Chapter 7: Kenji's Breeding Center, Officially Open!
Hoenn Region, Fallarbor Town, Contest Hall.
Ariel was very troubled lately. The reason was her Eevee. No matter what, it just couldn't seem to learn a Fairy-type move.
The Pokémon known as Eevee has extremely unstable genes. They can evolve into completely different forms due to the influence of their environment, specific energies, or the time of day.
Ariel and her Eevee's dream was to become the world's number one Pokémon Coordinator. Ever since it hatched and became self-aware, her Eevee had been striving to evolve into a Sylveon. But so far, it had not achieved any positive results.
"At this rate, we're going to miss this year's Contest!" Ariel fretted.
"Eievui..."
The little Eevee was also very discouraged. Being unable to evolve into a Sylveon put it in a terrible mood.
Seeing this, Ariel gently rubbed Eevee's little head and comforted it, "Don't be sad, you've already worked very hard!"
Although she said that, Ariel was also a bit worried that Eevee might evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon for other reasons.
Ryu, a trainer traveling with Ariel, suggested, "Why don't we find a Pokémon Breeder to help?"
A Breeder...
Ariel suddenly remembered the breeding center she had seen on the way to Fallarbor Town two days ago. Generally speaking, breeding centers could also help teach Pokémon certain moves. The problem was, that place looked very run-down, as if it had been abandoned for a long time. She had no idea if it would work and didn't feel very confident about it.
But at this point, she had no other options. Fallarbor Town was mostly filled with trainers and coordinators. They didn't know any skilled breeders who could help teach an Eevee a Fairy-type move.
Fine, I'll go take a look first. If it works, it works. If not, we'll find another way!
Ariel made her decision. She immediately left the town and headed west along the road she had come from. After spending a considerable amount of time, she finally saw the familiar building up ahead.
"Huh? Is it just my imagination? It feels like this place has changed so much!"
Ariel walked closer, only to realize it wasn't her imagination at all. The entire breeding center had been completely renovated. An "OPEN" sign hung on the door, and to the right, there was a small blackboard listing the services the center currently offered.
[Breeding Center Main Business]
[1. Pokémon Fostering]
[2. Moves Currently Available for Tutoring: Baby-Doll Eyes, Tackle.]
[3. Rare Items for Trade: Common Stone, Big Root.]
[4. Food and Lodging]
Ariel's eyes were immediately drawn to "Baby-Doll Eyes."
Baby-Doll Eyes, a Fairy-type move! If her Eevee could learn it, it could successfully evolve into a Sylveon!
"Owner!"
Ariel cried out in excitement, pushing the door open and shouting inside.
Kenji, who was reading a book on Pokémon care, looked up to see a familiar green-haired girl appear at the door. It was the same trainer who had passed by his entrance two days ago, holding an Eevee.
"Welcome," Kenji said.
Ariel rushed forward excitedly and asked, "Owner, can you really teach Baby-Doll Eyes here?"
"Of course," Kenji replied with a slight smile.
"I want to learn it!" Ariel said immediately.
However, in the next second, Ryu and Hikaru, who had come with her, quickly pulled her aside. The three of them began to whisper loudly.
"Hey, don't you guys think this is a little weird?"
"This breeding center is so empty!"
A normal breeding center would usually have many Pokémon being raised, but this place only had a single Bewear. What was even stranger was that the so-called owner looked like a little kid. Was he even ten years old?
Everyone knew that teaching a Pokémon a move was not an easy task. Even experienced, veteran breeders wouldn't dare to claim they could guarantee a Pokémon would learn a specific move. Could this little kid in front of them, who was even younger than they were, really do it?
"You don't think he's a fraud, do you?" Hikaru couldn't help but say.
Hikaru's reminder snapped Ariel back to her senses. The three of them turned to look at the owner behind the counter.
Kenji: "..."
He turned his gaze to the Eevee on the girl's shoulder and then slowly began to speak. "The Pokémon known as Eevee has extremely unstable genes. Everything from its surrounding environment to its bond with its trainer can cause it to evolve."
"A Fire Stone will make Eevee evolve into Flareon, a Water Stone into Vaporeon. An Eevee with a strong enough bond with its trainer will evolve into an Espeon during the day, or an Umbreon at night. As for Sylveon, its evolution conditions are quite strict."
Kenji paused here, then asked with a smile, "If I'm not mistaken, you want to learn Baby-Doll Eyes because you want this Eevee to evolve into a Sylveon, correct?"
Hearing this, the three friends were momentarily stunned. Hikaru, who was a junior breeder himself, was in disbelief.
So... so professional!
This was information that an ordinary ten-year-old boy should not be able to say! What was even more shocking was that although scholars in various regions were conducting research, there were still no precise answers for some of Eevee's evolution conditions.
Take Espeon, for example. People only knew that Eevee could evolve into Espeon during the day, and into Umbreon at night. But sometimes, an Eevee would evolve into Sylveon during the day instead...
Through comparative studies, scholars discovered that for an Eevee to evolve into Sylveon, it needed to know a Fairy-type move. But even then, they couldn't guarantee a 100% evolution into Sylveon even if the Eevee knew a Fairy-type move beforehand. There were plenty of cases where an Eevee knew a Fairy-type move but still evolved into an Espeon.
Friendship, the depth of the relationship with the trainer, can also affect Eevee's evolutionary form?
Yet this owner could state it with such certainty... Was he bluffing, or was all of this true? The former would be fine, but if it was the latter, that was a little terrifying. If these specific conditions were real, they would surely cause a huge stir. Who is this owner? Hikaru thought, shocked.
Ariel, however, wasn't thinking that deeply. Hearing Kenji's question, she nodded repeatedly. "That's right!"
Kenji smiled slightly. "Then, would you like to give it a try?"
Ariel asked, "How much does it cost to learn Baby-Doll Eyes?"
Kenji wasn't sure how other breeding centers priced their move tutoring services, as he hadn't had time to do any market research yet. So, he casually threw out a number.
"5,000 Pokédollars."
"5,000?!" Ariel exclaimed.
Kenji raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. Had he priced it too high?
However, in the next second, he heard Ariel say, "That's so cheap! The minimum for one move at other breeding centers is 10,000 Pokédollars!" And that wasn't even a guaranteed success.
Kenji's mind worked fast, and he immediately added, "Because you're the first customer since my breeding center opened, I'm giving you a discount."
"Wow!" Ariel's eyes widened.
What a steal!