Chapter 4: A Visitor from Afar
"Kyuu~"
Bewear's body was fluffy and warm, just like a giant plush doll.
Kenji paused for a moment, his terrified heart gradually calming down.
"I'm alright now, it was just a nightmare," he said slowly.
"Kyuu...?"
Bewear slowly released its hug. The bright, clear moonlight shone in from the window, and the boy and the Pokémon sat facing each other in the dim light. Bewear blinked its eyes, looking somewhat puzzled. From its expression, it seemed to have noticed something different about its young master.
Kenji: "..."
He opened his mouth, on the verge of telling Bewear the truth—that its original master was dead, having left the world with his parents. But looking into Bewear's eyes, Kenji couldn't bring himself to say it. Such a harsh reality would perhaps be too cruel for this Bewear.
"I just dreamed about them..." Kenji changed his story.
"Kyuu?!"
Bewear immediately understood who "they" referred to.
Kenji continued, "They said... they want us to live our lives well. Although it's very sad, I think if we keep going on like this, Mom and Dad would be very sad if they knew, right?"
Bewear's eyes flickered as it stared blankly at him. "Kyuu..."
"So, Bewear, starting tomorrow, let's live our lives to the fullest together! I've decided to reopen the breeding center, just like Mom and Dad, and bring back the lively atmosphere it once had!" Kenji said with firm resolution.
"Kyuu..." Bewear stared, stunned for a moment, before a wide smile bloomed across its face. "Kyuu!"
Wonderful!
Young master has finally moved on!
No problem!
It would also work hard to help its young master and restore the breeding center to its former bustling state!
Bewear pulled Kenji into a tight hug.
"Alright, alright, let's get back to sleep. We have a lot of work waiting for us tomorrow," Kenji sighed softly, then hugged Bewear back and patted its back.
From now on, he was Kenji, and Kenji was him.
"Kyuu!"
Having once been the butler of the breeding center, Bewear knew well how hard the work would be. It had to get a good rest tonight. If it rested well, it could do more work, which meant its young master could do less!
The food young master bought today doesn't seem to be enough for us. Hmm, I'll go out into the forest to forage tomorrow morning and bring back more food! Bewear thought to itself.
Only after Bewear had fallen asleep did Kenji have time to reflect on the strange dream. His feelings were incredibly complex. Was that... the original Kenji and his parents sending him a message through his dream?
He wasn't surprised that souls existed in the Pokémon world; after all, this world had a place known as the "Spirit World." The original Kenji knew that his actions had wronged Bewear, which was why he had asked him to take care of it.
However, what puzzled Kenji was that the original's mother, that rebellious Officer Jenny, seemed to have said in the dream that she had left a thank you gift for him.
Was it this breeding center?
Kenji wasn't sure. The truth would only be slowly unveiled the next morning, when a police motorcycle pulled up in front of the building.
Early the next morning, when Kenji woke up, he couldn't find Bewear anywhere in the breeding center. He searched for a while and soon heard Bewear's cry from outside.
He went out to see Bewear standing by the door, holding a huge pile of berries.
Kenji was taken aback. "Where did you find all these berries?"
"Kyuu~!"
Bewear put the berries down. It had picked all of them from the forest in the wild! This way, they wouldn't have to worry about going hungry! The orphanage had people to prepare delicious food for them, but now that they had left, they had to learn to provide for themselves!
Kenji quickly understood. The breeding center was located in a wild forest, which meant it was surrounded by abundant natural resources—not just a variety of wild Pokémon, but also a rich assortment of berries and other wild foods.
"Amazing!" Kenji genuinely felt that this Bewear was incredibly reliable. In this aspect, it wasn't much like a Bewear, but more like an Audino.
Bewear didn't think much of it. It was about to put the berries down when the sound of a police motorcycle approached from the distance.
Kenji and Bewear turned their heads to see an Officer Jenny in uniform, with an Arcanine following behind her, parking her motorcycle in front of the breeding center.
Kenji: "?"
Jenny Jun studied the boy before her, her feelings complicated. Although she had seen him many times, this was probably the first time they had truly interacted in a meaningful way.
Ten years ago, a Jenny who was supposed to become an outstanding police officer left the family in pursuit of love and her dream of becoming a breeder, marrying a common man. The two opened a breeding center here and had a son.
Unexpectedly, three years ago, the couple met with a shipwreck, leaving their child alone in the world.
Before the accident, that Jenny had submitted an application to the family, hoping to request a Growlithe egg for her son, to be given to him on his tenth birthday.
The elders of the Jenny clan had initially refused. But after the shipwreck, looking at the child who had lost his parents, they finally agreed.
Three years ago, someone from the family had come here to invite the boy named Kenji to join them, but he had unexpectedly refused, saying he didn't want to leave the place where his parents had lived. He ended up in an orphanage.
The shipwreck resulted in a huge compensation payout for the victims' relatives, but a seven-year-old child had no way of managing so much money. To prevent ill-intentioned people from targeting him, the Jenny family stepped in to manage it, donating a sum of money to Kenji's orphanage every month, just so that Kenji and the other children could eat well and dress warmly.
And now, Kenji had finally turned ten, the age he could become a trainer. It was time for the Jenny family to return the compensation money and the promised Growlithe egg to this child.
"Hello, Kenji. It's nice to properly meet you. I am Jenny Jun," she introduced herself.
"Officer... Jenny?" Kenji was a bit stunned, not quite understanding the purpose of her visit. Could it be a problem with the ownership rights of the breeding center?
But in the next second, he saw Jenny Jun turn around and take out a Pokémon egg with flame-shaped patterns from a compartment on her motorcycle.
Kenji's gaze rested on it for a moment, and information about the egg immediately appeared in his mind.
[Growlithe Egg: A Pokémon egg that can hatch a Fire-type Pokémon, Growlithe.]
[Health: Healthy]
[Father: Arcanine (Elite Four-level)]
[Mother: Arcanine (Elite Four-level)]
[Hatching Progress: 27/30]