approach, Balu offered his most sincere smile.
"Welcome! We're running a major discount promotion right now—30% off everything, with even more discounts if you spend above a certain amount!"
The promotional strategy proved somewhat effective, and gradually, customers began entering the Breeding House with their Pokemon.
However, not long after, an employee approached Balu, panting heavily.
"Boss, please come and see! The situation is extremely chaotic right now. It seems like a serious problem has emerged!"
A father and son, a woman with a Purugly, a young couple...
Balu first addressed the father and son's issue because the child was crying.
"Do you have Gible here?"
"..."
Balu was stunned.
You're making this incredibly difficult for me!
How could Gible just be casually available like that?!
Even the directly owned stores didn't sell Gible.
Balu rubbed his hands together, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, esteemed guests. We don't have Gible in stock, but we do have Eevee, Vulpix..."
"I only want Gible!"
The child, held by his father, rudely interrupted Balu.
He's still just a child!
Balu gritted his teeth and suppressed his temper, continuing to smile apologetically. "Can you tell me why you want Gible specifically?"
"I won't tell you!"
"No Gible... then never mind. Let's go."
The middle-aged father departed with his child.
Actually, the middle-aged father had never intended to make a purchase.
He knew he couldn't obtain one, but the child had been crying and throwing a tantrum, so he had to make the trip. Otherwise, the child would never give up.
Why did it have to be Gible?
Balu couldn't comprehend it.
Was it because of Cynthia?
Speaking of Gible, one couldn't help but mention Cynthia's ace Pokemon, Garchomp.
"Just tell me! Can it be cheaper or not?!"
The middle-aged woman's voice grew increasingly loud.
"Esteemed guest, how may I assist you?"
Leading a plump Purugly, the middle-aged woman possessed a build remarkably similar to her Pokemon.
The middle-aged woman glanced disdainfully at Balu. "Who are you?"
Balu noticed the resemblance between her and Purugly—even their eyes appeared strikingly similar.
"Hello, I am Balu, the manager of the Coronet Breeding House Jubilife branch. If you have any..."
Balu extended his business card.
The middle-aged woman roughly pushed his hand away. "No need for that. I don't need anything else. I just want to ask you—can this Glameow be sold cheaper?"
The middle-aged woman had taken a liking to a Glameow, but a conflict had arisen over the price.
"Esteemed guest, Glameow normally sells for 300,000 here, but with the 30% discount, it's only..."
The middle-aged woman waved her large, fan-like hand, nearly delivering what resembled a palm strike.
"Stop! I just asked if you can sell it for 100,000!"
Good heavens!
Balu couldn't help but exclaim internally, "Good heavens!"
Who bargains like that?!
Balu suppressed his rising anger, maintaining a slight smile. "Esteemed guest, 100,000 is really... If you truly want it, I can offer it to you for 200,000."
The middle-aged woman waved her hand dismissively again. "Don't smile—it's disgusting. One question: 100,000, will you sell it or not?"
"Esteemed guest..."
"Not selling, right? Goodbye!"
The middle-aged woman turned and walked away. Though she appeared plump, she moved with surprising swiftness.
Balu hurriedly chased after her. "Esteemed guest, we still have relatively cheaper Pokemon in our store! You can even purchase one for 100,000!"
"Can a Pokemon originally priced at 300,000 compare to one originally priced at 150,000? My Purugly calculates better than you!"
"Meow~"
Purugly also cast Balu a disdainful glance.
The middle-aged woman led her Purugly away, leaving Balu with an inscrutable silhouette.
"..."
Balu was utterly flustered.
Having witnessed these two incidents, before Balu could resolve the issues, the young couple also prepared to leave.
"Esteemed guests, why are you leaving already?"
The woman tossed out a remark. "Your store is too unprofessional. Let's go somewhere else."
The man added, "Let's visit Jubilife Breeding Center instead. Although it's slightly more expensive, even the Champion goes there..."
The woman's eyes lit up. "Let's go check it out! Maybe we can even see the Champion!"
The young couple walked further and further away.
Balu's anger became increasingly difficult to contain. He gritted his teeth. "Tell me, what did they want just now?"
"They asked if they could visit our breeding grounds, but we can't allow that!"
"Did you show them photographs?"
"We did! But they insisted on seeing the actual grounds!"
Balu was at a complete loss.
Coronet Breeding House was merely a sales point.
The actual breeding grounds were located in the suburbs of towns where land prices were relatively cheaper, and Pokemon could be transported there directly via Poke Ball.
"Never mind. I don't care anymore. Continue serving the other customers."
As long as Jubilife Breeding Center didn't sell Pokemon Eggs and Pokemon, it wouldn't pose a threat to Coronet Breeding House.
Possessing what others lacked—this was the core competitive advantage.
However, a young girl Balu served next successfully broke his composure.
"Have you ever hosted a Champion's Pokemon here?"
"..."
"No, right? Then I'm leaving."
Balu desperately wanted to ask:
What kind of Champion are you looking for?!
"What happened?! Investigate this for me immediately!"