Early the next morning, Paul walked out of his room. Yesterday, he had decided to stay at the Breeding House for a while to learn from Lucas how to better handle relationships with Pokémon.
As soon as he went downstairs, he found that Lucas had already woken up and was helping Gothitelle and the others handle matters. The entire kitchen was a hive of activity.
"Morning, Paul. Up so early? Come have breakfast."
Lucas sat down next to Shauna and signaled for Paul to come over for breakfast.
Paul nodded, sat down at the counter, and then Mime Jr. brought breakfast to his side and set it down.
"Mime Jr.~"
Please enjoy.
"Thank you."
Paul said.
Mime Jr. gave a cute smile, then ran back to sit next to Shauna and enjoy its own breakfast.
"Good morning, Brother Paul."
"Ling ling~"
Shauna greeted Paul across from her sweetly.
Paul responded as well.
After finishing breakfast, Shauna followed behind Gothitelle and the others, carrying the fresh milk Lucas had squeezed that morning, and headed off to school.
After finishing his breakfast, Lucas took Paul to the backyard and led him to observe the condition of the Pokémon that guests had boarded there.
"Breeding Houses usually have Trainers who board their Pokémon here, and our responsibility is to take good care of these Pokémon and manage their emotions."
Lucas led Paul to a Mienshao and asked it to show them its unique secret technique. After a series of movements, Lucas clapped his hands, offered some praise, and then took out a pen to write down that its physical recovery was going very well.
"This Mienshao was boarded at the Breeding House because it suffered some mental distress. With the help of Dash and the others, its psychological health is now in excellent condition. It has learned to vent its emotions through kung fu, and its once-stiff body has become healthier and stronger through continuous sparring with Dash and the others."
Lucas recorded as he spoke, while Paul listened quietly from the side.
"In fact, Pokémon are just like us humans. The little ones need us to coax and care for them, while the big ones are like our own family. As long as we put in genuine feelings, they will give us their genuine feelings in return."
Lucas bumped fists with the Mienshao and then let it continue sparring with Dash. The Mienshao nodded with the air of a hidden master. Seeing Dash and the others patrolling the backyard, it scurried over to follow behind them.
Next, Lucas took him to a Seviper and carefully checked its teeth and tail. Its venom and other conditions were all very good and plentiful.
The Seviper was lying lazily among a group of Sevipers. It loved being with its own kind. These Sevipers, which Lucas had brought back due to conflicts with Zangoose, also really liked this 'family member' and helped train it every day.
After checking all the remaining boarded Pokémon, Lucas handed the notebook to Paul and led him through the Forest Area to the junction between the forest entrance and the Breeding House's backyard. After checking the condition of a Sceptile that liked to stay in the forest, Lucas led the Sceptile and Paul back toward the backyard.
"Are you curious why there are so many wild Pokémon in my Breeding House's backyard?"
Paul nodded.
Lucas smiled and said, "Because once the forest was damaged by Pokémon Hunters, and I took Gengar and the others to help them and save the entire forest. So, the Breeding House and the forest became best friends, and these wild Pokémon all come over from the forest."
Arriving under the swing tree, the Sceptile leaped up into the tree to watch the scenery with a Staraptor that liked to preen its feathers there.
Paul also noticed the Staraptor. Seeing its former Trainer, the Staraptor gave a slight nod.
Lucas led Paul to several large wooden boxes under the tree. "Look, these are the gifts they send me every day."
Paul looked at the wooden boxes, which were nearly stuffed full, and was momentarily dazed.
There was nothing particularly expensive in the wooden boxes; they were almost all common berries, mushrooms, and such, but it felt very different to Paul.
"That's why I say Pokémon are very simple creatures."
Lucas had Gengar take the things out of the boxes, then called over the surrounding Pokémon to distribute more than half of the items. The rest were taken back to the kitchen by Gengar.
A Pachirisu jumped onto Paul's shoulder and looked at Paul's dead fish eyes.
Pachirisu: Why is this person like this? So fierce.
After thinking about it, it still shared the berry in its hand with him.
Paul took the berry and said thank you.
As expected of you; the Breeding House cannot lose Pachirisu, just as Lucas cannot lose Cynthia (scratch that).
Pachirisu skillfully dodged the demonic claws Lucas reached out with and moved to Paul's other shoulder, puffing out its cheeks as it gnawed on the berry.
Its expression was as derpy and cute as ever.
Watching the Pachirisu that had skillfully dodged his hand, Lucas silently withdrew it and walked toward Paul's Pokémon.
Currently, Paul's Pokémon were not yet in their final configuration. Lucas looked at Paul's team.
Electabuzz, Nidoking, Lairon, Magmar, Ursaring, Hariyama.
He didn't see that powerful Torterra.
Lucas remembered that Paul had a very powerful Torterra, which later taught Ash's Grotle.
Lucas skillfully took a brush and began brushing the metal shell on Lairon's back.
As for Ursaring and the others, Lucas gave them a good bath with a water hose.
Seeing Electabuzz and the others covered in bubbles, constantly dodging the water jet from the hose amidst Lucas's laughter, and hearing them let out happy cries.
Paul felt something inside him being touched.
Lucas looked at a certain little purple fatty mixed in among them. Using a feint, the water jet instantly spread from Lairon's body to Gengar's.
Gengar let out a strange cry, then stuck out its large tongue and pretended to be killed, lying on the ground.
Lucas pressed down on the front of the hose to keep the water spraying and slowly walked to Paul's side, handing him the hose.
Paul hesitated for a moment, then took the hose.
Electabuzz and the others were stunned.
Then, when they felt the water jet from the hose spraying toward them, they glanced at each other and then burst into even more joyful cries.
Nidoking gave a happy snort and stomped hard on the ground.
A crack instantly split open in the ground.
By the time Nidoking realized what it had done, there wasn't a single Pokémon left around it.
No, that wasn't right. There were some.
Dash, Machoke, Vex, Lilligant, Staraptor, Vespiquen, Roselia, Luxray—
Under Electabuzz's "bon voyage" gaze, Nidoking was dragged off by Dash and the others for training.
After fixing the ground, Lucas looked at Paul, who had placed the hose on the ground, and smiled.
It seems there's some change.
After finishing the work in the backyard, Lucas took Paul back to the front to check on the canteen.
A few scattered guests were eating in the canteen, while some were just sitting and resting.
The canteen always welcomed travelers to come in and rest. Even if they didn't order a meal, Pinsir and the others would bring them a cup of hot water, free of charge.
This also made the reputation of the canteen run by Mime Jr. incredibly good among the Trainers of Twinleaf Town and Sandgem Town.
Good taste, good atmosphere, and both the people and Pokémon were great.
After giving Paul a general tour of the Breeding House and letting him understand what work he would need to do there in the coming days, Lucas returned to the rest area and lay down in his armchair.
While watching cartoons with Gengar, Lilligant, and Roselia, Vulpix had already run off to play with Lairon and the others.
It seemed to really like Paul's Pokémon.
Seeing this, Paul said something to Lucas and then returned to the backyard as well.
He wanted to study for himself how to get along better with Pokémon.
While Lucas was watching cartoons with Gengar and the others, a girl wearing a school uniform walked in.
"Hello, may I ask what you need—"
"Are you the Lucas?"
Before Lucas could finish his sentence, he was cut off by the girl's words.
Lucas nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the girl continue, "Hello, Lucas. My name is Lian. I heard that there is a Breeding House on Breeding Road with great strength, and challenging it will earn you guidance from the Breeding House. So I wanted to come and challenge it. Please!"
The girl bowed deeply.
Lucas: —
Another one here to challenge the Breeding House.
Looking at the Pokémon still in the Breeding House, Lucas was just about to consider whom to send when he suddenly remembered Paul was in the backyard.
"Paul."
Lucas called out.
Paul's figure quickly emerged from behind the counter.
"Lucas."
Looking at Paul, Lucas couldn't help but nod.
"Paul, this is Lian, who is here to challenge the Breeding House. I plan to have you represent the Breeding House to accept the challenge."
Paul had a look of confusion. What did he mean? Challenge the Breeding House?
Lucas explained to him, "I don't know when it started, but a rumor began to spread: just like Victory Road, Breeding Road has a powerful Breeding House. It says if you think you're strong enough, you might as well try challenging it—things like that."
Lucas sighed. "So, from time to time, Trainers come to challenge us. Although no one has succeeded so far, since you happen to be here today, you shall represent the Breeding House in this battle."
Before Paul could even speak, the girl spoke up, "But I came to challenge the Breeding House—"
Lucas looked at her with a smile and said, "He is a part of our Breeding House and a student I value greatly. His strength is that of a seed player for the League Championship. If you still want to challenge us after battling him, I will personally have a match with you. How does that Lilli?"
The girl thought for a moment and nodded.
"Alright. If those are the Breeding House's rules, I will follow them."
Lucas looked at Paul. Paul narrowed his dead-fish eyes at the girl and then nodded.
They arrived at an open space. An old acquaintance from the dining hall saw Lucas leading the Pokémon to the usual battleground and asked, "Lucas, is someone challenging the Breeding House again?"
Lucas smiled and nodded. Seeing this, those in the dining hall quickly finished their meals, and those resting hurried over to gather around.
"Great! We get to see another Breeding House challenge match."
Some people passing by for the first time didn't understand what was happening and asked around. After those who frequently traveled Breeding Road explained the situation regarding the road and the Breeding House, they finally understood.
So that was it!
At this moment, Paul and Lian stood on opposite sides.
"Wait, Lucas isn't fighting today?"
Someone asked in confusion.
Lucas shook his head.
"Is that Lucas's student?"
Lucas nodded.
Since Paul was studying under him, it shouldn't be an exaggeration to call him his student, right?
Besides, he already had the strength of a seed player for the League Championship.
Not to mention later, when that silly kid was preparing for the Masters Eight Tournament, Paul specifically trained a team of the Masters Eight's ace Pokémon to help Ash practice.
"I'll leave the refereeing to you, Gengar."
Gengar appeared before Lucas, wearing a whistle around its neck, a referee's hat, and holding two flags in its hands.
Lucas had already adapted to calling that tiny section a neck.
"Where did you get those things from?"
Lucas looked at Gengar's professional outfit, his forehead covered in black lines.
"Gen Gengar, I bought them!"
Gengar raised its head proudly, gave a response, and then moved to the center of the field.
It raised the flags.
"Gen Gengar—"
The battle will now begin. The rules are—
Gengar felt a bit embarrassed; it had forgotten its lines.
Imitating Lucas, it kept silent and wiped its forehead as if nothing was wrong.
Then, it slashed the flags down.
Whatever, let's just start.
Lian and Paul threw out a Poké Ball at the same time, and a red light flashed.
An Arcanine and a Magmar appeared on the field simultaneously.
Taking the initiative, Lian ordered Arcanine to use Take Down.
Paul remained calm and had Magmar use Protect. When Arcanine hit the protective shield and suffered recoil, Paul recalled Magmar.
"Th—thank you for your hard work. Go, Nidoking."
Magmar looked at Paul in shock.
Lucas was also shocked.
Although saying "thank you for your hard work" might seem a bit untimely, coming from Paul's mouth, the effect seemed surprisingly good?
Magmar was recalled while still in shock, and immediately after, Nidoking was summoned. Although it had just been dragged off for training by Vex and the others, leaving some scars on its body, it seemed to sense something and was in exceptionally high spirits.
The moment it landed, it let out an excited roar.
Even under Arcanine's Intimidate, its fighting spirit remained undiminished!
Arcanine couldn't help but take a step back.
"Earth Power!"
Lian reacted quickly, telling Arcanine to dodge, but Arcanine had been stunned by the sight of the scarred yet spirited Nidoking. It failed to react in time, and just as it prepared to move, the Earth Power had already completely engulfed it.
Arcanine lay on the ground, its eyes turned into swirls.
Lian recalled Arcanine. Looking at the Nidoking that was continuously beating its chest, she decisively sent out Breloom.
"Breloom, Seed Bomb."
"Protect."
As the smoke cleared, Nidoking was recalled once more.
"Thank you for your hard work. Next, I'm counting on you, Magmar."
Magmar erupted with flames, and a single Flamethrower directly took out Breloom.
Perhaps because Lian studied at a school and hadn't traveled much, her battle experience wasn't as rich as Paul's.
Even though she also used rotations later, she wasn't as quick or decisive in her tactics as Paul.
Of course, the gap in strength between the Pokémon was also significant, not to mention they were facing a Paul who would say things like "Thank you for your hard work" and "I'm counting on you."
Looking at Paul's incredibly excited and spirited Pokémon, Lucas shook his head.
There was no helping it; in this state, Paul's strength was at least thirty percent higher.
Lian recalled her Empoleon, fell silent for a moment, and finally looked at Paul.
"You are really strong. I'm glad I could battle you; it made me realize how much room I have to grow. I will become stronger and then defeat you."
Paul recalled Electabuzz, feeling the subtle sensation that had come from his heart when he was commanding it, Magmar, and the others.
He said indifferently, "Whatever."
Lucas and Lilligant's smiles collapsed instantly.
As expected of you, Paul.
Lian didn't mind and went straight to Lucas's side. Lucas gave her some guidance based on the problems he had observed.
"There are no major issues, mainly experience and Pokémon breeding. It's best not to rush for success. I noticed, is Lucario wearing weights on its legs?"
Lucas recalled the battle between Lian's Lucario and Paul's Hariyama; its movements hadn't seemed very agile, and there appeared to be two rings on its legs.
Lian nodded. "I saw online that training with weights is more effective."
"And our Master also strongly agreed with this method of mine."
Lucas frowned and hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "There's nothing wrong with weight training, but the most important thing is to progress gradually. Didn't you notice that Lucario failed to dodge many moves it should have been able to? That's because the weights on its legs are too heavy. Giving it such heavy weight rings all at once is the wrong approach. The correct way is to ask it what weight feels appropriate and then slowly increase it as it adapts. Adding a load it can't handle from the start is not only ineffective but can also cause irreparable damage."
After listening, Lian nodded repeatedly. "Thank you for the guidance, Lucas. I understand. I'll take the weight rings off when I get back and let it choose based on its own feeling."
Lucas nodded. "Remember to go to a Pokémon Center first to check its ankles and make sure no damage has already been done."
Lian continued to nod and said okay.
"That's all. Just battle more to accumulate experience, and you'll be fine."
Lian gave a deep bow.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lucas. I will work hard to become stronger and come back to challenge you again until I succeed."
Lucas laughed heartily.
"Then I'll be waiting for you."
It seemed like this kind of life was quite nice, wasn't it?
Running a Breeding House, raising Pokémon, making delicious food, and guiding Trainers who came to challenge him.
After Lian left, the onlookers were satisfied.
"That was a truly wonderful battle. It's a pity; it would be great if someone came to challenge every day."
"Why don't you come and challenge every day for us to watch?"
"Lucas is such a good person, even giving guidance like that."
"Of course, Lucas is recognized by everyone in Twinleaf Town as a good man."
Lucas's face grew redder the more he heard, and he led Paul back to the Breeding House.
Watching Paul's back as he disappeared behind the counter,
Lucas couldn't help but smile.
"Lilligant, it looks like he has made a change too."
Lilligant tilted her head slightly.
"Lilli"
Indeed~
I'm looking forward to his future performance more and more.
Thinking of this, Lucas slowly lay down, chewing on the snacks Gengar had stuffed into his mouth, and listening to Lilligant humming nearby, he gradually fell into a dream.
...
Power Stones PLZZZZZ
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