Chapter 8: The Bewear Inn
[Pokémon: Eevee]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Adaptability]
[Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, Covet, Sand Attack]
[Status: Listless]
[Mood: 🌧️▒]
[Joy Value: -50]
[Friendship: 1 (You are strangers in this world)]
[Description: If I can't evolve into a beautiful Sylveon, I'm doomed! —Eevee.]
Kenji glanced at the Eevee on Ariel's shoulder and immediately saw the dark cloud floating above its little head. A torrential downpour was falling from the cloud, indicating that the Eevee's mood was extremely low. At the same time, the Eevee's information appeared in Kenji's eyes.
Kenji noticed that compared to two days ago, the Eevee's Joy Value had dropped again, from -20 down to -50. There was no doubt it was because of its inability to learn a Fairy-type move and evolve into Sylveon.
-50...
Kenji narrowed his eyes. If he fulfilled this Eevee's wish and helped it evolve, its Joy Value would probably skyrocket to an incredibly exaggerated level. What kind of generous reward would he receive then?
Watching Ariel get incredibly excited over the deal she thought she'd gotten, Kenji's feelings were somewhat complicated. Ariel thought she was the one who scored a bargain, but in reality, he was the one making a profit. Five thousand Pokédollars, plus a rare, unknown reward, all with no loss on his part.
"If you want to learn Baby-Doll Eyes, you'll need to leave your Eevee in the care of the breeding center. It will take about half a day. During this time, you can look around, or you can stay and rest here. We also provide food and lodging for guests," Kenji said.
For him, teaching a move was just a matter of thought, but to avoid suspicion, he decided to entrust the "work" to Bewear.
"Kyuu~!"
Kenji had already given Bewear its instructions in advance. Now that it had received the request, Bewear accepted it with pleasure.
Ariel paid the fee, handed her Eevee to Bewear, and then earnestly cheered it on. "You can do it, Eevee! I'll be waiting right here for you!"
"Eievui!" Eevee repeatedly indicated that it would do its best. It would seize this opportunity and work hard to learn Baby-Doll Eyes!
After watching Eevee and Bewear head to the backyard to begin the training, the three trainers finally noticed another small blackboard hanging behind the counter. It listed some simple food items and the cost of lodging.
[The Bewear Inn]
[5000 Pokédollars/Night]
[The Bewear Restaurant - Current Menu:]
[- Ramen: 800/bowl]
[- Congee: 300/bowl]
[- Berry Juice: 100/cup]
[- Sandwich: 500/serving]
[- Pokémon Snacks: 500/serving]
Since it would only take half a day, there was no need to stay overnight. The three of them simply ordered a few cups of Berry Juice and sat on the lobby sofa to rest and chat.
Kenji brought the Berry Juice to them. As of now, besides Bewear, he had no other Pokémon assistants, nor did he have the money to hire a waiter, so he had to do everything himself.
Watching the three of them chat, Kenji suddenly felt that something was missing.
A television!
He should install a TV in the lobby to play news from various regions and channels related to trainers. That way, guests could watch TV while they waited. Though, in reality, trainers didn't really need to watch television.
The trio chatted for a while, then ran outside to the main road to have a Pokémon battle.
However, the boy named Hikaru stayed behind. He looked at Kenji, who was thinking behind the counter, and couldn't help but ask, "Owner, how did you know all that information about Eevee's evolutionary forms and conditions?"
Hearing this, Kenji was taken aback and a bit confused. "You don't know?"
That's not right! Sylveon already exists in this world. Logically, those things should have been discovered by now.
"I know of them, but the specific conditions aren't very clear. You just said that for Eevee to evolve, it's also related to its friendship level?" Hikaru's face was filled with a thirst for knowledge.
Whether it was Espeon, Umbreon, or Sylveon, they had existed in this world since ancient times, and wild ones were not unheard of. But the evolutionary factors related to them had not yet been fully understood.
If... if that's the case, then it would all make sense! The Eevee used in experiments by those scholars didn't have a particularly close relationship with them, which is why there were uncontrollable outcomes in their evolutionary forms!
Kenji: "..."
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
As far as he knew, it was now the year 206 of the Pokémon League calendar.
Kenji fell silent. He had assumed these things were common knowledge.
Hikaru waited expectantly for the owner's answer, but instead, he heard the other party ask a completely baffling question.
"Who is the current Hoenn League Champion?"
Hikaru said a name Kenji had never heard before.
It wasn't Steven...
"Then have you heard of Steven Stone?" Kenji asked again.
Hikaru shook his head blankly.
Kenji was shocked. At this point in time, had Steven not even become a trainer yet? Or had he just started his journey? No wonder... no wonder Hikaru had that reaction.
Holy crap, I spoiled the future!
But Kenji quickly recovered and answered, "My parents discovered this information in the notes of an old scholar. They ran this breeding center here a long time ago. I just got back and plan to reopen it."
Just got back? From another region? That would explain why the owner asked who the Hoenn Champion was. As for the notebook...
Hikaru didn't doubt it. There were indeed many talented and eccentric people in this world. Like the Aura Guardians of ancient times, and in the modern era, a whole bunch of professors living in the wild. Fallarbor Town itself had a Professor Solans who specialized in fossil research. He'd heard the man spent all day running to Meteor Falls to touch rocks. All in all, a very strange person.
"I see, I understand now!" Hikaru said.
Kenji just smiled and said nothing.
He turned and went to the backyard to observe the process of Bewear teaching Eevee Baby-Doll Eyes.
Bewear stood in front of Eevee, a faint pink glow slowly appearing in its eyes. Eevee watched Bewear's eyes intently. After a moment, the pink glow in Bewear's eyes disappeared, and it gestured for Eevee to follow its lead.
"Eievui!"
The little Eevee nodded, its expression serious. It sat down on the spot and used all its strength.
And then... it went cross-eyed.
Kenji: "..."
"Kyuu...?" Bewear was stunned.
Having failed to use Baby-Doll Eyes, the little Eevee hung its head in dejection. "Eievui..."
Now Kenji understood why this Eevee couldn't learn the move.
"Don't worry, take it slow. I promise, I'll make sure you learn it before it gets dark today," Kenji comforted it.
"Eievui?" Eevee didn't have much confidence. It had already tried so many times. It just couldn't learn it...
Eevee began to have an existential crisis. Its Joy Value started to plummet.